So I mainly only read manga for a variety of reasons. I wanted to get into comics. I like Deadpool, on every "must read" Deadpool list there is Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe. I don't understand what the appeal is or why it was written.
The whole point of "Dreadpool" or whatever the fuck his name is like, apparently he's supposed to realize he's a character in a comic book and he has this entire realization that is that everything in his life is pointless because the readers demand that everyone suffers and that they'll never get closure or break out of their cycles because the comic book reader won't let the story end so he kills everyone to free them from the cycle or whatever.
It doesn't make any sense. Why make the reader into the bad guy if the reader has no control over the story?
I don't decide how awful Spider-Man's life is or how many marriages he loses. Marvel and DC do.
When Goku and Luffy face tragedy, they continue to grow and strive to be the best person they can be as the reader grows with them. They don't turn to the camera and complain that the reader is the reason their friends died and how we're all enablers perpetuating the cycle of loss.
Take that energy out on the corporations who run our lives and control the media we get. Every criticism that Deadpool throws at Wolverine applies to himself tenfold. He chooses to engage in the senseless violence and meaningless quipping he hates so much. He doesn't learn anything or grow, he just kills everyone in stupid, plot demands it level ways, kills the writers, and then threatens to kill me at the end.
In every discussion of comics vs manga someone will say: "Well, you can't judge every comic based on just Marvel and DC, the industry is bigger than just those two companies."
So can I get comics and graphic novels that are optimistic and sincere that aren't made by either of those two companies?
And for the love of all that is holy, please don't recommend me anything that involves "Guy that looks like Superman with Superman's powers flies around killing innocent civilians" I can't take it anymore. I am maxed out on that for the next 80 years.
If you're still willing to read the big 2, anything by Mark Waid or Ryan North. You may find a few 'downers' in their work, but nothing grimdark and hopeless. All-Star Superman & The New Frontier also come to mind here. Don't judge all of DC & Marvel by the most '90s of their stars.
Outside of that, there are plenty of optimistic comics - Astro City has a very Silver Age optimism about it, Ram Vs Many Deaths of Laila Star, Atomic Robo, Scott Pilgrim.
Edit : Chinese Born American and March are also great optimistic comics
Came here to recommend Squirrel Girl by Ryan North. The only truly wholesome comic from the Big two that is still fun and interesting.
And the footnotes on every page can add a good chunk of extra reading to every book!
Superman Smashes the Klan is another good one
Chinese born American by the same author
I just feel as if comics don't want me to read them or are primarily made by people who don't even seem to like the medium they are in. I'm gonna give these a shot.
Definitely Mark Waid as your first stop. His Hulk is meh, but pretty much everything else is great. Ryan North's Squirrel Girl and Fantastic Four are excellent. Superman Space Age by Mark Russell is beautiful.
Because you're coming from Manga - give one of my favorite comics - Usagi Yojimbo - a try. A fabulous read and one of the longest-running comics by a single author. Not a single bad issue.
Astro City is what you're looking for! It's an homage to the greatest characters from DC and Marvel, set in its own wonderfully developed universe. It's not without strife and sorrow, of course, but it has an overall very optimistic view of superheroes and civilians alike. And, as I've seen many other people say over the years, I've never read a bad issue of Astro City. It's consistently excellent.
https://www.instocktrades.com/products/dec210124/astro-city-metrobook-tp-vol-01
I will second this.
Same. I've been a fan since day one and this series seriously needs more readers. I've moderated and started multiple groups dedicated to Kurt Busiek's Astro City (latest one on Facebook) and getting others to chime in on the discussion is really difficult.
Superman: For All Seasons is amazing and that’s coming from someone who has never been super into him
I’m mostly familiar with DC Comics, but in general I find Tom Taylor’s books to be very positive and uplifting, in particular his Nightwing run and his Suicide Squad maxi series with Bruno Redondo are fantastic, you can feel goodwill radiating off the pages.
Yep I'm gonna second Tom Taylor's Nightwing.
It's one of the more perfect examples next to Dixon and Wolfman of the beacon of Positivity and hope Dick is in tbe DCU.
Some comics with similar vibes to Deadpool but less pessimistic and edgy: - Unbeatable Squirrel Girl - Gwenpool - Sensational She-Hulk
Hot take but Deadpool is only good when hes sad. When theres to little emotional conflict in a story with him he just becomes Bugs Bunny and it eliminates all his depth
I totally agree, his earlier stories were much better than the recent stuff where he’s just a gag character
I kinda disagree. I really enjoy reading Deadpool for the absurd insanity and general lightheartedness
BONE by Jeff Smith
To not bury the lede: have you read Bone? Everybody should read Bone.
Anyway, why did you think you’d like Deadpool? Because he’s popular and has movies? If you want emotional sincerity in Big Two comics, Deadpool is the last place to go. It’s because the Big Two books normally are married to status quo and plot armor that the “meta” book being about just killing off everybody unceremoniously becomes appealing to some by contrast. He is famously an assassin.
Anyway, within Big Two Absolute Wonder Woman is the best book of the Year, imo. Diana is very hopeful.
I also enjoyed Batman & Robin: Year One.
Read God Loves, Man Kills if you want classic emotionally sincere X-men.
Super man vs the klan might fit what your looking for
Can I recommend a Top Shelf book called Better Place? It’s about a 12 year old who finds out his grandfather has gone to “a better place” and sets out on an adventure to find out where that is. I’m biased because I drew it but it came out during Covid and I wish more people read it. But it’s also just a wonderful story.
I recommend the complete (for the sake of your request, non-DC/Marvel) works of Mark Russell, the sincere, funny and abundantly creative writer of Second Coming and One-Star Squadron
Mark Russell's DC work is also amazing. His Superman Space Age book was spectacular
Tom Taylor's Nightwing run.
For someone normally quite cynical and pessimistic, Warren Ellis’ Planetary has a huge optimistic heart at its centre. I don’t want to spoil anything but the entire arc from beginning to end should leave a good taste in your mouth so to speak.
Superman: Up in the Sky
Have you read Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson? It's ongoing and the premise is admittedly a bit dark, but it's wonderfully optimistic and inspiring. The Absolute DC line in general is about a world shaped by evil, and Wonder Woman acts as this bright light cutting through the darkness, gentle even with her enemies. (The other Absolute books are also good as well, but definitely a lot more misery and less hope in those, at least for now.)
Superman birthright
DC new frontier
You should read Unbelievable Gwenpool, I feel extremely confident that you'll like it.
Why is that?
It's the same kind of "Self-aware character in a comic book" thing that Deadpool does, but mostly plays the concept for charming and silly. Plus, it ends up having a lot of heart by the end of the run.
Just pass on the other Gwenpool books (Gwenpool Strikes Back and Gwenpool 2025). They are not so good.
I think I'm just tired of "self aware" characters and deconstructions and 4th wall breaks
This dreadpool character has already maxed out all the interest I had in that concept
That’s not really what the story of Gwen Poole is: it’s more of a study of existentialism in a moral way (not cruel). Following an isekai protagonist: a girl from the real world transported to the Marvel Universe. It was very well-done.
I LOVE Radiant Black. It's targeted toward 30 yo nerds like me, but it's a fresh super hero story (to me) just because of the Sentai angle. On top of that, it isn't some group of highschoolers fighting giant monsters with their robots.
It's the story of a bunch of nobodies forced to come together and save the world. Standard stuff, yeah. The artwork can get pretty crazy and colorful. You have a guy in his late 50s, a middleage wife, a couple 30 year old bros and a 20 year old twitch streamer. All with issues, but they all work through them in the mature ways. Not the Super hero ways.
It's really inspiring, and I have hope it will break into the mainstream one day like Invincible.
Dan slotts silver surfer, feel good stuff
Good recco, but I would credit this to Dan Slott & Mike Allred. The art is a good 70% of the fun of this book.
Idk, I felt like that run had a lot of tearjerkers in it. So much of it was about the emotional relationship between Norrin & Dawn & the cosmic wonder of it all. I mean, the board even gets a pet nickname throughout the entirety.
“I like Deadpool”
Well, there’s your first problem
Try Chew! Fantastic and very funny!
(Legit no judgment - just a question - trying to help)
To help me help you, you're looking for books with optimistic, positive stories that aren't from Marvel / DC, correct?
Are you ok w/ violence if it's not senseless (aka, fighting / hurting bad people to have good prevail)?
Let me know and I'll see what I can come up with for you. I'll jog the memory here, even though it's not what it used to be!!
I have no problem with violence. I'm just sick of cynical over the top gory shock value comic book violence.
I've always been a huge fan of Valiant. I read their stories back in the 90s, then again when they rebooted in the 2012. They have since tried a new reboot with Alien Comics / IDW, but I'm not enjoying it. I can recommend the following - as I think they're great stories w/ out shock value violence.
2012 Archer & Armstrong
2012 Harbinger
2014 Rai (Vol 3) - Fallen World - 2019 Rai (Vol 4)
A newer ongoing series that might interest you is Redcoat by Geoff Johns. Love his work. He also writes Geiger and Rook Exodus for his Image offshoot Ghost Machine, but Rook Exodus and Geiger have more violence than Redcoat.
Seconding the Valiant recommendation tha Environmental-Day made; Faith is one of my favorites (she's part of the Harbinger... team I guess you could call it). I enjoyed Archer and Armstrong, but the series cot canceled when i started reading it towards the end of last year.
If you can find it Ahoy Comics' Second Coming is also a good read, but it does have a superman analogue.
Green Arrow by Joshua Williamson and Sean Izaakse. Trust me. 👌🏼
Well, as someone who reads both manga and comics, I can certainly say comics tend to be much darker than manga overall.
I’m really struggling to think of any comics that have the same overall friendship can solve everything, talk no jutsu, the world is overall good vibe as shonen manga.
Maybe because the demographics are different.
A Frog in the Fall by Linnea Sterte
Marble Season by Gilbert Hernandez
Grip by Lale Westvind
Spider-Man Life Story might be a good one.
Daniel Warren Johnson’s The Moon Is Following Us is both an interesting exploration of parenthood and trauma, and a wonderfully imaginative fantasy story. I found the story wonderfully optimistic.
The first issue is free to read on Image’s website
https://imagecomics.com/read/the-moon-is-following-us
Twig (Image) is a great story about a little guy who is courageous. I highly recommend
For something completely different, that is also both professional quality and posted for free on the Internet, there's Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio. They're up to something like 25 regular-sized print albums by now, but it's all still freely available as a webcomic so it's easy to check out the vibe. Funny, positive, wholesome steampunk interspersed with dark moments.
ElfQuest is likewise available for free to check out. If you like manga and anime, you might like the art style. It began in the 70s and is still around.
Archie
"The whole point of Deadpool..."
That's like one throw away "story arch" and not the bases of the character. Also, many comics that have a long running history are written by many different people so even the best companies can suffer due to shitty writing like what they tried to do with Lobo awhile back and luckily it failed.
I'm not a fan of Super Hero type comics and that does include Deadpool but I don't really know what you mean by optimistic comics. Like, the whole comic is optimistic or at the end has an optimistic ending or the plot has some type of moral story for readers to follow in their actual lives?
Scott Pilgrim.
The Spirit by Darwyn Cooke
Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
Glory by Joe Keatinge and Sophie Campbell
Outcast by Kirkman and Azaceta (Listen this book starts out dark/depressing but interesting. It really drags story-wise from issues 10-24. HOWEVER, at issue 25 things start to really pick up in being a decent story. If you get to the end, issue 48, it’s worth the journey. You’re gonna start like “How the fuck did this dude find this horror book optimistic?” but the end will answer that question.)
Fire Power by Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee
If you don’t mind Bronze Age, pretty much anything by Jack Kirby is full of optimism, that was inherent in his own personal philosophy. I’m similar to you, I really love Kirby’s stuff partly for that reason. This would include his Fourth World saga, Kamandi, the Demon, Eternals, and Machine Man especially.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. It’s Marvel, but it’s incredibly optimistic.
Tom Strong, All Star Superman
Outside of the big 2, funny, slice of life: Giant Days. My wife and I binged the entire series. In a year or two I'm looking forward to going back and reading the entire series again. Also go check out Uncle Scrooge by Don Rosa — enjoyable adventure stories. And think of every TV show you loved. Chances are there is a comics continuation. I read comics to relax, I have no use for stories that will stress me out or bring me down.
Justice League International by Kieth Giffen & J.M. de Matteis. Is a lot of fun and worth anyone's time.
Deadpool wasn't original, he was a take on DC's Ambush Bug. The character has had a few appearances and couple of mini-series.
Outside of the big two, try:
The Tick by Ben Edlund
Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge stories
Girl Genius by Phil & Kaja Foglio
and Groo The Wanderer by Sergio Argones.
Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius will be right up your alley!
I echo the sentiments regarding Astro City. Going strong for 30 years and always excellent.
Also, if you haven't read "Marvels" (also by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross) it's pretty wonderful. So is the series of oversize (Tabloid size) comics by Alex Ross and Paul Dino - Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Captain Marvel - beautiful and hopeful.
Also look for the collected editions of Castle Waiting by Linda Medley. More fantasy, not superhero stuff, but well worth reading.
I also absolutely love Usagi Yojimbo. Stories of a Ronin rabbit. It's been published for 40 years now and is every bit as enjoyable as when Stan first brought him to our attention.
The Tom Strong books are also highly enjoyable and would be of interest.
Anyone recommending DPKTMU is a fucking idiot for exactly the reasons you stated. DP is a fun character but he is inherently depressing. But he tries to find the fun in it while struggling with that overwhelming sadness. DPKTMU is just poorly written misery porn that doesn’t justify it’s bullshit with a good narrative
There’s a single issue of DP where he freezes time and talks to the reader directly. Thats a great introspective/depressing DP book that’s actually good and not ass but idk what issue it is and I fear I hallucinated reading it
I also hate edgelord bullshit it’s just so unreadable to me but thankfully that’s fallen very out of fashion. It was popular for a bit and won’t ever fully go away. But it’s not majorly significant. Stories may still have sad moments or themes but not glaringly so
I know these are big 2 but I think Zdarsky’s Spectacular Spider-Man may be something you’d enjoy. Or Tom Taylor’s Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man and his Nightwing. Ryan North’s Fantastic Four is also fucking superb. Anything by Taylor and North is generally a fun time, but Zdarsky recently has been doing more grounded character driven stories that are a bit darker. Not completely depressing (like I wouldn’t consider them sad at all but I’m playing it safe) but not what you seem to be looking for at the moment
Luther Strode
I would disagree. It’s an excellent comic about striving to be better. But the entire premise is dark as fuck.
Wikipedia says it's a story about "What if Peter Parker didn't have Uncle Ben to guide him?
I'll pass. I'm kinda done with those kinds of comics.
I already don't like "What if Superman didn't have Ma and Pa kent?"
It’s actually a story about overcoming darkness, and doing better, choosing better.
I'll give it a shot because you recommended it but it better not be a bunch of cynical "life is meaningless" bullshit
unrelated but i can recommend a great video essay on deadpool kills the marvel universe to make the message more understandable
I'm really not in a good mood right now, and I don't particularly want to see more of this comic than I have already read. Can you summarize it for me so I can understand what I'm missing apparently?
basicly by buying comics the readers are suporting an industry that relies entirely on us wanting to see fictional characters suffer and thats messed up if you think about it
All stories require characters to suffer at least a little in order to be compelling. That's only messed up if you're being meta about it
well Deadpool kills the marvel universe is very much meta about it cause thats the point but i agree it seems kind of emo
Did you not read what I just read? I don't want to see Spiderman suffer. I don't want to see any of these heroes suffer. Why do you think Spiderman fans rally so hard against the writers when he gets a raw deal? They obviously want to see him grow and be happy.
Yeah but they do suffer and it is because people buy them. Have you ever read Gwenpool strikes back? It deals with the concept that Characters dont exist when they arent in Books. By buying a Spiderman comic the reader is keeping Alive and in his Prime. And since conflict needs to exist for Superhero books that means hes been experiencing live or death sittuations and other horrible events once a month for over 60 years.
I don't know that I'm quite tracking the request, but some optimistic books that I enjoy are:
Miracle Man by Tom King All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction
Not sure I'd call Miracle Man optimistic. It's about a failed suicide. It is amazing, but not optimistic.