I Read Comic Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
What are you reading right now?
>
What are you reading right now? (August 2024)
date
newest »
newest »
Reading: My effinβ� life by Geddy Lee, Lolthβs Warrior by Salvatore, and Clint Eastwood by Schickel. All good stuff!
Last week's adventures in comics.The Forever People β β β β
I've always heard this was the worst of Kirby's Fourth World books but I quite liked it. Well except for the Deadman issues. Those stunk. The Forever People are the hippies of New Genesis. They're running around, getting in random trouble with everyone they meet. The villains are fun and inventive which is what matters most in a 50 year old comic.
Mister Miracle β β β β
This turned out to be my favorite of Jack Kirby's Fourth World books. Probably because it was the simplest premise. Scott Free becomes this crazy escape artist while Darkseid's minions show up to threaten him. Once Big Barda shows up it gets even better. I love how she's the physical powerhouse of the book. This was written at the start of the seventies and to see such a powerful woman mentally and physically is a sight to behold. The back half of the book comes after the rest of the Fourth World books were cancelled. There's a shift in focus back to crazy escapes and Earth villains with the Female Furies following Big Barda to Earth almost as sidekicks.
DC Graphic Novel #4: The Hunger Dogs β β
I just finished reading all of Kirby's Fourth World comics from the early 70's, which are great. This is not. It's an indecipherable mess. The story is just all over the place. I don't know if Kirby forgot about what he did originally or if it was a DC editorial thing but I couldn't tell what was going on at all. The dialogue is so bad. The story is difficult to follow. Even though the term 'micromark' is used dozens of times, I still don't know what it is.
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Vol. 4 β β β�
In volume 4, Jimmy Olsen had finished and both New Gods and Forever People were winding down. This is really the back half of the Mister Miracle run. You can see the book clearly start to move away from the Fourth World stuff and embrace Mister Miracle as an escape artist. Each issue had at least one crazy set up and miraculous escape. It also introduces Shilo Norman as Scott's apprentice. Then we hand wave it all away in the last issue as everyone heads back to New Genesis after a hurried wedding of Scott and Big Barda.
Then there's a new story from a reprint run and the Hunger Dogs graphic novel from 85 that was supposed to tie everything up. It's a complete mess. Trying to fit about 200 issues of comics into a short graphic novel just doesn't work. Plus, DC made him rework the pages from standard comic book size to the graphic novel size of the time which is more square bound. There's all this wasted space at the top and bottom.
Superman: House of Brainiac β β β�
This was fine. Glad I waited to read it on DCIU though. Superman and the House of El fight Brainiac and some Czarians. That's about it. The Brainiac Queen seems to just be a stand in for the queen from Aliens. I bit of a lackluster lead in to Absolute Power.
Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest β β
Five issues of a nice big bowl of Ann Nocenti's word salad. This is terrible. None of it really makes any sense. Nitro, the guy who killed off the original Captain Marvel, returns to do absolutely nothing. There's subplots of dumping garbage on other worlds and kids whining about how the older generation have ruined everything and they should just die now. None of it has anything to do with anything. The new villain, Nada, has a lot to say but also says nada. She just spouts whatever story comes to her head to later contradict it with another one. I really don't understand what she must have on those in the comic book industry that people keep giving Nocenti work.
The Sixth Gun Omnibus Vol. 3 β β β β
A fitting ending to a terrific series. You can see that the fighting was stretched out a bit to get this series to 50 issues but that didn't lessen my enjoyment at all. Hurtt is so good at crafting action sequences that I was fine with it. Not too many surprises as this wound up and in this case I think it works. It was already a great premise with these 6 guns with supernatural powers in the Old West that you didn't really need anything else.
Godzilla: Awakening β β
A ho hum prequel to the 2014 movie of Godzilla that started the monsterverse. There really isn't a story here. Just a series of check-ins from 1945 to 1980 on this one man who believes in Godzilla when no one else does. You'd think this would be better considering the screenwriter of the movie wrote it.
Talli, Daughter of the Moon Vol. 1 β β β�
A solid but standard fantasy story about a princess fleeing her keep after it has been invaded. She's part of some mysterious faction that is persecuted and explained as the story goes along. The art is straight up manga house style.
The Vampire Huntress Legends: Dawn and Darkness β�
This was terrible. It takes place after 12 previous novels and there's no introduction at all to any of these characters even though this is the first comic book based in this world. All of the women in this group of vampire hunters are pregnant but maintain 3 inch waists. They mention it multiple times that they are pregnant. I guess they just found out yesterday. They don't fight vampires either, but demons even though the title says she's a vampire huntress. This was like reading a book in a foreign language or I no longer understood English.
The Avengers, Vol. 3 β β β�
It's an all tie-in volume for this volume of Avengers. First up is a Fall of the House of X 2 parter where the Avengers wipe out Orchis in a day. The X-Men should have gotten them involved much sooner because they just cleaned house. Then Captain America gathers a bunch of former Avengers to protect a SHIELD helicarrier full of people being gathered like cattle by Nazi vampires.
Hexes Vol. 1 β β
I wasn't really sure what was going on with this. It's four one issue stories with a supernatural bent. The storytelling was obtuse though and I wasn't very sure about what was going on in any of it.
Real, Vol. 1 β
β
β
β
3 young men try to get their lives back on track after becoming disabled and bond over wheelchair basketball. It's a slow burn, but I'm going to stick with it.
Superman, Vol. 1: Son of Superman β β β β β�
My favorite Superman book I've read.
JLA: The Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1 β β
I wasn't feeling this. The writing felt clunky. The art was alright.
Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3 β β β β β�
A perfect run. The arcs after this by Waid & Wieringo are good too, but they couldn't rise to the same heights. Read on Marvel Unlimited.
Spider-Man: The Next Chapter, Vol. 1 β β β�
It doesn't feel the need to be grand journey, which I know is a backhand complement. I can't explain why, but it became something I could read on my break.
Just finished Shubeik Lubeik, a rare example of a graphic novel from Egypt, translated into English. The title basically means "Your wish is my command", and in this version of reality wishes from genies in bottles are real. But they are regulated by governments, and considered sinful by many.At first it seemed to be an unoriginal story about how wishes can go wrong. But it gets more interesting for me in part 2 which is about a young woman who is dealing with depression. After trying doctors she buys a wish but struggles with whether she should use it, and if so, exactly what do you wish for to 'fix' yourself?
Today's trip to my LCS.Cheetara #2
The Goon: Them That Don't Stay Dead #2
Absolute Power #2
Avengers #17
Birds of Prey #12
Doctor Strange #18
Incredible Hulk #15
Scarlett #3
Space Ghost #4
Ultimate Black Panther #7
Gatchaman #2
Uncanny X-Men #1
Mod
What folks read this week:
- Paul: Hogbook and Lazer Eyes
- Brian: Alien, Vol. 3: Icarus
- Zach: William of Newbury #1
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
---
I also read Ψ΄Ψ¨ΩΩ ΩΨ¨ΩΩ Shubeik Lubeik recently! It's a pretty heavy read and took me a few weeks to get through. There are three stories in the book that all impact the other stories. I would read one story and sit with it for awhile before reading the next one.
Recent Highlights:Saga #67 - I didn't realize how much I missed these characters
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, and Green #3 - I think this was my favorite issue so far. The stories are all really different stylistically, and all work really well
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024-) #7 - this series is still super strong, I really like a lot of the choices this issue and where they're going...can't really say more without spoilers ;)
γ·γ§γΌγγ·γ§γΌγγ�! 1 Shouha Shouten! 1 - read for the IRCB challenge. I love how Manga has a chosen one story about every single thing a person could possibly be or do
The Ultimates 2, Volume 2: Grand Theft America - this was the next book in my complete (OG) Ultimate read through. It is also the first Ultimates book I actually enjoyed. I have a pretty low tolerance for Millar's edgelord stuff, but this volume managed to win me over (mostly)
Last week's reading:Justice League International: The Secret Gospel of Maxwell Lord β β β�
Coming fresh from Justice League: A New Beginning, I was hoping for more of the same. While there are elements of what made me enjoy the previous volume, they are diluted with the confusion that is the crossover with Millennium. In the end I interleaved both which helped make them more sense. Once the Millennium crossover was finished, we conclude with an interesting explanation of Maxwell Lord, which was more inline with the light humour of before.
Millennium β β
There wasn't much to like reading this. The initial concept seemed interesting, but the chosen people were forgettable, or outright scum. Lots of overt political commentary, an echo of it's time, with little drive to the plot. What's clear is that, unlike many crossover events, core elements of the story were told in issues not collected here. I happened to have Justice League International: The Secret Gospel of Maxwell Lord, which at least gave a couple of the crossover issues. Definitely an anti-climatic chapter in the DC Event run.
Batman: The Killing Joke β β β β
It's been a while since I last read it, and it's more compelling than I remember and still just as disturbing. That such a powerful story can be told in so few pages, indeed with several dialogue-less panels, is a testament to the power of the visual medium when used well. This is Batman and Joker at their finest, and the consequences of this story for Barbara Gordon lasted until the New 52.
Last week's adventures in comics.House of Slaughter, Vol. 5: The Butcher's War β β β�
Jace is back and this is the story I'm here for. The House of Slaughter heads south to team up with the House of Butcher to hunt Jace down. There's some cool twists. The ending was kind of unclear to me though. Partly due to Fuso's art, partly due to muddled storytelling at the end.
Hallows' Eve β β β β
A very pleasant surprise these days. A Spider-Man comic I actually like. It spins out of Dark Web so you will want to have brushed up on that dumpster fire. But it's a simple self contained little miniseries. Janine is robbing banks to get enough funds to skip town with Ben Reilly. Her endless bag of Halloween masks are cool, giving her various powers.
Appleseed, Vol. 1: The Promethean Challenge β β β�
First off, I'll just say that the art is terrific. The story though is often unclear. I have a feeling that this may not be the best translation to English. The story is about a woman and a cyborg who have been hiding out in the ruins of a city after World War III. They find a city, Olympus, that is still thriving. They decide to become police to earn their keep and the woman gets a mech suit. There's a bunch of other stuff going on but I missed a lot of it. The constant footnotes for special effects was really distracting. I don't need those translated and they kept shifting my attention away from the panels.
Ranger Academy Vol. 2 β β
Way too much time fretting over secrets. It drove me nuts. Most of the time, they don't even mention what they even are. It's just nonstop hand wringing and not much storytelling.
Moon Knight: City of the Dead β β β�
Marc Spector has to head to the Egyptian Land of the Dead to save a boy's life. There in the Duat he has to fight all the former enemies he's killed along with meeting the lost love of his life who was only introduced recently in the MCU show. It's not bad actually.
Search and Destroy Vol. 1 β β β β
This was really cool. Kaneko's reimagining of Osamu Tezuka's Dororo takes the classic tale giving it a cyberpunk bent. This girl with deadly robotic limbs is seeking out the 48 people who stole body parts from her. It's very graphic and violent and I'm here for it.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 1 β β β�
Solid story about a police squad that tackles difficult cases in the Ghost in the Shell world full of cyborgs and the like. The opening story is a hostage situation with one of the countries ministers.
The Sons of El Topo Omnibus β β
A really weird Western filled with all kinds of odd magic elements that kind of just come out of no where. There's some wild elements in this. Women don't ever seem to fare well in these European comics from these old guys. There's a lot of rape and then a ton of nonstop female nudity for no real purpose other than to make it "adult".
Ladronn's art is exceptional. I wondered where that guy was hiding out. A strange sequel to a 50 year old movie.
Coda, Vol. 3 β β β�
A fitting ending to this series where magic is dying and the fantasy creatures left are fighting over the scraps. Bergara's art worked for me better in this last volume. Maybe it was just stepping away from it for awhile. He's a talented artist and the art is super detailed. It's just so much sometimes that it's difficult to tell what's happening.
Coda: False Dawns β β
Spurrier and Bergara missed a real opportunity by not calling this A Coda for Coda. This is OK. It's long winded like most Spurrier stuff is. Our husband and wife team try to talk two groups that are the complete opposite of what they say they stand for are on a collision course for disaster with one another.
Life Zero β β β�
A solid zombie comic with some terrific art by Marco Checchetto. The third act goes off the rails some and I wasn't for sure at all what happened with the tacked on ending. That's why I took off a star.
Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay Vol. 3: Blood Hunt β β β β
And so ends Jed MacKay's run on Doctor Strange. He's killed him off and brought him back. Turned Clea into my favorite character in the book and an utter badass. After a couple of single issues, this is all about Blood Hunt. It does spoil some things in Blood Hunt so I'd read that first if you plan on reading it. It ends with setting up things for a new status quo for Strange and Clea in the future.
Children of the Black Sun Vol 1 β β
There's some decent horror elements here but it moved so damn slowly. It's kind of a variation on Village of the Damned. Twice in the past this black sun rose and drove everyone crazy. Children conceived on those 2 days were born a little different. Most of the people in this town are slowly going crazy plagued with paranoia of what is wrong with these kids who are albinos and strange. The end was very much, "OK, what the Hell is going on now?" I didn't think the art was all that great.
Animal Castle Vol 1 β β β�
A slightly different take on Animal Farm. The main characters are a new mother cat, a gigolo rabbit and a travelling rat as they begin their acts of civil disobedience against the dogs and bull forcing them into forced labor at the animal castle. It's a solid story but a long winded one. There is so much text. Where this truly shines is the artwork.
Promethee 13:13 β β β β
This was pretty cool. It's about a woman who was abducted by aliens when she was a child. She's had visions ever since about the Apocalypse which turn out to be real. Turns out this is a prequel to a French comic which I'm going to need to track down now.
The Library Mule of Cordoba β β β β
When I heard there was a comic taking place in Cordoba, I knew I had to read it. Cordoba is a ancient city in Spain and is the home of a gorgeous mosque that has been there for over a 1,000 years. At one point the Moors controlled the Southern half of Spain for generations.
When their leader dies, his son is only 11 and his vizier seizes power. The vizier burns most of the books in its library which is a great loss to history. The comic is about a eunuch, a learned slave and a thief who escape with a donkey full of books before they can be burned. It's their trek as they try and escape with this donkey greatly overburdened by so many books that will otherwise be lost to history. I will say that this is a fictional tale and most of these books were lost to history. I really liked the story though. You learn quite a bit about the history of the time along with getting a compelling story.
Kingsman: The Big Exit β β β�
A short 6 page story written for Playboy before it was sold off for parts. It's fine.
Porcelain β β
A girl and her cat get sucked into a strange house she must escape from. It gives off faux Alice in Wonderland vibes at times. In reality most of it is just random panels going through this funhouse with zero story. Llovet is a gifted artist. These pages would look great on a wall as artwork. They don't function as much of a story though.
Eros/Psyche β β
I reread this as part of this Ablaze collection for Maria Llovet and I thought it was even dumber this go around. Just a really crap story.
Mod
What folks read this week:
- Mike: Of Thunder & Lightning
- Kait: Ψ΄Ψ¨ΩΩ ΩΨ¨ΩΩ Shubeik Lubeik
- Danny: Red Before Black #1
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at h
---
Of Thunder & Lightning β β β β
Mike loved this book and recommended it on the podcast this week. I can't say that I love it as much as he does, but I still saw all the emotion in it. The character design was also cool. I wish there was a little more to the story.
The Chromatic Fantasy β β β β β�
This is also one of Mike's recommendations. I read this on hoopla but I can see that the colors would likely pop really nicely in print. This book is incredibly imaginative. I never could have predicted the exact way this story ends. I love the slow unwinding of the couple revealing their backstories to one another. Heads up that there's a lot of sex in this book.
Today's trip to my LCS.X-Men #2
X-Factor #1
Geiger #5
Immortal Thor #14
Outsiders #10
Transformers #11
Defenders of the Earth #1
Jonny Quest #1
Death in the Family: Robin Lives #2
Ultimates #3
i'm reading the marvel zombies comics chronologically. they're being fun, i'm not gonna lie (?
Last week's adventures in comics.Ablaze Artist Spotlight: Maria Llovet β β
If you enjoy pretty pictures but crap storytelling you may enjoy this collection of two of Maria Llovet's comics. This collects Eros/Psyche and Porcelain.
Eros/Psyche is about a boarding school for girls where girls fall for each other while vaguely studying magic I guess. The storytelling is just awful and gives you almost nothing more than smoldering glances.
Porcelain is about a girl and her cat who go to town and get waylaid in this mystery house where this woman will turn you into a porcelain doll if she catches you. It's more art pages than an actual story though.
Damn Them All, Volume 1 β β β�
What to do when DC cancels your Hellblazer run? Create your own female John Constantine. In a world where magic is supposed to be hard, it just got a lot easier. 72 demons have been freed from Hell and can be controlled by a coin. Enter this world's version of Gemina, Constantine's niece as she knows at some point the other shoe will drop with these demons and she's out to exorcise them all.
Damn Them All, Volume 2 β β β�
One of Spurrier's better books. It's still overly wordy and convoluted, but actually manageable to stick with it.
Gun Honey: Collision Course β β β�
The writing's not as tight in this volume and somehow Ardai comes up with even more ridiculous ways to have the women naked. Still it's a fun series.
Breaking the Dark (Marvel Crime, #1) β β β�
The first prose book in the Marvel Crime line of novels. It's fitting to use Jessica Jones in this first book. She's a P.I. and a former superhero in the comics as well. If you were to set this into her comics continuity, it'd be in her original Alias era when she was drinking hard and fooling around while completing investigations.
The story itself is about a well to do mother who comes in. Her twin teenagers spent a month with their father in England and now have come home different, not acting like themselves. So Jessica gets involved, eventually heading to England to investigate after she determines this woman isn't crazy, there is something up with these two.
The Goon, Volume 4: Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof β β β β
Another fun and crazy volume of The Goon. Goon's gangster friends start up an old timey football team. A great Christmas Carol spoof and then the return of Dr. Alloy. These stories do such a great job of taking a bunch of different genres and swirling them up in a blender into their own thing.
The Goon, Volume 5: Wicked Inclinations β β β β β�
The Goon gets a horror edge to it as the war with the zombie priest heats up. Lots of action in this one.
The Goon, Volume 6: Chinatown and The Mystery of Mr. Wicker β β β β
The Goon gets serious in his first OGN. Powell's been waiting to do this story for awhile. It's about why he's something of a curmudgeon and how he got those scars on his face. Not much humor to be found in this installment which is atypical. Powell somehow managed to step up his artistic game. (His art was already fantastic.) He uses some different techniques to show you when the story is taking place and it all looks so deliciously good.
Criminal, Vol. 1: Coward β β β β β�
Brubaker and Phillips give us a story we've all read before, but they tell it so well it kept me hooked.
Leo is the best thief in town, but he has a reputation for rabbiting at the first sign of trouble. A crooked cop comes to him with a big score, to rob the evidence track as it's shipping diamonds to a trial. Of course, things don't go as planned.
Criminal, Vol. 2: Lawless β β β β β�
Tracy Lawless breaks out of military prison once discovering his little brother was murdered during his incarceration. Now he's going to infiltrate Ricky's gang to find out what happened to him. Brubaker and Phillips introduce the Lawless family here who will keep popping up throughout this book. I really like what they are doing here with this book. Crime fiction at its finest.
Criminal, Vol. 3: The Dead and the Dying β β β β
Three individual stories set in 1972, all with different motives and perspectives. I like how Brubaker weaved these stories together and how they overlap one another.
Criminal, Vol. 4: Bad Night β β β β β�
Best volume of the series yet. Brubaker and Phillips really knock it out of the park with this twisty-turvy and just plain twisted gut-punch of a story.
Jacob, the counterfeiter from book 2, is back and stars in this tale of deception, kidnapping, murder and lies. Jacob now lives a quiet life drawing a Dick Tracy type comic strip. One night he helps a girl with a douche of a boyfriend out, giving her a ride home. His life descends into hell from there, a hell he can't quite manage to escape.
Criminal, Vol. 5: The Sinners β β β β β�
Tracy Lawless from volume 2 returns. He's now under the thumb of Mr. Hyde just like his father was and is looking to pay off his debt. Hyde has ordered him to find out who is behind the murders of several large criminals in town. They've all been gotten to within their strongholds with no evidence left at the scene. Lawless is no detective and goes through the same M.O. of a lot of traditional gumshoes. Stir up a bunch of shit and see what pans out. To add fuel to the fire, the military police have been sent to track down Lawless and bring him back for going AWOL.
Pine & Merrimac β β β β
A comic about husband and wife detectives. She was a homicide detective who couldn't abide murder. He is an ex MMA fighter. Now they run their own detective agency in a small town. These two are adorable. They're full of witty banter and love for one another. The mystery they get embroiled in could be stronger. It relies on a lot of tropes more than anything else.
Travelling to Mars β β
Russell has seemed to move past satire into full on hopelessness. Travelling to Mars is the story of a man dying of cancer who has accomplished nothing in his life. He's been sent on a one way trip to Mars to claim it for a fake meat corporation. The issues are mostly rambling self reflecting on a wasted life as we see glimpses of humans fighting over a dying earth.
Smooth Criminals Vol. 1 β β β�
A hacker in 1999 and a time displaced cat burglar from 1969 plan a big score. It's fun, light and airy.
Smooth Criminals Vol. 2 β β
This falls apart in the 2nd half by trying to stuff too many subplots in 4 issues. There's not enough time to give any of them enough service and it just feels half-assed.
Eve: Children of the Moon β β
I really enjoyed the original Eve comic. It was a very compelling story about trying to fix the end of the world. This sequel, not so much. It feels like a tacked on cash grab more than furthering the story and worldbuilding of the first one.
Dead by Daylight: The Legion β�
This was terrible. If you haven't played the video game then you'll have little idea what's going on. A comic should be able to stand on its own. It seems to dodge in between scenes from the game, either that or it's just bad storytelling that doesn't line up and tell a story properly.
I finally completed and reviewed the regular series Marvel Comics published from 2019 after regaining the rights to Conan for a few years: Conan the Barbarian: Life and Death of Conan;
Conan the Barbarian, Vol. 3: Into the Crucible;
Conan the Barbarian, Vol. 4: Land of the Lotus;
Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 1: The Cult of Koga Thun;
Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 2: Conan the Gambler.
Today's trip to my LCS.Get Fury #4
Crocodile Black #4
Thundercats #7
Archer & Armstrong #1
Jenny Sparks #1
Predator Versus Black Panther #1
Destro #3
World's Finest #30
Nightwing #117
Redcoat #5
Titans #14
Ultimate Spider-Man #8
Mod
What folks read this week:
- Mike: Blurry
- Kara: PS Magazine: The Best of the Preventive Maintenance Monthly
- Kait: Little Monarchs
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
---
Little Monarchs β β β β β�
I really enjoyed this and read it one sitting. It's a dystopian story told from the POV of a kid who is traveling with a scientist. It's fairly whimsical for a post-apocalypse story. They're trying to find the cure to a virus. Through the kid's "journal entries" the reader learns real things about Monarch butterflies.
Rust Vol. 1: Visitor in the Field β β β β β�
This takes place on a struggling farm. The only action in this book is a fight between a kid with a jetpack and a giant robot. Otherwise the book takes its time to establish characters and backstory. There's a feeling of antiquity to everything in this story. My only complaint is that I'm out of hoopla borrows and can't get the next volume until September.
Lullaby of the Dawn, Vol. 1 β β β β β�
It took me a bit to get into this manga but by the end I was totally invested. The story takes place on an island where creatures live in the sea and come out at night. There is a network of protectors and the protagonist befriends one of them at the beginning of the book. The cover of this is more lusty than the story actually is. This book also ends in a cliffhanger and I also have to wait until September for volume 2.
---
I feel like I rate everything 5 stars, but I mostly just don't mention the books I don't like >.<
Last week's adventures in comics.Total Suplex of the Heart β β β�
This was a nice surprise. I hate wrestling so I was pleasantly surprised to like this book. It also had more heart and humor in it than I expected. It's loosely based on the author's life. The main character is trying to make it writing for online websites and goes to write about the local wrestling circuit in New Jersey. She quickly gets embroiled in the life and it becomes about her circling around the wrestlers, male and female.
The Goon: Bunch of Old Crap Volume 2: An Omnibus β β β β
This collects volumes 4-6 of the original trades, which is really 2 collections of trades and the OGN Chinatown and The Mystery of Mr. Wicker. If you've never read The Goon, what are you waiting for. Powell is an excellent cartoonist. He has this way of mixing comedy and action that feels unique. The Goon is about the title character and his friend Franky. They run a local old-timey gang and fight monsters that threaten their neighborhood.
Criminal, Vol. 6: The Last of the Innocent β β β β
I never would have guessed that the next installment of Criminal would be a dark, twisted version of Archie and Veronica where the two have gotten married and have it all. Except that Archie isn't happy and decides to off Veronica for her family's money. Jughead (Freakout) is a junkie trying to escape drug addiction. Betty, Moose, and Reggie analogues appear in the story as well. Just in case you think you are imagining things, Sean Phillips pencils the flashbacks in a cartoony style reminiscent of Riverdale.
Criminal, Vol. 7: Wrong Time, Wrong Place β β β β
This volume only has two stories in it, somewhat interconnected. The first is about Teeg Lawless. Someone has put a hit out on him while he's in county lockup for the last month. It's interspersed with a Conan knockoff comic that he's reading.
The 2nd story is about Teeg's son, Tracy, when he was 12. His dad takes him on the road on a job. You really see what a piece of shit Teeg is while Tracy just struggles to be a kid. This one is interspersed with a kung-fu werewolf comic.
My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies β β β�
Brubaker and Phillips return to the world of Criminal and it's just OK. It plods for the first half as this girl drones on and on about how she likes famous people known to be drug addicts. It's about a girl who gets sent to rehab where she meets a boy and they fall for one another. The ending really saves it from being an overall dud.
Fate: The Winx Saga Vol.1: Dark Destiny β�
Apparently, this is a continuation of a Netflix series that ended on a cliffhanger. This could be a master class on how not to write a licensed comic book though. There's no entry point for new readers. It starts up as if you were a superfan of the series. It just felt they were speaking nonsense for 100 pages. I picked up that it's some kind of Hogwarts for fairies, even though they just seem like normal magicians. I had no idea what was going on and still didn't by the end really either.
Earthdivers, Vol. 3: 1776 β β
This go around, the Native American youth from the end of the world head back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence to try and alter it slightly to include all races and genders and not just land owning white men who are created equal. This thing gets really complicated though and I didn't know what was happening half the time. The constant flipping back and forth between 1776 and 2112 made it really difficult to follow. The other thing I didn't like is that this ended with an oversized issue to clean everything up that wasn't sold on its own. I'd be really pissed if I bought this in singles and had to buy this whole trade just to read the final issue.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 2 β β β β
This thing is a tome. It looks like an old Sears catalog. It's even thicker than my Cerebus trades. It's very good though, especially the illustrations. I love the use of pen and crosshatching on pages meant to look like a kid drawing in a notebook.
The story does meander at times. Others, it's just taking its time to get places. And most of your questions from volume 1 don't get answered which can be frustrating. But I always enjoyed the ride. I love the fake covers for monster comics as chapter breaks. I was never bored with this even though it's over 600 pages. It's pretty clear Ferris has more in store for us and I, for one, can't wait.
Weapon X-Men β β β�
This was alright. A bunch of Wolverines from alternate timelines fight a version of Onslaught consisting of Magneto and Jean Grey. It's fine but I'm sick of alternate timeline stories that don't really matter.
Gunnerkrigg Court, Volume 1: Orientation β β β�
Antimony Carver is sent to on odd school supposedly for science. But fairies, dragons and demons and other magical elements soon raise their heads. This reminds me a lot of Harry Potter if JJ Abrams had gotten a hold of it. There is mystery box after mystery box introduced but we don't get any answers in this volume.
Gunnerkrigg Court, Volume 2: Research β β β β
The art has gotten much better from volume 1. Much more expressive and defined faces. The world building is also starting to come together. Instead of just introducing mystery box after mystery box, Siddell has picked up those threads from volume 1 and started to weave a cohesive mythology out of them. A great all ages title for both kids and adults.
Batman/Superman: World's Finest Vol. 5: Secret Origins β β β�
An odds and ends package of stories. #18 and #19 are a new origin story for Batman and Superman's first meeting. It's very good. Then issue #25 is the Joker and Lex Luthor's first team up and it's OK. The annual isn't even about Batman or Superman. It's got stories for Metamorpho, a young Bumblebee and the Challengers of the Unknown instead.
The Goon, Volume 7: A Place of Heartache and Grief β β β β β�
A new threat has even the zombie priest scared. These five issues are mainly groundwork for the future. Still, great fun fighting monsters and collecting ill-gotten gains and The Goon and Franky aren't the good guys either, just the less bad guys that take care of their friends in the neighborhood.
The Goon, Volume 8: Those That Is Damned β β β β
The 2nd book of Labrazio's return remains very dark. The bad guys seem to be forming their own Legion of Doom against the Goon. This volume is a little smaller at 4 issues and then a bunch of backup stories by other creators. Some of them are fine but none of them are what I want to read. I want Powell all the time.
The Goon, Volume 9: Calamity of Conscience β β β β β�
The Labrazio story comes to a crushing end. These last few volumes continue to get pretty dark. Hopefully some more humorous days are ahead and we can mix some laughter in with the crying and heartbreak. Regardless, I still dig this book and plan on jumping right into the next one.
Singularity β�
To be honest this seemed like a waste of time. It was created as a companion to Bear McCready's new concept album. It's about a person that keeps getting recreated and living lives that keep getting cut short by the Red and this golden woman only for it to start all over again. Just go read one of DC's many Crisis events instead. They've done all this much better. (Never thought I'd say that.)
Monsters Are My Business β β β�
Your standard dystopian future comic. Demons have invaded the Earth. A tough guy, a koala with a chain saw and a necromancer fight some demons. Bunn seems to be going down the Mark Millar road of making comics these days. It's more elevator pitches than fleshed out and well thought out comics.
Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames β β
A very flat team-up between Spider-Man and X-Factor that is more about Spider-Man and X-Factor gets zero characterization. The bad guys barely even get names too. I honestly expected more given it was from Kurt Busiek.
Continuing travels through DCThe Batman Chronicles (1995-2001) #5 β β β�
Tells the tale of Barbara Gordon dealing with the consequences of Batman: The Killing Joke, leaving her role as Batgirl to become Oracle. It would've been nicer as a longer story, but it is well told and moves quickly. The other two stories are OK but not memorable.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn β β β β
The origins of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. Like all retold origin stories, much of this has been told before. The different take here is the immediate inclusion of the wider Green Lantern Corps as well as having Hal being on a self-destructive streak. Starting from a poor state, learning and growing make for a more interesting take on the origin story.
Green Lantern Emerald Dawn 2 β β β β
Fitting in between the final pages of Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, Sinestro is sent to train an imprisoned Hal Jordan. The twists and turns to deal with Jordan being in prison, but also required out in the universe made for fun reading. The blurb makes clear that this is the downfall of Sinestro, but it is also the origin of Katma Tui who would later feature heavily with John Stewart.
Good luck reading any Green Lantern stuff for a long time after that Mike. Gerard Jones wrote most of it and he's currently in prison for child porn. Because of that DC has pulled anything he wrote making it difficult to find and he wrote like the first 50 issues of the ongoing Green Lantern run that came after these 2 miniseries. You'd probably need to skip ahead to the Kyle Rayner era.
Today's trip to the LCS.Something Crawled Out #1
X-Men #3
X-Force #2
Void Rivals #12
Captain America #12
Zero Hour 30th Anniversary Special
Marvel 85th Anniversary Special
Batman: Dark Age #5
The Hunger and the Dusk: Book Two #2
Aliens Vs. Avengers #1
Something Is Killing the Children #40 (I'm surprised there are any children left at this point.)
Ultimate X-Men #6
Marvel Must-Haves (Some free thing they gave me with 3 Marvel comics in it.)
Chad wrote: "Good luck reading any Green Lantern stuff for a long time after that Mike. Gerard Jones wrote most of it and he's currently in prison for child porn. Because of that DC has pulled anything he wrote..."Oh crikey, that explains why the few volumes that are out there are so hard to come by. I've resorted to buying the individual comics that made up the books in some cases. His name taints Green Lantern Emerald Dawn 2 though Keith Giffen is the lead on most of what I have found. Aside from the two volumes I've just read, I have picked up the three Sector 2814 volumes (2 trades, one set of comics), Tales of the Green Lantern Corps, Vol. 3 (the first two appear to be lesser stories) and Green Lantern Corps: Beware Their Power. These feed into Crisis on Infinite Earths, Millennium and The New Guardians. I'm reading these to fill the holes in my mainly Batman focused timeline as so many of the events of the 80's seem to be Green Lantern heavy.
I do have the Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Rising Compendium and then it's on to the famous Geoff Johns run. But these will wait as I return to my main timeline progression with the end of Jason Todd's Robin, Death of Superman and Knightfall.
Green Lantern was certainly a lesser tier thing after Crisis. There wasn't even a GL book. Then they brought it back with the two Emerald Dawn miniseries which led to an ongoing. I don't think any of the regular run was collected until the Death of Superman tie in. There is a John Stewart book from 92-93 too. It's called Mosaic. I don't even think it's even on DC Infinite. I really hate when your only option is searching for alternate methods. I mean, I'd buy it if DC would let me.If you haven't read Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League run, you may want to check it out. Both Batman and Guy Garner are regulars and are written so well. It's my all time favorite JL run.
Mod
What folks read this week:
- Mike: Standstill #1
- Nick: Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy
- Jesse: Serious Creatures
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
Check out Jesse online:
---
Fangirl, Vol. 4: The Mangaβ β β β β�
This is the last volume in the manga-style adaption of the novel Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This is a well done adaptation and I was able to dive back into this series without reading the first three volumes.
Mr. Villain's Day Off vol. 3β β β�
I grabbed this not realizing it was volume 3 instead of volume 1. This seems like a goofy slice-of-life story about the light-hearted hyjinks a classic villain gets into outside of work. There seems to be a loose plot involving a classic hero organization but without the first two volumes I was a bit lost. If I found volume 1 I'd pick it up and try to read this series properly.
El Deafoβ β β β
This story is about a girl who needs hearing aids and uses a pretty visible aid at school. The book was definitely written for a younger audience than me and I was a bit bored by some of the main character's issues with her friends. Otherwise I enjoyed the depiction of the characters as rabbits and the comments from the creator in the rear matter.
Crazy Food Truck, Vol. 1β β
I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this book but I found my disappointed. The story is about a business owner and a girl he takes in trying to find food and run a food truck after some kind of apocolypse. The story itself might be interesting over time but the girl is so over-sexualized in every other panel that I couldn't enjoy the story.
Captivated, by Youβ β
There are two stories in this one book but that was no indication of that going in. Just as I was getting invested in the first story the book switched to the second story, which I couldn't care about at all.
Chad wrote: "If you haven't read Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League run, you may want to check it out. Both Batman and Guy Garner are regulars and are written so well. It's my all time favorite JL run."I've read Justice League: A New Beginning and Justice League International: The Secret Gospel of Maxwell Lord, enjoying the first more than the second. There is a light-hearted humour throughout that was just a delight to read. And of course the whole "one punch" sequence is hilarious. It was reading these that led me down the GL rabbit hole trying to pick up the issues that filled the plot references.
I don't know that you will find them in GL. Guy Gardner was kind of a blank slate until he showed up in the Justice League. The ongoing GL book that springs up is specifically about Hal Jordan. Guy Gardner does eventually get his own comic for awhile but it's not for a few years and he even stops being a GL for most of the run.
Chad wrote: "I don't know that you will find them in GL. Guy Gardner was kind of a blank slate until he showed up in the Justice League. The ongoing GL book that springs up is specifically about Hal Jordan. Guy..."It is sparse. Through the three Sector 2814 and the third Tales of the GL Corps, we get Hal leaving the Corps, John Stewart taking over and Guy awakening from his coma. It fills some of what is referenced in the Crisis and subsequent event books, but no, it'll never be "complete".
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
I Read Comic Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Justice League International: The Secret Gospel of Maxwell Lord (other topics)Justice League: A New Beginning (other topics)
Standstill #1 (other topics)
Mr. Villain's Day Off vol. 3 (other topics)
Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Keith Giffen (other topics)Geoff Johns (other topics)
What are you reading this month? Anything new coming out you're excited about? Working on the Reading Challenge? Tell us all about it in the thread below!
As always, if you'd like to check out what the IRCB crew is reading, take a peek at the Top of My Pile posts over on Patreon: