Every comic you've read in 2016

[Davedevil]

Batman: Private Casebook - From Dini's run on Detective Comics. Solid stuff, if not the most memorable plots. There's the requisite Zatanna appearance, some neat appearances of fellow detectives in the DCU, and a new Ventriloquist. The art by Nguyen and Fridolfs is stunning, and the Halloween short story with Nguyen on his own is even prettier.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Davedevil

[Dread]

The Last Contract #3: more like a second issue than a third. If that makes sense

The Machines #1: I had t think REALLY hard about a single thing that happened in this comic and I read it last night.

Mighty Thor #5: solid.

The Violent #3: I should probably stop reading these single issues as I've ordered the trade already, but it's so damned good.

Comics: 330
Trades: 17

Graphic Novels: 12

Omnibuses: 4

[Dread]

Unfollow #5: fucking great. Didn't think that things would move this way, but it's a nice surprise.

Vampirella #1: This is the new volume, and it was...ok. This HAS to be the first time an entirely female creative team worked on Vampirella. I'll stick around for another issue.

Vision #5: excellent.

Weirdworld #3: this is lame, right?

Comics: 334
Trades: 17

Graphic Novels: 12

Omnibuses: 4

[Davedevil]

Vampirella #1: This is the new volume, and it was...ok. This HAS to be the first time an entirely female creative team worked on Vampirella. 

I'm pretty sure the penciller, Eman Casallos, is male. Just about everyone else is female though.

[Donomark]

Batman: Private Casebook - From Dino's run on Detective Comics. Solid stuff, if not the most memorable plots. There's the requisite Zatanna appearance, some neat appearances of fellow detectives in the DCU, and a new Ventriloquist. The art by Nguyen and Fridolfs is stunning, and the Halloween short story with Nguyen on his own is even prettier.

Ahh man...I miss Morrison on Batman and Dini on 'Tec. We had no idea how good we had it..

[Davedevil]

I'd say that everything since Morrison started has been one of the best eras for the Batman books. It could be unfair because of the number of books there are, and I've never really followed the ongoings,(I read the Snyder and Capullo run in hardcover) so maybe I don't have enough perspective on this? 

[Venneh]

Weirdworld #3: this is lame, right?

It's getting cancelled at issue 6, may as well stick all the way to the end.

Archer and Armstrong vol 3: Amelia Earhart. The lost island of Roanoke. Ambrose Bierce. Generals Americanizing aliens and sending them as attack forces. This comic is goddamn ridiculous and just a great ride. 

Harbinger vols 1-3: This, on the other hand, is real fucking rough. Finally turns a bend with Faith's focus issue in... I want to say vol 3, or late vol 2, but until it gets there, ouch. More on this on the segment Jim and I will be doing. 

Harbinger Wars: Solid event comic, not spectacular, but still well done. 

Single Issues: 59
TPBs/Collections: 32
Digital First Issues: 10

[Dread]

Weirdworld #3: this is lame, right?

It's getting cancelled at issue 6, may as well stick all the way to the end.

Archer and Armstrong vol 3: Amelia Earhart. The lost island of Roanoke. Ambrose Bierce. Generals Americanizing aliens and sending them as attack forces. This comic is goddamn ridiculous and just a great ride. 

Yeah, I don't think it's worth my time to read three more issues.

That was my favorite ac of A&A. Solid series. Probably going to dig in to the new monthly they've got tonight.

[Professor]

Last Day In Vietnam - A collection of shorts by Will Eisner.  Only one really stuck with me since I read this yesterday.

Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story - A story about being in a relationship with someone with HIV.  Really solid until the last chapter turned into a dream sequence and I have no idea what was going on.

Comics: 14 (5)
Graphic Novels: 3
Trade Paperbacks: 6 (31)

[Donomark]

I'd say that everything since Morrison started has been one of the best eras for the Batman books. It could be unfair because of the number of books there are, and I've never really followed the ongoings,(I read the Snyder and Capullo run in hardcover) so maybe I don't have enough perspective on this? 

Snyder and Capullo, from what all I've read (I've been in and out since Zero Year) have been generally reliably great. I don't love them more than some of the older, classic runs but I won't deny their immense talent and solid storytelling.

Everything else since the new 52 that's not Batman  has been horrendously hit or miss. Batman and Robin by Tomasi and Gleason was the second best/most consistent title, and I liked Higgins' Nightwing. After that though...Batgirl by Gail Simone was unendingly awful. Just a miserable mess from beginning to end. Red Hood and the Outlaws was crap. Teen Titans was dumber crap. The Dark Knight was bad for a long time. Detective was hit or miss depending on the writer. John Layman had a fine, all too short run on the title.

It's gotten better, Batgirl's generally good. Grayson turned out to be a hit. Damian, Son of Batman is well received. Gotham Academy's solid. But We Are Robin is hit/miss, Red Hood and Arsenal is meh and Detective is okay but unmemorable.

[Dread]

Morrison started off great and plummeted into the crapper during the last half. Snyder's run, from what I've read, is mediocre. I'd like to see Batman written well again.

[Molly]

I really love the first three volumes of Snyder and Capullo, but haven't had a chance to delve deeper.

[Professor]

Comic Book Tattoo - An anthology based around the songs of Tori Amos.  I have no knowledge of her music, not that I think it would help.  Wiki tells me there are 51 stories in this thing, and I got thru maybe twenty.  I think I liked maybe two, possibly three.  I can't really remember much and I just shut the book.  I flipped thru the rest, and some of the art is great.  But the stories themselves are not.  And this thing is close to 500 pages and massively oversized.  I was struggling to just find a comfortable way to read this.

Comics: 14 (5)
Graphic Novels: 4
Trade Paperbacks: 6 (31)

[Venneh]

The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage: Second Lives 4: So, half of the draw of the original was De La Torre's fucking gorgeous art. Here's the thing. We get a fill in artist for the back half of this issue, and he's clearly trying to be DLT, but looooord, it's rough. I probably would've been better off getting this as a trade than doing this month to month. Still worth it as a trade, I think. 

The Ultimates 5: Fucking gorgeous Rocafort double page splashes, with Ewing admits that he uses sparingly for story impact? More of Ms. America and her girlfriend, if at least briefly? I am so fucking here for this. And because I'm here for this, it's probably going to get cancelled. (Witness: Weirdworld, Angela, and Survivors Club all got cut within the last week or so.)

Angela Queen of Hel 6: Ooooof. This issue reminds me that I'm pretty much here for the writing only, because while Jacinto gets to do some neat splashes, the art quality drops hard and fast, with moments where Jacinto forgets how to draw eyes and heads. Fun writing, though, at least. And again, sad this is ending, surprised it got dropped after one issue of sales (Bennett said she was told in Nov), but hopefully they bring Hans back for the last issue, as they're circling back to Witch Hunter Angela. 

Single Issues: 62
TPBs/Collections: 32
Digital First Issues: 10

[Davedevil]

The Ultimates 5: And because I'm here for this, it's probably going to get cancelled. (Witness: Weirdworld, Angela, and Survivors Club all got cut within the last week or so.)

It's doing fairly well though, it was #67 in the monthly sales rankings this past February, close to Ms. Marvel and New Avengers. I think it's pretty safe for now.

[Venneh]

We Can Never Go Home: 2 dumbass teenagers on the run with a duffel bag full of money, and also super powers. A nice, contained mini that moves quickly, gets you invested in both the kids, how deep in over their heads they are, and their eventual fates. Art's solid, it's a fun ride, definitely worth a read. 

Single Issues: 62
TPBs/Collections: 33
Digital First Issues: 10

[Venneh]

Rai vol 3: ....I am actually interested in a summer event comic. This is what Valiant is doing to me. Also, we went to get this day/date of trade release, at full price. Crain again does some beautiful fucking shit here, and Kindt briefly shows his Mind MGMT roots in some of the stuff he writes, while also giving everyone on cast shit to do, and continuing to move the story along what could've been an arc of fill in. Great build up for the 4001 event, while still managing to keep plot focus on the story as it is currently. 

Single Issues: 62
TPBs/Collections: 34
Digital First Issues: 10

[Professor]

Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame - Seems like a follow up to a story that I've never read.  Felt drawn out a bit.  Nothing special.

Insomnia Cafe - A fun graphic novel until the rushed SWERVE~! ending that left me unsatisfied.

Comics: 14 (5)
Graphic Novels: 5
Trade Paperbacks: 7 (36)

[Davedevil]

Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame - Seems like a follow up to a story that I've never read.  Felt drawn out a bit.  Nothing special.

It's a sequel to the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine limited series from the 80s.

[Dan]

DC: The New Frontier Deluxe Edition: Oddly enough, this is the first time I read this in its entirety. When it came out, I was a big fan of The Golden Age by James Robinson and Paul Smith; this is a lot like that, only with a lot less "everything is terrible, all the damn time". It's a very dark and mature look at post-war DC superheroics, and there's a lot of deconstruction of tropes happening here, but there's a underlying sense of wonder that makes the entire thing a lot less dour and gives the reader a sense that things are probably going to be generally okay. Darwyn Cooke's art is, of course, gorgeous, and I frequently caught myself staring at pages for several minutes without actually reading anything. It's very dense, and there's a lot to unpack here, but extremely good stuff. This is virtually the same book as the Absolute Edition, only not too giant to read, so there's a ton of really interesting back matter, including a full list of annotations, tons of production art, essays, and the like. Very enjoyable.

[Venneh]

Zodiac Starforce 4: A bit late, but a beautiful wrap up to the miniseries, both story wise (even if some of what happens is a bit magical girl hand wavy towards the end) and art wise (sucks that Paulina was late but holy god the art was worth the wait). They've kept a nice angle to keep it going if they want to, but if it doesn't, it's still a solid 4 issue mini. Worth grabbing the trade when it comes out, especially on sale. 

Patsy Walker, Hellcat 1-4: Okay. So. Kate Leth has this way of both being able to hit and not hit the mark. There's a few bits of this that hit for me, but the parts that miss miss hard. Brittney's art isn't quite my bag, but it's fun enough. (As near as I can tell based on when this got released, this has nothing to do with the Patsy over in Jessica Jones, and was probably pitched without the knowledge of her being in that show.) She's got Will Moss behind her, who fought for Marguerite over on Angela, but with how hard the sales are dropping, I don't know how much longer they'll give this series. I'll stick to reading through this here and there, but it's just not my thing. 

Lucifer 1-4: As far as I know, this is Holly Black's first comic, and if you look at it without any of the context, she's doing a great job! The problem is that they try to sell it as a direct continuation of the Carey Lucifer run, which... doesn't work so well. (ELAINE MELDED INTO ALL OF CREATION, DIDN'T FUCK OFF INTO THE VOID, WHERE THE HELL IS SHE KIDS.) But the new characters she's developing are wonderful, and the times where it doesn't refer to what came before it, it does beautifully. Also, Garbett gets to do some neat stuff, and Lucifer grows beyond the shorthand Loki references that he starts out with. In short, we've got some potential here, kids, don't fuck it up. 

All-New Wolverine 3-6: Oh hell the fuck yes. A story that reads like the best kind of X-Men fanfic, with crossovers from other characters that aren't obtrusive, and just generally awesome writing and great art? I might have to put this on my pull. 

Single Issues: 75
TPBs/Collections: 34
Digital First Issues: 10

[Professor]

Russian Olive to Red King - I judged this book by its cover.  Well, actually the title.  I saw this on the shelf and it screamed 'spy thriller'.  Those are so spy code names.  I could not have been more wrong.  Fair enough.  But now I am absolutely confused.  What the hell was that?  Parallel stories (I think) where one is written in complete gibberish.  Oh, and the last third of the book is maybe four sentences per page, leaving 80% blank white.  In something that I never do, I googled for reviews.  And I don't think I read the same book as any of the reviewers.  Just horrible.

Comics: 14 (5)
Graphic Novels: 6
Trade Paperbacks: 7 (36)

[Dread]

Sally Forth #1-8: Wally Wood did a comedy/sex comic for Eros. I did not know this. It does not surprise me seeing as how he drew women in his MAD Magazine work. It started as a war comic, but it went to space in issue two so there's that kind of dedication to the story. Still, it's fucking gorgeous. 

Wild Things #1-3: Garbage.

Sexecutioner #1,2: Garbage.

Uncanny Avengers #7: I read this because of the tie-in factor. It wasn't great. It wasn't terrible either.

3 Devils #1: Ok. I don't remember a lot of it. I'll give it one more.

A&A The Advetures of Archer & Armstrong #1: Same with this. Super-disappointing coming off the ongoing series. One more issue.

ANAD Avengers #7: Ok, again. There's mystery and susspense, and then there's just stringing people along for no reason.

All-New X-Men #6: Excellent. Can't wait for the next issue.

Batman and Robin Eternal #24,25: Gonna take a huge breath before reading the next issue, the final issue. This is the best thing DC has done since the New 52.

Beyond Doomsday #1: I don't actually remember this comic. I read it three days ago.

Bloodshot Reborn Annual 2016: Solid. One great story with a slasher element. Then fucking Bloodsquirt comes around. Urgh...

Carnage #6: Kind of felt like a reset. First arc was so good, I'll stick around for more.

Circuit Breaker #1: I might have liked this if I gave a shit about manga. 

Clean Room #6: They really turned this around. Wow.

Cry Havoc #3: Eh...not so much.

Comics: 360
Trades: 17

Graphic Novels: 12

Omnibuses: 4

[Davedevil]

Superman: American Alien #5 - Read it for the Manapul art and he didn't disappoint. Lettering was pretty noteworthy too. The voices are all pretty well-realized, except for some of Luthor's. I'm more than likely picking up the trade.

Captain Marvel #3 - Read it twice and it's still pretty unremarkable, aside from the great Anka art.

Star Wars #17 - Great issue. Art's too muddy for my tastes but still pretty good.

Anakin and Obi-Wan #3 - Doesn't really advance the plot, but gives more of Palpatine manipulating Anakin. Checchetto's still doing an excellent job.

Web Warriors #5 - The ending left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but overall it's a solid comic.

[Venneh]

Deadly Class 7-19: Things continue to escalate, and tbh, I like this a lot more than the other Remender stuff I've read. It's dark, but manages to be off the walls fun, and Wes Craig is a real good fit to the series. I'll pick up new issues when the boy buys them monthly, but I don't feel the need to pick it up on a regular basis.

Prometheia vols 1 and 2: Basically Alan Moore does a masterclass on women's studies and myth in the form of a comic that happens to be drawn by an early JH Williams III. Crazy gorgeous, only goes completely insane every two or three issues, a fun ride.

Single Issues: 88
TPBs/Collections: 36
Digital First Issues: 10

Edited April 4, 2016 by Venneh