What're you currently reading?

Okay, thought I'd get a thread going here.  I know most of us goozexers are also comic fans, so come on!  What are you people reading?  I'm going through some old stuff, ready a few Marvel alterniverse stories, The Punisher kills the Marvel Universe, and The Last Avengers Story.  Good times.

Are we just talking about ongoing series? I've recently been feeling really burnt out on superhero comics - Marvel and DC are both just putting out crossover after crossover and it's gotten kind of overwhelming. One title I'm still keeping up with is All-Star Superman, which is a totally awesome (and out of continuity) retro-style look at the character. It's written by Grant Morrison, who's done a lot of great stuff in the past, and drawn by Frank Quietly, who is one of my favorite comic artists. It's unfortunately only bi-monthly (at best) but definitely worth checking out.

The only other mainstream comic I've been reading is Runaways, a Marvel book about a group of teenagers whose parents all turned out to be supervillains. Joss Whedon is writing the current storyline, but I think it's going on hiatus for a little while when he's done. The next writer will be Terry Moore, who just recently ended his fantastic indie title Strangers in Paradise. I'm not sure when that's due to start up again, but the whole series is probably only 3 or 4 trades so it'd be easy to catch up on.

I do still keep up with a few non-super titles. There's an official, Whedon-sanctioned-and-sometimes-written Buffy Season 8 ongoing out from Dark Horse right now, and Angel Season 6 from IDW is starting pretty soon as well. Joss shouldn't have much to do with the WGA strike, so maybe he'll actually finish a comic on-time for once If you were a fan of either of these TV shows, you probably already know about the comics. If you haven't seen the show, I doubt they'd make much sense really. Buffy's been pretty good so far, but the artist really can't draw Eliza Dushku which is a problem since Faith is the main character in the current arc.

Semi-ongoing are Hellboy and the BPRD, which are both done as a number of mini-series. There's usually at least one coming out each month. Most people are probably familiar with the movie version, which captured the tone of the comic very well but made a lot of changes to the plot. I think the comic has a much more interesting storyline, but it's obviously had a lot more time to develop. Mike Mignola has written all the stories to date, but he only draws them once in a while anymore. The regular artist they've been using has done a good job filling in though.

Most of the other comics I still read are from DC's Vertigo line. One of my favorites is Fables (and it's spin-off title, Jack of Fables), which is about fairy-tale characters who all got run out of their homelands and had to come live in our world. It has a lot of comedy moments, but there's also an interesting storyline. I also like Crossing Midnight, which is about a Japanese girl whose life was accidentally pledged to the Shinto god of blades. There's a lot more to it but it's hard to do a short summary. I'm also just starting a couple new series - Vinyl Underground, which is some kind of occult detective story, and Northlanders, a viking epic (it starts next month, so I don't know how it is yet but it sounds pretty awesome).

There's also a really funny comic called Maintenance about two guys who are janitors for a mad scientist organization. The problem is that it's from Oni Press, which is a smaller publisher that isn't carried in a lot of comic stores. It's a pretty good one though.

 It doesn't have to be an ongoing series Maddie, just whatever comics or trades people are reading.  I'm currently reading Rex Mundi, and if you like Da Vinci code, Holy Grail, religion conspiracies, then this is the book for you!  This is the description from Rexmundi.net:  

A quest for the Holy Grail unlike any you’ve ever seen begins here – in a world where the American Civil War ended in a stalemate, the Catholic Church controls Europe, and sorcery determines political power!

When a medieval scroll disappears from a Paris church, Doctor Julien Saunière investigates, uncovering a series of horrific ritual murders and an ancient secret society. Julien cannot let these shadowy figures retreat into the darkness, lest they kill again. His investigation turns into a one-man quest to uncover the deepest secrets of Christianity.

Mystery, fantasy, history, and horror combine to create this critically acclaimed comic. This is the volume where it all begins for anyone interested in a literary adventure that’ll challenge their mind as much as it chills their bones!

 

Aye?  Aye?  Does this sound like a kick ass book or what?  I have three of the trades, and I'm reading vol. 1 now.  Good times. 

Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man

Conan

Red Sonja 

Cerebus by Dave Sim
Started off as a Conan parody, it turns into one of the most intricately woven set of storylines that I've ever read by the 2nd volume. Reading through it actually makes me feel smarter. I'm toward the end of the series (Sim dedicated himself to a 300 issue run, and pulled it off), and I am totally hooked by the relationship between writer and character. I highly recommend this to anyone, even if you aren't a fan of comics. Slug through the first volume to get the intros for recurring characters, and start enjoying the 2nd volume, where it gets amazingly good.

Well, I get WAY too many comics in the mail/at the comic book store, but there is one series I'm reading that isn't current:

The Earth X/ Universe X/ Paradise X trilogy. I have an almost complete set of all of the comics in those series, including tie-ins, just missing a couple of the core Universe X issues, and it's some damn good stuff. Just finished up Universe X, about to start the Paradise X preludes. While I own the actual comics, these are available in TPBs, so you should definitely pick them up. It basically follows a story where something has caused all of Humanity to be changed into super-powered beings (and as such is now referred to as Mutantanity), and it follows the Marvel Universe regulars trying to fix this situation, which steadily spins out of control. 

I just started buying comics weekly again after sticking to trades for a while...I dont have a big fave right now, Im mostly picking up everything till I find what I really like.  Mostly following GREEN LANTERN CORPS, X-FACTOR, THOR, CABLE, BOOSTER GOLD, FLASH...and I always have a soft spot for NIGHTWING.

Playboy

Maxim

Boston Globe Sports section

Game Informer

Im so damn cultured.

mac addict - i think they changed names
espn
rich dad poor dad

Amazing Spider-Man...not too happy about the current changes.

Avengers books ...not too happy about the current changes

The Lost issue of Fantastic Four...  a fun read

 Hack-Slash comics ^__^

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche

and I got a backlog of books waiting for me after thats done. I have been slacking on reading in months past.

i started reading some old spawn comics

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko