Every comic you've read in 2016

[Dread]

 

Batman/TMNT Adventures #1: I'm not sure this is me. I don't like either cartoon.

You don't like Batman: the Animated Series???

I don't actively dislike it. I just don't think it's anything special.

[Dread]

Brigands #1: a non-hard fantasy middle ages thing. Not sure if I like it.

Briggs Land #4: pretty solid uptick here.

Brittania #3: one of the best things Valiant has done.

Cannibal #2: slow burn horror series. I kind of dig it so far.

Captain America Sam Wilson #14, 15: Great issues. Fun but socially conscious. Solid.

Captain America Steve Rogers #6: oops, fallout from a Civil War oissue I haven't read yet. Oh well. Two amazing conversations in this issue. One with Kraken and the other with Stark. Fantastic. I like morally bad Cap. For so long the storyline has been, Cap is always on the side of right even when his government is bad, like during Nixon. But this series dares show that America is not good, for like 90% of the world. That 90% is quite a sliding scale, I mean there's Afghanistan, and then there's France, and then there's Japan. But, I mean, ask a Canadian about NAFTA and they'll be put on a terror watch list if there's any recording devices around. This series reflects that, in a comic book way.

Comics: 1231
Trades: 40

Graphic Novels: 36

Omnibuses: 13

[Venneh]

Motor Crush 1: the next step in the Batgirl team's story telling. You can tell that they actively sought Babs' input this time around on what kind of story she wanted to tell, and most of this issue is her kicking the hell out of these action scenes while drawing the punk biker comic she's always wanted to draw. Story's got an intriguing set up, I'll probably follow it on the trade. 

Monstress 8: I'll follow this on the trade, I keep saying. And then it gives us a gorgeous cover like this months, and Sana Takeda kicking all the ass on the art and the littlest things, and I pick it back up anyways. Also willing to bet a significant furry contingent follows this. 

Arclight 3: Glad that this got salvaged from 8House's cancellation/Marian and Brandon's breakup. Just hope we don't have to wait another year for the next issue. Continues to be hella gorgeous. Couldn't tell you what the hell is going on story wise, but it's pretty enough that I don't care.

Wrath of the Eternal Warrior 14: Sweet, kickass (what looks like the) end to the series for now. Again, not nearly as hardcore as the preceding arc, but it didn't need to be. 

Divinity III 1: Establishes the new Soviet status quo and introduces the first bit of resistance. This should be fun, if a bit too real with all the shit going down with Russia irl currently.

The World of Edena (Moebius Library Edition): This review could just be me shouting MOEBIUS for 500 words and it'd still be legit. Weird binding (kind of similar to what Jim's seen on the Hellboy Library Editions he mentions) means that the pages curve slightly, and this is freshly unwrapped. Either way? Moebius continues to be unfairly fucking gorgeous. Got this for Jim for Christmas (we have a tradition of getting each other books/comics to read Christmas Eve/thereabouts, this is one of those). 

The Prince of Cats: One of Jim's Christmas gifts to me. The reprinted/redone Image rerelease that they put out this year, a limited signed printing. Romeo and Juliet transported to 80s Brooklyn with a bit of the absurd thrown in, and just a great fucking ride. Definitely worth a read if you find it.

Single Issues: 348
TPBs/Collections: 115
Digital First Issues: 11

[Dread]

 

Divinity III 1: Establishes the new Soviet status quo and introduces the first bit of resistance. This should be fun, if a bit too real with all the shit going down with Russia irl currently.

This came out?

[Venneh]

Comes out on Weds, I believe. (We're on Valiant's review copy list.)

[Donomark]

Batman: The Abduction: 64-page one-shot by the classic team of Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, and it is purely their kind of story. Very much like their trippy Detective Comics run. Intriguing mystery that may/may not involve aliens.

[Venneh]

Hinges Book 1: Mostly silent YA clockwork fantasy webcomic that's done in three times and shades. The good: I like the coloring and the decision to stick with making our protagonist silent. The bad: you can tell that this was a webcomic, and that this was inspired by a certain Tumblr aesthetic. It's not my thing, but for $5, I'll page through it.

Star Wars: Rebel Heist: Aka that book that you can tell Kindt took because he needed a paycheck. Oof. We found this for a buck fifty. 

Hipira: Otomo does a children's book about vampires. Adorable and a pretty read. 

Thought Bubble Anthology: Collects four years of the one to two (max six) page comics that TB releases every year. You can tell that some of these were meant for a larger sized paper, so I almost wish they'd printed a slightly larger edition. Especially because my eyes were killing me by the end of some of these comics. All fantastic and a wonderful showcase of comics' range.

Battleword: Thors: Jason Aaron does a cop Thor book. You can tell he's having fun with all the variants and the internal mythos and just straight up mashing it with a Law and Order episode or 10. Missed that artists changed for two issues the first time around. For $5, definitely worth a read. 

Single Issues: 348
TPBs/Collections: 120
Digital First Issues: 11

Edited December 19, 2016 by Venneh

[Donomark]

The Amazing Spider-Man vol.4 #22: Short-sighted gimmickry that comes off as mean-spirited.

Sam Wilson: Captain America #15: Fun issue

Sam Wilson: Captain America #16: Ditto

Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat #13: This book doesn't need to be so cloying wannabe-manga-esque. It comes off as pandering to a style nobody was asking for. The art's pretty bad too.

[Koete]

The Amazing Spider-Man vol.4 #22: Short-sighted gimmickry that comes off as mean-spirited.

You're talking about issue 25 being $10, right?

[Dread]

Angel Claws: an erotic graphic novel by Jodorowsky and Moebius. Mostly consists of one page with a small panel and text, then a sexy/weird pinup mostly unrelated to the text and repeat. Not great. Only for completists.

Captain America Steve Rogers #7: Good. Not as good as last issue, but good. Felt like I missed at least an issue in between, but I didn't.

Carnage #13, 14: Why am I liking a Carnage series so much in 2016? Because Darkhold. That's why.

Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye #1, 2: This book is nowhere near as wacky as the title would suggest. I still kind of enjoy it though.

Champions #2: Fucking fun.

Civil War II #6: Really good.

Clean Room #13: Crazy. Like it.

Cryptocracy #5: I think I'm done with this. Too whimsical.

Cyborg #3, 4: I don't remember reading these. I was drunk when I did, but I was also drunk when I read the next two and I remember them. So long, Cyborg. Congrats on the ongoing. Too bad it stinks.

Death of X #2, 3: Ehhh...ok. Probably should have been a 3 issue mini instead of 4.

Deathstroke #5, 6: Fun.

Demonic #3: Loving this.

Comics: 1247
Trades: 40

Graphic Novels: 37

Omnibuses: 13

[Venneh]

Blue Monday vol 1: Cute story about a UK schoolgirl who tries to live her life and get tickets to an Adam Ant concert. It's not anything that's gonna win awards (and I'm super surprised that this got recollected), but it's cute and fun and worth your time. 

They're Not Like Us vol 1: This feels like this only got published because it's one of the dudes spearheading Image writing it. Shitty rip off of X-Men that gives us the wild idea that Maybe Xavier is the Bad Guy, and What If The X-Men Were Bad. Like, great work on the art and coloring, but the story is just sub basement bog awful. I've only read one other thing of Stephenson's (Long Hot Summer with McKelvie), and I couldn't even finish that. 

Single Issues: 348
TPBs/Collections: 122
Digital First Issues: 11

[Venneh]

Planetary omnibus: Jim picked this up cheap as a part of Amazon's Black Friday sales and I just got through this. (Took me about three different sessions.). Warren Ellis does BPRD with comics meta, except with a larger overarching mystery and up against the Fantastic Four (I fully expect Jim to disagree with that description, fight me, etc). It's pretty fucking sweet, and just a good ride in general. Cassaday does wonderfully on the art, as does Martin on the colors (particularly the palette use on the drug trip issue). Also of note: the crossover issues, particularly the Batman one. Great read.

Single Issues: 348
TPBs/Collections: 123
Digital First Issues: 11

Edited December 24, 2016 by Venneh

[Venneh]

Kommandar Bloodshot: Oneshot in the Stalinverse. Lemire + Crain = holy fucking shit damn yes. Also has a good Kindt/Ryp backup introducing a character I'm sure we'll be seeing more of soon. Out next week. Do the thing.

Tokyo Babylon omnibus 1: Prequel series of sorts to X1999, focused on a twin brother and sister, their vet friend, and oh also the brother is the highest ranking onmyoji in Japan, and they're fighting the spiritual weight of Tokyo, who is essentially a character in this, and a corrupting force (and possibly tied to one of our characters). Also the sister keeps trying to set up the vet and the brother. One of my favorite CLAMP series, and often overlooked.

Single Issues: 349
TPBs/Collections: 124
Digital First Issues: 11

[Donomark]

X-23: Innocence Lost

X-23: Target-X

The first two six-issue miniseries' by X-23 Creators Chris Yost and Craig Kyle. Innocence Lost deals with her origin story detailing her creation as yet another re-try of the Weapon X program. It's alright, but is overwritten with the narration, violence, cruelty, and utter douchebag characters. It's almost too much in making Laura's early life a nonstop living hell, there's no respite.

Target-X is a lot better. It's still dark but there's some levity when Laura meets and lives with her "cousin" Megan. The artwork by Mike Choi is leagues better than Billy Tan. The framing device with Captain America and Daredevil worked nicely as well. Innocence Lost is required reading for the character's origin, but Target-X is a much more recommendable story.

[Donomark]

Detective Comics #946-#947: Tynion's doing a classic super hero story where the question of violence begetting violence is verbalized at the forefront. It's an intriguing idea that could have more impact had we seen more of a balance to impact the argument, but it places Stephanie Brown in the most interesting spot she's been in since she was Batgirl. Characterization's A+ stuff as always.

Civil War II #8: Okay end to a story that's had a ton of ups and downs. Glad Tony's not dead tho.

Spider-Man #10: A Bendis talky issue, but totally necessitated by the characters.

Spider-Man #11:   Intriguing with solid art

[Donomark]

Green Lantern - Baptism of Fire:

Collecting Green Lantern #59, #66-#67 and #70-#75, written by Ron Marz with art by Daryl Banks and Paul Pelletier.

This is a very solid, further introduction of Kyle's time as Green Lantern. The 90s were a decade of legacy characters for DC Comics. You had characters like Tim Drake, Impulse, Wally West, Superboy, the New Titans and Connor Hawke all worry about living up to their predecessors. Kyle's different in that he has nothing to do with any of the original GL Corps or Hal Jordan. He's a painfully ordinary guy shoved into the role of hero, and as a result he's incredibly engaging as a character.

To tell the truth he's kind of a douchebag. He's lazy, irresponsible, inconsiderate and self-concerned. He's supposed to be the typical "early twenties" character. But He does try. His membership with the Titans is peeked at in issue #59, which having read that run of the series is nice to see even if it didn't last very long (and wasn't all that good). #66 and #67 has him team up with Wally as the Flash, which is a nice tension-filled story. Wally's striving to live up to Barry's example while Kyle would rather just be left alone and not condescended to. It's a breezy, fun "Marvel-esque" team-up involving a dork of a villain in Sonar.

Issues #70-#75 detail Kyle trying to become a better hero by traveling the DC Universe and asking the advice of the likes of John Stewart, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Alan Scott. This happens after a fight with Donna Troy, who he starts dating at the end of issue #59. Again, Donna's slightly older than Kyle and has way more baggage in her life, so she has no time for Kyle's juvenile bullshit. Kyle's not in the mood for her either, so the two split up during the arc. We see Kyle be pretty vulnerable and wet behind the ears against a variety of high profile personalities (His interaction with Captain Marvel was particularly fun). Everything culminates in a war on Planet Rann against one of Darkseid's begotten sons who has been destroying planets and completely wrecking the Darkstars, of which John and Donna are members. Kyle goes to help and barely saves the day, but learns to believe in himself more.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Paul Pelletier does the art for the bulk of the trade, and it's really sweet stuff. He reminds me of Tom Grummett. Kyle's artwork sensibilities are always on display, including one moment when he webs a guy up with Spider-Man-like web fluid that looks right out of a Bagely-drawn image. DC Comics can slobber up to Hal Jordan all Didio wants, but the story of a guy fumbling around with the greatest weapon in the universe and has a whole world of heroes telling him to quit screwing up is infinitely more interesting to me than just some dude-bro in a bomber jacket.

[Dread]

Demonic #4: still fucking great.

Detective Comics # 943, 944: I love this kind of shit. THIS is how you play with history.

Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme #1: fun and weird. Unexpected.

Doom Patrol #3: weird they used this issue to explain Danny. However, I enjoyed this version of Danny. 

Evil Heroes #3: i have very little memory of this issue.

Eclipse #3: Being worried that I was just done with sci fi (especially in comics) this was a delightful find.

Eden's Fall #3: any worry that this crossover would change nothing is shattered immeasurably. Crazy.

Ether #1: fun and weird. I'll stick around for more.

Faith #4,5: Terrible. I'm done.

Flash Gordon King's Cross #1: Jeff Parker returns to make these guys cool again! Yeah!

Frostbite #2: this is kind of the mirror image of Eclipse, a post-apoocalyptic wasteland where everything is just fucking freezing as opposed to the sun being out to kill you. This isn't as good as Eclipse, but it's pretty good overall.

Future Quest #6: ugh...I've pre-ordered the trade. Why am I still reading the monthlies? Because it's awesome. That's why.

Generation Zero #3: weird and interesting issue, an Archie homage from inside the "popular girl at school's" head. Pretty cool.

Godzilla Rage Against Time #3: completely unmemorable.

Clara...After Dark 6: one of the better volumes. Really funny.

The Dark #1: not much to this. Love the art.

Comics: 1264
Trades: 40

Graphic Novels: 38

Omnibuses: 13

[Dan]

Flash Gordon King's Cross #1: Jeff Parker returns to make these guys cool again! Yeah!

 

 

Edited December 29, 2016 by Dan

[Dread]

Flash Gordon King's Cross #1: Jeff Parker returns to make these guys cool again! Yeah!

 

 

Jones looks like Dolph Lundgren in that shot.

[Missy]

I'll be closing this thread in a few days, so please get your final 2016 thoughts in soon.

[Dread]

Green Valley #2: I really liked this.

Harbinger Renegades #1: solid first entry.

He-Man/Thundercats #1,2: this was superdumb.

Hellboy: House of the living dead: a oneshot featuring luchadore fighting Frankenstein Monster.

Hellchild The Unholy #1: Man, Zenescope sure makes their bread and butter on bad girl comics from 1993, I only wish they were a little better.

Hero killer #1: some real typos in the dialogue is distracting and the art is a little hinky. I kind of dug it though.

Infamous Iron Man #1, 2: this is fucking great.

Defenders Epic Collection: The Six-Fingered Hand: so fucking great. This is from the DeMatteis run, which was superior to Gerber's run in a lot of ways. As my care wanes for anything Marvel Netflix is doing, I certainly hope it pushes out some more Defenders Epic Collections. This shit is dense and great. Also, pretty much the only Marvel book where the editorial caption reads "sorry, it's too complicated to explain."

Comics: 1273
Trades: 40

Graphic Novels: 38

Omnibuses: 14