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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 5, 2015 3:32:07 GMT -5
I'm mystified as to why Bendis ever got popular to begin with, but you'd think that his time at the top has to be getting close to the end. The problem I have with Bendis is that he's isn't close to being as erudite as Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman, nor is he a likeable, whimsical wordsmith like Chris Claremont; he doesn't have the understanding of the genre, or consistency in quality, as writers like Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek and he's not as funny or witty as Peter David. He brings nothing to the table that I like to comics. His writing is superficial snark to me with little redeeming it other than the fact that he positioned himself, through the over-inflated hype of Ultimate Spider-Man, so that he only works on A-list titles and with A-list artists. I dont think Bendis has ever portrayed himself as the next Moore or Gaiman, but I do think its his skills with dialogue that resonate with people. Im no teeny geekboy, anymore, but I have always liked how his characters talk. The conversations always feel real, with people talking over others, and at other times wandering off on tangents before coming back to the main point. Spider-Man was a perfect example of this in Avengers. I prefer these books where theyre discussing, and arguing for page after page, they feel more family like, and more realistic. Ive read thousands of puncheramas over the years, but well constructed discussions, and development or maturation of existing characterisations is something I enjoy. I think Bendis does these well, and I even dont mind if he gives previously 2 dimensional heroes a 3rd. Overdue I say, bring it on.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 4, 2015 14:50:12 GMT -5
Star Wars #11Comments: So, this is the first issue of Marvel's Star Wars comic by the new creative team of Archie Goodwin and Carmine Infantino. For those who might be unaware, by this point in his career Infantino was already regarded as a comics industry legend for his highly influential work on The Flash, Batman and, appropriately enough, the sci-fi superhero series Adam Strange. However, Infantino's art style really isn't all that good a fit for the Star Wars Universe, in my view. Even as a kid, I really didn't much like his artwork on the series – mostly because of its hard angular tenancies, but also because his renditions of Star Wars tech never quite looked right. Take his depiction of the Millennium Falcon in this issue, for instance... On the one hand, it's easily recognisable as being the same spaceship from the movie. But the more you look at it, the more you spot problems with the detail (and perspective, in that first example) and you start to realise that, actually, it's a pretty inaccurate rendering of the craft. The same goes for Infantino's Star Destroyers as well. Oh, and while we're on the subject, the starships that Luke and Leia each left Yavin 4 in look entirely different under Infantino's pencil to how they did when Howard Chaykin and Tom Palmer drew them. Another problem I have with Infantino's art is that sometimes he puts his characters in slightly ungainly poses, which tend to take you out of the story when you encounter them. However, let me just say that although Infantino's artwork looks very un- Star Wars-y and is also kinda ugly looking, I've learned to really love it in spite of its faults or idiosyncrasies. I'm sure that there's a whole lot of nostalgia involved in my adult appreciation of artwork that I so disliked as a child, but for me (and many others of my generation, I'm sure), Infantino's artwork was Star Wars between the years 1978 and 1980. What's more, I've also come to realise that his instincts for storytelling with sequential art were absolutely flawless. Throughout his run on the comic, it's always crystal clear exactly what is going on from one panel to the next. Also, let me just add that I appreciate Infantino showing us Hedji the spiner dying during a flashback in this issue (not seeing this scene in Star Wars #10, was one of my big criticisms of that issue). Terry Austin's contributions to the finished art and inking here are pretty good for the most part, although some of the cast's faces look a little weird or overly harsh at times. Austin also does a good job of toning down some of Infantino's more sharp-cornered tendencies, whereas Bob Wiacek (who would ink a number of future issues) seemed to emphasise it. As for Archie Goodwin's plot and scripting, the characterisations of the core cast seem reasonably good and, as we will see as the series progresses, his stories are usually very good. His prose style is decidedly less romantic or poetic than Roy Thomas' too, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your own personal tastes. Speaking in Back Issue magazine #9, Thomas would comment on Goodwin's writing for Star Wars by saying, "I think Archie Goodwin had a much better feel for it than I did. He was more enthusiastic about it." In addition to writing the Marvel Star Wars comic and the strip appearing in Pizzazz magazine, Goodwin would also go on to pen some excellent adventures for the Star Wars newspaper strip between 1980 and 1984. However, Goodwin's writing in issue #11 doesn't really showcase him at his best. For one thing, with the exception of a brief few pages showing Luke battling a sea-dragon, there's a paucity of action in this issue, with the majority of the story being taken up by Han and Leia conniving to get Crimson Jack to take them to the Drexel system. Also, Crimson Jack seems like a pretty two dimensional character and so does his first mate Jolli, despite a nice little bit of character development in which we learn that she's a committed man hater. Still, Goodwin certainly writes Jack as a genuinely nasty threat (not easy given that he's wearing what look like a pair of Speedos!). For example, the scene where Jack instructs his men to set their blasters for "slow burn" in order to slowly incinerate Han and Chewbacca where they stand, reveals him to be an utterly cruel individual. Overall, this isn't an overwhelmingly auspicious start for the Goodwin/Infantino team. As previously noted, Infantino's artwork isn't really a very good fit for Star Wars and the change from Chaykin and Palmer's art is really quite jarring. Also, this issue is a bit dull compared to the Aduba-3 storyline, and certainly compared to the movie adaptation that preceded that. To be fair though, this comic does spend most of its time setting up stuff that will come to fruition in later issues. Nonetheless, this is definitely the dullest issue of Star Wars so far. Because of your reviews I got the first Omnibus and read it last month. I dont want to pre-empt any of your reviews by getting into specifics but did just want to make a few small comments here. As a kid, I started reading star Wars sometime in the late teens, so Carmine was my first SW artist, and to tell the truth I cant for the life of me remember which issues I started with, though the water planet story did seem familiar. Anyhow I digress, unlike you I found the new creative team to be far superior, Chaykins lacklustre work, combined with Thomas on something he seemed to have no affinity for, produced what for me were a run of juvenile stories. Basic SF, but that childish kind with the Lost In Space type of SF. Vehicles, weapons, and races named so that those who dont read SF "get it". Like an episode of Buck Rogers. For me, once Goodwin and Infantino took over there was an immediate change. While I remember disliking his art as a teen, this time around I found it to be an excellent fit, he has a very kinetic style, lots of movement, and it suits the stories, and Goodwin seemed to have a better feel for the settings and characters. With respect to the inkers, I liked Austins work, and also remember something about Wiacek and Day doing alternate issues for a while, always hated Wiacek and wished for more Day, still do to this day...R.I.P. Gene.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 3, 2015 14:26:24 GMT -5
Doug Moench's greatest creation with the help of Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan - CREATED BANE! His stories involving Bane with Batman are legendary and that's one of the many reasons that I admire his work as a writer and a creator. I hope that you includes him along the way and I will be more than interested in reading your take of this character in a whole. I'm not sure it's humanly possible to disagree more with a post than I disagree with this one. The only good thing I can say about Bane is that at least he's not Doomsday. Slam, I couldnt agree more, from the moment I first encountered him I have loathed every aspect of the character, and the less said about the awfulnessity of KnightsEnd etc the better. As for Mr Moench, I always found him to be a solid, entertaining writer, not my favourite, but good. However MOKF is a work of art.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 1, 2015 18:36:11 GMT -5
Brandon Peterson.... Like these 2, especially Dejah, from the excellent Brando, but Icctrombone, dude I'm sorry, as much as I truly love Preacher, and usually like Glenn Fabry, that portrait of Tulip and her friend makes them look like some meth 'ho out of Breaking Bad.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 1, 2015 18:30:16 GMT -5
I'm not a zombie or horror fan myself which is why I passed up on this series for many, many years. But after reading the first omnibus from the library I got hooked. Its less about zombies and more about characterzation . The story really focuses on cast interplay and society-building amidst a devastated environment. Instead of zombies, it could very well be taking place in a nation occupied by an invading army and the story would hardly change. Plus you never feel safe that main characters will survive. Quite a few have come to shocking conclusions. Try it for free from your library if available. Agreed with this. I would also not classify TWD as "horror". It's more appropriately labelled as post-apocalyptic fiction. The way I explained it to my wife (who thinks it's just about battling zombies) is that it's an exploration of human nature in the absence of societal constraints. What do we become when all the structures and rules of civilized society are no more? The zombies are just the window dressing. Bloody good way of putting it mate, they're almost irrelevant to the show. I've been well impressed with Outcast, and cant recommend Rachel Rising highly enough(as long as you dont expect scary, cos its creepy as all hell). I really enjoyed the first couple years of Revival, but like someone else thought the Empire of the Dead book trailed off rapidly. The book that has impressed me most is Wytches, the first issue is one of the few comics Ive found truly disturbing(in that well written comic sorta way).
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 1, 2015 16:55:35 GMT -5
But didn't events like Crisis on Infinite Earths really actually make an honest change for the DCU? Granted, there was no internet back in 1985, but how heavily was that event advertised? Were big events different back then? And by different, I mean, the impact it had on the actual books and universes. I thought that in principle the Crisis idea was great. 50 years of confusion and convolution were theoretically wiped and creators given a new(ish) slate to work with. DC need to be applauded for having the fortitude to do this, though to be fair the way their sales were heading they probably didnt have a choice. Events like this were advertised heavily in-house, and were generally self-contained until they realised they could tie-in multiple titles and drive up sales on struggling books because of anal-retentive collectors(like I was). The worst examples of this are X-Men events in the 80s and 90s. The advantage Crisis had over Secret Wars is that it stuck (essentially, for like 25 years, the equivalent of their previous Earth One silver age revival), it wasnt just another meaningless fistfight(SW), ...and George Perez. People talked in awe of the job he did here for years, the amount of characters he kept straight etc and I believe that it helped make the series legendary. In comparison what real effect did Secret Wars have on any other title other than introducing the Black Spidey/Venom suit (for which the series should forever be sent to the Phantom Zone, never to return). The others are right about subsequent "events" being of little consequence, with those at DC maybe being a little more effective up until Civil War or so. From this point I think its odd to argue that they didnt work, when they obviously did, sales on Civil War were huge compared to anything else in the industry. Despite what your personal feelings are about a book, if a gazillion people buy it, it was a success. I'll never read Shades of Grey, but the book was very successful. Do my personal feelings change any of that? Nope. I like Civil War, in fact am in awe that it has never happened before, and often. Those macho posturers in their militaristic groups are ticking bombs with short fuses IMHO and really, in extreme situations like this, of course people will say or do things beyond their normal ways. In these politically divisive situations you don't always get everything exactly how you would like. Think about a politically sensitive thing like gun control, you may choose to follow your political leaders, or your conscience, or let one have sway over the other. I just find the argument usually levelled at Bendis, that character xx isn't him/herself, to be weak. I think the reality is someone got pissy because they didnt like their favourite hero getting hurt, and they are going to have a tantrum...now. While I may stick up for(the later)them in general, I dont like every event, I disliked Axis for example, and most are just meh for me, but I treat it like any run on a book I like, love some, hate some, wheres the next one.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 1, 2015 16:23:39 GMT -5
Having read this week's Axel in charge column, I can't help but comparing the two following marketing approaches. On the one hand, I am invited to get all excited about a vast company crossover that will (according to the publisher's own hype) end all the titles I might care about and replace them with several titles with the words "battleworld" and "war zones" it them. Inflated rhetoric makes it sound like this event will be the best thing ever, even if short- term memory confirms that the same arguments are pretty much used every other month to describe some new marketing ploy. More death! More destruction! More things that will never be the same again until they are! On the other hand, Word of mouth invites me to buy the story of a family where mom has wings and dad has horns, simply because it's a damn fine example of great comics. Make mine Image. Easily. *edit* : I have no illusion, of course, about which company will make the most money. Bummer. For the last couple of years I have thought Image provided the most consistent and entertaining comics available. Series like Saga, Manhattan Projects, and East of West have delivered month after month in a way the big two have failed to do. ...and I'm damn glad Im along for the ride.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 1, 2015 16:19:20 GMT -5
That's a fair question, and it is true that special series or big events like CoIE at DC and Secret Wars at Marvel were big deals on the day. While the changes brought about by SW were kind of meh and eventually transitory, DC did change some things... but very few for the better, IMO. And in the process made its shared universe very complicated (far more than it had been pre-crisis) because some changes were too crastic and were later undone in unbelievable ways (Hawkman? Lord, what a mess). But the very success of these first "events" begat increasingly irrelevant attempts at generating the same enthusiasm. CoIE might have been a big thing (even if I didn't particularly cared for it), but Legends? Millenium? War of the gods? Zero Hour? Ultimate Crisis everywhere at the same time? As for Marvel, if Infinity Gauntlet is (somewhat oddly) remembered fondly by many, how many real fans of World War Hulk, Infinity, Fear Itself or Sins Past are there? These editorially-mandated huge crossovers might have nice art and lots of explosions, they usually bring little in tems of dramatic novelty or character development. (I had hopes for Secret Invasion, which openened the door for the return of many characters imprudently killed in the past, but it turned out to be mostly Avengers fighting dinosaurs). Big events have a clear purpose: to get obsessive fans to buy as many event-related comics as possible. Fair enough, these companies are into making money. However, I regret that once upon a time, even big companies like Marvel and DC tried to generate money by making their books more interesting than those of the competition; right now, it looks as if the Big Ones decided that their customers were all suffering from attention deficit disorder, and " interesting" was synonymous with "lots of explosions, lots of death, lots of cheap angst, and no need to develop anything". With the added annoyance of having comics tied ever more tightly to their own derived products like movies and TV series, because that's what gets the most exposure and is thought (I suppose) to be what brings customers to the comics shop. Which I seriously doubt. Reading the editorial staff at Marvel talk abput their stuff, I feel very, very far from the good-natured and clearly tongue-in-cheek bombast of Stan Lee... I feel like I'm reading the words of politicians, carefully vetted by some marketing agency. I asked about CoIE because I am currently reading it, and am led to believe that it brought changes to DC for a good while. And I agree with you on the rest, especially your last sentence. That is the reality of business for them now though, isn't it?. They are in an entertainment media and need to try for the best spin on their news to compete against games, movies, and tv, let alone against DC, Image or Dark Horse. How are they operating any differently than other media ? The times have changed in the 40 plus years since Stans Soapbox made us feel part of another family as kids. its like trying to compare your own home lives to those in Happy Days. "When I was a kid we used to play on the street all day till dark"...well how many parents would let that happen now? Things change and evolve. To be fair I dont recall any of the "axel-in-charge" (or the like) columns being anything other than effusive about their creators, and would apply that to DC with Didio and Lee. If anything they seem to have a worse reputation considering the way people like George Perez were treated when he quit Superman a couple of years back.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Feb 1, 2015 14:41:28 GMT -5
Well the combination of holidays, my lady still working, and a lack of interest in tv led me to read some 300 odd books in Jan. Im a fairly quick reader with most superhero stuff, and can read at least 6-8 books a day just at work.
To tell the truth i dont know how accurate my tallies are, hard to keep track. On top of all the single issues there are a pile of trades just counted singley(hmm whats the correct spelling here).
My most memorable read was The Sixth Gun, a book I had no preconceptions,or expectations of, but has been consistantly fantastic, and I hope to finish the trades I have this month.
I also worked my way through the first Star Wars Omnibus, which was a real chore to start, but became thoroughly enjoyable once the Goodwin/Infantino team started. I had bought/read about half of the issues as they came out, but had absolutely no recollection of them so enjoyed that. Was very impressed with how Infantinos kinetic energy suited the tone of the book, I do remember not being a fan back in the day, but am now.
Now for the controversial call, Im not enjoying Astro City, its a real chore to read, and thats not good. What I have read has been ok, but not amazing which is what Ive expected from years of praises.
I also loved the new Star Wars, enough that I bought a real copy, my first paper comic in some 15 years, enough that Ive subscribed through a kiwi comicbook shop and will get the various ongoings. Its odd that I really felt driven to get the book because its the Star Wars #1, its not like I felt this way 2 years ago when Dark Horse relaunched, and with over a million printed its never going to be an investment, but I really felt compelled to own it.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 29, 2015 11:29:00 GMT -5
Probably the only time I liked Psylocke was in the Uncanny XForce run, and though I want to like X-Men by Wood I cant get past the awful Tolibao art, and the ugly Storm. I really wanted to like the X-Fem but other than loving Monet and also Jubilee as a mommy, its left me cold.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 27, 2015 13:29:10 GMT -5
MDG
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 27, 2015 3:39:40 GMT -5
I've really come around on Heck in recent years. I've come to believe that his earlier work at Marvel was undermined to a degree by poor printing techniques that made his fine line work seem muddied. Inappropriate inking may have played into this as well. I also am not sure straight up superhero stuff was really his forte, even though that's what he was mostly asked to deliver. I think he would have been better suited to something like SHIELD. But the guy could draw a lot better than I or many other fans back in the day gave him credit for. Pre-code Don Heck: Now thats the sort of work I'd be all over now. dbutler69 asked what turned me onto Heck and in thinking about this I cant rightly give a definitive answer. Like many I always thought his style was weak/poor as a kid. Reading the early Avengers comics now though, I see some great work, and some beautiful dames...I guess the title suits women who show up in those noirish stories from the 50s and 60s. Im no scholar of the genre, I cant speak to his storytelling techniques etc but as I have gotten older I am appreciating these older artists from the 40s and 50s. Seeing the works of Heck, Tuska, John Severin, Alex Toth, Johnny Craig, and more names Ive discovered because of this site like Matt Baker and Lou Fine. I know, theres dozens more but Im blanking now. I see the above and Im thinking Francesco Francavilla, is he the only current artist capable of giving us this quality of work, Chris Samnee as well maybe. Anyhow...Heck, Tuska, and Andru get a much fairer judgement from me now, and Im all the better for it.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 27, 2015 3:20:48 GMT -5
Brother if it gives you comfort its 30 degrees here today, um thats 86 in American. Middle of a heatwave, actually more turning into a drought. Hell we're rural and I had to have water delivered a week ago, its gone from $165 for a tank(10,000 litres...um 2,640 gallons) to $200 plus tax in the last year. Sorry man. I guess too much of anything isnt good. Mate even a drought here is nothing compared to the extremes you guys endure, the area I live in ranges from 0-33 degrees (32-90 ), we have had a smattering of snow once since I've been here(8 years), and at worst its a month or so of HOT, and a couple of months of frosts. Im just thankful I dont have to live, work, and drive in snow, endure Hurricanes, Tornadoes, or all the other cool weather thingies you have. Keep it. Thats the American dream I dont want. I have nothing but empathy for the hardships you get, so as useless as it is, Im thinking of you guys.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 26, 2015 5:06:52 GMT -5
Thanks a lot for the reply, very helpful, now I can make some decisions about what to order, and whether its better for me to just buy from a local dealer...high retail but I wont have to pay $20-30 shipping for a book like this.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 26, 2015 4:29:48 GMT -5
Haven't picked up much this year at all so far, but did use an Amazon gift card to snag a couple of Epic collections, the Avengers Final Threat Epic collection collection my personal favorite run of Avengers and the one that made me a lifelong comic fan, #150-166 plus the 2 part story by Starlin from Annual 7 and Marvel Two in One Annual 2, and the Silver Age Cap Epic collection collecting the fake Cap story from Strange Tales, Avengers 4 and most of the Tales of Suspense Cap stories. Planning on making my annual trip down the the Bookery bargain vault sometime in the next few weeks when I get a day with the time and the weather cooperates, so we will see what I come up with there, but I am scaling back on acquiring stuff this year until I get more of what I already have read. -M So this may be the years dumbest question mate, but are they in colour? I ask because wherever I've seen them advertised it doesnt specify. Im trying to work out their relative value, as in compared to Masterworks or Essentials. What niche are they intended to fill, are they a budget or high quality reproduction ?
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