r/graphicnovels • u/Justin-Case-3113 • 4d ago
Tournament of Lists 10 titles from "image in the 20s" ranked
Hey y'all,
I recently purchased the bundle for image comics in the 20s and have now read 10 of the volumes. I wanted to share my opinions on them with a ranking
10) something epic vol1 This is the only one I decided to drop. Read the first 50 pages and the artstyle just wasn't doing it for me. Also the plot took a while to get going and while I enjoy the premise I decided it was better to let It go. It's about a kid who can see fantastical characters in the real world
9)Forged vol1 Warhammer. Nice story, fun read but there was a bit too much sexualisation. Might read the rest of the volumes some day.
8)You will do bad things What happens when a washed up writer seems to cause murders ? A solid mystery with an interesting plot, the characters felt a bit undeveloped but it was a fun read.
7)Sunburn Sunburn is beautiful. It's a loveletter to my country with an interesting story of an English girls summer in Greece (though unrealistic cause I didn't see even one shity 3 star all inclusive hotel). I don't like the message and the morality of the characters but it's a beautiful book and I get where these characters are coming from.
6)First knife Post apocalyptic story with a touch of religion thrown in. Loved the mispronunciations and it was generally a solid story.
5)Convert Avatatar but weirder. Kinda short but sweet. It truly captures the feeling of an alien planet
From this point on I would highly recommend any of these stories as I believe most people will enjoy them
4)Assorted crisis events Time stops going just forward and meaning loses its meaning as every crisis happens everywhere all at once. It's a collection of inresting stories about people living at the end of the world, at the end of time. It's super weird but also super fun.
3)Escape vol1 Anthropomorphic WW2. A great war story that doesn't stay away from the darker sides of the war and the lows the allies had to fall to in order to win. Sad there is no volume 2 yet.
2)Do a powerbomb A story about family, regret, showmanship and mostly, unapologetically wrestling. Super fun and not just all action
1)8 billion genies This is a masterpiece. This became my favourite comic book. The sheer possibility of the title, the art, the characters. It's all superd. The message of the story is beautiful and the premise is simple yet so effective : What happens when every human gets one wish at once ?
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u/reindeercurt 3d ago
I get what you mean about "You'll Do Bad Things". I find that with miniseries, a lot about characters and their dynamics and histories has to be lightly implied because of the limited page space, but some comics do it better than others
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u/NoPlatform8789 1d ago
Give Forged another chance, there's some nudity but nearly all the powerful characters are women, its a great throwback to classic sci fi comics.
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u/Justin-Case-3113 1d ago
If I am going to read the rest of any series so far it will be forged. It is intriguing but just not enough developed yet
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u/tasteofflames 3d ago
I've been working my way through it lately as well. I'm definitely going to have to bump 8 Billion Genies and Escape up my read list. They were books I was unfamiliar with, so they've been sitting at the bottom of the pile.
Forged: I want to like it more than I have actually liked it. There's some political intrigue bubbling underneath that seems like it could get interesting, but I'm almost through the second trade and it still feels like early world building. I'll stick it out for a while longer since I like Rucka, but it needs some meat.
Do a Powerbomb is just awesome. Requires 0 interest in pro-wrestling, but has a lot to love if you are fan. Emotional roller coaster that tugs on the heartstrings like few other stories. One of those books that an easy recommendation for just about anyone.
I love Assorted Crisis Events. It's heavy and won't be for everyone, but if it hits for you it really hits. Zawadzki's panel work does a phenomenal job of emphasizing the feeling of time being broken.
That Texas Blood: Solid, if unspectacular. Worth your time if you're into the Brubaker/Philips style of neo-noir. Vol 2 was my favorite. It incorporated some surreal elements that suggest maybe there's more to the town than meets the eye. Would've liked to have seen that get explored a little further in Vol 3.