Comics IV

[red snow]

Yeah, but rereading this stuff, and having read a decent amount of Thor comics when Asgard came to OK, it just seemed like they needed a way to end it all. How this was going to make Loki King of Asgard didn't really make sense to me.

I guess the god of mischief doesn't need a good reason?

[instantdeath999]

I hope she moves to Dark Horse. Image seem to be doing absolutely fine as it is but Dark Horse could really do with getting its hands on the horror stylings of Vertigo (seeming as Vertigo doesn't really do the horror anymore) - especially as the lucrative Star Wars license will be going to Marvel as soon as current contracts die.

This might not be set in stone, honestly, since DH recently announced a follow up to Legacy, their best selling SW title. It's possibly that will sell enough for them to keep the license.

[Fiddler's Green]

This might not be set in stone, honestly, since DH recently announced a follow up to Legacy, their best selling SW title. It's possibly that will sell enough for them to keep the license.

That's exciting news I'd missed. IMO, Legacy was the best new Star Wars IP since KOTOR. Really enjoyed that series.

[Sci-2]

I guess the god of mischief doesn't need a good reason?

It wasn't the worst plan in the world, and maybe Loki's reasons were explained somewhere, but the whole Siege event was pretty lackluster. I think the problem with lots of events is that they want a mass superhero vs villain dust up [or hero vs hero in Civil War's case] but don't lay down enough groundwork.

Why I prefer Hickman's War of Four Cities or GM's final arc on JLA with Mageddon.

eta: Obviously the worst offender is AvX. Should not have forgotten that. ;-)

[haLobEnder]

This might not be set in stone, honestly, since DH recently announced a follow up to Legacy, their best selling SW title. It's possibly that will sell enough for them to keep the license.

I saw that, but I didn't particularly enjoy the first trade of the original Legacy series. I didn't realized it was the 'best selling' Star Wars comic.

I'll probably check out the first issue in the hopes that the new lead character is nothing like the old lead.

I think it's wishful thinking that DH will retain the SW rights though. I'd just be happy to see them bring their current SW comics to a natural end, instead of having them end abruptly.

[Nephrite]

AVENGERS #1 - Just how good is this thing?

Well check this out.

It's as good as that thing is bad. Seriously, Marvel who did you get to read that? That's like the worst trailer voice since the voice that did Brain Smasher: A Love Story trailer. That's how bad that is. Unless Hickman did it himself during a bowel movement. Then I stand corrected.

And tell me that is not how you pronounce Ex Nihilo. My sanity depends on it.

The book itself is great. The writing is great and the art amazing. And let's talk about the coloring. Dean White is the best colorist in comics at the moment. Right up there with Dave Stewart, Patricia Mulvihill, Jamie Grant and Dave McCaig on the days when he is not depressed. You can't even tell where the pencils end and the colors begin. Great work.

ACTION COMICS #15 - Next to #13, this is the best issue of Morrison's run on the book You really feel that Superman is in really deep shit. You really wish he beats this guy and makes everything right. Hell, when was the last time you felt that? It's a shame that it comes so late in the run. I bet this thing will read a lot better in trade.

Ah, the art. Walker does a good job. Even great when he draws the 5th dimension. But, Morales. I wish I could make Morales say his name backwards so that he disappears into the 5th dimension and learns to draw.

HAWKEYE #5 - A great conclusion.

INVINCIBLE #98 - Well, that's a game-changer.

Also, as I attempt to purify my aura of shi(ty comics) I started reading old Marvel's cosmic books. Well, old... I started with Annihilation stuff, grampas. It's pretty good. Nothing ground-breaking but still easier on the bowels than all the other stuff the Big Two are shoving down my delicate, feminine throat. It's weird reading an event that reads self-contained when at the same time reading self-contained books that read like they are tie-ins.

There are some pacing issues. The gang just gets together off-screen and then quickly falls apart, but I'll give it a slide being a reborn person with not a mean bone in my body and all.

The Super-Skrull mini is a bit shit though. I can't believe that a writer that worked on LOST can squeeze that much exposition into a miniseries. Cause LOST didn't do exposition. At all.

If there's one thing outright bad in the series it's Cammi. What a waste of ink. I'm not even sure what was the point of her. Like, she doesn't contribute to the ongoing plot in any way. If she wasn't in it, I'm not sure if the procession of events wouldn't have happened in the same sequence. Except without one annoying brat standing on the side making comments about how unimpressed she is with everything going on around her. She could've saved herself some oxygen and stayed in Oregon or wherever she was from. Than again, the townsfolk might have killed her.

Her main characteristic is snark, which is unnecessary cause this thing was written by Keith Giffen which means that all the characters are snarky. But, they can also shoot lasers out of their ears.

I'm reading Conquest now and praying to whoever that she is gone alongside that Tinkerbell monster that ruined all the Thanos scenes in the book.

Speaking of the Mad Titan*, boy was Thanos easy to kill. What was up with that? Bit rushed, IMO.

* look at me using proper nicknames, like this wasn't the first time I read a book with this guy.

[Sci-2]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that trailer sucked. The tone, the pacing of the reading...it actually made me worry the book might not be that good.

Looking forward to getting Avengers this evening.

[JonArryn]

Daredevil: Born Again

Batman: Hush

Batman: The Cult

Just read these three, and out of them Daredevil was the one I liked the most. The other two were good, but not very good to me. Born Again was gritty and dark in a way I like, and it was nice seeing the development of Matt Murdoch, and also his fall and rise.

[JonArryn]

By the way, I ordered some Alan Moore stuff and another novel of his got me interested. Ballad of Halo Jones. It doesn't seem to be well-known, but if any of you guys have read I'd like to hear your opinions on it.

[red snow]

Never heard of Batman: The cult but can easily understand you preferring "born again" over "hush". I would say if you liked Jim Lee's art to try out "Batman and Robin boy wonder" to combine "hush" and "born again" but that would be cruel.

On the star wars thing, I'm sure Disney will let Dark Horse keep Star wars until the current contract expires (I'm sure it must be a license Dark Horse has to keep re-applying for) but Disney will have Marvel publishing it sooner rather than later. They did the same thing with Boom! studios who had some Disney licenses a while back.

[instantdeath999]

That's exciting news I'd missed. IMO, Legacy was the best new Star Wars IP since KOTOR. Really enjoyed that series.

I actually haven't read Legacy, but KOTOR was fantastic. Personally, I hope Dark Horse keeps the license; I feel like Marvel will kill all the interesting lines.

I might actually consider following the new Avengers series, but $4 a pop comes off as a bit slimy for me. I've no problem with trade waiting, I suppose.

[red snow]

I actually haven't read Legacy, but KOTOR was fantastic. Personally, I hope Dark Horse keeps the license; I feel like Marvel will kill all the interesting lines.

I might actually consider following the new Avengers series, but $4 a pop comes off as a bit slimy for me. I've no problem with trade waiting, I suppose.

I'm about to read issue 1 but thinking about it with the twice monthly shipping schedule there's going to be a trade every 3 month - which isn't too bad. Just checked Amazon and first trade is out end of April collecting first 6 issues for $15 as opposed to the $24 it would cost to buy monthlies. Seems a no-brainer thinking about it - especially as Hickman's work will proably be something that reads coherently afterwards.

[instantdeath999]

Actually had no idea it would be so soon, going by how slowly the DC New 52 trades seem to come.

One thing I'm wondering, how much does Marvel Now depend on reading X-men vs Avengers?

[red snow]

very little from what i've seen so far. I only read the final issue of AvX and as long as you know that Cyclops is supposed to be evil, Captain America/Steroids is always right and that all the mutants are back, you should be fine. I've yet to read any of the Now! titles where I have felt lost and for the record that's

Hulk - absolutely fine

uncanny avengers - probably the most steeped in AvX continuity

All new x-men - just need to know that we are supposed to think cyclops is bad but otherwise the time travel story is independent of AvX

Captain America. - haven't read captain america in years but kne what was going on.

Amazing Spider-man. Technically isn't a Now! book but will be when it relaunches as "superior spider-man" and it looks as though the current issues are strong lead ins. I haven't read Spider-man since Brand New Day started (or one more day happened) and the issue was perfectly accessible and my current favourite Marvel title (I was only reading uncanny x-force regularly beforehand)

[Winterfell is Burning]

Avengers #1- Great work all around. It suffers a little from being a #1 and having to set things up, and makes no sense that the movie cast is the one that goes to Mars, but other than that it was excellent. I second Nephrite in that Dean White is probably the best colorist in comics, and with Jerome Opeña's art, this is one of the best looking books out there. But this was not the best book of the week;

Hawkeye #5- This one was. This is a textbook fun book for everyone, whether it's writers, critics and readers, that thinks that put some silly jokes is enough to make a book "fun". The explanation for the tape made sense and made Hawkeye stay in character.

All New X-men #3- 3 issues in only and with the most eagerly awaited moment of them all- the Extinction team getting together- Bendis somehow manages to screw all up a book that basically writes itself. Emma Frost particularly sounds ridiculous, made even worse by the fact that Bendis has written her well in the past.

X-factor #248- More set up that didn't really mean anything.

Daredevil: End of Days #3: Basically the same as #2- Ulrich talks with dozens of women Matt slept with, finds a dozen redheaded sons, because in MU genetics, in 100% of the cases, the child of a redheaded male and a woman with dark hair (though to be fair, one of the mothers is a redhead, and she isn't sure it's his) will always have red hair and will always be a boy, and finds out absolutely nothing.

Iron Man #3- An improvement, but I still fail to see a point to the whole thing, or for Gillen's story to be more than Tony simply searching for the Extremis and beating bad guys.

Punisher: War Zone #2: Another solid issue. It's a shame Marvel ended up driving out the creators of Gotham Central out of non-creator owned books in a matter of months, because both really know their business. Not a bad characterization in this issue or the previous one.

Yeah, but rereading this stuff, and having read a decent amount of Thor comics when Asgard came to OK, it just seemed like they needed a way to end it all. How this was going to make Loki King of Asgard didn't really make sense to me.

But it wasn't. You only get the full picture of Loki's plan in JiM #645.

[instantdeath999]

very little from what i've seen so far. I only read the final issue of AvX and as long as you know that Cyclops is supposed to be evil, Captain America/Steroids is always right and that all the mutants are back, you should be fine.

I didn't even know the mutants were gone. Something from House of M, I would guess (new comic fan, only read mostly old stuff with Marvel)

[red snow]

I didn't even know the mutants were gone. Something from House of M, I would guess (new comic fan, only read mostly old stuff with Marvel)

You'll be fine just give a few titles a spin and see how you get along. Depending how old the old marvel stuff was, you may like all new x-men as it has charcters from the old era mixing with their modern day equivalents.

Just read Avengers 1. I'm impressed, Not sure who the narrator is yet but it seems they are from the future remembering present events as the past. I guess it can't be Iron Man or Captain America. Hickman's work reminds me a bit of Gaiman and Ellis when they aren't too busy being meta.

The art is great - i loved the old-school Hulk. The villains aren't that impressive yet but i'll give them time. I loved Thor's "pfft"

I now know what the fuss is about Hickman Graphs. I'll have to hunt down a key as i can't figure out all the symbols. I guess it's showing how the rosters are connected?

[Lady Octarina]

All-New X-Men #3: I liked the idea of the Phoenix messing with their powers, but I didn't like how they handled it. Cyclops, Emma and Magneto all sound too OOC, like clueless teenagers on the rescue scene. But Magneto threatening Cyke is always welcome; I hope that's just the first step for his leaving the X-Men and forming his new Brotherhood, now that there are so many young mutants available. A pity we'll have to wait till next issue for the fun part, but the way things are going that'll probably be sooner than usual as well. The art felt as rushed as the scrip, though.

But the New Xavier School's location being the old Weapon X facilities is just brilliant.

Avengers #1: The art was the best thing, obviously, but as far as first issues go, not so great. It just felt like a teaser, with everything too fragmented, with barely any connection between each situation presented. I reckon it will probably make more sense in the next few issues, but so far it simply feels off. Or maybe I was just prejudiced against it the moment it began with the movie characters as the initial stars, and the general blockbuster feel it had. Or even more likely, I simply have to get used to Hickman's style.

Hawkeye #5: still the best solo series along with its complete opposite, Thor: God of Thunder. Though I still don't understand why this issue and the previous were about a tape when a DVD would have made much more sense.

[Nephrite]

Though I still don't understand why this issue and the previous were about a tape when a DVD would have made much more sense.

Cause Fraction is a hipster.

The end was a bit of a cop-out with the whole "Heroes don't kill, only Navy SEALS do" bit.

Flipped through All-New X-Men and god it's hilarious. I know we joke that Bendis doesn't read other people's books (fuck you, Gillen, huh), but you'd think he reads his own. Like AvX for example. Cause, Emma Frost acting all holier-than-thou about the Phoenix thing is fucking funny. Didn't she go around killing people, making them worship her, having a mental affair with Namor and than convincing him to murder a COUNTRY? Jesus, Bendis, lay of the bourbon/crack combo and remember what you wrote in SEPTEMBER.

Cyclops losing his powers was brilliant. It looked like he's jizzing out of his eyes. Like a mutant version of American Pie.

[red snow]

I was hoping he'd be shooting energy blasts out of his nose. This could be used to excellent manga affect the next time he catches white queen popping out of her costume (which must happen a lot between panels).

I've been reading through some recent issues of Top Cow to see if there were any ideas I could come up with for their writing competition. I thought their books were mainly T&A but Ron Marz is doing an entertaining job with the Artifacts book. I didn't realise they had rebooted their universe and to be honest they have done so in a far more coherent and interesting way than DC did. I guess they have less titles to worry about but having the world be recreated to the likes of one of their central characters is fairly interesting. Still can't find any solid information on the characters you can write about which i guess means I can just make shit up and hope it doesn't contradict previous stuff.

CBR has a good summary of the Hickman Q&A session. He actually gives one of the best arguments for lack of diversity/ people thinking diversity is being forced down their throats.

"

Hickman also addressed the new-character-connundrum of mainstream comics, characterizing the problem as "tricky."

"Most of the talent creating books at Marvel are fairly progressive, so generally we all want diversity in the abstract," he said. "The problem comes from the fact that the catalog of Marvel (and DC) characters are predominantly straight white male because of the era they were conceived in -- and it's the basic building blocks of what we have to work with. Which begets the question: Well Jonathan, if this is really one of the root causes of the problem, if you really feel that way -- if you're not a fraud -- why don't you just go create some new, more diverse characters?

"Which is where things get tricky," he continued. "In light of numerous historical examples, contractual realities, and the shelf life of creators, is it really in a creator's best interest to be making brand new IP for the big companies on the cheap? I mean, we still do it sometimes, because, frankly, we can't not...it's in our DNA as storytellers and problem solvers -- but is it the 'right' thing to do? Would it be right for people to 'expect me' to do that? I don't think so. But that's just one example -- There are others (some even more negative, plenty positive)."

I hadn't really thought of it in terms of most Marvel/DC characters are straight white men and given how it's virtually impossible to launch successful new characters they do seem limited in what they can do. I also admire his honesty with regards to creating new characters. Image has definitely opened creators eyes.