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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Apr 19, 2016 9:44:31 GMT -5
And perhaps I should have said in my original post, that at first read, I had no knowledge of the Fourth World. I like it as a story, but in hindsight it is probably not a good representation of the characters as Kirby intended them too be. Despite that I enjoy it probably for the cosmic drama aspects of it. And again in hindsight, which I didn't convey really well, Orion was almost psychotic. But for me, at least, they are things I can overlook. Same here. When you read it before the old 4th World stuff, it reads great (except Batman clearly going for a kill shot fighting a sentient/sapient alien). Never even thought about that to be honest. The Batman and Forager team up was my favorite of the story though.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 19, 2016 10:05:15 GMT -5
I got the Starman Omnibus, Volume One, from the library. This is the highly acclaimed 1990s series written by James Robinson. I've read the first three or four chapters and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. There's some annoying writer tics that I hope I can get used to. (Or even better, I hope they stop.) But I can see why people like this series so much. I wish I hadn't read the introduction or the text pieces for the first few issues. Robinson comes off as a bit of a wanker who's really full of himself. But at least it's just a few pages. Grant Morrison filled a whole book with similar trite musings.
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Post by berkley on Apr 19, 2016 11:32:18 GMT -5
Same here. When you read it before the old 4th World stuff, it reads great (except Batman clearly going for a kill shot fighting a sentient/sapient alien). Never even thought about that to be honest. The Batman and Forager team up was my favorite of the story though. That was one of the worst aspects of the whole thing, for me, because it was such a contrived effort to boost Batman's holier than thou moral superiority; and of course in order to do that they had to make Orion an arrogant, sneering bully, which meant they had to ignore everything that happened in the original Forager story in Kirby's New Gods.
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 19, 2016 14:22:07 GMT -5
I got the Starman Omnibus, Volume One, from the library. This is the highly acclaimed 1990s series written by James Robinson. I've read the first three or four chapters and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. There's some annoying writer tics that I hope I can get used to. (Or even better, I hope they stop.) But I can see why people like this series so much. I wish I hadn't read the introduction or the text pieces for the first few issues. Robinson comes off as a bit of a wanker who's really full of himself. But at least it's just a few pages. Grant Morrison filled a whole book with similar trite musings. I have more love I think for the late 80's/early 90's Starman than I do the more contemporary Vertigo interpretation, but that's only because it was like DC's "New Coke" answer to Mark Gruenwald's Quasar But this isn't to say that I don't think that the James Robinson version is entirely without literary merit
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 19, 2016 15:16:35 GMT -5
I got the Starman Omnibus, Volume One, from the library. This is the highly acclaimed 1990s series written by James Robinson. I've read the first three or four chapters and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. There's some annoying writer tics that I hope I can get used to. (Or even better, I hope they stop.) But I can see why people like this series so much. I wish I hadn't read the introduction or the text pieces for the first few issues. Robinson comes off as a bit of a wanker who's really full of himself. But at least it's just a few pages. Grant Morrison filled a whole book with similar trite musings. I have more love I think for the late 80's/early 90's Starman than I do the more contemporary Vertigo interpretation, but that's only because it was like DC's "New Coke" answer to Mark Gruenwald's Quasar But this isn't to say that I don't think that the James Robinson version is entirely without literary merit I read two more chapters today, and I'm sometimes kind of baffled as to whether or not so many of the characters are supposed to be shallow or pretentious or self-absorbed, or if Robinson is just in a bit over his head with trying to be clever. The whole "Bergmanesque or Feliniesque?" page was a puzzler. Is Jack really so clueless regarding the work of these two directors, or is he being cynical or ironic or something? I'm trying to figure out why anyone would think there would be any significance to preferring "The Two Jakes" to "Chinatown." Is that supposed to make Jack edgy or hip or a devoted non-conformist or something? All it does for me is make me reluctant to put any trust in his taste in movies. David's so-called humorous observation that Jack is the only American in Opal City who likes Jerry Lewis is a dumb comment, but I think that's supposed to be a comment on what a shallow thinker David is. I still like it A LOT overall. But I'm getting this vibe that James Robinson (like John Byrne or Jeph Loeb) isn't nearly as clever as he thinks he is. On the other hand, I love Opal City! I'm just a few issues in and I can tell that a lot of work went into designing and building this fictionopolis.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 19, 2016 16:54:45 GMT -5
I was reading my digital copy of Spider-Man #47 this morning.
It starts with a flashback to the time that the Green Goblin hired Kraven the Hunter to kill Spider-Man.
If that doesn't sound familiar, it's because it's a story that the readers never saw before! It happened between Spidey #15 and #34. Supposedly.
Well, in the present day, Kraven the Hunter is on the loose, looking for the man he thinks was the Green Goblin's associate - Norman Osborne!
It's actually pretty exciting! There's a whole bunch of stuff going on! Flash is joining the army. Aunt May is moving in with Anna Watson. Gwen is having a party.
And I got a big laugh out of one of the panels! I wish it was on the Internet or that I had a scanner so I could post it.
Aunt May is moving in with Anna Watson, and Mary Jane shows up, saying she'd like to help. In the very next panel, MJ is already rocking out as musical notes float out of the record player. Anna is walking by with a big pile of towels or something and she says:
MARY JANE, YOU MIGHT HELP US BY STARTING TO MOVE THOSE ... THOSE ... MARY JANE? OH WELL AT LEAST STAY OUT OF THE WAY SO WE DON'T TRIP OVER YOU! Oh, that Mary Jane! Good luck with not tripping over her, Anna!
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 19, 2016 17:31:33 GMT -5
I like how Marvel and DC are slowly getting better with their own digital coloring techniques on older comics, though sometimes they still manage to fuck up like with Kyle Rayner era Green Lantern. There, they suddenly decided to run a gaussian blur filter over all of Kyle's constructs. Visually speaking, it's pretty damn jarring
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2016 17:58:57 GMT -5
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 19, 2016 18:22:08 GMT -5
The Joker, tho. Hoosier X I love him already. Is that from The Joker #1? I feel like I should know for sure but I haven't read it for a while. Such a great series! My favorite issue is #7, with Lex Luthor. It was my very first Lex Luthor story.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2016 18:33:35 GMT -5
Is that from The Joker #1? I feel like I should know for sure but I haven't read it for a while. Such a great series! My favorite issue is #7, with Lex Luthor. It was my very first Lex Luthor story. Yessss! It was SO MUCH FUN! I loved it! Joker is hilarious.
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Post by String on Apr 19, 2016 18:39:14 GMT -5
I still like it A LOT overall. But I'm getting this vibe that James Robinson (like John Byrne or Jeph Loeb) isn't nearly as clever as he thinks he is. On the other hand, I love Opal City! I'm just a few issues in and I can tell that a lot of work went into designing and building this fictionopolis. I read the first Omnibus volume awhile back after hearing all the love and hype the series and character had received on another forum board I used to frequent. I agree with you, the design and function of Opal City is quite impressive, a character unto itself. I was neither impressed nor disappointed with Jack though. I get the idea that he was never considered a worthy successor to the mantle either by his family or by himself and has since 'gone' his own way in life. But I think Robinson did well in showing his initial faltering steps in assuming the identity. But I liked the supporting characters better. The family of cops were engaging and the interactions and spotlight on the Shade were very good. However I haven't been enticed enough to follow up on the later volumes yet.
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Post by Icctrombone on Apr 19, 2016 18:42:07 GMT -5
There must be something wrong with me. I bought 2 Joker issues a while ago and haven't read either one yet.
* Seriously , there must be some type of hoarder thing going one...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2016 18:59:28 GMT -5
There must be something wrong with me. I bought 2 Joker issues a while ago and haven't read either one yet. * Seriously , there must be some type of hoarder thing going one... You need to read them!
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Post by Icctrombone on Apr 19, 2016 19:02:00 GMT -5
I throw them in a pile and I honestly don't know where it is now. But the last 3 weeks I've had a house full of guests from Chile. My comic reading has suffered.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 19, 2016 19:30:23 GMT -5
I throw them in a pile and I honestly don't know where it is now. But the last 3 weeks I've had a house full of guests from Chile. My comic reading has suffered. From Chile! Ask them about Condorito! I laugh even when I don't get the joke just because there's always a character falling off-panel and going "PLOP!" when they say the punchline.
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