the OFFICIAL comic books discussion thread!!!

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

I finally finished the first Cerebus tpb. Both the stories and the art get better by the end of the book. It still had flaws, but it was entertaining enough for me to want to read the next tpb.

Using the library is a good idea. I should try that out, as soon as I can find my library card.

[kylerexpop]

i just read a big batch of new stuff. comics + holiday fires in the fireplace = fun!

POLLY & THE PIRATES - not too shabby. not as great as i was lead to believe, but sort of fun. i recommend STREET ANGEL over this, and pretty much all things not written by Grant Morrison.

MNEMOVORE - i generally don't have the patience for vertigo miniseries, and either read them at the store as they come out or read the tpb at barnes/borders. i had heard good things about this, but still only picked it up because the glendale comic store had the complete mini packaged together to buy. and it wasn't bad at all. nothing earth-shattering, but a fun attempt at a horror comic. it wasn't great, but i think prefer something like this over THE WALKING DEAD, which gets more right than wrong but still isn't anything too interesting to me. anyway, this is like a stephen king-of-old novella type of horror story with great art and an appealing heroine; at least i thought so, since i dig redheaded snowboarding girls!

SOLO - a dc comics title that allows comic creators to run rampant with characters and ideas, as far as i can tell. the mike allred one is fantastic! i recently checked BIZARRO COMICS out from the library, and that's just as zany and fun. but allred's issue of solo takes the cake due to allred's magnificent art (with coloring by his wife) and his ability to tell a quirky little story in no time at all (see: MADMAN COMICS).

NEW AVENGERS - i picked up the entire run of NEW AVENGERS and most of last summer's marvel miniseries HOUSE OF M because i went to a hollywood comic store that had them all together and ready to buy in one fell swoop, which i love (so much better than waiting month-to-month for the next installment; i'm very impatient). i had read the hardcover collection of the first six issues of NA, but thought that reading all 13 issues would allow me to see a glimpse of what makes brian michael bendis so special and "great." and i just don't see anything. his characters all seem mostly "off" and speak in that odd, stilted way bendis is oft-criticized for, and i can't imagine that even in the fictional marvel world that the way stories progress in NA is actually how they would progress. it's all readable, but makes no impact except for occasional attempts at witticisms (mostly on the part of spider-man, although his misses greatly outweigh his hits) and glaring mischaracterizations (i'm thinking especially of emma frost in the "sentry" arc). not as vile as i feared, but not at all what i personally read comics for. if this is the future, i'm sincerely afraid.

so what else have you read lately that's good?

[TheLuckyOne]

captainkyle said:

so what else have you read lately that's good?

As far as Bendis goes, while I do -- generally -- enjoy New Avengers, I agree that it's somewhat hit-or-miss. When Bendis really "gets" a character, he gets them, but I'm not sure he really gets Cap or Iron Man; or else he's falling into the trap of writing them to suit who he wants them to be, rather than who they are. (Kinda like -- sorry, Kyle -- Morrison did on New X-Men.) Some of the Spidey and Luke Cage exchanges are funny ("So how would you beat this guy?" "Well, I usually just web my hands into mitts and pound the crap out of him." "Do me up."). I'm trying to enjoy it just as a decent superhero book, not as the actual Avengers. Bendis's love of 70's comics from his childhood has led to the return of Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel, which is okay, I guess, as his pet projects, but I'm really waiting a few years for the next crop of "hot writers" who grew up on 80's comics, as those are more my bread and butter.

But Kyle, if you want the best of Bendis, try the first few storylines of Ultimate Spider-Man. Head and shoulders above the rest of his mainstream superhero work.

As for stuff I've read lately that's good, the first issue of the new X-Factor just dropped, spinning out of last year's MadroX miniseries- Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man has opened a detective agency in New York with cohorts Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Siryn, M, and Rictor. Really, really strong first issue that I recommend everyone check out.

-D

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

Yesterday I borrowed the first volume of The Sandman from the library yesterday, and I finished reading it this morning. Hahaha I see now what all the fuss is about . I loved the origin story...and the rest of the story too, actually. The only problem I had was the references to Batman and and the JLA, because they were ultimately pointless. But that's forgivable, cause the rest was so dang good.

I liked how some of the main characters had their own speech text (Sandman had the black speech bubble and white text, Lucifer's text is very regal, and Doctor Dee's is ragged). That was a nice touch.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to be using the library more often now. There are several books (comic and not) that I'm interested in reading, but don't want to spend money that I don't have on them. Who knew the library could be so useful?

[kylerexpop]

i talked about 2005's comics in my revue article that i just sent in, but i forgot to talk about one big one i just became exposed to. as far as i was concerned, the (comics') world of the x-men lost me once Grant Morrison stopped writing new x-men. HOWEVER . . . greg pak made me appreciative of his own writing skills with his work on the miniseries x-men: phoenix endsong. it's a clear continuation of the world of the x-men following Grant Morrison's run, written by someone who clearly read Grant Morrison's run and understood it, and the photorealistic illustration by greg land. as reviews (especially at the excellent thexaxis.com) mention, in a way the story doesn't accomplish too much, but it's so well-executed and beautiful that it barely matters. and any story post-Morrison that prominently features emma frost as the cool, awesome, perfect love for scott summers that she is is a+ in my book. awesome!

and actually? i enjoyed brian michael bendis' house of m miniseries a LOT more than i ever dreamed i would. possibly because emma frost is kickass in that, too, but probably because it is a lot more interesting than most crossovers. everything about it should ensure that i don't like it, but i do. i'm surprised myself.

new avengers is pretty crap, though. and can anyone explain to me why bendis' daredevil cares so darn much about not revealing his secret identity and why the government so badly wants to throw matt murdock in jail? who really cares?

[TheLuckyOne]

captainkyle said:

written by someone who clearly read Grant Morrison's run and understood it,

No offense, Kyle, but... that was possible? Without mass quantities of hallucinogens?


In the meantime, I cannot stress strongly enough to people how very, very much they need to be reading X-Factor. The first issue sold out in some places -- virtually unheard of for a spinoff X-book these days -- and for good reason... it's that good. Some of Peter David's very best work, and that is saying something. In particular, people who don't like traditional superhero books should consider checking it out, as the mood is (continuing on from the original MadroX miniseries) much more in the vein of noir and black comedy. One of the best moments of issue 1 is finding out the Multiple Man won the grand prize on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" by using his phone-a-friend option to call a team of researching dupes.

Wolfsbane: "Isn't this cheating?"
Strong Guy: "Why? Technically he's only calling one friend."

That's the kind of creative stuff I always wanted to see done with Madrox, and now Peter David is finally doing it. I'm stoked about Exiles again too (Longshot, back on a regular team? Finally!), but X-Factor is seriously where it's at. Go pick it up!

-D

[Al]

I definitely agree. Generally speaking, Peter David gives me hives, but he's been doing a damn good job so far.

[TheLuckyOne]

Speaking of the House of M, anybody seen those flash cartoons this guy's been doing that parody the X-Men? He's done 6, the last 3 of which have been about the House of M. A couple are only mildly amusing, but some of the others are just hilarious. Here's the first one, and the scrollbar in the bottom left contains the others:

www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/218160

-D

[sirgallahad2]

I have only recently gotten into comics/ graphic novels etc.etc.. Of the little that I know of here are my favorites. (a spoiler or two for fair warning)

First of all, my favorite so far has to be Garth Ennis. To me, "Preacher" is just an amazing piece of work. I have all 9 TPB's and I've read the entire thing from beginning to end a couple of times. The characters that he created and the story that he told just blew me away. He has this way to weave profanity into story telling like nobody I have ever read. Admittedly, I have only gotten into the medium within the last 3 or 4 years so I have a lot to learn.

"The Walking dead" really took me by surprise. I have a strange fascination with zombies and zombie stories and "The Walking Dead" takes everything that scares me about them and rolls it into one, epic story. The most frightening thing to me is living in a small town and waking up to all of my friends and farmiliar acquaintances being eaten by zombies and becoming zombies. Having to put a bullet in the head of a person that I knew to avoid being eaten myself just messes with my head.

"Watchmen" was another incredible piece of work. Alan Moore deserves any award/accolade/butt-kissing that he gets for his work on that story. He gives these characters real depth and some actual, human issues. What happens when a costumed crime fighter gives it all up? What happens to make a man turn vigilante and put on an ink-blot mask and how does a writer make an ink-blot mask an essential part of the man's psyche? What happens when the villain's plan of death and destruction actually works? The grand-daddy of Graphic novel story telling.


There are countless writers and stories to collect and I have just barely scratched the surface.

[TheLuckyOne]

Another Preacher convert... good, good stuff. I'll admit, I initially had some qualms with it, as the religious views Garth Ennis espouses in the series are so extremely removed from my own. But then I remembered a letters page I'd once read in a comic magazine, by a reader who was complaining about Ennis's anti-religious slant in Preacher. The columnist had Kevin Smith respond, and his answer was basically, "I don't read Preacher for the grade-school discussions about religion, I read it because it's just about the most creative, funniest damn book out there." Darn good answer- it is. Or was, as the case may be.

Of course, another book that's possibly even funnier that you might want to check out is Ennis's other book, Hitman. It chronicles the existence of Tommy Monaghan, a professional assassin in Gotham City who one day acquires minor superpowers (x-ray vision and mind-reading) and uses them to help him, you know, better kill people. The art's not quite as good as Steve Dillon's on Preacher, but it's hilarious stuff- you haven't lived till you've seen a paid killer blow chunks on the Batman's shoes (hey, shouldn't have punched him right after he ate Indian food), or try out for the Justice League just so he can use his x-ray vision on Wonder Woman. ("Now I can die a happy man.") Unfortunately, only about the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the series has been collected in trades, but you can sometimes find them all in one big lot on eBay... that's how I got mine. Give 'em a shot, for sure.

Oh yeah, and Ennis's work on the Punisher too, reuniting him with Steve Dillon, the artist from Preacher... once again, incredibly depraved and cartoony in its violence, but great stuff just the same. (Collected in the "Welcome Back, Frank" trade.)

I'd also recommend *ahem* this article for some other good ideas.

www.mutantreviewers.com/rindie.html

-D

[kylerexpop]

i admit i'm not the most trustworthy critic of grant morrison . . .

but while 'all-star superman #1' was easily one of the best comics i read in 2005, today's 'all-star superman #2' was easily one of the best comics i have read in my entire life.

absolutely phenomenal. if you have ever enjoyed and wondered about the lois lane/clark kent/superman love triangle, i can not recommend this single issue enough. compared to this ham-fisted take on it that brian azzarello (sp?) took in his year-run on 'superman' this should be etched in gold and shot into space on a satellite.

if you don't have the $3 to pay for it, i'll buy you a copy and mail it to you. seriously. i bought ***** a copy when i bought my own and i should have bought out the store to hand them out like candy. re-usage of a early throw-away 'new x-men' plot point aside, this is magic. i am in awe.

[Al]

I'm curious as to everyone's opinion on the upcoming Marvel Civil War. I'm debating whether I can (or want to) spend my money on it. Part of me says no, I don't have the cash for another multi-book "this will change everything" maxiseries. But the other part of me says "This is probably something I oughta be checking out! It's gonna be a big deal (for a while at least)! Plus there's a Young Avengers / Runaways mini! You know you want that!" So I've been polling people in the know as to whether it's even worth all this deliberation. So... thoughts?

Al

[TheLuckyOne]

If HoM and/or Infinite Crisis taught me anything, it's that I don't need to blow money on the main story of any crossover, because I can pick up on all the really important plot elements just by reading the satellite stories in the titles I was reading anyway. Civil War? I'm reading Thunderbolts, so I'll get to see them chasing down fugitives. I'm reading New Avengers, so I'll see the divisiveness the Registration Act causes play out. I'm reading some of the X-titles, so I'll see how it affects the mutants. No need to collect every issue, that's what the online community is for.

That said, I'll be getting the Runaways/YA mini. My advice is, stick with the writers you know will do good work with the concept -- Peter David, Fabian Nicieza, Brian Vaughan, Robert Kirkman, etc. -- no matter how much or how little their books are involved in the crossover. Because crossovers come and go, but books as damn good as X-Factor or Runaways, well those only come along once in a blue moon.

-D

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

I've finally read Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum today. I'm not sure if I like it more than Dark Knight Returns or not. The artwork in AA is infinitely better (Dave McKean has become one of my all-time favorite artists of any medium), and I liked how AA portrayed its characters darker and more psychologically complex than they are in DKR. I really enjoyed the twist at the end with Two-Face.

But the problem with AA, to me, which seems to be a common problem with Morrison's stuff that I have read (which, at this point, are AA, We3, St. Swithen's Day, and I'm starting the first volume of the Invisibles), is that Morrison doesn't play out the ideas he presents to their full potential. All of those books would've been better if they were longer, and when I finished each of them, I was disappointed that there wasn't more to read.

But what's there is great, so whatever. I'm two cents poorer now.

[PoolMan]

I think Drew's going to kiss me... on a whim, I've just ordered V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight Returns, and The Watchmen.

w00t for geek literature!