Comic Books

[delete this account pls]

Still keeping up with Saga. Good stuff. I'm surprised at how, after the initial setup, the issues seem to be moving into a slower pace. Wondering how long this story is supposed to be - personally, I wouldn't mind another quality story [that lasts a few years] as it seems others (Locke and Key, Fantastic Four under Hickman, possibly Unwritten) are winding down.

I'm really digging Saga too. As for how long it runs,I'm not sure if BKV has a set idea or not. I'd be surprised if he didn't get at least 40 issues out of it though.

Other things I'm really liking at the moment;

- The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitara, from Image. What if the Manhattan Project was just the cover story for a whole slew of mad scientist shit, like interdimensional portals, or artificial intelligence. Werner Von Braun has a robot arm, Oppenheimer is a psychopathic serial killer and Einstein is a badass.

- Prophet by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy from Extreme Studios. This one is hard to sum up. It's sci fi, but it's also kind of pulp fantasy. Really imaginative stuff, and full of surprises. After four issues, I still have no idea where the story is going, except that it's a really entertaining ride.

- Infinite Kung Fu, by Kagan Macleod, from AdHouse Books (I think). Gorgeously illustrated kung fu epic fantasy

[Nephrite]

Yesterday I read the first issue of Hickman's Secrets. Nice espionage thriller. Mstly set-up, but has great art by Ryan Bodenheim and that one joke was brilliant.

[red snow]

If you enjoyed the art in promethea, then you should definitely check out his Batwoman stories. The art is excellent there too. I think it was in detective comics and now as its own solo title. Google the recent batwoman and it should point you to the issues/trades featuring his art.

I'm loving saga. It's still clearly BKV in terms of dialogue but he seems to be cutting loose with his inventive/bizarre side a lot more here (although the format allows this as much as anything). The other thing I'm enjoying is how it is flying in the face of superhero comic rules. Look at the hoops DC and Marvel went through to unmarry characters like Superman and Spider-man on the grounds you can't tell interesting stories with married people. Then he goes one further by having them with a baby and again the rule is that babies aren't interesting (and have to grow up quickly with an SFF macguffin). It's refreshing to see BKV demonstrate that it's good storytelling that is key.

Haven't really been reading much other than Saga of late. I gave Mieville's "dial H for hero" which was interesting enough to give a couple more issues.

[Calibandar]

Couple of graphic novels I'll be getting this year:

http://www.amazon.com/Fables-Werewolves-Heartland-Bill-Willingham/dp/1401224792/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337968864&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Underwater-Welder-Jeff-Lemire/dp/1603090746/ref=pd_sim_b_56

http://www.amazon.com/Siegfried-Volume-1-Alex-Alice/dp/193639345X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337969312&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Secrets-Cell-Royden-Lepp/dp/1936393581/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337969423&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Or-The-War-After/dp/193639328X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT2_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1OLSJR8OXYM1W&coliid=I1DU9Q0A46TVKY

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Mystery-Itself-Fallout/dp/078515261X/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Swamp-Thing-Vol-Raise-Bones/dp/1401234623/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT2_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1OLSJR8OXYM1W&coliid=I1FUE70U0Y5GXZ

http://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Guard-The-Black-Axe/dp/1936393069/ref=pd_sim_b_18

[Sci-2]

One more suggestion for people buying Graphic Novels - Flex Mentallo by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly.

Some of the best Quietly art I've seen, likely because I suspect they were allowed to take their time on this project.

ETA: and if you're really adventurous, read the Invisibles and Filth as they all fit into an interesting triptych.

[Sci-2]

Secret Six by Gail Simone, good stuff.

"It seems to me that we were, all of us, never meant to live a life decided by the fears and habits of others.

If we know our destination is Hell...then our job is not to think of sin and salvation. It's to shine as bright as we may, with skin like salmon.

So people will look up each moonlit night...and remember we were here."

-Secret Six #34

[red snow]

Secret Six by Gail Simone, good stuff.

Was that quote meta-commentary by Simone on the reboot?

[Sci-2]

Was that quote meta-commentary by Simone on the reboot?

I think it may have been sorta meant that way, but there are in character reasons for the quote.

[haLobEnder]

Still keeping up with Saga. Good stuff. I'm surprised at how, after the initial setup, the issues seem to be moving into a slower pace.

Wondering how long this story is supposed to be - personally, I wouldn't mind another quality story [that lasts a few years] as it seems others (Locke and Key, Fantastic Four under Hickman, possibly Unwritten) are winding down.

I vaguely recall reading an interview where he said his intention was for it to run 5 years or so. I could be mistaken though so don't take my word for it.

I've only read the first issue so far. Decided to wait for the trade as I just don't have room for single issues these days.

Another promising series I picked up recently was Mind the Gap, though admittedly half the thrill of it was seeing Morning Glories cover artist Rodin Esquejo drawing a full comic.

[Sci-2]

Well, apparently DC Comics made alternate earth Alan Scott gay. So that was a cheap marketing ploy for a series that might be cancelled in a year or so anyway.

BUT, the hilarious thing is One Million Moms COLLAPSED when their whining about it on FB resulted in a flood of positive comments. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Awesome.

[theHoodedBard]

The Greatest Graphic NOvel Series of all time and one of the worlds great literary masterpieces is

the Preacher

read it.... now

[dornish prince]

The Greatest Graphic NOvel Series of all time and one of the worlds great literary masterpieces is

the Preacher

read it.... now

preacher was one of my favorites for a long time. i re-read it recently and it didn't hold up quite as well. i still enjoyed it but it dragged a bit for me in the middle.

[mormont]

The Greatest Graphic NOvel Series of all time and one of the worlds great literary masterpieces is

the Preacher

read it.... now

I read it years back: gave up after about twenty-odd issues. It's honestly not even the best thing Garth Ennis has written, let alone the best GN of all time.

[Sci-2]

It's honestly not even the best thing Garth Ennis has written

What is, IYO?

[mormont]

I loved Troubled Souls, myself: one of his earliest works, but probably still his best. I'd say that and True Faith beat Preacher. His run on Hellblazer was also great, and I have a soft spot for Hitman, though objectively it's probably inferior to Preacher. Preacher is what Ennis will always be known for, and it has some great things in it, but I found it amplified the weaknesses in his writing as well as the strengths.

[polishgenius]

I tended to find Preacher to be the series where Ennis' propensity for being pointlessly crude and offensive for the sake of it did the most damage to the story out of his major works I've read. And given that I like The Boys...

He's not nearly as bad as Mark Millar but Preacher took him to the edges of that territory.

I might also simply have been put off by the attacks on Christianity, but I normally get past that sort of thing if a work is good, so I dunno. I mean, I think his work on Hellblazer is brilliant.

[Sci-2]

Ellis, Ennis, Millar - that whole second wave post GM, Gaiman and Moore really comes off as trying too hard and displaying a certain level of laziness when it comes to plot arcs and resolutions.

Heh, I once made a joke about GM's Earth 2 seeding ideas for Ellis's entire career.

That said, Ellis and Ennis are far better writers than Millar, given his best work (Red Son) was apparently buttressed by Morrison's talent.

[polishgenius]

Ellis, Ennis, Millar - that whole second wave post GM, Gaiman and Moore really comes off as trying too hard and displaying a certain level of laziness when it comes to plot arcs and resolutions.

Heh, I once made a joke about GM's Earth 2 seeding ideas for Ellis's entire career.

Horses for courses I suppose but I reckon Ellis has surpassed Morrison. He does have a tendency to fluff his lines on the endings - either finishing a bit weak or just not finishing them at all - but I don't find it nearly as irritating as Morrison's propensity to lose storytelling discipline and just bung as many ideas as he can fit into one story, instead of letting them breathe.

I really need to read more of Ellis' shorter work. Given that he clearly has the attention span of a hyperactive chipmunk it's probably a form that suits him better than extended runs, even though I often find single-volume comics a tad slight.

I find it baffling though that of all comic writers, Millar is the one who's getting most attention from TV and film (apart from Moore of course who doesn't even want it).

[Sci-2]

I reckon Ellis has surpassed Morrison

I'm sorry, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....no. ;-)

Seriously, what work of Ellis's could even come close to Filth, Flex Mentallo, We3, All Star Supes, Arkham Asylum, the Seven Soldiers + Final Crisis + Batman interwoven arc and so on?

Planetary - nope, ending makes no sense.

Transmetropolitan - best thing he did, but lowered by needless pandering to fans of the gritty and sexually explicit.

I can't think of anything else that comes close.

eta: For real-real, there is no objective measure in which Ellis even approaches, given GM has a legit claim to greatest writer in American comics.

eta II: Just to be clear, I'm up for a friendly debate, don't let my cheerleading make you think I'm too much of an asshole.

[Ran]

It's because Millar is a shameless self-promoter par excellance and goes out of his way to drum up attention from media with outrageous statements, planted stories, etc.

Telling artists to base characters he writes on actors probably didn't hurt, as he can use their borrowed fame to promote his work to media. "Oh, Eminem wants to star in this movie based on my Best Selling Comic(!!!!) which just happened to have a main character who looked exactly like him," etc.