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The Death of

4 Comics
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Superheros are Awesome But...


"As a child, I wished I was a mutant (save your quips please). I loved the X-Men, and I always wished I had the "X-Gene," so I could fly or "BAMF" my way around town. The idea of having super-powers and saving the world was incredibly appealing to me. However, as I grew older, I moved away from the super-hero genre. There were many reasons, as a lifelong comic book fan, that this happened, and while there's still a place in my heart for super-heroes and their stories of saving the world, but the transition into adulthood made me want to read books that appeal more to the stage of life I'm currently in." -Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring

There's something for everyone...


It's not all just about strong-men in tights, punching the bad guy, and saving the damsel in distress. In the past couple of decades, the market has really opened up to provide new genres in this mixed media form of storytelling. Science fiction, fantasy, romance, and war books are the real driving force behind many independent companies. When I say "independent companies," what I really mean is "not Marvel and DC." These companies are taking a different approach to the decades old tradition or story telling.


Here are 4 critically acclaimed comic series that shake up and shake out of the Superhero Box.

The Comics

Destiny

The Sandman

The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Its artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, and Michael Zulli, with lettering by Todd Klein and covers by Dave McKean. Beginning with issue No. 47, it was placed under the Vertigo imprint. It tells the story of Dream of the Endless, who rules over the world of dreams. The original series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996.

Critically acclaimed, The Sandman was one of the first few graphic novels ever to be on the New York Times Best Seller list, along with Maus, Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. It was one of five graphic novels to make Entertainment Weekly's "100 best reads from 1983 to 2008," ranking at No. 46. Norman Mailer described the series as "a comic strip for intellectuals." The series is noted for having a large influence over the fantasy genre and graphic novel medium since then.

Lazarus

Lazarus

Lazarus is a dystopian science fiction comic book series created by writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark.

It was that the Eisner-winning team of Greg Rucka and Michael Lark teamed up in 2011 to create Lazarus. In a dystopian near-future, government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and possession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family’s holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. The first few pages of the comic are gripping with Forever Carlyle shot dead defending the family home. There’s no better or more frighting depiction of a dystopian future in any medium than Lazarus. Lazarus is also in development as a TV show.

Maxx

The Maxx

The Maxx is an American comic book series created by Sam Kieth in 1993 and originally published monthly by Image Comics, then collected in trade paperback by DC Comic's Wildstorm imprint. Starting in November, 2013, it has been republished by IDW with new colors and improved scans of the original artwork by Sam Kieth and Jim Sinclair. The comic book, starring an eponymous purple hero, spawned an animated series on MTV. The first appearance of The Maxx was in Primer #5, published by Comico Comics.

The series wasn’t as popular as the first superhero wave of Image books from the early 90s but The Maxx was always critically acclaimed and continues to be recognised as a unique work by Keith. For being the first critical darling and the first Image comic to get an adaptation The Maxx rightly deserves its place in the top 10. Recently IDW Publishing started to republished The Maxx in a recolorized format with some new artwork from Kieth. Check out the first volume on Amazon.

Saga

Saga

Saga is an epic space opera/fantasy comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples, published monthly by the American company Image Comics. The series is heavily influenced by Star Wars and is based on ideas Vaughan conceived both as a child and as a parent. The comic was described in solicitations as "Star Wars meets Game of Thrones", and by critics as evocative of both science fiction and fantasy epics such as The Lord of the Rings and classic works like Romeo and Juliet. It is Vaughan's first creator-owned work to be published through Image Comics, and is the first time he employs narration in his comics writing.

It has been a consistent sales success, since it's first appearance in 2012, with its collected editions outselling those of The Walking Dead, another successful Image comic.

The series has been met with wide critical acclaim, and is one of the most celebrated comics being published in the United States. It has also garnered numerous awards, including twelve Eisner and seventeen Harvey Awards between 2013 and 2017. The first trade paperback collection won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. It has also been noted for its diverse portrayal of ethnicity, sexuality and gender social roles, and for its treatment of war.