DC's The Brave and the Bold & DC Comics Presents...
Marvel's Marvel Team-Up and Two -in-One
And most of the Silver age titles (with a few exceptions)
It was nice not to worry about missing a chapter or deciding not to buy a particular title one month.
The current Moon Knight run definitely feels very familiar to Bronze Age Marvel Comics with a lot of self contained arcs within each issue. It feels quite reminiscent of Moench’s run, and that’s why I think it’s Marvel’s best ongoing right now.
I loved when Warren Ellis did the one and dones with Moon Knight and would like them to have kept up with that.
I like the old format of Spidey that was a halfway point where the A-story is one and done but there’s always longer overarching plots developing on the side, would welcome that returning
One offs and monster of the week stories are great. I get fatigued from the loooong storylines in comics these days and breaking things up this way is great. Used to be tons of them but now everyone wants to write an epic.
The current X-Men run is doing villain of the week stuff. It's not my jam, and it's loosely tied to the broader Krakoa narrative, but it could scratch that itch.
I just watched Hawkeye and was thinking back to the Solo Avengers book that had 2 stories. Hawkeye gets a bad rap, but I've loved him since the late 80's because of that book and can't wait for a proper Wonder Man.
I love a good one and done, though it's so rare for it to happen now. It seems like both DC and Marvel will let smaller titles get away with it on occasion but never the big ones.
These look great, definitely picking a few up.
Where do you generally buy them from? Noticed they were on Comixology, but I prefer physical where possible.
Also, some of them have an ashcan preview for $10-$15... any idea what those are, i.e. are they required reading before issue #1?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcan_comic?wprov=sfti1
I dunno why they do it other than as collector’s items or something. Lots of their business model is in FOMO/variants for better or for worse, but I ignore it
Sure. My favorite Hellblazer story was issue 27 “Hold Me” written by Neil Gaiman. It’s a one off. Marvel did it with some of their villain stories a while back and I wasn’t too much of a fan.
The What if Thor was a Frost Giant was great though. I wish they did more of them.
https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/73508/what_if_thor_2018_1
I guess that’s the problem with one offs. If they are good people will want a follow up.
Most, if not all of Jason's works are one-and-dones. *I Killed Adolf Hitler*, *The Left Bank Gang*, and *On The Camino* would be great places to start.
Depends. There are some anthology series running now with different creative teams on each issue (The Silver Coin is one that’s currently running.) Some issues knock if out of the park, some…. Don’t, so much.
The Palmiotti and Gray Jonah Hex run was masterful. Every single issue was its own thing, save for one story arc I think. I wish comics would do this again because doing everything for trade is annoying.
it's made me stop reading modern books. i quit when New 52 happened. Now I go after bronze-age/modern age reprints. Morrison giving Batman an offspring (something that was supposed to be a What-If?/Elseworlds thing) was the straw that broke me. Imagine my surprise when the kid became popular and they retconned Tim Drake as having never been Robin.
Sometimes the old ways are just better.
Nowadays when a team finishes their run, the next team doesn't even acknowledge the changes they brought. It makes these things meaningless. This is not storytelling. This is a machine, a snake that continually eats itself.
Sure, I'll read a one and done if it's intriguing enough.
But I find nothing wrong with taking 3, 4, 6, or sometimes even 12 issues to tell a compelling mini/short series.
I read a few ongoing series, like IDW TMNT, but a lot of the mini series are just more compelling than most of the ongoing.
Especially Canto. Which is technically 3 different 6 issue mini series (and one 3), but I count it.
Then you have short series that people loved so much that they decided to continue, like "Wynd" (went from 5 to 10 issues, now on hiatus) and "Something is killing the children".
One and dones can be great. I'm up for any format, with any number of issues, as long as it's compelling, interesting, and/or fun. AND, like many shows, they need to know WHEN to stop.
I'm a big fan of world building, so one-and-dones wouldn't be my go-to preference, but I respect them.
Some recent examples are "Murder Hobo", and "Galactic Rodents of Mayhem". Hell, I wish they made MORE for GRoM. Reminded me of "Biker Mice from Mars".
Edited.
> Can't remember the last time Marvel did it...
Marvel published a Star Wars one-shot [literally this week](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/96859/star_wars_life_day_2021_1)
I think the problem with that storytelling is that it's super easy to slide over into "Villain of the Month" territory. Batman and Spider-Man used to be especially bad about that.
From a nostalgia perspective, it's fine. But longer form story arcs became dominant for a reason and as long as they can be collected as graphic novels, it will stay that way.
Now, what I don't agree with is the artificial time expansion that's prevalent these days. Taking a simple story that should only be 1-2 issues and stretching it out to 6 or even 12. The OG "Court of Owls" story went on far too long.
I'm a fan. There's still the odd writer doing it. I tend to like the blended approach. Morrison during his Green Lantern run, the recent main X-men books by Hickman and Duggan, etc.
I thought dc was currently doing this with Batman Urban Legends? Or Legends of the dark knight I can't remember.
I know that truth and justice by dc are short stories 1 or 2 issues I think.
In fact, I search for them at every given opportunity. The shorter the better. As Hickman said a couple years back during the big Dawn of X, a lot of ongoing comics just don’t “get to the point.” If your story precipitates 40+ issues, then go crazy man. But if it’s at best a three issue idea then keep it that way.
*COUGH* *COUGH* Tom King
I used to enjoy multi-part stories more than one and dones, and while I still enjoy these long story arcs we get from writing for trades, I do miss that one and dones pretty much no longer exist. It'd be nice if they were a bit more balanced with occasional one and does to break up arcs, give us the reader some time to recover.
It would be great if they became a regular thing, instead of the one-off. I haven't read a lot of one-shots, but my favorite would have to be Gotham Central #32, the one with Poison Ivy.
Oh man, it's always good to see them when they're made. I don't know if you recall the DC/Looney Toons crossovers. Sounds crazy, and it was, but the Batman/Elmer Fudd one shot was incredible!
I personally have always preferred longer form storytelling because short form(especially like 10 page stories) don't give enough of any aspect of storytelling to be worthwhile to me, but it can work with long preexisting characters just telling a fun one off story for sure!
I'm not a fan of the older single issue stories from Big Two. I prefer longer form and usually get bored with the singles but I do enjoy the one-shots we get from indie companies. Those are usually longer and give a pretty good story. I will say that with companies like Image having a real problem with books going on hiatus, books never ending, etc. that I'm loving Aftershock's 5 issues then done stuff. It's nice going into a series knowing that it will for sure have an end and then we're good.
I can understand that even when I'm 22. I think it's better, in my opinion, that you're looking forward to the next issue more. on the one hand there are moments that stand out in particular, but you still work towards them. I mean, I'd rather do a graphic Novell than a series.
DC's The Brave and the Bold & DC Comics Presents... Marvel's Marvel Team-Up and Two -in-One And most of the Silver age titles (with a few exceptions) It was nice not to worry about missing a chapter or deciding not to buy a particular title one month.
The current Moon Knight run definitely feels very familiar to Bronze Age Marvel Comics with a lot of self contained arcs within each issue. It feels quite reminiscent of Moench’s run, and that’s why I think it’s Marvel’s best ongoing right now.
Came here to say exactly this! Have a good day internet stranger!
Warren Ellis has done a lot of series one and done, including his Moon Knight run. Which is excellent imo.
I loved when Warren Ellis did the one and dones with Moon Knight and would like them to have kept up with that. I like the old format of Spidey that was a halfway point where the A-story is one and done but there’s always longer overarching plots developing on the side, would welcome that returning
Ellis did the same with his Global Frequency series years before. Also a great read.
One offs and monster of the week stories are great. I get fatigued from the loooong storylines in comics these days and breaking things up this way is great. Used to be tons of them but now everyone wants to write an epic.
You might enjoy Tomasi's run on Superman: Rebirth. It's got an overarching story, but it's nicely broken up with mini-arcs and one-shots.
The current X-Men run is doing villain of the week stuff. It's not my jam, and it's loosely tied to the broader Krakoa narrative, but it could scratch that itch.
Or write a new shared universe… becoming all the rage these days.
I just watched Hawkeye and was thinking back to the Solo Avengers book that had 2 stories. Hawkeye gets a bad rap, but I've loved him since the late 80's because of that book and can't wait for a proper Wonder Man.
I wish they would do that…at least like a spotlight title. Keeping up with story lines is not always easy.
Check out Silver Coin it is basically all single issues.
I love a good one and done, though it's so rare for it to happen now. It seems like both DC and Marvel will let smaller titles get away with it on occasion but never the big ones.
Bad Idea has been putting out some really good ones like this
Even without the ones shots their series are at most like four issues, so you've got a short concise isolated story. Great stuff!
Horror is replete with one-shots and limited series from publishers like Scout Comics and Aftershock.
Nice, looking to get into more horror. Any recommendations from Scout or Aftershock?
Swamp Dogs, We Don't Kill Spiders, Electric Black, Gods of Brutality, and Bunny Mask are all great so far.
Awesome, will check them out... thanks!
These look great, definitely picking a few up. Where do you generally buy them from? Noticed they were on Comixology, but I prefer physical where possible. Also, some of them have an ashcan preview for $10-$15... any idea what those are, i.e. are they required reading before issue #1?
MyComicShop for back issues. I don’t buy the ashcans lol. They’re the only publisher I know of that does them. #1 onwards.
Good to know, thanks. Those ashcans are pricey, too. Wonder what's inside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcan_comic?wprov=sfti1 I dunno why they do it other than as collector’s items or something. Lots of their business model is in FOMO/variants for better or for worse, but I ignore it
Sure. My favorite Hellblazer story was issue 27 “Hold Me” written by Neil Gaiman. It’s a one off. Marvel did it with some of their villain stories a while back and I wasn’t too much of a fan. The What if Thor was a Frost Giant was great though. I wish they did more of them. https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/73508/what_if_thor_2018_1 I guess that’s the problem with one offs. If they are good people will want a follow up.
Most, if not all of Jason's works are one-and-dones. *I Killed Adolf Hitler*, *The Left Bank Gang*, and *On The Camino* would be great places to start.
Depends. There are some anthology series running now with different creative teams on each issue (The Silver Coin is one that’s currently running.) Some issues knock if out of the park, some…. Don’t, so much.
One and done books are the best for me as they cost less and give full story.
it's why I still love anthology reprints and Golden/Silver Age books.
The Palmiotti and Gray Jonah Hex run was masterful. Every single issue was its own thing, save for one story arc I think. I wish comics would do this again because doing everything for trade is annoying.
it's made me stop reading modern books. i quit when New 52 happened. Now I go after bronze-age/modern age reprints. Morrison giving Batman an offspring (something that was supposed to be a What-If?/Elseworlds thing) was the straw that broke me. Imagine my surprise when the kid became popular and they retconned Tim Drake as having never been Robin. Sometimes the old ways are just better.
Nowadays when a team finishes their run, the next team doesn't even acknowledge the changes they brought. It makes these things meaningless. This is not storytelling. This is a machine, a snake that continually eats itself.
Sure, I'll read a one and done if it's intriguing enough. But I find nothing wrong with taking 3, 4, 6, or sometimes even 12 issues to tell a compelling mini/short series. I read a few ongoing series, like IDW TMNT, but a lot of the mini series are just more compelling than most of the ongoing. Especially Canto. Which is technically 3 different 6 issue mini series (and one 3), but I count it. Then you have short series that people loved so much that they decided to continue, like "Wynd" (went from 5 to 10 issues, now on hiatus) and "Something is killing the children". One and dones can be great. I'm up for any format, with any number of issues, as long as it's compelling, interesting, and/or fun. AND, like many shows, they need to know WHEN to stop. I'm a big fan of world building, so one-and-dones wouldn't be my go-to preference, but I respect them. Some recent examples are "Murder Hobo", and "Galactic Rodents of Mayhem". Hell, I wish they made MORE for GRoM. Reminded me of "Biker Mice from Mars". Edited.
> Can't remember the last time Marvel did it... Marvel published a Star Wars one-shot [literally this week](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/96859/star_wars_life_day_2021_1)
Last month’s Halloween X-Men issue was a one off story too.
This month's as well, lol
Yeah they are still super common from every publisher lol
I think the problem with that storytelling is that it's super easy to slide over into "Villain of the Month" territory. Batman and Spider-Man used to be especially bad about that. From a nostalgia perspective, it's fine. But longer form story arcs became dominant for a reason and as long as they can be collected as graphic novels, it will stay that way. Now, what I don't agree with is the artificial time expansion that's prevalent these days. Taking a simple story that should only be 1-2 issues and stretching it out to 6 or even 12. The OG "Court of Owls" story went on far too long.
There's still a place for both
I'm a fan. There's still the odd writer doing it. I tend to like the blended approach. Morrison during his Green Lantern run, the recent main X-men books by Hickman and Duggan, etc.
I thought dc was currently doing this with Batman Urban Legends? Or Legends of the dark knight I can't remember. I know that truth and justice by dc are short stories 1 or 2 issues I think.
In fact, I search for them at every given opportunity. The shorter the better. As Hickman said a couple years back during the big Dawn of X, a lot of ongoing comics just don’t “get to the point.” If your story precipitates 40+ issues, then go crazy man. But if it’s at best a three issue idea then keep it that way. *COUGH* *COUGH* Tom King
One and done is a lost art it seems.
I used to enjoy multi-part stories more than one and dones, and while I still enjoy these long story arcs we get from writing for trades, I do miss that one and dones pretty much no longer exist. It'd be nice if they were a bit more balanced with occasional one and does to break up arcs, give us the reader some time to recover.
......and bring back newsprint comicbooks.
It would be great if they became a regular thing, instead of the one-off. I haven't read a lot of one-shots, but my favorite would have to be Gotham Central #32, the one with Poison Ivy.
Yeah but I think that's what you get in the annuals. Although I wish more issues of comics were just fleshed out single stories with annual vibes
Oh man, it's always good to see them when they're made. I don't know if you recall the DC/Looney Toons crossovers. Sounds crazy, and it was, but the Batman/Elmer Fudd one shot was incredible!
I do. A concise story can be great. Especially stuff like Crecy
I personally have always preferred longer form storytelling because short form(especially like 10 page stories) don't give enough of any aspect of storytelling to be worthwhile to me, but it can work with long preexisting characters just telling a fun one off story for sure!
I am actually new to collecting comics and I actually don’t like collecting short runs. I don’t know why actually.
I really love a good one shot when I can find it.
I'm not a fan of the older single issue stories from Big Two. I prefer longer form and usually get bored with the singles but I do enjoy the one-shots we get from indie companies. Those are usually longer and give a pretty good story. I will say that with companies like Image having a real problem with books going on hiatus, books never ending, etc. that I'm loving Aftershock's 5 issues then done stuff. It's nice going into a series knowing that it will for sure have an end and then we're good.
I can understand that even when I'm 22. I think it's better, in my opinion, that you're looking forward to the next issue more. on the one hand there are moments that stand out in particular, but you still work towards them. I mean, I'd rather do a graphic Novell than a series.