Just finished all UY... What do i read now?

[Patrick2209]

First off, I'd like to say what an awesome community this is, and I always enjoy checking in on the forums. Mr. Sakai even stepped in and helped me get one of the books that I was having trouble finding--which was awesome!
Anyway... I have finished all of the UY books (And Space Usagi) that are available right now. (I have book 8 and 10 pre-ordered for the new reprints, but couldn't find them anywhere at a decent price right now.)
I'd really like to find another series to get into. I like good, long, story arcs and characters that grow/change over time... I like action, but not just a bunch of empty violence for the sake of violence. Any suggestions? I've read "Y: The last man," "Fables," "Sandman," and a few others.

[shaxper]

First off, I'd like to say what an awesome community this is, and I always enjoy checking in on the forums. Mr. Sakai even stepped in and helped me get one of the books that I was having trouble finding--which was awesome!
Anyway... I have finished all of the UY books (And Space Usagi) that are available right now. (I have book 8 and 10 pre-ordered for the new reprints, but couldn't find them anywhere at a decent price right now.)
I'd really like to find another series to get into. I like good, long, story arcs and characters that grow/change over time... I like action, but not just a bunch of empty violence for the sake of violence. Any suggestions? I've read "Y: The last man," "Fables," "Sandman," and a few others.

Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but what you describe matches Cerebus quite well. I wrote a review of the series <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-rev ... G">here</a>.

[Steve Hubbell]

If you enjoyed the cultural setting and atmosphere of Usagi Yojimbo, Lone Wolf and Cub is a 28 volume epic of Love, honor, and revenge all set in the Tokugawa era of Japan.

Fantastic story, fantastic artwork! Violence is a given since it is a story of samurai culture. And it also has some adult themes in other areas as well, so it is definitely recommended for mature readers.

The series starts off with what seems to be relatively unconnected episodes, the stories pretty much independent of each other, but as you get farther into the series, plot lines start tying together and the stories become more and more connected.

Epic is the only word I know to describe the series! It is like a twentieth century Japanese answer to the Odyssey or beowulf. It is a darker veiw of feudal Japan than the world of Usagi, but it sucks you in with all the bits and pieces of background that are slipped into the story.

This is the manga for people who don't like manga! No big-eyed kids in school uniforms or weird little pokamon-like critters running around. The artwork reminds me more of Prince Valient than any of the usual manga you see in stores.

The only two negative points to the 28 volume series fro Dark Horse are
1) They flipped the artwork to reprint the pages so that they read left to right like a western book instead of the original Japanese right to left reading sequence.
2) After 28 volumes, the story ends! By this time you have become so immersed in the world of the series that you actually want more.

[coolray85]

yes, that's a really worthwhile series!...I still just own the first volume, but here ovesease they printed it in manga format and you are still reading it from right to left so to speak....
then I know of the accompanying television series of lone wolf and cup from the 70s which is fun, too...
but speaking of comic book series you could also check out the original teenage mutant ninja turtles comics from eastman and laird..forget what you know of the old cartoon, THIS is the original vison....
and the series of ben costa 'pang-the wandering shaolin monk' is very well done, too..you can check out my recommends on the following sites
http://shilongpang.com/

and
http://www.miragelicensing.com/

peace

[Patrick2209]

First off, I'd like to say what an awesome community this is, and I always enjoy checking in on the forums. Mr. Sakai even stepped in and helped me get one of the books that I was having trouble finding--which was awesome!
Anyway... I have finished all of the UY books (And Space Usagi) that are available right now. (I have book 8 and 10 pre-ordered for the new reprints, but couldn't find them anywhere at a decent price right now.)
I'd really like to find another series to get into. I like good, long, story arcs and characters that grow/change over time... I like action, but not just a bunch of empty violence for the sake of violence. Any suggestions? I've read "Y: The last man," "Fables," "Sandman," and a few others.

Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but what you describe matches Cerebus quite well. I wrote a review of the series <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-rev ... G">here</a>.

Ah.. you are not the first to recommend that to me. I might check that out. Thanks!

[Patrick2209]

If you enjoyed the cultural setting and atmosphere of Usagi Yojimbo, Lone Wolf and Cub is a 28 volume epic of Love, honor, and revenge all set in the Tokugawa era of Japan.

Fantastic story, fantastic artwork! Violence is a given since it is a story of samurai culture. And it also has some adult themes in other areas as well, so it is definitely recommended for mature readers.

The series starts off with what seems to be relatively unconnected episodes, the stories pretty much independent of each other, but as you get farther into the series, plot lines start tying together and the stories become more and more connected.

Epic is the only word I know to describe the series! It is like a twentieth century Japanese answer to the Odyssey or beowulf. It is a darker veiw of feudal Japan than the world of Usagi, but it sucks you in with all the bits and pieces of background that are slipped into the story.

This is the manga for people who don't like manga! No big-eyed kids in school uniforms or weird little pokamon-like critters running around. The artwork reminds me more of Prince Valient than any of the usual manga you see in stores.

The only two negative points to the 28 volume series fro Dark Horse are
1) They flipped the artwork to reprint the pages so that they read left to right like a western book instead of the original Japanese right to left reading sequence.
2) After 28 volumes, the story ends! By this time you have become so immersed in the world of the series that you actually want more.

I would be very much interested in checking that out! I really enjoyed the cultural aspect of Usagi Yojimbo, and love stories that unfold over a period of time.

[Patrick2209]

yes, that's a really worthwhile series!...I still just own the first volume, but here ovesease they printed it in manga format and you are still reading it from right to left so to speak....
then I know of the accompanying television series of lone wolf and cup from the 70s which is fun, too...
but speaking of comic book series you could also check out the original teenage mutant ninja turtles comics from eastman and laird..forget what you know of the old cartoon, THIS is the original vison....
and the series of ben costa 'pang-the wandering shaolin monk' is very well done, too..you can check out my recommends on the following sites
http://shilongpang.com/

and
http://www.miragelicensing.com/

peace

Oops... I forgot to mention TMNT. That was my first comic series. I started collecting those back in 6th grade, and yes... nothing like the cartoon. I've read them all and have all of the first, second, and fourth volume collected. In fact, the TMNT first exposed me to Usagi!

[Stan Sakai]

I would heartily recommend Jeff Smith's Bone. It is a completed story, available in both a black/white (from Cartoon Books) and color version (Scholastic).

[johnnyjagwani]

I would heartily recommend Jeff Smith's Bone. It is a competed story, available in both a black/white (from Cartoon Books) and color version (Scholastic).

nothing lives up to Usagi ! - But I'd say 365 samurai and a few bowls of rice..

[Jet_Jaguar]

I haven't kept up with it in a long time, but you might enjoy Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal, which is also published by Dark Horse. It does get pretty graphically violent in places, so you might want to steer clear of it if you have a problem with that.

Also, it's a fairly long series (and still ongoing), so it's a little pricey to acquire the whole series, but it looks like you can get used copies of several of the earlier volumes from Amazon Marketplace or Ebay fairly inexpensively.

Stan did a pinup for it toward the beginning of its run at Dark Horse about 13 years ago (Sergio Aragones did one I like a lot too, but I don't have a picture of it handy):

[Patrick2209]

I would heartily recommend Jeff Smith's Bone. It is a completed story, available in both a black/white (from Cartoon Books) and color version (Scholastic).

Thanks! I'll check that out.

[Patrick2209]

I haven't kept up with it in a long time, but you might enjoy Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal, which is also published by Dark Horse. It does get pretty graphically violent in places, so you might want to steer clear of it if you have a problem with that.

Don't get me wrong... I don't have a problem with violence as long as it serves the story and there is substance to the characters and plot. I'm just not a fan of those books that have no story or character development and seem to try to shock you with page after page of unnecessary gore. The suggestions I've been receiving here all look interesting. I'll see what I can find when I go to the bookstore later this week.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

[Knight]

I'd have to agree with Stan with BONE by Jeff Smith

That series is completed and a great read, I still think back to when I was reading the single issues as they were being printed and how I would almost wear out the current book with multiple readings waiting for the next issue.

It is still one of the only books to make me laugh out loud, the comedic value of the characters at times was amazing and you find that you do invest in the story as it unfolds.

and Although I have never met Jeff Smith I had many customers back then, ALL the way over here in Australia that had correspondance through the letters pages of BONE and he was nothing but fantastic and appreciative of his readers... I will never forget that.

"Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures!"

[Maka]

I like good, long, story arcs and characters that grow/change over time... I like action, but not just a bunch of empty violence for the sake of violence. Any suggestions? I've read "Y: The last man," "Fables," "Sandman," and a few others.

If you liked the Vertigo titles you listed, then you might enjoy Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing. It only runs 45 issues, but it was a complete engaging turn around of character and supporting cast. As you may know from Gaiman's Sandman, one of support characters comes from this Swamp Thing arch.

Bone is great.

You might like Paul Chadwich's Concrete one of Dark Horse's first comic series. It's about this political speech writer who brain get's transported into an alien's body that is like Concrete. Like Swamp Thing, it only runs 50+ issues (and many of those were in DHP, so in reality it's probably more like 30+ issues) but it is great art and storytelling.

Any of Disney's Duck comics by Don Rosa or Carl Barks. Great storytelling that never gets old. The life and times of Scrooge McDuck gives a bio of how he came to be. It's awesome. I like the junior woodchucks stories myself personally.

A very short store arch I enjoyed a lot was Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. Only 26 issues but issue #5 blew me away and I was hooked. I knew nothing about animal man before I started reading this back in the late 80s. I didn't like it so much after Morrison left.

Peace, maka

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Bone, Inuyasha, Battle Angel Alita,Vagabond(about Musashi!), Gon, Akira, Beanworld!