Every comic you've read in 2013


Missy

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Birds of Prey: Platinum Flats: I read this in single issues as it came out, and it doesn't hold up here. The trade opens sort of halfway through a story, of the BOP going to Platinum Flats and already dealing with the criminals syndicate there. The story is interesting when the Joker shows up, and has a nice showdown between Barbara and The Joker, which is nice to see. The art was pretty good, and apart from a terrible villain name Killg%re, this was a fun read.

Walking Dead Volumes 9-10: Filler volumes. I'm sure something good will happen in volume 11, Rick with the phone, and sharing war stories were both good, and the call back to the first volume, were all interesting, but this just all felt like set up for something bigger to come down the line. The art was enjoyable as always.

Trades: 13

Comics: 6

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I have a bunch of trades to add, but they're not beside me right now so...

Tom Strong #1-36: Two thirds of the way through the run, Alan Moore abandoned the book, completing gutting the amazing momentum he was building. Tom Strong would have been a book I hold as high in regard as Planetary if it was Moore all the way through. Not to ay that the guys who took over were bad, they didn't have the same feel. Moore came back for the final issue though, and it's a blast. A really great book nonetheless. Going to reread more of America's Best Comics (written by a British wizard).

Comics: 108

Trades: 1

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Avengers Academy 29-33: This feels, on one hand, like a forced push into the A vs X event and a forced ending to the series (because it's going to be really cool to rip off Battle Royale and kill a bunch of our new and vibrant interesting characters :rolleyes: ). On the other hand, it contains one of the best issues of the series run. The bit with the kid and the Sentinel is an amazing comic book.

Infernal Man-Thing: Boy, I sure wish I lived ina world where there were drawers filled with Steve Gerber scripts that were waiting to be painted by Kevin Nowlan. Or that Gerber was still alive. That would work too. This is a beautiful and bizarre book that encapsulates a lot of what Gerber was about better than his other last work (the Dr. Fate unfinished project thing).

Hell Yeah vol 1: This is a lot like Danger Club with a lot less intelligence. Most of it is ridiculously over-dramatic and the art is a terrible Manga influence that looks like a high school girl drew it. Terrible. I don't get the praise.

Daredevil vol 2: Not as good as the first volume, but that's pretty hard to do. This one would have been a lot better without the Spider-Man issue drawn by Emma Rios. It really fucks with the flow of the book. There's enough in the following issue to get what happened without it. I'm a little bummed because I thought this one had ther Allred issue. Guess I have to wait for vol 3 for that one.

Comics: 113

Trades: 4

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Channel Zero: The Complete Collection - This was something. What that is, I am unsure of. It is different. Starting out, I got a 1984 vibe for it and really wasn't enjoying it too much. But then I got more into the world and use to the art (& general style) and then it stops. It just stops. Yeah, it is kinda an end point, but when you are reading a 300 page book, I don't expect the story to end on page 200. Granted, there is an 'origin' story and extras at the end, but still.

As for the art, it is different. I could deal with the minimalist B&W after a time, but the general style of the book is what never quite grows on you. A fair amount of the time there is just WAY too much going on at once. I think it was on purpose. I think. But the sudden LSKHF:LUIRWOIPJFHKSLJDSK all over the page is jarring and hard to look at/understand/care about.

Reading a little of the extras and learned that this was Brian Wood's first book. And that makes sense. I would recommend this if you go in knowing there really isn't an ending and that does not bother you. Also, if you can flip thru to see if you can stand the art. It isn't for everyone.

Graphic Novels - 4

Trades - 8 (40)

I really need to step up my game if I am to top last years' total.

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Coming up: More Marvel Cosmic, and

Something, I don't know (Avengers Forever or All Star Superman or Top Ten or Global Frequency, something to balance out the longer stuff I'm reading, any reccomendations?, looking at runs or minis 12 issues or shorter)

I'm two issues into Top Ten and I'm liking it so far, so that might be worth a shot. My thoughts on All-Star Superman are no secret; all I'll say is look at the art and make your mind up about it before you decide to read it. As for 12-issue or less story arcs, I highly recommend Formerly Known as the Justice League and Nextwave: Agents of HATE if you want something funny as a change of pace. If you're looking for a great, emotional story, I'd say go for JLA: The Nail and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?.

I have and Love Nextwave.

I tried to do Avengers Forever and I just couldn't get into it. And Global Frequency, and Top Ten seemed both too heavy for the moment.

I should be getting into All Star, Formerly Known as the Justice League, and Top Ten, but I didn't pick any of those. They're all on my list though. I ended up going with Deadpool Max to fill in. It's on the edge of complete garbage and complete insane genius.

Don't know what JLA: The Nail is? I don't read much JLA at all. And Whatever Happened to Man of Tomorrow is something I've been meaning to read for a while just because Alan Moore is attached to it.

Finished

Remender's run on Venom: Overall I'd have to say that I didn't really like it. It was so uneven. The first arc is actually really good, and the arc where Remender focuses on Venom, Eddie Brock, and his supporting cast, it's pretty good. It's got a clear dark Spidey-feel and I liked that, with a similar theme of power and responsibility but added elements to make it a bit darker, like giving in to power, and tough predicaments where choices aren't so simple. But other times, the book kind of just sucks, it at one point just stops the story it's telling and brings in 3 other Marvel heroes (Circle of Four arc) and it's a long winded arc or it gets involved in a Spidey cross over. So really the book is good when it's doing it own thing, not great, but pretty good. But all the other crap really drags it down. In the end though, Eddie had his own supervillains to fight, his own supporting cast to deal with, and it became a real Spidey story. 6/10

Marvel Cosmic: Life and Death of Captain Marvel/Rebirth of Thanos/Infinity Trilogy (Gauntlet, War, and Crusade): I really like the first three trades in this section and they all seem to flow quite well into each other. Life and Death of Captain Marvel is a magnificent story and one where I never really felt it's age. Rebirth of Thanos is basically build up to the really good Infinity Gauntlet. The other two in the Infinity Trilogy are long winded, massive cross overs, that seemed to be padded out, and never seemed to do anything new. It's just kind of an emulation of Gauntlet but with weaker plots, more cross-overs (that I didn't read), and more padding. They're long-winded stories and in the end, the conclusion was almost always the same. The only one that really worked on all cylinders was Infinity Gauntlet.

Scarlett by Bendis: I really liked this book, it's a solid story with kind of a heavy handed morality tale. I'd appreciate a little more grey in it's dealings with authority corruption, but I can undestand that since it's written from the title character's pov that it'd be a little more black and white. I just don't think it's all that clear as it paints it to be in this book. I would lie to see more from this character, but I don't know if there are any plans on continuing this book. I think exploring this character more and psychologically how she would deal with all of a sudden becoming a public figure that is also on most wanted lists would be very interesting. Good story I felt.

Sin City Comics (The Hard Goodbye/A Dame to Kill For): I love Neo-Noir and I'm kind of mad that I've never read these. I liked them quite a bit, enough that I'd have to buy them for my own collection instead of renting them from the library. I'll be reading this entire series this year for sure. I'm not sure which story I liked better, they're both very good in their own way. I did like how a Dame to Kill For took a look at the main protagonist in the first book and put a different view on him. Although, I can't say I liked the plot of the second one better, felt too cliche, even though I understand that's Noir.

Odds and Ends:

Wolverine and the X-men vol. 2: Still a great and fun book.

Deadpool Max issues 1-4: On the edge of complete garbage or complete genius.

Avengers Forever: I dropped this about 3 issues in, I couldn't get into it.

X-men: Deadly Genesis: I know Vulcan plays a part down the line in the Marvel Cosmic so I thought I'd go back and re-read this. Found that I still don't care for it too much. I do remember enjoying Brubaker's Rise and Fall of Shiar a bit more though.

Arkham City Comic Book Prequel: It's hard to make a prequel comic to a game, because really you're kind of inconsequential, you lose out on really having a climax as well. But this was pretty good in setting the stage for the game, which I should really play soon.

Up Next:

More Marvel Cosmic - Captain Marvel by Peter David... then Annihilation

Sin City - the Big Fat Kill, etc...

I'll probably put my focus on these two series for a little while. I'm really enjoying Sin City and I'm happy to get into more modern Marvel cosmic stuff.

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Avengers Assemble volume 5: Counting this as an omnibus as it's basically thirteen issues and a graphic novel worth of content. What a great final run for Busiek! His entire run had its ups and downs, but the Kang storyline is one of the Avengers' finest. Stellar work. LOVE Kieron Dwyer on this stuff, especially the one with finishes by Rick Remender. Great looking art too. Nice stuff.

Avengers Academy #34-39: Great swan song for this series. All the more bittersweet these characters won't all be allowed to grow and breathe. This book, besides the tie-in stuff, the real failing of this book is inconsistent art. I would have loved to see Tom Raney on the whole run, but if I'm being completely honest, Tom Grummett was the guy for this book. The issues he drew popped more than any other.

Comics: 119

Trades: 4

Omnibus: 1

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Terra Obscura #1-6: Reading through this is a blast. It's a big story taking place in an alternate reality of the Tom Strong universe. Yannick Paquette's art is a fucking delight and the story is wonderful. Full of Golden age glory. Maybe the last best thing from Moore (though he really only plotted it).

Batman Incorporated #6: Guh. Wake me up when this gets good.

Deathmatch #1: Not perfect, but there's so much fucking story in this first issue that I just know the trade will be very worth ordering.

Dial H #8: The ONLY reason I would be upset if DC suddenly stopped existing.

Threshold #1: Hmm...not sure I liked this. Raney's art looks great, but I'm not certain why I should care about this world. I'll weigh my options when they solicit the trade, but sadly, probably not.

Comics: 129

Trades: 4

Omnibus: 1

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Superior Spiderman #2 - #3: The first Spider title I've ever read and I will be doing so until Parker comes back. It's facinating watching Octavius try to be Parker and how he seems to be doing a better job of it than Parker did.The Ghost!Peter thing is a little stupid, but there seem to be some interesting quirks in there, with glimpses to Octavius' past.

Young Avengers #1: Hmm. Not sure what I think about this one based on one issue. Loki on a superhero team? Not sure that's a good idea. Might pick up #2, not sure.

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X-Men: Misfits - A somewhat interesting take on the 'X-Men High' concept. I had problems following along, more due to the art than anything else. Being drawn in a manga style makes it hard to tell the supporting characters apart most of the time. I think there is another volume out there, but this did not motivate me to search for it.

Iron West - From the cover, I expected this to be a book about a robot cowboy. Well, there are robots. And cowboys. And a shit ton of weed. It was interesting if nothing else. More of a comedy book than anything else which I did not expect. Again, I got this based on the cover and I wanted a western staring a robot who is a cowboy. Possible sheriff round these parts. But that did not happen and I am now sad. Boo.

Graphic Novels - 6

Trades - 8 (40)

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The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1-6-I'm kind of embarrassed about this, but I'm SUPER jealous of this book. I adore it on virtually every level. I would put this up against any comic in the last ten years and this series would likely beat it. Imagine if The Royal Tenenbaums had superpowers and were in a comic drawn by Bill Watterson, and you'll be close to the idea of how good this book is.

Comics: 143

Trades: 4

Omnibus: 1

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Spider-Man & The Secret Wars - This only works if you know the Secret Wars inside and out. Set in-between issues, this doesn't make any sense without that context. I read Secret Wars last year and I remember most of it. But I do not remember the panel that this issue takes place during. Yes, I believe that issue 3 of this series is to take place entirely within 1 panel of the original. Way too in depth for me.

Graphic Novels - 6

Trades - 9 (44)

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Wolverine and the X-Men Volume 1: Fun. I was sort of confused for parts of it, and there was a bit much going on during some pages, but this was a fun start to the series.

Green Arrow: Road to Jericho: This was good, it came across, when reading it, that Green Arrow could almost support a team of books, based on Connor and Mia, as well as himself, as it felt like a family book. The art for the most part was good. My issues were, this seemed like a soap opera story, in that if I read this volume without reading the previous 8, I would have been lost. Red Hood is the subject of the trade description, but he only shows up for two issues, and is inconsequential. He just shows up, talks to Mia, and then leaves. The story just sort of ends as well, like Winnick was told "Yeah, we said 3 more issues, but you've now only got one, make it work."

Punisher: Return of Ma Gnucci: I really think that Ennis just had a pattern for his Punisher run, show how tough the bad guy is, then have Frank show up in the last page to blow their brains out. With the exception of Barracuda, that's what I've found in most of Ennis's run of The Punisher. it's not a bad thing, just an observation. This was supposedly the return of Ma Gnucci, the crazed crimelord, and although that title is a little misleading, as it's more about another violent lunatic anarchist, it's still an interesting read, but is one of the weaker trades of Ennis's run on The Punisher.

Trades: 16

Comics: 6

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Harbinger vol 1 Omega Rising: Harbinger is the only book from the Valiant reboot that I deemed worthy of checking out the trade after reading the first issue. This was ALRIGHT. It really just is a remake of parts of the first 25 issues of the original book in a reverse order. He has the knockdown drag out fight with Harada THEN assembles the team? Okay, interesting, but I haven't had the character development that the original series had before that battle to make me give a shit about the outcome. I really dislike the constant thought balloon effect they use to show his psychic powers. It gets annoying after the cover of issue one. So far, Valiant has been a massive disappointment.

Fatale volume 2: Holy shit. Amazing. Brubaker and Phillips can seemingly do no wrong. Chandler and Ellroy meets Lovecraft. Beautiful.

Criminal Deluxe Edition volume 2: Hands down, the best crime comic that has ever been published. No argument. It's consistent, builds an intricate world populated with wretched assholes who you are made to feel for in every series they do. But, Last of the Innocents is a comic book work of Watchmen-like proportions of genre-defining capability. So happy I waited for these beautiful deluxe editions on this.

Comics: 143

Trades: 6

Omnibus: 2

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The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1-6: I have to say that this was almost as impressive as the first series. Only without the element of surprise. The ending is a little unsatisfying, but there's supposed to be a third story, that I will buy immediately. In fact, I want the whole run in an Absolute-style collection! Time travel, JFK, weirdos in cartoon masks and talking chimps with all of reality at stake. What more do you need?

Comics: 149

Trades: 6

Omnibus: 2

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Anyone ever read a Wildstorm comic called Sleeper? I found a couple issues in a box in my garage that I probably bought in a garage sale a few years ago. I really like it, it's very dark and very noir. I just have two random issues from season 2 but I'm interested enough to go seek out a trade paperback. Anyway, has anyone else heard of it?

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Superman: Red Son - Was really looking forward to reading this. The concept was intriguing, someone on staff of an investing newsletter I follow recommended it for some light summer reading, so I picked it up. I thought it got a bit bogged down in the middle, but thought it finished really strongly. As it's been a long time since I've read comics in any capacity, I really don't know how it compares to other similar styles, but if nothing else, I really liked what they did with Lex. I was worried it was going to be too black and white, but the motivations of Superman really made it engaging and harder to guess where it would end.

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Buy the two season collections immediately. Then get Incognito, Criminal and Fatale. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are easily the best writer/artist duo working today.

Edit: It's my understanding there's a Sleeper Omnibus too.

I ordered the first Fatale trade just now. The last time I followed a recommendation here was Saga, for which I am grateful.

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Buy the two season collections immediately. Then get Incognito, Criminal and Fatale. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are easily the best writer/artist duo working today.

Edit: It's my understanding there's a Sleeper Omnibus too.

I ordered the first Fatale trade just now. The last time I followed a recommendation here was Saga, for which I am grateful.

I haven't read Fatale yet, but all the rest of that shit is fantastic. And if you want a semi-prequel to Sleeper, check out Point Blank, but it's not nowhere near as good as the rest of that list.

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