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Post by arfetto on Dec 18, 2022 11:43:21 GMT -5
I also have that Authority Omnibus. Have you had any problems with the binding? I went through TWO copies, which I returned for new ones, after OPENING the book and the cover completely falling off. My retailer was super gracious about returning them. I have not had any problems with my copy yet, but I am just halfway through the book. It was 40 dollars with free shipping for 980-something pages, so I thought there might be some problems with it, but it arrived shrinkwrapped and seems okay so far.
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 18, 2022 13:15:47 GMT -5
I got Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy from the library.
I’m really looking forward to reading through this over the next few weeks.
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Post by commond on Dec 18, 2022 19:39:27 GMT -5
I reached the end of the line for Ms. Tree, IMO one of the best characters of the 1980s and one of the best female characters in the history of comics. I'll admit that I preferred the stories where she fought the Muerta family more than the stories taken from the lastest issue of Newsweek magazine, but it was a tremendous run right up until the end. I'm feeling a bit wistful wondering what happened to the characters in their lives after the final special. Have you read Max Allan Collins' 2007 Ms. Tree novel, Deadly Beloved? Nope. Is it any good? |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,194 
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Post by Confessor on Dec 19, 2022 2:20:48 GMT -5
I got Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy from the library. I’m really looking forward to reading through this over the next few weeks. I have that book. It's a really fun read and a great introduction to the Dick Tracy strips. Some of the stories feature some surprisingly gory or violent content, courtesy of the villains. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 19, 2022 4:02:06 GMT -5
Have you read Max Allan Collins' 2007 Ms. Tree novel, Deadly Beloved? Nope. Is it any good? Yep. Although I think it's a reworked version of the first two story arcs in the original Ms. Tree comics series. Any of Collins' non-comics prose novels are well worth reading, though.
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 19, 2022 8:56:59 GMT -5
I got Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy from the library. I’m really looking forward to reading through this over the next few weeks. I have that book. It's a really fun read and a great introduction to the Dick Tracy strips. Some of the stories feature some surprisingly gory or violent content, courtesy of the villains. I read the storyline where the Blank is killing all the members of his old gang. I was thinking “Chester Gould wrote “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge” in 1937!” |
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Post by Ricky Jackson on Dec 19, 2022 12:15:12 GMT -5
I have that book. It's a really fun read and a great introduction to the Dick Tracy strips. Some of the stories feature some surprisingly gory or violent content, courtesy of the villains. I read the storyline where the Blank is killing all the members of his old gang. I was thinking “Chester Gould wrote “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge” in 1937!” Tracy was definitely a big inspiration on early Batman. I believe Dick Sprang in particular was influenced by Gould |
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Post by Mormel on Dec 19, 2022 20:45:37 GMT -5
Continuing with New Mutants #9-12 and Generation X #7-9, both teams are having an adventure abroad with the New Mutants in Brazil (being led into the hidden Roman community of Nova Roma) and Gen X in Ireland.
Both storylines are delightful adventures, it's refreshing to see either team taken out their usual environment and be transported to places that are completely alien to them. In the case of the New Mutants, it's really cool to see that they're not dealing with traditional supervillains in these issues, other than perhaps Selene who at this point still has quite a bit of mystery to her. Seeing Amara manifest her magma powers for the first time and struggling to control them is also pretty neat. Without Karma, the team lacks an elder, responsible deputy leader, and you can see them struggle with that as tensions grow between them. I think eventually the team settles on a co-leadership of Sam and Dani (?) but interestingly enough these issues depict Roberto, despite his hotheadedness, as the one who takes charge of the situation and who directs the others in combat.
Generation X's visit to Cassidy Keep is a lot of fun as well. Love the back-and-forths between Emma and Sean and it was fun to see Skin go head to head with the grumpy dragon. Curiously these issues show Eamon O'Donnell as a leprechaun, where the original storyline involving Cassidy Keep and the leprechaun families had Eamon appear as a human being who was responsible for keeping them safe. Guess that was just a mistake on Scott Lobdell's part.
So for the most part great light-hearted adventure, although especially New Mutants continues to have its share of darker themes and (much-appreciated) teen angst as well.
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Post by spoon on Dec 19, 2022 22:35:40 GMT -5
Continued with New Mutants #5-8, and Generation X #4-6. New Mutants... Karma is out (for now) and Magma is about to be in. I know nothing about Team America that features in the first storyline and I can kinda take or leave them, but I guess it Marvel was trying to get readers to buy their toy line. The villains of the story, Viper and Silver Samurai, are much more compelling, especially with Samurai being a spurned member of Clan Yashida. With the New Mutants growing into more of a team and a family in these issues, it's sad to see them have to part with Karma, but the following Brazil-based story is a lot of fun. These issues were a little more light-hearted than the first four, and it's neat to see the gang grow and develop. Gen X has got a holiday issue where the kids take care of a hostage situation at a school where the hostage taker is first assumed to be a mutant, but turns out to 'just' be a disfigured kid. It's perfectly fine as Christmas issues go. Then the team goes up against Hemingway and Marrow of Gene Nation. As I'm reading these issues concurrently with some late 90s X-Men issues, it's somewhat jarring to see Marrow's original characterization as an unscrupulous terrorist who gloats about masterminding a massacre at a disco, juxtaposed with her portrayal as a more sympathetic character that's been taken under the wing of the senior X-Men. Jubilee really is the heart of the team and I love her constant quipping. There's some interesting bonding between Paige and Jono while they're at the school, excluded from the action. Monet's my second favourite, and there are hints as to a mystery surrounding her as she apparently zones out in the middle of the street. The Banshee/Emma dynamic continues to be great, as are either teacher's interactions with the kids. So still great stuff on both titles. For me, Generation X is a series that fell off a cliff right after this. I was intrigued when the characters when they were introduced in the Phalanx Covenant crossover. I loved the first 6 issues when the series launched. Then, it was replaced by Generation Next for a few months during the Age of Apocalypse event. When it came back with #7, it wasn't the same. A big part was that Chris Bachalo seemed to go through a big transformation. It was much more exaggerated and the people looked less like people. How much of New Mutants do you plan on reading? I re-read Marvel Team Up #100 (introducing Karma) and the New Mutants GN a few days ago, and I'm thinking of bingeing my way through the series, but probably alternating with other stuff. |
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Post by Mormel on Dec 20, 2022 11:47:08 GMT -5
Continued with New Mutants #5-8, and Generation X #4-6. New Mutants... Karma is out (for now) and Magma is about to be in. I know nothing about Team America that features in the first storyline and I can kinda take or leave them, but I guess it Marvel was trying to get readers to buy their toy line. The villains of the story, Viper and Silver Samurai, are much more compelling, especially with Samurai being a spurned member of Clan Yashida. With the New Mutants growing into more of a team and a family in these issues, it's sad to see them have to part with Karma, but the following Brazil-based story is a lot of fun. These issues were a little more light-hearted than the first four, and it's neat to see the gang grow and develop. Gen X has got a holiday issue where the kids take care of a hostage situation at a school where the hostage taker is first assumed to be a mutant, but turns out to 'just' be a disfigured kid. It's perfectly fine as Christmas issues go. Then the team goes up against Hemingway and Marrow of Gene Nation. As I'm reading these issues concurrently with some late 90s X-Men issues, it's somewhat jarring to see Marrow's original characterization as an unscrupulous terrorist who gloats about masterminding a massacre at a disco, juxtaposed with her portrayal as a more sympathetic character that's been taken under the wing of the senior X-Men. Jubilee really is the heart of the team and I love her constant quipping. There's some interesting bonding between Paige and Jono while they're at the school, excluded from the action. Monet's my second favourite, and there are hints as to a mystery surrounding her as she apparently zones out in the middle of the street. The Banshee/Emma dynamic continues to be great, as are either teacher's interactions with the kids. So still great stuff on both titles. For me, Generation X is a series that fell off a cliff right after this. I was intrigued when the characters when they were introduced in the Phalanx Covenant crossover. I loved the first 6 issues when the series launched. Then, it was replaced by Generation Next for a few months during the Age of Apocalypse event. When it came back with #7, it wasn't the same. A big part was that Chris Bachalo seemed to go through a big transformation. It was much more exaggerated and the people looked less like people. How much of New Mutants do you plan on reading? I re-read Marvel Team Up #100 (introducing Karma) and the New Mutants GN a few days ago, and I'm thinking of bingeing my way through the series, but probably alternating with other stuff. I think I'm gonna read the series proper up until issue 100, concurrently with Gen X up til issue 75. Gonna skip annuals and tie-in minis/limited series. (Just gonna rely on footnotes and narration boxes to fill me in on what happened outside of the main series  ) As for Bachalo's art, for me it's been something of an acquired taste, but his more stylized work from around this era holds a big nostalgia factor for me now. But I can see how his art can be a bit of a turn off. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 20, 2022 12:41:28 GMT -5
Couple things for me this week.. I re-read the Atlantis Chronicles (I recently got the single issues)... this is not nearly as good as I remember it being. Perhaps at the time I had lower standards when I read it (a few years after it came out). I mean, it's decent, and I do like the 'travelogue' approach and the back matter discussing how reliable the various narrators are, but the plot is petty shaky overall.
I hadn't been over to Hoopla for a while, so last night i was browsing about and ready the first couple Lucky Luke stories.. they were quite fun! Definitely gave me some Bugs Bunny vs. Yosemite Sam vibes (which is a good thing)
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Post by Hoosier X on Dec 21, 2022 0:51:20 GMT -5
These Dick Tracy comics are CRAZY!
The cops break up the racket in the first two or three pages and then the bad guy spends the next twenty pages as a fugitive.
I especially got a kick out of the midget gangster who escaped out the window on a St Bernard, went down a laundry chute, hid in the laundry, hid out with a circus rodeo and ended up getting scalded to death when his vengeance-seeking wife caught up with him, locked him in the shower and attached a hot-water hose to the shower faucet.
Right now I’m reading about Little Face Finney, who got locked in a freezer truck!
Crime doesn’t pay, fellas!
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Post by MDG on Dec 21, 2022 9:23:04 GMT -5
These Dick Tracy comics are CRAZY! The cops break up the racket in the first two or three pages and then the bad guy spends the next twenty pages as a fugitive. I especially got a kick out of the midget gangster who escaped out the window on a St Bernard, went down a laundry chute, hid in the laundry, hid out with a circus rodeo and ended up getting scalded to death when his vengeance-seeking wife caught up with him, locked him in the shower and attached a hot-water hose to the shower faucet. Right now I’m reading about Little Face Finney, who got locked in a freezer truck! Crime doesn’t pay, fellas! I'm reading a Tracy series from a few years ago written by Mike Allred and didn't know what to make of it. In it, Tracy is a straight law and order guy, which means he doesn't care have any to give if crooks get killed or maimed.
Thinking back to this collection--which I read decades ago--it all fits.
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Post by arfetto on Dec 21, 2022 16:45:55 GMT -5
I read: The Authority (1999 series) issues 17-29 and Annual 2000 (via The Authority Omnibus)
In some ways, the Millar issues improved after his first arc (issues 13-16), but the stories were still hit or miss with me. Overall, I am glad I finished the entire Omnibus, but I would say that none of the issues after issue 12 are exactly my preferred style (there is a nice Hawksmoor Ellis story in Annual 2000 though). I probably should have just bought a collection that stopped after issue 12, but I was very interested in seeing the Quitely artwork which I did enjoy (and a lesser page count collection would have cost me roughly the same so I figured I might as well get more issues for the same price or close to it). Also, it was cool to see Art Adams draw three issues, but sadly he did not finish the fourth (and final issue) in that particular storyline (though the artist who finished it was also good). So, a lot of high caliber artists were on the title throughout to retain that "big budget" blockbuster feel. I was excited to read the Tom Peyer 4 issue story, because I appreciate his writing quite a bit (big fan of his Hourman and to an extent his writing on L.E.G.I.O.N./R.E.B.E.L.S) but he still sort of followed in the Millar shock value vein for his issues. Though I preferred his characterization over Millar's for the "New Authority" that he introduces (once Millar takes over on writing duties again, he promptly gives each of these members even more vile characteristics than they already had, as if Peyer's versions were just not vile enough somehow haha). Well, I don't know how often I will re-read these later issues (except to maybe look at the Quitely or Adams artwork), but I think the Ellis era Stormwatch/Authority comics are quite an accomplishment.
I also read
Hellblazer (1988) issues 1-4
I really like how much writing and art content is packed per issue, it is impressive.
Nice moody art too.
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Post by Batflunkie on Dec 22, 2022 19:06:30 GMT -5
The Flash #62-#68
Really had been wanting to read some Flash, so I restarted Waid's run. I think this is maybe my third time reading Born To Run and it really never gets old. It's such a great jumping on point for the series. What starts with a bomb threat and bumping into his Grandfather Ira, Wally's mentally thrust back into the past, to re-tell his year one style origin story
Also there were some Kadabra time shenanigans
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