What classic comics have you read lately?
Feb 22, 2021 20:49:18 GMT -5
wildfire2099, Confessor, and 2 more like this
Post by commond on Feb 22, 2021 20:49:18 GMT -5
I finished up the Dark Ages storyline in Astro City. The Silver Agent special was really moving. Not ashamed to say I got a bit teary-eyed at the end. The next series was really jarring, though. That Broken Man character and the manga chibi character that I can't say I really appreciated (felt like a stereotypical representation of manga/anime to me, though I'm sure it wasn't meant as a swipe at the culture.) I guess this series of Astro City isn't really a classic comic, but for all the talk of Dark Ages being difficult to get through, the new series is the one that has caught me off guard.
Still going strong with Starman. It drifts from time to time with crossovers and flashbacks, but when it focuses on the core relationships between the characters and doesn't try to be too hip, it's as solid a superhero title as I've read in a mighty long time. It's interesting because I'm still not sure if I like the lead character or not, but I love the world around him.
Jonah Hex has been enjoyable. When Michael Fleisher came on board, he fleshed out Hex's backstory a bit, but the title is still largely episodic. I can accept that, though it does become repetitious if you binge read it. I try not to read too much of it at a time.
Buscema is starting to get into his stride on Conan, although I sometimes feel like his Conan looks too old. I felt the same way about Buscema's Wolverine, who looked ancient when he drew him in Marvel Comics Present and the solo title. I wasn't aware of the backlash over Buscema taking over from Smith. For a guy who is largely accepted as the definitive Conan penciller, he wasn't well received in the beginning. Roy Thomas even addressed it the letters page, giving a lengthy response to a fan who complained bitterly about the change.
Micronauts kind of fell off a cliff. Apparently, there was some type of conflict between Shooter, Mantlo and Golden over whether Micronauts should be set in the Marvel Universe. Golden lost interest in the book when Shooter and Mantlo got their wish and had Marvel characters appear. The book lost some of its intrigue after that, though I didn't mind the Man-Thing appearance, and Man-Thing is a title I have been struggling to get through. It's really hard to get into a book where the main character can't think or feel. Gerber's satire does nothing for me at this point, and I honestly wish the book was a creepy gothic horror like the Man Thing story in Savage Tales. I guess I wish it was Swamp Thing.
Speaking of Gerber, am I a philistine or is Howard the Duck not very funny?
I began reading All-Star Squadron again, sort of inspired by the use of Golden Age characters in Starman. I know it's a loving tribute to Golden Age characters, but I can only read a little bit at a time because of the tone. I guess I cut my teeth on grim superheroes and have never really warmed to more wholesome stuff.
I've been slowly making my way through Mark Waid's run on Flash. So far I've really enjoyed the arc where Barry Allen returned and I also liked the storyline where Wally had a meltdown over not being able to save that woman from horrific injuries, but aside from that I don't really see what's so special about Waid's run. I enjoyed the Baron and William Messner-Loebs' runs far more. That is partly due to nostalgia as I used to hunt for those runs in secondhand bookstores when I was a kid (my primary means of tracking down back issues before I discovered that comic book stores existed, which incidentally was a glorious day in my life.) Waid's run feels generic in comparison and the art has become really cartoony.
Aside from that, I have been re-reading 60s Doom Patrol, which is one of my favorite titles from the Silver Age, and I am making my way through the 5 Year Later run of Legion of Super-Heroes, though I still don't understand what's going on. That book used to intrigue me whenever I'd go to the comic book store and pick up that free Direct Currents newsletter. It was a book I also wanted to get into, but it was one of the expensive titles. I cannot understand what is going on from one issue to the next. The last time I read it, it was after going through the famous Legion runs, and I don't remember being this confused.
Still going strong with Starman. It drifts from time to time with crossovers and flashbacks, but when it focuses on the core relationships between the characters and doesn't try to be too hip, it's as solid a superhero title as I've read in a mighty long time. It's interesting because I'm still not sure if I like the lead character or not, but I love the world around him.
Jonah Hex has been enjoyable. When Michael Fleisher came on board, he fleshed out Hex's backstory a bit, but the title is still largely episodic. I can accept that, though it does become repetitious if you binge read it. I try not to read too much of it at a time.
Buscema is starting to get into his stride on Conan, although I sometimes feel like his Conan looks too old. I felt the same way about Buscema's Wolverine, who looked ancient when he drew him in Marvel Comics Present and the solo title. I wasn't aware of the backlash over Buscema taking over from Smith. For a guy who is largely accepted as the definitive Conan penciller, he wasn't well received in the beginning. Roy Thomas even addressed it the letters page, giving a lengthy response to a fan who complained bitterly about the change.
Micronauts kind of fell off a cliff. Apparently, there was some type of conflict between Shooter, Mantlo and Golden over whether Micronauts should be set in the Marvel Universe. Golden lost interest in the book when Shooter and Mantlo got their wish and had Marvel characters appear. The book lost some of its intrigue after that, though I didn't mind the Man-Thing appearance, and Man-Thing is a title I have been struggling to get through. It's really hard to get into a book where the main character can't think or feel. Gerber's satire does nothing for me at this point, and I honestly wish the book was a creepy gothic horror like the Man Thing story in Savage Tales. I guess I wish it was Swamp Thing.
Speaking of Gerber, am I a philistine or is Howard the Duck not very funny?
I began reading All-Star Squadron again, sort of inspired by the use of Golden Age characters in Starman. I know it's a loving tribute to Golden Age characters, but I can only read a little bit at a time because of the tone. I guess I cut my teeth on grim superheroes and have never really warmed to more wholesome stuff.
I've been slowly making my way through Mark Waid's run on Flash. So far I've really enjoyed the arc where Barry Allen returned and I also liked the storyline where Wally had a meltdown over not being able to save that woman from horrific injuries, but aside from that I don't really see what's so special about Waid's run. I enjoyed the Baron and William Messner-Loebs' runs far more. That is partly due to nostalgia as I used to hunt for those runs in secondhand bookstores when I was a kid (my primary means of tracking down back issues before I discovered that comic book stores existed, which incidentally was a glorious day in my life.) Waid's run feels generic in comparison and the art has become really cartoony.
Aside from that, I have been re-reading 60s Doom Patrol, which is one of my favorite titles from the Silver Age, and I am making my way through the 5 Year Later run of Legion of Super-Heroes, though I still don't understand what's going on. That book used to intrigue me whenever I'd go to the comic book store and pick up that free Direct Currents newsletter. It was a book I also wanted to get into, but it was one of the expensive titles. I cannot understand what is going on from one issue to the next. The last time I read it, it was after going through the famous Legion runs, and I don't remember being this confused.
