Adult Comics

[synobal]

Are there any comics out there that aren't afraid of adult themes? As well as situations? with out descending to the level of fetishistic pornography?

I recently read the new reboot of Batwoman, my first experience with her and I found it kinda strange that at this point, in our society we must have obvious objects that break the scene to block something as simple as a nipple and it made me wish for a comic series that didn't have to pull it's punches with it's characters.

 

[synobal]

I'll look into walking Dead, but I'm not really into zombies lately unless you count the couple novels Peter Clines published.

 

[Mallefunction]

Pretty much all the Alan Moore comics. Not a lot of porn, but they tend to not be afraid of sex and nudity when it comes up in the stories.

 

[synobal]

Pretty much all the Alan Moore comics. Not a lot of porn, but they tend to not be afraid of sex and nudity when it comes up in the stories.

I've read all his stuff unfortunately. So much so I didn't really consider him when I posted this. I mean there are comics and then there is Alan Moore ya know.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Pretty much all the Alan Moore comics. Not a lot of porn, but they tend to not be afraid of sex and nudity when it comes up in the stories.

I was about to say this. The Watchmen comes to mind -- while the movie actually had a lot more blue dong than the book, they didn't shy away from nudity when the story called for it. Also, not Western comics, but they have a very different attitude about nudity in Japan; I'll never forget the time I was reading Crossbone Gundam at work (that job was awesome) and had to quickly exit the browser window because of a random splash of full frontal nudity. For those who don't know Gundam, it's about as far from being a porno as you can get.

 

[zehydra]

Why are you looking specifically for comics with adult themes, but not pornos? It's like hiring a prostitute for foreplay.

 

[synobal]

Pretty much all the Alan Moore comics. Not a lot of porn, but they tend to not be afraid of sex and nudity when it comes up in the stories.

I was about to say this. The Watchmen comes to mind -- while the movie actually had a lot more blue dong than the book, they didn't shy away from nudity when the story called for it. Also, not Western comics, but they have a very different attitude about nudity in Japan; I'll never forget the time I was reading Crossbone Gundam at work (that job was awesome) and had to quickly exit the browser window because of a random splash of full frontal nudity. For those who don't know Gundam, it's about as far from being a porno as you can get.

I've never really been a fan of anime and manga I just don't get the themes they deal with more often than not and the tropes they use are really annoying to me for the most part.

 

[WarpZone]

You want to avail yourself of the world's first Gentleman Pornographer! Before he did Girl Genius, Phil Foglio did a print series called XXXenophile. It was a bunch of short stories featuring convoluted sci-fi and fantasy narratives, and his usual cheeky humor and character-driven banter. And lots and lots of sex, much of it with aliens, ghosts, or elves. It manages all of this without being disgusting, crude, or pandering. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "serious" look at sexuality, but the relationships are believable even if the settings are fantastical and the characters' personalities are turned up to 11. So, yeah. Great read. Terrible wank material.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Pretty much all the Alan Moore comics. Not a lot of porn, but they tend to not be afraid of sex and nudity when it comes up in the stories.

I was about to say this. The Watchmen comes to mind -- while the movie actually had a lot more blue dong than the book, they didn't shy away from nudity when the story called for it. Also, not Western comics, but they have a very different attitude about nudity in Japan; I'll never forget the time I was reading Crossbone Gundam at work (that job was awesome) and had to quickly exit the browser window because of a random splash of full frontal nudity. For those who don't know Gundam, it's about as far from being a porno as you can get.

I've never really been a fan of anime and manga I just don't get the themes they deal with more often than not and the tropes they use are really annoying to me for the most part.

I tend to stick to the older stuff, personally; most of the annoying tropes you're talking about have only been codified in the last 10 years or so. The stuff made between the late 70's and the early 2000's tends to be pretty good. As for themes, again, what are you watching? Because there's a big difference between something for kids that deals with the power of friendship, and something like the early entries into the Gundam franchise, which are about the horrors of war, but also about hope and human potential. I know I keep going back to Gundam, but it's kind of my favorite anime; matter of fact, I don't even like it as an anime, it's just good science fiction.

 

[Wr3kluz]

I'd say try Warren Ellis' Preacher, or Desolation Jones. They don't really pull any punches. Another bet would be Brain K Vaughan's Y the last man, and Ex Machina.

I work at a library and really trying to pull the best graphic novels/comics into our collection. Hardest part is trying to make an actual section for the more adult ones because there aren't many that don't cross the border of pornography to fill up a shelf. Can't put it in regular fiction because they'll get overlooked, and can't put it into the teens because I don't want that conversation with an upset parent.

Gonna pay close attention to this thread because I could use suggestions as well.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

If you don't mind it being a Webcomic and you don't mind furries, Jack is one of the best adult oriented stories out there.

Start at arc 1. Go from there.

[link/]http://www.pholph.com/strip.php?id=5&sid=363[/link]

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

You want to avail yourself of the world's first Gentleman Pornographer! Before he did Girl Genius, Phil Foglio did a print series called XXXenophile. It was a bunch of short stories featuring convoluted sci-fi and fantasy narratives, and his usual cheeky humor and character-driven banter. And lots and lots of sex, much of it with aliens, ghosts, or elves. It manages all of this without being disgusting, crude, or pandering. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "serious" look at sexuality, but the relationships are believable even if the settings are fantastical and the characters' personalities are turned up to 11. So, yeah. Great read. Terrible wank material.

Phil Foglio does Girl Genius? The same Phil Foglio that used to illustrate Magic cards, before Wizards standardized the art style and made all of the cards look the same? I now need to read that comic.

As for the suggestion of XXXenophile, that reminds me; I'm pretty sure Heavy Metal Magazine is still kicking around out there somewhere. That thing is pretty much nothing but violence and R-rated -- meaning not technically pornographic -- sex.

Edit: And if you need a more in depth description of Heavy Metal Magazine, it's an anthology of science fiction, horror, and fantasy comics, which are usually one shots. It doesn't actually have anything to do with the genre of music.

 

[WarpZone]

Owyn_Merrilin: Yeah if the Heavy Metal cartoon was any indication, Heavy Metal and XXXenophile are basically polar opposites. Heavy Metal bills itself as erotica, but then goes dark and tries to push its subject matter as far into twisted, aggressive, pandering and fetishistic territory as it can and still get away with an R rating. XXXenophile bills itself as porn, is sexually explicit with full frontal nudity and penetration shots, but is really not nasty at all because of the wholesome self-conscious writing and goofy art style. In fact, it's usually pretty charming.

Off Topic: While I'm on the subject of pornlike not-porn, I'm tempted to mention PG Porn, even though it's not a comic. PG Porn is James Gunn's attempt to make live-action web-humor videos featuring everything you love about porn, except the sex. It's pretty hillarious, especially if you're a fan of Nathan Fillion or Alan Tudyk.

(Of course, if live-action sex comedy that goes no further than sideboob counts, just watch anything on CollegeHumor.)

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Owyn_Merrilin: Yeah if the Heavy Metal cartoon was any indication, Heavy Metal and XXXenophile are basically polar opposites. Heavy Metal bills itself as erotica, but then goes dark and tries to push its subject matter as far into twisted, aggressive, pandering and fetishistic territory as it can and still get away with an R rating, while XXXenophile does the exact opposite, being technically sexually explicit with full frontal nudity and penetration, but really not nasty at all because of the wholesome self-conscious writing and goofy art style. In fact, it's usually pretty charming.

Off Topic: While I'm on the subject of pornlike not-porn, I'm tempted to mention PG Porn, even though it's not a comic. PG Porn is James Gunn's attempt to make live-action web-humor videos featuring everything you love about porn, except the sex. It's pretty hillarious, especially if you're a fan of Nathan Fillion or Alan Tudyk.

(Of course, if live-action sex comedy that goes no further than sideboob counts, just watch anything on CollegeHumor.)

From what I've seen of it (so a couple of issues of the comic, plus a heavily edited for TV version of the movie) it's crass, but I wouldn't use the word fetishistic. It's the comic equivalent of a low budget horror movie; lots of boobs and blood.

 

[Ewyx]

I just picked up The Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman. Read about 10 pages, at the store, it's amazing, the art, the storyline, the unique way it tells the story that differs from other comics. Check it out at your local comic store. Make sure to check out the art before buying it, it's not for everyone.

 

[A. Smith]

Google "Oglaf". It's a weekly webcomic (published sundays) that can get very graphic (though it sometimes stays in PG realms) and is always hilarious. Very well drawn too.

 

[WarpZone]

From what I've seen of it (so a couple of issues of the comic, plus a heavily edited for TV version of the movie) it's crass, but I wouldn't use the word fetishistic. It's the comic equivalent of a low budget horror movie; lots of boobs and blood.

By "fetishistic" I just meant it fetishizes the imagery surrounding its subject matter, kinda like The Matrix or Kill Bill. I didn't mean that it's actually about fetishes. Most horror movies, low-budget and otherwise, tend to fetishize their subject matter, but only in the aesthetic sense of the word.