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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2017 15:21:58 GMT -5
his BPRD run is difficult to grade as he worked closely with Mignola so how much was really his? If you read Mignola's solo writing and listen him talking about Arcudi, you can pretty much understand that Mignola is mainly an editor/consultant on BPRD. It's not generally how Arcudi describes the relationship though, so I'd say both are being overly modest and the truth lies in the middle which again begs the question, "Who is responsible for what?" which doesn't aid Arcudi's rating in my mind. He's a journeyman writer in my mind, he's solid and inoffensive but he's yet to produce something that I'd call my favorite. |
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Aug 6, 2017 15:45:24 GMT -5
If you read Mignola's solo writing and listen him talking about Arcudi, you can pretty much understand that Mignola is mainly an editor/consultant on BPRD. It's not generally how Arcudi describes the relationship though, so I'd say both are being overly modest and the truth lies in the middle which again begs the question, "Who is responsible for what?" which doesn't aid Arcudi's rating in my mind. He's a journeyman writer in my mind, he's solid and inoffensive but he's yet to produce something that I'd call my favorite. Yeah well, I've never read anything about how Arcudi describes his writing relationship with Mignola. DO you have any links? I'd be very interested  What I know is that when I met Mignola (and also read) he described the relation as him being the editor but Arcudi doing all the heavylifting, so the question is answered in my book. ANd again, Mignola's solo writing is much weaker, when Arcudi's solo stuff is always consistant. What do you mean by inoffensive BTW? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2017 15:46:21 GMT -5
New Gods Special #1 Main story written and illustrated by Shane Davis Back up written and illustrated by Walter Simonson Summary: A look into Orion's role on New Genesis and a tale of his youth celebrate the great Jack Kirby.
Plot and Art: I really wish they had given over this whole issue to Simonson, at least on the art side. Davis' story of Orion dealing with the nature of his birth in a battle against Kalibrak wasn't terrile, a little bit basic but readable but the art was so generic that it was nearly painful. In a book celebrating Jack Kirby I was hoping for stunning, stylish art and Davis just isn't that and while Simonson isn't as great as he once was his work has a definite defining quality to it that definitely makes it stand out.
Grade: 6/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2017 16:03:03 GMT -5
It's not generally how Arcudi describes the relationship though, so I'd say both are being overly modest and the truth lies in the middle which again begs the question, "Who is responsible for what?" which doesn't aid Arcudi's rating in my mind. He's a journeyman writer in my mind, he's solid and inoffensive but he's yet to produce something that I'd call my favorite. Yeah well, I've never read anything about how Arcudi describes his writing relationship with Mignola. DO you have any links? I'd be very interested What I know is that when I met Mignola (and also read) he described the relation as him being the editor but Arcudi doing all the heavylifting, so the question is answered in my book. ANd again, Mignola's solo writing is much weaker, when Arcudi's solo stuff is always consistant. What do you mean by inoffensive BTW? Arcudi has said several times in appearances at cons that he feels more like the scripter not a writer in regards to BPRD, which seems overly modest to me and the opposite of what Mignola says so I'd say they bounced just about everything back and fourth and just don't want to take credit for the collaboration. And I mean inoffensive in that nothing he does is terrible but he doesn't often reach either. His narratives do the job and they're enjoyable but there's nothing that I'd call a classic, nothing that made stop and really savor what he'd written. And Mignola's solo stuff is weaker? I've never heard that, nor would I agree to it. There is nothing in Arcudi's catalog that even comes close to either Hellboy in Hell or Wolves of August(or a slew of others over the years, these are just my two favorites); both of which he wrote and illustrated. Mignola's early work, especially artistically, are a little inconsistent but since the mid-90's he's been nothing short of fantastic. |
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Aug 6, 2017 16:16:10 GMT -5
And Mignola's solo stuff is weaker? I've never heard that, nor would I agree to it. There is nothing in Arcudi's catalog that even comes close to either Hellboy in Hell or Wolves of August(or a slew of others over the years, these are just my two favorites); both of which he wrote and illustrated. Mignola's early work, especially artistically, are a little inconsistent but since the mid-90's he's been nothing short of fantastic. Well, I just strongly disagree  : Mignola is nice pulp, but nothing more than that. And I love it, don't get me wrong, but even in Hell or Wolves of St August, he doesn't come close to the depth or subtlty of A God Somewhere. Hellboy in Hell drawn by Ron Lim? Nah, you wouldn't buy it  And Rumble, The Mask (OG/Strikes Back/Returns/Walter), Major Bummer, Doom Patrol, The Creep, his Thunderbolts, all absolutely brilliant each in their own style. Furthermore, he's really one of those writers who has a world, a sensibility, and yet is great at writing for his artist. |
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Aug 6, 2017 16:20:11 GMT -5
New Gods Special #1Main story written and illustrated by Shane Davis Back up written and illustrated by Walter Simonson Summary: A look into Orion's role on New Genesis and a tale of his youth celebrate the great Jack Kirby.
Plot and Art: I really wish they had given over this whole issue to Simonson, at least on the art side. Davis' story of Orion dealing with the nature of his birth in a battle against Kalibrak wasn't terrile, a little bit basic but readable but the art was so generic that it was nearly painful. In a book celebrating Jack Kirby I was hoping for stunning, stylish art and Davis just isn't that and while Simonson isn't as great as he once was his work has a definite defining quality to it that definitely makes it stand out.
Grade: 6/10 That one we completely agree on : Shane Davis ongoing hype is one of those things that completely baffles me. Just look at the cover : this is terrible art!Sure you can see he puts time and effort behind it, but it still does look like fan art you'd see in Wizard Magazine. To be 100% honest, I also think he regressed : back in his early DC years, his art was less riid and could have gone in different directions, but even his cross hatching has become a shortcut akin to the early Image years, hiding lack of anatomical knowledge behind what seems like craft and technique. Whatever Simonson's current quality is like, at least his stylization results from choices after his craft was fully mastered, it doesn't look juvenile like Davis does, after a good decade in the industry already... |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2017 16:44:23 GMT -5
 #28. Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. Art by Scott Godlewski. Cover by Ryan Sook. The Kent family continue their RV trip to Washington DC & Gettysburg. Man Tomasi & Gleason really did a great job with #27 & 28. They managed to give a history lesson, pay respect to the military, show a family enjoying a vacation & mix in heroics. And most of all show why Superman's best power is hope. My eyes got misty a little at what Clark did for that one family...great scene. My only complaint was the quality of the art.
9/10.My favorite scene was the night time viewing of the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials, I recently had a similar experience on my honeymoon and was really moved so it was nice to see it here so reverently laid out. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2017 18:49:21 GMT -5
New Gods Special #1Main story written and illustrated by Shane Davis Back up written and illustrated by Walter Simonson Summary: A look into Orion's role on New Genesis and a tale of his youth celebrate the great Jack Kirby.
Plot and Art: I really wish they had given over this whole issue to Simonson, at least on the art side. Davis' story of Orion dealing with the nature of his birth in a battle against Kalibrak wasn't terrile, a little bit basic but readable but the art was so generic that it was nearly painful. In a book celebrating Jack Kirby I was hoping for stunning, stylish art and Davis just isn't that and while Simonson isn't as great as he once was his work has a definite defining quality to it that definitely makes it stand out.
Grade: 6/10 Yeah I am surprised at some of the art choices on these books. However Simonson is still great when he is doing his own work & can take his time.  |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2017 19:10:47 GMT -5
New Gods Special #1Main story written and illustrated by Shane Davis Back up written and illustrated by Walter Simonson Summary: A look into Orion's role on New Genesis and a tale of his youth celebrate the great Jack Kirby.
Plot and Art: I really wish they had given over this whole issue to Simonson, at least on the art side. Davis' story of Orion dealing with the nature of his birth in a battle against Kalibrak wasn't terrile, a little bit basic but readable but the art was so generic that it was nearly painful. In a book celebrating Jack Kirby I was hoping for stunning, stylish art and Davis just isn't that and while Simonson isn't as great as he once was his work has a definite defining quality to it that definitely makes it stand out.
Grade: 6/10 Yeah I am surprised at some of the art choices on these books. However Simonson is still great when he is doing his own work & can take his time. I really need to get that book. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2017 20:06:53 GMT -5
Batman #28  Written by Tom King Art by Mikel Janin Summary: The clash between The Joker and the Riddler continues.
Plot: The concept of a confrontation between the Riddler and the Joker originally drew me back to Batman after dropping it early on and it looks like I'm going to drop it once again. With the stilted pacing and zero characterization I had been limping along because the art was fantastic but this issue the negatives finally out weighted the sole positive of the art and the concept. That new negative? Once again Gotham was in ruins. That's been a staple of the Nu52 and it's something I absolutely loath so seeing the city destroyed once again just killed me; you don't need buildings in ruins and the city on fire to sell me on high stakes, in fact that just draws me out of the story because its just too over the top.
Art: I wish Janin had a writer that was worthy of his art, his images are amazing but there's no real story for him to sell or reason to care about what his images are telling.
Grade:5/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2017 21:01:41 GMT -5
Yeah I am surprised at some of the art choices on these books. However Simonson is still great when he is doing his own work & can take his time. RagnarokI really need to get that book. #12 came out recently. It took Simonson 3 years to do 12 issues. There is 2 HC collecting all 12 issues. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 9, 2017 19:25:43 GMT -5
Batman #28 Written by Tom King Art by Mikel Janin Summary: The clash between The Joker and the Riddler continues.
Plot: The concept of a confrontation between the Riddler and the Joker originally drew me back to Batman after dropping it early on and it looks like I'm going to drop it once again. With the stilted pacing and zero characterization I had been limping along because the art was fantastic but this issue the negatives finally out weighted the sole positive of the art and the concept. That new negative? Once again Gotham was in ruins. That's been a staple of the Nu52 and it's something I absolutely loath so seeing the city destroyed once again just killed me; you don't need buildings in ruins and the city on fire to sell me on high stakes, in fact that just draws me out of the story because its just too over the top.
Art: I wish Janin had a writer that was worthy of his art, his images are amazing but there's no real story for him to sell or reason to care about what his images are telling.
Grade:5/10 I was pretty busy last week (and still am) and didn't have the time to write up Batman #28 (and I'm just now looking at the new comics thread) but I did take a little break last week to go to the comic shop and get #28 (the only new comic I got last week) and I read it ... and I didn't like this very much. The Joker and the Riddler don't have to destroy Gotham to decide who gets to kill Batman. And here's another thing that bother me about how often Gotham gets destroyed or goes mad or turns into a slaughterhouse ... it makes Batman (and Gordon and the GCPD in general) look really weak and ineffective. Especially because it happens so often. These guys need to get their act together. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 9, 2017 21:35:42 GMT -5
Batman #28 Written by Tom King Art by Mikel Janin Summary: The clash between The Joker and the Riddler continues.
Plot: The concept of a confrontation between the Riddler and the Joker originally drew me back to Batman after dropping it early on and it looks like I'm going to drop it once again. With the stilted pacing and zero characterization I had been limping along because the art was fantastic but this issue the negatives finally out weighted the sole positive of the art and the concept. That new negative? Once again Gotham was in ruins. That's been a staple of the Nu52 and it's something I absolutely loath so seeing the city destroyed once again just killed me; you don't need buildings in ruins and the city on fire to sell me on high stakes, in fact that just draws me out of the story because its just too over the top.
Art: I wish Janin had a writer that was worthy of his art, his images are amazing but there's no real story for him to sell or reason to care about what his images are telling.
Grade:5/10 I was pretty busy last week (and still am) and didn't have the time to write up Batman #28 (and I'm just now looking at the new comics thread) but I did take a little break last week to go to the comic shop and get #28 (the only new comic I got last week) and I read it ... and I didn't like this very much. The Joker and the Riddler don't have to destroy Gotham to decide who gets to kill Batman. And here's another thing that bother me about how often Gotham gets destroyed or goes mad or turns into a slaughterhouse ... it makes Batman (and Gordon and the GCPD in general) look really weak and ineffective. Especially because it happens so often. These guys need to get their act together. It's a really dumb plot element and its been way over used in Batman in the nu52 era. |
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Aug 10, 2017 9:35:24 GMT -5
Which kind of reminds us how No Mans Land probably was the best continuity story ever told in the reular batman titles.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 10, 2017 9:47:23 GMT -5
Which kind of reminds us how No Mans Land probably was the best continuity story ever told in the reular batman titles. I meant to bring that up actually, as a point that you can do a "Gotham is destroyed" storyline...but you can't do that story every six months as it loses its shock value. |
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: Mignola is nice pulp, but nothing more than that. And I love it, don't get me wrong, but even in Hell or Wolves of St August, he doesn't come close to the depth or subtlty of A God Somewhere. Hellboy in Hell drawn by Ron Lim? Nah, you wouldn't buy it 
