Comics XII: All New, All Twelve

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

12 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Clean room 11 is out, and it's their action issue. Great fight sequence that quickly turns into major WTFitude. The depth and pacing of the story combined with the fantastic art has me geeking out more than I've done since the Whedon/Cassady run on astonishing xmen.

Gotta get back to the comic shop. 

[Little Valkyrie]

The Omega Men trade is out.

 

Go buy it.  You'll thank me later.

[red snow]

Saga is finally back. The issue was largely set up but I enjoy Prince Robot getting panel-time and throwing them into the middle of a war should be interesting. Given it's BKV it will probably turn out not to be a war story but something else - maybe focusing on the civilian side of such conflict?

Lazarus had some nice action and an interesting development with the lead being filled in on some things. The letter and discussion sections in this comic continue to be vital additions that reward the single issue buyer. I should try and track down the secret files I missed from them.

[GallowKnight]

So, apparently Alan Moore is retiring from comic book writing.

[C.T. Phipps]

2 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

So, apparently Alan Moore is retiring from comic book writing.

Grant Morrison has at last won their chaos magic duel.

[red snow]

On 09/09/2016 at 11:42 PM, GallowKnight said:

So, apparently Alan Moore is retiring from comic book writing.

I'm trying to remember if this is the genuine first time he's retired or whether it's one of many?

I'm sure he can never write a word again and live off the trade sales of his extensive back catalogue. And complain about adaptations of his work. Speaking of I don't think I saw him get upset about "killing joke". Either he's got to the point he can't even bother complaining about it (realising it's free advertising) or he genuinely dislikes his work on the comic to the point he doesn't care how it's treated.

Read Frank Cho's "skybourne". It's action packed with a feel of "wonder woman" to it. But a very violent wonder wonder woman. Some of the dialogue is repetitive though eg "wench" and it'll probably read better as a trade.

[GallowKnight]

1 hour ago, red snow said:

I'm trying to remember if this is the genuine first time he's retired or whether it's one of many?

I'm sure he can never write a word again and live off the trade sales of his extensive back catalogue. And complain about adaptations of his work. Speaking of I don't think I saw him get upset about "killing joke". Either he's got to the point he can't even bother complaining about it (realising it's free advertising) or he genuinely dislikes his work on the comic to the point he doesn't care how it's treated.

Or he got his snake-god to curse the movie and turned into the shitshow it ended up being.

[red snow]

2 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

Or he got his snake-god to curse the movie and turned into the shitshow it ended up being.

I'm guessing he loosed it on the "before Watchmen" project too.

[The Lone Rider]

Is anybody reading East of West ? Not really Hickman's finest writing work, but Dragota's art and the sheer scope of the worldbuilding have sucked me in. 

 

As far as the mainstream is concerned , I've sort of given up on Marvel. Moon Knight and Ultimates is pretty much all I pull. I gave a lot of what was coming out of DC a try but have narrowed it down to Tec, Superman, WW's Year One story, and Titans. Batman is currently on this list too, but King is really underwhelming on this so far - didn't care much about Gotham, GG is developing a little which is good but still not very invested in her (or Duke for that matter ) and this is another 'Death of Batman' ? Jesus Christ, Morrison pretty much did the definitive take on that 

[Winterfell is Burning]

1 hour ago, The Lone Rider said:

Is anybody reading East of West ? Not really Hickman's finest writing work, but Dragota's art and the sheer scope of the worldbuilding have sucked me in. 

 

As far as the mainstream is concerned , I've sort of given up on Marvel. Moon Knight and Ultimates is pretty much all I pull. I gave a lot of what was coming out of DC a try but have narrowed it down to Tec, Superman, WW's Year One story, and Titans. Batman is currently on this list too, but King is really underwhelming on this so far - didn't care much about Gotham, GG is developing a little which is good but still not very invested in her (or Duke for that matter ) and this is another 'Death of Batman' ? Jesus Christ, Morrison pretty much did the definitive take on that 

I'm enjoying East of West, even if I often have no idea what's going on. But the last few issues were pretty good.

From Marvel, besides Ultimates, I'd also recommend Vision and...that's it, really. Nothing else is a must read, due to many of the best writers leaving and editorial interference killing some books (the X-line, most notoriously).

[The Lone Rider]

26 minutes ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

I'm enjoying East of West, even if I often have no idea what's going on. But the last few issues were pretty good.

From Marvel, besides Ultimates, I'd also recommend Vision and...that's it, really. Nothing else is a must read, due to many of the best writers leaving and editorial interference killing some books (the X-line, most notoriously).

Yeah, sometimes it feels a little info dumpy. I too have no idea where this is going. But I am willing to go wherever this ride takes me, that's how good this mythos is.

 

I actually did read the Vision ! Sadly, King's run is over. I guess Marvel is ending it after he leaves ? Idk, it's actually my favorite among his trioka - Vision, SoB and Omega Men 

[red snow]

I've been enjoying East of West (I'm a trade behind at the moment) but I love the weirdness and alternate timeline. Great art too.

I've also been devouring Manhattan Projects and I think it may be my favourite work from Hickman. I just love the concept of playing around with a "genius league of america" and it's utterly crazy. How can you not love Einstein wielding a chainsaw with "E=MC2" emblazoned on it?

One thing I don't fully get with Hickman is how he seems to get away with what often feels like 4 blank pages with some diagrams and a quote on it. He's getting paid for those pages, right? But it must mean his comics are usually 17 pages long. I guess the artist doesn't mind if they get paid for those pages as well. Neat trick if he can get away with it and sometimes the quotes are good but it can feel overdone.

[red snow]

Glitterbomb #1 was really good. Image seems to have found a new star in the artist who does some of the most chilling horror art I've seen in a while. Very good at delivering "shocks" at the turn of a page. Reminds me a little of Travel Foreman's work on Animal Man. The story is also interesting even if "hollywood treats people like crap" is well trod material - the wish fulfillment of a lovercraftian monster killing the worst in the industry is kind of fun.

Reread Preacher vol 2. I think it's still one of my favourite arcs in the book and so far the re-read has reminded me why i loved the series so much back in the day. I'll be interested to see if the quality holds up throughout.

[red snow]

Black Science actually had a major development out of nowhere. I'm used to it just being crazy action all the time but this issue seemed to set up quite a few things.

Tokyo Ghost had a fairly disappointing ending. I wonder if it was meant to be a limited season as it felt a bit rushed for me and could easily have been an ongoing. Great art and the tech addiction was interesting but the last 3 issues seemed a bit too keen to suddenly ramp up a villain and end things.

Black Mondays 2. Another dense read which is a nice change these days but having been on a Manhattan projects binge I have to say I prefer Hickman's less serious approach (although it's interesting if the artist has a lot of bearing on that interpretation)

Hadrian's wall was a bit disappointing for me. I was hoping for a more sci-fy take on the concept of Hadrian's wall but it seems it's just the name of a ship so that was a let down.

I noticed that DC has been kicking Marvel's ass again in sales. It's tricky as I feel Rebirth is essentially retreating back into "pleasing fans" and giving them what they want (even if it's more of the same old) while Marvel on the other hand seems to be continually trying to be different except for their events. I think Marvel appear to be failing for good reasons eg their attempt to diversify their stable of heroes but it doesn't appear to be connecting with readers. Maybe if there was more of a hook to the titles than "this hero is no longer the hero you're used to" or "this hero is no longer even a hero". Even with the character's who've stayed the same there doesn't appear to be much going on at Marvel - the Vision seems to be the most buzz worthy title and that's wrapping up. People don't seem to even talk about the x-books anymore (I guess that means the Inhumans are finally level with them) - at least there people talked about Bendis' run. Maybe "rebirth" only being a one-issue event and all the other titles being independent has helped. It looks as though you could just focus on a certain family of DC books and be able to read them. Marvel has Civil War II which even hardcore fans seem indifferent about and it yet again drags most of the regular titles in with it.

Image and non Marvel/DC is still where I'm finding the most interesting books at the moment. But that might just be because I prefer self-contained series and books not be tied down to a genre or world.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

 Came across this on Patton Oswalt's Twitter feed. Seems pretty cool and it's for a good cause...

 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/books/comic-book-artists-create-publication-to-honor-orlando-victims.html?_r=0

[red snow]

If Marvel connects the dots here then this will possibly be one of the best things to happen to them in a while. People prefer self-contained titles and have wised up to their vever ending, therefore not an event events. That and lazy retreads of previous events doesn't wash anymore.

Maybe after Inhumans vs X-men they'll have time to change tactic. It reminds me of the early 2000s when events were toxic. That realization lead to a fairly good run of titles though.

[Sci-2]

Civil War 2 #5: Garbage.

Seven to Eternity #1: Intriguing enough, seems like the "God of Whispers" is some kind of "earth bender"? The artwork is great, and in fact has to carry some panels as I felt this was a little dragged out.

Wicked & Divine One Shot: Interesting set up though I have to say this isn't necessarily a "one shot" in that it obviously has importance to the actual story. In fact I don't think a new reader would get much out of this even knowing the basic premise of the recurring god-avatars.

[red snow]

4 hours ago, Sci-2 said:

Civil War 2 #5: Garbage.

Seven to Eternity #1: Intriguing enough, seems like the "God of Whispers" is some kind of "earth bender"? The artwork is great, and in fact has to carry some panels as I felt this was a little dragged out.

Wicked & Divine One Shot: Interesting set up though I have to say this isn't necessarily a "one shot" in that it obviously has importance to the actual story. In fact I don't think a new reader would get much out of this even knowing the basic premise of the recurring god-avatars.

Dammit - this is what happens when none of the comic sites do advance reviews and my comic shop doesn't have an Image "out this week" poster. Hopefully they still have it in store tomorrow.

Yeah - I've been cooling on Remender's books of late. Tokyo Ghost was an anticlimax and while the last Black Science was a step up it's been coasting a while. Luckily for Remender the artwork carries the weaker parts of a story.

[GallowKnight]

2000 AD hit 2000 issues this week, so I'll be seeing if I can get my hands on that one.

[red snow]

On 29/09/2016 at 11:46 PM, GallowKnight said:

2000 AD hit 2000 issues this week, so I'll be seeing if I can get my hands on that one.

No relaunches there then!

Might have a look at it. I really appreciate the different approach to comics from them but whenever I've tried it's never really clicked for me. Maybe it's the serial format of paper-like strips.