Since one of our posters made a comment about comic book threads, I'm going to urge everyone here to buy Gifted. It's well worth it. Though I guess you could wait till the Hard Cover edition which collects the first 12 issues comes out. Any road, will Joss stay on? The X-Men fans love the comic book, criticial praise left right and centre and slap in the face for people who said that a 'special' writer wouldn't make a difference.

Simon | January 13, 20:27 CET

I hadn't read an XMen comic in years, think the last ones I read were the "Onslaught" (was that it's name?) series, however I got my hands on these as soon as I could and didn't regret it, it's a really good comic. Makes me want to read more comics, but I never know which ones are any good.

Was there ever any doubt that this series would be good, when everything else Joss has written has been great.

There's a 12 issue hardback coming out? Just after I got my dad to order the book with the first 6 in it. Ah well, I'll have to add it to my comic wishlist along with the signed-hardback-Fray they've got in one of the comic shops in London.

Does anyone know whats happening with this series after issue 12, I read that they wanted to keep him on, but I don't know if anything came of that.

Ghost Spike | January 13, 20:54 CET

It's available at Amazon.com, no cover art yet but it'll be out Sept 21st.

Simon | January 13, 20:58 CET

Very well said, Simon. Some posters. ;)

I, too, hadn't read a comic in years, and after some initial hesitation, I read the first issue, and have loved each issue. And, have subsequently bought and enjoyed Fray.

What made me feel even better, was that I'd recommended them to my friends who've been sorely diappointed in the X-men line in the last few years, folks who are not necessarily Whedon fans and were *even* more hesitant than I. They read my set, and loved them even more than I did. Of particular note, one of these friends' favorite characters is Beast, and much of the disappointment he's felt has been the recent characterization of Hank McCoy. He was thrilled with Joss' characterization, and felt like he'd really gotten it perfectly.

k8cre8 | January 13, 21:26 CET

Count me as a new reader of comics strictly due to Joss... I'd never had any motivation to look at comics before Fray. So let me ask the veterans here what's probably a dumb question - how do you know when a new comic comes out? Do they come on a schedule? I got the first couple in the series but I've missed the rest.

Also, like Ghost Spike, I'd like to look at other comics but I don't know which ones are good... or how to catch up on the really complex stories.

gingeriffic | January 13, 22:33 CET

There's a catalog called Previews (and the seperate Marvel edition of Previews) which lists most comics, and related merchandise, books, magazines that are coming out each month. Not sure how much it costs though, as long as I can remember there's always been a copy in the house, don't expect it's that much though.

Ghost Spike | January 13, 22:46 CET

Gingeriffic: Not sure how much of a veteran I am, but the easiest way to find out about comics would be to go to your local comic-book store (if you have such a thing) and chat to the folks there. They'll tell you publication dates, and recommend to you more titles than you could ever possibly read. Another suggestion would be to wait until the trade paperback (TPB) - which is essentially a run of say, 6 or 12 issues of a particular title compiled into a sturdier book form - is released for the series of your liking. TPBs aren't released for all titles, but as Simon says above, AXM will be released as a compilation.

As for other comics, here's my personal favs list - all of which are generally available in TPB - off the top of my head: The Sandman series (Neil Gaiman), Watchmen (Alan Moore; I also love "Promethea" and "Top 10" by Moore), Love and Rockets, collected in various different volumes (Jaime and Gilberto Hernandez), The Preacher (Garth Ennis - warning, this one is a little, um, profane and *dirty*), Joe Sacco's war correspondence stuff, Ghost World, but particularly Eightball (Dan Clowes). And a bunch of random other stuff. I'm really attracted (or put off) by the artwork, so I'd really recommend spending some time in the store - or at a convention -just looking to see what kind of visuals grab you.

SoddingNancyTribe | January 13, 22:53 CET

To me, Sandman is a must read. Neil Gaiman is the second highest on my list of current literary gods.

ringworm | January 13, 23:05 CET

I'd forgotten about Sandman comics. They are a must read. I feel badly to have forgotten them. Hopefully, Gaiman will forgive me.

k8cre8 | January 13, 23:52 CET

My daughter bought me the hardbound-signed-Fray for Christmas and it is absolutely fabulous! I hope they do the same with A-X-Men, too.

spikeangellover | January 13, 23:53 CET

My hardbound-signed-Fray may be the closest I will ever come to The Man so I am pleased I put out the big bucks for it. Fray was my firt foray into comics too. Now I've read a few of the other Whedonverse ones and The Sandman. Have to agree - those should not be missed!

Lioness | January 14, 00:49 CET

Ghost Spike said:

I hadn't read an XMen comic in years, think the last ones I read were the "Onslaught" (was that it's name?) series

That's where I got turned off. The whole universe had become one muddled mess that you couldn't properly follow unless you bought like 12+ issues (that's why the Onslaught thing really pissed me off--not only was it pretty much all of the X-Men and their spin-offs, they brought in Hulk, the Avengers, Fantastic Four...). Crossovers had become a crutch. Instead of looking forward to what should've been the thrilling climax contained within each respective arc of the regular run of a title, the publisher expected every reader to wish for a crossover as the high point. While I think it's kinda cool to have all the Marvel superhero characters exist in the same universe (or related alternate universes, heh), they shouldn't intersect so much in a meaningful way that it makes it frustrating for a then-14-and-on-a-serious-budget reader. Most crossovers, if they must happen, should take place in a separately released mini-series that has little or no bearing on the regular series.

I still think the regular X-books have gone on too long for me to bother attempting to catch up now, I think 300+ issues (despite relaunches at #1) is pretty ridiculous. I know they make the newer series somewhat new-reader-friendly, and I may be tempted to try out Joss' run, but other than that I'll maybe give the re-imagined Ultimate line a try when I get around to it.

Other than that, I'll stick to my Vertigo and indie comics.

[ edited by Kris on 2005-01-14 01:11 ]

Kris | January 14, 03:10 CET

Well I absolutely agree with you, Kris, regarding the crazy muddled mess of superherodom. I collected 3 or 4 titles through the 80s, including Uncanny X-Men, and even then was having some difficulty keeping up with ever-spiralling plots, sub-plots and characters. Not so much because of the complexity as the simple need to buy more and more titles to keep a handle on developments. And then when I stopped reading those titles entirely for a bunch of years, it was like I'd slipped in a crowd and been trodden underfoot in the melee . . . I returned to the comic-book store and found that X-Men now had (who knows?) more than a dozen separate titles, the distinctions between which completely baffle me, not to mention all the single character spin-offs and the like. All I could do was give up in befuddlement.

The beauty of Joss's AXM, for me at least, was that it was a peace offering to start afresh with my old X-Men buddies. No need to really sort out all those other stories, just hitch on to this elegant mostly self-contained one. I'm very sure I'm missing out on subtle and not-so-subtle character and plot-points (the significance of Kitty's return, Colossus's death, etc), but AXM remains utterly enjoyable nevetheless.

And, yep, I confess to having given Ultimate X-Men a good go. It's fun, if inevitably a little throwaway.

SoddingNancyTribe | January 14, 03:44 CET

Which comic is Astonishing continuing from, though newbie friendly, it seems to be continuing from something else (Professor X's departure, Jean Gray's death (again))?

Ghost Spike | January 14, 03:53 CET

Ghost Spike, Astonishing is continuing where Grant Morrison's New X-Men left off, Uncanny picked up where X-Treme left off, and X-Men picked up where Uncanny left off before Claremont started writing it again. And the new New X-Men series used to be New Mutants. Confusing, no?

Marvel decided they needed to shuffle things around for the Reload event which turned out to be pointless and just confused casual readers.

And I agree with SNT, Onslaught was just a huge mess that didn't need to happen. It was fine until they decided to bring in the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and other characters that had nothing to do it with. They wanted to relaunch the books to get people interested in them again, so they messed up an X-Men storyline that could have been really good.

[ edited by thekey1313 on 2005-01-14 02:08 ]

Edited for spelling errors.

[ edited by thekey1313 on 2005-01-14 02:09 ]

thekey1313 | January 14, 04:05 CET

I know this is way off topic, but On the O.C. tonight one of the charactors walks in and says "hey did you guys read the latest Whedon X-Men"....I know not many are fans of the show but i liked the shout out to Joss...although it was followed up when one of the main charactors responded "yes and the problem i have with it is 3 fold."
Anyways thats all i have on the topic. sorry to those who hate the show or dont watch teen soaps.

Gunn 2 N's | January 14, 05:56 CET

No, I'm really glad you mentioned that, back_to_Gunn. I have several work colleagues who watch The O.C. religiously (if such a thing is possible), but sniff at my Buffy adoration . . . Joss mentions on that show is wonderful ammunition for me (and demonstrates some good taste on the part of the O.C. writers into the bargain).

Oh, and thanks for the props, key, but it was Kris who wrote about Onslaught. I've never heard of it, to be quite honest. Props where props is due.

SoddingNancyTribe | January 14, 07:27 CET

Oops, that's what I get for reading all the comments at once and then posting my own. Sorry Kris!

thekey1313 | January 14, 08:04 CET

Almost the entire 90's were a big mess in comicdom. Things certainly have changed for the better. The article mentions some nice things but raises my eyebrows at the same time. I know Claremont's work hasn't been up to snuff the last few years, not compared to his original stint, but to call him 'diarrheal' is going a bit far I think. The X-Men are today what they are mostly thanks to him. A little respect would be nice.

Secondly, Joss' Cyclops is a 'Kevin Bacon'? And his Beast a 'Wilford Brimley'? I'm sure this is all really astute and all, but....I kinda don't see it. Beast is a lot younger than that to begin with, and is also written with an intellectual wit and sensitivity. Mr Brimley is usual the rough'n tough cop/sherrif type. But hey, what do I know...

Oh and as for what's good in comics: pretty much anything by Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, etc.... And yeah Garth Ennis' "Preacher" must be seen to be believed. It's brilliant, but like SNT said, be warned, hehe. (I don't really know much of Ennis' other work so I didn't just list his name)

EdDantes | January 14, 21:11 CET