At this point, screw Superheroes.

[happyninja42]

2. Super Powereds by Drew Hayes. Sort of like Harry Potter meets super hero school. It follows a group of would-be heroes, who have enrolled in the Hero Certification Program. The school system that trains people with powers how to be a super hero. Saying it's like Harry Potter might be misleading, as it's not little kids, it's all college age stuff going on. The books are a loving tribute to the various tropes of the genre, while, like Sanderson's work, takes a more realistic, and darker take on what the world would be like if people with powers existed. The books are also big as fuck. Like, 30-40 hours of audio material to listen to, which usually translates to a doorstop of a physical novel. The kind that gives you back problems and can be used to survive a zombie attack.

Hoooooo shit thanks! I fucking love super hero school stuff and always saddened that the comics have a tentative grasp on it.

Anything like Avengers Academy (or stuff like sky high, or the one day a year Xavier's remembers it's a school) I'll fucking take

Np, glad to share this series. Found it a few weeks ago and randomly picked up book 1, fucking loved it.

As to if it's like Sky High, that would be a somewhat accurate comparison, if it was a "Disneyfied" representation. Meaning it was super clean, and lacking any actual darkness or threat. But yes, as far as the institutionalized concept of the super hero world, and training them, and how that works out, yeah that's a good comparison. I was actually going to initially describe it as "Harry Potter mashed with Sky High...but darker". But, just bump up the age scale for everyone to college, and that's still a somewhat accurate quick summary. But man it's so good. I suggest the audiobooks myself, as I find the narrator to be really fun, and his voice really brings the characters to life. But, I know not everyone likes audiobooks, so the written story is still just as good.

Plus, seriously these books are freaking huge. Each audio book is like 30+ hours, with the last book being 40+, and there is a spinoff series, book 1 is called Corpies, which is in the same world, but not about the students of the main series.

I really can't pimp that series enough xD I've listened to it 3 times now, even with as dense as the audio material is. It's just so much fun to listen to.

 

[Scarim Coral]

So what will it take for you to give up on Tolkien-Esque Fantasy too? Another great big mass media interest toward it?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

So what will it take for you to give up on Tolkien-Esque Fantasy too? Another great big mass media interest toward it?

The Mass Media had no interest in the Warcraft movie......

And all the mass media cares about is Game of Thrones as "da best ting eva!!!" but really all they care about Star Wars.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

So what exactly do you want out of a superhero movie then?

 

[DeadProxy]

What is it that you want from them that you're not getting?

What I want is the epicness of Kingdom Come:

Combined with the Character depth of Watchmen.

Combined with DBZ style action that can get tense and brutal.

And some extra note from the best of DCAU.

I may not be the most informed when it comes to Jojo's bizarre adventure, but that might be right up your alley if you're willing to dive into this 20+ year old manga that's still going on.

Each character has unique traits. Every bit of "action" is intense and incredibly well though , from stand battles on a cruise liner to a simple poker game. The epicness can be judged by you, but I've only watched the shows Stardust Crusaders and diamond is unbreakable, but I find it amazing how the author finds a way to make every bit of info you learn about the characters matter and they're used in the story.

 

[Smithnikov_v1legacy]

Eh, I was always more a fan of vigilante over superhero yarns anyway, dont' blame you. Last comic I read with any loyalty was Kick Ass.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

What is it that you want from them that you're not getting?

What I want is the epicness of Kingdom Come:

Combined with the Character depth of Watchmen.

Combined with DBZ style action that can get tense and brutal.

And some extra note from the best of DCAU.

I may not be the most informed when it comes to Jojo's bizarre adventure, but that might be right up your alley if you're willing to dive into this 20+ year old manga that's still going on.

Each character has unique traits. Every bit of "action" is intense and incredibly well though , from stand battles on a cruise liner to a simple poker game. The epicness can be judged by you, but I've only watched the shows Stardust Crusaders and diamond is unbreakable, but I find it amazing how the author finds a way to make every bit of info you learn about the characters matter and they're used in the story.

....Isn't JoJo a Comedy?

 

[DeadProxy]

What is it that you want from them that you're not getting?

What I want is the epicness of Kingdom Come:

Combined with the Character depth of Watchmen.

Combined with DBZ style action that can get tense and brutal.

And some extra note from the best of DCAU.

I may not be the most informed when it comes to Jojo's bizarre adventure, but that might be right up your alley if you're willing to dive into this 20+ year old manga that's still going on.

Each character has unique traits. Every bit of "action" is intense and incredibly well though , from stand battles on a cruise liner to a simple poker game. The epicness can be judged by you, but I've only watched the shows Stardust Crusaders and diamond is unbreakable, but I find it amazing how the author finds a way to make every bit of info you learn about the characters matter and they're used in the story.

....Isn't JoJo a Comedy?

There are times when the situation the characters are in are quite comedic, but Jojo has a way of being ridiculous and serious at the same time and doing it quite well. Lives are always on the line when it comes to confrontation in a Jojo battle.

From the Jojo seasons I've watched, I can understand how to an outsider, if I just described an episode, it'd sound stupid and not serious in the least, like how I mentioned before how there is an intense poker game in one season or an actual rock-paper-scissors episode in another season. But it's all in the execution and Jojo shines at having the characters use their skills or huge balls to work out a plan and execute it.

For clarification, I haven't read the manga, and skipped the first season of Jojo and just jumped right into Stardust Crusaders which is basically season 2 that takes place a super long time after the the first one. There isn't a whole lot of stuff from season 1 that you need to know in order to enjoy the show, just that Stands are basically willpower taking the form of imaginary friends that can have physics defying powers or something more tangible.

I would suggest checking out a review or something on YouTube, cause this show might not be for you, but some of the series is worth experiencing, especially near the end of seasons where the stakes are at the highest.

Also, poses. So many poses. Jojo has tons and tons of "cover girl" style poses done by every character.

 

[happyninja42]

Ok so, someone who has read Kingdom Come please refresh my memory, because I think I read it but not sure.

Spoiler

Is it the story where Superman basically takes a vacation from the world for a while because...i think Lois dies,so he just mopes around in space being sad, while shit goes nuts on the surface? And lots of heroes end up going vigilante killer style, and then eventually he and Batman team up to stop them, ending with Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up, and her being pregnant? And there is a scene of the 3 of them in a restaurant, and Batman basically spoils their big surprise, by explaining that he creeps on Wonder Woman and noticed she was gaining weight, so clearly she had to be preggos, which annoyed them a bit.

Is that a rough outline of the story? Because it didn't really stick in my mind as anything super amazeballs compared to most comic storylines, so it's faded over the years.

 

[hermes]

Ok so, someone who has read Kingdom Come please refresh my memory, because I think I read it but not sure.

Spoiler

Is it the story where Superman basically takes a vacation from the world for a while because...i think Lois dies,so he just mopes around in space being sad, while shit goes nuts on the surface? And lots of heroes end up going vigilante killer style, and then eventually he and Batman team up to stop them, ending with Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up, and her being pregnant? And there is a scene of the 3 of them in a restaurant, and Batman basically spoils their big surprise, by explaining that he creeps on Wonder Woman and noticed she was gaining weight, so clearly she had to be preggos, which annoyed them a bit.

Is that a rough outline of the story? Because it didn't really stick in my mind as anything super amazeballs compared to most comic storylines, so it's faded over the years.

Yeah, that is a rough summary. Of course, no story would survive such a simplistic approach: Romeo and Juliet is the story of two mopey teenagers that fell "super in love" and dump their girlfriend after they saw each other twice and mope and kill themselves because "the world doesn't understand them". The Iliad is the story of a man that took years to return hope because he got into adventures and orgies, and then got offended because his family wasn't super sad all the years while he was in those orgies, so he killed a lot of people. Lord of the Rings is the story of a group of people that have to destroy a McGuffin, but they get separate in the middle, so one part has to go make war with monsters, while the other continues the original quest.
Kingdom Come was seminal because 2 reasons:
- It was a decently written deconstruction of the dark, sociopatically violent and broody superhero. As much as The Dark Knight Return was a deconstruction that moved the industry into its "dark years", Kingdom Come was the deconstruction that said "stop turning everything into this. Not everyone needs to dress in black and have giant guns"

Spoiler: Yes, this image is still ridiculous

- The incredible art by Alex Ross.

Spoiler: I mean, look at this

OT: There are still a lot of interesting things in the genre, even counting the big two. If that fails, you can always read Vertigo or Dark Horse.

 

[happyninja42]

Yeah, that is a rough summary. Of course, no story would survive such a simplistic approach:

...I'm not expecting it to "survive" anything. I was giving a summary of the plot, to see if the story I thought it was from over 10 years ago was the same, or if I was misremembering the story when looking at the cover art. Since I only remember vague strokes of the story, and some individual panels and scenes, it's not like I can give a master thesis description of it. I was relying on the fact that people more familiar with the material would recognize the rough description, and confirm/deny if that was the same story. I also didn't want to write 3000 words describing it, when obviously 2 sentences was enough, seeing as you were able to confirm it was the same story, by the information provided.

Kingdom Come was seminal because 2 reasons:
- It was a decently written deconstruction of the dark, sociopatically violent and broody superhero. As much as The Dark Knight Return was a deconstruction that moved the industry into its "dark years", Kingdom Come was the deconstruction that said "stop turning everything into this. Not everyone needs to dress in black and have giant guns"

I'm aware of what the story was, that doesn't mean I found it all that compelling. I know most people think it's amazing, but I personally wasn't all that moved by it. It was a story, it had it's ok parts, but some stupid stuff too.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I may be wrong, but don't you enjoy being negative, and slagging things off, Samtemdo? It always seems like you love telling people how bad something sucks, so I'm not sure you've really 'lost' anything.

Declarative statements like this are surely just emotive short sightedness; superheroes aren't going anywhere, and over the decades they've gone through all kinds of changes. Their fortunes and cultural currency ebb and flow. You may, as many others have over the decades, return to the page or the screen in time.

Personally? I think we're in the golden era of bigscreen comicbook adaptations (the X-Men franchise aside[footnote]Which, in retrospect and judged out of their historic context, started bad and just kept getting worse. a couple of good films, but no good X-Men films.[/footnote]), and given I'm very late to the Netflix Defenders party (I just finished Daredevil S1, about to start Jessica Jones), to me this is a lifetime genre highpoint where the MCU is concerned.

As for the page? I've not bought a comic for several years, largely because of precisely what the MCU's offering up in my favourite narrative medium. Still, I'm reliably told there are some good series' out there, particularly if you don't shackle yourself to Marvel/DC.

So what will it take for you to give up on Tolkien-Esque Fantasy too? Another great big mass media interest toward it?

That's the impression I got/get.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Ok so, someone who has read Kingdom Come please refresh my memory, because I think I read it but not sure.

Spoiler

Is it the story where Superman basically takes a vacation from the world for a while because...i think Lois dies,so he just mopes around in space being sad, while shit goes nuts on the surface? And lots of heroes end up going vigilante killer style, and then eventually he and Batman team up to stop them, ending with Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up, and her being pregnant? And there is a scene of the 3 of them in a restaurant, and Batman basically spoils their big surprise, by explaining that he creeps on Wonder Woman and noticed she was gaining weight, so clearly she had to be preggos, which annoyed them a bit.

Is that a rough outline of the story? Because it didn't really stick in my mind as anything super amazeballs compared to most comic storylines, so it's faded over the years.

Yeah, that is a rough summary. Of course, no story would survive such a simplistic approach: Romeo and Juliet is the story of two mopey teenagers that fell "super in love" and dump their girlfriend after they saw each other twice and mope and kill themselves because "the world doesn't understand them". The Iliad is the story of a man that took years to return hope because he got into adventures and orgies, and then got offended because his family wasn't super sad all the years while he was in those orgies, so he killed a lot of people. Lord of the Rings is the story of a group of people that have to destroy a McGuffin, but they get separate in the middle, so one part has to go make war with monsters, while the other continues the original quest.
Kingdom Come was seminal because 2 reasons:
- It was a decently written deconstruction of the dark, sociopatically violent and broody superhero. As much as The Dark Knight Return was a deconstruction that moved the industry into its "dark years", Kingdom Come was the deconstruction that said "stop turning everything into this. Not everyone needs to dress in black and have giant guns"

Spoiler: Yes, this image is still ridiculous

- The incredible art by Alex Ross.

Spoiler: I mean, look at this

OT: There are still a lot of interesting things in the genre, even counting the big two. If that fails, you can always read Vertigo or Dark Horse.

The funny thing is THAT Superman is still not as ridiculous compared to THIS Superman:

Now that you brought it up, I kinda want to read that whole era of Black-Suit, Gun using Superman. From beginning to end just to see the sheer ridiculousness of it.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I remember when I was 15 and I wanted everything to be dark and gritty.

 

[Delicious Anathema]

Welcome to "something I like reached the mainstream and now it became shit".

 

[CrazyGirl17]

3. Soon I Will Be Invincible: I forget the authors name, as I read this book like 15 years ago or something. It's another "deconstruction" type story, told from the viewpoint of a super villain who is currently in prison after being caught by his rival....again. It's his personal memoirs kind of thing, as he explains how he went to villainy and stuff. Really good story.

Seconding this, I love the way the author takes an in-depth look at the world of super-powered beings from the viewpoints of a villain and a newbie hero. My only real gripe is that I'm not sure if there's a sequel or follow-up book. I'd love to see another story in this world.

Also, if you love Kingdom Come, I highly recommend the novelization by Elliott S. Maggin. It adds much more depth to the story adding much more detail and deeper characterizations. The only downside is that there isn't as much of Alex Ross' gorgeous artwork, but that's a minor quibble.

 

[happyninja42]

3. Soon I Will Be Invincible: I forget the authors name, as I read this book like 15 years ago or something. It's another "deconstruction" type story, told from the viewpoint of a super villain who is currently in prison after being caught by his rival....again. It's his personal memoirs kind of thing, as he explains how he went to villainy and stuff. Really good story.

Seconding this, I love the way the author takes an in-depth look at the world of super-powered beings from the viewpoints of a villain and a newbie hero. My only real gripe is that I'm not sure if there's a sequel or follow-up book. I'd love to see another story in this world.

Also, if you love Kingdom Come, I highly recommend the novelization by Elliott S. Maggin. It adds much more depth to the story adding much more detail and deeper characterizations. The only downside is that there isn't as much of Alex Ross' gorgeous artwork, but that's a minor quibble.

Far as I know, it's a single story. But if you like a deconstruction type story of the super hero genre and mythos, you should absolutely check out Super Powereds by Drew Hayes. Seriously it's an awesome book series. I really can't pimp it enough. He's about to release a book from the viewpoint of a villain in his super hero world, so that should be entertaining. But all the others he's done so far, are top notch.