Recommend me obscure comic books and manga!

[Queen Michael]

Empowered by Adam Warren, It is somewhat famous in certain circles but it really needs more exposure for being a smart, funny superhero comic series.

Yep, it does. Empowered is one of the best comics I've ever read.

Right on, i cannot wait for the 8th book to come out, i had hoped it would be this year but the way things are looking it seems as if it is going to be another two year time gap.

Really? Dang. I thought it's be out any day now.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Ever heard of Transmetropolitan?
If not, look into it, it's awesome.

Though, I'm not sure if it's obscure. Either way, it needs more fans.

 

[Genocidicles]

King City, by Brandon Graham.

Some guy fights evil and tries to stop the resurrection of an ancient demon king in a futuristic city, using his super powered cat as a weapon.

Meanwhile his friend gets in trouble with the mob who seem to be pimping aliens, and his ex tries to help her new boyfriend beat his drug addiction, which he takes to cope with his war flashbacks. Also the drug turns your body into more of the drug.

It's weird to say the least, and has an art style very reminiscent of graffiti.

 

[Fox12]

I'm a huge fan of sequential art in all its forms and since I want to read all the good stuff and not just the best-selling good stuff, I'd like you to recommend me comics and manga that's really darn good but isn't very widely known.

A few guidelines:

1. It's not obscure just because it's not Watchmen-famous or One Piece-famous. Make sure it's actually obscure.

2. It needs to be obscure in its particular genre (unless the entire genre is obscure, like for instance Swedish humor comics, or avant-garde manga). I know that not a lot of people today read collections of classic Little Orphan Annie strips, but among fans of old newspaper comics absolutely everyone knows about them.

3. Nothing by a famous creator is truly obscure. Sure, OMAC might not be the most famous Jack Kirby comic, but it's still a Jack Kirby comic and I promise you I've heard about, or will hear about, anything made by any famous comics creator. (Note: This rule doesn't apply to manga, only American comics.)

4. Ignore all my guidelines if the comic you have in mind is just too darn good not to recommend.

Have you ever tried web comics? They're definitely a rising art form, and some of them are fantastic. It doesn't hurt that they're usually free, either. Obviously most people on here are aware of Critical Miss, VG Cats, or other video game related comics, but a lot of people miss out on what the medium has to offer.

Gunnerkrigg Court is probably the best, and has an engaging storyline, likeable characters, fantastic humor, and just enough dark atmosphere to keep the overall plot serious and heading in the right direction. Sci-Fi/fantasy/gothic.

Everblue is interesting and new. Great art, I like it so far, but it's still pretty early in the plot.

Hark! A Vagrant! Funny history humor, if you like that sort of thing. I do.

Octopus Pie. Weird name, great humor. Slice of Life.

None of these are what I would truly call obscure, but web comics in general are somewhat obscure, so if you haven't tried them before, then these are the ones to start with.

 

[DeepReaver]

Empowered by Adam Warren, It is somewhat famous in certain circles but it really needs more exposure for being a smart, funny superhero comic series.

Yep, it does. Empowered is one of the best comics I've ever read.

Right on, i cannot wait for the 8th book to come out, i had hoped it would be this year but the way things are looking it seems as if it is going to be another two year time gap.

Really? Dang. I thought it's be out any day now.

Yeah, Adam's last O&A on the subject put it sometime in 2014 if we are lucky, to quote.

"Q: Ah, care to drop any other hints about what you have up your sleeve for Empowered Vol. 8? And uh... wheneabouts are you shooting to have that come out?

Adam Warren: Thanks to the vagaries of book ordering and lengthening lead-time requirements, even if I finished work on Empowered Vol. 8 by early 2013?and that's a stretch, frankly?the book couldn't possibly come out until late in the year."

Which makes me extremely sad because it is one of the best things he has done, showing his chops as both a writer and an artist.

 

[thelastgogeta]

Okay... Obscure...

Planetes - It's by the same artist as Vinland Saga (the vikings one people keep mentioning), it's a 4 Volume (4th Volume is split into 2 by Tokyopop) or 26 Episode adventure in space. The setting is in the near future with a hard science edge where space travel is practical (a few cities on the moon) but we are gradually running out of resources. Our lead, Hachimaki is an orbital garbage man but wants to join the exciting frontier. The misadventures include some politics, terrorism, tragedy, tough choices and some romance. Stuff like mecha and aliens are kept to a minimum here. It's a fine work which goes well with Space Junk Galaxy:


The manga covers a bit more than the anime but both are very well done. Luck made it so even the dub sounds good, but you are here for the reading, so manga. It's hard to find I must warn you.

Another one?

Translucent - A modern day tale where the mysterious Translucent medical condition causes those with it to turn translucent or complete invisible (typically permanently). The world has gradually adapted to this to the point where it's moderately frequent, you can still get insured and live fairly conformable despite some problems you will see. Our lead is the introverted student Shizuka Shiroyama, who suffers from this condition and wrestles with her emotions and self-confidence (which unfortunately seem to enhance the condition which like a cycle makes her worse). Her illness becomes a metaphor in the ordinary lives of her classmates and friends, as they try to work their way through life and relationships.

I get the feeling I undersold Translucent, but give it a go. Surely it's easier to find than Planetes even if it wasn't translated fully in English officially.

Other stuff?

Eden: It's an Endless World - Great stuff, unfortunately rare and not completely translated.

Welcome to the NHK - Not so obscure, it has a novel (original story - others are adaptations), 8 manga volumes and an anime roughly covering the same story, basically all brilliant and all translated and all but the anime are rare. A great dark comedy and slice of life anyway.

Done.

 

[Crispee]

Anybody else ever read Y: The Last Man? It's an adventure comic series about an escape artist named Yorick and his pet Monkey Ampersand, who discover they are the last male organisms on the planet, with only females in charge of everything after the Genderdice of unknown cause. They must travel across the world with some other people to achieve their respective goals. It's a pretty interesting concept.

 

[silentNate]

Anybody else ever read Y: The Last Man? It's an adventure comic series about an escape artist named Yorick and his pet Monkey Ampersand, who discover they are the last male organisms on the planet, with only females in charge of everything after the Genderdice of unknown cause. They must travel across the world with some other people to achieve their respective goals. It's a pretty interesting concept.

Interesting idea but I found it increasingly misogynistic and the whole magical thing just started to annoy me, sorry.

 

[Sir Christopher McFarlane]

Prunus Girl (school)
Bokura no Hentai (school age, but not much school in it)
Lord of the ring (sumo)
Oldboy (most know of but haven't read the comic)
Astral Project

 

[Queen Michael]

Anybody else ever read Y: The Last Man? It's an adventure comic series about an escape artist named Yorick and his pet Monkey Ampersand, who discover they are the last male organisms on the planet, with only females in charge of everything after the Genderdice of unknown cause. They must travel across the world with some other people to achieve their respective goals. It's a pretty interesting concept.

Interesting idea but I found it increasingly misogynistic and the whole magical thing just started to annoy me, sorry.

...magical thing? I've read the entire thing twice, but I'm not sure what you're talking about here.

 

[Muspelheim]

Although I'm not entirely sure, there must be an english version of Moebius & Jodorowsky's The Incal.

There is, but I didn't need it since I read the perfectly satisfactory Swedish translation last year. And yep, it's good. Darn good.

Indeed! After I thought of it, I got out my own. It's fantastic, but bloody hell, I could beat goats to death with it.

I struggled for ages to come up with a translation for "fnaskoid" that sounds as delightfully tacky yet just right. I failed, which is probably for the better.

Have you ever tried web comics? They're definitely a rising art form, and some of them are fantastic. It doesn't hurt that they're usually free, either. Obviously most people on here are aware of Critical Miss, VG Cats, or other video game related comics, but a lot of people miss out on what the medium has to offer.

Gunnerkrigg Court is probably the best, and has an engaging storyline, likeable characters, fantastic humor, and just enough dark atmosphere to keep the overall plot serious and heading in the right direction. Sci-Fi/fantasy/gothic.

Everblue is interesting and new. Great art, I like it so far, but it's still pretty early in the plot.

Hark! A Vagrant! Funny history humor, if you like that sort of thing. I do.

Octopus Pie. Weird name, great humor. Slice of Life.

None of these are what I would truly call obscure, but web comics in general are somewhat obscure, so if you haven't tried them before, then these are the ones to start with.

There's more gold than we could ever dream off hidden away in the depths of the refuse chasm that is the internet, isn't it? I ought to go webcomic-hunting myself, sometime.

I'd add Bravemule to the webcom suggestions, but it's more of a weird combination of a webcomic and a let's play. Still, rather neat.

 

[Gatx]

It's not obscure just because it's not Watchmen-famous or One Piece-famous. Make sure it's actually obscure.

This is quite possibly the most hipster your requirements could possibly get, but I'll give it a shot. I can't really tell what is or isn't obscure though - so, if it doesn't have a Wikipedia entry, I'll assume it isn't well known.

Really? I would've thought

2. It needs to be obscure in its particular genre (unless the entire genre is obscure, like for instance Swedish humor comics, or avant-garde manga). I know that not a lot of people today read collections of classic Little Orphan Annie strips, but among fans of old newspaper comics absolutely everyone knows about them.

is way more hipster - not only does it have to not be mainstream popular, it can't be "cult" popular either. This is obviously going to be hard to find for manga because it had to well known enough for an audience an entire culture away to have heard of it and wanted it translated.

Anyway I'm going to suggest Memories of Emanon - a short one shot manga based on a series of sci-fi short stories about a girl who lives forever by passing on memories through her daughters (the previous Emanon the forgets that they were that individual once the daughter is born) and her various travels. On the other hand they are award winning short stories... but still that's the best I got.

 

[Queen Michael]

Ever heard of Transmetropolitan?
If not, look into it, it's awesome.

Though, I'm not sure if it's obscure. Either way, it needs more fans.

Read it twice. It taught me to respect and fear the chair leg of truth.

...anything by Naoki Urasawa. 20th Century Boys, Monster, Billy Bat, even Happy!'s worth a read. I'm not sure how high his stuff would rank on the scale of obscurity, but I'd feel bad not recommending them.

And that makes you a good person in my book. I've recently got the entire Monster from the library, and I'll be done with it around next week. I've already got up to and including book 12 of 20th Century Boys in my bookshelf, and I'll buy more pretty soon.,

Oldboy (most know of but haven't read the comic)

I did. Even better than the movie, and the movie is good.

Mage
Invisibles (It's Gant Morrison but it's obscure to the max)
Elephantmen (not what you think but at the same time...)
Any Judge Dredd Story with Batman
Habibi

I'll add more under this if i think of any more

Actually, The Invisibles was the very first Grant Morrison comic I ever read.
I read Elephantmen three years ago. I've been meaning to reread it for some time now.
Habibi is absolutely fantastic.
I haven't read any Judge Dredd story with Batman, but they're probably good since th ones without Batman are usually good and everything improves when you add some Batman to it.

Okay... Obscure...

Planetes
[...]
The manga covers a bit more than the anime but both are very well done. Luck made it so even the dub sounds good, but you are here for the reading, so manga. It's hard to find I must warn you.

I know, I finished book three two years ago and still haven't been able to find book four anywhere.

Eden: It's an Endless World - Great stuff, unfortunately rare and not completely translated.

The Stockholm library's got it, so I'll check it out. I read the first two parts a long time ago, and I remember them being pretty decent.

Everblue is interesting and new.

To be more precise, it's interesting and new to me. I've read all the other webcomics myou recommended, so yep, I like webcomics. I gota say, you've got really good taste.

 

[IGetNoSlack]

DMZ. Although that might not be obscure.

It's about a reporter that gets dropped in a Manhattan torn apart by an American civil war. What it does extremely well is characterize the world around around Matty (the reporter) through little vignettes, and fleshes out NYC and the relationships not just between Matty and the people he interacts with, but those that don't involve Matty.

Well written, beautifully drawn. Highly recommended.

 

[Pseudonym2]

Seven Miles a Second.

Hitman (maybe doesn't count)

New Adventures of Hitler (written by Grant Morrison but is out of print so I'm counting it)

Hey Mister

Finals

2020 Visions

Outlaw nations.

Action Philosophers

Destiny

The Castaways

Moonshadow

Exterminators

A Small Killing (it's Alan Moore but no one has ever herd of it so I'm counting it.)

The Tale of One Bad Rat

Frank

You Don't Have to Fuck Other People to Survive

Peter Kuper's Metamorphosis

Douglas Rushkoff's comics especially Testament.

I had Vertigo on the mind so there is too many Vertigo comics and not enough lit comics.

Although I'm not entirely sure, there must be an english version of Moebius & Jodorowsky's The Incal.

Humanoids did a bunch of English translations but I don't know how many are still in Print.

While we're on the subject a lot of other Jodorowsky's work such as Technopriests and his westerns.

 

[Queen Michael]

Hitman (maybe doesn't count)

New Adventures of Hitler (written by Grant Morrison but is out of print so I'm counting it)

Moonshadow

Action Philosophers

Exterminators

A Small Killing (it's Alan Moore but no one has ever herd of it so I'm counting it.)

The Tale of One Bad Rat

Frank

I had Vertigo on the mind so there is too many Vertigo comics and not enough lit comics.

If we ever meet, I'm giving you a big sloppy kiss. You have outstanding taste. Of the comics you recommended, these are the ones I have read, and I'm sure the others will be worth checking out as well. Also, there is no such thing as too many Vertigo titles.

DMZ. Although that might not be obscure.

It's about a reporter that gets dropped in a Manhattan torn apart by an American civil war. What it does extremely well is characterize the world around around Matty (the reporter) through little vignettes, and fleshes out NYC and the relationships not just between Matty and the people he interacts with, but those that don't involve Matty.

Well written, beautifully drawn. Highly recommended.

Agreed. I've read eight books so far.

 

[Sir Christopher McFarlane]

Queen Michael, are you checking every title in these lists?

 

[Agayek]

I'm gonna have to rec Onepunch-Man [http://www.mangainn.com/manga/3027_onepunch-man]

It's a manga that satirizes the whole shounen genre, primarily by having a protagonist that beats all of his opponents with a single punch. It's pretty damn amazing, IMO, and more people need to read it.

Edit: I'd also recommend The Breaker, if you're at all interested in mystical-martial-arts-in-modern-day stuff. It's one of the best takes on the concept that I've seen, and I find it rather addicting. Don't have a link though unfortunately.