elnino14

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The New Guy

The New Guy (1/8)

  1. Queen & Country by Greg Rucka (mostly), is pretty darn right amazing. It has a "The Wire" like sensibility on bureaucracy where much of the time is the stories are less about crazy invincible spy adventures and more about how the decisions are made behind closed doors, and the brutal psychological and physical impacts these "adventures" take on the real people that undertake them. I've got one more novel left, but I already love the change in status quo that Rucka has created in the last two novels. It makes each novel feel fresh and represents new challenges for our characters that we wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise. To get hyped for the new Thor movie, I read a bunch of Thor material, the last and only time I've ever really enjoyed Thor on the page was JMS' run, it was my first exposure and every exposure afterwards never really sparked my imagination. Jason Aaron's God of Thunder vol. 1-4: I was really satisfied with this run overall. This was a lot of fun for the first two trades involving the God Eater and God Bomb (along with 1 issue after), mixing large scale, adventurous plots along with a rollicking time travel story with three Thors, against an all-powerful, non-stop, motivated villain amongst an interesting reflection almost a meditation on what it means to be a god, the values of the gods, and how spite might form because of them. By the third arc, that deals with Malekith the Dark Elf, the book takes a bit of a dip and is not quite as awesome, where we get a motivated but bland one dimensional villain, thrown together supporting characters team, and while fun, but obvious tale of basic good vs. evil with a dash of Cosmic politics. The last arc tried to reach the heights of the fantastic first two arcs, but didn't quite get there, it certainly played into the split structure between different Thors more, making it more satisfying as a wrap around conclusion of the run. The ending though, like all comics, was a non ending - more of an advertisement for the next book, reminding me why I don't spend as much time reading traditional superheroes anymore. Kieron Gillen's Journey into Mystery: I read about half of this before I decided it wasn't for me. And really I should have known better, Gillen's fill in runs on Thor after JMS left were not my bag either, but I thought a refreshing take on the mythos that focused on a teenage Loki who knows who he's supposed to become and has to deal with the weight of his destiny or fight against it, would be far more interesting that it was in execution. The Loki plots were far more difficult to follow than JMS's stylings, and the book is narrative heavy, something I'm not too fond of. On the flip side of all of that, I read Garth Ennis' run on Hitman, after hearing about how it might even have been better than Preacher, which I really enjoyed so long ago. Hitman by Garth Ennis: It doesn't quite hit the highs that I felt with Preacher, but there are moments in this run that are beautiful, especially in it's second half. The first half errs on the side of a very goofy, fun, aspect that is enjoyable (a zombie zoo) with a few emotional moments, but the second half is filled emphasizes an absolute onslaught of heartfelt moments about brotherhood, friendship, family, regret, and even love, while never fore-going the goofy (there's an arc with the Hitman crew vs. dinosaurs). The issue with Superman in particular, is a stand-out issue, the arc about Ringo and Tommy, along with the final emotional arc of the series. Who knew that a story about a bunch of misfit assassins and heroes would have such an impact on me. I had a blast reading this, but wasn't able to see how truly wonderful it was until the second half. Not sure if I'm going to keep this one around for my collection or it's going to go back up on E-bay, but I enjoyed the hell out of it and would love to share it with others. If I have to debate about keeping it, it means that I'm debating about reading it again in the future and it's good enough to sit with my favorites (Preacher, BKV's Y the Last Man & Ex Machina, Ultimates 1 & 2, Bendis' DD, Sin City, Brubaker's Criminal & Sleeper, Ellis' Planetary, Transmet, & Fell, Morrison & Whedon's X-men). Given how much of a pain it was to find a decent set of this on ebay, that debate might last a little while. I think right now, I'm leaning towards it ending up in someone else's hands. I forget how much I like Ennis sometimes. Up Next: Probably going to read the two spin-off minis for Hitman about the side characters - Six Pac and Section 8. Given that they weren't my favorite part of the series, I'm doing this more for completion sake. I've got DMZ by Brian Wood sitting in my clothes closet (instead of boxes), so I guess that's coming up next. And I want to read some Black Panther before the film (maybe some Christopher Priest).
  2. Yeah the shooting on live tv not ringing any alarm bells was highly suspect.
  3. Oops I forgot a few: Considering that a spidey movie was coming up soon, I wanted to read a couple of spidey books. The Fearless Defenders by Cullen Bunn: A overwhelmingly obvious plan to raise stock value on the superheroines of the Marvel-verse, you have this book that just keeps throwing more and more characters into the pot with little consequence. While the core team of Valykrie and Misty Knight is what drew me, they quickly get side-stepped by the crazy amount of characters in here, plots, sub-plots, and villains. Superior Spider-man by Dan Slott: As interesting (and controversial) as this run started out, it was very difficult to continue reading and moving through. It has aF lot of supporting characters that I don't know and eases it's way in and out some continuity storylines (with some of the other Spidey books) that I'm not privy to, so that made it more of a confusing read than normal. Along with that, I just didn't like the obvious way that Slott would hit upon his themes of "SUPERIOR," and ultimately by the end, along with my confusion, I didn't care all that much. Superior Foes of Spider-man: Freaking excellent. A fun romp through the D-list superhero world that makes these villains actually engaging and interesting. It's everything that Suicide Squad film wished it was. Probably the best "superhero" comic I've read all year. Ms. Marvel (Kamala Kham) through The Last Days arc: Even though I ultimately decided that the book wasn't for me, I notice that this is obviously a fantastic book, and a great way to envelope diversity through the use of humor and regular day teenage problems. I'm a bit removed from the teenage issues that this book addresses, and it was hard for me connect, even if I find Kamala adorable.
  4. Catching up to the half year (6 months)! Everything We Miss by Luke Pearson: This broke me as a person guys, one of the most emotional books I've read. The Massive Vol. 1-5 by Brian Wood: I've been wanting to read some of Brian Wood's stuff for a while now. I had the first trade of this a while ago. I enjoyed it, the climate change apocalypse felt realistic, and it had a great balance of eco-politics, adventure, and a slight tinge of mysticism but it felt a little too episodic for my taste and didn't leave an everlasting impression in terms of characters or emotionality. Mark Millar Stuff (MPH, Jupiter's Legacy vol. 1, Nemesis, Supercrooks): All this did was make me ask why I decided to read any Millar in the first place. Loud, brash, dumb, ultra-violent, obvious, and mostly heartless. Mark Millar Stuff 2 (Chrononauts, Superior): Oh yeah, that's why! A balance of fun core ideas, the delight of adventure, and (in the case of Superior) heartfelt moments. Mark Millar Stuff 3 (Starlight): There are time where Millar does go above and beyond the ultra violent movie pitch script or core idea, here Millar in an ode to the adventure serials, provides a timeless story about a man far beyond his prime and his dreams, getting a chance to relive them, truly a fantastic book all around. The Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn: I had won a collection of the first 6 trades (which was about half of the series) and started reading them. It's a genre mash with a core of a western with elements of horror, and urban fantasy. It's got a breakneck plot, interesting concepts, and a fully realized world. It's a book the screams fun and interesting, and doesn't take itself too seriously but as a result, it doesn't say anything either, it doesn't do anything really new with the world that it's built. A fun story that was consistently entertaining, and sometimes popcorn entertainment is enough. There's a lot of characters here and many of them are pretty much one dimensional. They try and go further to do something really interesting by the end but it was a little too late for me. A couple of caveats: I thought the first trade felt like a mini-series that had a complete ending and then Bunn decided to just continue so the story after kind of feels tacked on for a little while before it finds a groove, also the side stories feel so derivative and unnecessary. Currently Reading: Queen & Country by Greg Rucka: I really love Greg Rucka, (I read the full Atticus Kodiak series last year, read his Elektra and Wolverine run the year before, and read his Punisher run the year before that) and I think Queen & Country is my Rucka project this year. I have read the graphic novels before, but without the knowledge of a proper read order (I have the definitive editions, and apparently the novels and the stories in definitive edition number 4 go in between the stories in the other volumes). Now that I have a grip on reading order and have bought all 3 of the novels, I've started on this to read it properly (and fully, it'll be the first time I've touched the novels). I've gotten through quite a few stories, and I absolutely adore the mixture of political drama, office politics, and real life spy work. A lot of internal conflict and pain is portrayed with just quiet panels and with a rotating band of artists, the art is never boring (sometimes certain artists are ill-suited to the story but that's the name of the game). The reading order has helped address some gaps and made the definitive edition stories sit in proper context. I'm currently on the second volume, and am looking forward to read the rest including the three novels.
  5. My friend for a little while was into collecting CGC comics before he died. And since he was sick, I kind of just got into it with him to spend time with him. So as a result I have a few CGC graded comics. Mostly from the 80s because I love the look of the covers and I wanted to actually display stuff that I thought looked cool. Daredevil 181: Death of Elektra, Awesome Frank Miller Cover. Uncanny X-men 141-142: Days of Future Past Wolverine #1 Wolverine #10 signed by Stan Lee & Claremont, Len Wein, and one other, I got the book for free in great condition when I bought Wolverine #1, but then paid for the CGC and signing. Finally Incredible Hulk #340 signed by Todd McFarlane, this was my friend's that we sent off to CGC (with the one above plus his Fantastic Fours 25/26), but he passed away before we got it back so I kept it, for myself, as the last gift he gave me. He had a bunch, I can't fucking remember them all but he had FF 25/26, the Spidey Venom one, and a few other Spidey ones, FF ones. Thankfully I got the FF 25/26 signed by Lee delivered to my house and I was able to give them to him a week before he died. Unfortunately, his girlfriend raided his house and took all his stuff though leaving nothing behind for the rest of us (including his mom).
  6. So what you're saying is don't read this. I read Buffy Season 8 and thought it was terribly mediocre. I never got the chance to read what was essentially Angel Season 6 (and I own it in single issues). And completely lost interest in reading Season 9 of anything. I figured I'd try to forget the comics, and just let the franchise die with my memory of the tv shows but a part of me wants to rewatch Angel and read the season 6 (or the other way around).
  7. This is very much a sequel / finale to Garth Ennis' Punisher MAX series. So if you're interested in this, read that first. How much knowledge of the previous series is needed? I've read bits and pieces but it's been ages and I ever finished the run. I think I finished the slavers arc and maybe one more before I quit. Does the Aaron run stqnd alone at all. I really loved the Rucka run and thought this might be up my alley.
  8. I want some Essential reccommendations for Marvel from the last 5 years or so. I've read: Uncanny X-force by Remender Fantastic Four by Hickman Captain Marvel by Kelley Sue Moon Knight by Ellis Here's what I have in mind: Punishermax by Jason Aaron Wolverine and the X-men by Jason Aaron Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron Uncanny Avengers by Remender Avengers/New Avengers by Hickman Journey Into Mystery by Gillien Young Avengers by Gillen All New X-men/Uncanny X-men by Bendis Cyclops by Rucka FF by Fraction Ms marvel Anything I'm missing? I could use opinions on, considering some of the following: Fearless Defenders Cable and X-force X-treme X-men by Pak X-men by Wood Uncanny X-force by Humphries All New X-factor X-force by Si Spurrier Amazing X-men Captain America by Remender Superior Iron Man by Gillen Secret Avenger by Spencer Secret Avengers by Kot Might Avengers Avengers World Superior Spider-man Deadpool by Duggan Superior Foes of Spider-man Guardians Nova Magneto Infamous She Hulk Loki Agent of Asgard Silver Surfer
  9. Anyways, my friend recently got into comics and asked for recommendations from me. I gave him a whole bunch. He read Fell and Y the Last Man, which he greatly enjoyed. I told him on his next choice to let me know and we'd do a sort of book club. To my delight, he picked Alias by Brian Michael Bendis. So I've been re-reading Alias lately. He's done with the book and I am almost finished with just two issues left. Such a strong book, a great look at the fringes of the Marvel universe, with a great main character who is flawed, human, makes mistakes, and doesn't feel like a typical superhero. A book that touches greatly upon themes of identity and plays with that theme maturely from all different angles. I've been pushing two books as his next choice hard. Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Planetary by Warren Ellis. I'm not sure if he'll pick either one or go in a completely different direction. I have three different books in play before Alias: Docktor Sleepless by Warren Ellis Suicide Squad by John Ostrander (I was on Issue #40) Fantastic Four by John Hickman (Just finished the Dark Reign tie in that kicks it off). Both Suicide Squad and Fantastic Four/FF by Hickman were things that I wanted to read this year. FF by Hickman because I wanted to read his Avengers/New Avengers run afterwards.
  10. Green Arrow: Year One - Inspired by the watching the first season, I decided to read this. It was ho-hum. Quite different than what I expected given the series. Formerly Known as the Justice League/I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League: Giffen and Maguire's run on JLI didn't drop me as it did everyone else, mostly because in between the good stuff/the funny stuff there was some really bland unbalanced superheroics that were just uninteresting. The slapstick comedy doesn't do much for me, but the book was always a nice change of pace, I didn't read the whole run, I read the recent collected editions up to vol. 5 or so right before Booster Gold and Blue Beetle went on vacation to some island. The JLE was a decidedly weaker team. I appreciate what they did however and it did get me to enjoy certain characters that I had never seen before (Booster Gold/Blue Beetle/Guy Gardner). These pseudo sequels are in the same vein and are pretty delightful. They are a super-concentrated form of what came before. I doubt I'll ever read them again though. Onto reading a shit ton of Batman: Batman Year One/ Dark Knight Returns: Both are still amazing. Catwoman and Her Sister's Keeper: Really crappy. Supposed to tie into Year One but it's not really well thought out. Batman Shaman/Batman and the Monster Men: Two really good year one like stories. The Monster men is a lot of fun, while Shaman harks back to the extra-curricular travels that Bruce took before the Batman mantle. I don't remember much now, but they'r both fun detective stories. 100 Bullets Brother Lono: After being disappointed by the ending of the main series, I was hesitant to pick up the pseudo sequel. It has all the bloodshed and mixed noir/grindhouse sensibilities that a lot of the other stories did. It's certainly missing a lot of the original characters but you know what you're getting into, and you're pretty sure how this will all end from the first act. Reality Check: Great Idea, awful execution. A writer's superhero character enters the real world and asks his writer to get him a date, the writer has to overcome writer's block, face his demons, and put the character back where he belongs. Ghosted: Vol. 1 Haunted Heist: It's like Ocean's 11 with ghosts. The team is a mess of caricatures, but the main character is fun, and the plot held my attention. Fun Home: A family tragicomic: Way more in the vein of graphic novel than comic book. An autobiographical story, with a flood of literary references that I didn't pick up. Interesting and definitely different. Dramatic and slightly heartbreaking at the time. Maus by Art Spiegelman: The critically acclaimed story and it's a doozy. A perfect mixture of non-fiction narrative, history, and memoir. Palestine by Joe Sacco: A perfect mixture of journalism, history, and non-fiction narrative in a comic book form. Weird to read back to back with Maus. Saga vol. 1: Freaking amazing.
  11. So I just finished episode 5 of season 1, does this show get compelling at some point? Or am I going to have to wait until the end of the season like Agents of Shield?
  12. Finished up Matt Fraction's run on Invincible Iron Man, like I thought it was completely derailed by the Fear Itself event and while the issues weren't bad, it wasn't what I was interested in reading. After Fear Itself the series definitely gets back to the characters and plots that were interesting to me, the spymaster storyline, the Stane/Hammer/Mandarin team up. I liked the end-game but tonally it was a little different from how it started to how it ended. Mandarin is a villain is based in mysticism and they didn't change that much here, but they definitely had a hint of much of it being sourced from insanity and ego. What you end up with is another run that starts off strongly, gets caught up in an company wide event that muddies the waters a bit, tries to recover, and then ends weaker for it. Brubaker's run on Captain America, Fraction's run on Iron Man, I wonder if Hickman's run on Fantastic Four ends up being similar. Matt Fraction's Hawkeye issues 1-11: Man what a freaking fantastic comic book, every issue thus far is extremely enjoyable and David Aja and Fraction are just working magic together here. The whole thing is just beautiful to look at. Can't wait to continue this and get the full collection in an Omnibus edition. Batman: Earth One - I enjoyed this when I read it. Don't remember much of it now, outside of the more well-rounded characterization of Alfred, and more depth to the death of the Wayne parents. A+X: Read a couple of issues of this, it's supposed to be fun, and they're moderately fun, but they're so inconsequential and there's no depth that longer narrative runs have, that it feels like an absolute waste of time. Don't think I'll continue this.
  13. Who is Jake Ellis: This was an okay spy-ish book. Bulletproof Coffin and Bulletproof Coffin Disinterred: Complete insanity, one of the craziest, and off-the wall books I've read in a long while. Finished Straczynki's run on Thor, it's really a fabulous run that reads very well in Hardcover over a couple of weeks. Lots of great little character developments, especially Bill from Broxton and Balder, both minor characters getting a chance to shine. It's a shame he couldn't finish the run. Gillien does what he can, but he's left a lot of pieces and has to deal with getting pulled into events, and it's not bad, but it doesn't read as special or memorable. Fraction's run, I got an issue or two into and couldn't continue, it was a combination of being bored and pretty burnt out after reading Stracznski's and Gillien's run back to back. I'd like to get back to this eventually, I might skip Fraction's work but I'd really like to get into Gillien's Journey Into Mystery. Ha, read a ton of this. Re-read Fraction's run on Iron Fist, enjoyable, still didn't absolutely love it, but it's a ton of fun that mirrors a lot of DC's themes of legacy heroes. Duane's continuation felt right in place as well. The Immortal Weapons mini was a mixture of being really awesome and mediocre. The Fat Cobra issue was one I enjoyed quite a bit. Secret Warriors isn't as amazing as I once thought it was on a re-read. But I still really enjoy the spy espionage elements. I think the hints at the beginning are a lot of fun and the teenage team is really cool but I think the complexity is just there just to be there, Hickman plays a long game, but at the end of the day, the ending kind of leaves you a bit cold as the players (Nick Fury, and some others) are different from the players you actually grow attached to during the series (The teenage team especially). Invincible Iron Man by Fraction (#1-33, 500), I'm smack dab in the middle of this run, just finished the Stark Resilient arc and am in what seems like a bunch of one shots. I really like the Five Nightmares arc and after reading Stark Resilient, I like the theme of Stark's sins coming back to haunt him in the form of the legacy of his foes. The America's Most Wanted arc is really cool, globe trotting chase adventure featuring Norman Osborn, that really pushes back to Stark to his core. The most interesting thing is how Stark deals with the things he has done in his life and after years of being an asshole (Civil War, Head of Shield), how he feels about all these elements. Maria Hill and Pepper Potts guest star and you can see a ton of influence into the third movie here in how they treated Pepper. The issue after Stark Resilient was a little more fantastical but still cool, I'm interested in getting back to the main arc but I think it will be derailed by Fear Itself. Once I finish up Matt Fraction's run on Iron Man. That'll be two big famous runs from the modern 00's that I would have completed in it's entirety (the other being Brubaker's Captain America). Up Next: Matt Fraction's Iron Man (from Issue 501 to 527)
  14. Agreed, it would seem a little early to go the Milla route but the description sounds very much like Milla Here's another possibility, although it doesn't fit the description quite as well...maybe, Echo.
  15. I'm in the process of minimalizing the amount of stuff I have, specifically reading and then getting rid of a bunch of books. I'm re-reading J.M. Straczynski's run on Thor. I know this ends on a cliff-hanger, is stuff that comes after is worth reading? I've heard that Fraction, and Gillen have had decent runs, and I've heard great things about Gillen's Journey into Mystery. After this, I'll probably re-read Fraction's Iron Man, which is a run I never finished because they never finished releasing it in large hardcover format (but the library has it in stock), Fraction's Iron Fist run followed by Duane, and Hickman's Secret Warriors and then get rid of all of it. Those are some nice full runs that should get a decent price. My cap run went for like $125.