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Post by berkley on Nov 3, 2019 20:46:03 GMT -5
Gideon Falls vol. 1
Kind of the reverse of Caliban: the artwork by Andrea Sorrentino is beautiful, some of the best I've seen in a comic from recent years, while Jeff Lemire's writing has left me dissatisfied, at least so far, and this first volume feels to me like a weak imitation of Twin Peaks rather than a skilfully done tribute or variation on a theme. I'll keep going for at least one more volume, though, in the hope that it'll start clicking for me.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 11, 2019 9:50:20 GMT -5
I finish March of the Crabs... very fun story. I've very much like to see an animated version, I think it would be awesome. you wouldn't think a story about crabs that can only walk in a straight line would be engaging, but it totally was. I bit lite on reading time, though. the 3 trades took about 2 hours total
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 11, 2019 18:47:03 GMT -5
I finish March of the Crabs... very fun story. I've very much like to see an animated version, I think it would be awesome. you wouldn't think a story about crabs that can only walk in a straight line would be engaging, but it totally was. I bit lite on reading time, though. the 3 trades took about 2 hours total I might have to track this down |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 12, 2019 10:01:53 GMT -5
I finish March of the Crabs... very fun story. I've very much like to see an animated version, I think it would be awesome. you wouldn't think a story about crabs that can only walk in a straight line would be engaging, but it totally was. I bit lite on reading time, though. the 3 trades took about 2 hours total I might have to track this down If you have access to it, it's on Hoopla (which is how I read it). I'm really glad I was able to find a library to give me access.. it's great for reading this kinda stuff! |
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Post by profholt82 on Nov 16, 2019 20:18:23 GMT -5
I finished up the 5 issue Silver Surfer Black miniseries last week. Donny Cates of Venom and Absolute Carnage fame wrote it, but the style is practically the opposite of the way he writes those books. If you've ever read a Surfer book before, you know how he's always whining about his feelings all the time, and that's no different in this book. I don't recall him being in the fetal position with his head in his hands quite as much in this series though, so that's something. That said, I still enjoyed this series overall, due in part to the overall plotline which is ambitious and on a vast, grand scale, but also because the art of Tradd Moore. It's an amalgamation of Peter Max and Steve Ditko with Picasso whizzing on it while tripping on peyote. Or something along those lines. Definitely not for everyone's tastes, but I loved it.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 23, 2019 12:57:25 GMT -5
I was able to get a bit a of Dectective Comics run thanks to Newbury's grab bags... my most recent one has 998-999, and 1001-1004 of Detective (along with an annual).. then I was able to get 1000 for $4 from ebay, so it was good.
Read the first couple... 998-999, the big 'countdown' series... wow, I can't believe they went the 'its all a dream' route! Is this 1986?
1000 had a couple good bits (I really like the Knute Brody story, brilliant!), but a couple of them were really bad..why would every Detective in the DCU be in a group BEFORE Batman? The concept is fun, but he shouldn't be the last one there, makes NO sense... either he'd be there in the beginning, or they'd exclude him because he's too scary, right?
The Warren Ellis one (Which I thought would be exciting) was terrible (and not Batman at all really), and Priest's seems like he had a an extra Deathstroke script he changed a couple words on.
Then there's the fact that there's two stories about 'what Batman does on his Birthday' when we just had a big storyline about that, and it's 'all opposite. I love the concept of a bunch of fun stories for 1000, but it definitely could have been done better.
Hopefully the promised 'Arkham Knight' story is a bit better!
On the plus side, I also got a couple volumes of Case Closed, so those should be fun!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2019 23:48:20 GMT -5
There were a couple of new series I wanted to try, but I missed the first issues, as they promptly sold out multiple printings and became quite pricey. One was Once and Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora from BOOM! and the other was Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera. So I checked out Hoopla and it had the first three issues of Once and Future, and the first two of Something is Killing the Children, so I used some of my November borrows to check out these issues.
I read Something first, and quite enjoyed it. A small rural community where children are disappearing and dying, one child survives an incident and it comes to the attention of a mysterious female monster hunter who comes to investigate and try to stop the monster. A pretty straightforward concept, but it's all in the execution. The characters are intriguing, the dialogue is very good, there are lots of hooks and mysteries to keep you wanting to learn more in the first two issues, but enough happens in each issue that you don't feel cheated. I'll keep up with this as Hoopla gets new issues and likely pick up the first trade when the arc is finished and collected.
Once and Future came second, and I liked it every bit as much as I liked Something. I'd been intrigued by Gillen's discussions of the series in his newsletter leading up to it's release, but simply forgot to preorder it. Basic premise: an archaeologist discovers a 5th century scabbard that turns out to be Arthur's, and it sets into motion a plan by a group of British extremists who plan to resurrect Arthur to re-unite Britain in these divisive times and make Britain for the true Britons again. Trying to stop them is a geriatric monster hunter and her grandson who has no clue about her secret life. Gillen is a comic formalist, but he is also a very good storyteller, and the execution here is also what makes the book. Love the characters, the sardonic humor and the quest as it is shaping up and playing out, so again, will keep checking this out and likely pick up the trade once the first arc is collected.
Now to check out the first issue of another BOOM! series I picked up at my lcs today-Folk Lords. BOOM! has been putting out some very interesting new books recently.
-M
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Post by berkley on Nov 26, 2019 4:18:31 GMT -5
I think Gillen's one of the most talented comics writers out there but most of his stuff doesn't appeal to me for one reason or another - premise, artwork, or whatever the case may be. I like the sounds of Once and Future, though, and a quick image search hasn't turned me off the art so I might give this one a try.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2019 11:10:39 GMT -5
Folk Lords #1 by Matt Kindt and Matt Smith (who did Barbarian Lord, one of my favorite OGNs) was in interesting twist on the fairy tale genre, a role reversal where someone form a fairy tale world is trying to find our modern world which is a taboo subject among the rulers of the land. First issue was mostly set up, but gave us some interesting characters and hooks and was like the first chapter of any quest tale it takes the character to the real start of his journey. Quite good.
-M
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 26, 2019 20:15:29 GMT -5
Hey, MRP, Once and Future (at least for the 1st 3 issues) is being release one issue at a time on Hoopla (assuming you still have access... I hunted out on your recommendation!)
Read the 'Arkham Knight' story in Detective (1001-1004)... meh. Very deconstructed and contrived. Honestly, I don't even really care how it ends. It's not a bad concept (having a hero, or even a group, that thinks Batman is bad for the city), but it's done much better in 'White Knight'
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2019 20:23:51 GMT -5
Hey, MRP, Once and Future (at least for the 1st 3 issues) is being release one issue at a time on Hoopla (assuming you still have access... I hunted out on your recommendation!) Read the 'Arkham Knight' story in Detective (1001-1004)... meh. Very deconstructed and contrived. Honestly, I don't even really care how it ends. It's not a bad concept (having a hero, or even a group, that thinks Batman is bad for the city), but it's done much better in 'White Knight' I must not have been clear, as I read Once & Future 1-3 (and Something is Killing the Children) via Hoopla. I do still have Hoopla access and usually use all 10 borrows each month (though sometimes it is just to skim something to see if I am interested...). -M |
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Post by berkley on Nov 26, 2019 22:10:53 GMT -5
Not that new, but I finally read Warren Ellis's Supergod: I hold Ellis to higher standard than most comics writers, so for him I'd say this was kind of middling. Interesting idea, and he explores it in a thoughtful way, but with just 5 issues he didn't give himself a whole lot of space. Artwork was OK, didn't really love it or hate it.
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Post by Batflunkie on Dec 2, 2019 13:00:29 GMT -5
The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #1-#3
Really good book. Focuses on a medium trying to find her lover in the world beyond while helping to break a curse put on one of her clients. Adds a lot to the lore of the 2012 Shadowman book that was otherwise glossed over by Justin Jordan
Can't say that I ever really cared much for the original Doctor Mirage from the 90's seeing as how almost ever sentence either ended or started with the word baby. Though I do applaud Layton's attempt to try and create a comic specifically for women
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 5, 2019 7:23:12 GMT -5
Short version of all the New X-Men titles, ranked best to worst (all in my opinion of course):
1. New Mutants: The (no longer really) kids go into space to get Cannonball and his family and show them Krakoa, the new home to all of mutantkind. It has the best art, characters have good interaction and it's just fun people having space adventures. Most of these know each other for years now and are very close. Chamber and Mondo take the roles of Magma and Warlock in the original line-up, but they fit in with the team.
2. Marauders: Kate Pryde can't use the Krakoa portals for a so far unknown reason, so she has taken the role of shipping mutants safely from all over the world to Krakoa and getting supplies for the island. She also has been offered a role in the new Hellfire Club where she and Emma Frost are countering Sebastian Shaw's influence. It's still worldbuilding so far, but I like the characters and the art.
3. Excalibur: Glad to have the ... I don't want to say old, because that is blond/precognitive Betsy.. 80s X-Men Betsy Braddock (?) back again. War between the magic of Otherworlds and the mutants of Krakoa starts. Betsy in actual armour again is nice to see. I'm interested in Apocalypse new role. The rest of the cast did not do much yet, but I always liked the 80s Captain Britain mythos, so this ranked high for me.
4. Regular X-Men: It's a series of standalones and mostly setup so far. I'm liking what I read, but wonder if there is going to be more of a structure to it. I've dropped this one and might switch to trades if it gets really good reviews.
5. X-Force: Read it, but didn't like it. The whole plot was about assassins killing Xavier, while Powers of X/House of X went a long way into establishing that mutants had found a way around death to force writers into establishing different stakes than just "character x will die". It might go somewhere, but I won't be there for the rest of the trip.
6. Fallen Angels: Psylocke (now Kwannon, not Elisabeth Braddock) does not feel at home on Krakoa and grabs some other misfits (X-23 and young Cable) to stop some evil guy outside Krakoa. I gave it a browse, so might miss a lot, but it just felt needlessly dark and depressing. Laura had grown beyond this in her previous series.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 8, 2019 18:23:41 GMT -5
Anyone else loving the new 2099 one shots? The Venom 2099 special was probably my favorite so far, but I also really liked the Conan 2099 issue and the Ghost Rider one as well. The Punisher and FF issues however? Well, they can't all be perfect. It makes me want to go back and re-read the originals.
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