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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 3, 2023 13:11:03 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS!Real Readers, Honest Reviews!  What did you pick up this week? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 3, 2023 14:35:12 GMT -5
I really wondered how Peacemaker was going to wrap things up as I feared how it could stick the landing...but it did. There was a great mix of action, comedy and strangely heart in this finale. I loved that we actually got to see Peacemaker's birthday party and the cast of characters that showed up was just perfect. If you haven't checked out this book you need to buy the collection as soon as it comes out.
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Post by DubipR on Oct 3, 2023 17:46:48 GMT -5
Just DC downloads this week. I still have trades from my vacation I bought that I need to read.
- Birds of Prey #2
- Shazam # 4
- Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #2
- Peacemaker Tries Hard #6
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 3, 2023 18:54:47 GMT -5
I really wondered how Peacemaker was going to wrap things up as I feared how it could stick the landing...but it did. There was a great mix of action, comedy and strangely heart in this finale. I loved that we actually got to see Peacemaker's birthday party and the cast of characters that showed up was just perfect. If you haven't checked out this book you need to buy the collection as soon as it comes out. I am so looking forward to picking this up tomorrow. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 5, 2023 9:16:19 GMT -5
Let’s see. What did I get yesterday?
Batman #138
Birds of Prey #2
Peacemaker Tries Hard #6
Detective Comics #140 (facsimile reprint) - The first appearance of the Riddler! I’ve read the Riddler story a bunch of times. This facsimile includes the back-ups - Robotman, Slam Bradley and the Boy Commandos. So ... AWESOME!
Power Girl #1 - I skipped it last week because I flipped through it and read the scene where Superman is scolding Power Girl and it’s a really dumb scene. Also, her new identity is Paige. But the art’s good. And I actually really love Power Girl. So I decided to try it for the first story arc.
My job ran late so I was pretty tired when I got home so I only read a few comics. Power Girl is actually not bad. The only bad material was the stuff I read when I skimmed it.
Batman #138 - The Gotham War continues! It makes no sense. There’s a Sandman (Wesley Dodds) preview but I was tired so I didn’t read it.
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Post by majestic on Oct 5, 2023 16:02:03 GMT -5
Shazam #4. Another Waid and Mora issue. This issue Freddy and the rest of the family are pulled into the story. We continue to see the gods that give their powers to Cap messing with his mind and messing up his life. I can't see how this will all get resolved in the next issue but this continues to be one of the best Capt Marvel/Shazam stories in modern times.
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Post by Dizzy D on Oct 5, 2023 16:21:51 GMT -5
Haven't been picking up comics in a while, so I'm hoping to get in tomorrow to pick up Uncanny Spider-Man #1 (probably switch to trade, but just checking out the first issue), G.O.D.S. #1, Moon Knight TPB 4 and Transformers #1 (probably also just checking out the new series). More on those if I manage to get them.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 5, 2023 16:36:48 GMT -5
Shazam #4. Another Waid and Mora issue. This issue Freddy and the rest of the family are pulled into the story. We continue to see the gods that give their powers to Cap messing with his mind and messing up his life. I can't see how this will all get resolved in the next issue but this continues to be one of the best Capt Marvel/Shazam stories in modern times. I really liked how Zeus cleared up that they weren't trying to destroy Billy, but rather it was the various Gods flaws that were unintentionally causing Billy trouble. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 5, 2023 16:53:36 GMT -5
The Midnite Show #1Written by Cullen Bunn Art by Brian Hurtt Summary: The biggest monsters of the silver screen are jumping from the multiplex to the streets of Cedar Bluffs, who will survive!? Plot: Just in time for the Halloween season Cullen Bunn has come out with this wonderfully fun monster mash. Although the idea of monsters jumping off the movie screen to terrorize the unsuspecting viewers is hardly a new idea(my favorite use of the trope was "Circle of Fear" from The Graveyard Shift) it's done well here so I'm definitely willing over look the fact that the idea isn't terribly novel. There's a lot of set up here as we learn about horror movie director Basil Saxon and his lost horror film that he died in a fire while making(or did he?) and a little bit of character work followed up by some fantastic scenes where we see the mummy, the wolfman, the gillman, and finally Dracula himself appear in the real world and cause mayhem. I don't know where the story is going but I'm game to find out. Art: I think my favorite aspect are the creature designs by Brian Hurtt, they retain enough of the classic Universal Monster looks while still looking unique and exciting. I particularly loved the Gillman's new look with the fin mo-hawk and Frankenstein's Monster's lanky look was cool as well. If you're a monster movie fan ::cough shaxper :: this is a book you need to pick up now. Grade:8/10 |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Oct 5, 2023 16:58:26 GMT -5
The Midnite Show #1Written by Cullen Bunn Art by Brian Hurtt Summary: The biggest monsters of the silver screen are jumping from the multiplex to the streets of Cedar Bluffs, who will survive!? Plot: Just in time for the Halloween season Cullen Bunn has come out with this wonderfully fun monster mash. Although the idea of monsters jumping off the movie screen to terrorize the unsuspecting viewers is hardly a new idea(my favorite use of the trope was "Circle of Fear" from The Graveyard Shift) it's done well here so I'm definitely willing over look the fact that the idea isn't terribly novel. There's a lot of set up here as we learn about horror movie director Basil Saxon and his lost horror film that he died in a fire while making(or did he?) and a little bit of character work followed up by some fantastic scenes where we see the mummy, the wolfman, the gillman, and finally Dracula himself appear in the real world and cause mayhem. I don't know where the story is going but I'm game to find out. Art: I think my favorite aspect are the creature designs by Brian Hurtt, they retain enough of the classic Universal Monster looks while still looking unique and exciting. I particularly loved the Gillman's new look with the fin mo-hawk and Frankenstein's Monster's lanky look was cool as well. If you're a monster movie fan ::cough shaxper :: this is a book you need to pick up now. Grade:8/10 That's a pretty intense sales pitch. I'll definitely look for it. Just curious -- do they attempt Bela Lugosi's likeness? I've noticed more and more licensed Universal Horror merch as of late actively avoiding using his likeness on their depictions of Dracula, and I'm wondering if there is some sort of rights issue in play. |
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Post by majestic on Oct 5, 2023 19:25:47 GMT -5
Dr Strange #8. MacKay and Ferry continue the story of General Strange (another version of Strange) who wants war in the magical dimensions. Clea tries to kill him and fails. Dr Strange appeals to various magical entities for help and gets nowhere. Finally he realizes he is on his own trying to stop the General...
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 6, 2023 6:35:59 GMT -5
The Midnite Show #1Written by Cullen Bunn Art by Brian Hurtt Summary: The biggest monsters of the silver screen are jumping from the multiplex to the streets of Cedar Bluffs, who will survive!? Plot: Just in time for the Halloween season Cullen Bunn has come out with this wonderfully fun monster mash. Although the idea of monsters jumping off the movie screen to terrorize the unsuspecting viewers is hardly a new idea(my favorite use of the trope was "Circle of Fear" from The Graveyard Shift) it's done well here so I'm definitely willing over look the fact that the idea isn't terribly novel. There's a lot of set up here as we learn about horror movie director Basil Saxon and his lost horror film that he died in a fire while making(or did he?) and a little bit of character work followed up by some fantastic scenes where we see the mummy, the wolfman, the gillman, and finally Dracula himself appear in the real world and cause mayhem. I don't know where the story is going but I'm game to find out. Art: I think my favorite aspect are the creature designs by Brian Hurtt, they retain enough of the classic Universal Monster looks while still looking unique and exciting. I particularly loved the Gillman's new look with the fin mo-hawk and Frankenstein's Monster's lanky look was cool as well. If you're a monster movie fan ::cough shaxper :: this is a book you need to pick up now. Grade:8/10 That's a pretty intense sales pitch. I'll definitely look for it. Just curious -- do they attempt Bela Lugosi's likeness? I've noticed more and more licensed Universal Horror merch as of late actively avoiding using his likeness on their depictions of Dracula, and I'm wondering if there is some sort of rights issue in play. We only see Dracula in a single panel, and while the costuming is definitely inspired by Lugosi's Dracula with the tuxedo shirt, the red pendant and the cape it only vaguely looks like Lugosi facially. Of all the creature designs it's definitely the closest to the original, but I don't think the artist was going for a one to one look, which fits the story as these aren't the Universal films but a series of similar movies directed by a Lon Chaney stand in named Basil Saxon who played all the monsters in his own films. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Oct 7, 2023 2:05:44 GMT -5
There was no copy of Uncanny Spider-Man at my local shop (not that weird as it came out a month ago), but as both Way of X and Legion of X had the final issue be a one-shot with a seperate title and this is the continuation of those 2 mini's, I think it's best to wait for trade anyway. No chance yet to read G.O.D.S. (the one I'm most interested in, because I skipped all previews and articles on it, so I could go in completely blind). But I found Transformers #1 to be disappointing. Maybe a bit unfair as this was just an issue #1 and it's following two good runs on Transformers that I enjoyed: the excellent James Roberts take on Transformers and the not-quite-as-good-but-still-pretty-good Brian Ruckley run, so comparisons to those comics are inevitable. I think this is meant to be a period piece, the intro sets up Spark Witwicky as a veteran (can't quite place the war though, there is no text and it's just 2 images out of context). The first image shows what looks to be Apache helicopters from the sideview over desert land.. so that would be Iraq, but in the second image Witwicky is holding the dead body of a friend and the uniforms don't seem to be Desert Storm .. maybe I'm just reading too much into things. (edit: looking at it again, it may be Bell Cobra's instead of apache, which would be Vietnam which would fit with both the uniform and the 80s vibe)
From there it's a pretty classic setup: Spark's son, Spike, and Carly, Spike's friend, find the Arc buried with deactivated Transformers. Jetfire, arriving from outer space arrives just at that time to reactivate its occupants, who immediately start to fight each other. And the rest is basically a long fight scene. There is a bit about Kirkman's Void Rivals in the end and that Jetfire's part of the story started there. As most of the comic is a long fight scene with some expository dialogue during the fight (Jetfire is shocked when the two groups are fighting, Starscream silences his group when they want to talk about Megatron) with no real introduction for most of the characters and the characters seen are all from the old 80s Cartoon/early Marvel comics, so it's going for older fans that already know these characters. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Oct 8, 2023 6:02:41 GMT -5
G.O.D.S. #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Valerio Schiti and Marte Gracia: I like it, but I don't think it was worth the $10 cover price. I'm a fan of Hickman and I know a lot of you are not, so keep that in mind.
Plot: So the story focuses on new characters, all representatives of (as far as we know for now) new cosmic entities. Wynn (the person on the cover) is an avatar for a cosmic force known only as The Powers That Be. As an avatar, he is given some powers (mostly immortality is mentioned in the story, but he does display some other abilities), but his main strategy seems to be diplomacy and bartering rather than direct force. He has been doing this for centuries now and is getting jaded. There is Aiko, Wynn's wife who is offered to become a servant to the cosmic force known as the Natural Order of Things (who unlike The Powers has multiple servants). These two cosmic forces are opposed to each other (at war according to Aiko, though Wynn thinks that it's more of a détente according to Wynn) and Aiko violently ends her relationship with Wynn. But 10 years later the two cosmic forces seem to be working together as Wynn now has an apprentice, Dimitri, who also works for the Natural Order of Things. Dimitri, Wynn's chained apprentice who remains more an observer with a device that can answer most questions.
The three new characters (as well as Aiko's colleagues) team up with various superheroes to deal with a recently returned mage that threatens the universe, so even if the two forces are opposed to each other, they do seem to have the universe's best interest at heart (or it's just a matter of survival against a common enemy).
It's set solidly in the Marvel Universe: Dr. Strange is a big part of it (not surprisingly as the threat is another mage), Wynn barters with the various Elders of the Universe to gain the tools needed to defeat the mage and so on, but the focus is mostly on Wynn and Aiko in this.
Art: Schiti is a solid artist, but there are multiple people at Marvel working now who have a very similar art style and it's a pretty straight forward art style, so it's not a series I'd pick up for the strength of the art alone.
Writing: It does lack the strong hook that most of Hickman's first issues have, where the first issue set up the premise to be explored in the rest of the series. The hook here seems to be Wynn and Aiko's relationship and their mysterious and opposite masters, and while I find both characters interesting enough, that's not much to draw in a new reader.
The first issue is mostly setting up the two main characters, their patreons and their places within the larger Marvel Universe and how they relate to each other. The specific threat set up in this story is resolved in this first issue, so for a new reader there
For new readers: I'd say wait and see where this goes (I'll keep following the series) and pick up a trade if it gets good reviews.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 11, 2023 21:20:29 GMT -5
Ugh.. Hickman. At least he's playing with new characters that can be forgotten when he gets bored and wanders off.
Birds of Prey 2 had far less Maps in it than I wanted, but was still somewhat interesting... we'll see what happens next issue if I stick around. I'm not usually a fan, but Harley is really interesting in this one so far. There is alot of people calling in favors to others... seems like that shouldn't be how a team works, but I guess maybe as a set up device it's ok.
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