Best publisher books according to redditors
We found 733 Reddit comments discussing the best publisher books. We ranked the 122 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 733 Reddit comments discussing the best publisher books. We ranked the 122 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Another book, similar premise.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mogworld-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595825290
Mogworld
> I think Michael Bay was quoted somewhere saying he made movies more geared to teenage boys.
First off, let me state that I really don't care what people watch. I look at Michael Bay films as safely constructed roller coasters. As seen here the man has learned what bumps, twists, and turns he can use to engage an audience without challenging it. He reuses scenes and ideas in a way that no one ever notices and I think is a brilliant(if nihilistic) way to see guaranteed money.
Now, let me explain why I hate the, "I make movies for teenage boys" defense. It is completely dismissive of all the great art that has been made for adolescents. Seriously, most people don't stop and think about this, but there is some pretty incredible stuff out there. Here is a small list of some of the amazing work made for children and teens:
The Red Balloon
The Works of Winsor Mccay
Calvin and Hobbes
Looney Tunes
Princess Mononoke
Star Wars
The Horror Films Starring Vincent Price
Scott Pilgrim
Fullmetal Alchemist
People use the quote you supplied as a get out of jail free card for valid criticism and it drives me nuts. Like what ever you feel like, but don't be dismissive of discussion because of a pointless quote.
Was coming here to make this exact comment. If this premise sounds fun to anyone, you REALLY should check out this book. It's stellar.
Comic book fan? Try comic book writer
> Imagine if the Ai in video games is somewhat sentient.
Yahtzee Crowshaw wrote a book with a sort of similar concept. Basically the AI in an MMO was so advanced the NPCs were self-aware (though not aware they were in a video game, of course). It's a very fun read.
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) by Patrick (H) Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about stories/characters from TV, movies, games, etc. that you already like. Do you seek “good” storytelling or encyclopedic Marvel knowledge? Are you here to collect or read? How much time/resources are available?
Don’t try to read everything—there’s too much. Forget about continuity, universes, and timelines; it's all very confusing, even to creators/fans. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so first appearances/early origins may not be the best starting points. Creative teams change often, characters get re-worked, origins are re-told (e.g. I never cared for Hawkeye until Matt Fractions’ run).
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their “greatest hits”. Focus on well-received, relatively self-contained, and complete stories. You may encounter the occasional unexplained reference/character/event—just ride along (Wiki if necessary). Remember, there are so many other great comics, characters, stories, and publishers to explore and not all comics are about superheroes.
Marvel Unlimited / Comixology for digital. instocktrades for physical (US). ISBNS for price aggregate.
Recommendations:
Modern Marvel characters/teams:
Title | Writer | Note
---|---|---
Alias (Jessica Jones) | Bendis
Ultimates 1-2 (Avengers) | Mark Millar | Ultimate
Avengers / New Avengers | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 2
Captain America | Ed Brubaker
Captain Marvel | Kelly Sue DeConnick
Daredevil (2001) | Brian Bendis |
Daredevil (2014) | Mark Waid |
Deadpool | Joe Kelly
Doctor Strange: The Oath | Brian K. Vaughn
Fantastic Four / FF | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 1
Guardians of the Galaxy | Abnett & Lanning | Recommend full story labelled "cosmic" in list below
Hawkeye | Matt Fraction
Immortal Iron Fist | Brubaker & Fraction
Inhumans | Paul Jenkins
Iron Man: Extremis | Warren Ellis | Iron Man 1
Invincible Iron Man | Matt Fraction | Iron Man 2
Marvels (Marvel History) | Kurt Busiek
Moon Knight | Warren Ellis
Ms. Marvel | G. Willow Wilson
Planet Hulk | Greg Pack | Hulk 1
Punisher Max | Garth Ennis
Thor | Jason Aaron
Ultimate Spider-man | Bendis | Ultimate
Vision | Tom King
New X-Men | Grant Morrison | X-Men 1
Astonishing X-Men | Joss Whedon | X-Men 2
Uncanny X-Force | Rick Remender | X-Men 6
Check out the /r/Marvel sidebar for more.
Events/crossovers can be fun and/or tedious. However, they are most appreciated by readers well-versed in relevant continuity. Generally, the best non-event comics integrate these seamlessly or avoid them entirely (notwithstanding editorial/executive mandates). Regardless, you may want to familiarize with major plot points.
Modern Marvel events/crossovers:
Title | Writer | Note
---|---|---
Avengers Disassembled | Bendis |
Secret War | Bendis |
House of M | Bendis | X-Men 2.5
Annihilation | Abnett, Lanning, Giffen | Cosmic 1
Civil War | Mark Millar |
World War Hulk | Greg Pak | Hulk 2
Annihilation: Conquest | Abnett, Lanning, Giffen | Cosmic 2
Messiah Complex | Brubaker, Kyle, Yost, et al. | X-Men 3
Secret Invasion | Bendis | Dark Reign
War of Kings | Abnett, Lanning, et al. | Cosmic 3
Messiah War | Kyle, Yost, Swierczynski | X-Men 4
Dark Avengers / Utopia | Bendis, Fraction, et al. | Dark Reign
Siege | Bendis | Dark Reign
Realm of Kings | Abnett, Lanning, Reed | Cosmic 4
Second Coming | Kyle, Yost, Fraction, et al. | X-Men 5
Fear Itself | Matt Fraction |
Schism | Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen | X-Men 7
Avengers vs. X-Men | Bendis, Brubaker, et al. | X-Men 8
Infinity | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 2.5
Secret Wars | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 3
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Do you like older/newer comics? Weird concepts? Super-smart meta-analysis and social commentary? Family-friendly content? Hyper-violence? Male/female protagonists? Humor? Horror? Have you noticed that a specific artist, writer, and/or creative team consistently produces content you like? Follow these instincts.
Suggestions to improve the list are welcome.
Here's some good starting points:
For those interested, and this one in particular reminded me of it, you should check out a book called Mogworld.
Here are some published collections with decent stories:
Heart of the Atom
Definitive (Marvel Platinum)
And of course:
The End
See http://www.amazon.com/Mogworld-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595825290 ... written by the guy that does Zero Punctuation. About an undead in a faux WoW game, that is trying to kill himself because hes tired of the 'immortal' life. Reads a bit like Terry Pratchett
Look, I don't care about any of the race crap that people have bitched about. I'm even open to being somewhat flexible on the origin story, but you shit on the character of Doom and you go too far. The last two FF movies did exactly this. So no, I don't think I'm just making stuff up.
I'm not open to one of the greatest villains in literary history (yes, i mean that with out an ounce of irony or hyperbole) going from a scientific/magical genius (very nearly on par with Richards for science and Dr. Strange for magic) self-made-monarch and turning him into just an 'antisocial hacker'.
So, I posit to you, that going from this or that way of hollywood representing hacking to the mortal man who came from nothing, conquered his own country and has single handedly beaten nearly everyone worth beating and still walked away just isn't possible.
(except for the squirrels, but that's a story for another time)
Tell me about his armor, tell me about his mistakes and how they drive him. Tell me how he's more complicated, more human than any other villain, how he really does not see himself as the bad guy and why he's right. This man has been judged worthy by the Panther God (a test of character arguably fewer people have passed than have lifted Mjolner), went to hell itself to rescue the soul of his mother with a selfless act, who delivered his mortal enemy's child in order to save her and the mother when nobody else could.
If they do the character justice, I'll be the first one back here patting them on the back and shouting how wrong I was. I just don't see that happening. 60 years of publication and they have the gall to say they can't do a different story. Try shitting on a new villain. Mole Man, Kang, Abraxis, Dragon Man, The Beyonder, Terrax... plenty of other villains with less baggage.
TL;DR - hollywood doesn't have a good track make hacking look cool. It didn't work in Hackers, The Net, Swordfish, or Wargames. Fox doesn't have a good track record for doing Dr. Doom well. See to previous FF movies. I want to be wrong. I doubt I am.
> you'd think so, but superhero movies have never increased sales in single issue sales, because unlike an adaptation of a novel, there is no original source material to pick up.
Most of the Marvel movies have been partially based on a preexisting stories. Infinity War, Black Panther, Thor Ragnarok, and Civil War for example. Granted the source comics can be very very different from the movies.
> The fact is that while comic book fans might watch the movies, movie fans don't pick up the comics, as such the comics & the movies need to be separate entities.
This is true but part of the reason could be how different the current comic books characters are from the movies. Example: you love Iron Man in the movies. You go to the store to pick up Iron Man comics. There are two Iron man comics on the shelf. One has Doctor Doom in it and Tony Stark is nowhere to be found in the whole comic. The other has a teenage girl as the star and Tony Stark is a hologram side character in his own book. Do you buy the books? Or do you just leave and not buy anything? Sales certainly seem to indicate the latter and lord knows there is plenty of anecdotal evidence as well.
I mean Game of Thrones and Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings all got sales boosts after the movies were successful so I don't see why comics would be any different.
Non-mobile
For Scarlet witch:
Nights of Wundagore: https://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Nights-Wundagore-David-Michelinie/dp/0785137211
Vision and the Scarlet Witch: https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Scarlet-Witch-1985-1986-12-ebook/dp/B01BT87YIW/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=vision+and+the+scarlet+witch&qid=1557511079&s=gateway&sr=8-9
Dan Abnett Mini from the 90s: https://www.amazon.com/SCARLET-WITCH-January-LANNING-ABNETT/dp/B001FW4UGM/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=scarlet+witch+dan+abnett&qid=1557510502&s=books&sr=1-3-catcorr
Busiek's run on Avengers: https://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Assemble-Vol-1998-2004-ebook/dp/B00AR0655M/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=kurt+busiek+avengers&qid=1557510533&s=books&sr=1-1
Her latest solo by James Robinson: https://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Witch-Vol-Witches-Road/dp/078519682X/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=robinson+scarlet+witch&qid=1557510680&s=books&sr=1-3
For Scarlet Witch with Doctor Strange:
Doctor Strange Vol 2 #60: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Doctor_Strange_Vol_2_60
Scarlet Witch appeared in some issues of Aaron's run on Doctor Strange. I think it was specifically in the Last Days of Magic arc: https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Strange-Vol-Last-Magic/dp/0785199330/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZK90Y8QR9PR1KMBVSGPF
She also appeared in some issues of Doctor Strange: Damnation: https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Strange-Damnation-Complete-Collection/dp/1302912607
For Doctor Strange by himself:
Triumph and Torment: https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Strange-Doom-Triumph-Torment/dp/0871356600
The Oath: https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Strange-Brian-K-Vaughan/dp/0785187863/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BY8T0W99BRQ3983J7D1P
Into Shamballa: https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Strange-Shamballa-Marvel-Graphic/dp/0871351668
For Marvel Comics
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite stories/characters from TV, movies, games, books, etc. Do you seek quality storytelling or encyclopedic Marvel knowledge? Plan to collect? What time/resources are available i.e. how many comics could/should be read before burning out?
Don’t try to read everything—there’s too much. Forget about “catching up”, continuity, universes, and timelines; it's all very confusing, even to creators/fans. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so first appearances/early origins may not be the best starting points. Creative teams change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told (e.g. I never cared for Hawkeye until Matt Fractions’ run).
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their “greatest hits”. Don’t get stuck “preparing”, just start reading. Focus on well-received, relatively self-contained, and complete stories. You may encounter the occasional unexplained reference/character/event—just ride along (Wiki if necessary). Remember, there are so many other great characters and publishers to explore, and not all comics are about superheroes.
Where to buy (US):
Modern Marvel characters/teams:
/r/Marvel sidebar for more info.
Events/crossovers can be fun and/or tedious. They are most appreciated by readers well-versed in relevant continuity. Generally, the best non-event comics integrate these seamlessly or avoid them entirely (notwithstanding editorial/executive mandates). Regardless, you may want to familiarize with major plot points.
Modern Marvel events/crossovers:
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Do you like: old/new comics? Specific genres? Literary/natural narratives? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? Social/political commentary? Family-friendly/explicit content? Optimism/pessimism? Have you noticed that a specific artist/writer consistently makes comics you like? Follow these instincts.
Suggestions to improve this guide are welcome.
Check out Parker: The Hunter - It's a great crime noire tale with very unforgiving anti-hero at it's core. It's a story about love, betrayal and retribution and is fantastic.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Parker-Hunter-Darwyn-Cooke/dp/1600104932
Also you should check out Saga of The Swamp Thing if you enjoyed V for Vendetta, and Watchmen too. Both are by Alan Moore and while Watchmen has the more violent and anti-hero feel, they both get pretty dark and are written fantastically well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saga-Swamp-Thing-Alan-Moore/dp/0930289226/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344687793&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watchmen-Alan-Moore/dp/1852860243/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344687811&sr=1-1
One more you might enjoy would be Arkham Asylum - Grant Morrison really goes to town on this one and it's some of his darkest work. I know it's not exactly the anti-hero you were looking for, but it might be the right up your street if you're into the darker books.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Batman-Arkham-Anniversary-Grant-Morrison/dp/1845760220/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344687884&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Spidey-Freshman-Year-Robbie-Thompson/dp/1302916556/
Actually this is a better version, collects the whole series not just the first part.
Totally off topic but you might find this enjoyable. As it touches on that very topic. https://www.amazon.com/Mogworld-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595825290
Mogworld by Yahtzee Crowshaw is a hilarious book about a sentient NPC in a fantasy MMORPG.
Mechanical Failure by Joe Zieja is the first book in space based comedy series. It's great fun.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore is possibly the best book I've ever read. It is about Christ, but it walks the fine line of being respectful, without being worshipful and hilarious, without being mocking. Absolutely brilliant. He wrote another book involving the main angel, called The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror is also hilarious and Christmas themed, if that appeals.
David Brin has written a lot of great stuff. The Practice Effect is a short novel about a guy visiting and trying to understand a very strange planet. It's not as pure humor as the others, but has funny parts. His other books are more serious, but his Uplift series is excellent (you can skip the first book if it doesn't grab you... it's his worst book and just a prelude to the other books), and Kiln People and Glory Season are others that are also great.
Thank you kindly for your nice words!
Recommendations wise...hmmm. If you've heard of Zero Punctuation before, than the name Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw will be familiar. He has written two fantastic books: Mogworld and Jam that are in the comedic narrator lead style - I highly recommend them!
Anything by Sir Terry Pratchett, though usually in the third person style, I have found to be an easy and funny (edit: hilarious, clever, there-aren't-enough-pleasant-adjectives-to-display-my-love-for-his-writing) romp. Who else? Umm.
I'm struggling to think of more, sorry. Er, my novels? That is, when I get around to finishing the damn things.
/r/Books may be a good place to ask. I'm drawing a blank, sorry.
ok now that we had infinity war done well on the movies, my next goal ia to have some favorites of mine adapted. since doctor strange is super op in the movies, i think we should develop a relationship of him with doctor doom (triumph and torment pls) leading up to an eventual secret wars II (and I too ofc. could be back to back).
A very long list that I believe is full of gems:
Preacher, Volume 1 by Ennis
Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Gaiman
Invincible: Family Matters by Kirkman
Southern Bastards
Kingdom Come
Marvels
Watchmen
Saga
Mind MGMT
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Batman: The Long Halloween
Pride of Baghdad
All Star Superman
The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye
Thor: God of Thunder
Annihilation (read it digitally on Marvel Unlimited, finding it in print is costly)
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Volume 1 (by far, my favorite take on the characters. Hickman writes them to perfection.)
Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt
You'd absolutely love Mogworld.
You should read the book "mogworld"
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw wrote a book about an NPC in an MMO. I still have to read it. It's in my to-read list. But here's the link if you want to take a gander. It's great per the reviews.
But as a player of MMOs? You could write from a different angle. How about a "Requiem for a Dream" but instead of drugs, it's MMOs (from as far as I can tell, I was addicted to WoW at one point).
Mogworld by Yahtzee Crosshaw
I will never stop recommending this. From the bitingly sarcastic game critic of "Zero Punctuation", this story is equal parts funny, and dramatic. It focuses more on MMORPGs than traditional tabletop games, but even as a non-WOW player I understood and loved every minute of it.
NPCs by Drew Hayes This story focuses more on the aspect of traditional tabletop roleplaying, such as Dungeons and Dragons. It's about a group of NPCs - such as a bartender, a reluctant damsel in distress, and a former minion - who have to take up the roles as fake heroes in order to save their town. It starts off a little bit slow, and at first I was rolling my eyes thinking "okay, I know where this is going" but then it went off in a completely different direction. Highly recommended.
Critical Failures by Robert Bevan
I didn't like this one personally as much as the others - it was a bit too vulgar for my tastes. However, it got some really good critical feedback (heh) and it definitely is an interesting concept. It's basically about a group of players who get trapped in a tabletop game by a sadistic GM. If you play a lot of tabletop games, you can probably see a lot of your group members in the characters. It's part of a series too, (I think there's at least 3) so this one should keep you occupied for a while.
Game Night
The Merchant Adventurer
I haven't read either of these two myself, but they are both on my list, and seem somewhat similar to the kind of thing you're looking for.
Mogworld, by Yahtzee Croshaw
The protagonist is Jim, a former wizard in training who was killed and then raised from the dead by a necromancer. Every time Jim dies, he's raised again by the necromancer. Now all Jim wants to do is die, once and for all. The book plays on conventions from the fantasy genre, as well as Dungeons & Dragons and videogames. Funny and well written.
The Dresden Files series, by Jim Butcher
It's not really focused on humor, and it's not so much about genre bending. But it is off-kilter in the sense that it's about a wizard/private investigator, and it's set in the modern world and has vampires, faeries, werewolves, etc. I thought the first book was just interesting enough to get me to read the 2nd. I thought it got more interesting as it went on. I've since heard a rumor that Butcher wrote the first few books without a publisher, and only got an editor later on in the series. That might make sense, because I enjoyed the later books much more. (As an experienced reader, you might have already heard of the Dresden Files. It's on reddit's top 100 fantasy books.)
... There's another off-kilter fantasy book out there tickling the edges of my brain, but I can't remember it right now. I'll come back if I can think of it.
John Dies at the End, by David Wong
It's more of an off-kilter action/horror book. There's supernatural stuff, but no wizards of orcs in this one. Still, if you're looking for something sort of genre bending, then this might fit.
Besides the aforementioned Hitchhiker's Guide series, I can recommend Mogworld and JAM, both by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. (Yes, that one.)
I can't think of anything else I'd recommend offhand.
Mogworld https://www.amazon.com/Mogworld-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595825290
The author of Mogworld
Have you read Mogworld?
Good luck tomorrow /u/throwawayso30! Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!
Given today is still technically Towel Day is some places, I recommend Douglas Adams The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It's my favorite of the Hitchhiker's series. Laughter is definitely helpful in recovery :)
I'll have to think hard about another recommend, choosing just one book is really tough!
It's quite old, but you can try "Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment" amazon link
Doctor Doom and Dr. Strange go to Hell and fight Mephisto to save Doom's mom's spirit.
I'd recommend the Roger Stern run of Doc for getting started. (Doctor Strange Vol. 2 No. 27–75)
Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment is really enjoyable. Doctor Strange: The Oath is good and leads into his New Avenger appearances.
The DC book is better!
https://www.amazon.com/Super-Heroes-super-healthy-cookbook/dp/1563891417
Little Nemo gives me similar feelings...
The Complete Little Nemo in Slumberland Vol. 1: 1905-1907 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0930193636/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iKNjDbFHSADXS
Kay Nielsen illustrations, similar feeling
https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/east-of-the-sun-and-west-of-the-moon-illustrated-by-kay-nielsen-1922/
Arthur rackham - He was prolific so look around.
English Fairy Tales - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham https://www.amazon.com/dp/1447449363/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RSNjDb6K966JX
Queen Victoria died in 1901 so the stuff I’m listing is a bit later. I do think that the dawn of the Industrial Age made for some cool dreams.
Edit: when I was a kid my mom would read Goop stories to me. They are Victorian stories about little alien(?) creatures who need to learn manners.
The original Wizard Of Oz books might also scratch the itch.
E(ditch) Nesbit wrote fantastical stories too. Five Children and It (Puffin Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/014132161X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HaOjDbV6EJFHG
This one?
I enjoyed this story quite a bit, and since points concerning plot and consistency have already been made, I thought I'd add a few technical notes:
> The first of the creatures’ attacks began, one of them lunging forward towards the group only to find the barrier blocking its attack. With a crash it hit the invisible field around them that Luther was maintaining, stunning it slightly. Luther knew he couldn’t keep the field up forever, even if he kept chanting the magic that formed it would eventually collapse from their attacks.
I already know it's attacking, and I know it's facing the group. I also know that Luther is upholding this invisible field, and I can assume it takes some effort. How about:
> One creature lunged forward, smashing into the invisible field. Luther flinched at the impact, but gritted his teeth and held fast.
That way, it all happens a little faster, and the reader knows Luther is subject to some sort of strain, which builds a little more suspense than simply being told, "By the way, he can't uphold the barrier forever."
Another shorter example:
> Hannes responded to this by swinging down, the creature slamming into the ground below as its bones shattered from the impact.
Could be worded a little more sharply like this:
> Hannes responded by slamming the creature into the ground, shattering its bones.
Don't let all this technical mumbo-jumbo discourage you, though. I thought your story was rather cool, and I liked the premise. For similar literature, you could check out Yahtzee Croshaw's Mogworld. It's a cool read.
Good Luck!
Kind of depends on what you want. /u/ThisManNeedsMe nailed it with the best incarnation of the character but the problem is that isn’t what the current incarnation is. The New 52 changed the character and what is in Injustice is closer to the Pre New 52 version. So if you want to pick up the books featuring Deathstroke’s ongoing exploits it will be with a different character but if you just want to read good Deathstroke stories, continuity be damned, then there are lot of good stories. Unforchunatly most of those stories are out of print because DC doesn’t want you reading anything that contradicts their current marketing for the characters. So you’ll have to find some way to read them despite that.
There's a series that's geared more towards younger kids, (although use your best judgement as a parent, also, it's still a good read for adults) and you can find it collected in one paperback. It's called Spidey
And there was a follow-up in 2018 called Spidey: Schools Out.
You read his book?
Just ordered Spidey: Freshman Year on amazon!
Not trying to dis your prompt, I'm excited to see what people come up with.
However, if you're interested in this concept, you might enjoy Mogworld. Written by Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation fame.
You should probably read Mogworld for the reasons why advanced AI is a bad idea for any videogame.
Sounds a little like something from Yahtzee Croshaw's book
My first mistake was with the Chi-Lites in 1977.
Same reason I listen to Marilyn Manson and watched Dennis Leary and laughed at Sam Kinison and bought shit Steve Jobs hocked me and learned to cook from Gordon Ramsey and listened to Howard Stern get hatemail and read Maddox and Tucker Max being complete assholes and cringe when Simon Cowell or Piers Morgan eviscerate some poor person's dignity and tuned into Judge Judy humiliate idiots in public.
All I can think each time is "Wow, they're paid a lot of money, some have little talent others are truly skilled, but all of them make a career out of being a total asshole."
Then I remember Yahtzee has a lot of talent and doesn't get paid as much money as any of them, and I am very happy to listen to him. He also wrote an amazing novel Mogworld which I highly recommend.
Also, as a standalone: The Age of the Sentry
Try Monte Cook's Ptolus City By The Spire. The hardcopy is OOP and crazy pricey, but you can probably find a digital version somewhere. It's a massively detailed and cross-referenced city/campaign setting with a huge medieval-fantasy city situated next to a massively tall stone spire that used to be the home base of a long dead ancient BBG, and sitting atop a huge labyrinth of dungeons and cavern systems.
Amazon Link
OR, if you prefer random tables that help you improvise the city, check out Zak Smith's Vornheim: The Complete City Kit. Rather than detail every nook and cranny and joe blow under the sun, the thin book (also OOP but pdfs are plentiful and cheap) contains a series of random tables and quick techniques and die mechanics that allow you to either create a dark fantasy for your upcoming campaign/adventure, or generate everything from NPCs, streets and floor plans, chase sequences, shops, nobles, court hearings, etc, on the fly right in the middle of your game. So if the Rogue says "I duck into a side alley and through the nearest door, what's in here?", you can just (roll roll roll), it's a bakery, here's the layout (draws random floorplan), and so on
Vornheim link
Both are spectacular at what they set out to do, but just go about it in different ways.
Age of Sentry, Marvel Knights: Sentry or another link and Sentry Reborn.
All three are the best reads. You can also pickup the New Avengers series that brings him back but STOP after he is brought back. All of the writers have no idea what to do with him and end up destroying his character.
:)
EDIT: Link to brand new copies
I sincerely hope that you told him "A restaurant."
Yahtzee's book Mogworld is kind of about it. The inspiration was WOW and not D&D, though.
The only thing I've heard of that's even remotely like that would be Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw. Probably not it, though o_o
You could also try over in /r/whatsthatbook, they might know :)
Read MogWorld by none other than Yahtzee Croshaw.
He wrote Mogworld which involved NPCs becoming aware they were in an MMO, but there weren't any mods as far as I recall.
Nope! It's not elseworld. It's canon to the post-crisis timeline, i actually bought it a few days back, almost done with it.
I could try and upload some scans if you want, but they'll be shitty quality.
My favourite Hulk story is Future Imperfect by Peter David. It's published as a stand alone story but is also included in the Marvel Platinum compilation The Definitive Incredible Hulk which I would recommend as the best possible starting point for anyone looking to jump into the Incredible Hulk.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvel-Platinum-Definitive-Incredible-Hulk/dp/1905239882/
It includes the first few issues of The Incredible Hulk (Stan Lee & Jack Kirby in their 1960s pomp), Hulk vs The Avengers & Fantastic Four, a Wolverine vs Hulk crossover with Claremont era X-Men, Future Imperfect, a Hulk vs Abomination story and some other stories too.
David's run on TIH is the best, closely followed by Greg Pak imo.
Lol thanks. My old account was Anus_Blender without the s and I deleted it. Then I regretted it and made this.
Anyway, Civil War is pretty good. It was controversial at the time because a lot of people felt like Marvel made the characters do things way out of character. I liked it though. But if you like Iron Man you probably don't want to start there.
Infinity is a recent-ish event. I loved it. It takes the Avengers and puts them in a cosmic setting. There are giant space battles, Thanos, and all sorts of good stuff.
There's the entire Annihilation group of stories. Guardians of the Galaxy spawned from that and it's really good.
For older stuff there are so many... but Infinity Gauntlet is a classic cosmic story about Thanos pretty much killing everything. Walter Simonson's Thor run is pretty much required reading for any Thor fan.
This is getting long so I'll just stop. There are tons of good ones out there and your taste may be different from mine. I'd look here for more.
As for buying physical copies, you could look on Amazon or your local comic shop. I only read digital so I can't say much about that.
Introduction to Comics
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite shows, movies, books, etc. Reading primarily for enjoyment or encyclopedic knowledge? Collecting? Have the time/resources to read 50 or 500 comics per character?
Don’t try to read everything at once. There’s too much. Forget about catching up, continuity, universes, etc. for now. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so they aren’t necessarily ideal starting points. Writers change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told. Remember, there are many great characters, creators, publishers, etc. to explore.
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their most popular/acclaimed stories. Focus on self-contained, complete stories in one corner of the universe. There will be unexplained references/characters, just persevere or Wiki. Don’t let the tangled web of shared-universe comics overwhelm you. Think of it like solving a jigsaw puzzle one small piece at a time until you finally see the big picture.
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Don’t get stuck preparing/over-analyzing, just start reading. Do you like/dislike old/new comics? Specific writers/genres? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? All-ages/mature content? Follow these instincts. Didn’t understand a reference? Maybe read that next.
Acquire/Buy comics:
Marvel
DC
You can skip to the 2016 re-launch with DC Universe: Rebirth and then any Rebirth series #1.
Other
Any idea if this one here on the .co.uk site is the same book. The description just states Infinity #1-6.
I'd pick up a full set of RAW comics vol. 1.
At the moment I'm looking for a reasonably priced Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom : Triumph and Torment.
/u/pizzaboy192, the gift card is for $7.19, and it should be used for purchasing The Restaurant at the End of the Universe when you finish with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which I just got for you.
Cheers, my friend, and thanks for all the fish.
the restraunt at the end of the universe
OTMA
would like hardcopy dont care if its used
Read Triumph and Torment for some early Strange (and Doom) stuff. Not to mention a great story all around.
Amazon
While not exactly about a necromancer, Mogworld by Yahtzee Crowshaw (Yes, that Yahtzee ) follows the raised minion of a necromancer.
It's a bit more comedic, I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but I certainly found the book enjoyable.
See also 'Mogworld' by Ben Croshaw (Yahtzee from Zero punctuation). Novel-length story based on this concept. Quite well written and very funny.
Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw. I just read Mogworld last week and found it very funny; it had interested characters and some unique twists on the fantasy genre with some video game humor mixed in.
I hardly ever read books, i could probably count all the books i have read outside of school on one hand.
That said my favorite would probably be Mogworld Written by Ben Croshaw, better known as Yahtzee
There's a good book that addresses this nicely. It's called Mogworld. The main character is resurrected as an undead, and he can't die any more. His body does NOT regenerate, it just keeps degrading more and more. Meanwhile everyone alive at the time, when they die they respawn with a new body, only needing to re-acquire their equipment.
Edit: link
Well - if you want to get super crazy - as in - I can set an entire campaign in this city and basically never have the players leave if they don't want to. Look no further than this:
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1588467899
This is a link to the hard copy - I'm sure you can find a PDF somewhere for cheaper. But yeah basically this book is the single best book I've ever read about a city. You could adapt it to any fantasy or D&D style setting basically and it has hundreds of NPCs, rumors, and dungeons pre-mapped out. In my own mind this is the gold standard of cities.
If you're looking for a city with a more Asian flair I can recommend http://www.rpgnow.com/product/3566/City-of-Lies-Box-Set?it=1&filters=0_0_10109_0_0. Though it is heavily steeped in the Legend of the Five Rings setting - it too is very detailed and has a bunch of stuff going on with it.
If you're looking for something more modern I can recommend the city building book for Vampire the Requiem http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Damnation-City-Requiem/dp/1588462676 - I found this very helpful when I was playing world of darkness.
Anyone who thinks the plot is interesting will probably like Yahtzee's Mogworld.
https://www.amazon.com/Mogworld-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595825290
Yes, the Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation.
> would you buy a campaign setting sourcebook?
Yes. Have done so before, will do so again.
> If so, what features would you look for?
> If you've bought them in the past, then what made you want to buy them?
Maps! Descriptions of things on those maps. Interesting personalities. Story stuff.
When it gets to mechanical stuff I could live without them.
As a GM I can come up with stats that balance for my group. I can come up with cool toys. I can come up with fun tactical events.
I buy sourcebooks for the content which takes a lot of time to create: The maps, the personalities, the political conflicts, the broader strategic issues that are occurring.
Example: Ptolus. I have used and re-used people, places, and plots from Ptolus in numerous ways. One of my best RPG purchases ever.
King of NY
No need to kill anyone -- it already exists!
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Daredevil-King-New-York/dp/1563893835
Unless you're deliberately attempting a video game pastiche like Mogworld where the world is literally a video game and you're playing up the ramifications of that for sentient characters stuck inside, I would strongly suggest you consider coming up with a different inspiration. "The magic system is like a video game," is really not something you want to show up in reviews -- other than for pastiches, it's not a compliment. Video game magic systems are designed to be fun to play, not for immersive worldbuilding that leads to complex characterization and interesting plots.
It doesn't have to be all that elaborate. If you just want to lean into, "there's a source of energy and people use it differently," that could totally be enough, and it would help you decide how that use can manifest. But video games are not a great model on their own. And I love video games, don't get me wrong! This just isn't what they're built for.
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts
My item is the book Mogworld by Yahtzee Crowshaw
Picture this. I go into the office for my next interview and have to sit down in the waiting room for a little while. I sit down and take out this book and kill a few minutes. The interviewer comes out and recognizes the book. He tells me he's a huge fan of Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee's game review web show. We hit it off and go into the interview. He easily remembers me and I get a great job offer a few weeks later.
I love this movie! I watched it all the time as a kid. I also love the original comic it was based on too, and picked this up a couple months back.
Not to mention the time Superman executed the phantom zone criminals.
https://www.amazon.com/Superman-22-October-1988-Price/dp/B002YRPLGA
Archives for the links in comments:
----
I am Mnemosyne 2.1, Duke Nukem Forever WAS that bad. ^^^^/r/botsrights ^^^^Contribute ^^^^message ^^^^me ^^^^suggestions ^^^^at ^^^^any ^^^^time ^^^^Opt ^^^^out ^^^^of ^^^^tracking ^^^^by ^^^^messaging ^^^^me ^^^^"Opt ^^^^Out" ^^^^at ^^^^any ^^^^time
I thought the struggle between Superman's dual identities - the normal kid that he wished he was, and the super-powered alien that he truly was - was covered fine. In fact, that struggle was central to his life as a child. Jonathan Kent wanted him to hide his powers and be as normal and pretend to be a normal kid until a time when humanity was ready to accept the existence of alien life. A young Clark begrudgingly honored his father's words, even though it meant watching his father die.
Clark Kent, as the mild-mannered reporter, made his appearance at the very end of the movie. Clearly they're setting things up for a sequel, and chances are the adult Clark will get some screen time there.
In regards to Lois and Clark's romance: the tension between them has been explored innumerable times in the past. From decades-worth of comic books to the original movies, from multiple animated series to the Lois & Clark live-action series, that concept has been explored in that manner quite a bit already. Because of that, I don't mind that they took a different approach with the Lois & Clark relationship. Lois got to Know Superman before she got to know Clark. Good, a new take on things.
The lack of Jimmy Olsen didn't bother me. He might appear in the sequel. Even if he doesn't, I won't mind at all.
Finally, Superman has killed to save innocents before. That isn't a new concept. In Superman #22, 1988, he used kryptonite to kill 3 Kryptonian criminals. The idea of him killing as a last resort has been explored before.
That is it, and is a great way to read a great run by Paul Dini.
He also created this, but its a bit pricey too -
http://www.amazon.com/Zatanna-Everyday-Magic-Paul-Dini/dp/B00138HIE4
I've had the pleasure of reading it and it was an incredibly good story. Had that 'Animated Series' caliber of writing via Dini.
Are you thinking of Zatanna: Everyday Magic (2003)?
https://www.amazon.com/JLA-Welcome-Working-Patton-Oswalt/dp/B000U2ARGU
i got them all in one from amazon (in hardback though)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watchmen-Alan-Moore/dp/1852860243
Amazon third party merchants have it for as low as $18 (new). But you still have to pay shipping.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
Alias (Jessica Jones)
Avengers
The Ultimates 1-2 (Avengers)
New Avengers
Avengers
New Avengers
Black Panther
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Daredevil
Daredevil
Daredevil
Deadpool
Doctor Strange: The Oath
Fantastic Four / FF
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hawkeye
Immortal Iron Fist
Inhumans
Iron Man: Extremis
Invincible Iron Man
Marvels
Moon Knight
Ms. Marvel
Planet Hulk
Punisher Max
Thor
Ultimate Spider-man
Vision
New X-Men
Astonishing X-Men
Uncanny X-Force
Avengers Disassembled
Secret War
House of M
Annihilation
Civil War
World War Hulk
Annihilation: Conquest
Messiah Complex
Secret Invasion
War
Kings
Messiah War
Dark Avengers
Utopia
Siege
Realm of Kings
Second Coming
Fear Itself
Schism
Avengers vs. X-Men
Infinity
Secret Wars
---
^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot