[unclerobin@att.net]

Here's a thing that helps me a lot when I want to read some key issues of books - I keep my copy of Tony Isabella's 1000 COMIC BOOKS YOU MUST READ nearby to help in my search - if anybody knows of other good reference scources, here's the place to post them!

[narfstar]

Robin you may notice a familiar name acknowledged in that book 
I get my other recommendations from here and the GCD for older stuff. I also read the Previews on Comixology and Comic Shop News for new stuff.

[unclerobin@att.net]

narf, I couldn't find you in Isabella's 1000 Comic Books You Must Read, were you pulling my leg, am I blind, or did he credit you to a different name? You don't have to tell your real name, that's okay, I'm just wondering if you were on the acknowledgements page or did they hide you in there somewhere? I wanna see you get credit!

[narfstar]

James (Jim) Ludwig is the not so secret identity of narfstar

[unclerobin@att.net]

Always good to see somebody you know (from here, anyway) in an honest to goodness book. Maybe someday you'll see MY name in one, too. Or not.

[narfstar]

Because of sites like CB+ I have been acknowledged and got several books free for providing info and pics. Of course I do it for love of the hobby but nice to see one's name. I also have a perpetual free subscription to Alter Ego

[unclerobin@att.net]

Happy to hear it, narf - love of the hobby is its own reward. This site is one really good perk, though!

[paw broon]

"love of the hobby is its own reward."  unclerobin
How true.   I've learnt so much since joining CB+ and now I can contribute for others.  Narfstar is famous, apart from those book mentions his name appears often in Alter Ego - and you could do a lot worse than take out a subscription, it is a great read.  (If you don't already have a sub., that is).  As for info. on what to read, apart from the suggestions from narfstar, I always have a read through Previews when I visit my lcs.  Just as I did yesterday.  Have a look at the online pages:-
http://www.diamondcomics.com/Home/1/1/3/103
It's from Diamond and I'm not keen on them as a company but there is some info there. 
Current titles I read include, All Star Western; Smoke and Mirrors - a 5 ish mini series that just finished; Saucer Country - we're at part 7 of 12 - intriguing; Mud Man by Paul Grist which is just good fun and you should have a look at his collections of Jack Staff; Fatale - a horror noir; Near Death which has to be one of the best current comics on the shelves right now; The Activity - military, secret ops, action title which I really look forward to reading every month; Rocketeer; Daredevil; The Sixth Gun - western, voodoo, zombies, a golem, action, seriously bad bad guys, high entertainment.  As a super hero freak, you'll be surprised how few masked men are on the list.   I find most current iterations of superheroes unreadable and that from someone who rates Batman almost as highly as The Phantom.  But don't let me put you off.

Mostly though I buy more old comics and at last weeks mart in Glasgow I found a pile of Dell westerns and a couple of WDL (British) reprints plus a Modesty Blaise collection and an old Adventure Comics with The Black Orchid, which I didn't have.
As a great read, have you tried some classic newspaper strips e.g Modesty Blaise; Rip Kirby; The Phantom; Garth; Jeff Hawke?  There is so much more readily available nowadays and some of it is of a very high standard - art and story.
Please just ignore all this if you're up to speed with it all.

[unclerobin@att.net]

Hi paw, thanks for quoting me in your last posting, I feel famouser already! Sad to say, there is no comics shop here in Crystal Lake, the nearest is in Elgin, and I don't drive. I also don't work (I'm semi-disabled with emphysema, so I don't go out as much as I used to - I'm okay, hopefully for years, but I don't want to get too far away from my inhalers and I don't like taking them with me, as I have a bad habit of forgetting/misplacing things) so the money situation isn't great. I DO have a few really good libraries that I frequent and I stay as current as possible with what I can find there. I don't feel like I'm missing TOO much. This is why I love CBP, I can ALWAYS find a good read here - for free! And between here and the Captain Comics forum, which I am proud to be a part of, I haven't felt so surrounded by such good friendships as I am making on these sites - thanks for having me as a part of it!

[narfstar]

Paw I need to catch up on Near Death. I think six was the last issue that I read. Mudman remains fun and intriguing and Saucer Country is intriguing and a good read.

[paw broon]

Ubca Robin, if you have a library you can get to, there are English translations of some good French GN's.  Request, XIII; IRS; Blake and Mortimer; The Scorpion.  More to follow - off out for an after dinner walk.

[paw broon]

Following up on the last post, here's a link to Cinebooks who do English translations of French and Belgian BD's:-
http://www.cinebook.co.uk/
If your local library is a good one they might order some of these G.N.'s for you and other fans.  I mentioned The Scorpion earlier and it really is excellent - art and story.  I'd also suggest trying Largo Winch but, and I'm flying in the face of what is popular here, I'm not keen on Thorgal or Valerian.  But don't let my prejudices put you off.  Pleas bear in mind that Euro comics are, or can be, different in story and structure from traditional American comics and can be a bit of a culture shock to some.
My pal Russell rates Yoko Tsuno, so, see what your library says and you might have found a whole new comic reading pleasure.

[unclerobin@att.net]

Hi, paw, is Yoko Tsuno a manga or a real person? That almost sounds like a joke, but I'm serious - at any rate, Ive never been a fan of manga, the artwork is too cutesy for my liking, with the puss in boots eyes and all - I don't think the library has the books you recommended, the only Europian title they have to my knowledge is Tin Tin - I know it's regarded as a classic, would you recommend it? I really am leery of new things, I've been burned quite often (Image comics, anyone?) - but if you recommend it, I'll give it a try, maybe your broony-point-of-view will help me decide -

[SuperScrounge]

Yoko Tsuno is a European comic not Manga. I first heard of it when a German poster mentioned it on NitCentral although I've never seen a copy.

According to Wikipedia the title character is a female electrical engineer of Japanese origin. The series has had 25 volumes and adventures go around the world, through time and space.

Books 3 & 6 were released in the US by Comicat in 1989 as The Adventures of Yoko, Vic And Paul.

Cinebooks has been releasing new translations since 2007.

[paw broon]

SuperScrounge is correct and this is the French site for Yoko but even if you can't read it there are covers to look at.  I'm not the biggest fan but my pal Russell likes the series, in English cos he doesn't read French.
http://www.yokotsuno.com/fr/accueil.html#
Tintin is simply excellent but in a completely different style to what you are perhaps used to in American comics.
http://us.tintin.com/meet-the-characters/tintin/
But my current favourite is The Scorpion. 
http://www.le-scorpion.com/
This is the main French site with some nice animations to welcome you and you can read some pages here:-
http://www.le-scorpion.com/album.php?id=1
press the "lire un extrait " button.  You can also go back or forward to other albums using the "precedent" or "suivant" buttons
Here's Blake and Mortimer.  Sorry but this is the French sit. However press the "couverture + planches" button to read a few pages and I think you can bring up individual panels for a wee look:-
http://www.blakeetmortimer.com/spip.php?article24
I choose The Yellow Mark as it's available in English - very wordy and beautifully drawn.

Have a look, see if you fancy any of them and ask at your library.  You never know, they can only say no.  But be sure to ask for English language editions.

[mr_goldenage]

Paw I am currently playing Stump the Hooper over @ Britishcomics @ Yahoo. I need to come up with some really obscure British super hero or heroine types from the 1930's or 40's or earlier. Got any suggestions out there guys?

Richard

[paw broon]

Richard, if that's Terry Hooper, and it is, you've no chance.  He's close to encyclopaedic in his knowledge of British comics characters.  But, and remember, he could be reading this, you might want to try some from British storypapers.  We call them storypapers nowadays but when I was a wee boy, they were all "comics", whether it was illustrated stories or text strips or balloon strips.
Let's see, Flaming Avenger
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/f/flamaven.htm
Seriously obscure, but not costumed or masked - they just use their powers to right wrongs anonymously.  Much the same as TNT Tom.
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/i/inkytop.htm
I'm sure you're not going to get him with Jack Flash or Johnny Jett but Jackie Flash was a relatively short lived female version of Jack Flash
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/j/jakiflsh.htm
Going right back, there was The Iron Man - no relation.  But I can't remember how to insert an image. He appeared in a British  "pulp" in the very early 20th. century and wore a domino mask and a black, lightweight, chainmail bodysuit.
There are piles more but I still think you're on plums with this one.  Remember, he publishes reprints of lots of old British comic strips and he's been involved for decades.

[mr_goldenage]

Well that didn't work out too well. Seems I sort of teed Mr. Terry off. Big mistake on my part and a big embarrassment of myself. So much so that I resigned from his group in utter shame! My bad.

RB @ home and disgusted.

Attachment that  Sir Terry posted to show me what the Character looked like as Sparrowhawk was similar in design, so one assumes in color as well. Hate to assume but that's all I have.

[MarkWarner]

Don't worry I seem to have that effect on people too ..lol

[paw broon]

Not wanting to offend anyone, all I will say is that I didn't last long on his sites either, but more because I find that layout of site difficult to navigate.
As for Sparrowhawk (Snub Hawkins, from memory), as a junior version of Night Hawk, he seems to look pretty similar from the descriptions in Nelson Lee papers.   But I don't have an illo. of him.  I found that cover recently but not the rest of the magazine.  However, without getting your hopes up, I might have a chance of getting my hands on a couple of Nelson Lees with Night Hawk stories.  Just don't hold your breath.
You'll get over it.  I embarrass myself all the time and feel like a right numpty regularly.  But, bear in mind, this is CB+ and we're doing really valuable work.  Much more important.

[MarkWarner]

As an aside site navigation is a tough nut to crack  .... I tend to just chuck links in all over the place and hope for the best ...lol

[mr_goldenage]

Well I did apologize most profoundly if somewhat tongue in cheek. After all it was a challenge that Terry himself threw out. But what buzzed me off was that he slammed me so badly on his blog and group. Totally uncalled for. That's what made me resign from his yahoo group. Not to mention he deleted all the info on his blog that he provided to me under his challenge, which I found somewhat childish. Just my take mind you. If anyone's interested I could post my response. Let me know.

RB @ work

[paw broon]

Yes please, Richard. Always interested to see what other things get up his nose.

[MarkWarner]

Oh dear

I am sure Terry is a thoroughly nice chap. Maybe you should email him and ask if he'd like to join us?

[mr_goldenage]

No thank you, a Wise Man told me I would be better off finding other mates to pal around with, sound advice I'd say. G'day to you Sir. snicker.....

Richard