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  1. #1
    Spectacular Member Agent John Bishop's Avatar
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    Default Pretty Deadly, Shutter, and books from unproven writers

    I am a big fan of Image comics. My pull list is now pretty much only Image titles. However, I have noticed the best luck I have had is by trying authors I trust. For example, Remender has always disappointed me, and his Image stuff, despite looking really good, hasn't changed that.

    Anyhow, I wanted to make a thread to see what people think of titles that are from unproven, young, and new writers. Firstly, what is do you people think of "Shutter" and "Pretty Deadly"? I want to try both at some point, but my experience with Keatinge (Hell Yeah! and Glory) have both been iffy and Deconnick is new to me. How are these titles and how do they compare with the authors ever work?

    Further, who is doing great work at Image which has a low profile outside of Image (perahps not having done much for the big two)?

  2. #2
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    I've quite enjoyed Pretty Deadly. I'd give that a go, though it seems to be over.

    Being as steeped in comics as those of us on this board tend to be it's hard to know what is, or is not, 'high profile' at a company like Image. The true non high profile books are probably at other companies, these days, as being part of Image immediately gives one a certain cache, now.

    That said, I'm quite enjoying all the work of Brandon Graham, and can't recommend Prophet, Multiple Warheads, and King City enough. I don't believe they sell much.

  3. #3
    "Comic Book Reviewer" InformationGeek's Avatar
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    I haven't read much of Joe Keatinge's work outside of the first issue of Marvel Knights Hulk (which I liked), so not much to comment on him. I like Shutter, but it's kind of an average title to me. Nothing that really makes it so special or amazing, but still delivers an enjoyable experience and a decent read.

    I have read a bit of Kelly Sue DeConnick's work from Marvel. I loved her Avengers Assemble run, easily walking over most of the Avengers book currently out there with characters with real personality and good dialogue (Hickman seems to not know how to do that with Avengers); and her Captain Marvel book is fine (wish she would write Spider-Woman instead of Hopeless, but what are you going to do). Pretty Deadly, however, is nowhere as good. The series seems like it really wants to make the audience think the story is grand, mysterious, and on a higher plane than most books with its unique and grandiose style of telling the story. However, the writing really comes off as pretentious, the characters are not particularly memorable or likeable, and it gets really dull at points as the story seems to wander around with little direction. Easily one of the weakest Image books I read, especially when I seen a similiar style of storytelling done so much better (The Unwritten).

    For a person who is doing good work but has a low profile, Chris Dingess of Manfiest Destiny and Ed Brission of Sheltered are delivering on some fantastic and truly amazing books from Image, that seem to go unnotice I feel. You should definitely read those books if you haven't already.

  4. #4
    Spectacular Member Agent John Bishop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by InformationGeek View Post
    I haven't read much of Joe Keatinge's work outside of the first issue of Marvel Knights Hulk (which I liked), so not much to comment on him. I like Shutter, but it's kind of an average title to me. Nothing that really makes it so special or amazing, but still delivers an enjoyable experience and a decent read.

    I have read a bit of Kelly Sue DeConnick's work from Marvel. I loved her Avengers Assemble run, easily walking over most of the Avengers book currently out there with characters with real personality and good dialogue (Hickman seems to not know how to do that with Avengers); and her Captain Marvel book is fine (wish she would write Spider-Woman instead of Hopeless, but what are you going to do). Pretty Deadly, however, is nowhere as good. The series seems like it really wants to make the audience think the story is grand, mysterious, and on a higher plane than most books with its unique and grandiose style of telling the story. However, the writing really comes off as pretentious, the characters are not particularly memorable or likeable, and it gets really dull at points as the story seems to wander around with little direction. Easily one of the weakest Image books I read, especially when I seen a similiar style of storytelling done so much better (The Unwritten).

    For a person who is doing good work but has a low profile, Chris Dingess of Manfiest Destiny and Ed Brission of Sheltered are delivering on some fantastic and truly amazing books from Image, that seem to go unnotice I feel. You should definitely read those books if you haven't already.
    Interesting. People seem totally in love with Shutter, but your impression is sort of how I felt about the issue I read (the first was free on comixology recently).

    I just read The Sixth Gun and I love East of West so I was curious about Pretty Deadly since it would make for a weird west trifecta, but it sounds like the least good of the three.

    I will have to try Sheltered and Manifest Destiny! Thanks for the recommendations, that was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.

  5. #5
    Spectacular Member Agent John Bishop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deniz Camp View Post
    I've quite enjoyed Pretty Deadly. I'd give that a go, though it seems to be over.

    Being as steeped in comics as those of us on this board tend to be it's hard to know what is, or is not, 'high profile' at a company like Image. The true non high profile books are probably at other companies, these days, as being part of Image immediately gives one a certain cache, now.

    That said, I'm quite enjoying all the work of Brandon Graham, and can't recommend Prophet, Multiple Warheads, and King City enough. I don't believe they sell much.

    Actually, Brandon Graham is one of my very favorite authors whom I discovered through Image (cannot put into words how great Prophet and King City are). However, he doesn't work with the big two and despite being acclaimed, seems a little marginalized sometimes. So I guess he's the sort of guy I am searching for and wondering about.

    Also, is Pretty Deadly really done? I thought it was going to be an ongoing.

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    pygophile and podophile Dr. Cheesesteak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent John Bishop View Post
    Also, is Pretty Deadly really done? I thought it was going to be an ongoing.
    It should be coming back. That was always the intention. I believe it even says so in #5. The first arc is pretty stand alone. I liked it a lot, however, I don't see myself picking up any future issues. The first arc was a nice inclusive story that I don't really want any further expansion on.

    Shutter? I read #1 and though it was decent. Interesting premise, characters, and world. But it just didn't grab me.

    Quote Originally Posted by InformationGeek View Post
    For a person who is doing good work but has a low profile, Chris Dingess of Manfiest Destiny and Ed Brission of Sheltered are delivering on some fantastic and truly amazing books from Image, that seem to go unnotice I feel. You should definitely read those books if you haven't already.
    qft. Manifest Destiny is one of my favorite books out there. The first couple issues of Sheltered I read were really good. I liked the premise, though I thought some of the characters were very unlikable. But I gotta pick and choose what to keep paying for, and unfortunately it didn't make the cut.

    As for OP's other points, I too kind of stick to writers I know and like, though I'm always willing to give writers I'm unfamiliar w/ a chance (see above, I've never read any of KSD, Keatinge, Dingess, or Brisson's work prior to the aforementioned titles), and hopefully find a new favorite!
    Comics were definitely happier, breezier and more confident in their own strengths before Hollywood and the Internet turned the business of writing superhero stories into the production of low budget storyboards or, worse, into conformist, fruitless attempts to impress or entertain a small group of people who appear to hate comics and their creators. -- Grant Morrison, 2008

    Sometimes things are special because they don't last. -- Zhi, Tales from the Loop

  7. #7
    Spectacular Member Agent John Bishop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Cheesesteak View Post
    But I gotta pick and choose what to keep paying for, and unfortunately it didn't make the cut.

    As for OP's other points, I too kind of stick to writers I know and like, though I'm always willing to give writers I'm unfamiliar w/ a chance (see above, I've never read any of KSD, Keatinge, Dingess, or Brisson's work prior to the aforementioned titles), and hopefully find a new favorite!
    Yeah, I have this weird complex with ongoings involving the money thing. I stopped reading comics for a long time and then a guy at the shop handed me East of West and I got into that along with a slew of other Image titles. In fact so many Image comics have been good that I feel stressed out and poor from trying to keep up with it all. All that is a prelude to the fact that now I am almost too comfortable with not reading titles that I don't immediately love (because there are for once a bunch that I do).

    So it's helpful to me to find out which titles aren't just good enough to keep going, but are something really excellent. Some that people recommend have been great (I got turned on to Zero and more recently The Sixth Gun) and others have been misses (liked but didn't love Unwritten, Chew, and Revival). So what it comes down to is it's fun to try new stuff but also a necessity to be picky.

  8. #8
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    new and unproven writers of today may just be the greats of tomorrow...or...yknow... give up XD hey, anything is possible XD and it is usually as much of a risk as picking up many book by an unknown autthor

  9. #9
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    Ultimately there's no accounting for personal taste, so going by buzz is as decent a rubric as any.

    Image, as far as I can tell, is no longer the place for new voices, really. Not primarily. Look at the field of offerings - how many writers doing work at Image are doing their first book, or anywhere near their first book? A handful, no more. Steve Orlando, Kurtis J. Wiebe, Keatinge was one (after being the manager of publicity for a while), etc.

    I don't blame them, at all; they get many submissions and can only produce so many books, and books by already experienced creators are better bets in every regard; more likely to get produced by someone who has a history of actually getting things done, more likely to be picked up by the fanbase of...someone who actually has a fanbase, more likely to be good from someone who has some experience under their belt.

    But if you're asking for 'under the radar' creators at Image, I think you're limiting yourself; your "Sixth Gun" example is from Oni, for example. Dark Horse and Monkeybrain are doing some very good stuff by giving newer creators a chance to try some things (Dark Horse presents has a nice array, and they're doing Pop with Curt Pires, who in turn did Theremin for Monkeybrain which I really loved, before it abruptly ended mid stream).

    And obviously if you're not reading The Private Eye or Saga, you're missing out on some excellent, smart, emotionally mature comics.

  10. #10
    pygophile and podophile Dr. Cheesesteak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent John Bishop View Post
    Yeah, I have this weird complex with ongoings involving the money thing. I stopped reading comics for a long time and then a guy at the shop handed me East of West and I got into that along with a slew of other Image titles. In fact so many Image comics have been good that I feel stressed out and poor from trying to keep up with it all. All that is a prelude to the fact that now I am almost too comfortable with not reading titles that I don't immediately love (because there are for once a bunch that I do).

    So it's helpful to me to find out which titles aren't just good enough to keep going, but are something really excellent. Some that people recommend have been great (I got turned on to Zero and more recently The Sixth Gun) and others have been misses (liked but didn't love Unwritten, Chew, and Revival). So what it comes down to is it's fun to try new stuff but also a necessity to be picky.
    I understand that first part. For me, too, specifically for indies, if I don't immediately think "wow, I gotta keep reading this," chances are it may not make it to #2. At least in my most recent phase of wanting to buy more DC than indies. If I'm in a big indie phase, I'll usually be more lenient and indies will get a longer leash before I feel the need to cut them.

    Additionally, there are some titles I don't even get the chance to read #1 and end up trade-waiting, or sometimes even preemptively plan to trade-wait.

    One thing I've also found out that has helped me in pull-list decision-making is variety. In a...variety of categories - writing style, characters, genre, art, etc.

    I love all 3 Remender books, but the writing style is (obviously) is so similar between them - full of heart, philosophical reflections, and physical conflicts to progress the story. Do I "need" to read all 3 to get that fix? Can I cut 2 and make room for something more light-hearted or thought-provoking, noirish or zombie-ish, etc etc. If Drifter and Roche Limit are too similar in story and style, is it worth paying the monthly price for both? Or should I just trade-wait one down the line? etc etc. I try to keep what I read as diverse as possible, even if it means cutting what titles I'd like to keep reading (thankful for TPBs!)

    edit:
    In fact, I actually have to make some pull list adjustments tonight! Tomorrow I update my pull list for Oct (and from what it looks like, all the way up to December)!
    Last edited by Dr. Cheesesteak; 09-20-2014 at 11:11 PM.
    Comics were definitely happier, breezier and more confident in their own strengths before Hollywood and the Internet turned the business of writing superhero stories into the production of low budget storyboards or, worse, into conformist, fruitless attempts to impress or entertain a small group of people who appear to hate comics and their creators. -- Grant Morrison, 2008

    Sometimes things are special because they don't last. -- Zhi, Tales from the Loop

  11. #11
    of House Bolton Ramsay Snow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent John Bishop View Post
    Interesting. People seem totally in love with Shutter, but your impression is sort of how I felt about the issue I read (the first was free on comixology recently).

    I just read The Sixth Gun and I love East of West so I was curious about Pretty Deadly since it would make for a weird west trifecta, but it sounds like the least good of the three.
    I tried out Pretty Deadly via the first tpb...I didn't get the hype. Another person in this thread referred to the writing as pretentious. I wouldn't describe it as such, I simply found it dull.

    An apt comparison might be a cross between East of West and The Sandman, but lacking any of the magic of those two titles. Also, aside from the writing, I didn't like the art in Pretty Deadly. At times it was appealing, but what bothered me most was it's the type of style wherein you can't really tell what's going on during the action scenes.


    Quote Originally Posted by Agent John Bishop View Post

    So it's helpful to me to find out which titles aren't just good enough to keep going, but are something really excellent. Some that people recommend have been great (I got turned on to Zero and more recently The Sixth Gun) and others have been misses (liked but didn't love Unwritten, Chew, and Revival). So what it comes down to is it's fun to try new stuff but also a necessity to be picky.
    I felt the same way about Chew. It wasn't bad, but I didn't like it enough to continue with it. I dove in big by purchasing the Smorgasboard Edition (Essentially an Absolute collection), so I read twenty issues worth of the storyline.

    The titles I currently buy from Image are East of West, Velvet, Lazarus, Zero, Jupiter's Legacy, and Starlight......EoW, Velvet, and Lazarus are my three favorite current/on-going comics (With EoW being my favorite of all), while Zero, Jupiter's Legacy, and Starlight are good, but I wouldn't particularly rave about them. In regard to Zero, I've only read the first five issues. I'm soon going to start on the second tpb.

  12. #12
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    I like Shutter, and I liked Pretty Deadly...but I didn't love either. Pretty Deadly is an acquired taste...it doesn't get good until issue 3, and even then you have to read the series twice to really understand it. There is nothing wrong with that, but that may not be your thing.

    A couple of books by lesser known authors that I absolutely LOVE are The Mercenary Sea by Kel Symons and The Fuse by Anthony Johnston. Both are 6 issues (1 trade) deep with issue 7 in both series coming out in November. It should be cheap to find the first issues on eBay, or you can probably pick up the trades from cheapgraphicnovels.com for less than $6. I beg you to take a look at the previews from The Mercenary Sea...you will call in love with the art. It is a high sea adventure book set in the south pacific in 1938. It has a very Indiana Jones vibe that I think you'll love.

  13. #13

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    While I can see people's problems with Pretty Deadly, I really liked it once it hit its stride (issues 3, 4 and 5). It's pretty dense and steeped in what feels like an entirely new mythology. Emma Rios on art is a treat always, she does some cool panelling and layouts here. That said I found it very confusing at first, it's one of these series you need to work for a bit. Recommended though! (Also it's not done, I'm fairly sure there are at least 3 arcs planned, the creators are just busy.) Wouldn't call KSD unproven though, her Captain Marvel has done wonders for the character.

    Shutter, I dunno I wouldn't call Keatinge unproven either but that's because I loved Glory. They're doing some interesting things here and it all feels rather cinematic. Art is very lush. Didn't really grab me though so I dropped it, but that's more due to financial constraints.

    Agreed that Image isn't exactly the place for finding 'new' talent at the moment, but regardless let me list a few: Larime Taylor does A Voice in the Dark, kind of like a serial killer/murder mystery thing set in a college. First 7 issues were black & white, now they're moving to colour. Cool fact: Taylor writes, draws, letters, etc. the whole thing. On a monthly basis. Oh and he does all that with his mouth because of a disability in his arms. Admittedly I felt like an ass just picking something up because 'the author draws it all with his mouth', like it felt a little condescending to disabled people (like you're buying something just out of pity). But I'm super glad I gave it a shot, because it's a fun book and the cast is more diverse in terms of race & sexuality than like half the Marvel universe.
    Ed Brisson is another one, I really liked his 4 issue series Comeback, less hot on Sheltered but it's still a good one. Kurtis J Wiebe is another one who used to be in this category before Peter Panzerfaust went big. I'm particularly fond of his Green Wake horror series, which ran for 2 trades worth.

    All that said I think there's a bigger chance of finding legit new talent at Boom/Archaia, Oni Press or Dark Horse right now. Monkeybrain is also really good at this, but that's digital only. I'll second Curt Pires as someone to watch, really liking POP so far and I'm a sucker for theremins. I'm really big on Kyla Vanderklugt right now over at Archaia, and the team doing The Last Broadcast at Archaia are on my radar too after that series wraps. Boom sometimes just announces stuff like Capture Creatures seemingly completely out of the blue, and I tend to really like those type of colourful, upbeat series. Also I'll follow Ryan North anywhere, but his Dinosaur Comics webcomic is pretty popular I think so hardly unproven.
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  14. #14
    Astonishing Member Dark-Flux's Avatar
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    Image also took a chance on John Layman with Chew and Frank Barbiere with Five Ghosts. Both of whom are now making a name for themselves at the Big 2.

    ...

    Justin Jordan too.

    ...and Kirkman! Forgot Kirkman.
    Last edited by Dark-Flux; 09-21-2014 at 07:44 AM.

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Deniz Camp View Post
    I've quite enjoyed Pretty Deadly. I'd give that a go, though it seems to be over.
    It's not. Volume 2 is currently being worked on according to the Fraction/Deconnick newsletter. Given how there were some delays to the final issues of vol. 1, I'm willing to bet they're going to want this stuff in the bag before release, so it may take some time.

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