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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2020 6:55:19 GMT -5
Is there much interaction between Dormammu and Galactus in the aforementioned Dr. Strange issue?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2020 12:01:54 GMT -5
Is there much interaction between Dormammu and Galactus in the aforementioned Dr. Strange issue? You mean aside from Dormammu essentially possessing Galactus...? -M |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2020 16:13:46 GMT -5
Here we go again... #29House of Whispers #1-19 by Nalo Hopkinson (with Dan Waters, Domo and others; DC/Vertigo, part of the Sandman Universe; 2018-2020)  This was my favorite of the Sandman Universe reboots curated by Neil Gaiman. The Dreaming and Books of Magic got strong consideration for this list, but were among those that just missed. I haven't read the Hellblazer relaunch yet, and Lucifer has been a bit uneven and my least favorite of the 4 titles (though still good). Nalo Hopkinson is another writer with links to Afrofuturism, but one I had not read previously. She starts the story set in New Orleans and steeped in its voodoo culture. The House of Whispers is another house in the tradition of Mystery and Secrets, and its curator is Erzulie Fréda, a loa and the African/Haitian spirit of love, beauty, dancing, flowers, luxury and other aspects. She wears three wedding rings, one for each of her husbands. Erzulie is a ptron for voodoo followers who often visit her in their dreams to seek her aid or counsel. In this capacity, she learns of four human sisters who have come into the possession of a magical journal (escaped from Lucien's library). The girls open the journal which is filled with whispers and rumors that, if they spread, could cause a pandemic unlike any the Earth has seen, with the power to release Sopona, the loa lord of infectious disease and cousin to Erzulie, who is currently banned from the human plane. The rest of the title follows through the consequences of opening that journal, unleashing the loa of pandemics and the effect upon the family of the four girls and upon Erzulie herself and includes quests through the dreamworld, possession, the Corinthian, and much much more. The art is quirky and stylistic and very much fits the vibe of the story and setting, and has a strong narrative element. Hopkinson established unique voices for her characters and tells strong sotries filled with dramatic interpersonal relationships and wondrous happenings. Watters comes on as co-writer later in the series-I am not sure why, whether it was a scheduling thing for Hopkinson with her other writing, if Hopkinson was struggling with the transition form writing novels to writing comic scripts, or some other reason. This series is filled with twists and turns, interesting folklore, dynamic additions to the Sandman mythos and great characters. Well worth checking out. Sadly it's been cancelled and the final issues will be digital only releases, which I think I am just going to wait and read in trade eventually, but I would have kept buying this series had it endured. #28The Spirit by Matt Wagner (#1-12; with art by Dan Schkade) (Dynamite; 2015-2016)   Set in the 40s, this is Wagner's homage to the classic Eisner Spirit but an attempt to tell a "novel-length" Spirit tale rather than the done-in-one 7 pages of the original Spirit Sections. The Spirit has gone missing and been missing for a long while, and Commissioner Dolan, Ellen, Ebony and Sammy each try to figure out what happened to him and why. Ellen is in politics, the Commissioner is on the cusp of retirement, and Ebony and Sam have opened up a Detective Agency. The Spirit's disappearance is tie to corrupt forces trying to push Dolan out and put their pwn puppet in the commissioner's office and the supporting cast's investigations begin to uncover a much larger criminal conspiracy and operation involving international smuggling and war profiteering. Turns out the Spirit has been captured by this outfit and kept prisoner in the South Seas, but he affects his escape and with the help of his friends takes on this organization. Wagner and company capture all the wit, charm, and feel of the classic Eisner strips and the art is a suitable nod to Eisner, but nothing spectacular Not bad, just not anything special, but Wagner's roller-caster ride of a story more than makes up for it. #27The Last Fair Deal Gone Done GN by Ace Atkins (with art by Marco Finnegan; 12 Gauge Comics; 2016)  This is an adaptation of a Nick Travers book done by the author Ace Atkins. In 2018, Image published a second Nick Travers GN, Crossroad Blues which is where I discovered the character and the series. In this tale, Travers tracks down the murderer of a musician friend of his, which looked like a suicide, but the key to the mystery is a missing saxophone. I really dig these music-themed mysteries by Atkins, and really need to track down the prose novels, but haven't had a chance to yet. The GN are wonderful though. The art is moody and stylistic and has a very noir fell, appropriate for these books. I hope Atkins continues these adaptations of does original Travers stories in GN form. That's it for this installment... -M |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2020 18:28:13 GMT -5
Moving on... #26 Essex County by Jeff Lemire (collected edition published by Top Shelf in 2009)  I'll be drawing on my previous comments on this one... Essex County is a group of stories abut the intertwined lives of a few families in the eponymous rural Canadian region outside Windsor, Ontario, tales of hockey and comic books, love and betrayal, family and loss, all intertwined in a generational narrative that slowly unfolds. It is genuine emotional drama, not melodrama, that draws the reader in a takes them on a journey of several lifetimes, lifetimes, filled with joys, sorrows, and regrets. This is the work that brought Lemire to prominence winning the Shuster Award for Canadian cartoonists and the the Harvey for Best New talent for it in 2008. I've said many times that I like Lemire's creator-owned work much better than his work-for-hire stuff (and I like a lot of his work-for-hire stuff just fine), especially when he is creating as a cartoonist and not just a writer collaborating with other artists. His art style is distinctive and highly stylized (though Essex County is in b&w, so the highly recognizable color palette of some of his other work is not present here). This book is no exception to that. I've only read this once, but will revisit it, and it has the potential to join the list of books I keep returning to because it's so good that we are discussing on another thread hereabouts. There three books comprising the trilogy of Essex County. The first, Tales from the Farm, tell the story of a young boy, Lester, in rural Canada struggling to cope with the lose of his mom to cancer and living on a farm with his uncle because his father was never a part of his life. The boy's two loves in life are comic books and hockey, and the dominate his life as he tries to adjust to his new situation and find some kind of relationship with his uncle, who is also struggling with the transitions in his life. Book Two, Ghost Stories, tells the story of two brothers, Vince and Lou, (related to some of the characters in Tales from the Farm) who played semi-pro hockey together in Toronto in the 1950s, and then became estranged. It is told in two eras, the present (where one of the brothers is reliving his memories of the past as he struggles with being placed in a nursing home), and the past beginning in the 50s experienced through flashbacks of the old man. Book Three, Country Nurse, centers on Anne, a nurse who was taking care of the elder Lou in the previous story, and follows her as she travels checking on on other patients (including Lester, his uncle and others from the previous stories), as well as telling a tale set in the past of Essex County centered on an orphanage where Annie's ancestor also cared for people and expanding on some of the intertwined lineages of the several of the characters in these stories. The stories are heartfelt, and sometimes heart-wrenching, but have heartwarming moments as well. Lemire is very good at conveying character emotion in his visuals, as his cartooning is very expressive, taking advantage of his stylized impressionistic renderings as his character's facial expressions, eyes and body language do a lot of the heavy lifting, a case where the more cartoony style achieves things a more photo-realistic style would struggle with. There are echoes of Eisner-esque exaggerations there that display an intimate familiarity with the principles of Eisner's Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative (some of the same principles are echoed by Scott McCloud in his trilogy of comics about comics). The Collected Edition includes a pair of short stories not part of the original but produced by Lemire as mini-comics to promote Essex County on the convention trail as it was being released. Neither is essential to the story (in fact one was essentially a sequence that was edited out of the third book to make it's narrative tighter and more focused), but they do offer a broader glimpse of life in Essex County and add depth to the setting of these stories. #25Batman #232 by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams (read via facsimile edition released in 2019, originally published by DC in 1971)  The introduction of Talia al Ghul is one of the standout stories of the O'Neill/Adams era of Batman. Even though Robin is reduced to a MacGuffin in this story, this is an edge of the seat thriller as Batman endeavors to rescue Robin as a test by Rhas al Ghul who then sets Batman to find his daughter. Classic story that stands up, lots of twists and turns and memorable moments, and fantastic art by Adams. Not a lot more needs ot be said about this one. #24Injection Vol. 1-3 by Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey (Image; 2015-2017)  Let me saying that I believe the woman who accuse Ellis of misconduct, and it saddens by what they have endured. I am trying to evaluate Ellis' work separate from his actions, but considered dropping this and one other series he did from my list, but chose to retain on the strength of the work and the impact they had on me when I read them, which was prior to these accounts being made public. I am drawing on previous comments I made on thse and not adding anything new though... I think this was my favorite stuff from Ellis in years. It had a nice blend of cutting edge science/science fiction, folklore, the supernatural and weird history that connected with me on a lot of levels. Like many of Ellis's characters, the five central characters were shits, and in some ways were completely unlikable, and yet they were charming and charismatic enough that you bought into their exploits. They weren't charming rogues in the Han Solo mold, more like complete bastards who intrigued you, like Hagberd Celine, or Ellis' own Spider Jerusalem or Elijah Snow. The basic plot, this group of five geniuses saw the innovation curve of the 21st century flattening as humanity reached the apex of its creativity and decided to do something to extend the curve and keep things interesting, so created the Injection, a fusion of computer code, A.I. and a supernatural entity and entered into cyberspace, and now years later are dealing with the consequences of their creation. Declan Shalvey's art is superb here, a top-notch visual storyteller with a recognizable visual style. That's it for this installment. -M |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 6, 2020 19:52:31 GMT -5
Love Hawkworld, though more for Tim Truman. By that point, I was under the spell of his work on Scout and Airboy, and, to a lesser extent, Grimjack. His Hawkman seemed more like an actual cop.
Matt Wagner is one of the modern writers/artists who understands mystery and handles it well in his work. So many telegraph things that you are never kept guessing. he's also really adept at characters and you need to be, to tackle Eisner.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,222 
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Post by Confessor on Jul 7, 2020 0:06:05 GMT -5
#25Batman #232 by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams (read via facsimile edition released in 2019, originally published by DC in 1971) Kinda intrigued by these facsimile editions. How similar to the originals are they, in the way they feel and look? I mean, are they printed on old style newsprint and is the art the original Neal Adams' work or is it his more recent reworked art with his touching up and alterations? |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2020 0:09:43 GMT -5
They are on white paper not newsprint, and the coloring is adjusted for that, but they are page for page recreations including all ads and text pieces. The cover price and UPC code are the only differences on the covers usually, the indicia the only interior difference aside form any coloring adjustments for paper.
-M
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Post by berkley on Jul 7, 2020 1:04:09 GMT -5
Red Circle Sorcery I haven't read yet but the artwork looks fantastic. I have a copy of Rucka's Black Magic but haven't started it yet.
I'm part-way through both Essex County and Injection and don't find much to disagree with or to add to mrp's comments, so far at least. I'll see how I feel once I finish reading them.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 7, 2020 9:53:15 GMT -5
Who can keep up? And with a holiday no less.
Brave & the Bold #29: I'll have to look for this. As soon as I track down a copy of Brother Power, the Geek #3.
Hawkworld #1-3: By far my favorite iteration of Hawkman. Been quite a while since I've re-read it.
Teen Titans: Raven OGN: Are you sure you're not a teenage girl?
Black Magick Vol. 1 & 2: I've read either all of or most of volume one of this. I generally like Rucka. And I mostly liked it, but there was just something about it that didn't work well for me.
Chilling Adventures of Sorcery/Red Circle Sorcery #3-11: I have most of this run and it's one that I likely will get to at some point in my gone too soon thread. I bought a few of these off the news-stand back in the day and picked up most of the rest over the years.
Red Sonja by Mark Russell: I'm a big fan of Russell but the first couple of issues of this didn't grab me and it fell by the wayside. I'll pick up a trade at some point.
House of Whispers #1-19: None of the Sandman Universe books grabbed me at all. At some point I'll give them another try.
The Spirit by Matt Wagner: Another one I need to try to read. I like Wagner and The Spirit. I'm just not sure how I'll feel about long-form stories.
The Last Fair Deal Gone Done GN: I'll have to track this down. I haven't read any of Atkins' work, but this is up my alley.
Essex County by Jeff Lemire: I generally like Lemire. But I also generally dislike slice-of-life stuff. My gut tells me that I've read the first one or two entries many moons ago. But that kind of stuff doesn't stick with me.
Batman #232 by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams: I should re-read the O'Neil/Adams Batman. I loved it back in the day. I'm not as enamored of either creator as I used to be though. Be an interesting experiment.
Injection Vol. 1-3: I need to read this. I'm woefully behind of Ellis.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2020 13:30:38 GMT -5
Who can keep up? And with a holiday no less. We were closed Saturday and Sunday for the holiday, and my wife and I decided to just stay home for the weekend, so I had time to do this. Now that those days off are over, the rest will come out at a much slower pace. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2020 2:28:21 GMT -5
#23Folk Lords #1-5 by Matt Kindt and Matt Smith (Boom! Studios; 2019-2020)   Once upon a time, there was a boy named Ansel who didn't quite fit in. BOOM! actually made a trailer for this book, so I am including it here... Ok, this one is slightly a cheat, I read #1-4 during the last year, but #5 came out the last week before Diamond shut down in March, and I didn't get a copy until recently, so it was red after July 1 this year (but before my birthday so technically still in the 50th year), but I included the title on the list based on the strength of #1-4 and my like for it before I read #5. Reading #6 hasn't changed my opinion. Kindt is a creator who has come on my radar, especially for his work on Mind MGMT. Like Jeff Lemire, he is a cartoonist with his own quirky style but does a lot of writing for other artists as well. The artist he is working with here is Matt Smith, whose stuff I like a lot, and he is also a cartoonist writing his own stuff, but at times working with other artists. His stuff really came on my radar with Barbarian Lord, his creator owned OGN that I absolutely loved, but I recognized his art from stuff I had seen at DC dating back to the 90s (he drew a feature starring Dr. Fate and the Shade written by James Robinson in Showcase '96 series that I really liked but I hadn't seen a lot of other stuff form him). So both creators involved were folks I liked, and they turn in a top notch effort here. This was a 5 issue mini, but based on the ending of #5, there is a lot more to the story. Ansel is a young man just turning 18, and in his world, it is tradition all 18 year olds go on a quest before settling down to be cobbers, tinkers, farmers or what have you. However, Ansel has been having visions of another world since he was a boy-a modern world like ours and has been cobbling together gadgets he has seen in his visions (things like a lighter, an air horn, etc.) and he intends to go on a quest to find the Folk Lords hoping they will have clues to help him friend this world in his visions. But discussion of the Folk Lords is forbidden by the Librarians, the keepers of Ansel's world, and on the day where they are to name their quests, Ansel's childhood friend Archer (the only elf in his village) panics and names Ansel's quest on his turn before Ansel, bringing down the wrath of the Librarians who forbid all quests that year. Ansel is determined to go anyways, and sets out with Archer to find the Folklords and the truth behind his visions. Kindt fills the world with charming characters (from Ansel himself, to a blind troll who likes pie, to Ugly, a hulking young woman who believes she is cursed and seeks to free herself of that curse to many more), clever twists on folk lore (troll bridges, the Hansel and Gretel tale and others), and an engaging story, all wonderfully drawn and brought to life by Smith. It's an all ages book, with stuff to appeal to kids and adults, and is another in a line of outstanding creator-owned books that BOOM! has been putting out. #22speaking of creator-owned books put out by BOOM! The Woods #1-36 (or Volumes 1-9 in trade which is how I read it) by James Tynion IV & Michael Dialyna (BOOM! Studios; 2014-2017)   I've posted about this series a couple times in the Modern Comics forum as I have finished volumes of it. This is another series I took the plunge on because of having the Hoopla service, which makes it easy and affordable (read free) to explore a lot of material. It's one I will likely add to my library for future rereads. The story centers around a group of high school students whose school and everyone in it is mysteriously transported to an alien moon outside our solar system. Part of the book is a sci-fi thriller, part of it is a coming of age story revolving around the kids in the school, and the mix works wonderfully. The kids have to learn how to survive in the harsh alien landscape and to restructure/create a society in this new world while attempting to ind out what happened and how to get back. They discover other humans on this moon, descendants of others who were mysteriously transported from earth at various times dating back to pre-history. They have to deal with these cultures and the wars between some of them, finding their societies place in the larger world, and dealing with the threats these other cultures present. They also learn there is an alien intelligence behind it all that has been abducting and testing humans without finding anyone to pass their tests and must prepare for their own testing and attempts to deal with this alien intelligence. There's a lot going on, and Tynion juggles it all mastefully finding a great balance betwen the epic sci-fi stuff, the interpersonal relationships, and the political wheeling and dealings. Dialyna's art is stylistic, and may not be everyone's cuppa, but he is a strong visual storyteller and it works in this milieu. His world feels alien and his characters are expressive, which really powers a lot of the interpersonal stuff. It is all one long story, with a beginning, middle and end, well executed, and creating an entertaining and engrossing ride while it plays out. #21 to follow in a separate post... -M
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2020 2:33:49 GMT -5
#21The Last God: The Fellspire Chronicles Book One #1-5 (of a 12 issue maxi-series) by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Ricardo Federici (DC/Black Label; 2019-2020)   Rarely is original epic fantasy attempted in American comics, and rarer still are attempts that do it well. This is one that does it very well. Again, I've posted about this series in the Modern Comics Read Lately thread, so I am not going to repeat a lot of what I wrote earlier, but here is the official trailer for this one too... It tells the story of two quests, one in the present, one in the past, and the two are connected, and the secrets hidden and lies of the group from the past tie directly into the need for the present quest. Johnson weaves a gripping modern epic fantasy tale and Federici's art is gorgeous. His storytelling is evolving, not as good as some I have mentioned before, but improving and readable, but man, what eye candy for fantasy art. And a sgood as the art is, the maps are better. I know several tabletop rpg products that are jealous of the maps in this book. Plus, the back matter is great for fleshing out the world. A source book was/is getting published after #6, and O believe there are plans (of course dependent on sales) for Book Two of the Fellspyre Chronicles as well, but I am grooving on this epic fantasy ride as it plays out. And that takes us to the cusp of our top 20. I will be doing 20-11 in posts featuring 2 choices each, then counting down the top 10 one choice at a time as the month moves forward. -M
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2020 9:38:06 GMT -5
Love all the Hawkman stuff. Agree with Waid's Dr Strange. Image is always good for different stuff. And Dynamite does print some hidden gems.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2020 23:54:16 GMT -5
And so we start on the top 20... #20The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1-2 by Jeff Lemire, Denys Cowan & Bill Sienkewicz (DC Black Label; 2020)   After two issues of this Black Label mini-series, I am not exactly sure what is going on yet, but I am loving the trip as I explore and discover what it is. Lemire is one of my favorite writers working in modern comics, ad generally I prefer his creator-owned stuff to his big 2 work, but this one is on par with his better creator-owned stuff. And Cowan and Sienkewicz were born to do the Question together, and seeing them reunited on it again is a sheer visual joy. And having it in the larger format really lets the art shine. Lemire's take on the Question borrows heavily on both the absolutist Ditko view and the O'Neil series. Vic Sage is a guy who sees things in black and white, right and wrong, and has been crusading for what is right for years, but he gets sucked in to a conspiracy with a lot of shades of gray, discovers a hidden chamber beneath Hub City and dies. Then wakes up again in Hub City of the 1800s where he uncovers an old west mystery with ties to the events that lead to his death... Two issues in and we're hip deep into this mystery, enough to be hooked and engrossed and starting to see some of the clues, but not far enough in yet where the clues are forming a big picture with the answers. This really is one that bears multiple careful readings to get it all, and I just picked up #3 last week at the lcs and I plan to reread #1 and #2 again before diving in to that one. The series was scheduled to be bi-monthly, the Covid shut down made the gap between 2 and 3 even longer, so the refresher is needed. #19It's a Jeff Lemire two-fer this time... Gideon Falls #13-19 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Image Comics; 2019)   Speaking of enthralling mysteries where I am still piecing all the clues together to figure out exactly what is going on. I had given #1-12 a reread just prior to the period covered by this countdown, which set up all the pieces of this mystery, and beginning with the arc in #12 things really kicked into high gear. Gideon Falls is a rural town where some shocking things happened, many surrounding a black barn and some gruesome murders. A small group have devoted themselves to soling this mystery, and the lurking evil within the black barn; and a young man named Norton who seemed to have no ties to Gideon Falls (but actually does we learn) has been collecting pieces of the black barn in the trash and midden-heaps wherever he happened to be. This is the basic set up explored through the first 2 arcs, but the third arc goes into overdrive. The barn itself is some sort of portal and it turns out there are several versions of Gideon Falls existing throughout alternate realities. Father Burke, no among those in the society devoted to stopping the black barn, has crossed over into the multiverse and is travelling to multiple versions of Gideon Falls seeking answers and a way to stop the evil within the barn, travelling form an old west version to a steampunk version and more learning more of the Laughing Man, he evil using the barn to perpetuate his agenda. Every question the reader gets answered raises several more deepening the mystery. Lemire's characters in here are distinct, intriguing, and most are just a little quirky, in a good and interesting way. The mystery is engrossing, and it is an edge of the seat horror story at its heart. And my god, can Sorrentino draw... -M |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2020 19:33:08 GMT -5
Day off today, so I am going to get in one more entry while I have the time... #18Swamp Thing by Wein & Wrightson-House of Secrets #92, Swamp Thing #1-3 (DC; 1971-1973)   So I picked up the facsimile edition of House of Secrets #92 and the Dollar Comics reprint of Swamp Thing #1, and when I read them I had in mind comparing the differences between the two, but getting wrapped up in the glory of the Wein & Wrightson material, I read a couple more issues of the run again via the DC Universe service, but not their whole run. I first encountered this material when DC reprinted it in the Roots of the Swamp Thing Baxter series in the mid-80s, and I have revisited it often over the years, but it had been over 5 years since I last revisited this stuff. Moore's Swamp Thing is often the go to run for the character, but I love the Wein/Wrightson stuff every bit as much. Wein's writing hits all the right notes, and Wrightson is just a visual tour-de-force. This stuff stands the test of time, and is a classic in any sense of the word. #17Once and Future by Kieron Gillen & Dan Mora (#1-6 collected into Vol. 1 of the trade) (BOOM! Studios; 2019-2020)   I mentioned there would be another sci-fi-themed Arthurian inspired tale, and this is it. I missed this when it came out and the first issue caught the attention of speculators and it went through more than 5 printings over the course of a few months. But it got a lot of buzz form readers too, and I liked what Gillen was saying about it in his newsletter leading up to its release, so when I found it on Hoopla I started reading it, and was sucked in. When the trade of the first six issues was solicited, I pre-ordered it, and reread it when I got the trade. It's filled with a lot of things I love-secret societies, monster hunters, Arthurian lore, grim humor, other British folklore, and some great comic book storytelling by both Gillen and Mora. Bridgette McGuire is a senior citizen and a monster hunter, oh and she is one of the guardians of Arthur's legacy. Her grandson Duncan know's nothing of her secret roles, and is more concerned with his failing romantic and social life than playing any kind of hero, besides this stuff only existed in the mythology he studied, none of it was real, or so he thought. It creates an interesting dynamic between the two, and they get drawn deeper into the plot by the right-wing authoritarian sect that is trying to resurrect Arthur and co=opt him into their agenda to return Britain to its rightful place and to its former greatness as the preeminent world power. Lots of twists and turns in a fun roller-coaster ride of an adventure that has a lot to say in its thematic underpinnings. -M |
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