What Are You Reading?

[The Shadow Gentleman]

So my local shop offers a subscription service, where you subscribe to at least five monthly titles and pick them up when you visit the store. I think they might put them in you file or something. And you get a 10% discount on ALL Comics (back & new issues), trade paperbacks and graphic novels.

Is buying five monthly titles really worth it? Sorry, I'm just new to this whole thing.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Just wait for the trades.

[Foggle]

Is buying five monthly titles really worth it? Sorry, I'm just new to this whole thing.

Nah. Just use the single issues they have in the store (or online) to sample various series and then buy the trade paperbacks of the ones you like. You'll save money, and have all the comics in easy-to-read-and-store books without ads.

However, if there's a series you really like, and fear is in danger of being canceled, then you should buy the single issues to support it.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Is buying five monthly titles really worth it? Sorry, I'm just new to this whole thing.

However, if there's a series you really like, and fear is in danger of being canceled, then you should buy the single issues to support it.

Yeah, thats what I was thinking about doing. Only getting the series I'm afraid won't last long. A 10% discount really isn't all that good.

Luckily, my library has a pretty good selection of trades, so I'm looking into that. Hawkeye, Saga, and Fatale look really cool. Gotta find trades for those.

And I really appreciate all the advice. 

[LumRanmaYasha]

To celebrate my coming graduation from high school, I have decided to start and finish every manga series I have ever wanted to read and some series I never quite finished and need to re-read between now and the fall.

Here's what I haven't started yet and will be going through. If anyone has some other suggestions for me, please tell.

20th Century Boys
Animal Land
Battle Royale
Eyeshield 21
Slam Dunk
Buso Renkin
Psyren
Akira
Phoenix
Black Jack
Astro Boy
Message to Adolf
Dororo
Fushigi Yugi
Hajime no Ippo
Cromartie High School
Love Hina
Kinnikuman
Captain Tsubasa
Kimagure Orange Road
Gintama
Saint Seiya
Rave Master
Black Lagoon
Monster
Maison Ikkoku
Rin-ne
One Man Punch
Flame of Recca
Yakkite! Japan
Bastard!
Kochikame (if I can find the scans...)
Enigma
Level E
Golgo 13
Kuroko no Basket
Sket Dance
Magi
To Love Ru
Reborn
Medaka Box
Cowa!
Bamboo Blade
Lone Wolf and Cub
Samurai Executioner
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Pluto
Banana Fish
Ode to Kirihito
Blade of the Immortal
Seizon Life
Vinland Saga
Sanctuary
Galaxy Express 999
Kaiji
Sakigate! Otokojuku
Billy Bat
Waga Tousou
Eagle
Beck
Apollo's Song
Vagabond
Ichi the Killer
Hayate Cross Blade
Please save my earth!
Hikaru no Go!
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Area 88
Domu
MxO
Alablaster
Shounan Junai Gumi
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Fist of the North Star

And here is the stuff I will re-read because I skipped some parts or never finished them:
Dr. Slump
Prince of Tennis
Case Closed/Detective Conan
Ouran High School Host Club
School Rumble
Zatch Bell!
Pokemon Adventures
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Mermaid Saga
Neko Majin Z
Death Note
Yotsuba
Trigun Maximum (I actually have finished all of this series before, but I'm going to re-read it anyway, cause it's Trigun)
One Pound Gospel
Ranma 1/2
Lupin the Third
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

And here's what I'm currently going through, and have yet to finish:

Urusei Yatsura: After three months, I am almost at the end. Just the last ten chapters left. I know you guys don't care for Takahashi's works, but I really enjoyed this series and I'll be sad to finish it. I'll probably re-read it once I'm done just because I've enjoyed it so much. I also like the movies (I haven't seen the last two yet though) too, especially Beautiful Dreamer. I'd give the anime a try, but it's 195 episodes, which is way too long a commitment for me nowadays. I'll probably watch some of the adaptions of my favorite chapters, though.

Great Teacher Onizuka (the original): Hilarious! Well, the art more than the actual jokes most of the time for me, but lots of heart and fun and a great read! I'm currently 75 chapters into it, so I'm about 3/8ths done. Might slow down how much I read though, just to preserve my fun with the series a little bit longer.

Rurouni Kenshin: I finished volume 5 recently, and yeah, the series hasn't particularly stood out so far. Not to say that it is not enjoyable, because the art is fantastic and I do laugh sometimes during the comedic bits, but it's not done enough for me yet to truly get into it. However, I'm not at the famous Kyoto arc yet, so I'm guessing that'll be where the series truly becomes special and my opinion of it will change for the better.

Berserk: Finished four volumes so far, and am now into Guts' backstory. Bloody fun to be sure, but like Rurouni Kenshin, it hasn't won me over just yet. From what I've heard, though, I won't have long to wait to see the series shine.

Black Cat: Three volumes in, and it's pretty good so far, with a likeable cast lacking most of the traits I find annoying in stuff like Naruto. Not as good as Kenshin, but I think I like it more than Berserk right now, if only because Train, Sven, and Eve are more likeable protagonists for me than Guts, who I still like and sympathize with, mind you, but three likeable main characters>one. But I'm not far in either of them, so who knows, maybe my opinion will change.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: 5 volumes in, so I've completed the Black Moon arc. You know, I never watched the anime when it aired on Toonami, but I watched a couple episodes a year or so back and thought what I saw was ok, and learned enough about the storyline to be shocked at some of the changes the anime made to the manga's story. Yeah, it's quite different indeed, and very fast paced. However, sometimes the art is a bit confusing to follow, and the villains go before they have time to establish much personality, so it looses points with me on those fronts. Still, it's not a bad series by any means, and the Black Moon arc was a definite improvement over the Dark Kingdom arc, so I think I'll stick with it for now.

Excel Saga: I started reading this after my interest was piqued by Foggle's review, and I must say this: THANK. YOU. SIR! Easily one of the funniest manga's I've ever read, even if it is also the wordiest! I'm currently searching for a copy of volume five to read online, since my library doesn't have it or seven and eight. I've read volumes 12-15 already on a whim because my library had them available at the same time, so I'm eager to see the introductions of some certain characters. Out of all the manga I'm currently reading, this has been the most enjoyable one for me.

 
All together, that makes 98 manga I'm going to try to finish before the fall. Maybe more if I add any new picks to the list. Will I succeed? Probably not. But hey, might as well try anyway. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I also need to get back to reading Excel Saga. I haven't forgotten about it at all. I've just been extremely busy preparing for my college finals, as well as multi-tasking a shit-ton of projects that are due by next week.

But, don't worry, I'll get back to the series as soon as I finish my semester!

[Pharass]

Personally, I'm having a bit of a hard time deciding what to read next and whether I should prioritize some titles which intrigue me, but I haven't had the time/opportunity to read yet, or if I should get caught up with some older titles in my collection that I have neglected. Decisions, decisions..

Cartoon X: Here's a list of manga that are among my own personal favorites and that I'd recommend to anyone, most of it historical fiction and mystery stuff:

Lone Wolf and Cub
Samurai Executioner
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Pluto
Banana Fish
Ode to Kirihito
Blade of the Immortal
Seizon Life
Vinland Saga

I should point out that the last two titles have not been officially released in English. Well, Vinland Saga apparently has, but the first volume won't come out until later this year. Anyway, I hope I've been of some assistance.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Thanks, Pharass. I'm going to add those series to my to-read list in my original post. As for those two series not officially translated yet, I'm fine with just reading scans. That's what I had to do with Urusei Yatsura since Viz never released the series and full and what they did release has been out of print for more than a decade.

[Foggle]

Excel Saga: I started reading this after my interest was piqued by Foggle's review, and I must say this: THANK. YOU. SIR! Easily one of the funniest manga's I've ever read, even if it is also the wordiest! I'm currently searching for a copy of volume five to read online, since my library doesn't have it or seven and eight. I've read volumes 12-15 already on a whim because my library had them available at the same time, so I'm eager to see the introductions of some certain characters. Out of all the manga I'm currently reading, this has been the most enjoyable one for me.

Ahh, missed this post until now.

Glad you enjoyed my article! And I'm even gladder you started reading the series!

[LumRanmaYasha]

Glad you enjoyed my article! And I'm even gladder you started reading the series!

Thanks for writing that article. Excel Saga is great!

[gunswordfist]

Erm, Guyver? Absolutely alll other manga I could suggest was mentioned.

I read Punisher War Journal v. 1 a few days ago. l*m not the biggest fan of Punisher going after supervillians but it was nice seeing him work under Captain America*s command.

I read Deadpool v. 9 Institutionalized a day or two ago...

Yesterday I read Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter. I love the movie Payback which is a semi-adaptation of Stark's famous book but this comic does it so much better.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

The new Aquaman is awesome.

Saga and Fatale are interesting, but not my cup of tea.

[gunswordfist]

Over the last few days I've read: New X-Men v. 2...., ok now I'm just confused. Couldn't even start v. 3 bc it had detached pages put in the wrong order.

Daredevil by Mark Waid v. 2 - Not as good as v. 1 and the Black Cat relationship is forced but I'm addicted as ever.

[gunswordfist]

On Friday I started Rurouni Kenshin v. 27, finished it on Saturday. I wanted to hold it off even longer since I hate finishing off great series but I was bored and the book is due back not long from today. Yep, the supporting cast's final fights sucked. Saito's fights get shorter and shorter. Kenshin vs Enishi is heating up. Kenshin's answer sounds like what he planned to do the whole time except he mentioned what he felt his crime was.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The worst thing about the final fights for the supporting cast was that it was so shoehorned in there just to give them something to do. Its one of those things in which I find that less would have been more. By this point in the series, all of the supporting cast, including Yahiko of all people, had proven their worth in battle and had shown their growth as characters. The whole Enishi ordeal was Kenshin's problem to deal with, though, and I feel that the whole deal with those 4 lazily designed generic warriors could have been removed from the story entirely and nothing of value would have been lost in the process. Kenshin vs. Enishi is all we needed to see by that point, and the rest just felt like filler.