These are the best sites and discussions about comics on the net. They are the easiest to read and they contain information that you want to read.
Also, try Negative Space Spaced Out.
- Animal Man: Origin of the Species
- The first volume ends just as it starts getting weird. The second volume really brings a restrained Grant Morrison ethos out into the open. This is where I started picking up the series, on a recommendation from a friend. This was one of those series that kept me coming back into the comic book shop every month; it wasn’t just a love of the story but the stories clear love of superhero comics that sucked me in.
- indy magazine
- Interviews with comics creators and reviews from 1994 to 2005.
- Vertigo FAQ
- What do you want to know about the Vertigo line from DC Comics? A decent amount of news links here. Worth checking out. Getting a little old, however. November 1999?
- Comics Research Bibliography
- Includes bibliography of articles on both scholarship and marketing.
- indyworld
- Originally a great print magazine, Indy has become the best site out there for getting information Independent and self-published titles. Also includes the “Industry Addresses” compilation for professional use.
- WasteLA
- Waste L.A.: Descent; the photo-comic to begin photo-comics. And you can order it right here. Or read it right here. Descent is one of the best series I read in 1996, and I strongly recommend you check it out.
- The Invisibles
- With Invisibles, Grant Morrison is going off in a similar direction to his work on Doom Patrol and Animal Man. This is a search for reality where everyone wears great clothing! Grant takes on Michael Moorcock, Eastern Philosophy, and Sixties Fashion, and weaves them into a philosophical treatise so deep you’ll need to wear rubber pants.
- Ira Schnapp: The Visionary
- “Ira R. Schnapp was an eyewitness to the first-ever appearance of the Man of Steel. He also saw the debuts of the Caped Crusader, the Scarlet Speedster, the Emerald Gladiator, and the Amazing Amazon... in person. He was there the day Barry Allen raced across the bridge between the earths and became the Flash of Two Worlds. He saw the mightiest heroes of comics’ Golden Age unite for the first time to form the Justice Society of America. And he witnessed the unforgettable first meeting of the JSA and Justice League of America with his own eyes.”
- DM of the Rings
- Shamus Young’s epic retelling of The Lord of the Rings movie from the perspective of the player characters is absolutely hilarious, and, fortunately for you, now available in its entirety. If you’re a gamer or a Lord of the Rings fan, this is required reading.
- Crazed Ferret
- The Crazed Ferret quicktime/avi movies! Must sees! Getting a bit long in the tooth, and what’s with the Star Trek trailer on each one? Nice examples of early multimedia from the Carnageian era of the net.
- Elliot S! Maggin
- Fan info on Elliot S! Maggin, including descriptions of his contributions to the Superman mythos. Also including samples from “Last Son of Krypton” and “Miracle Monday”, two brilliant novels. This is a must stop site, folks. Find out why he uses the exclamation!!!!!!
- The Gerber Curse
- This is a fascinating ongoing history of Steve Gerber (up to three chapters as I write this) by an anonymous author who is not Mark Evanier but is fairly knowledgeable about Gerber’s life.
- Comic Art Collection
- Michigan State University library’s Special Collections division, including a list of the comics in the collection.
- The Cartoon History of the Universe
- Do not pass up these books. The most fun I’ve ever had reading history. Larry Gonick has an eye for the absurd from the beginning of time. But don’t let the funny pictures fool you: this is a real history book.
- From Hell
- Alan Moore’s Twentieth Century psyche seen through the eyes of a Nineteenth-Century killer. Through Jack the Ripper’s murders, he sees visions of a mechanized future: “How would I seem to you? Some antique fiend or penny dreadful horror, yet you frighten me! You have not souls. With you I am alone.” That’s not Jack the Ripper speaking, that’s Alan Moore, using Jack as the gods used the Delphic oracle. This is a brilliantly dark book, made all the more so by Eddie Campbell’s moody pencils.
- Animal Man: Deus Ex Machina
- This completes the Grant Morrison run on Animal Man. This was the book that got me hooked on Doom Patrol and the Invisibles and pretty much ensures that if Grant Morrison writes it I’ll at least take a look at it.
- Detective Comics vs Bruns
- Ken Quattro, “the comics detective” posts scans of the court transcript of Detective Comics vs. Bruns Publications. That is, DC vs. Fox. Includes testimony by Will Eisner.
- Alternative Comics
- “Alternative Comics” publishes some great stuff by Kochalka, Henderson, and more. A pretty nice-looking selection of comics in their on-line catalog also.
- Mack White
- Some of Mack’s comics, presented fully on-line. Includes the Goat Nuns, The Mutant Book of the Dead, The Treasure of San Diablo, and more!
- Grant Morrison Comixography
- Everything ever written by Grant Morrison, including some plays. If you want Grant Morrison, this is the place to be.
- Steve Gerber
- From the author of Howard the Duck and Void Indigo and many Saturday morning cartoons. Look around for short stories, comic book script templates, and Steve’s latest comics. Also, read his blog. “Only when a writer has been called a liberal, pseudo-intellectual, oversexed manic-depressive can he be sure he’s fighting the good fight.”
- Watchmen
- Destined to be one of the seminal works of the (modern or dying, take your pick) superhero comics industry. Moore weaves a tale of millennial fever in a world where the atomic bomb is big, blue, and looks like us.
- The Dreamer
- Will Eisner’s Dreamer is a semi-autobiographical tale set at the dawn of the modern comic book age. It’s well-written, and also a lot of fun trying to pick out which of the fictional characters match which non-fictional creators.
- Rec.Arts.Comics.DC.Universe
- A chat area for DC Comics’ shared universe and characters. Lots of good discussions going on here.
- Histories of Negro Comics
- Some histories of creators of “Negro” comics, including Orrin C. Evans (All Negro Comics), Bertram A. Fitzgerald (Golden Legacy); and some others such as Malcom Ater (Commercial Comics Company). There is some really interesting material here.
- Internet Archive
- Includes an archive of some great public domain music, as well as an archive of the web back to 1996.
- The How-To Guide to Comics
- Ennead’s How-To Guide for Cartoonists and Comics Illustrators: Cartooning and Self-Publishing Links, including the Cartoonist’s Materials FAQ.
- Moonshadow
- A fascinating story, touching, silly, and funny, lovingly illustrated by Jon J. Muth, about a young boy who, after growing up in a small and insular community where he was an outcast, is cast into a universe which he can never call home.
- Rec.Arts.Comics.Misc
- The mother of all comic book discussion on the net. It’s a Usenet newsgroup, and all the other “major” Usenet newsgroups branch out from it. Still a lot of cool discussions going on here.
- Not Available Comics
- Blinky, Cutegirl, the Fantabulous Matt Feazell!
- Augenblick Studios
- Aaron Augenblick, creator of “Robot’s Song” and “Tales of the Great Unspoken”. Take a look at the Golden Age segments, they’re brilliant.
- John Weeks’ Travel Journal
- “John Weeks is an international small press aficionado who travels the world seeking out comic creators. I’ve seen him on two continents so far, and hope we will meet up on a few others before our lives are over. In 1988 he visited New Zealand. Below are the journal entries he made during his trip, giving a unique snapshot of the New Zealand comic scene back then.”
- Bruno
- Dating, Feminism, and Fashion. Eleven years of Bruno, a complete web-comic from 1996 to 2007. But the archives suck. The only way I can see to read it is to read it backwards.
- Something Positive
- This strip is very character-oriented. I recommend going to the “first comic“ (or hit the archive link in the menu) and starting from the beginning. It’s worth it, and they’re a lot funnier when you know what’s going on (but they’re still funny even when you don’t).
- Negative Space Spaced Out
- The best sites on the net, according to Negative Space.
