Suggestions of good stories with immortal characters

[Cowboy Ninja Viking]

Hello, I've found lately that I really dig characters like vandal savage that have lives long lives and I am curious about other similar characters. Also I am looking for suggestions of good stories with the characters. I would really appreciate any suggestions. I am particularly interested that specifically showcase their immortality.

[Immortal Weapon]

Look out Batman: Birth of the Demon for the origin of Ra's Al Ghul. There also an episode of Batman: the Animated Series called Showdown where Ra's and his son battled against Johan Hex in 1883.

[Flash Gordon]

Sandman!

Morrison's Kid Eternity, too.

[BohemiaDrinker]

The Original "Resssurection Man" run. You get Ressurection Man, Immortal Man and Vandal Savage on the same book.

As a bonus, you get to see them all the way in the 853rd century (in DC 1.000.000 tie in issue).

[Deniz Camp]

In the superhero realm, I can recommend "Resurrection Man" (the original run, by DnA and Butch Guice), and v1 and v2 of "Xombi", both volumes of which are beyond fantastic. Both of those series focus on a titular character and their long-livedness (heh). "Demon Knights" dealt with all manner of immortals, too, though I'd argue it wasn't particularly good. My sense is that Pandora and the recent Phantom Stranger series' dealt with this issue head on, but both were very unpalatable to me so I can't say for sure.

Recently we had "The Secret Society of Super Heroes" as part of Multiversity that focused on Immortal Man, and that was hugely fun, I thought, though short. Also from Grant Morrison was "Frankenstein", thoroughly rooted in the immortal creature's past, and some of the best Vandal Savage stuff was during DC One Milliion, I thought, which was masterminded by Morrison.

More esoteric and challenging are books like Neil Gaiman's Sandman and it's subsequent spin off Lucifer, which cover that ground (they cover a lot of ground, but that is one patch of it). Less esoteric but still Vertigo is John Wagner's "Madam Xanadu", which was quite fun, and plays with the long-lived immortal. "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" eventually comes to feature immortals out the wazoo, though it doesn't start that way. Still, those characters' journey through time (or, rather, fictional time) comes to be the driving force of the run (to it's detriment, I'd argue, but that's another discussion entirely)

The introduction of Jason Blood in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing plays with this quite brilliantly, along with the devil stuff. There have been two "Shade" minis, both written by James Robinson, that extensively cover his long and storied life; they were, in turn, spin offs of "Starman", also by Robinson, in which he's a strong supporting character, and his immortality often comes into play.

On the Wildstorm side of things, there's a short story by Alan Moore about Mr. Majestic that deals with him at the very end of time, and Warren Ellis' "Planetary" features all number of long lived characters interacting with other long lived characters, fictional and historical, and their impact on society.

Valiant has three series that deal with long-lived brothers in TimeWalker, Eternal Warrior, and Archer and Armstrong. I can't say how they are in quality but they tend to get good reviews.

If I really wrack my brain I'm sure a lot of Image titles dealing with this would fall out, but one that immediately comes to mind is "Red Mass For Mars" by Hickman, in which a Superman esque figure arrives in ancient rome and changes the course of history.

Finally, you might check the (free) short story in my sig, MURDER ONE, which deals with a particularly long-lived figure, and his passion throughout history.

[FanboyStranger]

Less esoteric but still Vertigo is John Wagner's "Madam Xanadu", which was quite fun, and plays with the long-lived immortal.

Matt Wagner, not John Wagner. John Wagner's Madame Xanadu would have had more guns, violence, and satire. Matt Wagner's Demon mini is also worth a look.

A different take on immortality that I would recommend is Howard Chaykin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez' Twilight mini. The overarching theme of the book is what happens when humanity discovers immortality, and the answer is not pretty.

For a more philosophical take on the concept, JM DeMatteis' mini The Last One is an interesting look at the last days of an immortal. It's very ponderous and spiritual as with most DeMatteis projects of the time, but if you're looking for something a little "deeper", it's worth a look.

Speaking of the last days of an immortal, The Last Days of an Immortal by Fabien Vehlmann is utterly fantastic. It's by no means a superhero story, but it is a very interesting murder mystery in a sci-fi world. Very philosophical like The Last One, but more entertaining overall.

[Deniz Camp]

Matt Wagner, not John Wagner. John Wagner's Madame Xanadu would have had more guns, violence, and satire. Matt Wagner's Demon mini is also worth a look.

Hah! Good correction.

Speaking of the last days of an immortal, The Last Days of an Immortal by Fabien Vehlmann is utterly fantastic. It's by no means a superhero story, but it is a very interesting murder mystery in a sci-fi world. Very philosophical like The Last One, but more entertaining overall.

Indeed, this was probably my favorite comic of the last 10 years.

[AriesWarlock]

Well, I suggest Trinity of Sin: Pandora. Her story is pretty cool, and you see bit of her past throughout the ages and places.

[j9ac9k]

You might not be able to find it, but I really liked Marvel's Shadowline series "Doctor Zero." He was an uber-powerful, Machiavellian immortal (or at least long-lived from what I can recall) who was not clearly "good" or "evil" - he just manipulated the world and killed who he had to better his life and battled evil to keep the world from falling apart because he lived in it. Not so much altruistic as enlightened self-interest.

[Jim Kelly]

Within the SANDMAN stories (which include the Endless), there's a character named Hob Gadling. I liked his story--which is just contained to a few issues, so you don't have to read all of SANDMAN, nor does his story depend a lot on knowing anything about SANDMAN.

I like General Immortus in the old DOOM PATROL comics. The way Bruno Premiani drew him was cool.

I don't know what's been done with the Amazons lately, but I liked it when Queen Hippolyta was a member of the JSA and she was over 3000 years old. And you may have heard about the Guardians of the Universe.

[FanboyStranger]

You might not be able to find it, but I really liked Marvel's Shadowline series "Doctor Zero." He was an uber-powerful, Machiavellian immortal (or at least long-lived from what I can recall) who was not clearly "good" or "evil" - he just manipulated the world and killed who he had to better his life and battled evil to keep the world from falling apart because he lived in it. Not so much altruistic as enlightened self-interest.

Shadowline in general was massively underrated. Powerline wasn't all that good, but Doctor Zero and St George were great. Doctor Zero was very much part of its time in comics, but more in the sense that something like Jamie Delano's Hellblazer was part of its time. It's a shame that Shadowline never caught on, and even more of a shame that the Critical Mass mini that finished it off was such a mess, especially when you consider all the artistic talent involved.

[FanboyStranger]

Within the SANDMAN stories (which include the Endless), there's a character named Hob Gadling. I liked his story--which is just contained to a few issues, so you don't have to read all of SANDMAN, nor does his story depend a lot on knowing anything about SANDMAN.

Hob Gadling is by far my favorite Sandman character. And I love Sandman...