Like many people who work in the comic book retail industry who try and read beyond superhero comics and Silver Age sci-fi, Neil Gaiman's work was one of my go-to recommendations when someone came in looking for a safe entry point into comics. While there was always a Trigger Warning for some sexual assault content in Sandman, I would always mention that the sexual assault wasn't glorification or pornographic, it was a plot point where the victim was given agency and that the incident felt like a necessary part of the story, and not something the writer threw in to make a male character seem more heroic. I loved recommending Sandman, The Graveyard Book, 1602, Coraline, and Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? to people. The books themselves are still wonderful, and I haven't thrown out my copies of them but I don't know that I'll read them again, and I certainly won't be buying any more of his work. I understand anyone's reticence to support a sexual predator. Sadly, that looks to be what Gaiman is. The unmasking of Gaiman is the most disappointed I've been in someone who was outed as a predator. He has always been supportive of shops I've worked at, writers and artists I've enjoyed, and he even plugged this website once or twice. His social media account was wholesome, progressive, and important for many years. All of my interactions with Gaiman were pleasant and uplifting. Of course, I'm not a twenty-year-old white woman. If you were a big fan of Gaiman's who is looking for similar stories to replace the Neil sized hole in your reading experience, or if you're someone new to comics, looking for some fun non-superhero comics to consume without the sexual predator baggage, here's my list. ![]() Sandman is the series most comic book retailers will suggest as a starting point to non-superhero comics. Luckily, this is the easiest series to find alternatives for. Sandman is a myth-based fantasy series with a lot of religious trope-twisting and hugely-flawed characters trying-to-be, and getting, better by the end of the story. Dream, the protagonist of Sandman, mostly sucks. He's spent centuries being a power-hungry sad-sack-dick. The story is mostly his redemption amongst a community that's mostly apologized for his behavior, anyway. Talk about a self-insert. The most obvious replacement for this is Mike Carey's Lucifer, which is actually a spin-off of Sandman. During Sandman (which you do NOT have to read to follow any of this story), Lucifer renounced his position in Hell, left Dream in charge, and went off to start his own Creation. Lucifer is the story of the drama around that new creation. I have always recommended this as an addendum to Sandman. It's a better-written story. The narrative is more focused, the plot easier to follow, and the characters more likeable, even though they are just as flawed. It's currently available in five trade paperbacks, and I recommend the entire series. Mike Carey has also written an amazing series called Unwritten, which would be perfect for a list of fantastic magic books to read in place of either Neil Gaiman's Books Of Magic or JK Transphobe's Harry Potter books (which, if you can throw off your childhood-nostalgic glasses, aren't written very well, anyway). Unwritten follows a boy whose father wrote a series similar to the Harry Potter books, which he based on his son's likeness, and it's not long before the events of the children's books start spilling over into the protagonist's real life. I adore this series, and have reread it several times. Some people might suggest Bill Willingham's Fables as an alternative to Sandman. While Willingham is not a sexual predator to my knowledge, if you're trying to be progressive and support writers and artists without right wing baggage, you're going to want to skip out on any of his work, too. Fables is a series of diminishing returns anyway, so you're not missing much. ![]() Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Wicked + Divine is another fantastic series based around mythology that you can feel good about reading. It focuses on a pantheon of gods who are reborn every ninety years, and their 21st century versions are revered as pop stars. Flawed characters? Check. Religious themes? Check. Violent conflict? Check. Are the flawed characters likeable? Mostly. Is the art amazing? Hell YES. Visually, this is a much more striking book than anything I've listed so far. Written or drawn by irredeemable kaiju? Not that I've heard. The best part of this recommendation for me is that if someone loves Wicked + Divine, it's really easy to recommend the creative team's work on Young Avengers, which is a superhero book with a similar feel. And if you love that, too, I can tentatively recommend Phonogram, which was also written by the creative team but isn't as polished as the other books. But if you like British Pop, British Rock, or are just fans of writers who infuse their comics with music, then Boy Howdy is this series going to bring you joy. ![]() I think most comic book retail employees engaged with reading recent and/or current non-superhero comics will recommend Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's Monstress. It's a matriarchal fantasy story with some of the most gorgeous art in comic history. Takeda is about one or two series away from being my all-time favorite artist. She has backgrounds that are more complex and beautiful than most peoples' covers. That said, I have a hard time staying engaged with Monstress. I like the characters, I love the concept but the story gets a bit jumbled for me, and apart from the first couple of volumes, I couldn't tell you the overarching plot of the series, even though I've read the first six or seven volumes several times. Luckily, the same creative team also puts out Night Eaters. While the first volume has the dumbest subtitle in all of literature: She Eats The Night, the story is awesome. Mythology, generational trauma, and Sana Takeda's art make this one my favorite series from the last couple of years to recommend to people. ![]() I refuse to spoil anything about this book. Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is my #1 reality-grounded fantasy book recommendation. I think everyone who wants to read comics but not engage with superhero comics should read this book with no preconceptions. It's just one volume, and I have yet to have someone I've recommended the book to come back and tell me they didn't love it. ![]() Though more like Gaiman's American Gods than Sandman, Jonathan Hickman's East Of West is a mythology-based, post-apocalyptic fable about an America split into seven parts after a Civil War. Some of it hits close to reality but most of it is just excellent world-building on top of a fallen empire.
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The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment. The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into ten TV seasons. When last we left our heroes, everything seemed bleak. The Universe was ending. The Ultimate Universe was ending. No villain was victorious, except possibly the concept of entropy. And yet, at the last minute someone stepped in and saved as much as they could and has built a new universe. All hail God Doom. Just another night Doom wakes up with that name on his tongue. Season 10: Secret Wars (showrunner: Jonathan Hickman) Episode 1: Master Of Kung Fu Battleworld
(written by Haden Blackman and Peter Milligan, art by Dalibor Talajic) Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, Kitty Pride, and Lockheed are just some of the somewhat familiar faces in this world where all will battle to determine the next Master Of Kung Fu. Yeup, we’re starting Secret Wars off in an unusual manner. Master Of Kung Fu. 1 episode Episode 2: Marvel 1872 (written by Gerry Duggan, art by Nicole Verella and more) Next up, the Wild West, where Sheriff Steve Rogers is the drunk sheriff of Timely. Tony Stark is trying to get the sheriff sobered up because Wilson Fisk has put together a Wild West version of the Marvel rogues gallery. Plus, Dr. Banner and Red Wolf have to help out somehow, right? 1872. 1 episode Episode 3: Siege Battleworld (written by Kieron Gillen, art by Filipe Andrade) Abigail Brand guards the wall between battleworlds. She must defend them from characters trying to move between worlds. But how is she going to deal with Thanos when there are the hordes of Marvel Zombies, Ultrons, and other horrible things waiting just on the other side of the wall? The Great Wall. 1 episode Episode 4: Captain Marvel And The Carol CORPS (written by Kelly Sue Deconnick, art by Kelly Thompson) The Banshee Squad is an all female flight crew protecting the skies from Hydra. But when Carol believes her commanding officers have betrayed and lied to them, she takes things into her own hands. There will be consequences. Carol CORPS. 1 episode Episode 5: Ultimate End (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mark Bagley) The Ultimate Universe was destroyed. Earth 616 was destroyed. Yet both of their Manhattans still seem to exist and overlap. Different versions of multiple characters are at odds with each other to figure out exactly what’s going on and if it’s fixable. Ultimately. New York Is The Cockroach Of Cities. 1 episode Episode 6: Civil War Warzones (written by Charles Soule, art by Leinil Francis Yu) What if the Civil War over the Superhuman Registration Act never ended. What if it kept going through The Secret Invasion. What if it kept going through Dark Reign, and Siege, and AvX, and dear God Doom, what if it was still happening? Civil War Eternal. 1 episode Episode 7: Guardians Of Knowhere (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mike Deodato JR) The Guardians Of The Galaxy are living in a Celestial’s head. Most of them are acting like usual, but there’s one huge difference Gamora isn’t sure she believes that Doom is God. Blasphemy. Guardians Of Knowhere. 1 episode Episode 8: A-Force Warzones (written by G Willow Wilson, art by Marguerite Bennet) All your favorite female Avengers and heroes are living together in one world. But when one of them crosses the borders into another realm, Doom is displeased. And when God Doom is displeased, worlds tremble. A-Force. 1 episode Episode 9: Secret Wars Journal Battleworld (written by many, with art by a different many) An anthology adventure where we check in with all sorts of familiar Avengers characters and see how they’re doing in this zany series of worlds. Battleworlds. 1 episode Episode 10: Red Skull (written by Joshua Williamson, art by Luca Pizarri) Red Skull displeased God Doom, so God Doom sent him into the wasteland of Zombies and Ultrons to die. But did he die? A group of villains including The Winter Soldier and Magneto are sent to either find out or die. Or both. It’s not a mutually exclusive thing. Red Skull. 1 episode Episode 11: Runaways Battleworld (written by Noelle Stevenson, art by Sanford Greene) The Victor Von Doom Institute for Gifted Youths in Doomstadt? This is where the next generation of heroes is educated to love The God Doom, and to survive a constant series of battles. Rebelling against a death school SEEMS like a logical choice, but Bucky Barnes and The Doombots stand in their way. Runaways. 1 episode Episode 12: Infinity Gauntlet Warzones (written by Gerry Dugan and Dustin Weaver, art by Dustin Weaver) A small tale of a family that is just trying to survive Battleworld when they find an Infinity Gem and the good natured, always trustworthy, Thanos shows up to help them find more. I’m sure this will end happily for all. Infinity Gems Are Truly Outrageous. 1 episode Episode 13: Planet Hulk Warzones (written by Sam Humphries, art by Marc Laming) Steve Rogers and his trusty steed, Devil Dinosaur!, team up with Doc Green to battle all the rest of the Hulks. All. The rest. Of the. Hulks. Planet Hulks. 1 episode Episode 14: House Of M Warzones (written by Dennis Hopeless, art by Marco Failla) Oh, yea, it’s like if Magneto and his family ruled The Marvel Universe again. I remember that! Is Quicksilver a traitor in this universe, too? Bad Pietro! Houses Of M. 1 episode Episode 15: Age Of Ultron (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco) Technically, this isn’t a Secret Wars book at all. I didn’t want to shoehorn it anywhere else into continuity, though, so while we’re investigating all these other odd possible worlds, why not throw everybody’s favorite evil android into the mix. Age Of Ultron. 1 episode Episode 16: Thors (written by Jason Aaron, art by Chris Spouse) It’s Law & Order where every character is a Thor. Frog Thor. Beta Ray Bill. Storm. Ultimate Thor. Odinson. Odin. The only person missing is Jane Foster. That is, until versions of her body start popping up dead across the Battleworlds. Thors. 1 episode Serial 1: Secret Wars (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Esad Ribic) Everything explained! (We hope, the series hadn’t ended yet when I was making this list) How did Doom save the multiverse? Why didn’t Doctor Strange? How does Reed Richards from The Ultimate Universe fit into this? How does Reed Richards from Marvel 616 fit into this? Who, from those worlds, survived? Secret Wars. 4 episodes The final episode is 20 episodes, just like the rest. But wait, upon further reflection, this whole project was a misnomer! Look for Season 11 in January 2017! It's like Netflix saving your favorite show. The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment. The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into ten TV seasons. Last season saw the falls of Norman Osborn, and some in-depth time with Captain Marvel and the Hawkeyes. This season there’s one of those The World Will End Crises that our heroes always end up solving. This time, though, they might be out of luck. Could someone call The Night Nurse? I think Steve has “assembled” in his red, white, and blue Depends. art by Stuart Immonen Season 8: Avengers World (showrunner: Jonathan Hickman) Episode 1: Captain America The Tomorrow Soldier
(written by Rick Remender, art by Carlos Pacheco, Paul Renaud, Stuart Immonen, and Bruce Timm) It’s the end of the Dimension Z storyline from last season. What happens when Captain America has to make the penultimate sacrifice, and lose the effects of The Super Solider Serum? Well, for starters, we’re gonna need a new Captain America. The Tomorrow Soldier. 1 episode Episode 2: Avengers Avengers World (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Jerome Opena and Adam Kubert) Something is on the horizon that’s going to require every Avenger ever, and some who haven’t been Avengers before to work together to save not just the planet but the entire Universe. Tony Stark just might be able to pull it all together. Avengers World. 1 episode Serial 1: New Avengers Everything Dies, Avengers The Last White Event (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Steve Epting, Dustin Weaver, and Mike Deodato JR) Apocalyptic space shenanigans as The Builders prepare to rebuild a universe over the remains of the Marvel 616. Everything Dies. 2 episodes Episode 5: Avengers Prelude To Infinity (written by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer art by Mike Deodato JR and Stefano Caselli) The High Evolutionary and The Builders aren’t the only problem the Marvel Universe is facing. The Savage Land is giving birth to something new, and there’s a big purple faced Death fetishist looming on the horizon. The Builders. 1 episode Serial 2: Infinity (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Jim Cheung, Jerome Opena, Dustin Weaver, Mike Deodato JR, Stefano Caselli, Francis Leinil Yu) Thanos and Builders and Avengers, oh my. The Avengers get Even Bigger as the stakes get Even Higher. Do yourself a favor, don’t buy the Avengers Infinity and New Avengers Infinity trades, buy the big Infinity trade paperback, as it contains the entire storyline in the order in which it’s meant to be read. This is possibly the first time Marvel has ever actually collected the story in a precise way. Infinity. 2 episodes Episode 8: Hawkeye LA Woman (written by Matt Fraction, art by Amy Wu and Javier Pulido) Screw that Barton guy, let’s follow Kate Bishop to the West Coast where she falls into one of Madame Masque’s schemes. This is an almost noir story and is the most west coast this comic has been since Scarlet Witch had those imaginary babies! LA Woman. 1 episode Episode 9: All New Captain America Hydra Ascendant (written by Rick Remender, art by Stuart Immonen) Falcon is the new Captain America. Watch him battle Steve Rogers’s old foes. When you cut one down, two more appear in their place. Hydra Ascendant. 1 episode Serial 4: Hawkeye Rio Bravo (written by Matt Fraction, art by David Aja, Annie Wu, and Francesco Francavilla) It’s the end of the Bro saga, as Hawkeye and Hawkeye are reunited to take down the mob that threatens Clint’s apartment complex. Such tiny stakes. Such big adventures. Rio Bravo. 2 episodes Episode 12: Secret Avengers Reverie, Secret Avengers Iliad (written by Nick Spencer, art by Butch Guice, Luke Ross, and Ed Brisson) Nick Fury creates yet another Secret Ops team to deal with yadda yadda yadda. Amongst their first problems? AIM. The Somewhat Secret Avengers. 1 episode Episode 13: Avengers World AIMpire (written by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer, art by Stefano Caselli) With all of the cosmic going-ons in this season, we need a team on Earth to handle the global problems that actually take place on the globe. A couple of former X-Men and some of the new space spawned Avengers team up to take down AIM from the inside. AIMpire. 1 episode Episode 14: Avengers Undercover Descent, Avengers Undercover Going Native (Written by Dennis Hopeless, art by Kev Walker, Tigh Walker, and Timothy Greene) Remember those teenagers who barely survived Arcade’s Murderworld last season? Well, The Avengers have decided to send them all undercover to help solve a case that they don’t have time for. This might backfire. Avengers Undercover. 1 episode Episode 15: Avengers Adapt Or Die (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Esad Ribic and Salvador Larroca) The Avengers go back into their past to fix their future. That solution ALWAYS works. Just asks the X-Men. Adapt Or Die. 1 episode Serial 3: Avengers World Ascension, Avengers World Next World (written by Nick Spencer and Al Ewing, art by Marco Checchetto, Stefano Caselli, and Dale Keown) AIM is a huge problem but they’re not the only problem Earth has. Avengers are sent all over the world from Madripoor to Italy to deal with “trouble spots”. Next World. 2 episodes Serial 4: Young Avengers Style>Substance, Young Avengers Alternative Cultures, Young Avengers Mic Drop At The Edge Of Time And Space (written by Kieron Gillen, art by Jamie McKelvie) Things have been getting super apocalyptical for all of the Avengers team, let’s take a lighthearted break to see how the next generation handles it when all parents go Evil. Ok, so this gets apocalyptical, too, but in a different, more stylish youthy way. Parents Just Don’t Understand. 2 episodes Episode 20: Captain Marvel Higher Further Faster More (written by Kelly Sue Deconnick, art by David Lopez) Carol Danvers goes back into space to solve a refugee crisis. The Guardians Of The Galaxy make a brief attempt to help her but she’s mainly on her own. This is one of the more well-thought-out, well-written, non-preachy political comics Marvel has put out in years. Original Sin. 1 episode Season 8, like all of its predecessors is 20 episodes |
January 2025
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