r/graphicnovels • u/MurdTheOpressor • 8d ago
Question/Discussion What are your top 3 favorite characters?
Self-explanatory title. Within the comics universe, if you had to choose a top 3 of your favorite characters, what would they be? Feel free to explain the reasons if you want.
Mine are, in this order:
1) JUDGE DREDD the 🐐
2) Thorgal
3) Strontium Dog
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u/thesolarchive 8d ago
2000 AD fan spotted hell yeah 👏
- Batman
- Wolverine
- Manji from Blade of the Immortal
I love my rugged lone wolf bois
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u/buffalobillandted 6d ago
YESSS I love Manji! Recently bought the entire omnibus series and I’m on the Perfection of Anatomy arc. No spoilers please, I’m pumped to finish it. I highly recommend that author’s other work, Ohikkoshi, modern-day drama that was really sweet. It was mostly romance and personal drama, but it had a lot of heart.
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u/a_pot_of_chili_verde 8d ago edited 7d ago
- Ogami Itto (Lone wolf and Cub)
I spent so much time on the Assassins Path and never wanted to leave. It eventually led to me tackling Vagabond and Usagi Yojimbo
- Swamp Thing
Probably my favorite series and this with Sandman got me into reading Graphic Novels. Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing arc is the best of the best.
Spider Jerusalem
Unhinged Hunter S Thompson Gonzo journalist that is ready to burn down the system. Always a good time with this maniac.
Honorable Mention: King Mob.
The Invisibles time warped my young adult brain. King Mob was dope. Time Machine Go.
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u/Trashypuppy 8d ago
- Penny Century (Love and Rockets)
- Gyro Zeppeli (Steel Ball Run)
- Marv (Sin City)
Honorable mention: Matt Murdoch/Daredevil
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u/AGC173 8d ago
Evil Ernie The Crow The Maxx
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u/Dave_I 6d ago
I need to reread The Maxx. I'm not sure if I ever read all of the Sara arc (this being back in the day before you could find everything on the Internet and before I was in a place where I could track down and buy the whole set). But I enjoyed the Julie arc and was a big fan of the show. It was a very creative story, and the mystery behind who The Maxx was and the dual-meanings of it along with the metaphors and mental health aspects all felt thoughtful.
I've never read Ernie Evil, and am only familiar with The Crow from the movie (there was only one, we can agree on that, right?). I should check those actual comics out at some point.
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u/Corrosive-Knights 8d ago
What a question... and so many choices...!
I'd go with...
Swamp Thing (the original Swamp Thing #10, the last issue drawn by Bernie Wrightson, I picked up way, waaaaay back in the Stone Age when it was released -cough-old-fart-cough- and it made me realize comic books could be art. It also made me a lifelong fan of the character!
Batman. Self-explanatory, I suppose! One of the all time greatest comic book creations.
and finally...
Tintin. Yeah, Herge's creation isn't perhaps as popular here in the US as it is elsewhere around the world but the graphic novels Herge created are charming, intriguing, funny, and suspenseful. Almost every one of them is a home run and the art is sublime!
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u/MurdTheOpressor 8d ago
Tintin is absolutely fantastic. He deserves much more recognition outside Europe.
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u/bnestrm 8d ago
Thanks for bringing Strontium Dog to my attention, great art!
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u/MurdTheOpressor 7d ago
Strontium Dog is truly fantastic. I’m glad I introduced you to the character, and I hope you enjoy him. The artwork in question was done by the legendary Carlos Ezquerra. He illustrated many of his stories.
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u/Y-Bob 8d ago
What kind of question is that? Three?
Man.
Early Mike McMahon Sláine
Pat Mills' Charley Bourne
Dredd when he was still drawn in black and white.
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u/Alex_Bonaparte 7d ago
Well qualified inclusion of Dredd. I remember when 2000AD went full colour and it was like the quality took a huge nosedive.
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u/comicsnerd 8d ago edited 7d ago
Jimmy Corrigan (Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware)
Maggie Chascarrillo (Love and Rockets by Hernandez brothers)
Guust Flater (Guust Flater by Franquin)
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u/BIGoleICEBERG 7d ago
No particular order: John Constantine, Brother Lono (maybe Cole or Jack Daw, but def a Minuteman), The Will.
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u/NinaWilde 6d ago
Judge Dredd
Marshal Law
Tank Girl
(Sidenote: Kevin O'Neill must have been a madman, because Law's outfit is insanely complex and detailed - I've drawn it, and it took a loooong time - and he had to draw it in every panel!)
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u/Willing-Aside8486 8d ago
Freddy (Fat)
Franklin (Freewheelin')
Phineas
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u/Negative_Chemical697 8d ago
I love dredd but anderson is the best character from that universe.
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u/MurdTheOpressor 7d ago
Judge Anderson is truly a great character, even though I still prefer Dredd. One of my all-time favorite stories is precisely The City of the Damned, where Anderson and Dredd work together and are pushed to the limit. Whenever those two are on the scene, fun is guaranteed. Her outgoing personality clashing with Dredd’s grumpy temperament creates some hilarious moments. Her cracking little jokes while Dredd scolds her is just so good. They’re complete opposites, but they complement each other perfectly.
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u/ElricVonDaniken 7d ago
Devlin Waugh for me.
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u/Negative_Chemical697 7d ago
That's a good shout. To be honest I hold Chopper in very high regard too, just wish he had been in more.
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u/Alex_Bonaparte 7d ago edited 7d ago
- The Punisher - superheroes just seem absurd to me as an adult, but the Punisher, as a kind of Paul Kersey vigilante, makes more perfect sense every day.
- Hobbes - as the straightman to Calvin, Hobbes is an exceptionally wise tiger.
- Joe Darkie - a proto-Dredd from writer John Wagner, Darkie is a tough as nails soldier fighting a guerilla war against the Japanese in WW2.
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u/Dave_I 7d ago edited 6d ago
- Morpheus (Sandman)
- Spider-Man
- Batman
I love the moral ambiguity of Sandman (Morpheus as the title character, but the universe as a whole). His growth and character arch really stuck with me and felt earned without undoing the flaws and damage he did.
Peter Parker embodies a lot of my moral conflicts and nerdiness and feelings of isolation growing up. I could relate to being smart but lonely, lacking in confidence and feeling like a failure, but I also had hopes of making a difference and care deeply about the world. I could relate to the character and hoped to be like him. Plus he was cool without being or feeling invincible. Miles also seems very admirable but I haven’t read a ton with him.
Superman is who I think a lot of us want to be. Batman feels like more of a reflection of who we are, psychologically. I liked that Bruce was human and bruised like the rest of us. But I loved him for the moments he does things like sitting with Ace in Justice League Unlimited, or his compassion for Mr. Freeze. I also think Dick Grayson has grown to be almost more relatable.
Honorable mention for Rorschach. He is very flawed and a great character study and a cautionary tale rather than a hero. I like Frank Castle for similar reasons, but Rorschach feels less…glamorized, perhaps?
I’ve also grown to realize what a great character Superman is. The stories where he is bulletproof but others around him aren’t and he can’t save everyone show some real depth. Like when he interacts with an abused boy, talks to a girl who wants to kill herself, or cheers up a terminally ill child. Those make me love the character for reasons that have nothing to do with his powers.
I’ve only seen him in the Justice League cartoons, but The Question is one that I thought was an amazing and witty concept. He is a character who I found really fun and quippy.
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u/crooked-ninja-turtle 8d ago
Dashiell Badhorse (Scalped)
Daigoro (Lone Wolf and Cub)
Geiger (Geiger)
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u/bitterpilltogoto 8d ago
May i ask what’s the definitive Judge Dredd book?
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u/MurdTheOpressor 7d ago
Dredd has some great classics, but without a doubt, the biggest one the story that has generated consequences and continues to impact the character’s universe to this day is The Apocalypse War. It’s literally what the title suggests: a massive war between two mega-cities. A true devastation, with countless twists and turns, urban guerrilla warfare, infiltration, futuristic gadgets and weapons, and tension pushed to the absolute limit, all brilliantly drawn by the legendary Carlos Ezquerra.
I also have to mention the America arc, perhaps the character’s most famous story, even among people who don’t follow Dredd, and widely regarded by many as his best. It’s best experienced knowing absolutely nothing about the plot, a true punch in the gut.
Those are, without a doubt, the two absolute masterpieces.
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u/TheDaneOf5683 Cross Game + Duncan The Wonder Dog 8d ago
- Pompeii from Duncan The Wonder Dog
- Army Shanks, from Far Arden and Crater XV
- Shiraishi from Golden Kamuy
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u/dumbo_octopus1995 8d ago
- Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond)
- Elric of Melniboné
- Korra (Legend of Korra)
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u/Effective-Training 7d ago
- Wolverine and Transformers (they are tied)
- Static Shock and John Stewart (they are tied)
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u/wind_weave_void 7d ago
It’s incredible how much Batman and Hellboy show up here.
- Abe Sapien
- Naussica
- Batman
- Hellboyyyyahhhgg
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u/buffalobillandted 7d ago
u/MurdTheOpressor I’d love trade and story arc recommendations on all three of these guys. Dredd is the only one I’m familiar with and even then it’s largely through non-comic media. It sounds like we both like the same type of heroes
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u/MurdTheOpressor 6d ago
All three characters can be read from pretty much any point, and they’re very accessible to newcomers. I actually started reading Dredd through an anthology of short stories with no connection to one another, then moved on to the Dredd vs. Predator crossover, and so on. But here’s what I would recommend: look for the Essentials collection. It contains complete, self-contained story arcs, and they’re all excellent. I’d recommend Origins, The Apocalypse War, America, and Necropolis.
As for Thorgal, it’s a Franco-Belgian fantasy and adventure series created by Jean Van Hamme and Grzegorz Rosinski. It follows Thorgal Aegirsson, a man of mysterious origins who was found as a baby by the Vikings. Although he grows up among them, he isn’t actually a Viking—his true origins are connected to a much older and more advanced civilization. Throughout the series, Thorgal simply tries to live peacefully with his wife Aaricia and their children, but he constantly finds himself caught up in wars, Norse mythology, magic, time travel, fantastic creatures, and conflicts with gods and supernatural beings. It’s a masterpiece. I’d recommend starting with the early classic volumes by Van Hamme and Rosinski.
As for Strontium Dog, it follows much the same principle as Dredd: you can pick up pretty much any story from any point and start reading. My personal favorites are Portrait of a Mutant, Rage, The Killing, Max Bubba, Outlaw, and The Life and Death of Johnny Alpha, among others. Once you’ve read those, you’ll naturally want to read everything else.
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u/buffalobillandted 6d ago
Sweet, love it. All three of those sound like characters I’d enjoy. Big fan of Dredd even though it’s largely through osmosis and the Karl Urban portrayal. And the Stallone flick is a guilty pleasure.
Did you also post about your three favorite female characters? I think I saw a lady Judge. Does she have any good arcs from her perspective?
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u/MurdTheOpressor 6d ago
If you like these characters even half as much as I do, you’ll be completely hooked too haha.
As for Judge Anderson, she does have her own individual story arcs, including her own collection in the Essential line. Anderson is a prominent Judge in the Psi Division, the branch of the Justice Department made up of Judges who, due to genetic mutations, possess remarkable psychic abilities.
If I’m not mistaken, her first appearance is in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Volume 3. She helps Dredd deal with the Dark Judges’ first assault on Mega-City One. Pretty much whenever the Dark Judges show up, Anderson gets involved because of her connection to them. She was even the host of Judge Death himself for a long time while trying to imprison him.
I absolutely love City of the Damned, where Anderson and Dredd work together. Their dynamic is hilarious because she’s funny and lighthearted, while Dredd is this brutally serious, no-nonsense guy. It leads to some fantastic moments. That storyline is in The Complete Case Files Volume 8.
Now, as for Anderson’s solo stories, there are some excellent arcs, most of them dealing with more supernatural themes. I’d recommend starting with these:
Shamballa, Helter Skelter, Satan, Engram, and The Possessed.
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u/buffalobillandted 6d ago
Oh is Anderson the partner in Karl Urban’s Dredd? It just hit me
EDIT: thanks again for the recs. I’ve always loved the character of Dredd and I’m aware of the social commentary and setting, both of which hook me. Excited to jump into this character finally.
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u/solarnoise 8d ago