Every comic you've read in 2018

[Donomark]

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #301: This issue is crazy! The ramifications of this can't possibly stick, but it's definitely unpredictable!

Falcon #6: Interested again now that the Mephisto plotline is over with. S'alright.

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #15: Hope this crossover means that Ben will be sticking around for a while.

Trade Paperbacks: 9

Single Issues: 70

[Dread]

Deadly Class vol 6: I love this series. The characters are drawn really well and the period is fantastic and the colors are top notch. That said, the story beats in this one are off for me. Didn't dig it so much. Probably my least favourite of the run.

Wildstorm A Celebration of 25 Years: still undeniably, the most consistently good comic book universe.Love it. This was a little too heavy on the old stuff and very little of the new. I liked seeing WildC.A.T.S. #1 and Millar/Quitely's first issue of Authority in black and white. Not sure why those aborted Morrison reboot issues were included because they weren't memorable at all. LOVED one of the new stories. Jim Lee doing new Deathblow is *kisses fingers like a chef*

Jean Grey #9: the worst issue by a long shot. Terrible, actually. 

John Wick #1: not sure I needed the prequel. 

Justice League of America #19: decent.

KINO #1: Terrible.

Moon Knight #189: going to admit here that my interest in the character is going to make me read one more, but then I'm out if it isn't stellar.

Mystik U #1: It's Hogwarts, but college, and Zatanna and other teenage versions of magic characters. It's a little ehhhhhh.....Very on the nose. Feels like a first time comics writer. Didn't recognize the name, so I assume I'm close.

Comics: 350

Trades: 8

Graphic Novels: 5

Omnibus: 4

[Missy]

All-New Wolverine #32: A tight one-issue followup to the recent Orphans of X storyline. Thankfully this is all you need; if you missed Orphans of X, as I did, you'll read this as a simple revenge book; if you did read Orphans of X, you'll have more context. Either way, it's good. The final shot is awesome, by the way.

Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #15: I cannot believe how much I dislike this book. Every single time I give it a try, I walk away with the same feeling: it's a lazy Deadpool wannabe. I dig the art, though.

Darth Vader #13: Cool re-imagining of the Obi-Wan / Anakin battle at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and it's great to see a certain character pop up. Otherwise, I wasn't engaged. The art on this one kept me going.

Judas #4: For me, this series has always been about Jakub Rebelka's mind-blowing illustrations. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Jeff Loveness' story, but the art outshines all. I do have to say, though, I think Christians and biblical scholars will walk away with a deeper appreciation for the book.

The New Mutants: Dead Souls #1: Magik ,Wolfsbane, Rictor, Boom-Boom, and Strong Guy fight zombies. Meanwhile, Magik is weird. A quick read. I might try the next one. Question: Was Strong Guy ever a proper New Mutant? I know he was in the book as Lila Cheney's body guard, but I thought he was part of X-Factor.

Supergirl #19: Recent revelations (no spoilers) have made the world lose trust in Supergirl. This story is told from the vantage point of Lee, a non-binary high school students who's had the opportunity to befriend Supergirl. Through said friendship, she's learned to trust The Girl of Steel despite recent events, and Supergirl's acceptance of Lee helps Lee face friends, bullies, and family members. It's a touching story that needs to be told, but too often Supergirl interrupts Lee to tell her story rather than listening to Lee tell theirs. Another book with fantastic art. Jamal Campbell is officially on my radar.

Weapon X #15: Skip.

Comics: 342

[dc20willsave]

He first appeared in New Mutants so he kind of got Grandfathered in I guess.

[Koete]

18 hours ago, Dread said:

John Wick #1: not sure I needed the prequel. 

It didn't need a sequel. 

[Dread]

3 hours ago, Koete said:

It didn't need a sequel. 

Ha!

Old Man Logan #31: great. Loves me some Silver Samurai.

Suicide Squad #30: good.

Archie #26: really solid.

Avengers #674: wow. Great issue.

Justice League of America Annual #1: ehhhh....not good.

New Talent Showcase #1: terrible.

Astro City Reflections: 3 stories over six issues. Not a single panel of enjoyment. Jesus. I am depressed, but comics are an escape from that. This did not help.

Nocturnals The Sinister Path: again, a complete graphic novel without a single character to give a shit about. I would be pissed if it wasn't so fucking beautiful.

Comics: 356

Trades: 9

Graphic Novels: 6

Omnibus: 4

[Missy]

Marvel 2-in-1 #4: Holy shit! More of this, please!

Infidel #1: Des, check this out. Post 9-11 real-world racism and horrors mixed with possible demons / monsters / something. The writing it pitch-perfect, and the art is everything you could want from a book that's crossing xenophobia with monsters.

Detective Comics #976: Okay issue. The scene with Leslie and Bruce, though brief, was probably the strongest.

Hawkeye #1-4 (2017): Very solid start to Kate's adventures in LA. In the way her crew comes together, it reads like the pilot of an 80s detective program, but that's not a complaint. Quite fun, and I can't wait to read the rest.

Comics: 349

[Dread]

1 hour ago, The Master said:

Infidel #1: Des, check this out. Post 9-11 real-world racism and horrors mixed with possible demons / monsters / something. The writing it pitch-perfect, and the art is everything you could want from a book that's crossing xenophobia with monsters.

Yeah, the first mention of this I saw was on Wednesday. It's on my list, thanks.

[Dread]

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Two #1-24 and Annual: holy fuck. This is excellent. Just pure carnage and warfare between heroes you'd never see go all out like this anywhere else. Love it.

Quarry's War #1: Far from the best Hard Case Crime has had to offer.

Sacred Creatures #5: stellar.

Sword of Ages #1: I really enjoyed this.

The X-Files JFK Disclosure #2: ehhh....not the best.

U.S. Avengers #12: fantastic and bittersweet end.

Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby: a collection of ALL of Kirby's work on the team. Wonderful bridge between the era of the Marvel Monsters and the Marvel Age. This is most definitely a test-run for the FF and it is chock full of wild ideas from the word go. Excellent.

Comics: 374

Trades: 10

Graphic Novels: 6

Omnibus: 4

[Donomark]

Incredible Hulk #714: Good stuff. I'm glad he's back on Earth. Not a fan of Marvel alien business.

Ms. Marvel #18 (2016): I've been following this series each month, since the beginning. I feel the revelation of where Kamala has been came out of nowhere, and the story wrapped up too neatly. IDK, I wasn't satisfied, but I may need to re-read the last few issues again.

Trade Paperbacks: 9

Single Issues: 72

[Missy]

Thanos #17: Lots of hype leading to this one, but it didn't excite me like the previous issues.

Weapon H #1: When Dan and I covered The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, he mentioned how Banner was always getting picked on at construction sites. We'll check that box here. It's also known that Wolverine likes to retreat to the woods from time to time, if for no other reason than to center himself. We'll check that box, too. Now mash them up into a book with "Hulkverine" (which someone calls him at one point) and have him fight Wendigo and an EVIL~! white-collar asshole.

The only part of this book that interested me was the family stuff with Clayton's "widow" as she attempted to get military benefits then sought to uncover the truth about her "dead" husband.

Cable #155: I see what they were going for here, but there wasn't enough heart in the Cable / Hope scenes. I might read the next one.

Comics: 352

[Dread]

4 hours ago, The Master said:

Weapon H #1: When Dan and I covered The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, he mentioned how Banner was always getting picked on at construction sites. We'll check that box here. It's also known that Wolverine likes to retreat to the woods from time to time, if for no other reason than to center himself. We'll check that box, too. Now mash them up into a book with "Hulkverine" (which someone calls him at one point) and have him fight Wendigo and an EVIL~! white-collar asshole.

Probably would hold more weight if you were reading Weapon X.

Vampirella #8: this was alright. Not the best of these issues.

X-Men Blue #16: shit. This is going even better places.

Batman #36: this is fucking delightful. The storytelling framework of Batman and Superman having their own stories that match up is so overdone, but this feels fresh, and almost...sweet.

Captain America #696: this was alright. Great art.

Guardians of the Galaxy #148: this was great, despite not really giving a shit about the Guardians being in Nova Guardsmen gear. The Drax subplot here is really great. Everything else feels a little like treading water.

Iron fist #75: ok, a little clarification that Sabretooth cares about Constrictor because they used to run together, but when? Like when did they run together? They team up to fight Spider-man or Daredevil shortly after he first appeared? Because there have been a lot of other people Sabretooth has spent a lot more time with in his career that he doesn't give a shit about.

Nightwing #34: ok, i guess.

Paradiso #1: solid. Wild and bizarre.

Red Sonja #11: this is kind of a lull in the story.

Sleepless #1: unreadable boring dreck. 

Spirits of Vengeance #3: this kind of sucks and it's frustrating.

The Grave Diggers Union #2: I wish I liked this more.

The Jetsons #2: same with this. As a reboot of The Jetsons with social commentary, I suppose it's a success, but as a companion book to The Flintstones, it is a complete failure.

The Mighty Crusaders #1: I'll check out another.

Action Comics #993: ok.

Barbarella #1: holy shit, this was terrible.

Church of Hell #1,2: also terrible.

Comics: 392

Trades: 10

Graphic Novels: 6

Omnibus: 4

[Missy]

18 minutes ago, Dread said:

Probably would hold more weight if you were reading Weapon X.

What's funny is I stopped reading Weapon X during "The Hunt For Weapon H" because, frankly, the idea of a Hulk / Wolverine mashup seemed creatively bankrupt. I only ready Weapon H #1 because I figured it was worth a try.

[Missy]

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25: This is Part One of the much-hyped "Shattered Grid" story, which comes out next Wednesday. The reason I mention that is because, well, I'm not sure BOOM! sent out the full issue. Eight pages are labeled "classified" and are masked. If these eight pages continue the story, I'll be higher on this book. As it stands, the issue just sort of ends. So I'm reserving my thoughts until 28 March.

Comics: 353

[Venneh]

Wonder Woman/Shade the Changing Girl: Set in the middle of the Milk Wars crossover, so mostly I don't have a goddamn clue what's happening here. But it's Mirka Andolfo, and the weirdness of Shade combined with the creepiness of Retro Co. Fun one shot, if nothing else. 

Mister Miracle 1-7: So, Gerards does some great stuff with panel breakdown here, which I'm really impressed with. The story... we have something interesting going on for issues 1-6, with New Genesis and Orion and Granny and some genuinely interesting plot beats. Issue 7 slam cuts to the delivery of Scott and Barda's baby, the reveal of which was the last few pages of issue 6. King can't seem to think of Barda as her own person outside of her marriage with Scott, which is mildly frustrating. 

Monstress 13-15: Holy fucking wow this continues to be gorgeous, and Sana Takeda is pure god mode art. I kind of have an idea what's going on? But I'm okay with not really knowing for sure. 

Deadly Class 32: Wes Craig gets to do some genuinely awesome shit here with layouts. Remender gonna Remender. Though the line "Shit. This IS a Frank Miller comic" and the imitation that comes on internal narration thereafter is real fucking good. 

Sleepless 4: More court intrigue, Del Duca continues to do gorgeous work, more fantasy romance that goes at its own pace please. 

Descender 28: Nguyen's work is unbelievable, news at 11. And what appears to be the final part of the plot is now shaping up. Let's see how this goes.

Rumble 4: David Fuckin' Rubin, man. 

Witchblade 4: Why yes, the person writing this was of the Buffy generation, how could you tell??

Isola 1: Kerschl art pretty. Fletcher story pretty mediocre. Let's see where this goes. 

Single Issues: 49
Trades/Tankobon/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 8
Omnibuses: 1

[Venneh]

Delicious in Dungeon v2 + 3: More forays deeper into the dungeon, party bonding, and flashbacks, along with weirdly delicious looking meals. 

Baking with Kafka: A collection of a bunch of those comics you’ve probably seen on Facebook. Pretty solid. 

Strangers in Paradise v10: The midpoint of the series, I believe, and just wonderfully done. I should really try to find the omnibus collections of these.

Taproot: Keezy Young’s webcomic about gardening, ghosts, and being queer, collected in one volume by Lion Forge (and at a super affordable price, too). Definitely worth a read. 

Single Issues: 49
Trades/Tankobon/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 13
Omnibuses: 1

[jim]

A bunch of Batman Zero Year: This is too fun to be mad at.
Bitch Planet v2: I'm beyond bummed they stopped the main story.
Beast: Marian Churchland's comic about an artist stepping into another artist's shoes. It shows hints of the amazing work she'd do later on.
Witchblade, Deadly Class, Rumble, Descender: These comics are as good as they usually are. Steady as she goes.

[Venneh]

Runaways 4-7: Rowell really feels like she's got the voices of the kids down, and Anka and Wilson is a next level teamup on the art front. 

Single Issues: 53
Trades/Tankobon/Graphic Novels/Anthologies: 13
Omnibuses: 1

 

[Dread]

Iceman #8: 8 issues and yet to have one less than excellent.

President Pence: this is very juvenile. Very very juvenile.

Superman #36: man, does this ever have the edge over Action lately? Wow. So good.

Shadow/Batman #3: really good

Witchblade #1: didn't like this.

X-Men Gold #17: pretty solid.

All-New Wolverine #28: awesome.

Cable #152: not sure why I'm reading this. 

Coyotes #2: I don't have a fucking clue what's going on here.

Daredevil #596: good shit.

Detective Comics #970: awesome.

Giants #1: pretty decent.

Hack/Slash vs. Vampirella #3: fun and dumb.

Mister Miracle #5: fucking beautiful

Monstro Mechanico #1: terrible.

Port of Earth #2: fucking great.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #17: fun.

She-Hulk #160: solid.

Punisher #219: this is fucking great.

Weapon X #12: ok, against the Nuke squad? I'm in.

Youngblood #7: not bad.

Comics: 413

Trades: 10

Graphic Novels: 6

Omnibus: 4

[Donomark]

Robotech vol.1 by Brian Wood and Marco Turini 

As a long time fan of the original Robotech series (and sure, SDF Macross if you're that kind of person), I got the first issue at last year's SDCC and didn't hate it, but found it to be a decompressed retelling of the first episode of the 1985 series. The rest of the first five issues are pretty much that, but as opposed to the comic book adaptations done by COMICO back in the 80s (of which I have a near-complete run of), this is basically all of Robotech sans the heart. Characters who were once bursting with charisma and personality are flattened for the sake of realism and seriousness. Minmei, the franchise's most popular/controversial character is turned into a sardonic buzzkill who Wood trades her notorious dim wit into something closer resembling straight-up disdain for Rick Hunter. She was always going to be the biggest change from the original version, but there's nothing to like about this version of Minmei, where at least in the original she was much more positive and sympathetic. The art by Marco Turini stays true to the general designs of the character, just making everyone look more realistic. Unfortunately Turini must've been massively pressed for time because they're not a single issue that doesn't have at least one repeated or flipped image. The worst offender is Roy Fokker, who has the same xeroxed face flipped backwards and forwards from issue one throughout each succeeding chapter. I've not seen lazyness like that since the heyday of Greg Land. Ultimately, this follows the story of Macross close enough with hardly any real embellish or plot change, but the heart is taken out of it. Macross is an emotional roller coaster of love, hope, sorrow and general melodrama. No one cracks a smile in this series, and some of the more intense scenes of character exploration (Rick going into shock upon realizing that Earth is at war with giant aliens, Minmei singing and the fake wedding) are excised in favor of I-don't-know-what. Whether it's the Harmony Gold dub or the  Japanese version, stick to the original version. There's nothing about this that carries over the humanity of Robotech that makes it timeless.

 

Trade Paperbacks: 10

Single Issues: 72

[Missy]

Superman: Peace on Earth
Batman: War on Crime
Shazam!: Power of Hope
Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth
JLA: Liberty and Justice

Five massive one-shots by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, all published between 1999 and 2003. They're a mixed bag, to say the least. Thoughts in a forthcoming episode of The Show.

Comics: 358

[Donomark]

Batman: War on Crime first introduced to me the paradox of why Batman doesn't adopt the black kids who are orphans of crime.

[Donomark]

Doomsday Clock #4: This is the first issue I've enjoyed from start to finish. Johns' writing was at it's most Moore-esque, the symbolism and thematic imagery were all good, and the final "twist" with Batman came completely unexpected but was so in character that I was pretty thrilled. I doubt the rest of the series will be this entertaining, but this issue so far is my favorite. 

Detective Comics #977: IVES! Any issue with Eddy Barrows art tends to be among the best, and this series has used him wonderfully. Eber Ferreira, less so, and like Mike McKone I recognize that he's nowhere near a bad artist, I just dislike his style. But the story was great and Tynion's seriously going out on this book with a high. 

Batgirl #21 (2016): This was a good issue, seemingly devoted to making the reader wonder if Jim Gordon is dumber than the version played by Neil Hamilton, or if he's faking and rightfully knows his daughter is Batgirl when he stares into that transparent "mask" of hers. Because there's no indication she's changing her voice, she has the same piercings as Babs, more of her face is visible than just her lower jaw, and Gordon's constantly comparing and complementing Batgirl to Babs. But I can't tell if Larson is having him know or not. It's stupid that he doesn't know. He knew fairly early on in the 1970s because he's not an idiot. With the costume she wears now, it's insulting to Gordon's character for no reason.

Teen Titans #18 (2016): I like this issue and this story, it's good, but I feel that unless it's comprised of totally new heroes, Teen Titans as a book should carry more stakes than it currently does. And Damian still needs to get off the team, or at least have Starfire be in charge. 

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #41: Interesting and unexpected but decent end to the Zod storyline.

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #16: Good issue. Despite being part of a Midnight Sons crossover I don't care about, the focus was on Ben's ongoing struggle with himself. I liked it.

[Missy]

Jessica Jones #18: This was an odd sendoff for Jessica and Bendis.

Comics: 359

[Dread]

Jean Grey #10: not the greatest,. This is all just building to that Phoenix mini. 

Judas #1: usually, my kind of thing. This fell kind of flat for me though. I'll give it another. I love the art.

Jughead The Hunger #2: silly and dumb, but entertaining.

Justice League of America #20: solid end to this arc.

Suicide Squad #31: hell yeah.

X-Men Blue #17: loved this. Been missing the 2099 X-Men.

30 Days of Night #1: "sure, I'll check out the new 30DoN series!" I said. I had no idea it's a...remake...of the original? Weird. Niles is still writing. The art is really solid, but Ben Templesmith it is not. Not sure what the point is, but I'm interested. Has this been optioned for TV or something?

Aquaman #31: My interest in Aquaman has dropped considerably now that Sejic is off the book.

Backways #1: right up my alley. Weird and interesting. 

Batman #37: holy shit, this was delightful.

Champions #15: solid. Crazy ending.

Deadpool vs Old man Logan #3: ok, sure.

Evolution #2: hahaha! This is twisted and I love it.

Guardians of the Galaxy #149: decent.

Hellboy Krampusnacht: if you asked me who I would like to see on art for a Hellboy story, I don't think Adam Hughes would be in the top 50. That said, this was fucking excellent. I would like to see him exercise his horror/monster chops a little more.

Incredible Hulk #711: fun. I'm still in.

Marvel Two-In-One #1: yeah, this was...ok. I'll try more.

Comics: 430

Trades: 10

Graphic Novels: 6

Omnibus: 4