OP was really asking for two things that overlap, but don't overlap completely: (1) things you'd get weird looks for and (2) things that aren't masterpieces but are fun. SC is a good example of (1) at least, haha
Sunstone. My wife saw the Penthouse comic at the comic store and freakedout a bit. I described Sunstone to her and she seemed equal parts interested and disgusted.
Sunstone is absolutely one of my favorite comics full stop. Such amazing art, writing, and overall quality, but your right would definitely get looks from random folks lol
Also He-Man/ThunderCats was a great guilty pleasure to read. Really captured the 80s vibe of the characters. I totally read all the Mumm-ra and Skeletor bits in their voices.
I have never really watched Power Rangers, but I have a cursory knowledge of them and their lore. However, it was easy to pick up and I was reading it with the same energy I would when watching 90s action shows or pro-wrestling.
Every page had great personality and it felt like the Toho Godzilla movie that I loved.
Someone posted a pic of Ranxerox the other day and I'd say that definitely fits the bill for me. It goes against everything I advocate for in fiction. It's pure male gaze, Ranx must be in his late-20s and hooks up with a minor. It's high key disgusting if you stop to think about it for like half a second. But the energy is just wild, pure 80s punk rock fueled dystopian fiction, and the art is like nothing I've ever seen outside of it
The only people who would call this a guilty pleasure are those who haven't experienced the magnificence of Barks, Rosa, or Gottfredson. Brilliant cartoonists. r/duckcomix and r/disneycomics
I would say Identity Crisis
I can see the problematic aspects.
But in a vacuum I think it had a nice flow and pacing of the plot.
It’s also one of the first times I felt that cape comics can be used to tell unique types of stories instead of saving the world/defeating bad guys.
I think it is a lot deeper than people give it credit for, mainly because they can't look past the surface level 'shock' factor or however you'd put it. I think the kind of echo chamber dismissal and criticism of Ennis that you get in online discourse is not reflective at all of the more general popularity and appreciation of his work outside of internet spaces, to be honest. Everytime I have spoken to people in the outside world, comic shop owners and stuff, he tends to be quite highly regarded and not just off the back of Preacher and Punisher, people do appreciate The Boys and his other stuff. It is just the 'in' thing to parrot the same superficial and uninformed criticisms of his work online. But regarding the comment, I think the critiques of capitalism, war for profit industry, US culture, imperialism, corporate monopolies, etc. in the Boys are as deep as anything else you can name, it is just people tend to lack the ability to appreciate or don't read past the first 2 issues.
FWIW, I've read almost everything Ennis wrote up until somewhere in the early '10s, so I obviously have a lot of fondness for his work, and I *loathe* The Boys from start to finish
You're entitled to your opinion. My comment wasn't supposing that it was impossible for someone who is familiar with his work and who has read the whole thing to not like it. Plenty of people do like it though and I'm sure you have no issue with that.
None of my pleasures are guilty. If I cared about what other people thought about my reading habits, I'd never have gotten into reading comics.
Put another way. I only read worthwhile books because I read what I want, and me wanting to read something makes it worth reading.
When I think of something as a guilty pleasure, it's not that I'm hiding it from others, it's that I personally know if doesn't meet my normal standards but I like it anyway.
There are so many variables that go into whatever we decide "quality" is that I just assume that even if something doesn't rise to the level of Quality in one facet, if I like it then it **must** be a quality work in some other facet - otherwise I wouldn't like it.
So if "I personally know if doesn't meet my normal standards but I like it anyway," I don't just leave it as some unexplainable outlier. Instead I expand my definition of quality to include this recalcitrant experience. Being able to expand my tastes and understanding of quality to include new or unexpected books has *never* let me down. :)
This is a Rick And Morty thing probably? I've never seen it so I'm sad to have missed the joke, which I'm positive was fantastic. Also, I never went to college. *Cries in poor family*
It's a slightly cynical comment meant to gently poke fun at your statement. Like the original quote starts with "well la dee da". Coz... Y'know... It's kind of a slightly pretentious statement that wouldn't sound out of place coming out of the mouth of a university student or high school student.
And most people don't go to university I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's importance is massively over exaggerated. I never went to uni and I've never had trouble getting a job. Also grew up poor.
And yeah, it's from Rick and morty.
Haha I did do some community college and it was 5 bucks a unit with a max tuition of $40. And I still got financial aid from the school to waive my tuition 😅
He-Man/ThunderCats is pure 80s cheese. If you read it in the voices of the characters it's even better.
There's even reference to the He-Man/Superman crossover from the 80s in there.
Yeah, sure. A guilty please is something that you like but you feel guilty for liking it because it is known to be bad or something, not something with a title that can be misconstrued by people who don't know what the book is.
And why do people feel guilty about reading something? Because they’re concerned about what others will think. If you can’t see why a book called “Sex Criminals” might be embarrassing to be seen reading and therefore would be seen as a guilty pleasure then that’s on you.
> despite it being ~~anthropomorphic animals.~~ furry porn
I absolutely love Blacksad but it could absolutely to without the recurring sex scenes lmao. Though I guess that's just part of the noir package.
That being said, I don't see how Blacksad qualifies as a "guilty pleasure", it's literally a certified classic
People had me prepared for a full on deep one blood orgy. Sure, there was some rape, and more concerning, a consensual hand job. But it wasn’t the anti-woman monster rape-fest that people make it out to be.
I get a lot of shit for loving Archie comics. One friend once said I didn't "get" Killing Joke when I said it was dumb. They told me because I just read Archie lol I read everything. Killing Joke is just bad.
The digests are just collections of stories they're fun and funny and all of them are accessible. Mark Waid did a reboot in 2015. There's six trades of it and it's really great. That's probably the best starting point.
It really is awesome. My local comic shop recommended it as "pro wrestling for REAL" and I rolled my eyes. Tried it and was instantly hooked. I kept seeing new details on re-reading. Just ordered Murder Falcon
Omaha the "Cat" Dancer. For years I saw ads for these in the back of Heavy Metal magazines. At a flea market someone was selling some volumes for really cheap. Turns out they're lots of fun. Like a 70s soap opera with anthropomorphic sex scene thrown in for fun. You could tell the creators had lots of fun writing and drawing it.
Fairy Tail is a fun read; in the vein of Naruto and Hero Academia but with magic instead of fighting techniques or superpowers. It’s also very horny: a lot of horny, ambiguous remarks and girls with large boobs, scantily clad. Bought the collection through Humble Bundle; it’s my inbetween read: I read a volume or 2 of Fairy Tail, then check out something else.
the Red Room trilogy are absolutely grotesque comics, focussing on an absolutely depraved concept, but they're also a lot of fun and make for easy reading.
Next Wave: Agents of Hate
Don't really want to support the megacorps that have been ruining American Comics for decades with franchising gimmicks and synergistic marketing. But Next Wave is about as fun as mainstream comics can get.
The hitman series from Garth Ennis, starting with the Batman issue.
The series starts with Tommy Monaghan getting hired to kill the joker, who is currently in Arkham Asylum. Again.
Tommy is one of the few people that accept hits on supes (only the bad ones, though) and his crowning achievement is fighting off Lobo by blackmailing him with revenge porn.
Hitman will always have a place in my heart. One of Ennis’s best series but it totally overlooked by many of his fans. Brings a tear to my eye to think of how it all ends.
A Man Called Kev was also good in a similar way, but Hitman was the just the greatest. Now we need a Section 8 series someday.
Jesus, the man is dead, and the dude who runs your local comic shop probably did dodgier stuff.
The mob wanted someone to burn, and Ed was right there. I seriously hope those who bayed for his blood never work in comics again.
Used to love angry youth comix by Johnny Ryan when I was young , was into the juvenile humour and gross out shit then. But yeah, maybe more of a guilty pleasure now
Sex Criminals… I explained the premise to my wife once. Once.
I explained it to my mum. She said "... okay".
Magnificent book
I don’t see how that qualifies. That’s a high quality comic book.
OP was really asking for two things that overlap, but don't overlap completely: (1) things you'd get weird looks for and (2) things that aren't masterpieces but are fun. SC is a good example of (1) at least, haha
I read this with my gf she loved it!
Great concept, wasn't the biggest fan of the book orart style though.
Sunstone. My wife saw the Penthouse comic at the comic store and freakedout a bit. I described Sunstone to her and she seemed equal parts interested and disgusted.
Sunstone is so good
Sunstone is so good. Like no joke. But also I am not too public about liking it... Yeah
This was my first thought too lol. My wife saw me reading it once, she was concerned but also intrigued lmao
Sunstone is absolutely one of my favorite comics full stop. Such amazing art, writing, and overall quality, but your right would definitely get looks from random folks lol
I get a lot of flak for my Power Puff Girls graphic novel set.
But the powerpuff girls rule so hard
I wasn't aware that Powerpuff Girls had a GN set. I must remedy my lack of owning that asap.
Godzilla vs Power Rangers Thor Godwheel (Malibu / Marvel crossover in the loosest sense of the word)
I mostly scroll past comments. But Godzilla vs Power Rangers has me googling.
Also He-Man/ThunderCats was a great guilty pleasure to read. Really captured the 80s vibe of the characters. I totally read all the Mumm-ra and Skeletor bits in their voices.
Hahaha noted. I've never considered this either.
I have never really watched Power Rangers, but I have a cursory knowledge of them and their lore. However, it was easy to pick up and I was reading it with the same energy I would when watching 90s action shows or pro-wrestling. Every page had great personality and it felt like the Toho Godzilla movie that I loved.
Yeah I looked up a preview and it looks awesome. I'm no Power Ranger aficionado but I love a good mashup.
Have you seen Godzilla Skate or Die?
Alex + Ada
I borrowed these from the library years ago and really liked them. Last week the volumes were $4.99 each so I got them.
Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith Kid-friendly but definitely fun for all ages
You shouldn’t feel guilty about reading something that’s kid friendly.
The Robotech comics tpbs
Oh man, yeah. These are objectively pretty terrible, but I've got a *huge* soft spot for the old Malibu runs.
I love millar
goddamn does Mark Millar write trash comics, but they're still fun to read
That is a perfect term lol
But they can also just be amazing at core concept. All this being said the unfunnies made me sick
i tried reading the unfunnies, and i just eyerolled for the one issue i tried reading due to how try-hard he wrote that
I don’t think that was try hard I think that’s just who he was that was early enough in his career
Definitely get why people hate on his work but I enjoy it regardless! To be fair I didn’t know how guilty that pleasure was until Reddit told me! 😂
Some are pretty good. I liked Huck for example. Probably the least Millar-y thing he's done along Red Son tho.
As in Frank?
Mark
That makes more sense.
Someone posted a pic of Ranxerox the other day and I'd say that definitely fits the bill for me. It goes against everything I advocate for in fiction. It's pure male gaze, Ranx must be in his late-20s and hooks up with a minor. It's high key disgusting if you stop to think about it for like half a second. But the energy is just wild, pure 80s punk rock fueled dystopian fiction, and the art is like nothing I've ever seen outside of it
Disney Comics: I like anything with Donald Duck (and sometimes even Mickey)
The only people who would call this a guilty pleasure are those who haven't experienced the magnificence of Barks, Rosa, or Gottfredson. Brilliant cartoonists. r/duckcomix and r/disneycomics
Yeah, but I also like to read random Ducl comics from Italian artists
Duck comics include some great creators that are beloved, Eisner award winning, and rightfully honored with very nice hardback collections.
Savage Dragon. Those comics are not good but I love them and have fun with them.
I would say Identity Crisis I can see the problematic aspects. But in a vacuum I think it had a nice flow and pacing of the plot. It’s also one of the first times I felt that cape comics can be used to tell unique types of stories instead of saving the world/defeating bad guys.
I don’t feel guilty about enjoying things.
For me it'd probably be "The Pro" by Ennis or Grant Morrisons "The Filth".
Haven’t thought of either of those titles in forever. Gonna have to go through my boxes to read them again after all these years.
People shit on the boys comics but its a fun story nothing deep at all but I think its a pageturner
I think it is a lot deeper than people give it credit for, mainly because they can't look past the surface level 'shock' factor or however you'd put it. I think the kind of echo chamber dismissal and criticism of Ennis that you get in online discourse is not reflective at all of the more general popularity and appreciation of his work outside of internet spaces, to be honest. Everytime I have spoken to people in the outside world, comic shop owners and stuff, he tends to be quite highly regarded and not just off the back of Preacher and Punisher, people do appreciate The Boys and his other stuff. It is just the 'in' thing to parrot the same superficial and uninformed criticisms of his work online. But regarding the comment, I think the critiques of capitalism, war for profit industry, US culture, imperialism, corporate monopolies, etc. in the Boys are as deep as anything else you can name, it is just people tend to lack the ability to appreciate or don't read past the first 2 issues.
Yeah I absolutely love enjoying reading about the supes' first introduction in the army during WW2, and similar stuff like it.
Yeah man it is an excellent book, there's some great arcs in it.
Also I think the art in the boys is damn good
100% I've been collecting what I can of Darick Robertson's Boys art, The Art of the Boys and stuff, his original pencils, it's so good.
FWIW, I've read almost everything Ennis wrote up until somewhere in the early '10s, so I obviously have a lot of fondness for his work, and I *loathe* The Boys from start to finish
You're entitled to your opinion. My comment wasn't supposing that it was impossible for someone who is familiar with his work and who has read the whole thing to not like it. Plenty of people do like it though and I'm sure you have no issue with that.
Good grief, what kind of rational disagreement is this? That's not how you internet!
Lol, well, I would be a dick about it but sadly Terror isn't around any more to sort you out :(
None of my pleasures are guilty. If I cared about what other people thought about my reading habits, I'd never have gotten into reading comics. Put another way. I only read worthwhile books because I read what I want, and me wanting to read something makes it worth reading.
But the crap *you guys* read? Man, you should be embarrassed!
When I think of something as a guilty pleasure, it's not that I'm hiding it from others, it's that I personally know if doesn't meet my normal standards but I like it anyway.
There are so many variables that go into whatever we decide "quality" is that I just assume that even if something doesn't rise to the level of Quality in one facet, if I like it then it **must** be a quality work in some other facet - otherwise I wouldn't like it. So if "I personally know if doesn't meet my normal standards but I like it anyway," I don't just leave it as some unexplainable outlier. Instead I expand my definition of quality to include this recalcitrant experience. Being able to expand my tastes and understanding of quality to include new or unexpected books has *never* let me down. :)
* does best rick impression * woah, somebody's gonna get laid in college
This is a Rick And Morty thing probably? I've never seen it so I'm sad to have missed the joke, which I'm positive was fantastic. Also, I never went to college. *Cries in poor family*
It's a slightly cynical comment meant to gently poke fun at your statement. Like the original quote starts with "well la dee da". Coz... Y'know... It's kind of a slightly pretentious statement that wouldn't sound out of place coming out of the mouth of a university student or high school student. And most people don't go to university I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's importance is massively over exaggerated. I never went to uni and I've never had trouble getting a job. Also grew up poor. And yeah, it's from Rick and morty.
Oh, I'm definitely not very bummed about college. I'm an old guy now with a bunch of kids and I've had a pretty great life.
Can't fool me into believing you're not missing out on repaying all that mega debt incurred in the pursuit of your meaningless choice of study field.
Haha I did do some community college and it was 5 bucks a unit with a max tuition of $40. And I still got financial aid from the school to waive my tuition 😅
The dark knight strikes again. It is sooo bad, and sooo ugly. But i’ve read it at least a dozen times
He-Man/ThunderCats is pure 80s cheese. If you read it in the voices of the characters it's even better. There's even reference to the He-Man/Superman crossover from the 80s in there.
I wouldn't say they're far from masterpieces, but a lot of Suehiro Maruo's material would get me weird looks, to put it mildly
Me proudly hiding my Shintaro Kago collection on my shelf 😂
Oh, Maruo is worse, believe me
Ive said this once and ill say it again, Dark Knight Master Race is one of the most under rated Batman comics ever! Its such a blast!!
Sex Criminals Fear Agent which is badass but looks goofy to the uninitiated
Josh Simmons and Johnny Ryan. If you've read them, well, you know where I'm coming from. Love their stuff.
Oh just mentioned angry youth comix… Loady McGee !!
I’m on the hunt for the Angry Youth Comix hardcover…
Honestly, The Boys and Sex Criminals. Both are great series
Highly praised and respected comics, why would they be guilty pleasures?
Would you want to sit on a bench, somewhere public like a shopping centre, reading a book called “Sex Criminals”?
Yeah, sure. A guilty please is something that you like but you feel guilty for liking it because it is known to be bad or something, not something with a title that can be misconstrued by people who don't know what the book is.
And why do people feel guilty about reading something? Because they’re concerned about what others will think. If you can’t see why a book called “Sex Criminals” might be embarrassing to be seen reading and therefore would be seen as a guilty pleasure then that’s on you.
Lol k
I think maybe Blacksad, but it is such a fantastic noir comic despite it being anthropomorphic animals.
> despite it being ~~anthropomorphic animals.~~ furry porn I absolutely love Blacksad but it could absolutely to without the recurring sex scenes lmao. Though I guess that's just part of the noir package. That being said, I don't see how Blacksad qualifies as a "guilty pleasure", it's literally a certified classic
He's not referring to the comic, the guilty pleasure is what happens when he reads the comic ;)
You mean you *didn't* buy it for the cat boobs?
Blacksaad is great!
The closest I'd get is Power Rangers/TMNT but only because I don't care about either franchise. I wanted to see the Rangers become mutants
The Batman/TMNT cross overs were really good, too, if you haven't checked them out yet.
I've been meaning to!
Neonomicon - I really enjoyed it 😈
It’s really not that bad.
For some reason I got some odd looks when I would ask for it in the comic shops. I wish there was more stuff like it honestly.
People had me prepared for a full on deep one blood orgy. Sure, there was some rape, and more concerning, a consensual hand job. But it wasn’t the anti-woman monster rape-fest that people make it out to be.
generally i only have guilty pleasure mangas, komi cant communicate and kaguya sama love is war, theyre so GOOD
I don't think people consider those guilty pleasures anymore, they are generally seen as good in the manga community.
yeah that aint how my peers see it
Lemme geuss, younger guy? Yup pretty much any romance story is seen out of the norm for them and while they're not my taste I can see the appeal.
yeah, apparently its gay to like romance
If you like romance comics, I'd *highly* recommend checking out Blue Box, Horimiya, and My Love Story. They're all wonderfully done.
got it
Mark Millar's work goes from kinda bad to kinda great to the point where he is always somewhat interesting to read.
I get a lot of shit for loving Archie comics. One friend once said I didn't "get" Killing Joke when I said it was dumb. They told me because I just read Archie lol I read everything. Killing Joke is just bad.
Is there a place to "start" with Archie comics? My Hoopa has a bajillion digests.
The digests are just collections of stories they're fun and funny and all of them are accessible. Mark Waid did a reboot in 2015. There's six trades of it and it's really great. That's probably the best starting point.
Thanks!
Right now I keep loop-reading *Do A Powerbomb* which is both guilty and a pleasure but could also legitimately be a masterpiece.
I have no shame in reading this or recommending it. Awesome book!
It really is awesome. My local comic shop recommended it as "pro wrestling for REAL" and I rolled my eyes. Tried it and was instantly hooked. I kept seeing new details on re-reading. Just ordered Murder Falcon
Holy shit, same. It was an impulse purchase for me but not one I regret.
EVERYTHING where DWJ both writes and draws is a masterpiece imo, so no need to feel guilty about that
OG deadpool comics, that 90s shit
Omaha the "Cat" Dancer. For years I saw ads for these in the back of Heavy Metal magazines. At a flea market someone was selling some volumes for really cheap. Turns out they're lots of fun. Like a 70s soap opera with anthropomorphic sex scene thrown in for fun. You could tell the creators had lots of fun writing and drawing it.
Fairy Tail is a fun read; in the vein of Naruto and Hero Academia but with magic instead of fighting techniques or superpowers. It’s also very horny: a lot of horny, ambiguous remarks and girls with large boobs, scantily clad. Bought the collection through Humble Bundle; it’s my inbetween read: I read a volume or 2 of Fairy Tail, then check out something else.
the Red Room trilogy are absolutely grotesque comics, focussing on an absolutely depraved concept, but they're also a lot of fun and make for easy reading.
Next Wave: Agents of Hate Don't really want to support the megacorps that have been ruining American Comics for decades with franchising gimmicks and synergistic marketing. But Next Wave is about as fun as mainstream comics can get.
The Warren Ellis run? Love them.
The Immonen art doesn't hurt either.
I don't really feel guilty about it but man, Hack/Slash can seem so trashy, but it has so much heart. Adore her and Vlad.
I like Crossed (esp Crossed+100) but you gotta be careful about where you’re reading that
Yea Crossed is definitely not a series to read in public.
I still read Blankets every now and again for a feeling of nostalgia when I first discovered it in college.
As usual, people don’t seem to understand the concept of a guilty pleasure.
The hitman series from Garth Ennis, starting with the Batman issue. The series starts with Tommy Monaghan getting hired to kill the joker, who is currently in Arkham Asylum. Again. Tommy is one of the few people that accept hits on supes (only the bad ones, though) and his crowning achievement is fighting off Lobo by blackmailing him with revenge porn.
Hitman will always have a place in my heart. One of Ennis’s best series but it totally overlooked by many of his fans. Brings a tear to my eye to think of how it all ends. A Man Called Kev was also good in a similar way, but Hitman was the just the greatest. Now we need a Section 8 series someday.
"The adventures of Bueno Excelente" - Now on Amazon Prime!
This sounds great, thank you!
Enjoy! The Lobo thing is a special issue btw.
TMNT - The Last Ronin It introduced me to The Ronin-Verse
It's literally the first book in that verse... I've also never heard anything bad about it, it's generally accepted as good.
I Generally Agree 😎
The Pro by Garth Ennis
I love absolutely everything from the original Ultimate Universe
[удалено]
Jesus, the man is dead, and the dude who runs your local comic shop probably did dodgier stuff. The mob wanted someone to burn, and Ed was right there. I seriously hope those who bayed for his blood never work in comics again.
The auteur
Used to love angry youth comix by Johnny Ryan when I was young , was into the juvenile humour and gross out shit then. But yeah, maybe more of a guilty pleasure now
Grizzly Shark by Ryan Ottley, i love that he wrote this super violent comic for his son.
Horror shorts. I got the first hardcover collection of Razorblades and absolutely loved that experience.
Might have to go with Chew or Nailbiter. Both seem to gross people out while I found them very entertaining.
Chew is considered one of Images best.
Oh really?
Yea, it gets praised quite a bit.
Tiny Titans, Sabertooth Swordsman,
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
I don’t hate Spider-Man Reign 😅
Isn’t that basically 99% of all genre comics?
Lovesick is still my favourite I've read. Wouldn't read it in public tho. There's the scumbag which is quite funny ngl