Recommend Adventure Comics

[overread]

So there isn't really a general-comic section and since such comics might be published by some of the bigger names as well as independents I wasn't sure where to put this - so I hope its in the right section.

I'm a fan of Conan and Red Sonja style comics and whilst I'm a long way from owning even a drop in the ocean that is the Conan series (kinda waiting to see if they do another big bundle or humble bundle style event for Conan); I've read most of the Sonja crop of comics (barring the newest, I'm of the opinion that once Dynamite completed their major story ark a while back they've not really known what to do with Sonja and are getting a bit random with what they try out).

I'm also a fan of the DnD and Pathfinder comics as well as the more comical and crazy Rat Queens. I'm also reading the Black Moon Chronicles as it slowly gets published in digital; which whilst a series of adventures is closer to a saga.


But I'm on the lookout to see if there's any other fantasy adventure style comics out there that are worth looking into. Either shorter series or long running. As you might tell from my tastes above I tend to prefer a more serious angle; or at least a mature angle in the stories.

[Jack Dracula]

So there isn't really a general-comic section and since such comics might be published by some of the bigger names as well as independents I wasn't sure where to put this - so I hope its in the right section.

I'm a fan of Conan and Red Sonja style comics and whilst I'm a long way from owning even a drop in the ocean that is the Conan series (kinda waiting to see if they do another big bundle or humble bundle style event for Conan); I've read most of the Sonja crop of comics (barring the newest, I'm of the opinion that once Dynamite completed their major story ark a while back they've not really known what to do with Sonja and are getting a bit random with what they try out).

I'm also a fan of the DnD and Pathfinder comics as well as the more comical and crazy Rat Queens. I'm also reading the Black Moon Chronicles as it slowly gets published in digital; which whilst a series of adventures is closer to a saga.


But I'm on the lookout to see if there's any other fantasy adventure style comics out there that are worth looking into. Either shorter series or long running. As you might tell from my tastes above I tend to prefer a more serious angle; or at least a mature angle in the stories.

I've been reading good things about Birthright from Joshua Williamson.

[Sharkerbob]

Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Grey - While I found the storyline rather tepid for my taste, the premise is pretty cool, about an adventurer who gains powers from "dream stones", each of which holds the spirit of a literary figure that lends him power. Early 1900s globe trotting adventure.

Mage: The Hero Trilogy (Discovered/Defined/Denied) - An urban fantasy series about reincarnated mythological heroes as plain-clothes superheroes battling monsters creeping into the world. The series follows the reincarnation of King Arthur. Each series is short, with years going between publishings, but the third part of the trilogy has only just started, so there's no time like the present to catch up!

Elric of Melnibone, various series - While this started, and continues, as a series of short stories and novels, there are a number of comic book adaptations, some of which even the original author have considered to be the "proper version" of the series. Elric is perhaps the first example of a Dark Fantasy Hero, so if you like the high-fantasy adventure of Conan and DnD with a weirder tone, you might want to check these out.

Sojourn - One of the many CrossGen series that sadly was never completed, this is a fairly standard fantasy quest in a DnD-esque world featuring a female archer trying to put together the pieces of a mystic arrow to destroy a recently resurrected dark sorcerer. Less connected than most titles to the main CrossGen meta-plot, it stands on its own pretty well, even if it does end prematurely.

Low - In the distant future, where human kind has fled to underwater cities to escape the sun's destructive expansion, a lost and scattered family seeks a means to recover a lost beacon that may lead to an inhabitable world. This is a science fiction series, of course, but is suitably "adventurous", I feel.

Cerebus the Aardvark - An indy magnum opus that chronicles the life of Cerebus, who is basically Conan if Conan was a talking cartoon Aardvark in a comical low-fantasy setting. Cerebus is also the only anthro in the series (to my knowledge), so sometimes the humor revolves around him dwelling in human societies, and no one really seems to bat an eye that he's a talking animal. A lot of other humor comes from other parody characters, and just the weird circumstances he ends up in. This series comes in giant phonebook-sized collections, and the series runs about 300 issues. The first two collections are pretty good, after that I can't speak to the quality (I hear the author starts using the comic to soap-box rather heavily).

Xenozoic Tales/Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - A post-apocalyptic setting where a great disaster set back human civilization to a pre-Industrial society, but certain characters have learned the art of refurbishing and rebuilding old technologies, including old vehicles. However, this same disaster also somehow resurrected dinosaurs, and created a race of mysterious semi-telepathic mutants. Obviously not "fantasy" in the traditional sense, but a beautifully drawn series with some more pulp-era style adventure leanings.

Stuff of Legend - Living toys seek to rescue their human owner from the clutches of the Boogey Man from the fantasy world of the Dark. While it sounds silly, the comic takes itself seriously as a fairy tale-esque rescue mission.

Joe the Barbarian - A boy suffering from diabetes goes on an almost Wonderland-esque fantasy adventure via strange hallucinations brought on by his illness. It's not quite as weird as it sounds.

Bone - A fairly long series, but one you can find in an all-in-one omnibus collection. Like Cerebus, it features overtly cartoony looking characters (the Bone brothers) adventuring through a medieval human society, where they get wrapped up in all sorts of fantasy adventure shenanigans.

Pakkin's Land - A younger-audience comic where a young boy falls into a world of talking animals and medieval human warriors, chosen by a god-like figure to aid the heroes of the world. Think closer to something like Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Demon Knights - This is a fantasy adventure title set in the past of the Nu52 version of the DC Universe. As such, it features immortal characters you'd recognize from modern-era DC, and characters linked to the mythos of such. While I have not read it myself, I've heard repeatedly that it was one of the best titles of that era of DC.

[Mister Mets]

I'll second the recommendation for Cerebus, especially the first six volumes, although it does become structurally quite different.

Brian Wood's Northlanders is a solid viking era period piece.

Fables is an excellent fantasy series, one of the best Vertigo titles of the last twenty years, covering a secret society of fairy tale characters.



Usagi Yojimbo is a uniformly excellent series, reimagining the adventures of a ronin in a feudal Japan, with ghosts, secret societies of ninjas, and other fantasy elements.



Here's a positive review.

Sergio Aragones' Groo the Wanderer is a decent parody of fantasy tropes.

[Spike-X]

Autumnlands by Kurt Busiek and Benjamin Dewey is pretty good.

For a different type of adventure, there's Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang.

[batnbreakfast]

Northlanders
(seconded, not sure if Black Road is a continuation of Northlanderes)

WonderWoman/Conan
(upcoming Mini)

Hellboy or B.P.R.D. or Lobster Johnson
(since both the Hellboy universe and Conan mix some HPLovecraftian stuff in their stories)

[PaulBullion]

I'll second Autumnlands.

Marvel's Weird World series ended way too soon.