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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 12, 2024 8:05:01 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS!Real Readers, Honest Reviews  What Did You Pick Up This Week? |
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Post by DubipR on Mar 12, 2024 9:38:54 GMT -5
Batman/Dylan Dog #1
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 13, 2024 15:23:46 GMT -5
Me too... Batman/Dylan Dog #1Written by Roberto Recchioni Art by Gigi Cavenago Summary: When long time Dylan Dog nemesis Professor Xabaras invites the clown prince of crime to London to collaborate mayhem ensues.
Plot: I've loved Dylan Dog ever since Dark Horse first translated Tiziano Sclavi's original story line from 1986...but sadly Dark Horse only ever did those scant few seven issues, so I was pumped to get more here with the crossover with Batman. Right off the bat the comic delivers on introducing the two characters in Dylan Dog and Batman allowing readers who may not be familiar (with either character) in an organic way before jumping right into the action and after the two meet they feel so perfect together as Dylan's human plays well off Batman's stoicism. The main plot itself doesn't break any new ground as it pairs the two heroes villains in a paper thin way in order to have the two international heroes paths cross but despite that contrivance it has a look and flair that is a throwback to those multitude of Batman team-ups of the 90's that I loved growing up so it definitely hots that nostalgic note. If you didn't love those slightly simplistic crossovers you may not love this but for me it was well worth the price of admission.
Art:The comic looks fantastic and perfectly matches the tone of the writing with an energetic, pulpy feel to it. There's a definite European feel to the art but in the action scenes it deftly switches to a more distinctly American style and the two blend together really well giving you a stylish read that is sure to be memorable.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 13, 2024 15:53:00 GMT -5
Batman and Robin #7Written by Joshua Williamson Art by Simone Di Meo Summary: Damian's crush from Lazarus Island, Flatline, has turned up in Gotham and trouble is right on her heels.
Plot: While the Man-Bat story continues to move rather slowly it is still a compelling change for Man-Bat that really honors his origin (how he almost worshiped Batman) to making a serious heel turn as he feels Batman is not living up to his potential. On top of that Williamson's efforts into growing Damian as a character as well as the father and son relationship between Damian and Bruce really reached a crescendo here as Bruce gave the father/son talk about Flatline that only Batman could give, "Slow down. I'm not going to lecture you on jumping into spending a night with a known criminal but..." I mean, c'mon that's perfect advice coming from Bruce. And as cute as Damian and Flatline are I think what I'm most interested in the teased team up between Batman and Shush for the next issue. I didn't think I'd like Shush when she was introduced, I mean Sh-Hush is pretty lame at face value, but her characterization has been fun and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Art: The only real negative I have with this issue is that Di Meo is sadly back on art. While I've gotten used to his manga influenced angular style I still don't enjoy the wasted space he employs in his panels and his action is really unclear and hard to follow which is a major turn off in a superhero book.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Mar 14, 2024 0:22:39 GMT -5
Made the trip out to the LCS today and picked up 2 weeks worth of books. Not sure which were this week or last, but this is what I read tonight...
Bat-Man: The First Knight #1
Excellent start. Love the Perkins art and the retro-period feel of the book. (5/5)
Birds of Prey (2023) #7
Really digging this book and have become enamored of Kelly Thompson's work that I have read (but haven't rea da lot). I dig the concepts of the Red and the Green, and how they are using them here, and look forward to more (5/5)
The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #3
Always a fun book and this was a particularly fun romp with Catwoman and Penguin. And at $2.99, it's one of the best values on the shelves. (4/5)
Shazam! (2023) #9
Looks like this was Waid's swan song on the book as a new writer is listed for next issues. I like what he's set up, but I am not a big enough fan of the character to stick around if the new run starts poorly, and I was kind of meh on this issue. Felt like filler. Fun filler, but filler. And Shadow Thief is a particular favorite of mine and he felt like a throwaway waste here to who had no purpose except to fuel an undeveloped plot line. Least favorite issue of the run so far. (2.5/5)
Helen of Wyndhorn #1
Love Bilquis Evely's art, and the pulp era stories this one is thematically based on are right in my wheelhouse, but King has a habit of starting strong and finishing weak for me, so we'll see where this goes. I did like the Supergirl run he and Evely did together and I dug the first issue, so let's see where it goes. (4/5)
-M
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 14, 2024 4:22:55 GMT -5
Made the trip out to the LCS today and picked up 2 weeks worth of books. Not sure which were this week or last, but this is what I read tonight... Bat-Man: The First Knight #1Excellent start. Love the Perkins art and the retro-period feel of the book. (5/5) Birds of Prey (2023) #7Really digging this book and have become enamored of Kelly Thompson's work that I have read (but haven't rea da lot). I dig the concepts of the Red and the Green, and how they are using them here, and look forward to more (5/5) The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #3Always a fun book and this was a particularly fun romp with Catwoman and Penguin. And at $2.99, it's one of the best values on the shelves. (4/5) Shazam! (2023) #9Looks like this was Waid's swan song on the book as a new writer is listed for next issues. I like what he's set up, but I am not a big enough fan of the character to stick around if the new run starts poorly, and I was kind of meh on this issue. Felt like filler. Fun filler, but filler. And Shadow Thief is a particular favorite of mine and he felt like a throwaway waste here to who had no purpose except to fuel an undeveloped plot line. Least favorite issue of the run so far. (2.5/5) Helen of Wyndhorn #1Love Bilquis Evely's art, and the pulp era stories this one is thematically based on are right in my wheelhouse, but King has a habit of starting strong and finishing weak for me, so we'll see where this goes. I did like the Supergirl run he and Evely did together and I dug the first issue, so let's see where it goes. (4/5) -M The Bat-Man and Birds of Prey were definitely the highlights for me, both have amazing art and their stories are really intriguing. |
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Post by majestic on Mar 14, 2024 10:18:29 GMT -5
Action Comics #1063. The conclusion of Aaron's Bizarro arc. This was definitely a really unique twist on Bizarro that made the character more interesting. Plus we had Timm's beautiful art. Cool twist with Superman needing the Joker's help to defeat Bizarro. I think I'm going to like a new creative team with every arc.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 14, 2024 10:57:00 GMT -5
It's nice that this one has an English-language edition. Two years ago there was another Bonelli/DC crossover featuring the Justice League and Nathan Never (probably my favorite Bonelli character/series), called Double Universe.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been translated into English as far as I know.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 17, 2024 6:09:26 GMT -5
It's nice that this one has an English-language edition. Two years ago there was another Bonelli/DC crossover featuring the Justice League and Nathan Never (probably my favorite Bonelli character/series), called Double Universe.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been translated into English as far as I know.
I never heard of that but it looks fun! I wish it got a translation, maybe if Dylan Dog does well it will. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 17, 2024 6:10:51 GMT -5
Action Comics #1063. The conclusion of Aaron's Bizarro arc. This was definitely a really unique twist on Bizarro that made the character more interesting. Plus we had Timm's beautiful art. Cool twist with Superman needing the Joker's help to defeat Bizarro. I think I'm going to like a new creative team with every arc. Yeah, the Bizzaro story was really well done and I loved that the Bizzaro Joker was sane. I was sad to lose the Superman-Family anthology set up Action had before but this was really good too so I'm hoping that continues. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 17, 2024 6:34:59 GMT -5
Made the trip out to the LCS today and picked up 2 weeks worth of books. Not sure which were this week or last, but this is what I read tonight... Bat-Man: The First Knight #1Excellent start. Love the Perkins art and the retro-period feel of the book. (5/5) Birds of Prey (2023) #7Really digging this book and have become enamored of Kelly Thompson's work that I have read (but haven't rea da lot). I dig the concepts of the Red and the Green, and how they are using them here, and look forward to more (5/5) The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #3Always a fun book and this was a particularly fun romp with Catwoman and Penguin. And at $2.99, it's one of the best values on the shelves. (4/5) Shazam! (2023) #9Looks like this was Waid's swan song on the book as a new writer is listed for next issues. I like what he's set up, but I am not a big enough fan of the character to stick around if the new run starts poorly, and I was kind of meh on this issue. Felt like filler. Fun filler, but filler. And Shadow Thief is a particular favorite of mine and he felt like a throwaway waste here to who had no purpose except to fuel an undeveloped plot line. Least favorite issue of the run so far. (2.5/5) Helen of Wyndhorn #1Love Bilquis Evely's art, and the pulp era stories this one is thematically based on are right in my wheelhouse, but King has a habit of starting strong and finishing weak for me, so we'll see where this goes. I did like the Supergirl run he and Evely did together and I dug the first issue, so let's see where it goes. (4/5) -M I could never get over the fact that King never credited Charles Portis for the plot of his Supergirl story to really get into it, and it was the same was the same with his Human Target as he just completely took the plot of Rudolph Mate's D.O.A and made it a superhero story. If he had just said adapted from the work of... at the start I could get over it but without that it just felt slimy. That said, I have a real hard time saying no to Bilquis Evely so I did pick up Helen of Wyndorn and I did really enjoy it. With the initial setting in the American west and the mentions of obscurity in the literary world it definitely seemed like a play on Robert E. Howard though I suppose it could be really any pulp writer of the time really. Either way it was a fun start and I hope King can keep it together to land the ending. As an aside, are you keeping up with Thundercats? Without spoiling anything, I think I may only go for one more issue. While I like that it's not trying for a straight up adaptation or continuation of the original series, I don't enjoy that it's pacing and characterization hews so close to the original cartoon. As a kids cartoon from the 80's it was okay that there wasn't much in the way of characterization and that plots were light and quick with out any real development or consequences...but I want more out of a story these days and the book doesn't seem to be going for that. On top of that, outside of giving Tygra muttonchops the character designs are identical to the original series which gives me pause when the plot does diverge from the cartoon. It looks like the original Thundercats so I half expect it to feel the same which gives it a weird feel sometimes. It's like it's trying to have it's cake and eat it too, appealing to the fans of the original series in looks and plot structure while trying for a wider audience with a new origin and the result is neither push really works in my eyes. |
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Mar 17, 2024 9:09:52 GMT -5
Made the trip out to the LCS today and picked up 2 weeks worth of books. Not sure which were this week or last, but this is what I read tonight... Bat-Man: The First Knight #1Excellent start. Love the Perkins art and the retro-period feel of the book. (5/5) Birds of Prey (2023) #7Really digging this book and have become enamored of Kelly Thompson's work that I have read (but haven't rea da lot). I dig the concepts of the Red and the Green, and how they are using them here, and look forward to more (5/5) The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #3Always a fun book and this was a particularly fun romp with Catwoman and Penguin. And at $2.99, it's one of the best values on the shelves. (4/5) Shazam! (2023) #9Looks like this was Waid's swan song on the book as a new writer is listed for next issues. I like what he's set up, but I am not a big enough fan of the character to stick around if the new run starts poorly, and I was kind of meh on this issue. Felt like filler. Fun filler, but filler. And Shadow Thief is a particular favorite of mine and he felt like a throwaway waste here to who had no purpose except to fuel an undeveloped plot line. Least favorite issue of the run so far. (2.5/5) Helen of Wyndhorn #1Love Bilquis Evely's art, and the pulp era stories this one is thematically based on are right in my wheelhouse, but King has a habit of starting strong and finishing weak for me, so we'll see where this goes. I did like the Supergirl run he and Evely did together and I dug the first issue, so let's see where it goes. (4/5) -M I could never get over the fact that King never credited Charles Portis for the plot of his Supergirl story to really get into it, and it was the same was the same with his Human Target as he just completely took the plot of Rudolph Mate's D.O.A and made it a superhero story. If he had just said adapted from the work of... at the start I could get over it but without that it just felt slimy. That said, I have a real hard time saying no to Bilquis Evely so I did pick up Helen of Wyndorn and I did really enjoy it. With the initial setting in the American west and the mentions of obscurity in the literary world it definitely seemed like a play on Robert E. Howard though I suppose it could be really any pulp writer of the time really. Either way it was a fun start and I hope King can keep it together to land the ending. As an aside, are you keeping up with Thundercats? Without spoiling anything, I think I may only go for one more issue. While I like that it's not trying for a straight up adaptation or continuation of the original series, I don't enjoy that it's pacing and characterization hews so close to the original cartoon. As a kids cartoon from the 80's it was okay that there wasn't much in the way of characterization and that plots were light and quick with out any real development or consequences...but I want more out of a story these days and the book doesn't seem to be going for that. On top of that, outside of giving Tygra muttonchops the character designs are identical to the original series which gives me pause when the plot does diverge from the cartoon. It looks like the original Thundercats so I half expect it to feel the same which gives it a weird feel sometimes. It's like it's trying to have it's cake and eat it too, appealing to the fans of the original series in looks and plot structure while trying for a wider audience with a new origin and the result is neither push really works in my eyes. I picked up the 1st issue of Thundercats for Mrs. MRP, but I haven't read it. She liked, but didn't love the issue, so told me not to pick up the rest as she would look at possibly getting the tpb down the line, so no, haven't kept up with Thundercats. The cartoon was "after my time" so to speak (same with G.I. Joe, MOTU and Transformers) as I was not watching much in the way of cartoons by that point in my life because I was working odd jobs afterschool, taking part in afterschool activities, or playing D&D most days rather than coming home and turning on the TV and when I did turn on the TV after school it was MTV not cartoons at that point), so I have zero nostalgic ties to the property and cannot properly compare it to the original show. -M |
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