Jun 24, 2014 8:57:18 GMT -5 Dizzy D said:

I also never got into Lapham, none of the comics I have by him (Young Liars, a Batman story arc, Deadpool MAX and Age of Apocalypse) ever clicked with me. Got Deadpool MAX for Kyle Baker's artwork.

Stray Bullets is his best work.  That's well worth seeking out if you like crime comics with some dark humor.

I really liked Young Liars the crazier it got, but it definitely wasn't for everyone.  The first arc only alluded to how out there it was going to get.  It's perhaps the most wild, unrestrained comic I've ever read that was still comprehensible.  It also helps if you're a fan of the music that Lapham lists in the credits at the beginning of the issue as the songs tend to parallel the story.  Gives the book an added level.

Everything else, I tend to agree.  I think Dave really needs to work on his own stuff in order to shine.  (He's a bit like Pete Milligan in that regard.)  The first Terror, Inc mini was good, but largely because Patrick Zircher bloomed in front of our eyes after years of producing solid but unspectacular work.  Not even Kyle Baker could elevate Deadpool MAX, and there's few bigger Baker fans than me.  That Detective Comics arc was an absolute mess.  His Valiant stuff was okay for what it was, but I don't understand the fascination for any of the first gen Valiant books besides BWS' Archer and Armstrong.  (Josh Dysart's Harbringer knocks the Shooter/Lapham run out of the water quite easily, in my opinion.)

Jun 24, 2014 15:32:34 GMT -5 impulse said:

Jun 24, 2014 14:40:26 GMT -5 @dupont2005 said:

Jun 24, 2014 14:51:00 GMT -5 fanboystranger said:

Stray Bullets is his best work.  That's well worth seeking out if you like crime comics with some dark humor.

I may check it out. I figure he must have a following for a reason, and I have heard good things about this. Still, nothing else of his encourages me to check it out, but I may.

Jun 24, 2014 14:51:00 GMT -5 fanboystranger said:

I really liked Young Liars the crazier it got, but it definitely wasn't for everyone.  The first arc only alluded to how out there it was going to get.  It's perhaps the most wild, unrestrained comic I've ever read that was still comprehensible

Bravo to you if you found it comprehensible. This was just definitely not for me...

Jun 24, 2014 14:51:00 GMT -5 fanboystranger said:

Everything else, I tend to agree.  I think Dave really needs to work on his own stuff in order to shine.  (He's a bit like Pete Milligan in that regard.)

I kind of got that impression.

I'd give Stray Bullets a shot.  It's a lot more linear than Young Liars, and it's the best example of what Lapham can do.  I think Image has the first few issues of the original series  on Comixology for free, but that may have been a limited time promotion.  (I don't online comics myself, but they are a good way to sample series without making a commitment.)  You could start with Killers, too, but I think that reads better if you had followed the original series.

I have no problem with anyone disliking Young Liars.  It's pretty much the definition of a 'cult comic'.  I think the reasons that I like it so much are the reasons so many people had trouble with it.  But, again, I found it wild and unrestrained with a feeling that the whole thing was completely off-the-cuff, like a bs artist digging in deeper with the ridiculous absurdity as the marks seem more and more enthralled.  I mean, the series was called Young Liars, and not just because Lapham likes TV on the Radio.