Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Comic Books >

"Joycore" Comics - Recommendations?

Page: 1 2(3)4 5

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

04:56 / 25.03.04

I love Krazy Kat, but damn if it isn't hard to read if you didn't grow up with comics all around you.

As for Joycore manga, I think that Ranma 1/2 is PURE joycore, with clean art, fun characters and "Three's Company" style stories that never seem to get stale.

07:13 / 25.03.04

Everyone and their goldfish has seen at least one Batman movie; wave Killing Joke under their noses.

And watch them recoil in disgust.

Killing Joke, joycore? I think not.

But DR and Quinch on the other hand. Oh yeah, and Halo Jones.

07:20 / 25.03.04

There seems to be a tension on this thread between joycore and introductory comics. So then, what are we doing? Putting on our party outfits and getting on down with the joycore, or attempting to catalogue comics suitable for our funny-book-phobic friends?

I think the joycore option is infinitely more fun.

So far agreed with all sleaze's posts. Late 80s/Early 90s Brit comics really were the shit weren't they? Ah, heady days.

10:36 / 25.03.04

Lekvar, you crack me up, lil' buddy. I was actually going to suggest Salmonax but held back because of the limited availability of their comics. Even the TP is out of print. Luckily some can be downloaded from here.

11:05 / 25.03.04

if i'm gettin this joycore thing right (and i think i have, maybe, i dunno, it's been since what? last summer that i've had to get it right?) anyway, the middle part of Scud: the Disposable Assassin issues 5 - 15 (the Programmed for Distruction & Solid Gold Bomb TPBs) seem rather over the top action fun w/ robots, zombies, strange mutants and Ben Franklin as a Voodoo priest... the begining and end of the series not as fun as these, but those issues have got to be totally joycore...

11:22 / 25.03.04

are there still people who look down on folk who read comics? i never get that any more, at work, home 'socialising' or anywhere. all i get is people not being interested, and happily letting me get on with my obsession as i do them with theirs. maybe the reason a lot of comics fans feel hated is because they shove the funnybooks under peoples noses, going 'no they're really good actually, not just for geeks', which makes people hate them. i get pissed off by other comics geeks who try to tell me i'm reading the wrong kind of comics. really, how presumptuous is it to tell people what they should be doing with the precious moments they put aside for reading? knitting, to take an example from close to home, is good, but i don't give much of a shit about it (although i like a pretty blanket and will say so) and the knitters i know are happy to let that attitude be. good for them.

joyful/ous comics?

any early alan moore, esp the fleetway/ipc (or was it dc thomson) work

roy thomas'/ neal adams' mid-late seventies avengers

them englehart/o'neill/adams batmans (globetrotter sexo-spy/supernatural baddies) the celebrity was flinging about in the pub the other day

mark millar's robo hunter

pat mills' 'kill all humans' misanthropy period (ongoing...)

them old delano/lloyd nightraven one-pagers. 'member them?

14:09 / 25.03.04

I do think many people, not wholly incorrectly, associate reading comic books with a great many hours of teenage masturbation.

I don't go on about it at all, unless I'm near-certain someone will be interested; hate the idea of comicbook activism in my life.

14:46 / 25.03.04

i'll admit, i rarely try to get people to read comics unless i think they're a bit pre-disposed to reading them in the first place... and even then it's certain comics for certain people...

17:06 / 25.03.04

I think that in general terms, manga isn't as hung up respectability and seriousness as western comics have been in the past 20+ years. I think western comics has a horrible inferiority complex and always wants to prove how adult and grown up it is, whereas manga just doesn't give a fuck and is willing to be totally ridiculous. Giving up to that kind of joyful abandon, silliness, and weirdness is very very very Joycore.

This is more or less what I had in mind when I started the thread. I'm not particularly concerned with "getting new people into comics", and wasn't intending to start yet another "comics for new readers" thread, there being plenty of those in the archives already. I've just found lately that I'm really over the whole Serious Respectable comics thing, and when actually asked for recommendations I found myself unwilling to regurgitate the usual (angsty, morbid, self-serious) canonical list.

In terms of what's been mentioned so far (that I've read, that is), Hellboy and parts of Grant's JLA (I'm thinking Rock of Ages and Crisis x 5 specifically) certainly qualify, as do Madman and Red Rocket 7 (how could I have forgotten about those?). Grant's Doom Patrol very much epitomizes "Joycore" IMO, though of course it's currently unavailable. The likes of Dan Clowes, OTOH, explicity do NOT (not that I have anything against Clowes' work; it's actually quite brilliant on its own terms, just not what I'm looking for at the moment).

I suppose, given the above quoted comments about manga, that it's no suprise that the comics I've read recently that really captured that manic spirit have mostly been Japanese. Thing is, most of them have also been fairly fluffy and disposable, not really worth a specific recommendation (or even a second read, in most cases). Various Japanese horror comics have actually come closest to capturing the kind of manic nuttiness I'm thinking of, though horror isn't really what I had in mind when starting this thread, despite my intitial listing of Uzumaki.

Really, I guess what I'm looking for are comics that read the way I remember silver age comics reading, as opposed to the way silver age comics actually read when I go back to them nowadays. Stuff that's actually well-written, but also crazy and fun.

17:10 / 25.03.04

There seems to be a tension on this thread between joycore and introductory comics. So then, what are we doing? Putting on our party outfits and getting on down with the joycore, or attempting to catalogue comics suitable for our funny-book-phobic friends?

I think the joycore option is infinitely more fun.

Likewise. I'm no comics activist, and as I said above, I very much did not intend to start yet another "comics for newbies" thread. Screw the predictable intro recs. Bring on the joy!

17:40 / 25.03.04

This has got to be the most joycore image I've ever seen in comics:

That's the Thing --or Ben Grimm, actually-- getting into Dr. Doom's impregnable fortress!

Matthew Fluxington

18:28 / 25.03.04

Actually, one of the most Joycore things I've ever seen in a comic is a full page image in Fantastic Four #51 - Reed Richards is in a special spacesuit and enters the four dimensional universe. The image is remarkable - it's a collage, with Kirby's figure mixed with photos and geometric shapes (it looks more than a little dada).

This is what Reed says:

I've DONE it!! I'm drifting into a world of limitless dimensions!! It's the CROSSROADS OF INFINITY -- the junction to EVERYWHERE!

It's without question one of the most joyful and beautiful pieces of art that I've ever seen.

23:29 / 25.03.04

That image alone makes Roy Lichtenstein look like a second rate poseur.

I agree.

17:37 / 26.03.04

Based on Cameron's interview today, Seaguy looks like a strong contender to pre-qualify for the Joycore canon...

18:13 / 26.03.04

I read Vertigo Pop London the other day.

That's hardcorejoycore chums.

18:51 / 26.03.04

Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker!

This one is joycore and introductory. It's the one I give to all of my non-comics-reading friends when I want to show off some fun comics. No powers, no insider jokes about comics or the industry, no 40 years of continuity behind it, no crossovers - just one solid and very accessible self-contained story with sweet artwork and funny jokes.

Plus, I really like how the main character has a real and somewhat unexpected job, as comics go. It seems like every other comic I pick up has the main character working as a retail clerk or holding down a job in name only that they never seem to do because they spend every single issue fighting Captain Antagonist.

I feel that this is one of Baker's strongest works, and yet it's the one that's out of print! Dammit! It's the one I keep trying to track down to give as a gift. So angry.

21:11 / 26.03.04

Okay, i just thought of two more:

Blue Monday by Chynna Clugston-Major. Basically an 80s-style teen highscool comedy/drama with a posse of girls and a posse of guys and all the mucking around and shit-hanging friendship stuff that comes with teenhood. The main character, Bleu, also has an invisible giant otter for a friend (but that comes up in later issues). Oni Press do 'em.

Someone mentioned Scud the Disposable Assassin, which reminded me of GEAR!, also by Doug TenNapel. City of cats vs. City of dogs and City of Insects. Giant robots. The sensibility you've come to expect from Samurai Jack and Ren and Stimpy. Loverly.

m .

15:53 / 28.03.04

Well, for those who are Saturn-less, try abebooks. They list quite a few copies.

Haus of Mystery

19:13 / 28.03.04

I really liked 'Leave it to Chance' when it was being published.
Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot too. In fact, fuck it, DK2 was a pretty joycore affair, despite what the grumps said.

06:07 / 29.03.04

I know it's by the much reviled Sim but,

'High Society'

It's grade-A Cerebus. After he'd pretty much ceased from an endless stream of comicbook insider jokes and something like a full decade before it became a sequence of mad envoys from SimWorld. It functions just fine as a standalone book about a complete bastard who achieve outstanding success through nothing but animal cunning and sheer bloody-mindedness and then loses it all by the tale's end. Between MoonRoach, the McGrews, Elrod, The Regency Elf, and Lord Julius gallavanting on and of the page, I don't see how it could get any more joycore. (well there is that whole thing about incisive commentary on politics and society but they can be ignored if you feel like it)
On the dreaded New Readers Front, I lent it to one of my most well missed ex-girlfriends and she loved the series so much that she wouldn't give back my copy of Church & State when we broke up. (Of course, I'll finally have my belated revenge once she gets around to Reads but that's a different thread entirely isn't it?)
All in all, it's just an hilarious, low-maintenance farce.
Joyous, even.

"He ain't just a fancy boy . . . He's a funny boy!"

10:30 / 29.03.04

Jack Staff is a great joyously fun comic and the new everything used to be black and white provides even more comics joy.

13:06 / 29.03.04

For pure joycore- Barry Ween. Proving that swearing is both funny AND clever. The later issues touch on more serious issues (kinda). Check out the anti-zoo rant from Monkey Tales #1. My personal favorite line comes after he's given hippos the breeding potential of rats: "stop humping you fat fucks"

Goodness Gracious Meme

12:36 / 31.03.04

ooh, Blue Monday! Yes! John Hughes films in comic form. with better haircuts.

Prego the Werlf

12:53 / 31.03.04

For non comic readers, I always try The Tale Of One Bad Rat. For Sci fi freaks I give them Luther Arkright and Drug Bunny types always love Brainstorm. All by Bryan Talbot, all fantastic.

14:37 / 31.03.04

Yes, but are they joycore?

JOYCORE!

Haus of Mystery

14:51 / 31.03.04

James Kochalka - Peanut Butter and Jeremy, JOYCORE!
Sock Monkey, 'JOYCORE!

17:19 / 31.03.04

I'd add in the Bizarro Comics Anthology that came out a couple of years ago. Indie comics creators unleashed on the DC Universe - wholly fun shit. It helps if you're already a comics reader, but most of the material is just manic riffs on characters that most people would recognise anyway... and Superman's Babysitter is going to go down well with anybody, anywhere, anytime. Has anybody else out there read it? Nobody ever seems to mention it... as if it just appeared from another universe on the shelves of the local shop.

17:50 / 31.03.04

God, yes, the Bizarro Anthology. Fantastic stuff. Tony fucking Millionaire doing Batman. Paul Pope’s sweet Superman vs Bizarro. Ellen Forney drawing the loveliest Wonder Woman ever, appearing in a freestyle poetry slam on her day off.

The 'Superman’s Babysitter' story makes me joyful in a different way: it was first published in this Elseworlds 80-Page Giant comic, before the entire print run was recalled and pulped, or some rubbish like that. So, apparently it’s quite valuable. And I’ve got a copy, hee hee.

But yeah, Tony Millionaire! Maakies pushes my joy button. In a depraved/alcoholic/suicidal kind of a way, that is.

Haus of Mystery

17:59 / 31.03.04

I'll third the Bizarro anthology even though I mentioned it earlier on in the thread. The Paul Pope Bizarro, and the Metal Men stories in particular floated my boat.

Earlier than I thought

18:58 / 31.03.04

Flaming Carrot. Doesn't get more joyous than bikinis! Gum! Pogo sticks! Climbing walls with toilet plungers! Sucking up ghosts with a vacuum cleaner! Ut!

Haus of Mystery

19:16 / 31.03.04

And The Tick! Don't forget the Tick!

20:48 / 31.03.04

For non comic readers, I always try[...]

Never mind non-comic readers, I almost regret mentioning them now--stick to the Joycore!

That said, some great recommendations are popping up here, many of which I haven't read, I'm happy to say.

23:17 / 31.03.04

Marc Hempel's Gregory books were nothing if not joycore!
ZUB! ZUB!

15:53 / 01.04.04

I suppose 1963 would count, wouldn't it? Never got collected, though. I especially loved the one with the four-dimensional monster.

22:51 / 01.04.04

I actually purchased a 'Shameless Sixty-Three Sixpack' from FP last week. It is amazing.

My favourites are Horus, Lord of Light and The Tomorrow Syndicate. Also a big fan of Hypernaut.

Most importantly though, it was so joycore, my septum broke, leading to fountains of happy blood torading (not an actual word) from my nose.

The shitey paper is so good.

If you can find this, and you like Jack Kirby (who doesn't?), you should seriously get it. Seriously.

Page: 1 2(3)4 5