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Post by The Captain on Nov 7, 2021 10:06:19 GMT -5
Surprising that you found the early FF's a slog to get through. It brings up a subject that has been in my mind for a while. There are some series that suffer from binge reading because of the sameness of the stories. I never thought that FF was one of those runs. It's getting better as things progress. I only felt the first 10-15 issues were tough, but then they start to do a few two-part stories as well as give Sue some additional powers, which takes her out of being just the "damsel in distress" for the boys to rescue. I give them some leeway, as they were really trying something new and still figuring it out.
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Post by The Captain on Nov 7, 2021 9:10:06 GMT -5
So much read in the past couple of months that I haven't had time to post here.
Been reading my way through Sandman this year, as I have been picking up one TPB per month of the series. Only have one more to buy, and I just finished "World's End", which is the eighth in the series.
Also been reading Fantastic Four from the beginning and am currently up to issue #32. It's far better than the DC output from the same time period I've read ("oh no, Superman has to marry a gorilla" or "check this, Robin turns into an actual robin"), but it still is very tough to get through for me.
My biggest issue is the repetitiveness of the minor aspects of the stories (Ben and Johnny fighting and wrecking something, Ben storming off because he's mad at Reed, Reed being an insensitive and clueless prat, and Sue's abject uselessness), and while I know that is pretty standard for early Marvel because they didn't want ongoing storylines, it makes for a rough go of it. It really feels like lather, rinse, repeat for issue upon issue.
Now, there is some stuff in there that I like. The ongoing Reed-Sue-Namor triangle actually works, as they do a nice job with Sue being torn between the two (although they haven't gotten into what she LIKES about Namor, other than he doesn't ignore or demean her like Reed does). The villains are pretty decent, although there is too much hand-waving of SASS (Silver Age Silly Science), like what EXACTLY makes Puppet Master's clay work as it does or how EXACTLY does Mad Thinker's computer work to know to the precise second when something is going to happen. I guess for readers in the early 1960s, it was a simpler era and they didn't need to know how the watch was made, just that the watch could tell them the time, and that was enough.
Probably going to finish the FF Omnibus #1 in the next day or two, then will either go to the Epic Collection that follows right after or jump to the Spidey Epic collecting the issues from the late #80s to early #100s.
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Post by The Captain on Nov 2, 2021 14:39:39 GMT -5
Moon Knight #4 was my clear winner of the week, as it revealed MK's ringtone is "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen, one of my top-five all-time favorite bands.
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Post by The Captain on Oct 31, 2021 10:52:46 GMT -5
I had done some work recently helping the owner of my LCS sell some Magic: The Gathering cards he'd had back in his storeroom for over two decades. He knew I was still connected with the game and asked me to take a look at what he had, and I was able to sell some of the cards for a decent amount (almost $1000 total).
For my time and effort, he gave me two Sandman TPBs (The Kindly Ones and The Wake), as I have been buying one of those per month from him this year to collect the whole series, and a copy of Batman #378 that I was going to pick up because it had a Mad Hatter appearance.
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Post by The Captain on Oct 29, 2021 19:30:27 GMT -5
Brother Power the Geek #3.
Gotta be that one.
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Post by The Captain on Oct 28, 2021 5:47:11 GMT -5
Yeah, was just thinking yesterday that a Tomb of Dracula movie or series would be really cool We are supposedly getting a Blade TV series, which could be a sort of ToD series, depending on how they do it, but it wouldn't focus on Dracula obviously. That said, I don't think they'll actually introduce Dracula into the MCU. There would have to be a lot of explanation about how he exists there, so they'd likely just create another "Big Bad" vampire to serve that role.
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Post by The Captain on Oct 27, 2021 12:00:14 GMT -5
For me, it's Guardians 2.
There's nothing redeeming about it, and it ultimately adds zero to the MCU's continuing narrative. Absolutely nothing that occurs in that movie has any impact on anything that comes after it.
Mantis is only useful if they're going to do the Celestial Madonna story, which they're not, so she's just another quirky kook on the team.
Jokes are cringe-worthy, story is pointless.
I've watched it twice. Once on opening day, once with my daughters. There will NEVER be a third viewing.
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Post by The Captain on Oct 25, 2021 5:59:44 GMT -5
It's a good versus Evil World Series now that it's Astro/Braves. Lets' go Braves ! As a Pirates fan, there is nothing on earth that could ever get me to root for the Braves. I still remember exactly where I was and who I was with that fateful night in 1993 when Barry Bonds candy-armed his throw home and the Braves beat the Bucs to reach the WS. However, I could never bring myself to root for a team managed by Dusty Baker, so I guess it's... Go Meteor Strike!!
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Post by The Captain on Oct 24, 2021 16:18:46 GMT -5
Went out with my younger daughter yesterday to run some errands in the morning and wound up at three different places to buy comics. No floppies, but I did pick up:
Captain America Marvel Masterworks #4 (issues #114 - 124) Yes, I already own all of these issues in floppy. That said, this was 1/2 off (it came from the same collection as the Nick Fury Masterworks I bought last month) and while this may be sacrilege to some around here, I refuse to read my copy of #117. It's at least a 7.0, probably pushing closer to an 8.0, and that puts it in the $800 - $1,000 range. Buying a collected edition that has it, along with 10 other issues, for $27.50 is well worth the protection of not putting my hands on a high-grade key book.
Amazing Spider-Man "Death of Captain Stacy" Epic Collection Been waiting for this for a while, as it bridges the gap between two other Spidey Epics that I own. Just waiting for one more (which should cover issues 124-142), which I expect next year (Punisher's 50th anniversary, which makes it perfect timing), and I will own a copy of every Spidey story from #1 through #400.
Couple of Hellblazer TPBs Picked these up at Half-Price Books for, yes, 1/2 price of cover. Both of them collect Garth Ennis stories, from issues 41 - 46 and issues 62 - 67. Not something I actively seek, but if I can find any of these used, I will grab them in a heartbeat.
Also picked up the last TPB of Fraction/Aja's Hawkeye run (the Clint issues), as I have the other three TPBs in the series and both of my daughters want to read these before the Disney+ show drops in November (we already have our night before Thanksgiving planned).
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Post by The Captain on Oct 22, 2021 11:13:26 GMT -5
Another one bites the dust: Superman colorist Gabe Eltaeb has quit DC because they're, "too woke" and I have to say it sounds like good riddance: I mean, rather than it being a huge conspiracy, shouldn't it give you pause to think, "Hey, if literally everything says this idea is wrong...maybe I should reflect on my views?" Nah, must be a conspiracy. I have an idea for this guy. Creator-owned is a real thing these days, so he doesn't HAVE to work for DC or some other "too woke" company. If he feels strongly about getting his views into a comic book where he says that leftism is bad and conservatism is good, then he should create his own characters, get financing, and publish that book. He can have his voice, and if that is what people want to read, they'll buy it; if not, they won't. That's the whole concept of capitalism, isn't it, and if the current market doesn't have those kind of books, maybe it's because NO ONE FORKING WANTS THEM!
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Post by The Captain on Oct 10, 2021 15:51:38 GMT -5
Nice pick-ups, Icctrombone and tartanphantom! Lot of really cool stuff in there. I'm on vacation this week and hope to spend at least one day on the comic hunting front. There are a lot of home projects to work on, especially outside, but we're getting rain a couple of days, so I might head indoors to the $1 boxes at the LCS one of them.
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Post by The Captain on Sept 29, 2021 18:52:04 GMT -5
R. I. P. Tommy Kirk. The end of Old Yeller traumatized generations. How was the end traumatic? They took Old Yeller to a farm and let him run around with the other dogs who were sent there, right? Right?
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Post by The Captain on Sept 29, 2021 15:57:15 GMT -5
Oh dear... I was really looking forward to that....hope I like it better! I was looking forward to it too, but man it was just so dry and nonsensical I made the decision to skip this the moment it was announced. Glad to see my instincts paid off. Hopefully the continuation of Fables doesn't suck, but with how the series petered out in its initial run, I'm content with trade-waiting and making the call on it once the first few issues are out.
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Post by The Captain on Sept 26, 2021 12:24:46 GMT -5
Yup, I'm on board with that trailer.
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Post by The Captain on Sept 23, 2021 13:29:55 GMT -5
Found these two al Wallyworld today while I was there picking up packing materials... They had a bunch of Iron Mans and Black Panthers, but only one of each of these, plus an Elektra (which I already had) and an Iceman, which I passed on. -M I haven't bought action figures in years (not since they remade the Star Wars figured back in the 90s), but I may have to track down that Cap figure. It's really sweet looking.
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