The Comic Book Discussion Thread

[number8]

I think Bendis might hate cops as much as me. First by making them villains in Scarlet and Uncanny X-Men, and now in the latest issue of Ultimate Spiderman, the NYPD opened fire on Venom inside a hospital and accidentally shot and killed Miles' mom.

[dreamdead]

The first volume of Manhattan Projects was decent. The art has a nice Goef Darrow vibe, but something just feels a little bland about the whole thing. Arbitrarily, I want more engagement with women in the series--the affair feels so masculine-centered that it's not especially appealing to me at this point. Maybe I'll return back to it, but eh...

[sevenarts]

That Ultimate Spider-Man issue was brutal. I love what Bendis has been doing with Miles, I hope he keeps writing this as long as he did the Peter era of the series.

Pretty amazing how many books Bendis writes every month. I was bored of him for a while but now I'm once again enjoying most of what he's doing these days.

[number8]

What? AOL shut down Comics Alliance. (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/04/aol-pulls-plug-on-comicsalliance/)

[EyesWideOpen]

What? AOL shut down Comics Alliance. (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/04/aol-pulls-plug-on-comicsalliance/)

I had never even heard of Comics Alliance.

[number8]

That's incredibly unfortunate.

[Sven]

Final issue of Dan the Unharmable gets a "Wow."

[number8]

Wait, it's cancelled?!

[Sven]

Wait, it's cancelled?!

Alas.

[sevenarts]

Hm between that and AOA ending, Lapham titles are dropping left and right. He should just return to Stray Bullets already. I loved AOA but his Avatar titles have not exactly been his peak. Is Ferals still going? That book is so unworthy of his talent.

[sevenarts]

Oh yeah, and my long-dormant comics blog is back. I'll be posting some expanded/edited versions of blurbs I did here, occasional round-ups of weekly comics, and some of the posts with which I might have otherwise clogged up this thread. Just put up a post on this week's comics.

[Sven]

Is Ferals still going? That book is so unworthy of his talent.

Yessir, and I couldn't disagree more. The scope has expanded, and its exploration of commune psychology and its relation to primacy is disarmingly comfortable couched in the book's gory genre thrills. It's certainly better than AoA, which offered little more than a well-illustrated series of familiar twists on familiar classics, and a couple of his Crossed arcs resonate with the dramatic strength of his violent self-contained character tableaux in Stray Bullets. Certainly recalling his peak, if not exactly scaling it.

[ledfloyd]

Oh yeah, and my long-dormant comics blog is back. I'll be posting some expanded/edited versions of blurbs I did here, occasional round-ups of weekly comics, and some of the posts with which I might have otherwise clogged up this thread. Just put up a post on this week's comics.
Not even a week after I was going through my RSS reader and, thinking you had given it up, unsubscribed. Also, your weekly reading list just furthers my astonishment at the amount of comics you read.

[Sven]

Also, your weekly reading list just furthers my astonishment at the amount of comics you read.

When money is not a factor, people will engage with anything and everything.

[sevenarts]

Yessir, and I couldn't disagree more. The scope has expanded, and its exploration of commune psychology and its relation to primacy is disarmingly comfortable couched in the book's gory genre thrills. It's certainly better than AoA, which offered little more than a well-illustrated series of familiar twists on familiar classics, and a couple of his Crossed arcs resonate with the dramatic strength of his violent self-contained character tableaux in Stray Bullets. Certainly recalling his peak, if not exactly scaling it.

Heh, maybe someday we'll agree on a comic. I read the first 10 issues or so of Ferals and just thought it was trash with the very thinnest veneer of ideas. The way it treats women is deplorable: they're splayed out for the reader's amusement, whether they're having sex or getting ripped apart by wolves, it makes little difference. And by and large they're shown to enjoy it, to get off on being beaten and abused, which fine, some women do get off on these fantasies, but when that's the only way you depict women, in a book where they seem to be around mostly to get naked and then fuck or die, it's really problematic. It doesn't track at all with the complexity of Lapham's female characters in Stray Bullets. Whatever it has to say about communal psychology is dwarfed and drowned out by what it has to say about its own readers and their prurient interests.

AOA was pulp, but at least it was fun pulp with great art, and crafted real characters from these alternate-reality castoffs.

[Sven]

And by and large they're shown to enjoy it, to get off on being beaten and abused, which fine, some women do get off on these fantasies, but when that's the only way you depict women, in a book where they seem to be around mostly to get naked and then fuck or die, it's really problematic. It doesn't track at all with the complexity of Lapham's female characters in Stray Bullets.

The men in the book are seen as nothing more than brute hunters who like to hump and kill. The depiction of the sexes is equal, and essential to the observations Lapham is making about the construction and preservation of social orders.

[ledfloyd]

When money is not a factor, people will engage with anything and everything.
Nah, for me the problem is time more often than money. Either that or I burn myself out.

[sevenarts]

Nah, for me the problem is time more often than money. Either that or I burn myself out.

He's right, there's lots of books I'd never bother reading if I had to pay for them. Others I buy, either in as single issues or collections. But downloading is great for getting a broader sense of what's out there, including some of the lousy or boring books.

[Winston*]

Reading the trade of the first run of Hellblazer and it doesn't have dividers in it to seperate comic book issues. Is this normal for collected editions? It seems a weird thing to do, like taking the chapters out of a novel.

[Sven]

Reading the trade of the first run of Hellblazer and it doesn't have dividers in it to seperate comic book issues. Is this normal for collected editions? It seems a weird thing to do, like taking the chapters out of a novel.

In the first volume of the new trades, they don't divide the issues. The subsequent three (that are out thus far) do. It is not normal, though some books do it ostensibly because they want to encourage absorbing the whole story as a piece. I prefer the chapter divides, mostly because the cover is reprinted in its full size and placed in a position relevant to the illustration. Some of the earlier Marvel trades would reprint the covers super small in the back of the book, which is pretty lame.

[Winston*]

It is not normal, though some books do it ostensibly because they want to encourage absorbing the whole story as a piece.

That's stupid. That's not how they were written. They were written with specific break points, and I like to know where those points are when I'm reading.

[slqrick]

Took the dive into some Valiant books this weekend. They're doing some really interesting stuff with Harbinger and X-O Manowar, a couple of the most entertaining books I've read in a bit. Looking forward to checking out Van Lente's Archer & Armstrong, and Shadowman.

Really can't recommend both Harbinger and X-O enough, though. I can't remember if they were talked about previously in this thread although I'm sure they must have; they were just never anywhere near my radar till recently.

[dreamdead]

Read Jeff Lemire's Underwater Welder over the weekend. It develops its narrative well, and works hard to ensure that the characterization of everyone feels lived-in. That said, as a four-part narrative, it's still a little slight in terms of undercutting tropes. At the end of the day, the whole thing reveals its intentions for the plot a little too soon. Interesting, but not really exceptional.

[Ezee E]

That's stupid. That's not how they were written. They were written with specific break points, and I like to know where those points are when I'm reading.

Yeah, Walking Dead doesn't have those breaks either, but it's pretty easy to figure out where it did end, as they all seem to have a splash page at the end. All that's missing is "CONTINUED IN NEXT ISSUE!"

[number8]

So... Jim Lee was interviewed by local news here (CBS NY), and the anchor actually asked this question:


“It seems like they’re all sort of drawn the same way, but you actually have different people doing these drawings?”

[Grouchy]

So... Jim Lee was interviewed by local news here (CBS NY), and the anchor actually asked this question:
What the fuck.

[Acapelli]

So... Jim Lee was interviewed by local news here (CBS NY), and the anchor actually asked this question:
i mean if s/he's talking about the new 52 then they're kind of right

edit: oh wait, if she's comparing gary frank, shane davis, jim lee and rags morales (the books on the table during the interview), then yeah, not the same at all

[Sven]

I decided to read Kick-Ass, which only confirmed my opinion of Millar as a bad writer and evil human.

[dreamdead]

Second issue of Vaughan and Martin's Private Eye came out in the last day. It doesn't advance the world building that much, but it remains intriguing. Love the coloration and style of the art--hoping that the next issue starts dealing with some of the world ramifications more.

[Winston*]

Read two trades of Ex Machina. Not sure if I should continue. The political stuff is kind of banal, and the art is distractingly poor. Does it get better?

[number8]

Read two trades of Ex Machina. Not sure if I should continue. The political stuff is kind of banal, and the art is distractingly poor. Does it get better?

No, it's a pretty consistent series.

[ledfloyd]

I really like the art in Ex Machina.

I read the first issue of Jupiter's Legacy because Quitely and Image, but I just can't with Millar.

[Winston*]

I really like the art in Ex Machina.

It's good in some aspects, just not in the drawings of humans. There are so many weird facial expressions, eye lines and body positions, which is distracting in such a talky comic.

[sevenarts]

It's good in some aspects, just not in the drawings of humans. There are so many weird facial expressions, eye lines and body positions, which is distracting in such a talky comic.

Yeah I totally agree. It's because Harris relies so much on photo reference here and it's all really stiff. It's baffling how many artists who use a lot of photo references don't realize that if you copy everything in a photo so precisely, it winds up looking LESS natural than a good drawing done more off the cuff. Some can pull it off, and I like some Harris art elsewhere, but not in Ex Machina.

[Sven]

Progress report:

Harris talk provoked me to check out the first two books of Ex Machina. It's obvious and lame, like everything else I've read by BKV (note: haven't read any Saga). Done with that one.

However, the Spider-Man book he did with Lapham is surprisingly excellent, given the general tedium of oft-told origin stories.

Lastly, the first three issues of his Hellblazer are among Ennis's worst. Tenfold when you consider that it follows Delano's exquisite run. Gone is the elan, the wit, the weird hooks and salty observations that were so addictive in the first 30 issues, replaced with banal, formulaic gestures. It's not BAD, but the allure is totally gone.

[Grouchy]

I'm guessing most of you have seen it, but I just saw this last night and I thought it was incredible.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpag e&v=MF89iv50Skw

[number8]

Yeah I own it on DVD. His Rorschach voice is fun.

[Sven]

Brian Wood's Northlander's is such an incredible book. Can't believe it has taken me this long to get to it. His script is still too rote for my tastes, but he manages a few ecstatic narrative moments. Most importantly, the artists he works with are uniformly boffo and he gives them a lot of opportunities to flex their chops. It's the best-looking book I've read in quite a while.

[Acapelli]

Hey Sven, have you ever read any of Ivan Brandon's work?

Loved his viking comic with nic Klein

Its called viking

His final crisis aftermath escape was incredible, as well as the followup, nemesis

[EyesWideOpen]

If anyone is interested in the first 11 issues of Brian Wood's The Massive or the Image mini-series Comeback (kind of like Looper) let me know. Looking to give them away for free just a few bucks for shipping.

[Sven]

Hey Sven, have you ever read any of Ivan Brandon's work?

Loved his viking comic with nic Klein

Its called viking

His final crisis aftermath escape was incredible, as well as the followup, nemesis

You've recommended his Crisis stuff in the past, and it has always been humming in the back of my mind since. Time to prioritize it. Otherwise, I have read a little of his stuff. Clearly a talented writer (better than Wood, imo), so I will bump Viking up on my queue as well.

[Acapelli]

viking has a really nice oversized hardcover that i'm sure you can find fairly cheap

it was printed in an oversized format as a monthly, and the nic klein art looks so good

[number8]

Paul Jenkins just published an anti Big Two manifesto, announcing that he's now exclusive to Boom.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=45745


I am immensely frustrated by the fact that we have come full circle, back to the days of simply managing characters. I am even more frustrated that my name is attached to a creative product that I did not fully create. Lord knows I am not always perfect as a creator... but as I sit and try to find the right words to say I can tell you one thing with certainty: I know when it was a lot easier, and that was back in the days of Marvel Knights. In those times, Marvel had been in bankruptcy, and they had little choice but to allow the creators the freedom and trust that so many of us deserve. I look back on "Inhumans" and "Sentry," on my Spidey runs with Bucky and Humberto, and on various successes with "Wolverine: Origin" and others, and I know - because I was there - that they succeeded in large part because I was given freedom to create without being handicapped by editorial mandates. It just hasn't been that way for a while. In recent years, I have watched, helpless, as editors made pointless and destructive changes to scripts and artwork that they had previously left alone. It bugs me that the creators were a primary focus when the mainstream publishers needed them, and now that the corporations are driving the boat, creative decisions are being made once again by shareholders.

[number8]

Wow, holy shit (http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2013/05/who-whitewashes-the-watchmen-part-2/). That's disgusting.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I've been reading a fair amount of comics the past few months. Thought I'd give my impressions. Understand that these are all old, and I'm not nearly as educated in comic art or writing as most of you.

Y: The Last Man

I was a bit disappointed by this one. What appeared ready to take an interesting look at gender ended up being fairly sophomoric and inconsequential by story's end. Always a compelling read insofar as the central mystery and adventure is concerned, and I was surprisingly affected by a few moments toward the end, but I was expecting more from this considering Vaughn's reputation.

Scott Pilgrim

This was a lot of fun. My enjoyment was perhaps tempered by the fact that I had already seen the film and so much of the material was familiar to me, but I still had a great time with it.

Criminal (The Coward, Lawless, The Dead and the Dying)

This was great stuff. Great art, great pulpy crime drama, great characters. Love the intertwining plots, with The Undertow existing as a character all its own. Can't wait to read the last three volumes once I have enough money to pick them up, and definitely want to seek out more of Brubaker's work in the future.

Kingdom Come

Another excellent book. Loved the dystopian look at a future littered with the disaffected offspring of superheroes. Loved the old man as our guide, loved the idea that superheroes are not the ideal, that humanity must be responsible for saving itself. Loved the realist art paired with this story. Very fitting. This shot near the top of my admittedly small sampling of superhero stories.

Bone

My kids and I are reading this together, and all three are loving it. We've only read the first volume so far (I opted to buy them individually for the coloring) but it's really cute and humorous. I'm reading it aloud to my seven-year-old, doing voices for each character, and he's been laughing his head off.


I have a few more things to read, and quite a few more to purchase. My oldest is reading Runaways (though I'm less anxious to read this considering my disappointment with Y). My youngest is reading a series called Amulet. I like to read whatever they're reading so we can talk about them afterward. This leads to yet another item on the long list of drawbacks to small town living. The library, and even inter-library loan, has next to nothing in the way of comic books to check out. It's either buy them, or don't read them. It's getting pretty pricey.

[number8]

Criminal only got better as it went on. I'm loving Fatale, but I am quite sad that we're not gonna see a new Criminal anytime soon.

[EyesWideOpen]

Criminal only got better as it went on. I'm loving Fatale, but I am quite sad that we're not gonna see a new Criminal anytime soon.

All three of his recent crime stuff (including Incognito in the trio) are fantastic although I think Fatale is my favorite.

[EyesWideOpen]

My oldest is reading Runaways (though I'm less anxious to read this considering my disappointment with Y).

Vaughan is one of my favorite comic writers and his run on Runaways I'd consider better then Y. I'd consider Saga, Ex Machina and Pride of Baghdad to be better also.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Vaughan is one of my favorite comic writers and his run on Runaways I'd consider better then Y. I'd consider Saga, Ex Machina and Pride of Baghdad to be better also.

Good to hear. I had Saga in my cart once upon a time, but Y kind of put me off. It's still on my list though.

[Acapelli]

yeah i love runaways. definitely my fave vaughn comic

the joss whedon arc that follows is so disappointing though

[Sven]

Warner Bros. bandying Fables movie about. Reading it right now on my lunch breaks at the library and I gotta say, it's not so hot. Willingham has little knack for dialogue or character. Function is the design, but it's such a flat world full of two-dimensional characters that for all its functionality, there is little wit, no meat, all hollow gimick. Formulaic detritus. Kinda want to see how it develops, however. Call it rubbernecking.

Hard not to compare it unfavorably to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which outclasses it twenty times in every regard. But I'm sure the movie of Fables will be a million times better than League's.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Warner Bros. bandying Fables movie about. Reading it right now on my lunch breaks at the library and I gotta say, it's not so hot. Willingham has little knack for dialogue or character. Function is the design, but it's such a flat world full of two-dimensional characters that for all its functionality, there is little wit, no meat, all hollow gimick. Formulaic detritus. Kinda want to see how it develops, however. Call it rubbernecking.

Hard not to compare it unfavorably to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which outclasses it twenty times in every regard. But I'm sure the movie of Fables will be a million times better than League's.

I had the same complaints about Fables. Read the first volume and never felt compelled to go any further. LoEG is something I need to add to my list. Anywhere in particular I should start?

[ledfloyd]

Warner Bros. bandying Fables movie about. Reading it right now on my lunch breaks at the library and I gotta say, it's not so hot. Willingham has little knack for dialogue or character. Function is the design, but it's such a flat world full of two-dimensional characters that for all its functionality, there is little wit, no meat, all hollow gimick. Formulaic detritus. Kinda want to see how it develops, however. Call it rubbernecking.
It has its moments. I rubbernecked until Willingham gave me a clear out at issue 75, and then I didn't hesistate to abandon ship. It's a clever and enjoyable allegory, but not much more than that.

And KFan. Start at the beginning.

[number8]

I am so angry that The Unwritten is currently having a crossover with it.

[sevenarts]

I had the same complaints about Fables. Read the first volume and never felt compelled to go any further. LoEG is something I need to add to my list. Anywhere in particular I should start?

There's not that much League stuff, just read from the beginning: the vol. 1-2 trades, the black dossier (optional, honestly), then century and nemo heart of ice. Definitely a great series and well worth a look.

I agree with the consensus on fables, it's really boring. I got through 3 trades or so and then gave up. I'm definitely annoyed that it's currently infiltrating Unwritten, one of the last couple of remaining good vertigo books.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Thanks guys. Thought it was a longer running series than that. Next purchase will be Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing, then LoEG.

[EyesWideOpen]

Fables has the same problem that Walking Dead has. Critics and comic fans loved the shit out of both those books for the first 70 or so issues then they kept going and going and people started dropping off them. Now apparently the correct response is both those books always sucked.

[ledfloyd]

Swamp thing is so good.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Fables has the same problem that Walking Dead has. Critics and comic fans loved the shit out of both those books for the first 70 or so issues then they kept going and going and people started dropping off them. Now apparently the correct response is both those books always sucked.

I had heard nothing but praise, and as such it was one of the first books I purchased when I decided to jump into comics. Definitely didn't suck, but it wasn't interesting enough to keep my attention and motivate me to keep reading.

[number8]

You should read The Unwritten.

[sevenarts]

Fables has absolutely always sucked. Third-rate Neil Gaiman imitations. Unwritten mines related territory except with compelling characters and some actual ideas behind it all. It's a very good book, it's only improved over the years too, as it's gotten more complex and built up more history.

Walking Dead is at least a fun, lightweight read, even now.

[Kurosawa Fan]

You should read The Unwritten.

Nice. I had never heard of this. Thanks for the rec.

[Sven]

Now apparently the correct response is both those books always sucked.

Your bitterness is unbecoming; my reaction is not feint.

[Acapelli]

i got about halfway through the first compendium before i gave up on the walking dead. once i read the "we are the walking dead moment, i http://thingist.com/user_uploads/321362382768069762.gif

this is probably the hundredth time i posted this story

[Grouchy]

So, "rubbernecking" is a word in English.

[Sven]

A happy boy once said something to the effect of "I sure am glad that Dragonsbane finally concluded!"

That boy was me, today, discovering the fourth issue in my pull box. The first comics event I ever comprehensively participated in is finally done.

[number8]

yeah i love runaways. definitely my fave vaughn comic

the joss whedon arc that follows is so disappointing though

Not half as disappointing as what's been happening to the Runaways members since then.

[Acapelli]

i'm enjoying avengers arena way more than that joss whedon arc

edit: haven't read the latest issue, but i'm ok with it upsetting tumblr morons. "feels" is the most annoying new internet term i've heard in the past year

[number8]

Because it's easier to write cheap thrills.

[Acapelli]

better than some meandering go nowhere arc that was hyped to high heavens

and i love pretty much everything i've seen or read that whedon has done, i just couldn't get into his runaways at all

[ledfloyd]

I enjoyed the Whedon Runaways arc. I still try to squeeze "That's more than the usual amount of ninjas," into casual conversation when appropriate.

[number8]

Mondo is printing a Black Beetle poster!!!

http://blog.mondotees.com/2013/06/10/the-black-beetle-by-francesco-francavilla-detail-shots/

[Sven]

Support Six-Gun Gorilla with a purchase, please.

[number8]

Aaaand here's why a good inker and colorist matter.

On the left is the digital version of the Injustice comic, which is terrible. The right is the subsequent print version, where the penciller David Yardin inked and colored himself to get closer to his original pencils.


I asked my editor if I could go back fix all those panels, even though they weren't really my mistakes to fix.

http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/157/6/1/injustice__gods_among_us_17_p_ 10_corrections_by_davidyardin-d68045k.jpghttp://th03.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/157/7/8/injustice__gods_among_us_17_p_ 7_corrections_by_davidyardin-d6802ix.jpghttp://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/157/6/1/injustice__gods_among_us_17_p_ 8_corrections_by_davidyardin-d6803rq.jpg

Original pencils, for reference:

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/157/b/7/hi_res_pencils_for_inkers_inju stice_17_page_8_by_davidyardin-d682l9w.jpg

[dreamdead]

Finished the first volume of the Fraction/Aja Hawkeye collection. That... was quite fun. Good match-cuts throughout in a move reminiscent of early Moore, and while the narrative isn't especially deep in terms of politics of the moment, it's all done with conviction and care. The central relationship between Clint and Katie is excellent, and I look forward to where it goes in the second volume.

And number8's av makes so much more sense.

[Acapelli]

David yardins covers for x-factor are some of my favorite month in and out

[Sven]

Support Six-Gun Gorilla with a purchase, please.

Anyone else love this? So much better than I hoped. Stokely's figures are all kinds of brilliant and Spurrier impresses again with his penchant for zany high-fantasy scenarios and atypically excellent evocation of quirky language.

[megladon8]

Pre-ordered and pre-paid for it, but it has't come in yet.

"Superman Unchained" sure was lame, though!

Is it OK for me to say Jim Lee is crazy overrated and boring?

[Kurosawa Fan]

I was going to pop in soon to give updates on all the things I've read over the last couple weeks, but now I'm popping in to absolutely rave about The Saga of the Swamp Thing. Just finished volume one last night and it's fucking brilliant stuff. Again, I'm an amateur here, but the artwork, not only the precision of the images but the panel work and the layout of the page (I'm thinking of the images book-ending pages such as the tipped-over whiskey bottle, the golden eagle, etc., most specifically, as well as how the artwork and dialogue transitions from scene to scene, and setting to setting) are little touches that are really impressive. Not sure how unique this style is for its time, but it feels very unique to me.

Beyond that, the story itself matches the illustrated brilliance. The conflict between Swamp Thing and Woodrue has just the right touch of existentialism, of postmodern struggle with the self and man's place in this world, without laying it on too thick. It has all the subtlety I'm looking for in a book. Loved bringing in the Justice League, only to confess how ineffectual they are to problems beyond the scope of man. Superhuman isn't always the right answer.

Seriously, I could rave on and on, but I want to keep reading. Between this, Watchmen, and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, Alan Moore is just blowing all others out of the water. Is he always this good? And if so, is anyone else on his level in terms of sheer consistency?

[Grouchy]

Seriously, I could rave on and on, but I want to keep reading. Between this, Watchmen, and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, Alan Moore is just blowing all others out of the water. Is he always this good? And if so, is anyone else on his level in terms of sheer consistency?
Yes. I'm sure meg will pop up and disagree, but Alan Moore is just the best writer mainstream comics have ever had... which explains why he abandoned the mainstream.

You have to read From Hell soon, that shit is amazing. And V for Vendetta.

And if you've only read Vol. 1 of Swamp Thing... "the best is yet to come" is an understatement.

[Sven]

Is he always this good? And if so, is anyone else on his level in terms of sheer consistency?

I think his books always have a strong thrust, a palpable impetus. They're always about something, and always uniquely. My favorite is his League series (don't listen to sevenarts re: Dossier), but From Hell is also monumental. His ABC books are uniformly sprightly and creative, my favorite being the anthology series Tomorrow Stories.

As for those on his level of quality and consistency, I submit two names: Rick Veitch (who also illustrates a lot of Moore's work) and Jamie Delano (who is better, in my opinion, in that he nails Moore's high prose while constructing stories of an often more abstract, fantastical nature).

[number8]

They're always about something, and always uniquely.

This is one of the things why I will never get tired of harping on and on about how much of a genius Moore is. Even at his worst, his uninspired, at his most "I'm broke so let me write for your shitty gun-toting heroes, Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee," he still attempts to make those disposable comics about something, still experiments with form, rather than just write a decently compelling superhero narrative.

That, to me, is why he's a cut above the average. He is never, ever, a lazy writer.

[megladon8]

I like Alan Moore's writing. He's written some amazing stuff - my favorite of which is "Saga of the Swamp Thing".

I just find him to be a bit of a blow hard, so I try to avoid anything about him and just appreciate his work.

"Promethea" is fucking brilliant, BTW.

[sevenarts]

From Hell is one of my very favorite comics. It's a marvel.

Promethea is amazing, too, and so brilliantly experimental.

If you can track down downloads or back issues, make sure to read Marvelman AKA Miracleman, for my money that's an even better Moore superhero deconstruction than Watchmen. It's a shame it's not in print in a nice collection set yet.

It's definitely hard to go wrong with Moore.

[megladon8]

I dug the hell out of "Top 10". That was just so much fun and a great little mystery series.

[ledfloyd]

Yeah, there is nobody like Moore. Grant Morrison matches him in ambition, but is not quite there in terms of consistency and execution.

[number8]

Yeah, there is nobody like Moore. Grant Morrison matches him in ambition, but is not quite there in terms of consistency and execution.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded& v=RE3wBUn-0p8

[Sven]

Officially can no longer abide Mark Millar. Kick-Ass 2 is revolting. Utterly foul, through and through. His soul is black, and he profits from dissemanating hateful, sloppy junk.

Done.

[sevenarts]

Kim Thompson of Fantagraphics has died. A huge loss for indie comics. Who knows what modern art comics would be like without him.

[megladon8]

Anyone got any horror comic recommend's?

[slqrick]

Anyone got any horror comic recommend's?

This is probably too obvious and/or you've read it already, but Locke & Key. Cannot recommend that enough to anyone really.

[sevenarts]

Locke & Key is great indeed.

Also obvious, but if you haven't read any Charles Burns (especially Black Hole), then get on that right away.

More recent and more obscure is the work of Julia Gfrorer, Too Dark To See and Flesh and Bone, a pair of eerie black-and-white minicomics all about the supernatural and sexuality.

One of my current favorite ongoings is Rachel Rising, by Terry Moore, it's a creepy and darkly funny book with amazing art.

[number8]

Awesome.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded& v=41NsxLB2qiQ

[Winston*]

One of my current favorite ongoings is Rachel Rising, by Terry Moore, it's a creepy and darkly funny book with amazing art.

It's great.

[Sven]

I'm on volume 4 of Locke and Key. It's okay, and Rodriguez's artwork is electric. But it's also intensely not scary, despite really wanting to be. And the plot so far is a series of conveniences, which makes the story roll like a flat tire. Big Shadow Demon fight was the nadir.

[megladon8]

I love "Locke & Key", but as Sven points out it's totally un-scary.

Seeing it on a few "most shit-your-pants scary comics ever written!!" lists is confusing.

[Sven]

Yeah, lemme temper my dis with some praise: individual character foibles, like the mother's alcoholism, the uncle's attraction to her, the sister's excision of fear and sadness, the brother's wrangling with guilt and confusion, etc, are all well-imagined and developed in strange, mostly interesting ways.

[Sven]

I find that the classic shorter stuff is where most of the really great evocative horror is. Creepy, Eerie, things like that. Check out some of the archive editions.

To that end, attempts to replicate that format I often find moderately successful. Check out 90s Vertigo for some good horror throwbacks: Weird War and Weird Western Tales, as well as Flinch. Jamie Delano's Tainted is a terrifically horrifying short story, as is Milligan/Fegredo's Face.

(None of this is collected.)

[Acapelli]

Officially can no longer abide Mark Millar. Kick-Ass 2 is revolting. Utterly foul, through and through. His soul is black, and he profits from dissemanating hateful, sloppy junk.

Done.
that's where i quit on him

[megladon8]

I find that the classic shorter stuff is where most of the really great evocative horror is. Creepy, Eerie, things like that. Check out some of the archive editions.

To that end, attempts to replicate that format I often find moderately successful. Check out 90s Vertigo for some good horror throwbacks: Weird War and Weird Western Tales, as well as Flinch. Jamie Delano's Tainted is a terrifically horrifying short story, as is Milligan/Fegredo's Face.

(None of this is collected.)


Jen and I both adore the old Creepy, Eerie and even Tales from the Crypt/Vault of Horror stuff. An incredible era in comics history.

For effective scares I have read a lot of great Japanese stuff. There is one (the name I cannot remember) that a friend showed me a few years back. It was maybe 15 of 20 pages. It was about a town of people finding holes in a mountain shaped like bodies, and each person realizing that there was a hole there that was a perfect fit for them.

It was one of the creepiest things I have ever read.


EDIT: Just did a Google search and found that it is called "The Enigma Of Amigara Fault".


EDIT AGAIN: Here's the whole thing for anyone interested. (http://brasscockroach.com/h4ll0w33n2007/manga/Amigara-Full/Amigara.html)

[sevenarts]

Yeah, that story is by Junji Ito and it really is skin-crawlingly good. I really recommend Uzumaki and Gyo by him, both of them are chilling horror with a lot of really creepy images. Both also get a little dumb by the end but the journey is still very worthwhile. The collections of Gyo include that Amigara story as a bonus, too.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Bought From Hell and Delano's Hellblazer Vol. 1 with a gift card I received for Father's Day. I think my oldest thinks there's something wrong with me.

[D_Davis]

Kim Thompson of Fantagraphics has died. A huge loss for indie comics. Who knows what modern art comics would be like without him.

Huge loss. His legacy will live on, though.

[D_Davis]

Anyone got any horror comic recommend's?

Horobi, by Yoshihisa Tagami

Tagami is sorely underrated, and Horobi is fantastic. It's kind of a big, cosmic monster tale, probably inspired by Clark Ashton Smith or Lovecraft at some point. Tagami's art is unique, and the story is very cool.

http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/624929.jpg

[megladon8]

That looks really cool, D. Thanks for the recc.!

[ledfloyd]

Has anyone had a chance to read Lazarus yet? Been looking forward to this one for awhile...

[sevenarts]

Has anyone had a chance to read Lazarus yet? Been looking forward to this one for awhile...

Yeah, just picked up my books for the week and that was the first one I read. It's really good, I thought. Great sci-fi world-building right out the gate, interesting characters and mysteries, lots of heavy themes relating to current hot-button issues (wealth disparity, economic collapse, biological ethics, etc.) but handled with not too heavy a hand. And Michael Lark, of course, who's always great.

[Sven]

I'm finally hitting the last stretch of Hellblazer, now that the trade is out. Lots of chatter about the Annual, Suicide Bridge, but for my money, the last Bisley issue, about the werewolves, takes the cake as Milligan's best issue. Virtuosic blend of horror, humor, character, and poetry.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Just wanted to jump on and say how much I value your guys' knowledge and opinions. Thanks for keeping the conversation going, and for contributing such a level-headed, respectful dialogue about the writers/artists/series/characters you love. I went through this thread the other day and made a massive wish list on Amazon to keep track of the things I want to read. Sven, 8, meg, sevenarts, EWO, Acapelli, led, etc., I owe each of you rep for helping me find a ton of value in a new medium.

[Sven]

I owe each of you rep for helping me find a ton of value in a new medium.

Thanks! The beginning of my own love affair was abetted by a lent copy of Morrison's Doom Patrol from number8. Nice to see that influence continue to spread.

[megladon8]

Thanks, KF!

I know you loathed Man of Steel, but I hope that didn't turn you off the character completely. I have some great Superman recc's if you're interested.

[Winston*]

I know you loathed Man of Steel, but I hope that didn't turn you off the character completely. I have some great Superman recc's if you're interested.

I'm reading Morrisson's All-Star Superman atm. Have some mixed feelings about aspects of the art, but I love the treatment of the character.

[Sven]

I'm reading Morrisson's All-Star Superman atm. Have some mixed feelings about aspects of the art, but I love the treatment of the character.

Yeah, y'know, that book was my first encounter w/Quitely and I thought it was kinda fugly. I still think all the airbrushed colors are an eyesore, but I have since come to admire his techniques and singular style.

On that note, whenever I see or hear "Quietly," I immediately disregard what's being said because it's coming from someone who is clearly not paying attention.

[Winston*]

I still think all the airbrushed colors are an eyesore


That's my main issue, and the random lines Quitely draws on faces.

[Sven]

That's my main issue, and the random lines Quitely draws on faces.

Makes everyone sallow and pouty.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Thanks, KF!

I know you loathed Man of Steel, but I hope that didn't turn you off the character completely. I have some great Superman recc's if you're interested.

Hasn't turned me off at all. My loathing stemmed from my love of the character in the first place. I believe you recommended Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, which was fantastic. I'm open to any rec's you have.

[megladon8]

Hasn't turned me off at all. My loathing stemmed from my love of the character in the first place. I believe you recommended Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, which was fantastic. I'm open to any rec's you have.


I think you'd love "It's a Bird..." by Steven T. Seagle.

My personal favorite would probably be "Superman: Secret Identity" by Kurt Busiek. I also strongly recommend you check out just about anything by Busiek that you can get your hands on, especially "Astro City".

[megladon8]

Oh and I placed a little comic book order on Amazon myself last night...

The Ciomplete Ballad of Halo Jones (Moore)
Who is Jake Ellis? Vol. 1 (Edmondson)
Fury Max: My War Gone By (Ennis)
Revival: You're Among Friends (Seeley)
The Thanos Imperative (Abnett)

Look good?

[EyesWideOpen]

Oh and I placed a little comic book order on Amazon myself last night...

The Ciomplete Ballad of Halo Jones (Moore)
Who is Jake Ellis? Vol. 1 (Edmondson)
Fury Max: My War Gone By (Ennis)
Revival: You're Among Friends (Seeley)
The Thanos Imperative (Abnett)

Look good?

Revival is great. I read through the first five or so issues of Fury Max and didn't care for it. I'm over Ennis's shtick but everyone else loves it.

[megladon8]

Revival is great. I read through the first five or so issues of Fury Max and didn't care for it. I'm over Ennis's shtick but everyone else loves it.


When Ennis is good, he's flipping amazing (Hitman, Punisher MAX). But when he gets self-indulgent, he's awful.

I hope Fury Max is more of the former.

[sevenarts]

I love Revival and Halo Jones. Jake Ellis is pretty cool and has great art. The sequel hasn't been doing much for me but that original series is worth a read.

I think Fury Max is one of Ennis' very best works. And I say that as someone who's been very down on him at times. I'd recommend that even those who might not be feeling it at first, stick with it, the cumulative impact of that series is devastating.

[megladon8]

Oh shiiiiiit. There's an omnibus of Kurt Busiek's late-'90s run on Iron Man coming out in September.

I've not read it, but my favorite Marvel character and one of my favorite writers must be a good combo, right?

[Sven]

So Brian Wood. 30+ issues of DMZ and I was unimpressed. Loved (and we're talkin' loved) Northlanders, so I'm wanting to give him another pass, but I just read Fight for Tomorrow. While it gains a little heart in its final issues, it's totally bland otherwise. An excuse for Cowan and Williams to study martial arts poses and ripped musculature.

I'm gonna check out the Massive soon, but my hopes that I'll like it are waning at this point.

Anything else of his that are a must for a skeptic?

[EyesWideOpen]

Fight For Tomorrow is pretty mediocre. It was one of the first Wood books I read. I gave up on The Massive after the first ten or so issues. It was decent and the art was great but unless I'm really digging something nowdays I drop it. Demo and Local are the two books of his I've read that I'd consider great. I seem to be one of the only people who really likes his current miniseries Mara.

Edit: I remember really digging Supermarket but it's been so long I can't really remember much about it.

[slqrick]

Anything else of his that are a must for a skeptic?

I recently checked out the first five issues of his miniseries Mara (sixth coming out later this month), and liked it a lot. Not a lot of new stuff story wise, as it borrows elements from stuff like The Hunger Games and Legend of Korra, but I found it to continuously entertaining, and the politics isn't too heavy handed. The art by Ming Doyle is a pretty good fit for the story.

I dunno if it'll sway you, and maybe someone else has read it and has thoughts. I'd recommend it, though.

Edit: Looks like EWO beat me to it on Mara. I guess that's two people that enjoy it.

[megladon8]

So Brian Wood. 30+ issues of DMZ and I was unimpressed. Loved (and we're talkin' loved) Northlanders, so I'm wanting to give him another pass, but I just read Fight for Tomorrow. While it gains a little heart in its final issues, it's totally bland otherwise. An excuse for Cowan and Williams to study martial arts poses and ripped musculature.

I'm gonna check out the Massive soon, but my hopes that I'll like it are waning at this point.

Anything else of his that are a must for a skeptic?


I really liked "The Massive".

So you're recommending "Northlanders"? For the writing, art, or both?

I love your recommendations!!

BTW - "Xstatix" by Milligan Omnibus is one I must get, I think. Random thought, I know, but I just saw the recommendation on Amazon.

[sevenarts]

Northlanders is excellent. Very good art, cool stories, and I think the setting helps circumvent some of Wood's weaknesses. Sven if you like that so much, you need to read Wood's Conan if you haven't already. Definitely hits a similar sweet spot for me. And the art is of similarly high quality. The first arc or two, by Becky Cloonan, is especially nice. I don't like the Massive at all. Mara has been excrutiatingly boring and pointless. I did like a few issues of Demo vol. 2, though it's in a totally different vein than Northlanders/Conan, and vol. 1 is a near-complete waste. And 2 issues in, Wood's current X-Men series has been pretty good so far.

Meg, X-Statix is just one of the best superhero comics ever. So yeah, it's not a bad choice.

[megladon8]

Anyone read "Bedlam"?

[EyesWideOpen]

Anyone read "Bedlam"?

I know me and number8 do. We mentioned it months ago in this thread.

[number8]

Correct. It's Nick Spencer's best work.

[number8]

HUGE NEWS.

Image Comics just announced today that they will be selling their own digital comics directly on their website, DRM free. You buy it, you download it as a CBR/CBZ or PDF, and it's yours to own.

My respect for them just shot through the fucking roof.

[number8]

Jason Aaron is doing a crime book at Image with Jason Latour. Fuck yes.

[ledfloyd]

HUGE NEWS.

Image Comics just announced today that they will be selling their own digital comics directly on their website, DRM free. You buy it, you download it as a CBR/CBZ or PDF, and it's yours to own.

My respect for them just shot through the fucking roof.
Jesus christ, they were already my favorite publisher, but damn if they aren't doing everything right. Finally digital comics I will pay money for.

[megladon8]

That's surprising. I thought Image were pretty dick-ish? Or is that more just Todd MacFarlane?

[sevenarts]

Image is the best mainstream publisher around now. And the reason they've gotten so many great, inventive series of late is because they've been so great and progressive with creators' rights. If your impression of Image is still based on McFarlane and Liefeld and the '90s, you've got a lot of great catching-up to do with all the stuff they've been publishing in the last few years. The digital thing is fantastic, and definitely a smart extension of everything else they've been up to lately.

[Sven]

So you're recommending "Northlanders"? For the writing, art, or both?

I love your recommendations!

Thanks, and thanks everyone for your Wood input.

Yes, sevenarts is right that period writing really focuses Wood's writing, which in Northlanders is consistently strong (though the right-issue Plague Wives arc stands out as the most thoroughly realized). The artwork is similarly uniform in excellence, my favorite being Dean Ormston's issues. Holy moly. You'd love the series, I'm sure.

[EyesWideOpen]

More free books if anyone is interested. Just pay shipping.

Mind the Gap #1-11 (Image Comics/ Jim McCann)
Snapshot #1-4 (Image mini/Andy Diggle & Jock)

[number8]

You never asked me for the shipping cost for the last one.

[Winston*]

Reading Matt Fractions Hawkeye. The art in the Young Avengers issue at the end of the 1st trade is such an eyesore. Why would people want to read comics that look like that? Love the art in the previous 5 issues.

[Sven]

I can't shake the feeling that Hawkeye is overrated. Haven't read the last few issues, but it seemed cheap. I want more personality - less attitude. Terrific design, and it's an entertaining read, but the meat and potatoes are missing. Earlier in this thread I compared it to Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser, which does everything Hawkeye does but with soul.

Think I'm getting to the point where I don't care to continue w/Fables. It's a chore now. Locke and Key's fourth volume was the best so far. Calvin and Hobbes issue is insanely brilliant.

[Acapelli]

The art in the Young Avengers issue at the end of the 1st trade is such an eyesore. Why would people want to read comics that look like that? Love the art in the previous 5 issues.
i don't get this sentiment at all. which is to say you're not the only person i've heard make this complaint

i kind of love that sort of animation cell style of cartooning. something you don't really see very often. the only comics i can think of that do this off the top of my head are the secret invasion tie-in issues of she hulk and marvel's recent revival of mystic

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/ursula_boi/SHEHUL032020_Col.jpg

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/3995/w0xb.jpg

[Winston*]

Those pages don't look similar at all to the comic in the Hawkeye trade

[Winston*]

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources. com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/hawkeye2.jpg

[sevenarts]

Acapelli probably thought, like me, that you were talking about the most recent Young Avengers issue, which did have art like the examples he posted, though I'd say both of those pages are much, much better than anything in the YA issue.

I think that Alan Davis page looks just fine. I'm not always a fan of his but other than some not great coloring, that looks good. It's probably a bracing change from the Aja issues it's collected alongside, though.

[number8]

Yeah, here's some more from that issue. Looks typical Alan Davis. It's bland, but I wouldn't call it an eyesore.

http://4colorfashion.files.wordpress. com/2013/04/young-avengers-presents-006-001.jpg
http://4colorfashion.files.wordpress. com/2013/04/young-avengers-presents-006-002.jpg

[Kurosawa Fan]

The glowing, plastic faces is off-putting, for sure.

[sevenarts]

Yeah I'm gonna say it's just the digital coloring that's really bad in those.

[Acapelli]

Yeah I'm gonna say it's just the digital coloring that's really bad in those.
i hate the way digital coloring looks with a lot of old school dudes art

chaykin and mcrea come immediately to mind as those who really get the short end of the stick

[Grouchy]

I never liked Alan Davis. Always felt that he was bland and did terrible faces. And I agree that the digital coloring does him no favors.

Chaykin is great.

[Sven]

Davis > Chaykin > Aja

[sevenarts]

Davis > Chaykin > Aja

I'd completely reverse that. But I like all three at least somewhat.

And oof, Chaykin with digital coloring is eye-meltingly ugly.

[number8]

A good inker and colorist often makes or breaks someone's art, I always say. I keep hoping that Darick Robertson collaborates with Rodney Ramos and Nathan Eyring again because his art never looked as good as it was in Transmet since he's been doing his own inks.

[number8]

What the fuck (http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/08/struggling-artist-accidentally-uses-rare-comics-worth-a-fortune-to-make-papier-mache-model-3874227/)

[ledfloyd]

A Brubaker/Epting book? Two new Remender books? Can someone remind me why I read comics that aren't published by Image?

[number8]

Another Fraction book, too. Which makes that 3 ongoings for him at Image.

[number8]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCKING HELL.

FOX ordered a pilot of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Michael Green (Smallville, Heroes) as the showrunner.

God.

[number8]

Is anyone else following Jim Steranko's twitter account?

[Sven]

Two words, everyone: Catalyst. Comix.

[sevenarts]

Two words, everyone: Catalyst. Comix.

Is it better than Sex and The Bounce? Because I'm feeling really burned out on Joe Casey at this point.

[Sven]

Is it better than Sex and The Bounce? Because I'm feeling really burned out on Joe Casey at this point.

Love me some Joe Casey, but Sex and The Bounce are both wastes. CC is electrifying and beautiful.

[sevenarts]

OK good to hear, I'll check it out. I love Casey at his best (Automatic Kafka!!!!) but he's really hit-or-miss, and both of his other current series have been big misses for me, so I was gonna skip Catalyst. I bought 3 issues of Sex hoping it'd go somewhere interesting, and it never did.

[Sven]

OK good to hear, I'll check it out. I love Casey at his best (Automatic Kafka!!!!) but he's really hit-or-miss, and both of his other current series have been big misses for me, so I was gonna skip Catalyst. I bought 3 issues of Sex hoping it'd go somewhere interesting, and it never did.

This is much more Butcher Baker/Godland-type Casey work. Punchy script, replete with hippisms and cosmic observance, as well as an addictive structure that leaves the Catalyst Universe wide-open for promising returns. Also, the trio of artists are tip-top, my favorite being Ulises Farinas. I will buy all of that man's work.

Off-note, but similar tone: Satellite Sam was a brilliant surprise. Happy I momentarily curbed my resolve for greater thrift, because I gotta keep reading that one.

[sevenarts]

So you're very right. Catalyst Comix is definitely the good kind of Joe Casey comic, I've added it to my pull list now. All the artists are new names to me, and all three are quite good, though Dan McDaid is probably my favorite based on this issue. Farinas reminds me a lot of Geof Darrow, never a bad thing.

I loved Satellite Sam, too. Fraction is on quite a roll lately. The script in this just crackles, Chaykin's noir atmosphere is drenched with sex and cigarette smoke, and I'm intrigued by the mysteries, the characters, and the whole milieu of '50s TV. If Sex Criminals turns out half as good as this, between Image and Marvel Fraction will be writing 5 books every month, with all of them being good-to-great.

[number8]

I can confirm that Catalyst > Sex & Bounce.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I have a hard time believing anything will be better than Swamp Thing at this point. Just finished volume three. Stunning work. The seamless transitions between scenes, issues, and narratives are superb.

[D_Davis]

I think you'd love "It's a Bird..." by Steven T. Seagle.

My personal favorite would probably be "Superman: Secret Identity" by Kurt Busiek. I also strongly recommend you check out just about anything by Busiek that you can get your hands on, especially "Astro City".

It's a Bird.... is great.

As is For All Seasons.

I think my favorite story of a Superman-like character is in Astro City - "The Samaritan." In a few short pages, Busiek injects this archetype with more pathos and humanity than a hundred issues of any other comic book. An absolutely brilliant example of the medium.

[number8]

I have a hard time believing anything will be better than Swamp Thing at this point. Just finished volume three. Stunning work. The seamless transitions between scenes, issues, and narratives are superb.

Wrong. There is something better. It's called Volume 5.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Wrong. There is something better. It's called Volume 5.

Fuuuuuuuuuuck. That doesn't come out until December. I'm grabbing Volume 4 while I'm in NYC.

[number8]

Ah, I forgot that it's out of print and being reprinted.

[EyesWideOpen]

Fuuuuuuuuuuck. That doesn't come out until December. I'm grabbing Volume 4 while I'm in NYC.

The hardcover is still available at Barnes and Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saga-of-the-swamp-thing-volume-5-alan-moore/1107855872?ean=9781401230951). It's $24 with free shipping.

[number8]

Hey Winston did you finish All-Star Superman?

[number8]

Anyone else picked up the first issues of Ghosted and Sheltered?

[Sven]

Anyone else picked up the first issues of Ghosted and Sheltered?

I didn't, but I did pick up the first issue of Ballistic. I'm gonna use it to refute your point about Robertson's inks, which up until Ballistic I agreed with you. It's maybe his best-looking work to date.

Actually pretty underwhelmed with Lazarus. A serviceable 6 pages worth of information needlessly decompressed. No tension.

Lastly, anyone ever read Bruce Jones's OMAC series? Post-Infinite Crisis. It unravels like mad, a real head trip. Handles the drug metaphor perfectly.

[Winston*]

Hey Winston did you finish All-Star Superman?

I did. Thought the portrayal of the character was fantastic. Apparently the new movie uses the Jor-El 'Join you in the sun speech but then just has Superman punching General Zod into oblivion for the rest of the movie, completely missing the point of that speech.

http://www.griph.net/bp/sroof.jpg

[Winston*]

http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/2/25/Bizarro_Green_Lantern_All-Star_Superman_001.jpg
http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/a/a0/Bizarro_Flash_All-Star_Superman_001.jpghttp://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/e/ef/Bizarro_Wonder_Woman_All-Star_Superman_001.jpg

[number8]

I just really want a poster of this.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5nthzWuB51qauvl8o1_128 0.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAI6WLS GT7Y3ET7ADQ&Expires=1373987930&Signature=EQZZBfkFeSCwkq%2B7QE xIBOGWgMo%3D#_=_

[EyesWideOpen]

Last chance if anyone wants these before I donate them. Free just pay me for shipping.:

Multiple Warheads #1-2
The Zaucer of Zilk #1
Snapshot #1-4
Mind the Gap #1-11
Comeback #1-5

[Kurosawa Fan]

Last chance if anyone wants these before I donate them. Free just pay me for shipping.:

Multiple Warheads #1-2
The Zaucer of Zilk #1
Snapshot #1-4
Mind the Gap #1-11
Comeback #1-5

I'll take Mind the Gap. I'll PM you my address. Let me know what you pay for shipping and how you want me to get the money to you.

[D_Davis]

Who is the artist in those pages that Winston posted?

[Sven]

Who is the artist in those pages that Winston posted?

Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant.

[D_Davis]

Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant.

I love that fuzzy texture. It has a real tangible quality to it.

[Acapelli]

Last chance if anyone wants these before I donate them. Free just pay me for shipping.:

Multiple Warheads #1-2
The Zaucer of Zilk #1
Snapshot #1-4
Mind the Gap #1-11
Comeback #1-5
hell i'll take snapshot off your hands

[Grouchy]

I love that fuzzy texture. It has a real tangible quality to it.
I have the feeling you'd love All Star Superman.

[Winston*]

Read the first trade of The Manhattan Projects. Didn't really care for it. Feels trivialisation of tragic history to me. Cannibal twins and Robot Roosevelts actually caused Hiroshima. Fun!

[number8]

Love it.


Although Gaiman says that he believes the new wave of digital comics have the potential to be positive for the comics medium, he finds the smaller screen displays of some digital comics “deeply frustrating to read, because there are effects you simply cannot have. There is nothing digitally yet that can compares to the effect of turning a page to a double page spread.”

Instead, he’s interested in experimenting with reader experiences that can only occur in print. “I love the idea of, what can you do in paper that you can only do in paper?” said Gaiman. “There was a scene [in Overture] and I had this idea that it should be two feet long. And [my editor] Shelly [Bond] said, is that what you want? And I said yes, but you can’t do it. And she said, I think we can.”

The first issue of Sandman: Overture will end with a four-page fold-out image.

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/07/neil-gaiman-sandman-overture

[Sven]

Ennis's first four War Story issues are a few steps better than the latter four. I swear, if he's got an issue out there better than Screaming Eagles (Gibbons FTW), I've never read it.

[Grouchy]

If I ever get the chance to speak to Garth Ennis, I'll try and give him a copy of Ernie Pike (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Pike) comics. They're classic war stories that I think he'd love.

[EyesWideOpen]

Stuff I'm still reading:

The Best of the Best - East of West, Fatale, The Manhattan Projects, Mind MGMT, Rachel Rising, Revival, Saga

Next Tier but still great books - Bedlam, Helheim, Lazarus, Mara, Nowhere Men, True Lives of the Fabulous Kill Joys, Uncanny

Bubble books (on watch maybe dropped soon) - Suicide Risk

Recently dropped - 12 Reasons to Die, Sex

[number8]

I'm surprised that I'm enjoying this Unwritten/Fables crossover, after talking so much shit about its existence. The reason, of course, has to do with the fact that it's not actually a crossover and it's completely standalone in the Unwritten universe. Very much appreciated.

[sevenarts]

A guy who posts on another board I'm on wrote this Comixology-only book called Roadrunner, and it's turned out to be a really cool dark Western. Worth checking out for sure.

https://dcomixologyssl.sslcs.cdngc.net/i/11143/42636/c7a3e5d018708a9ca552cd69c86dcc e5.jpg?h=323a95700ccc9525d4853 d65413d7c76 (http://www.comixology.com/Roadrunner-1/digital-comic/42636)

[Ezee E]

ANyone do any kickstarting for comics?

[number8]

ANyone do any kickstarting for comics?

You mean have I backed any comics kickstarter? Yeah, several.

[Ezee E]

You mean have I backed any comics kickstarter? Yeah, several.

I just did a thriller about an astronaut called "Last Breath." Sounds great.

[megladon8]

I supported Occupy Comics and have been disappointed by the results.

[Winston*]

Mind MGMT is cool. Neat art.

[number8]

An article on Mark Millar on the New Republic. They got one or two details of his comics wrong, but really worth a read.

Here's the key part that got a lot of people wound up:


Laura Hudson, the former editor-in-chief of the popular blog Comics Alliance and a senior editor at Wired, thought that scene was deplorable, but typical of Millar. “There's one and only one reason that happens, and it's to piss off the male character,” she said. “It's using a trauma you don't understand in a way whose implications you can't understand, and then talking about it as though you're doing the same thing as having someone's head explode. You're not. Those two things are not equivalent, and if you don't understand, you shouldn't be writing rape scenes.”

Millar is of the exact opposite opinion, saying they are equivalent, and that his depictions of sexual violence are all part of his ongoing quest to push boundaries.

“The ultimate [act] that would be the taboo, to show how bad some villain is, was to have somebody being raped, you know?” he told me. “I don't really think it matters. It's the same as, like, a decapitation. It's just a horrible act to show that somebody's a bad guy.”

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114150/mark-millar-kick-ass-2-author-comics-sickest-mind#

[Sven]

He's a bad person.

[number8]

He's a bad person.

Joseph Hughes from CA wrote a post about the article and his closing line is killer:


All that said, I think one thing in his quote to The New Republic was accurate: when you read Millar’s comics, you walk away knowing exactly who the bad guy is.

[sevenarts]

I decided to break down my purchases as EyesWideOpen did on the last page, and it really drove home how much Image is dominating great comics these days. Most of my top-tier monthly books and all of my anticipated new series are Image books.


Monthly Top Tier: Copra, East of West, Fatale, Manhattan Projects, Mind Mgmt, Prophet, Rachel Rising, Saga, Satellite Sam

Monthly Second Tier: Avengers, Conan the Barbarian, Lazarus, New Avengers, Young Avengers

Limited Series: Catalyst Comix, Infinity (soon), Miniature Jesus, Trillium, True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, The Wake

On the Edge: Batman and Robin (just until this grief arc is done, probably), FF (if Allred ever leaves this is dead to me)

Future Pulls: Pretty Deadly, Sex Criminals, Velvet

Buying In Trades: Animal Man, Batwoman, Daredevil, Hawkeye, Revival, Ultimate Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, X-Men Legacy, etc.

[Morris Schæffer]

Does anyone own, and I suppose read, Paul Levitz's book "75 Years Of DC Comics: The Art Of Modern Mythmaking"?

it's a real monster at 16 pounds, but it looks like a definitive version with thousands of photos etc...

it's hugely expensive too, so It's not something I will blindly jump into.

Edit: holy crap!!!!

http://www.taschen.com/media/images/960/teaser_xl_75_years_dc_comics_t op_1204231645_id_538094.jpg

[Sven]

I'd actually be quite interested in reading that. I think Levitz is smart, and definitely historied/well-connected. My worry is that it would be too self-aggrandizing...

[Grouchy]

Read Alan Moore and Oscar Zárate's A Small Killing. Pretty damn good.

Oscar Zárate is Argentinian and yet his entire career in comics and advertising has been abroad.

[Sven]

It was not until reading this last issue of Harbinger, which has been steadily and stealthily gaining momentum, that I could finally recognize it as a book "by Joshua Dysart". A great issue of one of the best series on the racks, though I still contend that Guadiano is not the man to ink Kitson.

Six Gun Gorilla has blasted squarely off into WTFsland. Highly recommended for esoteric sci-fitia.

Ending to Godbomb kinda blew. "Then Thor punches a head, and forgets all about everything that happened. Now enjoy Ron Garney." Glad I got it for the art, but don't feel bad dropping it from the pull.

Infinity. Ahhhhh, Infinity. You were, hm. Okay. You'll get better. Cheung is badass.

...aaaaand, oh, Stray Bullets. Can't believe this series is not frequently cited as the greatest comic ever created. This revisit is paying off in exponential dividends. Lapham makes everything count, and the brilliance of the structure is blinding. Look again. Nearly every panel tells its own story, all sets of two, four, six panels work as microstories. The ambiguity of the perspective, the refusal to ally with any political or moral skew, its span of time, space, and imagination (the Lynch-like effect of the layering in the Amy Racecar issues is inspiring) reflected through a human scope. Lapham's compassion is damn moving.

[sevenarts]

I added Six Gun Gorilla to my pull list after reading the first two issues, it's definitely real fun and wild, as you'd expect from the premise, but there's a lot of stuff burbling beneath the surface too. Between this and Legacy, Spurrier is really impressing me this year.

I thought Godbomb was good, pretty much a perfect ending for this arc. I mean all along it's been building towards Thor(s) punching stuff, and Aaron and Ribic just packed the finale with great action images. The only misstep in this whole run was that one issue focusing on the Butcher's past; everything else has been total *devil sign* heavy metal Viking comics, and the ending delivers the natural apotheosis of that approach. I found the last few pages pretty poignant too, particularly the suggestion of all the mistakes and suffering ahead of the two younger Thors.

Infinity was, yea, just fine. Great art, maybe Cheung's best ever. All setup so far, but that's expected.

Stray Bullets is definitely one of the best series ever, it's amazing and, as much as it's acclaimed, still very underrated. The Amy Racecar issues are the best, and the oblique connections back to the main story make those really devastating at times, even as they also function as great genre fun. I hope Lapham returns to it someday; it's downright criminal that he couldn't make a living doing such a personal and deeply felt book, and had to turn to more commercial but less personal projects.

[number8]

It's underrated in the way that not many people seem to have read it. Those that have praise it to high heaven.

[Sven]

I added Six Gun Gorilla to my pull list after reading the first two issues, it's definitely real fun and wild, as you'd expect from the premise, but there's a lot of stuff burbling beneath the surface too. Between this and Legacy, Spurrier is really impressing me this year.

Spurrier has always been good. I have a collection of Frazer Irving reprints that he's written, as well as the first few issues of the sadly aborted Gutsville they did together. All high quality stuff. Also, definitely keep an eye out for Numbercruncher, being released by Titan. The first issue knocked my socks off, particularly in the way the Spurrier, in the backmatter, likens the book's high concept (basically man cheats death by way of algebra) to the act of creation itself. Kind of blew my mind.

His Crossed story is incredible (bucks the trend of one-off stories by extending a single survivor's story via free online webcomic). Later this year he's got another free Avatar comic coming out called Disenchanted, which promises to be excellent.

Really, I think the man is about the best there is. I'd put him above Fraction and Gillen for current young hip writers, for sure.


I thought Godbomb was good, pretty much a perfect ending for this arc. I mean all along it's been building towards Thor(s) punching stuff, and Aaron and Ribic just packed the finale with great action images. The only misstep in this whole run was that one issue focusing on the Butcher's past; everything else has been total *devil sign* heavy metal Viking comics, and the ending delivers the natural apotheosis of that approach. I found the last few pages pretty poignant too, particularly the suggestion of all the mistakes and suffering ahead of the two younger Thors.

Hrm. I liked the God Butcher half of the arc. Very metal, as you say, though I think I'd probably go for something more prog-rocky (the somber, world-killing, secret combination of warriors in New Avengers is much more metal to me). This last arc, though... I dunno. I've concluded that I'm attracted to comic writers of more literary influence (Milligan, Delano, even Spurrier), as opposed to those who are more into writing to genre. Aaron is a fine writer, and has written many a fine thing, but I find he's frequently more concerned with formula trappings than telling a resonant story. Ultimately Godbomb was not about anything but a bad guy who gets smashed by a good guy, whereas in the hands of someone like Delano, those lines would be blurrier. Conflict is boring in itself (even if devastatingly rendered by Ribic/Svorcina). A book has to be about something for me to care.


it's downright criminal that he couldn't make a living doing such a personal and deeply felt book, and had to turn to more commercial but less personal projects.

You know I love to play the devil's advocate, and because it's the greatest comic ever written I agree that there should be more, but sentiments expressed like this cheapen the man. Sure his Daredevil/Punisher book is less personal, but it was obviously made with equal care and concern for narrative and character, which (in my opinion) gives it comparable footing. Same goes for his City of Crime, which for my money is the best stand-alone DCU Batman story there is. The intricacies, the quandaries, the humanity, the despair. It's all there. I'm glad it exists, just as I'm glad as much Stray Bullets exists as does.

[sevenarts]

Spurrier has always been good. I have a collection of Frazer Irving reprints that he's written, as well as the first few issues of the sadly aborted Gutsville they did together. All high quality stuff.

I definitely need more Spurrier. Especially if Irving is involved, that guy's amazing. His recent Bendis-written X-Men issues have been mind-blowingly good.


I've concluded that I'm attracted to comic writers of more literary influence (Milligan, Delano, even Spurrier), as opposed to those who are more into writing to genre. Aaron is a fine writer, and has written many a fine thing, but I find he's frequently more concerned with formula trappings than telling a resonant story.

I like Aaron, but I wouldn't necessarily disagree with this, either. He's definitely a genre guy first and foremost, but he's very good within those confines. I don't often get a lot of "resonance" out of an Aaron story - though there are moments, like the melancholy parting of the three Thors, or certain scenes in Wolverine and the X-Men, that hit on something deeper - but I do get lots of exciting action, tight plotting, some strong character work amidst the punching and explosions. He's not a writer who self-consciously writes *about* things, not a writer with a strong thematic focus like the others you mention, but he is a good character writer, I think, a writer who grasps the emotional subtexts lurking underneath all the sturm und drang in his books. Your mileage may vary as to whether or not that's enough for you; for my part, I wouldn't say Aaron's in the top tier of current writers or anything, but he turns out a lot of reliably entertaining stuff. His Thor has only been "about" Thors saving the universe in a spectacular fashion, it's true, but it's not without some emotional subtlety as well. It may also be that I'm just more of a fan of straight-up genre fiction; if I remember correctly, you're not always crazy about Brubaker either, and I think he's a far better, more interesting genre writer than Aaron is.


You know I love to play the devil's advocate, and because it's the greatest comic ever written I agree that there should be more, but sentiments expressed like this cheapen the man. Sure his Daredevil/Punisher book is less personal, but it was obviously made with equal care and concern for narrative and character, which (in my opinion) gives it comparable footing. Same goes for his City of Crime, which for my money is the best stand-alone DCU Batman story there is. The intricacies, the quandaries, the humanity, the despair. It's all there. I'm glad it exists, just as I'm glad as much Stray Bullets exists as does.

I'm not trying to put down all of Lapham's other work, much of which I like a lot (though I know we disagree strongly on the quality of his Avatar work). Lapham obviously pours a lot into everything he does, and seems to approach most of these mainstream projects with the intent of making them his own. He's certainly not one of those indie creators who can't make the transition to corporate material without losing his personality; he's retained his skill and done a lot of good stuff since putting Stray Bullets on hiatus. I'm just sad that something as self-evidently amazing as Stray Bullets never caught on enough to support the guy who poured so much into it for so long. In a perfect world, Lapham would have been able to keep doing that book until he decided he was done, until the story he wanted to tell was wrapped up, and he would have made enough off that to keep going. It's unfortunate that that didn't happen, and it's unfortunate that he's had to separate his writing and his art merely because being a writer is faster (for him anyway) and therefore pays better. I'm not saying Lapham hasn't made great stuff within the corporate system - I even loved the pure genre thrills (heh) and emotional catharsis of Age of Apocalypse - but I'm expressing frustration with the system itself, which makes it so that pretty much anyone who wants to make a real living doing comics has to do it within the mainstream corporate comics system. (All exceptions duly noted.)

That said, I wonder if Image's current creator-friendly climate might intice Lapham to do something over there.

Oh yeah, and Young Liars is an interesting outlier in this conversation, that was definitely every bit as personal and uncompromised as Stray Bullets, probably even less commercial than Stray Bullets was given its overt surrealism, and of course it too sputtered out.

[dreamdead]

Knocked out the second volume of Fatale. It's the epitome of a slow burn, but I feel that it might in fact be too slow. Josephine exists as the main mysterious character, but the way each volume encapsulates the introduction (and often elimination) of a male supporting character renders each volume oddly disjointed. There's far too much of a stuttering stop-start action to the narrative, and though Josephine's story remains interesting, the jumping between decades keeps the book from coalescing to a single, sustained vision. Not sure if I'm compelled enough to keep going.

Got I Kill Giants and the second volume of Manhattan Projects (Sarah's enjoying this one) up next.

[number8]

Thoughts?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wQ2x0OKBjU

The page does support it:

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/5/56369/1308314-kjjoke2.jpg

[Grouchy]

Wow, he's probably right.

So Alan Moore wrote both the last Batman and Superman stories?

[Acapelli]

really can't believe i never read it like that before

[Ezee E]

Was this overlooked before? Seems pretty obvious to me. What did people think it was?

[Grouchy]

I've read The Killing Joke a lot of times since I was... twelve? I never read it that way.

I guess the idea of Batman killing the Joker is so groundbreaking that it happening off-panel is just unthinkable.

Why did I spoiler tag that?

[number8]

Well, the story is considered canon by DC at the time, and Joker was still alive on every other book, so no one considered it that way. I think it's more obvious to casual fans who just read it as a standalone graphic novel.

[slqrick]

Finally checked out the first few issues of Mind MGMT, really awesome stuff so far. Kindt's artwork reminds me a bit of Lemire's stuff, but it works really well for the story.

Also still enjoying a bunch of the Valiant stable (Harbinger, X-O, Archer & Armstrong).

I bought the first volume of Saga for my fiancee, and she enjoyed it quite a bit. Vaughn's doing something really special, and the last issue was a good plot-setter.

[Skitch]

Listening to the Grant Morrison episode right now. I never caught that conclusion either, but I did always think something didn't quite add up with that last page. I didn't figure that, though.

Picked up some books today.

Nightwing #5, Detective #600, Detective #627 (anniversary Batman's 600th), and Legends Of The Dark Knight #43 autographed by P. Craig Russell.

[slqrick]

Reading League of Extraordinary Gentleman Vol. 2. I guess we'll never get a real adaptation of this one. Reminds me a lot of Sandman for some reason, all in good ways.

[number8]

The second issue of Catalyst Comix is dooooope. Definitely Casey's best work right now.

[sevenarts]

Yeah, Catalyst Comix has been fantastic. Casey's other current series are pretty weak, but he's firing on all cylinders for that book. Love the different art styles.

Everyone pay attention to Sven's recommendation of Numbercruncher. I just got the first issue (of 4) and loved it. It's smart, romantic, very funny, and conceptually wild, and P.J. Holden's art (left in black-and-white for the scenes in "Heaven," colored for the Earthly scenes) is really nice and cartoony. Spurrier's explanation of traditional values about "sin" in the context of a cold, clinical mathematical metaphysics is really cool, too.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Hey all, I know I don't post in here much, but I read All-Star Superman and Batman: Haunted Knight over the weekend, and that one-two punch got me kind of excited to start up with the graphic novels again.

The back half of All-Star is pretty fantastic, with Supes constantly increasing his efforts as the radiation kills him (loved him giving those little dudes to the cancer patients), and the splash pages in Haunted Knight were gorgeous.

All-Star still felt a little too "inside baseball" to me (though nowhere near as impenetrable as Kingdom Come), so I checked out Superman Birthright and plan to start it soon.

[number8]

Wow, I didn't know this. Apparently earlier this year Jamie Delano vowed never to work with Avatar again because of the variant covers they released for his Crossed story:


“I certainly won’t be doing any more. I was a bit offended when the book actually came out that Avatar did a limited edition with what they called ‘torture covers’. There was some overt sort of sexual violence against women on the cover that I really found a bit too much. And they probably said, ‘Oh, sorry, Jamie, if we’ve breached your limits’ kind of thing in a supercilious sort of way. So I just thought, I won’t bother any more then. The material is pretty strong anyway, but to put a cover on it that has absolutely no relation to the story inside it just for it to appear shock value and to appeal to the worst tastes of teenage boys who are probably going to go on to be Columbine shooters or something like that. I was a bit offended, I have to say. … I particularly dislike overt sexual violence against women. I think that’s extremely counter-productive. The world is full enough of real-life sexual violence towards women and minorities, and so I don’t like to go there unless there’s a reason for it. Unless I’m going to present some kind of counter-argument, I won’t sanction that kind of thing.”

[slqrick]

X-Men and Daredevil were so damn great, as usual. Best Storm issue I've read in a while.

[sevenarts]

Good for him. Sven'll be all over this, but that's how so much Avatar stuff strikes me, just appealing to the absolute lowest of the low, catering to people who want to see scantily clad girls with lots of blood and gore. It consistently amazes me how many talented creators work for them.

[Sven]

Mostly I'm just curious as to why Delano wrote his story in the first place. He must have been familiar, at least cursorily, with the series, its content, and the publisher's MO. It did always strike me as weird that he opted to write for them (though glad he did because his is one seriously zany-ass story), so the decision is understandable. However, I think offering commendations is congratulating Delano for ignorance.

Avatar certainly doesn't need me to defend it any longer, but I'll say again that actually reading the material is crucial in gauging the quality of the content. I think it's terrific that there's a publisher out there interested in drafting worthy talent to explore visceral extremes. I think Ellis's Avatar work is some of his finest, for sure.

[number8]

He must have felt that there's a difference between depicting disturbing content in the context of a story (which he's not exactly a stranger of) and using them as a selling point. A lot of people seem to have a problem with those "torture" variants.

He said that he read Ennis' original story, but he might not have known about those variant covers.

[Sven]

Makes sense. Ennis's original story is packed with graceful characterization and hefty thematic resonance and practically zero graphic rape deaths. One does not get a sense of the series's extreme content from those first ten issues. It is only when Lapham picked up the ball that the rapemurder vortex began spinning.

I'm definitely not defending the torture variants, which are little more than puerile fan service. But I do commend Avatar for featuring just as much male genital mutilation and humiliation as it does female. (Obviously I don't have a statistic to back that up, but open to any Crossed carnage splash and tell me that you don't see severed boners and men rudely taken). I also think there's something to be said for the book's equalizing depiction of crazed, bloodlusting females. With Crossed, gender is a passing peripheral observation...

[number8]

Barring one or two missteps (Ennis insists that the graphicness is there only because he wants a horror book that's truly horrific, yet it still falls into dark humor often enough to temper that), I would say that the first Ennis story was definitely not intended to be gratuitous. Burrows is probably more to blame for some of the gore appearing fan servicey.

[Dead & Messed Up]

All-Star still felt a little too "inside baseball" to me (though nowhere near as impenetrable as Kingdom Come), so I checked out Superman Birthright and plan to start it soon.

I tore through Birthright and adored it. Easily my favorite of the three Superman trade paperbacks I've read. I was seriously moved by the ending in two parts: the amazing splash page with Superman holding up the enormous S-sign against the laser blast, and

the fact that, thanks to some vague sci-fi space-time trickery, his parents were actually able to see him as an adult before they died. Wow, that hit me.

Also, I love how the drawings of Luthor get so monstrous by the end. It looks like his face is made out of broken glass.

[number8]

You might like Superman for All Seasons.

[megladon8]

Ya, the moment you spoiler'd made me tear up.

DaMU, I demand you read "Superman Secret Identity"!!!

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'll see if those are available - thanks, guys!

[slqrick]

It's not perfect by any means, but Legend of Luther Strode is what Kick Ass should have been. Art is amazing.

[Grouchy]

My cousin who lives in San Francisco is coming for a holiday and I burdened her with an Amazon order:

JLA: Earth 2 (the only one I already read)
Saga Vols. 1-2
Doom Patrol Vol. 2 (Morrison)

Plus the following books without drawings:

Slaughterhouse Five
Cat's Cradle

[Sven]

Slaughterhouse Five

I believe you will find that this book has some drawings.

[slqrick]

Cautiously optimistic for Battle of the Atom because I've enjoyed the X-books a good deal of late. Legacy is the best written (and has incredible cover art), but I look forward to Uncanny X-Men the most every month for some reason, even though it's been stalling a bit of late.

[number8]

I'm writing a big article on the masterpiece that is Ennis' Fury: My War Gone By (I've read this whole mini frontwards and backwards probably six times now--this thing got into me like nobody's business), but for context, I broke out my Punisher Max collection and re-read the last 10 issues of his run, which started at #50 with Barracuda's return. The whole baby storyline still hits like a freight train. I'd forgotten about the dream sequence that opens it, with Frank "old, fat and slow" living in a brownstone in Brooklyn, with adult children and grandchildren coming over for family dinners. "And then I wake up." Absolutely heartrending. But what really killed me is the ending, when Frank describes his one memory of O'Brien to her sister. Fucking look at this panel:

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/9/98479/1952883-punisher_54_023.jpg

Ennis never overlaid any description of how Frank took that expression, or how we're supposed to. He just let Goran Parlov drew the hell out of it, that mixture of beauty and sadness and contentment, and the art stood alone. Talk about trusting your artist. Stuff like this is why I love comics.

[Sven]

I await your piece eagerly. Fury MAX is top tier Ennis for sure. Supposedly he's developing another Punisher comic. Also is developing something new w/Goran. Could be the same thing.

[Sven]

Milligan jumping onto Shadowman, which means I have to scavenge for the last six issues to catch up. Sheesh, with that and the upcoming Kindt/Braithwaite and Dysart/Swierczynski books, Valiant is becoming a fast, fast favorite...

[Sven]

Also, anybody notice that Hickman has an Avatar book coming out tomorrow called God is Dead? I first heard of it a minute ago, and am now terribly excited.

[sevenarts]

Also, anybody notice that Hickman has an Avatar book coming out tomorrow called God is Dead? I first heard of it a minute ago, and am now terribly excited.

Yeah, I've got it ordered. Curious to see how it is. They seem to be badly under-promoting the artist, who I've never heard of before, to the extent that when I first saw the cover, I thought it'd be a Hickman solo series a la Nightly News.

[number8]

Nick Fury, the Cold War, and All the Stars in the Sky (http://www.artboiled.com/2013/nick-fury-the-cold-war-and-all-the-stars-in-the-sky/)

As usual. Comment, critique, share.

[Sven]

The second issue of Catalyst Comix is dooooope. Definitely Casey's best work right now.

3rd issue even better.

I'll read your Fury piece, which looks excellent, when I'm not at work.

God is Dead was entertaining, though I'm hoping they develop an interesting hook past the first issue's premise, which is beyond recycled.

[Grouchy]

I want to read that, but it looks like the best course of action is to read the actual comics first.

[number8]

Probably.

[Dead & Messed Up]

You might like Superman for All Seasons.

Thanks for the rec - this one was cool. It was also a nice, calm break after Birthright and All-Star. Loeb and Sale's gunning for a Norman Rockwell attitude worked well. Small thing I dug was how Sale's artwork gave Superman that hulking, top-heavy shape that could quickly switch from powerful to oafish.

[number8]

Yah Quitely went for the same thing. I think it's generally the best way to draw him. I still remember the character design sheets that Quitely did for All-Star, and it had Superman and Clark side by side in profile. He's standing up straight as Superman and becomes a strongman posture: chest out, chin defined. Then he slouches as Clark Kent and suddenly his chin disappears into his neck and he has a protruding gut. It's probably the most convincing I've ever seen the Clark Kent disguise portrayed. It makes it so much more than just the glasses, the hair, and a different personality. He looks like a different person altogether.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yah Quitely went for the same thing. I think it's generally the best way to draw him. I still remember the character design sheets that Quitely did for All-Star, and it had Superman and Clark side by side in profile. He's standing up straight as Superman and becomes a strongman posture: chest out, chin defined. Then he slouches as Clark Kent and suddenly his chin disappears into his neck and he has a protruding gut. It's probably the most convincing I've ever seen the Clark Kent disguise portrayed. It makes it so much more than just the glasses, the hair, and a different personality. He looks like a different person altogether.

Definitely. It makes a lot of sense to have him be not just statuesque, but thick. Waid worked really hard in Birthright to explain the acting research - it was almost Nolany in how rigorous he tried to justify the difference between Kent and Supes. But Sale and Quitely let the posture and bulk speak for itself.

[megladon8]

Christopher Reeve did a fantastic transformation from Superman to Clark, and back again. The posture, voice, cadence, gait...it was great.

[dreamdead]

So after Alison Bechdel's masterful Fun Home, Are You My Mother? doesn't quite hit with the same force. Part of that is that without textual artifacts (like her father's letters), Bechdel isn't able to get as deeply into her mother's narrative. She remains more of a mystery so that there's less a sense of catharsis or understanding. And while that in itself is part of the point, it doesn't ever quite cohere. In many ways it's intentionally drawing from To the Lighthouse's structure, elongating out some narratives and utterly collapsing others, but the focus on Bechdel's own psychoanalytic studies feel unorganically connected.

I don't have the distaste that some of the goodreads critiques have toward psychoanalysis, but the amount of Winnicott material could have been restructured to better find the interiority of the mother, who still feels like an object rather than subject at the end. The last few pages work for that catharsis but it never culminates with the same ease as FH did. Bummer, though it's still quite interesting in spots.

[EyesWideOpen]

Some more stuff if anyone is interested:

Sex #1-6 (Joe Casey) $6 shipped
Lost Vegas #1-4 (Jim McCann & Janet Lee) $6 shipped
Revival #1-11 (Tim Seeley & Mike Norton) $20 shipped