{"id":5669,"date":"2016-03-13T09:38:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-13T09:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jurn.link\/dazposer\/?p=5669"},"modified":"2016-03-13T09:38:11","modified_gmt":"2016-03-13T09:38:11","slug":"more-sci-fi-comics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/2016\/03\/13\/more-sci-fi-comics\/","title":{"rendered":"More sci-fi comics"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve noticed that there seems to be no dedicated blog for readers seeking quality in sci-fi \/ fantasy \/ macabre \/ adventure comic-book series and graphic novels. I mean comics that are non-superhero, and not aimed wholly or largely at adolescents. So… there’s an opportunity there for a blogger and curator, though it won’t be me. <\/p>\n

Since I last blogged on the topic<\/a>, as a recent returnee to a certain type of comics, I’ve learned a couple of things. <\/p>\n

Firstly, to be wary about starting comics series that haven’t concluded yet. Great intelligent sci-fi comics like Letter 44<\/em> and Descender<\/em> being good examples. The reader hears about a new and intelligent series, gets six or 10 or 20 issues into it and then… is left hanging. A regular weekly<\/em> series of 20-page episodes, done in that fashion, I could handle. But when each subsequent issue can take four to eight weeks or more<\/em> for the makers to grind out, then this particular reader finds it: i) difficult to pick up the often quite complex plot threads again with each issue; and ii) difficult to find the same level of enjoyment as when reading along in a complete story-with-an-ending.<\/p>\n

Secondly, I’ve also learned that the current comics industry has an annoying habit of touting a forthcoming comic as being the “conclusion” when it’s actually no such thing (Descender<\/em> #11, hem hem<\/em>) and it’s just a cliff-hanger ‘conclusion’ of an arbitrary run of issues that the publisher will collect as a ‘volume 1’ or ‘volume 2’ omnibus edition.<\/p>\n

Thirdly, even when some mega-series do eventually come to a close, they can get a bit wobbly for various reasons. Such as, apparently, the otherwise excellent The Manhattan Projects<\/em>. The makers can run out of ideas, lose control of complex plots, need to pay bills and so pad out the ending by a few extra un-needed issues, and\/or find that the whole project’s become a drag that they’re not really interested in any more.<\/p>\n

So for those reasons I’m wary of launching into ongoing biggies like Saga<\/em> or Black Science<\/a><\/em> or Moore’s Providence<\/em>, excellent though they’re said to be. That sentiment shouldn’t stop readers from trying some of the best episodic sci-fi out there, certainly the aforementioned Letter 44<\/em> and Descender<\/em>. You just need to be aware that you’re getting into titles that are currently all very far from being finished stories. <\/p>\n

Anyway, a few readers may like to know that I’ve added more sci-fi comics titles to the must-read queue on the tablet, since my last post:—<\/p>\n

* Brass Sun<\/a><\/em>. Steampunk \/ sci-fi, originally in 2000 A.D.<\/em> Seems to be complete.<\/p>\n

\"BRASS<\/a><\/p>\n

* Miyazaki’s Nausica\u00e4 of the Valley of the Wind<\/a><\/em>, the classic graphic novel on which the famous sci-fi eco movie was based. Complete.<\/p>\n

\"Naus\"<\/a><\/p>\n

* Arctica<\/a><\/em>. Seven issues, so far? Might not be complete yet?<\/p>\n

\"arctica\"<\/a><\/p>\n

* Chrononauts<\/a><\/em>. Seems to be a complete mini-series, issues 1 through 4. Possibly a bit adolescent and played-for-laughs, but it must be good — as it’s been picked up by Universal to be made into a movie. <\/p>\n

\"chron\"<\/a><\/p>\n

* Golden City<\/a><\/em> is set on a futuristic hi-tech ocean colony and also looks interesting, though is apparently only unofficially available in English translation.<\/p>\n

\"goldencity\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Also cued up are the Lovecraft Anthology<\/em> #1 and #2, and the graphic novels of Lovecraft’s The Temple<\/em> and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward<\/em>. Nearly all fiction \/ film \/ fan-schlock claiming to be ‘inspired by Lovecraft’ is either dire or has only the most tenuous connection to Lovecraft. But I have some hope for these direct comic-book adaptations of the stories. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve noticed that there seems to be no dedicated blog for readers seeking quality in sci-fi \/ fantasy \/ macabre \/ adventure comic-book series and graphic novels. I mean comics that are non-superhero, and not aimed wholly or largely at adolescents. So… there’s an opportunity there for a blogger and curator, though it won’t be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}