hey, uh, I know Jeff Smith's (the guy who did Bone) cousin! Yesterday she was like, "I'm going to Ohio to see the fam next week- I'm gonna see Jeff! You know, the artist!" I was like, "er, tell him.. I say hi."

I don't have the heart to tell her I'd never read it. I have trouble getting into a comic where the main character looks like a condom. And plus, it's called Bone. What a pervert her cousin is.

Skullbie
If we're bringing cartoons into the mix:
Rocko's modern life: I watched and liked this show, but it really was not that funny for the praise it was given at the time.

I loved that show!

patrickdevine
Of course I think the most overrated comic is Ghost in the Shell. "

:gem:

Hyena H_ll
I was gonna throw that one in, but it's been about ten years since I've read it, and I figure I might think differently now.

You had better >:

Oh, I also didn't like Ghost in the Shell, for a lot of the same complaints. :] The writing seemed all over the place and all the women looked the same... I really dislike the way he draws women in general actually, so not being a fan of the art and also not liking the writing... I was disappointed. I stuck to the anime movie though, that was solid.

This is like the Vegemite argument all over again -_-

You are all poop-heads!

I don't do mercy! If I dont like something, I lay it all out thre!
I am not here to make friends! I am here to beat the crap out of comics that pissed me offf!

Hyena thinks I like furry comics....ozone thinks I like spanking.... the sad part is, I keep typing "furry spanking comics" in the DD search engine but nothing comes up! When will I find this most perfect of comics? If it is out there, let me know!

Hellboy that is pants as well!
Repetitive after about 2 issues, and why must EVERY single german or austrian in them turn out to be a Nazi? It is set in the modern day! The author keeps treating this as a plot twist "oh no! Shes a nazi? Who would have thought!" when he does it every time with EVERY German speaking character! Ironic that he makes his bad guys the racist nazis and then indulges in moronic racism himself.

Oh, Hark. I'm just takin' the piss out of ya!

But. Does this mean... *sniff*... you're not my friend anymore? :(

harkovast
Hellboythat is pants as well!
Repetitive after about 2 issues, and why must EVERY single german or austrian in them turn out to be a Nazi? It is set in the modern day! The author keeps treating this as a plot twist "oh no! Shes a nazi? Who would have thought!" when he does it every time with EVERY German speaking character! Ironic that he makes his bad guys the racist nazis and then indulges in moronic racism himself.

Oooh, I meant to include HellBoy! Good call!

I'm not a huge fan of Mignola's stark, angular art style anyway but, more than that, the writing is just so weak! Typical plot involves HB confronting a bad guy, usually based on a character from some Slavic folk tale. He tries to slug it to death but gets whupped. So far so good. After a few detours there's the inevitable re-match and what happens? He tries to slug it to death again, but - and here's the clincher - this time he succeeds.

How? Why? He hasn't found a previously unknown weakness; he hasn't used a new kind of weapon; he hasn't, in fact, done anything he didn't do the first time round, and yet this time he wins. It makes no sense. It's like it was written by a twelve year old who's grasped the idea that the good guy must win in the end but hasn't fully understood how to make that happen.

Comic books aside, however, the first movie was fun. Ron Perlman was made to play HellBoy!

ozoneocean
This is like the Vegemite argument all over again -_-

You are all poop-heads!

I can't speak honestly about Vegemite, it's been years since I've had it. However I'm sure that Vegemite is better than Ghost in the Shell.

patrickdevine
I can't speak honestly about Vegemite, it's been years since I've had it. However I'm sure that Vegemite is better than Ghost in the Shell.

True, but then Vegemite is better than sex, so that's not such a revelation.

Akira is another one for me. Someone gave me their comic collection, and it had that in there. I tried reading it, but blech, it was boring.

So I guess if I'm going to choose comics I think are overrated, I'd choose most of the syndicated comics in the newspaper. I've found that I'm no longer even tempted to try and read them. It feels like they know they've gotten a free ride. They're "in the club" and can get by on cheap recycled jokes.

I've been trying to figure out if the newspaper comics were better when I was little, or if I had a painfully low threshold for funniness when I was little. I still believe Far Side and Calvin were good comics, so I've convinced we have lost some funniness over the years.

Ryuthehedgewolf
Oh, really?
Well dang.
I might have to check it out then.

I mean, if it was your regular action-packed manga, then I'd be skeptical. Because if you had to run around and write people's names in a notebook trying to kill them, I think that'd be lame. But this...intrigues me.

To really understand Death Note, try to imagine the TV show 24, but mixed with chess and the board game Clue. It's very much psychological. The real thrill comes from watching a group of people try to track down and stop a killer through obscure clues left through his killings. The fact that the he can kill however, whenever, and wherever he wants makes him that much more elusive. As you said, the killer must only write a name to kill, so it's all the more thrilling to watch as his trackers close in on him... because at the same time, he's working to learn the identities of the people tracking him.

I typically hate manga, so I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed Death Note.

I actually envy you people who've read enough comics to find the overrated ones. The only comics I've ever read (published) have been things that I've liked.

I don't count newspaper strips, they're dull and I wouldn't know or care how highly people rated them so I couldn't know if they were overrated or not.

For webcomics, I've read super popular ones that I haven't liked, but I don't know if that's overrating so much as that comic not appealing to me.
The only comic I can say for sure is a bit overrated is my own, not for false modesty's sake but because I know some people have praised it a little higher than it should be praised at certain times, which I've been happy about, but known that was a bit of inflation. ;)

Skullbie
Bleach- As far as i'm concerned this is just dbz with swords and a lamer art style, or maybe i just dislike how he draws everyone with down syndrome eyes. Naruto is better.

I liked Bleach for a bit. It may have taken me up to chapter 200 something-or-other to realize that it started repeating itself since the whole Soul Society thing. But I finally dropped it (thank goodness). I still think it's 'meh' but I doubt I will ever like it again.

Tried Naruto, got bored, saw the freakish amount of popularity it garnered and ended hating it more. Plus ninjas are pussies.

I myself love comics, but don't read much of the print ones (it costs the money that I don't have) so I'm way out of the loop when it comes to discussing them. The only print comic I've ever really read was Ultimate Spider-man (overrated, I don't know). I remember reading it after I saw the movie and thought it was awesome (of course, I was only about 12 at the time). As time went on, I realized that the series was really getting boring and way too angsty for my taste. Peter was no longer a lovable nerd who talked too much in hero mode, but some angst filled teenager with a really annoying (and hateful) girlfriend. Seriously, that girl needs to be thrown off of a bridge again and never saved. Same with Peter, go cry emo kid.

Though there is one comic that I will always and forever hate with the heated passion of a thousand exploding suns. It is a webcomic, but I don't care, it's overrated and flat out terrible. If you read Starfighter and like it, you are my enemy until this earth dies in an apocalyptic explosion. When I started reading it on dA, I thought, meh, it's kinda cool. It was then that it was a massive kick to the balls when it turned into a cliche, stereotypical yaoi thing. See, I don't hate yaoi or yuri, if it's done well, then I'll consider it. But this, this is just flat out garbage. The characters are 2D cliche uke/seme things. The story was dragged out of its bed in the middle of the night to the back shed and shot multiple times in the head until there was naught a trace of what was once a skull.
Thing is, the fans know they're reading crap. They know that it is the exact same as any other yaoi out there, but they continue to read it because it provides them with fappable porn. They even told me that!

I'm like, one out of three people who actually see that comic for what it truly is. Crap.

I'll stop myself before I go on another rage fueled tangent, describing how much I hate that thing. If ever you come across it, run away and save yourself. You'll only be wasting your sanity away (that's what happened to me).

Aurora Borealis
Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum. Ugh. Ultimates 3 are sooo bad... the story makes no sense, character designs make no sense (Loeb complaining about how ultimate line is too much like regular marvel and then he does a book where characters are redesigned to look EVEN MORE like their regular versions), and the art makes no sense either (there are places where it's impossible to tell what's going on, people running out of panels in a way that makes them look like they're running behind the people they're attacking)... oh hell, just read this (it's a review of all five issues, one per each post with an introductory post at the bottom which is actually fun, unlike the comic itself) http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot.com/search/label/ultimates%203%20week .

well i can explain why i spent money on Ultimates 3...it really boils down to one man...2 words...the chosen one...marvel intern since he was 15, and IMO, th emost exciting artist to ever be in comics.

Joe MAD.

I can understand the story complaints. but the art was just gorgeous IMO. ive sat down and studied every panel...and i dont understand where you would be lost at his storytelling. Joe MAD is dynamic and exciting, and his artwork is always golden. But then again, I am an unashamed and unapologetic Joe MAD ball licker, so take that with a grain of salt i guess.

and alot of people had a problem with sabretooth telling captain america to "SUCK IT!"...i just want to point out that brian bendis (who pretty much every ultimates 3 detractor likes better than loeb) has used that line himself in new avengers...but then again i also think bendis is overrated.

that blog is interesting, but i really hate fanboys who study every panel and bitch about it like that...i guess im too open minded when it comes to comics. HOW DARE I lol

as far as AKIRA goes...boring? omgz! I couldnt put that book down. hell, volume 1 itself couldve been a whole movie. theres so much character development that no death is meaningless.

DAJB have about 70 Harko points for your previous post! I agree 100%!

Man, I didn't think this thread would go off like it did.

Naturally, a lot of comics I like are being brought up here. As my icon indicates, I really like Calvin and Hobbes. I think Watterson is the last newspaper guy who could actually draw well, and the humor really works for me.

I also enjoy Sandman, despite its flaws. (For the most part, it isn't a very well drawn comic book) My favorite trades, however, are the collections of short stories rather than the ones that contain whole story-arcs.

To paraphrase NickGuy, I'm an unashamed Alan Moore ball-licker. I even liked Lost Girls and 1963, believe it or not. Nobody likes Lost Girls or 1963.

Anyways, I thought I should toss in a couple more.

The Dennis O'Neil/Neal Adams run on Green Lantern - Neal Adams is a talented artist, but everytime I crack this open I find it to be preachy and really, really, really heavy handed. It just strikes me as the work of a couple of well meaning but clueless middle aged men sounding off on "important social issues".

Almost everything by James Kochalka - He makes up his stories as he goes along and he slaps his art together without any semblance of care. I know some people like the whole improvisational stream of consciousness thing in their comics, but not me. I'll keep that in jazz music where it belongs.

A History of Violence - I thought the movie was great, so I was eager to read this one. I was really disappointed, and it made me appreciate the movie a whole lot more. What bugged me the most was the wife and how wafer thin her characterization was. When her husband's evil secret comes out she doesn't seem to mind at all. She just sort of goes along with it.

Frankly, if my long-time spouse was keeping something like that buried from me for over a decade I would get kinda pissed when it finally came out. (Her reaction in the movie struck me as a lot more true)

30 Days of Night - I really like Ben Templesmith's style, but this series has absolutely nothing going for it in a story sense. I don't give a shit about any of the characters which makes it difficult for their brutal murders to have an effect on me. Also, it takes all of ten minutes to read this damn thing. There's absolutely no meat to it. I know that Templesmith's design looks fantastic, but a 100-plus page graphic novel should have some substance to it.

300 - Everything I hate about Frank Miller squeezed into one book.

If we're bringing up frank miller:

TDK returns: I'll admit i thought this would count as a *sequel to the movie and have the same edgy/cool them but damn was i wrong. The writing was discombobulated beyond belief, robin wannabe girls relationship with senile batman was confusing, and the villain gang were a complete joke after seeing the baddies batman had previously faced.
*by that i mean i thought i could watch the movie and jump right in, damn was i wrong, i eventually picked up on what happened though

Contrary to me hating the corny villains in this i did enjoy the newest 'batman and robin' x)

And freegurt starfighter is excellently drawn, if you want to hate something on DA hate that weird hot-topic chibi comic that comes up in popular everyday that basically has unfunny things in hats randomly screaming shit about sporks and cheese how is this funny glarblhghh glaaargh

Skullbie
And freegurt starfighter is excellently drawn, if you want to hate something on DA hate that weird hot-topic chibi comic that comes up in popular everyday that basically has unfunny things in hats randomly screaming shit about sporks and cheese how is this funny glarblhghh glaaargh

I agree that it is well drawn. But the supposed 'story' in it is what ruined the whole thing. No amount of artistic ability can save that thing from falling into the ranks with all of the other cliche yaoi out there.

There was a topic about whether art or story in a comic is better. The majority of the answers were that they were evenly balanced. Art is what brings the readers in, the story is what keeps them reading. And story, Starfighter has none of.

Skullbie
If we're bringing up frank miller:

TDK returns: I'll admit i thought this would count as a sequel to the movie and have the same edgy/cool them but damn was i wrong. The writing was discombobulated beyond belief, robin wannabe girls relationship with senile batman was confusing, and the villain gang were a complete joke after seeing the baddies batman had previously faced.

no. oh no. oh no.

"sequel to the movie?"

oh my...as a frank miller ball licker to the extreme, im not looking at this thread anymore. 8runs away with eyes closed and hands over ears*

harkovast
Hellboy that is pants as well!

I adore Hellboy but it's true Mignola did stick to the Nazi stuff a bit too much. Some of the later Hellboy strayed away from that, and almost ALL the BPRD stuff (which is the same storyline and characters) deals with entirely different stuff, which I really enjoy. People don't like BPRD because 'it isn't mignola' but that's kind of why I like it.

Mignola's stories in and of themselves weren't too awesome, but his story TELLING (in comic form) I think is fantastic, his ability to get down mood etc. I do like his art style so maybe I'm biased. :]

Regarding DAJB's complaint that all hellboy does is beat up monsters- that's the point, that's all he can do. Just keep coming back and trying again til he gets lucky. He doesn't have a specialty, he's just a punching bag. It's part of the reason he left the bureau.


I too didn't like 30 days of night, or any of those series of pairings-up with Ben Templesmith. I'm not even really fond of BT's style. I have a friend who goes cuckoo for templesmithpuffs and gets mad when I can't bring myself to care much. :]

NickGuy

Skullbie
If we're bringing up frank miller:

TDK returns: I'll admit i thought this would count as a sequel to the movie and have the same edgy/cool them but damn was i wrong. The writing was discombobulated beyond belief, robin wannabe girls relationship with senile batman was confusing, and the villain gang were a complete joke after seeing the baddies batman had previously faced.

no. oh no. oh no.

"sequel to the movie?"

oh my...as a frank miller ball licker to the extreme, im not looking at this thread anymore. 8runs away with eyes closed and hands over ears*

Ok, TDK Returns came out like 20 years before the movie! It's not a sequel to it. At the time it was a fresh and original take on The Batman character.

I"ll admit, it hasn't aged as well over time as other graphic novels, but it's still pretty good.

I'm a little saddened to see a few of my favorites up there.

I for one, love Bone. I think it's a nice little story, even if the main characters look like condoms. By any means, I'm not saying it's the greatest story ever (I never got to read the whole thing, though) but from what I've read (most of it), I loved it.

Bleach was...okay. I read about the first 10 volumes, and got bored. The character designs, and the overall style is pretty cool. It's just kinda stupid though. Like a few of you said, it's just like Dragonball Z with swords.

But I must say, the Dragonball Z manga sounds a lot better than the anime. I read the first volume of the Dragonball series, and I'm pretty sure it covers more than the first 2 or so episodes. And if it really does, I wouldn't be surprised. But Dragonball Z is actually pretty cool. Of course, I mean the manga. Not the anime.

And I actually found Marvel's Civil War to be the only good Marvel storyline. I mean, it's actually kind of cool. Like how half of the superheroes split up.
However, I think Ultimates sounds kinda lame. I read the first two books, and the art was gorgeous. Just the whole premise is kinda...meh.

If anybody says Chowder, I will have to fight them to the death! I love that show.

And I actually liked Rocko's Modern Life...when I was a kid of course.

But one thing, I think is incredibly over-rated, and I know I'll have tons of people flaming me for this.

But Watchmen.

I read the graphic novel, AND seen the movie.
It's an interesting concept, don't get me wrong.
Everything seems put together in such an awkward fashion. I barely understood any of it, I re-read parts and everything.

I mean, I understand the flashbacks won't make sense or anything until the end, but I honestly think they could've found a better way to pull it off. It doesn't really tell you when it's going to a flashback, and that's what I found most confusing.

Ryuthehedgewolf
...

If anybody says Chowder, I will have to fight them to the death! I love that show.

And I actually liked Rocko's Modern Life...when I was a kid of course.

But one thing, I think is incredibly over-rated, and I know I'll have tons of people flaming me for this.

But Watchmen.

I read the graphic novel, AND seen the movie.
It's an interesting concept, don't get me wrong.
Everything seems put together in such an awkward fashion. I barely understood any of it, I re-read parts and everything.

I mean, I understand the flashbacks won't make sense or anything until the end, but I honestly think they could've found a better way to pull it off. It doesn't really tell you when it's going to a flashback, and that's what I found most confusing.

RYU MAH BOII. I like Chowder, too. It reminds me of that KABLAM! Show I used to watch on Nikelodeon.

I never even heard of Watchmen until the movie came out. Especially in the previews when it said 'the popular, acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen' and I pretty much said, "Wait, really? WTF is Watchmen???"

I'm totally in the loop when it comes to comics, hurfadurf.

Ryuthehedgewolf
I'm a little saddened to see a few of my favorites up there.

Some of the things that have been mentioned here (Akira, Dragon Ball Z, Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Rocko's Modern life) are in my "Favorite of all time" list, some others (Bleach, Death Note) I still enjoy pretty much...

Now, keep in mind that "overrated" doesn't mean necessarily that is bad by any means. Just that maybe is getting more praise that is deserved...Then again, this are not facts, just opinions coming from a few ignorant, uneducated Philistines...")

Ryuthehedgewolf
And I actually found Marvel's Civil War to be the only good Marvel storyline. I mean, it's actually kind of cool. Like how half of the superheroes split up.

The thing is that Civil War's basic plot was AWESOME. Unfortunately, as some of the things that Joe Quesada put his hand on lately, it's execution didn't live up to the expectations, IMO. And One More Day's "magical retconning" didn't helped at all...Not that Civil War was bad (personally, I think that it was better than House of M), but it wasn't that good.

Then again, I think that a great portion of Marvel works (specially anything X-Men related) aren't that good.

BTW, I know that is not the suject of this threat, but I always thought that the Flight anthologies are not only underrated, but overlooked...

idk if this counts-- I don't know if there is a soul out there who considered this a good comic-- but The Killing Joke, written I think by Alan Moore (I've blocked its inanity out as much as possible). Ugh.

Also I was scandalised to once see a book of his that was just filled with pastel-colored women having lots of sex... I can't say it's overrated, since I just blushed and snapped the book shut, but I can say.. it definitely wasn't up to par with watchmen.

You know there haven't been too many webcomics if any, and that's a shame. Because plenty of them are overrated.

Dinosaur ComicsUmmm... Why do so many people love this comic? I know it was one of the comics at the forefront of webcomicking. But surely better stuff has come along since am I right? Reusing clip art over and over again, and jokes that are hit and miss. I just don't see the appeal.

Just because it was one of the first, doesn't necessarily make it good. That's like saying you wanna fly in the Wright Brothers first aircraft instead of a 747.

CTRL ALT DEL I pretty much think every gaming comic is overrated. Mainly because this one and Penny Arcade and a few others spawned so many pale imitations.

Now that I think about it, alot of the webcomics that started out and became popular, are the reason that so many webcomics today are awful.

zaymac
You know there haven't been too many webcomics if any, and that's a shame. Because plenty of them are overrated.

Well there's this one...

zaymac
Penny Arcade

Hmm, but as I said before, maybe it's just because they don't appeal to us specifically? If we don't like something, does that really mean everyone else (who liked it) was wrong about it?

The whole "overrated" topic is just a little bit arrogant when you think about it... -_-

Although it is fun to be arrogant. :)

zaymac
CTRL ALT DEL I pretty much think every gaming comic is overrated. Mainly because this one and Penny Arcade and a few others spawned so many pale imitations.

Well, Ctrl+Alt+Del is still in my webcomic's "visit as soon as it updates" list...The thing is that CAD is getting so much bashing because A) Tim Buckley is a jerk and B ) That storyline that we like to pretend that didn't happen...

Then again, I still like it and Penny Arcade since I love videogames...

As ozoneocean said, gamer comics are not for everyone...

ozoneocean
The whole "overrated" topic is just a little bit arrogant when you think about it... -_-

Although it is fun to be arrogant.

Everybody knows that you're not cool if you don't bash something widely regarded as good-great...XD

I think Marvel's Civil War was a great premise, but was weakened by the way that some writers went out of their way to make Iron Man into the "bad guy" of the story.

I could never get into INfinite Crisis, though, because the premise was so bad. "Teenage superman throws temper tantrum and punches plotholes into reality". Yergh. What of it I did read wasn't too bad, but I just can't get into most big, galaxy-spanning stories these days. It's just out of my scope.

Most anything Marvel does. Alot of what DC does, and blah, blah, blah. True independent comics is where it's at. Now Marvel in the 60's and 70's, could not be touched......sadly, it's all tripe now. Just the opinion of a comic book fan of 39 years.