Comics/BD's/strips/... you would recommend

[Peasant Phill]

I'm a very avid comic book reader (strips where I'm from) and I'm interested in which titles some of you are in to.

My favourites:

1. The third testament a French series by Dorison and Alice published by Glénat.
A series, set in medieval Europe, of 4 books each representing an evangelist in which an ex inquisitioner and the adopted daughter of the arch bishop of Paris are in a race to find the third testament which God himself has written in an attempt to prevent the end of time.

Great story telling, great art, full of intrigue and all of the characters are believable.
French fan site

2. The scorpion a French series by the Italian Enrico Marini published by Dargaud
A (so far) ongoing series set mostly in Rome during the Renaissance in which the scorpion, a man touched by the devil, finds himself in the middle of an immense power struggle. The scorpion, named after the shape of a birthmark on his shoulder which is the sign of the devil, tries to reveal his past and that of his mother which was burned on the stake, while simultaneously battling the new pope and his order of warrior monks.

Again a great story with a good pace, again a lot of intrigue and great art.
official website

3. Tyndall a Belgian series by Ken Broeders en Luc Van Peborgh published by Arboris
This series is placed in a fantasy world that closely resembles Renaissance Europe with some geographical differences and a history which includes the use of magic. There is no clear protagonist in this comic so the best I can say is that the story revolves around a magic entity and his new master. This magic entity is located somewhere that resembles the Scottish highlands in the middle of war.

A more than decent story so far although it is still forming (even after 6 comic books) it sets the board up for an epic tale, great action scenes (think musketeers facing each other alone in a thick mist), truly amazing art (each panel is almost a painting). The concept of no protagonist is also very interesting and great for the story as everyone can die.

4. Monsieur Mardi-Gras Descendres a French series by Liberge published by Dupuis
A series of 4 books set in the afterlife, the other side of the mirror. Victor Tourterelle wakes up in a chalk desert, under a sky as black as ink. No noise, not a soul. In his new state, Victor delights at still being fully aware, even more clearly than on earth. But as for his body, it is only bones. He seemed to have ended up in kafkaesque purgatory. His rebellious nature lands him in some very dangerous but possibly fulfilling situations.

The atmosphere is very immersive. The details of the world around Victor, now called Monsieur Mardi-Gras Descendres, is incredible. It contains an interesting idea about purgatory and it’s consequences. Sometimes a bit to philosophical so that the pace in the story is sometimes lacking.

click on the titles to see some pages

I've also started reading some American comics:

V for vendetta a British series by Moore and Lloyd published by Vertigo
wikipedia page

Good but outdated story with interesting ideas and some great characters, mediocre art. A lot of cultural references. The amount of text clutters the story to much IMO.
A classic which I compare to books as ‘A brave new world’ and ‘1984’.

Sandman an American series written by Neil Gaiman and published by Vertigo
wikipedia page

This should be mandatory reading in schools.

Fables an American series written by Bill Willingham and published by Vertigo
wikipedia page

I very much like the concept of Fables and most characters are rather intriguing. The art is decent but not spectacular. I believe that the story suffers under its medium. Cliff hangers every 20 so pages and a finished story arc every 5 issues or so doesn’t leave much room for story development.


So which comic series would you recommend to others and why?

[Stig]

Everyone should have read Gaston Lagaffe/Guust Flater at some point of their life, if you haven't you sure have missed something.
In my opinion it's the best comic, drawings and text ever made.
Official site (in French ofcourse):
http://www.gastonlagaffe.com/

Next to that it's ofcourse Suske en Wiske. I'm not really a fan of it, in my opinion it's a bit too childish, but it's damned good as well.
Official site (obviously in Dutch, erhh Flemish)
http://www.suskeenwiske.be/

I'm also a great fan of Turk en De Groot and their comics Robin, Leonard and Clifton. They don't have a site however.

And finally I would recommend Gilles de Geus, a Dutch comic about the 80 years war, pretty funny as well.


Or you could look at the drawings I make myself:

[edyzmedieval]

I'll go the American way, and I'll say Garfield.
www.garfield.com

[sapi]

For the geeks among us who've played HL2, Concerned is a must read

[Ramses II CP]

My wife is a fan of : http://xkcd.com/

Personally I miss the Dysfunctional Family Circus.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Pearls Before Swine, while poorly-drawn, is easily the funniest thing to come out of the comics pages since Calvin and Hobbes.

[Kralizec]

For the geeks among us who've played HL2, Concerned is a must read

I know that one (despite never having played Half Life 1 or 2), but didn't that comic end months ago?

[Peasant Phill]

Everyone should have read Gaston Lagaffe/Guust Flater at some point of their life, if you haven't you sure have missed something.

I have to agree. When it to comedy, there are few that I know of that are in the same league.
I'm not a fan of Suske en Wiske at all (wikipedia page they are childrens books in art, story and humour.

I'm not really familiair with the other comics Stig mentioned other than knowing what the art looks like. BTW nice drawing.

I'll go the American way, and I'll say Garfield.

I used to love Garfield, but if you follow the cartoon long enough it gets boring. I still read Garfiel every day (in my newspaper) but he hasn't had an original joke in some years now.

Pearls Before Swine, while poorly-drawn, is easily the funniest thing to come out of the comics pages since Calvin and Hobbes.

That's not badly drawn, it's very simplistic but that's a style rather then a lack of skill. 'xkcd' drawing style, you can't really call it a style, however is lack of skill or effort.

As for real comics I like Garfield, Gaston Lagaffe, The Scorpion, The Hawk, XIII, Storm and Thorgal.

I know Storm, Thorgal and XIII but I didn't really got into them. They are however to be recommended to others.
I can't say I know 'The hawk' unless it is 'de aasgieren' which I flipped through but didn't buy.

Well, I think Order of the Stick is quite good as long as you have some knowledge about D&D

And a bigger comic book I would recommend is Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick, very funny and informative! (Whoever told you history cant be funny is wrong!)

I actually read OOTS and although I have almost no knowledge about D&D it is still enjoyable. I know the art is crap but it works well in this comic IMHO.

I stopped buying them a few years ago. But there are some standouts that I can still read and enjoy: Batman, the Punisher, Kingdom come, Astro city

I was always (when I recently looked for some good American comics) told that 'The Dark Knight Returns' was the Batman book to read.
I don't know enough about the rest as I tend to avoid comics about superhero's especially Marvel and DC superhero comics. There seems, to me, to much marketing involved in something that should be purely creative.

[sapi]

I know that one (despite never having played Half Life 1 or 2), but didn't that comic end months ago?

Yep, but it's still worth a read for those who haven't