Ollie's had volumes 1-3 of the first Birds of Prey series, the Chuck Dixon run-I picked up Vol. 1 and 2 there but didn't see Vol. 3 until I went to a different Ollie's but had already picked it up at my lcs.

-M

Up next I'm going to dive into John Carter after seeing so many recommendations during classic christmas. To start with I'm waiting for a collected edition of the John Carter sunday comic strips to come in the mail and I've already picked up a good chunk of the Marvel books.

It really is the ultimate teenage male heroic fantasy. Transported from Earth where you don't quite fit in to another world on brink of destruction/dying where you are transformed into the super strong due to gravity differences, ultimate sword fighting master, savior of beautiful naked damsels defeating giant four-armed green warriors and even larger 4 armed giant killer apes. You find a love of the ages beyond imagining and accepted into her world becoming their WARLORD, finding action, adventure, love and becoming that world's ultimate champion and hero. What's not to understand? John Carter is Superman, Doc Savage, Flash Gordon and Captain America all rolled into one incredible form. And he was probably the very 1st incarnation of these heroic ideals/concepts being created in 1911. 

Man...I do not have time to read funnybooks any more.

My introduction to John Carter was the backup stories in DC's Tarzan, drawn by Murphy Anderson. That's still how I picture the characters in my mind. Try to read some of those along with the newspaper strips and the Marvel books.

The wrap up for February 2019-


The Good



Avengers Prime - The art by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer was Gorgeous and it complemented a fine Bendis story that has the big three Avengers ( Thor, Iron Man, Cap) sifting through the ruins of a fallen Asgard following the events of the Siege Mini series when they are transported to another dimension that is populated with people from Asgard and the surrounding areas. The 5 issue series serves as an event that heals the hurts and the resentments that the three have built up over the years. 

Legends of the Dark Knight 16-23- two different story arcs , the first  called Venom ,follows Batman as he gets hooked on a PED after failing to save a young girl and he has to bring down the dealers who have larger plans for the drug. The second arc called  Faith , sees the formation of a vigilante gang that believes they are helping Batman, until the leader begins to run amok with the mission. Both arcs are very enjoyable , following a young ,still learning, Batman.

Fantastic Four 208-214- I revisited an old favorite by Wolfman and Byrne in which the FF enlists the aid of Galactus to defeat the Sphinx , but in doing so , they release him from his vow never to attack the Earth. 


Usagi Yojimbo Special edition Pt 1- Stan Sakai Dazzles with 20 stories that are fast paced and just creates a rich world and culture. I didn't finish the TPB yet, but It's quite great. This is my first time reading this series past the first few stories. I can't get enough. shaxper, you were right.



The Bad

Blackest Night 0-8
Green Lantern ( 2005) 43

I've had this 9 issue mini series in my possession for many years and I'm not sure If I read the complete run. Boy, I wish I didn't. The only redeeming quality is the amazing Reis artwork. They introduce all the different color Lantern corps and resurrect most of the dead DC heroes in the end. These set of resurrections really were poor. It's like you just snap a finger and they're all back. Yuck.


The Ugly

Avengers Unplugged 4-6

I completed this short run Avengers series last year and decided to read them. Not only are the stories poor, but the artwork was designed to imitate the Image guys. That's not a complement. Overly muscled men and Women that have broken backs as they try to have their butts meet their shoulder blades. I would provide scans but seeing it once is enough. This is the downside of being a completist .