The cancellation of "Captain Britain and MI13" coupled with the recently-announced demise of "Young Liars" has really annoyed me. Chad Nevett and I had a Splash Page discussion (that's been lost to the wilds of the internet) about cancelled comics last summer, and we took a "hey, maybe it's better to go out while you're on top" approach, but while that's all well and good, it's frustrating that readers flock to the most mediocre X-crap while ignoring the stuff right next to it on the shelf that's actually produced with some intelligence and creativity.So I decided to spend this week's "When Words Collide" column, the first of the all-new MONDAY TIME-SLOT COLUMNS, talking about 10 comics that deserve more readers. I stuck with the mainstream stuff from the Big Two, because that's the stuff that everyone should already have access to, and all they have to do is start picking it up off the shelf and telling their retailers, "you sold out of 'Northlanders'?!? Don't you know that book is awesome enough to order extra quantities???" etc.
Question: What comics would you have added to the "under-the-radar" list?
You and your Northlanders.
ReplyDeleteIf we can deviate from the Big Two (and go with limited series), I say add Gigantic & The Great Unknown.
Gigantic because it features giant robot fighting as a parable for bitter non-mainstream types who pretend they hate the mainstream to feel makee themselves feel better about being unpopular, and that's funny.
Great Unknown because it's original and different.
That post had lots of typos. Whoops.
ReplyDeleteI love Gigantic. I'm waiting for the trade on Great Unknown (I love Rouleau's art, but not so much his writing).
ReplyDeleteI am surprised by how much I am absolutely loving Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova, month in and month out -- surprised because I'm not usually a fan of Marvel Cosmic Stuff. I don't know if those series are in danger, but I hope not -- though they don't seem to get as much attention as they should be getting.
ReplyDeleteI'm even thoroughly enjoying the current "War of Kings" event, even though I absolutely hated Vulcan as a character during that whole year-long "X-Men in space" thing.
I don't know if you need to have read both Annihilation events to fully appreciate these series -- I think not, though those are two of the best events in recent memory (certainly better than Civil War etc.) and I would highly recommend them anyway.
Action, humor, high adventure, mind-blowing sci-fi concepts, talking space animals and Worldminds: I hope these series run a long long time.
Nice post. Good list, too.
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not reading everything on there, but I'm reading a good chunk of it.
The only thing I can think to add is Simone's Secret Six. It's not in terrible trouble. I'm not sure if it's selling as badly as the stuff on your list, but it's in the low 20's.
It'd be nice if it could get a boost. It's ever so fun.
Oh man, Secret Six! I second that. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, Fear Agent. The current storyline is dragging a bit but overall it's still a solid, fun book.
ReplyDeleteSecret Six, eh? I dropped it after issue #2. Has it improved a lot since then?
ReplyDelete"Secret Six, eh? I dropped it after issue #2. Has it improved a lot since then?"
ReplyDeleteUh, well, I thought it was fine at issue #2. So, maybe not, unless I'm forgetting something.
As always, it'd help if I knew why you disliked it, but to sum up my feelings:
It's fun fluff. So, it's not essential, but as fun fluff goes, it's pretty good. I know you're fond of Incredible Herc and Hulk. Both of those are good, but I enjoy Secret Six more.
It's twisted, humorous fun. The characterizations are fantastic! Bane is actually interesting! Oh, and I like Nicola Scott's art, too.
Anyway, a lingering question that I guess you missed on the Morrison thread:
Remember the gun Grifter gave to Batman in JLA?WildCATS?
Is that the same gun Batman used in Final Crisis?
I don't know the answer to the gun question, but let's talk Secret Six...
ReplyDeleteI think the art is fine.
I think Gail Simone writes strangely-paced comics that feel like awkward Scooby-Doo episodes to me, but with minor DC characters thrown into the mix. That actually sounds like the description of a comic I'd like to read, though, so that must not be why I dropped it.
What!? The great and mighty Tim Callahan doesn't know a Morrison-related question?
ReplyDeleteInconceivable!
"I think Gail Simone writes strangely-paced comics that feel like awkward Scooby-Doo episodes to me, but with minor DC characters thrown into the mix."
Wow! That's what I like about you, Callahan. Always saying such nutty things. Scooby-Doo episodes? Outrageous!
I like Gail Simone. Actually, I usually only like her when she writes villains. So, Secret Six and Deadpool? Awesome! Wonder Woman and BOP? Meh.
"That actually sounds like the description of a comic I'd like to read, though, so that must not be why I dropped it."
So...huh? Does that mean you'll try it again? Or, you just can't remember why you dropped it?
Secret Six does feature a lot of whacky, unknown characters. Well, the first trade comes out on August 26. Maybe you could check it out?