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Post by Ozymandias on Apr 22, 2018 1:04:03 GMT -5
- Amazing Spider-Man #797
- Astonishing X-Men #9
- Black Panther #171
- Captain America #699
- Daredevil #600
- Doctor Strange #387
- Incredible Hulk #714
- Infinity Countdown #1
- Invincible Iron Man #597
- Iron Fist #78
- Jessica Jones #18
- Mighty Thor #705
- New Mutants - Dead Souls #1
- Old Man Logan #36 & 37
- Punisher #222
- Spider-Man #238
- Tales of Suspense #103
- Thanos #17
- Weapon H #1
is an interesting set-up. I kinda like how Illyana is portrayed here while the interaction between Rictor, Rahne, Boom-Boom, and Guido carries acknowledgement of their long friendships and being teammates. The art is rough in spots though. I still don't know where Bendis is going with his final Iron Man arc. I'm considering checking out the new Champions by Zub just to see how well another writer handles Riri. For his final swing, Slott has made Norman Osborn truly terrifying. I don't know what Peter is going to do now. Thor #705 - "Say goodbye". Two simple words made me cry. It's been a long time since any comic got such an emotional response from me. Magnificent. Except for Infinity Countdown, the rest of the titles marked for "deletion" are so because of the art, the writers are ok. In the case of Infinity Countdown is a combination of not good enough art and script. Matthew Rosenberg is probably this year's surprise writer at Marvel, I'm liking his work more than not. Scott has been ok lately, mostly because of Immonen, I think. Not surprisingly though, the best ASM issue of late, was the last issue of the past volume, not because Smallwood is a better artist, but because he has a heavy hand on any script he works on. That's been my favourite GG impersonation since Warren Ellis used the character. Thor is the first Marvel comic in the read pile, for as long as the creative team remains. Bendis has been aimless for quite some time now, the last comic he wrote that had direction, was Ultimate Spider-Man, and then editorial went and destroyed that universe. |
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Post by urrutiap on May 5, 2018 1:59:12 GMT -5
Stuff I read earlier
Darth Vader (2017) # 15
Eternal Empire # 7
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Post by urrutiap on May 10, 2018 1:52:47 GMT -5
I've been catching up on the Thanos comic and Rebirth Supergirl earlier tonight.
All caught up on Supergirl up to issue 20
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Post by urrutiap on May 13, 2018 2:08:49 GMT -5
Earlier tonight I finally read Letter 44 issue 1
Hope it's not tough to read like Saucer State
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Post by Trevor on May 13, 2018 19:18:04 GMT -5
Earlier tonight I finally read Letter 44 issue 1 Hope it's not tough to read like Saucer State I hope it’s a great series. Bought and read issue one only so far, but loved it so much that I’ve bought the rest. One of my many pending ‘rainy day’ reads. |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2018 23:07:26 GMT -5
Crossroad Blues: A Nick Travers Graphic Novel by Ace Atkins & Marco Finnegan   I was not familiar with the Nick Travers series of novels, but I saw Crossroads Blues up on Hoopla and read the premise, a not quite PI on the trail of a mystery involving the recordings of Robert Johnson set in New Orleans-and I was sold to try it out. A couple days later, I saw it in my LCS on FCBD and picked it up and just got a chance to read it tonight. Here's a sample page...  and another...  If you have an affinity for crime/detective fiction, the blues, b&w art with a simple line and gray tones, this is something you should check out. The story is fairly fast paced, almost too fast as some of the characters are a bit underdeveloped (though I don't know if that is an issue of adaptation or in the novel as well) and some scenes could have stood to be fleshed out a bit more, but it's not atypical for this kind of pulpy detective story. The art carries the narrative for a lot of the book, and some of the characters look a little similar so it takes a bit to get a sense of who's who (there are no captions or distinctive super-hero costumes to cover up similar facial features, in particular Nick and the antagonist have similar builds and features and only the scruffiness and long hair of Travers separates the two visually at times), but again this is not uncommon in a lot of comic book art. Once you get a sense of who is who though, the story really moves visually. The action choreography is quite good in a quasi-realistic and cinematic way, and the body language of the characters really communicates a lot about the characters even with the simple lines and sometimes less than distinctive facial features. I had some reservations as noted above, but overall I really liked this. It could have used a little more space (i.e. pages) to allow some of the scenes to breathe a little more and to develop some of the characters a little more (in particular Virginia, whose relationship with Travers develops in a whirlwind and then gets thrust into the damsel in distress motif common to detective pulps, seemed to have a lot of untapped potential as a character). The book was produced by 12-Gauge Comics and packaged and published by Image. There's a second GN adaptation from the Travers series-The Last Fair Deal Gone Down that is published by 12-Gauge only right now that I liked Crossroad Blues enough to seek out. Not sure I want to check out the novels, but I am up for a second adaptation in comics form. I think I need to reread this one though after I set up a corresponding play list on Amazon music to give it a soundtrack though. -M |
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Post by Ozymandias on May 16, 2018 3:25:10 GMT -5
- Amazing Spider-Man #798 & 799
- Astonishing X-Men #10
- Black Panther #172
- Captain America #700
- Daredevil #601
- Doctor Strange #388 & 389
- Hunt for Wolverine #1
- Incredible Hulk #715
- Invincible Iron Man #599
- Mighty Thor #706
- Punisher #223
- Spider-Man #239
- Tales of Suspense #104
- Thanos #18
- Thanos - The Infinity Siblings
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Post by Batflunkie on May 17, 2018 9:19:42 GMT -5
Remender's Venom #1 Forgotten how much I loved this series. It's like Garth Ennis' Punisher mixed with Gruenwald's U.S.Agent mixed with 90's Symbiote shenanigans. And the story feels like it was plucked straight out of the 90's too; Flash Thompson, former bully to Peter Parker, is a disabled war veteran who makes his triumphant return to the battlefield under the guise of the evil alien symbiote (I do not give a stommin' drokk in grudd about the con rewrite where Symbiotes were originally supposed to be good, but got morally corrupted somehow) and utterly decimates Jack-O-Lantern who's been terrorizing a third world country to get his hands on "Antarctic Vibranium" as to weaponize it and sell it on the black market
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Post by chadwilliam on May 18, 2018 15:40:24 GMT -5
I've been reading and enjoying Titan Comics current Fighting American series (thus far, they're on their second four issue mini-series) and while I generally cringe whenever a character of this vintage is updated for a modern audience, I never appreciated how well suited Fighting American is for a project such as this. I've recently read those original 1954 Fighting American Simon and Kirby issues for the first time and can see that the character was more than just a Captain America clone. Whereas Simon regarded his 40's Captain America work to be a horror run more so than a superhero adventure strip, so too is it clear that he envisioned Fighting American to be a satiric look at communism and as such, he works well as an enthusiastic, Johnny Cleancut style hero who assumes he should have no difficulty in making the transition from his world of 1954 to our's of 2018.
It really helps that the creators involved treat the character respectfully while at the same time embracing the oddity of a hero who doesn't shy away from announcing how he inhabits the body of his dead brother, has faced the most outlandish villains one can imagine and some you can't (one foe currently running the FBI in the new series is old 50's villain Double-Header - a bad guy with two heads - one of which is erudite and high class, the other a low class, meat head) forced to admit that he doesn't actually know his sidekick's real name (which is something the writer picked up from those original 1954 issues where Speedboy is never referred to as anything other than 'Speedboy', 'a page boy', or 'young assistant - it's like Simon and Kirby never got around to giving him a name, but didn't want to contradict themselves in case they had and forgot so you get captions such as "Heading home from another telecast, newsman Johnny Flagg and his young page boy assistant who fights by his side as Speedboy...').
The artwork at times resembles an interesting cross between John Byrne and Paul Pope (at least to my eyes) and recent additions/expansions to the original strip include a pragmatic FBI liason struggling to coach Fighting American on how his bold, in your face style of crime fighting, speaking, and living isn't as acceptable in 2018 as it was 63 years prior and Gregory, who made a single appearance as a bullied lab boy to Fighting American's Professor Nichols proxy back in 1954 and returns here as the murderous mastermind behind all of the troubles that have been planned for Fighting American since he disappeared from 1954 (oh, and that young lab boy is now an elderly woman named Madam Chaos).
The series has been a lot of fun and something I've been looking forward to every month - a feeling I haven't really experienced in quite a long time.
Anyone else reading this?
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 18, 2018 16:10:53 GMT -5
I've been reading and enjoying Titan Comics current Fighting American series (thus far, they're on their second four issue mini-series) and while I generally cringe whenever a character of this vintage is updated for a modern audience, I never appreciated how well suited Fighting American is for a project such as this. I've recently read those original 1954 Fighting American Simon and Kirby issues for the first time and can see that the character was more than just a Captain America clone. Whereas Simon regarded his 40's Captain America work to be a horror run more so than a superhero adventure strip, so too is it clear that he envisioned Fighting American to be a satiric look at communism and as such, he works well as an enthusiastic, Johnny Cleancut style hero who assumes he should have no difficulty in making the transition from his world of 1954 to our's of 2018. It really helps that the creators involved treat the character respectfully while at the same time embracing the oddity of a hero who doesn't shy away from announcing how he inhabits the body of his dead brother, has faced the most outlandish villains one can imagine and some you can't (one foe currently running the FBI in the new series is old 50's villain Double-Header - a bad guy with two heads - one of which is erudite and high class, the other a low class, meat head) forced to admit that he doesn't actually know his sidekick's real name (which is something the writer picked up from those original 1954 issues where Speedboy is never referred to as anything other than 'Speedboy', 'a page boy', or 'young assistant - it's like Simon and Kirby never got around to giving him a name, but didn't want to contradict themselves in case they had and forgot so you get captions such as "Heading home from another telecast, newsman Johnny Flagg and his young page boy assistant who fights by his side as Speedboy...'). The artwork at times resembles an interesting cross between John Byrne and Paul Pope (at least to my eyes) and recent additions/expansions to the original strip include a pragmatic FBI liason struggling to coach Fighting American on how his bold, in your face style of crime fighting, speaking, and living isn't as acceptable in 2018 as it was 63 years prior and Gregory, who made a single appearance as a bullied lab boy to Fighting American's Professor Nichols proxy back in 1954 and returns here as the murderous mastermind behind all of the troubles that have been planned for Fighting American since he disappeared from 1954 (oh, and that young lab boy is now an elderly woman named Madam Chaos). The series has been a lot of fun and something I've been looking forward to every month - a feeling I haven't really experienced in quite a long time. Anyone else reading this? Yep. I've really enjoyed the book. Great satire of current affairs, the 50s, comics all rolled up in one. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 18, 2018 16:24:16 GMT -5
Crossroad Blues: A Nick Travers Graphic Novel by Ace Atkins & Marco Finnegan I was not familiar with the Nick Travers series of novels, but I saw Crossroads Blues up on Hoopla and read the premise, a not quite PI on the trail of a mystery involving the recordings of Robert Johnson set in New Orleans-and I was sold to try it out. A couple days later, I saw it in my LCS on FCBD and picked it up and just got a chance to read it tonight. Here's a sample page... and another... If you have an affinity for crime/detective fiction, the blues, b&w art with a simple line and gray tones, this is something you should check out. The story is fairly fast paced, almost too fast as some of the characters are a bit underdeveloped (though I don't know if that is an issue of adaptation or in the novel as well) and some scenes could have stood to be fleshed out a bit more, but it's not atypical for this kind of pulpy detective story. The art carries the narrative for a lot of the book, and some of the characters look a little similar so it takes a bit to get a sense of who's who (there are no captions or distinctive super-hero costumes to cover up similar facial features, in particular Nick and the antagonist have similar builds and features and only the scruffiness and long hair of Travers separates the two visually at times), but again this is not uncommon in a lot of comic book art. Once you get a sense of who is who though, the story really moves visually. The action choreography is quite good in a quasi-realistic and cinematic way, and the body language of the characters really communicates a lot about the characters even with the simple lines and sometimes less than distinctive facial features. I had some reservations as noted above, but overall I really liked this. It could have used a little more space (i.e. pages) to allow some of the scenes to breathe a little more and to develop some of the characters a little more (in particular Virginia, whose relationship with Travers develops in a whirlwind and then gets thrust into the damsel in distress motif common to detective pulps, seemed to have a lot of untapped potential as a character). The book was produced by 12-Gauge Comics and packaged and published by Image. There's a second GN adaptation from the Travers series-The Last Fair Deal Gone Down that is published by 12-Gauge only right now that I liked Crossroad Blues enough to seek out. Not sure I want to check out the novels, but I am up for a second adaptation in comics form. I think I need to reread this one though after I set up a corresponding play list on Amazon music to give it a soundtrack though. -M I saw that but wasn't ready to pull the trigger. And I haven't read any of the prose books upon which it's based. But maybe I will now. In a somewhat similar vein I will say that In The Pines: 5 Murder Ballads by Erik Kriek is a pretty sweet book.  Kriek takes five murder ballads, both traditional and contemporary, and turns them into comic short-stories. Oddly, In the Pines is not one of them. I would say that the art and the coloring are maybe a bit more of a selling point here than the stories themselves. Not that there's anything wrong with them but they're fairly straight-forward adaptations. But overall the effect is very good, especially if you're a fan of old-timey music.    |
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Post by String on May 19, 2018 14:50:02 GMT -5
- Amazing Spider-Man #798 & 799
- Astonishing X-Men #10
- Black Panther #172
- Captain America #700
- Daredevil #601
- Doctor Strange #388 & 389
- Hunt for Wolverine #1
- Incredible Hulk #715
- Invincible Iron Man #599
- Mighty Thor #706
- Punisher #223
- Spider-Man #239
- Tales of Suspense #104
- Thanos #18
- Thanos - The Infinity Siblings
*sigh* I have no idea why Bendis would make inclusion/reference of Hickman's oft-delayed SHIELD mini-series from some years back here in IM #599. I think I'm just ready for Slott to begin with Tony now. Speaking of Slott, Red Goblin going after his grandson in a bid to continue his twisted legacy is rather chilling. #800 is shaping up to be hugely entertaining. Thor #706 - beautiful coda to the legend of Lady Thor. I've heard that the future being displayed in the current Thanos title is interesting but haven't decided on checking it out yet or not. |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2018 15:10:48 GMT -5
*sigh* I have no idea why Bendis would make inclusion/reference of Hickman's oft-delayed SHIELD mini-series from some years back here in IM #599. I think I'm just ready for Slott to begin with Tony now. I would imagine that now the final issues of the series are actually coming out, its safe to make references to it. |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2018 23:26:13 GMT -5
Read the trade for Space Riders from Black Mask collecting the 4 issue series by Fabian Rangel and Alan Ziritt.  This is pulpy psychedelic sci-fi at its finest. In some ways it reminded me of Druillet's Lone Sloane stuff in terms of boldness and experimentation in the art style while playign with familiar sci-fi tropes with its own unique execution, but the tone is quite different. Ziritt's art is a joy to behold, especially the coloring. Some samples...     Even with the trippy coloring and bold style, the visual storytelling is still very, very strong. The story is fun, as I said playing on a lot of familiar tropes but having a unique execution and a strong voice that sets it apart. The characters are engaging and a lot of fun. The four issues tell a complete story that is satisfying in and of itself, but leaves the door open for more (and there is a follow up 4 issue mini that I now want to track down, not sure if it's out in trade yet. I was intrigued by this when I saw the promo art around the time of its release, but never had a chance to track down the issues, and had been Meaning to get the trade, but didn't until I saw in on the racks at my lcs on FCBD. I am glad I did. There is just so much to like here starting with the design of the skull ship, the crew, space whales, trippy space gods, pulpy sci fi adventure, and more. -M |
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Post by Ozymandias on May 20, 2018 0:07:08 GMT -5
Red Goblin going after his grandson in a bid to continue his twisted legacy is rather chilling. I've heard that the future being displayed in the current Thanos title is interesting but haven't decided on checking it out yet or not. The Goblin legacy has been done ad nauseam, IMO. I'm also looking forward to Slott moving over to Iron Man.  Thanos is interesting, although I prefer Starling handling the character. I'd rather recommend checking out Infinity Siblings. |
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