Comics XI: Modok's 11

[Little Valkyrie]

Do we know who's writing the X-men books next? I guess Marvel's answer is "who says there'll be x-men books after secret wars"

My money in on Remender because of some comments he made, and I know there'll be some...interesting reactions to that, if it's true. I don't always like his stuff, but I respect his grasp of comic craft a lot in terms of plotting and MOVING THINGS ALONG. Also the Uncanny Avengers Annual (starring Mojo) was categorically amazing.

ETA: This is the quote: "I'm working on the big post-Secret Wars project right now, and it allows me to give readers a very clear and true starting point with a beloved franchise. It enables me to pick and choose what I think are the most integral and exciting aspects of that property. Coming out of the other end of Secret Wars, I'll have the opportunity to do things in a much cleaner fashion."

If that isn't X-Men, I will think about consuming a hat.

[Winterfell is Burning]

Goddamn it, putting Remender on X-men is like putting Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu to direct Batman or something. The man has shown consistently to not only despise, but not understand the franchise at all. I hope that if he does, he ends up in a marginal book or something rather than writing the main book.

One would think that after his complete failure at Uncanny Avengers (it was supposed to be the flagship of Marvel, ended up selling less than a dozen other books and becoming irrelevant) you would think that Marvel wouldn't want him at their big guns.

[Little Valkyrie]

Goddamn it, putting Remender on X-men is like putting Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu to direct Batman or something. The man has shown consistently to not only despise, but not understand the franchise at all. I hope that if he does, he ends up in a marginal book or something rather than writing the main book.

One would think that after his complete failure at Uncanny Avengers (it was supposed to be the flagship of Marvel, ended up selling less than a dozen other books and becoming irrelevant) you would think that Marvel wouldn't want him at their big guns.

I liked his UXF quite a bit. But I think Marvel has been flailing around with the X-Books ever since they ran screaming away from Morrison's NXM, to be honest. M-Day, Decimation, Schism...the metaphor, IMO, doesn't work very well anymore at all, and they can't quite figure out what they want the books to be about. Bendis was kind of successful I guess at doing teen drama, but look at how his UXM went--did the revolution happen? Did ANYTHING happen? I think it's a side-effect of the movie emphasis marginalizing that section of the universe, but not completely, because I think they're flailing around with Iron Man as well.

I could tell you which DC properties they don't know what they want to be either, if anyone cares.

[red snow]

Goddamn it, putting Remender on X-men is like putting Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu to direct Batman or something. The man has shown consistently to not only despise, but not understand the franchise at all. I hope that if he does, he ends up in a marginal book or something rather than writing the main book.

One would think that after his complete failure at Uncanny Avengers (it was supposed to be the flagship of Marvel, ended up selling less than a dozen other books and becoming irrelevant) you would think that Marvel wouldn't want him at their big guns.

Well, they don't care too much about X-men anyhow so they can throw remender at it. I'm not anti-remender at all. Thought his best Marvel work was uncanny X-force which is essentially X-men. His Image stuff is excellent too so maybe if he gets to approach it from a creator owned view his heart will be in it.

The only problem is if he thinks Havok's words about "mutants" is how he sees and wants to approach the X-men

[Malik Ambar]

So if he is allowed to write Batman why aren't I ?

[john]

Are you a comic book superstar writer? :P

Surely Azarello will keep out any All Star Batman and Robin type nonsense though.

[red snow]

Are you a comic book superstar writer? :P

Surely Azarello will keep out any All Star Batman and Robin type nonsense though.

I'd hope Azzarello would keep this thing on the rails. His involvement gives me some hope as he wrote my favourite Batman story of recent memory during the Flashpoint event. He has turned out some awful books too in the superhero field but Bats fits him better.

Sounds like Miller isn't even drawing it though. Seems a crap end to the trilogy in that sense and more aking to the watchmen prequels but with Miller happily taking the cash.

I'm finding Lazarus a chore this month. One of the worst fonts I've encountered making it really hard to read as I'm concentrating on the writing rather than what the writing is conveying.

[john]

He's not drawing it? Well, that's lame. Honestly, with the exception of Year One (which i know he only wrote on), i've always preferred his art to his writing, even in his most lauded books.

[Nictarion]

I'm finding Lazarus a chore this month. One of the worst fonts I've encountered making it really hard to read as I'm concentrating on the writing rather than what the writing is conveying.

I was going to ask you how this was, as I didn't get a chance to go to the comic shop this week. Dissapointed to hear that. I'll have to see next week when I get it, although I thought the last issue of Saga wasn't bad. Maybe you're just being overly critical recently. :P

[AncalagonTheBlack]

2015 Eisner Awards Nominees Announced

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

Astro City #16: “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)

Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Madman in Your Face 3D Special, by Mike Allred (Image)

Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration #1(Marvel)

The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1, by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Continuing Series

Astro City, by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo)

Bandette, by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)

Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction & David Aja (Marvel)

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)

Southern Bastards, by Jason Aaron & Jason Latour (Image)

The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, & Stefano Gaudiano (Image/Skybound)

Best Limited Series

Daredevil: Road Warrior, by Mark Waid & Peter Krause(Marvel Infinite Comics)

Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Garbriel Rodriguez (IDW)

The Multiversity, by Grant Morrison et al. (DC)

The Private Eye, by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin (Panel Syndicate)

The Sandman: Overture, by Neil Gaiman & J. H. Williams III (Vertigo/DC)

Best New Series

The Fade Out, by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips (Image)

Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)

Ms. Marvel, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (Marvel)

Rocket Raccoon, by Skottie Young (Marvel)

The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (Image)

Full list - http://comicbook.com/2015/04/22/2015-eisner-awards-nominees-announced/

[red snow]

I was going to ask you how this was, as I didn't get a chance to go to the comic shop this week. Dissapointed to hear that. I'll have to see next week when I get it, although I thought the last issue of Saga wasn't bad. Maybe you're just being overly critical recently. :P

May well be (even Avengers2 got a muted response) - I think I just need to watch/read something that slaps me in the face with something different. The premier of Community season 6 just impressed me though :)

Having finished the issue - it does set the world up for a storyline going forward. If the text hadn't been so tricky to read, I'd have been ok with it. So it's a production probably as opposed to the writing itself.

Regarding the eisners

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1, by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Continuing Series

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)

Not sure Hawkeye can really qualify for a continuing series given its schedule.

Best Limited Series

The Multiversity, by Grant Morrison et al. (DC)

Tough choice.

Best New Series

Haven't read any of those - may need to address that

[Sci-2]

Multiversity #2: I liked it, though at least Pax Americana feels incomplete. I get that the other stories (minus Ultracomics) could be solved by the meta-solution though. All in all I'd say it was a pretty amazing run, though admittedly the conclusion's on the meta side which has its pros and cons.

Spoiler:

So was the Empty Hand Trigon? Ultra? Us?

Avengers/New Avengers finales: I think the Album Rahul reveal lack clues, involved annoying time shit, but at least there was some closure. Avengers actually was really good, as I got excited with each turn of the page. That said the god-like power of the Beyonders makes you wonder if the final battle is going to involve something as cheesy as the battle between Cap & the 3 Kangs. Maybe Morrison had the right idea to take it to the meta-level after all...

[Nictarion]

So I guess I completely missed this Multiversity Guidebook they were reading in #2. I will have to pick it up for collection sake, but was there anything in it I should have known before reading the final issue? It was a good run overall, pretty fun idea, and executed well.

Batman #40 was amazing. A great conclusion to Endgame. Capullo absolutely killed it in this issue, and

the confirmation of the Joker being immortal ties in nicely with the end of Death of the Family. It gives us a little backstory on him, but still leaves plenty of mystery. I like it. Didn't expect them to kill off both Batman

and the Joker either :O. They kept it quiet pretty well.

This run of Snyder and Capullo really has become one of my absolute favorites in recent years. And it's not over.

Eta: Oh and you were right about the font in Lazarus #16 red snow. Definitely was distracting.

[red snow]

Multiversity was pretty good fun. I loved that he was taking the piss out of marvel/DC events. I'm trying to remember the exact words but it was something like "every event leads into another but we never see the impact".

I picked up Silver Surfer based on the reviews I heard. I'm looking forward to having a play with that one.

Eta: Oh and you were right about the font in Lazarus #16 red snow. Definitely was distracting.

Someone should have proof-read it. I suspect those who picked it were familiar enough with the text to see through the font. I'm sure the issue would be better if I could read it in a style that isn't reminiscent of a 4 year old learning to read!

[MisterOJ]

So, I have been reading the New Avengers (2004) from the beginning and have made it through Civil War and am almost to Secret Invasion. I can't really tell just by browsing the titles in Marvel Unlimited what happened to the other team of Avengers (with Iron Man) after Civil War. Did they not have their own book telling their story?

[Winterfell is Burning]

So, I have been reading the New Avengers (2004) from the beginning and have made it through Civil War and am almost to Secret Invasion. I can't really tell just by browsing the titles in Marvel Unlimited what happened to the other team of Avengers (with Iron Man) after Civil War. Did they not have their own book telling their story?

Yes, they did, it was called Mighty Avengers, and it was actually more interesting than the NA one, IIRC.

[MisterOJ]

Yes, they did, it was called Mighty Avengers, and it was actually more interesting than the NA one, IIRC.

Mighty Avengers - no wonder I missed it! Thanks. I'll probably read some of that this weekend.

I am really loving the Marvel Unlimited subscription service, but sometimes the way it's set up doesn't make it easy for someone that hasn't picked up a comic in 15 years and has no idea about the continuity of things.

[Calibandar]

Can I also ask for a recommendation?

These Avengers films have gotten me interested in picking up some of the better runs of say, the last 10 years.

On Amazon I spotted collections like these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0785190406/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1OLSJR8OXYM1W&coliid=I17A9QG6L4ZZCC

Avengers: Rage of Ultron

Avengers Volume 5: Adapt or Die

New Avengers Volume 1: Everything Dies

Avengers: Time Runs Out

Any of these worth recommending? I'm interested in the crew you see in the Avengers film but also in any new crews that have good storylines.

[red snow]

The trouble with Avengers and Marvel in general is it's hard to point out a good done-in-one trade story. I think Bendis' run generally has an overall storyline but it's a long haul.

There was one by Warren Ellis out recently that was meant as a standalone - maybe that? Although I think the one you link is trying the same thing - haven't read it though.

I'd probably go old school and suggest "Avengers forever" but it's maybe one that appeals to the megafan despite being accessible and telling an epic storyline.

The other thread members can probably be more helpful.

[MisterOJ]

Can I also ask for a recommendation?

These Avengers films have gotten me interested in picking up some of the better runs of say, the last 10 years.

On Amazon I spotted collections like these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0785190406/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1OLSJR8OXYM1W&coliid=I17A9QG6L4ZZCC

Avengers: Rage of Ultron

Avengers Volume 5: Adapt or Die

New Avengers Volume 1: Everything Dies

Avengers: Time Runs Out

Any of these worth recommending? I'm interested in the crew you see in the Avengers film but also in any new crews that have good storylines.

How do you feel about reading them on a tablet or computer? Because if you're okay with that, you can read all of it for just $10 with a Marvel Unlimited subscription.