Nightmares Illustrated 049 Where Do We Go From Here?

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Top Five Picks…Buy These Right Now.

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Mmm. Uh. Ugh.

Gloomy in December here in the north country. I meant to write this particular entry three months ago. The good news is this way, whenever it is published, it’ll be three months fresher. There is really no downside.

I am giving up on comics. They just aren’t doing it for me anymore. There are a bunch of them spread before me now and I am thinking to myself, What do I hope to get out of reading these? I used to have fun reading comics. Now, though, the sameness really overwhelms me. Mainly my distress is related to Marvel and DC and their “universes.” The reboots are too frequent, and they are really just rehashes, aren’t they? I jumped onto Green Lantern a few years back and really enjoyed it. Then it was hash, hash, and rehash. Likewise, Nova. I loved that book a few years back. The reboot? Rehash. Hulk? Love the Hulk. I have read every issue from the very beginning up through 2011, but the latest incarnation (hash) is too much for me. Same samey same same samer. And so on. What the fuck?

I guess the business model is to constantly attract new readers and figure the long time readers will hang in no matter what. Sure, there will be attrition, but that is why you have to court new readers. Therefore, reboot where reboot=rehash doesn’t matter because the guns are set on new readers. And if that is not what they are doing then it is complete chaos. Either way, I am out. Fifty is the wall.

For this forty ninth entry in the Nightmares Illustrated canon I am going to list the books I have liked and the few I will still read. The idea is to wrap things up and to reiterate my great fondness for horror comics. My appreciation does still exist, but it has turned almost entirely to nostalgia in the sense that I am saturated and can take in no more joy from the exclusive province of comics. Writing a regular column on only comics does not seem like the right thing to do anymore, at least not now. But I do still like them. Hence the list.

The list is only for fairly recent series, not great old books like Eerie, for example, that are long defunct. If I included everything ever published that I liked the list would be too long. Also, this is a mosaic, not a comprehensive list so there is a lot left out. OK?

Next time, I’ll tell you what the plan is going forward. Before I can so that, though, I have to think one up so this afternoon I will distract myself with the list.

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30 Days of Night (IDW). The original series was fabulous – vampires in the arctic – and most of the ones that followed were OK, too. Long live Steve Niles.

Blackest Night (DC). One of the greatest crossover events ever published. I loved this from start to finish. It is a shame how it was milked so thoroughly in the years following its publication.

The Boys (Dynamite). Garth Ennis takes an extended shot at superheroes. More than fabulous.

Chronicles of Wormwood (Avatar). Who doesn’t like stories about the devil?

Deadworld Restoration (IDW). The latest series is coming out from IDW, but look up all the Desperado publications, too (and the older-than-that ones as well). This is the only zombie series I read more than once.

Elephantmen (Image). A little uneven, but I stand by the book anyway. Excellent.

Fables (Vertigo). Bill Willingham’s beautiful book is as good today as it has ever been.

The Filth (Vertigo). This is from 2002. Just look it up, folks. It is a delight to read.

Grimm Fairy Tales (Zenescope). Zenescope’s flagship publication has many variants. In general, I found these books engaging. I believe I will read them again at some point in the future. Some time does need to pass.

Haunted Horror (IDW). Exceptionally good reprint series.

Hellblazer (Vertigo). The entire run was great. Avoid the continued series, Constantine, on principle if nothing else.

The Illegitimates (IDW). Not what I expected.

Locke & Key (IDW). One of the best conceived and realized comics in the past ten years. These are rereadable.

Man-Thing (Marvel). There are a couple of short series of this swamp creature from a while back and lot of cameos since. It predates Swamp Thing by a little and is a very different creature.

Memory Collectors (IDW). Anything by Menton3.

Monocyte (IDW). Anything by Menton3.

Orc Stain (Image). There are not enough issues of this book.

The Phantom Stranger (DC). This character, along with the Spectre, are in the Top Five of all time for me. The new series from DC is pretty good, even though I do prefer the older ones.

Popeye Classics (IDW). Great series, and no joke. It presents some of the weirdest comics you’ll ever see.

Sandman (Vertigo). The historical one, folks. Both of them.

Shadowpact (DC). Is a guilty pleasure of mine. I seem to have a lot of these. I do like much of the magical side of DC.

Silver Surfer (Marvel). This is one of the best, most melancholy characters ever written up. The original appearance of the character dates way back, but there have been several good entries in the past ten years, including the Annihilation event.

Spawn (Image). A great concept with excellent artwork. Most of the related titles are also compelling.

The Spectre (DC). As above. Most of the best work comes from before 2000, but there Swamp Thing (Vertigo). All series except the most recent one are great.

are important appearances since then.

Vampirella (Dynamite). I have a Vampirella fetish. I realize this. It is not the best comic, and there is a ton of material here. Most of said amterial violates the premise of avoiding repetition set forth above. But I cannot get enough. It is a disorder of mine so take the recommendation with a grain of salt. Maybe it is this kind of mental deficiency Marvel and DC are counting on for continuing sales?

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One.

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And finally, thank you so much, kind publishers who have treated me with respect over the years. Among the best are Desperado, Zenescope, IDW, Dark Brain, and to a much, much lesser extent, DC. Marvel, Image, and Dynamite can all go feed on a sandy mound.

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