the OFFICIAL comic books discussion thread!!!

[Spiderdancer]

theluckyone said:

in Frank Miller's mind, apparently you can transfer energy from similar beings (i.e., plants) directly into Superman. I agree, probably the only thing I kinda wince at whenever I reread TDKR.

Human beings can do that, too, but the police tend to frown on cannibalism.

This is what I love about comic books: their approach to "science." Of COURSE the iron in your blood is magnetic! That's why everyone is covered with a dense layer of paperclips the instant they walk into an office! Of COURSE an uptake of DNA from another species causes transformation instead of simply awful death with viral symptoms! Of COURSE one gene can affect everything from eye color to laser beam fingertip capacity! Of COURSE one man can recover from awful wounds without access to an operating team or an MRI!

Too bad the real world has these inconvenient rules...

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

theluckyone said:

Man, some jive sucka tries to talk comics, [stuff] is on, son!!!

-D

The "jive sucka" being me, I'm assuming.

I'm definitely not an authority on comics, since I've only been reading them for about a year now (courtesy of Sin City), and I haven't read anything from Marvel yet. My comics know-how is quite limited, so I appreciate tidbits of knowledge like that (and "deconstructing the superhero..." is a much better choice of words than just "dimension"), when they come my way. Thanks much, Drew.

[TheLuckyOne]

oogieboogieman said:

The "jive sucka" being me, I'm assuming.

Well, yeah... but in a good way. (You know I'm just teasin', right?)

In other news, scant days after posting my Batman Begins article including reasons why Joe Chill's inclusion in the movie didn't jibe with the comics, what happens? Why, the conclusion to Infinite Crisis makes yet more changes to the DC Universe, one of them being that... yep, you guessed it: Joe Chill once again killed the Waynes! Awesome.

I tell ya, you just can't win...

-D

[kylerexpop]

so what are the great recent stories/runs that you consider must-haves?

i'm loving the huge selection of comic book stores i now rock out in, since between them all (and ebay) i'm able to get stuff fairly easily and fairly cheaply. i can dig it!

here's some stuff i highly recommend:

doc frankenstein: by the w. bros.; it is soooooo good i can't believe that the last two matrix films were so bad. just a really interesting story with great dialogue, great plotting, and pretty cool art. only four issues are out thus far, the fifth is on the way, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. highly recommended.

new avengers: i bought them all, sold them all, and just now bought them all again, along with the illuminati special and the annual. haven't re-read them yet, but it's not super-bad. it's different. maybe i do love bendis . . .

alias: yeah, i guess i do. i picked up the whole 28-issue run on ebay, and i do remember that it is awesome. is it his best work? possibly. i haven't checked out 'powers' other than an occasional tpb from the library or comic store.

daredevil: yep. love the bendis. picked up all these as well, once i realized bendis' run was over and was awesome. AWESOME.

captain america: after brubaker took over on daredevil, i realized that he is a great writer, and that his current run on captain america really is very good. apparently, though, it's tanking in sales, which is pretty inexplicable, but what can you do? it's pretty cool, though, and some of the best captain america stories i've ever read.

i picked up both volumes of 'the ultimates,' the supergirl stuff from superman/batman and her own series, and some other stuff that escapes me at the moment.

why am i doing this? eh. it's the cheap-o hook-up opportunities, and for the moment it's pretty easy to get stuff.

so what else is great that's out there?

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

Going back to my previous post about reading the Watchman and Animal Man, this is just an update. Both are done, and I loved both of them.

What I loved about Watchmen was how Alan Moore used his ideas (and the comic book style) to their full potential. It was great how Dr. Manhattan's perception of time was portrayed by constantly jumping around to different memories like he's still living them. The comic-book-within-the-comic-book was a nice touch too, as well as the fully written segments that shed insight onto the characters. I'm looking forward to any potential film adaptation, which, according to IMDB, is coming into fruition.

The only real problem I can identify in Watchmen was with Rorschach. Not him as a whole, cause he was probably my favorite character in the book, but the way he talked bothered me. He talks without using articles ("the", "a", etc.), which ranges from sounding cool and concise to sounding like broken English. And there's no real indication of English being his second language, so I couldn't get why he talked like that.

Animal Man was great too. Animal Man is now one of my favorite superheroes. Grant Morrison did a really good job with this book, and he's becoming one of my favorite writers (although I haven't read much by him). What I like best about Animal Man is his actual character. Everyone likes Spiderman because he's a cool superhero, but in real life, he's a lonely nerd trying to make it in the city. With Animal Man, it's the other way around; Buddy Baker (his real identity) has a wife and kids and is quite comfortable in the suburbs, but as Animal Man, he's a bottom rung superhero trying to be famous enough to join the Justice League. One of the funniest parts of the book is near the beginning, when a kid approaches Animal Man, asking for his autograph. Animal Man, thinking he's actually becoming famous, signs the kid's book, but when he reads it, the kid gets mad cause he thought Animal Man was Aquaman.

Good stuff, indeed.

[Doctor Teeth]

captainkyle said:

so what are the great recent stories/runs that you consider must-haves?

Three off the top of my head:

1. Fables by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (mostly). This excellent title has taken a bit of a dip lately, but it's still a great read and by the looks of things is just going to get better.

2. The Thing by Dan Slott. This is SUCH a great book, but it's going to be cancelled. The trade will collect the first 8 issues, though, and if those sales are good it might get renewed.

3. Fell by Warren Ellis. Only 5 issues in, but it's a well-written "crime" book that looks great and is a steal. If you're not getting it, you really should.

[DTH]

Hey Drew,

Did you ever read Earth X or Universe X? Just interested what you thought about Jamie Madrox's actions in that?

Best Regards

DTH

[DTH]

captainkyle said:

new avengers

I love the New Avengers. I think it is great that they finally put the S-Man in to a full time team. I even like his "Iron-Spider" armour. As has been said before, Bendis is great when he's on form, its just random whether he is or not ;P I like the line-up and I like the stories.

I loves the conspiracy plot line that's currently ongoing in respect of the Hydra/SHIELD thing.

alias

Heard great stuff about Alias. Anyone comment?

daredevil

Same...

captain america

I read the first TPB "Winter Soldier" for the v5 of Captain America. I'm torn. Its interesting and has some good artwork but I didn't think it was particularly well written. Any news on this?

i picked up both volumes of 'the ultimates'

TEH ULTIMATES IS TEH BEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!

*cough* ahem. I love the Ultimates. I'd marry it if I could.

the supergirl stuff from superman/batman

Jeph Loeb's run on Superman/Batman has been mixed. "Supergirl" was one of the better ones, as much as it really annoyed me that they brought Kara back... that was one death that should have stayed that way.

so what else is great that's out there?

If you like Ultimates, I urge everyone and anyone to get hold of The Authority. This is by far and away my favourite team book. Forget New Avengers, you want the writing talents of Warren Ellis, Mark Miller and all the other writing goodness.

The first series, Stormwatch, which Authority spins off from is worth reading (though it has the most random conclusion ever), still, it is the Authority you must all read. NOW!

[TheLuckyOne]

dth said:

Did you ever read Earth X or Universe X? Just interested what you thought about Jamie Madrox's actions in that?

I did read Earth X years ago, and remember really loving the idea of Madrox as an informant living in every major city on Earth. I haven't read Universe X, but I did hear about what happened to Jamie in it... another really cool (and creepy) idea. I love to see creators realizing the potential of the character, after so many years of nothing but "Jamie gets hit a bunch of times, turns into 8 Jamies, and dogpiles on the bad guy."

Do you read X-Factor, DTH? One of the consistently best books Marvel publishes these days. And have you read the Madrox: Multiple Choice miniseries? Great stuff.

dth said:

If you like Ultimates, I urge everyone and anyone to get hold of The Authority. This is by far and away my favourite team book. Forget New Avengers, you want the writing talents of Warren Ellis, Mark Miller and all the other writing goodness.

I never really got into the Authority -- just way too political and cynical for my tastes, and my political views don't mesh very well with Ellis's, I don't think -- but I'd urge everyone to check out his other Wildstorm book, Planetary. It's about a team of archaeologists exploring the secret history of the world, investigating the things you never hear about... so for instance, one issue they might be on Monster Island (from the old Godzilla movies), the next they might be discovering that the Shadow is the son of the Lone Ranger, or researching a 19th century society whose members include Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, his monster, Dracula, and the Invisible Man. Really grand stuff, and probably the only place you'll see evil versions of the Fantastic Four as the book's villains.

Finally, I'll echo the love for Fables- I just started reading it recently, but the first two trades are excellent, I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next. Any book starring Snow White as the deputy mayor and Bigby (Big B.) Wolf as her chief of security is worth at least a look.

-D

[DTH]

theluckyone said:

I love to see creators realizing the potential of the character

For me, that's what Earth X/Universe X did all over. This was one of the greatest series' of fiction I've ever read. I absolutely adored it and so need to pick up Paradise X (curse money!).

theluckyone said:

Do you read X-Factor, DTH? One of the consistently best books Marvel publishes these days. And have you read the Madrox: Multiple Choice miniseries? Great stuff.

Unfortunately, no. However, that isn't due to lack of intention, just lack of money I promise I'll pick up a TPB one of these days.

I was put off because I read the "New Excalibur" stuff and was unimpressed. I know, different writers, different things, but I just felt that some of the shake-ups in the mutant corner of the Marvel U weren't that great...

I never really got into the Authority -- just way too political and cynical for my tastes

And yet that is one of its selling points to me

I love the Authority. It is a lot of things: an homage/parody of the Justice League, a critique on the political make-up of the world today and about how problems could be tackled.

It is also one of the finest works of superhero stories I have come across.

OTOH: Fables sounds awesome!

[blinkfan]

I have a copy of a X-Factor. I forget which issue it was. But it had this purple dude with a mohawk who gets impaled at the end. And a girl visiting a graveyard and there was a old woman who had a really rough past.

[TheLuckyOne]

dth said:

Unfortunately, no. However, that isn't due to lack of intention, just lack of money I promise I'll pick up a TPB one of these days.

Coolness. The first trade, collecting issues 1-6 (this being a new series, obviously, not the same as the last team to bear the name) comes out in late July; I think it's called "X-Factor: The Longest Night." Though if you get the money, you might also want to check out the "Madrox: Multiple Choice" TPB that directly leads into it. (Remember, I've got a running deal with all posters on this board- if you buy it and don't like it, just send it to me and I'll reimburse the full price you paid for it.)

dth said:

I was put off because I read the "New Excalibur" stuff and was unimpressed.

Yeah, it's not for everyone. Those who've read a ton of Claremont and don't mind his stylistic quirks (myself included) enjoy it, but it's not the first book I would give to someone raised on modern comics with more realistic dialogue and decompressed storytelling.

dth said:

OTOH: Fables sounds awesome!

So far, it really is. The premise is that centuries ago, all the characters of our fables were driven out of their kingdoms by a mysterious being called the Adversary and have been secretly living in our world ever since- the human(-esque) ones in "Fabletown," a hidden community in NYC, and all the talking animals and such on a farm in upstate New York. The first storyline is sort of a murder mystery (who killed Snow White's sister, Rose Red?), the second more of a political thriller, and (from what I've heard) the third is kind of a caper. Snow White is the deputy mayor, Bigby Wolf is her Director of Security, Jack (of all trades; and the beanstalk) is the local troublemaker, and so on.

There's some really clever ideas, like Beauty and the Beast going to marriage counseling because after centuries of marriage, her love is starting to waver and so he's starting to regrow horns and fangs; or the fact that Bigby keeps having to let one of the 3 little pigs crash on his couch because "you owe me for blowing down my house all those years ago!" ("Big deal, I knocked over a few bales of hay. Let it go.") Anyway, I'm definitely hooked.

-D

[DTH]

theluckyone said:

Yeah, it's not for everyone. Those who've read a ton of Claremont and don't mind his stylistic quirks (myself included) enjoy it, but it's not the first book I would give to someone raised on modern comics with more realistic dialogue and decompressed storytelling.

I've read a fair bit of Claremont and I think he has done a great job, however, my tastes have changed and I'd much rather read Bendis, Ellis, Gaiman or Miller. I think Claremont is great at telling a good story, however, I don't get much out of his writing, particularly of character, anymore.

Credit where credit is due, he has come up with some of the best X-stories ever.

[famousmortimer]

I'm with DTH on the Authority, most of which I read while sofa-surfing at his place. I might have to make a concerted effort to read it all now. I think it's a reflection of the world that more and more comic writers (well, the good ones) are incorporating political themes into their work and getting the reader to think a bit more deeply.

I've been re-reading lots of old "2000AD" comics recently. Alan Moore is a genius- Halo Jones is about as good as 2000AD got, and there's DR and Quinch as well for comedy value. And Judge Dredd had a pretty political bite to it too with the right writer.

Is Garth Ennis up to anything these days? I've not read the end of Preacher yet (so no spoilers please) but loved it and the little "Hitman" I read. Is he doing a script for the Preacher film or is he writing another comic?

[TheLuckyOne]

famousmortimer said:

Is Garth Ennis up to anything these days? I've not read the end of Preacher yet (so no spoilers please) but loved it and the little "Hitman" I read. Is he doing a script for the Preacher film or is he writing another comic?

He was writing the Punisher for a while... first in the "Welcome Back, Frank" miniseries (which is deliciously, hilariously depraved, with the same type of ultra-gratuitously violent sensibility he brought to Hitman), and then an ongoing series. I haven't been reading it, don't know if he's still doing that or not. I DO know there are plans for him to tell a "lost" Hitman story in the pages of Justice League Classified, which should be great... if it sells well, maybe it'll prod DC into releasing the rest of the original run in TPBs, since they only collected the first 1/2 or so.

EDIT: what I love about Ennis's Punisher is that Ennis harbors no delusions about the character he's writing- he doesn't think the Punisher is some misunderstood, avenging force of nature who reflects society's darkness and is the only sane man in an insane world and blah de blah blah. He says flat out, right there in the introduction (and I'm paraphrasing), "this is an insane person I'm writing about here. This is not someone you should admire or want to be like; he's not a hero. He's a lunatic and a serial killer whose only redeemable quality is that he happens to kill other killers. He doesn't do it for justice, he doesn't do it for noble causes- his motivation is that he hates criminals and he wants them all to die. Period. As long as you can accept that and take enjoyment in the funny, cartoonishly violent things I'm going to have him do because the victims happen to be other not-very-nice people, welcome aboard!"

-D