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I definitely agree with Hush. It's okay, but it's absurd to see it consistently on lists of the greatest Batman stories.
For similar reasons, I'd add the Claremont/ Lee X-Men. Which may make it seem like I've got something against Jim Lee.
I'd also rate Y The Last Man, and Adrian Alphona and G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel as a decent comic, with an inflated reputation. Although part of it may just be that I was exposed to different finite mature action serials and teen superhero year one stories earlier, so I may be biased in favor of Preacher and Bendis/ Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man, whereas someone else might have found the same sweet spot with Mike Grell's John Sable Freelance, and the early adventures of the Tim Drake Robin.
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[QUOTE=C_Miller;4351541]For me, I think it depends on when you read it. TLH was the first Batman comic I read as a thirteen year old and it absolutely captivated me. I'm still pretty high on it as an adult probably for that reason. Plot contrivances and all.
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Personally for me, I don't like the term overrated because it makes me feel like I'm placing my opinion over the general populous. Like I'm the one with the correct taste and everyone else is an idiot. I do have comics with widespread popularity that I can't get into. Dark Knight Returns is a big one. I just can't get into it.[/QUOTE]
These underrated/ overrated discussions also got kind of weird since it requires several frames of reference. You're talking about your impression of a work, as well as your impression about how the work has been received by the wider public.
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[QUOTE=Spike-X;4351456]I think I find Azzarello overrated in general. I can't think of one thing he's written that I've enjoyed. [/QUOTE]
*cough*Dr Thirteen*cough*
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[QUOTE=Spike-X;4350986]100 Bullets. I've read the first tpb twice, years apart, and both times it didn't grab me at all.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Timothy Hunter;4351032]There are one off stories and brief story arcs in 100 Bullets that I find downright brilliant, but the overwhelming bulk of the series leaves me cold. This is someone speaking as a fan of Azzarello. It's tad odd that I enjoy virtually all of his work, except the ongoing he is probably most known for.[/QUOTE]
A couple of quick things here...
- If you've only read the first trade of [B][I]100 Bullets[/I][/B], it honestly has almost nothing to do with the actual story.
- As for the bulk of the series not being for you, I honestly believe that many of the characters(heck, just the minutemen) are written to be characters that are not even remotely likeable. It also seems like there are what would have been interesting parts of the story(a lot of what's left out of Jack's story) that were left out intentionally.
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[QUOTE=Stony;4352734]*cough*Dr Thirteen*cough*[/QUOTE]
Is that particular story really overrated though?
I think I may be the one actual fan of it.
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[QUOTE=Personamanx;4340534]When I think of overrated comics, my mine tends to jump towards the work of Garth Ennis. [/QUOTE]
I find him probably the most reliable writer in comics. His work tends to work on multiple levels, but a lot of people seem put off by the crude/shocking exterior (which I know wasn't your complaint but it is a lot of people's).
[QUOTE=jb681131;4343335]The Killing Joke by Alan Moore
Hush by Jeph Loeb
Batman (New52) by Scott Snyder[/QUOTE]
Yup
[QUOTE=GOLGO 13;4347560]I could never get into Ditko's artwork. Amateur is what it feels like.[/QUOTE]
Yeah. Spiderman has a great costume, but that's pretty much where it ends for me.
[QUOTE=Spike-X;4350986]100 Bullets. I've read the first tpb twice, years apart, and both times it didn't grab me at all.[/QUOTE]
FWIW, the third TPB is where it really kicks in (which I think might be in the second TPB with the newer editions)
[QUOTE=tbaron;4351039]I was really underwhelmed by The Long Halloween[/QUOTE]
Yeah. Glorious art, but the story isn't great.
For me (other than what I've said above):
Chris Claremont's X-Men - All of it.
Casanova
Legion of Superheroes: The Great Darkness Saga
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
Everything by John Ostrander
Everything by Christopher Priest
Y: The Last Man - I like Vaughan a lot, but found this to be one of his weaker works.
The Immortal Iron Fist
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[QUOTE=Mister Mets;4351986]I definitely agree with Hush. It's okay, but it's absurd to see it consistently on lists of the greatest Batman stories.[/QUOTE]
Hush was the first time I ever stopped reading one of my regular titles midway through a story. I was ambivalent towards Jim Lee, but excited for Jeph Loeb, due to his prior Bat-work. But six issues in, I was so bored with that book. It was the first time I got really annoyed with the Batman title and would leave it for a while. Or at least till the end of that story.
I'll add Morrison's Bat-work. Pretty much all of it. Some of it was fun enough, but overall I wasn't into it and ended up dropping Batman. I don't think I ever went back to buying Batman regularly again after that.
Also, I really miss All-Star Batman and Robin.
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I've always thought Ultimate Spider-man was over rated.
It always takes too long for anything to happen and the characters all talked with this same "aren't I clever" kind of dialogue. Most of the character redesigns were also pretty horrible and often seemed to miss the point of what made the characters interesting to begin with.
The art was great though.
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Pretty much everything penned by Claremont. Also, I've never really like Warren Ellis' work.
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Kingdom Come and What's So Funny About Truth, Justice And the American Way.
Two morally confused stories that failed as critiques of the types of stories they were attacking. The former has good art.
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I think for some of these the state of the writing of comics stories at the time need to be taken into context.
When they were released [I]The Dark Knight Returns[/I] and [I]The Killing Joke[/I] were a wide departure from almost everything being printed.
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[QUOTE=Things Fall Apart;4353447]Pretty much everything penned by Claremont. Also, I've never really like Warren Ellis' work.[/QUOTE]
I liked his Doom 2099 and Thunderbolts. I think his version of Norman Osborn is what propelled him into being the focus of Dark Reign (which wasn't as good as it should have been)
But as to the OP, I agree with:
The Killing Joke
Fraction's Hawkeye
And will add Watchmen. I don't know, I guess I was expecting more with all the hype before the movie came out so I bought the TPB. I thought the Tales of the Black
Freighter parts were more interesting than the bulk of it.
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For what it's worth, even Alan Moore thinks [I]The Killing Joke[/I] was overrated. These days he gives most of the credit to Brian Bolland's art for elevating the comic to the above average level.
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[QUOTE=ZombieHavoc;4353045]
Also, I really miss All-Star Batman and Robin.[/QUOTE]
Have you sought professional mental health advice? :p
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[QUOTE=ed2962;4353595]For what it's worth, even Alan Moore thinks [I]The Killing Joke[/I] was overrated. These days he gives most of the credit to Brian Bolland's art for elevating the comic to the above average level.[/QUOTE]
Absolutely. While The Killing Joke would still have it's fans solely on the notion that it is penned by Alan Moore, it would never be the critical and commercial darling it is today without Brian Bolland. It would probably be considered to be on par in quality and popularity as Alan Moore's lesser one off Batman stories. Think his Green Arrow two parter in Detective Comics or Mortal Clay. Because aside from Bolland's exquisite pencils, and John Higgins' atmospheric coloring, the story itself is really not that special. The Killing Joke really is a glorified retelling of Detective Comics #168 with the crippling and implied rape of Barbara Gordon awkwardly intertwined.