So I guess the last thread ended in 2009. Thus, a new one.

I've fallen off considerably with my interest in comics, although I think it's more to my being disappointed in a lot of books lately than anything.

I finally got around to reading I Kill Giants and was blown away by it. I always tell myself that I should read more Joe Kelly books, and then mix him up with Joe Casey, and give up.

This new Boys spinoff (Highland Laddie) is about as stereotypically Ennis as anything is possible. Curious to see if it comes out any good.

Jason Aaron's Wolverine book is somehow really good.

I am somehow losing interest in 4 Avengers books all at the same time.

I want Brightest Day over like NOW.

iZombie reminded me that I like Mike Allred's art (especially with Laura Allred coloring). The story has just gotten pretty interesting, too.

I really wish The Boys would go ahead and end. I bought that first issue of Highland Laddie, but given how indifferent I was towards Herogasm, I did so begrudgingly.

I'm way behind on reading most stuff (as usual), but here are a few thoughts.

I just read the final issue of Siege (and the follow-ups) a few weeks ago, and, boy, did it suck. As big or a bigger ripoff than the final episode/season of LOST, perhaps? Bendis could not have come up with a dumber way to kill The Void/Sentry, and speaking of the Sentry, there seemed to be a huge disconnect with how Bendis wrote him versus what Jenkins created. That Fallen Sun thing that Jenkins did afterward really made this painfully obvious. I don't really think Jenkins is a particularly good writer, but The Sentry was kind of a nifty creation on his part. I honestly feel kind of bad for him the way Bendis mangled the character to suit this "plot" and much of the Dark Avengers stuff. I did really enjoy Dark Avengers, though.

Thanos Imperative is fun and is making me want to go back and read some of the recent Abnett/Lanning Marvel cosmic stuff like Guardians of the Galaxy. Mostly it's just reminding me of how much I loved Thanos Quest and Infinity Gauntlet as a kid.

Other than that... Turf seems cool. I'm liking RASL a lot. Batman and Robin seems to finally be turning into a good series. I gave up on trying to follow whatever new indie book Warren Ellis is doing.

herogasm was ok when i was reading it but i've since put it in my "to be sold" pile. i still really enjoy the boys though. (that sentence is gonna come back to haunt me). i bought highland laddie but haven't read it yet.

i keep forgetting where i left off on some books and don't feel like trying to catch up on most of them.

only ones i've stuck with are walking dead, punisher max and the boys.

siege was great up until the last issue. except for loki "dying" it was a shitty end to a good miniseries.

i don't even know what brightest day is and gave up on blackest night when they had that fruity thing in issue 4 or 5 about the rings. i don't even remember.

only new books i've gotten into are choker, american vampire, scarlet, sweet tooth, stumptown, that return of bruce wayne thing morrison is doing, joe the barbarian and chew.

Joe the Barbarian is beautiful. Still only read the first few issues, but it seems like an instant classic.

And issue #2 of Siege was excellent. Really made the ending that much more disappointing.

Joe the Barbarian is awesome. It's a good reminder of how great Grant Morrison can be when he turns the weirdness down just a touch.

I really like Unwritten and Sweet Tooth as well. Between those 3 and my usual Scalped, DMZ, and Northlanders, Vertigo has been dominating what I buy lately. I have been excited to see Casanova back on the shelves. The first two issues have been good. The new Bendis/Maleev book, Scarlet, looks promising. Glad to see Bendis doing something that is not Avengers or huge multi-series crossover related.


The only mainstream hero stuff I've been reading lately is Fantastic Four, Jason Aaron's Wolverine book, Warren's Astonishing X-Men, and Batman and Robin.

man, i wish i remembered where i left off on northlanders.

i read way too many fucking comics

right now i'm reading all the dark reign stuff, which i'm enjoying.

I've really been enjoying Action (or Adventure) Comics lately. Whichever one is being written by Paul Cornell and stars Luthor.

Also, I'm still pissed about Rucka leaving Detective, although if this means more Queen & Country, then so be it.

I don't think I hated Seige as much as some of you. It wasn't a bad standalone book. Sure, there was a lot of shit tie-ins, but there always are. I did enjoy the Thunderbolts one, though.

The Boys... I like it, but sometimes I feel like I have no idea what's going on. I completely lost track of who was who (especially the Vought guys and the government guys) around Herogasm and am just sorta surprised they're still getting away with it.

On the other hand, I have no idea how Walking Dead is still so fucking good, but I end every single issue psyched about what's gonna happen, even if they are all idiots sometimes.

I didn't hate it, and some of the tie-ins were decent. (I didn't read Thunderbolts, and it seems like I keep jumping off that series at the wrong time. Oh well, I give up.) I was just seriously pissed at the way it ended. There were so many great things going into it, but in the end it all just mostly served to return the Marvel U to status quo.



Still reading this in trades (think I'm on Vol. 10 or 11?), but yeah, it's pretty impressive. Has the TV show started airing yet? I know they were filming some of it here since, you know, it's supposed to take place around here. Kinda funny since Kirkman's knowledge of geography and weather patterns around here seem pretty fuzzy. Anyway, I'd be curious to know if the show is actually any good.

Some other things...

What the hell is First Wave about? I read the first two issues, and I have no idea.

I've been generally into and excited about all of Hickman's Marvel stuff, but lately I've started having my doubts about him. FF has generally been good, but how good kind of depends on where he goes with it if he finally does go anywhere. I wasn't really that big on Eaglesham's art, either, but this guy Edwards is seriously weak. A poor man's Bryan Hitch. Secret Warriors kind of fell off noticeably after Bendis left Hickman alone on it after the first arc, but it's still always pretty enjoyable. While the art is good, my main complaint with the book has got to be the costumes. The main Hydra and Leviathan guys look like bad G.I. Joe villains from the late '80s/early '90s back when they made that animated movie - you know the one that aired on TV in multiple parts with the half-snake guy and the flying guy and Lt. Falcon and Sgt. Slaughter and stuff. I was just really disappointed in how the Leviathan dudes looked once we finally got to see them. S.H.I.E.L.D. seems cool, and I definitely admire Hickman's ambition on that. But again... the costumes. Those silly helmets worn by those secret society guys are just too much.

Still reading through The Invisibles, DMZ, Fables, and Transmetropolitan in trades. I started to read Tom Strong, and while the art is great, I don't know if I'm to keep going after that first volume. I was ready to give up on DMZ until after the election arc. It really picked up after that. I loved the two issues about Staten Island.

My son recently turned me on to 1602 series written by Neil Gaiman. Very cool concept of super heroes living during the inquisition.

holy shit, Alan Moore has a new album out? With Mike Patton and... anticon?

He put out an album before? Of what?

I know he's put out stuff before, but it's always been weird (what I've assumed to be) goth-metal interpretations of his shitty poetry.

I mean, the guy is quite possibly my most beloved author of this century, but he can be a windbag. I just can't care about some of his passions (a la magic and bombardment of lesbian overtones). For me personally, I can't imagine adding anything Anticon or Mike Patton would add could make it salvageable.

Prove me wrong, AM! Still waiting for more Top Ten!

ugh, someone needs to take Brightest Day to the glue factory.

haven't read any of yesterday's books yet, but I'm getting ready to drop a shitload of titles.

Also, Bendis and Maleev are doing Moon Knight? I feel like they're just gonna reprint their (amazing) Daredevil run, only with a yarmulke drawn on Matt Murdock.

I need to drop some stuff, but I can't decide what. I keep wanting to drop Thor, but Fraction & Ferry's run looks like it's going to be the best since the JMS/Coipel relaunch. With that plus Thor: For Asgard and now Hickman doing Ultimate Thor, I'm buying three fucking Thor books. I can't believe this shit.

I'm so far behind in all my reading that I can't comment on anything recent. I got convinced to pick up Mystery Society and iZombie, and hopefully I won't regret those. I figure iZombie can't be a total dud with Allred doing the art.

I really don't want to start reading Moon Knight, even with Bendis/Maleev doing it, but I guess I'll have to check it out. Does this mean Scarlet is going to be a fairly short mini?

Kids are getting into the graphic novel thing. At 9 and 11... I am screening a few more comics than I have in a while. At least for the 9 y.o.

There's plenty of sites that offer a sort of advisory for comics and what's appropriate for kids. The library often has a great kids' selection, but frequently let some pretty violent, disturbing shit into the kids' section (Arkham Asylum, anyone?).

I'll try to dig some of them up later for you if you'd like.

Thanks. I'd appreciate that.
I've seen some ratings on the books (like on movies or TV shows), but have looked through them, as well... sometimes those ratings don't tell the whole story.

Todd, what about Bone?

Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume

Its pretty great. That collection is massive, and its kids safe.

They've read a couple of those, and they liked them. Thanks for the reminder. I'll swing that one by them.

I know a few people here have talked about downloading comics. What sites do you use? I missed Brian Wood's DV8 number 6. Now, I'm holding number 7 in my hands, but can't find a hard copy of number 6 anywhere.

On a related note, I was checking out the free digital comics on Marvel's website. The navigation was really good, and they have a shitload up there. I think you get full access for like 5 bucks a months. I was pretty tempted. Has anyone tried this?

I didn't think I'd ever have reason to post in this thread, but I went to the library next to my house (fucking finally), and stumbled on a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman called Marvel 1602... I'd never heard of it (of course) but I recognized Gaiman's name from Stardust (a book I wierdly loved) so I picked it up. Really wierd concept - the Marvel characters set in england in 1602 - but so far it's been ok. I can't say I LOVE it but I do look forward to picking it up every night for 15 minutes before I nod off.

it's a good one. I love the cover, the way it looks like a woodcut.

It's a really good story, and I think there were like 3-5 spinoffs, although I don't think Gaiman was behind any of them (and I haven't read any). There was plenty of Marvel Universe porn that I wasn't aware of the first time I read it, but pretty much every character has a counterpart in the modern (616) comics world. I don't want to ruin anything because I'm not sure where you are now, but when you finish, I bet it'd be worth checking out the wikipedia page for that, because there was plenty of stuff that slipped past me, and I sort of know a lot of it.