Every comic you've read in 2009

[Missy]

Thoughts in Earth-2.net: The Show 341

Miracleman #1-3

Sabretooth #1-4

Iceman #1-4

Ruse: #1-6

Thoughts in Earth-2.net: The Show 343

28 Days Later #1

Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1

Batman: The Widening Gyre #1

The Darkness / Pitt #1

Fantastic Four #570

Total

Comic books: 56

Trade paperbacks: 53

Graphic novels: 1

[Molly]

Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1

This is somewhere between double moronic and so awesome it hurts.

[elnino14]

Daredevil by Bendis vol 10 (the Widow) and 11 (The Golden Age).

I really love Bendis' Daredevil run and the first half is pretty revolutionary take on the character, the second half continues this take but eases into a more superheroic stories. Yes, the pulpy, crime fiction mood is still there in the second half of the run, embellished by Maleev's fantastic artwork, but the whole story and plotting takes a decidedly lighter turn as it deals with less gray areas and more black and white, and just very fun superheroics. Although the plotting takes a very superheroic turn, Bendis still keeps it interesting and fresh with tight and interesting plots, with interesting gimmicks like non-chronological storytelling.

Total:

Comic books: 9

Trade paperbacks: 77

Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 1, 2, and 3; The Authority by Ellis/Hitch/Millar/Quietly Volumes 1 (Relentless) and 2 (Under New Management) and 3 (Transfer of Power); Batman: Year One; Batman: The Long Halloween; Planetary vol 1 (All Over the World and Other Stories), vol. 2 (The Fourth Man), and vol. 3 (Leaving the 20th Century), Planetary Crossing Worlds (The Crossover specials); Planetary 19-26; Batman: The Man Who Laughs; Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear; RONIN; JOKER; Deadpool #1; Punisher Max vol. 1-4; Penance: Relentless; Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis vol 1-2; Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion, Astonishing X-men Hardcovers volume 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again, Y: The Last Man vol. 1-10, The incredible Hulk: Tempest Fugit, Marvels, Daredevil: Redemption, Daredevil: Yellow, Hard-boiled, Hulk: Dogs of War, Spider-man: India, R.I.P.D., Daredevil: Love Labors Lost, District X vol. 1, Walking Dead vol. 1-8, Deadpool vol. 1: Secret Invasion, Superman: Red Son, Batman and Son, Justice League International vol. 1, Bullseye's Greatest Hits, Marvel 1985, X-men Children of the Atom, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Batman: Hush vol 1-2, Batman: Nine Lives, Walking Dead vol. 9, 52 vol. 1-4, Batman: Gothic, X-men: God Loves Man Kills, Daredevil by Bendis vol 4-7 and vol 9-11

[SuaveStar]

So, Fantastic Four got a creative team change then, Mike?

[Missy]

Yes. Starting with #570, the new creative team is Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham.

[Ava]

Batman: Hush - Awesome, awesome, awesome. The story was great and the art was amazing. It's such a pretty book. (Also, "therapist" = "the rapist". Awesome.) But was it just me or do Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent look nearly identical except for the hair and glasses?

But yeah, awesome.

[grahamvidger]

Yeah for some reason people like making super heroes have black hair and blue eyes (Examples: Clark Kent, Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne (along with every other Bat-family male character), Wonder Woman, Big Barda, Captain Marvel (I think?), and way more I can't remember at the moment).

[Dread]

(Also, "therapist" = "the rapist". Awesome.

Yes awesome. But Loeb stole it from a classic SNL Celebrity Jeopardy featuring Sean Connery skit.

[Molly]

"You'll rue the day you crossed me, Reddick."

[Ava]

(Also, "therapist" = "the rapist". Awesome.

Yes awesome. But Loeb stole it from a classic SNL Celebrity Jeopardy featuring Sean Connery skit.

I just found that clip on Youtube. It was pretty awesome.

It kind of reminds me of Tobias Funke's "analrapist" thing from Arrested Development. =D

[Dread]

Thoughts in Earth-2.net: The Show 343

28 Days Later #1

Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1

Batman: The Widening Gyre #1

The Darkness / Pitt #1

Fantastic Four #570

Seaguy #1-3-Goddamn. Cameron Stewart is climbing higher and higher on my list of fave artists. Issue 2 is maybe my favorite single issue of the year and I think I've discovered somethign about Grant Morrison. He has decided not to hold hands anymore. He is writing for those willing to plunge and follow along and those who do so are rewarded in relation to the amount with which they were involved in the story. In this one, I was pretty involved. 10/10

Terror Inc. #1-5-Good, nasty fun. That's pretty much it. 7/10

Wolfskin Annual #1-Ellis has pretty much lost me at this point. 1/10

Wormwood: The Last Enemy-Shades of Preacher here. It's amazing I like a book so much with a protagonist who is so morally reprehensible. It's like reading Warren Ellis, written better. Not Ennis' best but nowhere near his worst. Almost as good as the original mini. 7/10

Batman and Robin #3-This is the best book coming out of DC right now. Dick IS Batman and Damien is far less annoying than he has been. 10/10

Blackest Night #2-Again, the best comic event ever. Why the fuck do I care so much about Aquaman's supporting cast? Geoff Johns. That's why. Ivan Reis too. 10/10

Blackest Night: Titans #1-A little plodding but when it gets down to it, it's great. Hawk is the best designed Black Lantern yet. 8/10

Blackest Night: Batman #1-Hi Deadman, thank you for reminding me why you are so awesome. Besides the fucking terrible in the Batmobile sequence, I liked the art fine. It's Tomasi who sells this one. Stoked to see how it plays out. 7/10

Green Lantern #45-Sinestro vs. Carol Ferris. Nuff said. Doug Mahnke is my favorite comic artist on a monthly book right now. Hands down, he's a master. 10/10

Green Lantern Corps #39-I should have read this before all of the others because it's good but it doesn't carry the impact the other tie-ins did. However, no one knows Rayner and Gardner like Tomasi and I stand behind that. 7/10

Total

Comic books: 368

Trade paperbacks: 14

Graphic novels: 1

Jan 01-Aug 28=300 comics, 13 TPBs, 1 GN...Wednesday Comics #3, Wednesday Comics #4, Adventure Comics #1, Luke Cage Noir #1, Red Herring #1, Ultimate Comics Avengers #1, Batgirl #1, Blackest Night: Superman #1, Dominic Fortune #1, The Red Circle: The Web #1, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, Chew #1, Walking Dead #59-64, Viking #1, Broken Trinity #1-3, Broken Trinity: Witchblade #1, Broken Trinity: Aftermath #1, Fell #8-9, Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #4, FVZA #1, newuniversal: Shockfront #1,2, newuniversal 1959, newuniversal Conqueror, Daredevil #116-119, Justice League of America #31, 32, Captain America Comics #1 70th Anniversary, The Human Torch Comics #1 70th Anniversary, Sub-Mariner Comics #1 70th Anniversary, Justice Society of America #25, 26, Simon Dark #18, The Flash Rebirth #1-3, Essential Man-Thing volume 1, 28 Days Later #1, Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1, Batman: The Widening Gyre #1, The Darkness / Pitt #1, Fantastic Four #570, Seaguy #1-3, Terror Inc. #1-5, Wolfskin Annual #1, Wormwood: The Last Enemy, Batman and Robin #3, Blackest Night #2, Blackest Night: Titans #1, Blackest Night: Batman #1, Green Lantern #45, Green Lantern Corps #39

[Missy]

Terror Inc. #1-5-Good, nasty fun. That's pretty much it. 7/10

...

Batman and Robin #3-This is the best book coming out of DC right now. Dick IS Batman and Damien is far less annoying than he has been. 10/10

Agreed on both accounts.

[Guest]

Grant Morrison. He has decided not to hold hands anymore.

You're just now noticing this? I mean, his new Batman stuff is good and I can respect what the man has done but, bloody hell, I can't remember a writer that's so frequently punished me for actively wanting to get into his work. Even after RIP, I gave Seaguy a try and it might as well have been written in another language.

I'm all for giving comics some weight in their history and rewarding those that stick with it, but, comic books shouldn't be a homework assignment.

[Koete]

I get what you're saying Dubs, but considering that there are thousands of different comic books published each year, why can't a couple of those require a bit more scrutiny.

[Venneh]

Blackest Night #3: This is my first major event book since getting into comics. And I fucking love it.

Indigo's finally appeared on the scene, and holy hell, they may be one of my new favorite Corps. And they got into the JL morgue.

RUN RUN FUCKING RUN. Also, zombies bantering at each other and making come-ons is incredibly creepy, thank you very much Johns.

Blackest Night: Batman #2: Made of solid awesome, all around. At this point, my favorite part of this event besides the main book.

Captain America #601: Okay, I'm going to be honest; this is the first Cap book I've picked up, pretty much ever. And I thought it was okay; the story was a nice stand-alone, and the art was incredibly well-done. Might look at new Caps, but for now, 'm not going to be picking it up.

Deadpool #15: Oh, wow. This book actually took a serious turn for once, and used the three voices in Deadpool's head to good use doing it. There's the normal hallucination sequences, but only one of them is actually out and out trying to be funny. Good set-up for the twist at the end of the issue.

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #3: Ehhh. Dropping this.

Secret Six #13: Okay, I have no idea what the fuck is going on in the larger plot here. Does anyone know who Grendel is in the larger DCU? Except for that the government is somehow involved with the

Amazons being there (ZOMG! [/sarcasm] but for real, oh god why did they have to reference Amazons Attack!).

But I'm honestly following this more for the character moments than I am for the larger plot, and there are plenty of those. Also, nice to see the chick from the one-off a few issues back actually show up again.

Thunderbolts #135: Lots of double-crossing and plot twists. Intriguing.

Also, I don't think Fury's dead, even when Norman shot him in the head. Is this a bad thing?

Wednesday Comics #9-11: I really like what they did with the Flash in #9. Getting really sick of the periodic table puns in Metamorpho, and I couldn't really follow it. Kamandi, Deadman, The Demon and Catwoman, and the Flash are still the only ones I really like out of them, with Supergirl and Strange Adventures being funish. Wonder Woman continues to be a cluttered fucking mess that could've been done well. Sad that this ends next week, regardless.

Comic Books: 99

TPBs: 22

Graphic Novels: 2

Motion Comic: 1

[Luke]

Been reading The Books of Magic. Neil Gaimain's original miniseries is amazing, but the ongoing really isn't. Like The Dreaming, the majority is self-indulgent esoterical crap, occasionally brightened up by a good idea that just doesn't last.

Also, Batman & Robin is amazing, and the news of upcoming Cameron Stewart art has me foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog who likes comics.

[elnino14]

Daredevil by Bendis vol. 12 (Decalogue) and 13 (The Murdock Papers): When all is said and done, I absolutely love this run. It's a near perfect run a character, on the questions of vigilantism, double lives, grief, love, authority, crime, and a dash of straight up action. I think Decalogue is the best part of the second half of the run (which doesn't compare to the first half and kind of leans towards standard superhero fare). Decalogue avoids all that and even though the tag-line suggests a reveal of what Daredevil was doing during the missing year, it's less of that and more of a third person take of the situation, the volume expertly looks at Daredevil and the Daredevil world through the community's eyes. I also love the religious aspects of the book, which is something that was pretty sorely missed from Bendis' run until now. I love this run. 10/10

X-men: Mutant Genesis: I will never read Chris Claremont again. This is from the 90's and I thought this was supposed to be a popular run, but I couldn't tell you why. Or even what happened. It's just sooo...dated...overwritten...kind of boring. The second half focuses on Logan and Omega Red so it was a lot better than the first half, but overall it's preposterous garbage. The art is by Jim Lee who does good, but it doesn't overcome the writing.

Total:

Comic books: 9

Trade paperbacks: 80

Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 1, 2, and 3; The Authority by Ellis/Hitch/Millar/Quietly Volumes 1 (Relentless) and 2 (Under New Management) and 3 (Transfer of Power); Batman: Year One; Batman: The Long Halloween; Planetary vol 1 (All Over the World and Other Stories), vol. 2 (The Fourth Man), and vol. 3 (Leaving the 20th Century), Planetary Crossing Worlds (The Crossover specials); Planetary 19-26; Batman: The Man Who Laughs; Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear; RONIN; JOKER; Deadpool #1; Punisher Max vol. 1-4; Penance: Relentless; Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis vol 1-2; Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion, Astonishing X-men Hardcovers volume 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again, Y: The Last Man vol. 1-10, The incredible Hulk: Tempest Fugit, Marvels, Daredevil: Redemption, Daredevil: Yellow, Hard-boiled, Hulk: Dogs of War, Spider-man: India, R.I.P.D., Daredevil: Love Labors Lost, District X vol. 1, Walking Dead vol. 1-8, Deadpool vol. 1: Secret Invasion, Superman: Red Son, Batman and Son, Justice League International vol. 1, Bullseye's Greatest Hits, Marvel 1985, X-men Children of the Atom, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Batman: Hush vol 1-2, Batman: Nine Lives, Walking Dead vol. 9, 52 vol. 1-4, Batman: Gothic, X-men: God Loves Man Kills, Daredevil by Bendis vol 4-7 and vol 9-13, X-men: Mutant Genesis

[Missy]

X-men: Mutant Genesis: I will never read Chris Claremont again. This is from the 90's and I thought this was supposed to be a popular run, but I couldn't tell you why. Or even what happened. It's just sooo...dated...overwritten...kind of boring. The second half focuses on Logan and Omega Red so it was a lot better than the first half, but overall it's preposterous garbage. The art is by Jim Lee who does good, but it doesn't overcome the writing.

Actually, Chris Claremont only wrote the first three issues in that collection. The other four were penned by Jim Lee, John Byrne, and Scott Lobdell.

[elnino14]

X-men: Mutant Genesis: I will never read Chris Claremont again. This is from the 90's and I thought this was supposed to be a popular run, but I couldn't tell you why. Or even what happened. It's just sooo...dated...overwritten...kind of boring. The second half focuses on Logan and Omega Red so it was a lot better than the first half, but overall it's preposterous garbage. The art is by Jim Lee who does good, but it doesn't overcome the writing.

Actually, Chris Claremont only wrote the first three issues in that collection. The other four were penned by Jim Lee, John Byrne, and Scott Lobdell.

I noticed a shift, but honestly, people were still giving speeches during every punch that it still drove me nuts.

Transmetropolitan vol. 1 (Back on the Street): Found vol. 1 of this at my local library along with a few Starman trades. I figured they were two series I was interested in and instead of plopping down cash and risking not liking them I gave them a borrow. I read this. I really liked it, I can see it getting better as it goes along as this is just the first three issues, and while there's no overarching series or plot (as far as I can see in these three issues) like the other great Vertigo trades I've read (Y: the last man and Preacher) it's got charm all together. At the same time, it feels like Warren Ellis just blabbing about a variety of topics, while Preacher and Y: the Last Man had tangents, they felt like the characters were talking, like it was part of the story and the relationship building, here it doesn't feel like that as Spider talks to himself in inner monologues or to his audience through articles. I still liked it and I feel Ellis has some captivating things he wants to address (in this trade alone he touches on human nature, authority, government, urban environments, racism, segregation, business, and more). Now it will be a search to save up some money and see if I can pick up the whole series, used, in one shot, because my library only has a couple other from this series (Trade #4 and #6, I think). I am developing a love affair with the Vertigo line.

As for Starman, I'll be reading the first trade soon, they've got quite a few trades at the library (I think the first 5 or 6), so I can get a lot of the story from there, I don't think I plan on picking that one up, no matter how much I enjoy it, as the omnibus(es) are pretty hefty. Libraries are your friend.

Total:

Comic books: 9

Trade paperbacks: 81

Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 1, 2, and 3; The Authority by Ellis/Hitch/Millar/Quietly Volumes 1 (Relentless) and 2 (Under New Management) and 3 (Transfer of Power); Batman: Year One; Batman: The Long Halloween; Planetary vol 1 (All Over the World and Other Stories), vol. 2 (The Fourth Man), and vol. 3 (Leaving the 20th Century), Planetary Crossing Worlds (The Crossover specials); Planetary 19-26; Batman: The Man Who Laughs; Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear; RONIN; JOKER; Deadpool #1; Punisher Max vol. 1-4; Penance: Relentless; Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis vol 1-2; Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion, Astonishing X-men Hardcovers volume 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again, Y: The Last Man vol. 1-10, The incredible Hulk: Tempest Fugit, Marvels, Daredevil: Redemption, Daredevil: Yellow, Hard-boiled, Hulk: Dogs of War, Spider-man: India, R.I.P.D., Daredevil: Love Labors Lost, District X vol. 1, Walking Dead vol. 1-8, Deadpool vol. 1: Secret Invasion, Superman: Red Son, Batman and Son, Justice League International vol. 1, Bullseye's Greatest Hits, Marvel 1985, X-men Children of the Atom, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Batman: Hush vol 1-2, Batman: Nine Lives, Walking Dead vol. 9, 52 vol. 1-4, Batman: Gothic, X-men: God Loves Man Kills, Daredevil by Bendis vol 4-7 and vol 9-13, X-men: Mutant Genesis, Transmetropolitan vol. 1 (Back on the Street),

[drqshadow]

Ojo - As a longtime Sam Kieth admirer, this is really tough for me to say but Ojo reeks. While this isn't the first time he's dealt with a very young protagonist, going through emotions more complicated than they deserve, it's the only time he's lost me along the way. Nearly all of Kieth's earlier creator-owned work is densely layered with a twinge of sadly genuine introspection, and by comparison this just feels like a shallow retread of ground he's already covered. Annie really isn't that fascinating a lead character, and the only other faces in the story - her bullish sister and spaced out grandfather - are one-dimensional and don't bring anything extra to the story. Usually I could fall back on Sam's artwork and shut off my brain in that kind of situation, but even that escape doesn't exist here, since he only provides about half of the illustrations. The rest are contributed by a small squad of imposters and fill-ins who don't even come close. I've always loved Kieth's character-driven stories to death, but it's time for something different already, and Ojo seems all too familiar.

2/10

Dark Avengers #9 - Very little going on this month, but after the total information overload of the past three issues that's a welcome change. Bendis spends most of this edition examining and progressing the motivations of Ares, his son Phobos and Nick Fury's band of merry men. I don't care all that much for Fury's generic Secret Warriors or their motives, but the extra focus on Ares is nice, especially since he's using his big boy voice and keeping the axe swings to an absolute minimum. Deodato's artwork is solid if not spectacular, and the sudden change in Sentry's life at the end of the story is, er, interesting. Really this is a ho-hum issue that less dedicated readers could get away with skipping, but the characterization is good to see and god knows I'm glad the X-Men have finally gone home.

5/10

Batman & Robin #4 - The first issue sans-Quitely didn't do much to quell my fears about the series in his absence. Phil Tan was wise to just start fresh without attempting to mimic his predecessor's style, and for the first few pages I was willing to believe he could actually get the job done. But as the issue bore on and the pace slowed down, he seemed to lose interest and my enthusiasm went right along with him. I'm mildly interested in the identity of the Red Hood, and I like the contrast of his message and methods against those of Dick and Damien, but this is quickly becoming just another mainstream DC book and not the continuous blast of fresh air it's been for the first three issues. Grant Morrison can write some fantastic material at times, but he can also get terribly self-absorbed. At around the two-thirds point I realized that I was just pressing toward the last page out of personal obligation and not because I was really all that interested in seeing where the story is going. That's a major change from last month.

6/10

Ex Machina #45 - Kind of loopy at some points, completely overboard at others, with a parting shot that's pretty much ensured I'll hang around for the rest of the series. The timing of Ex Machina has always been a bit suspect in my eyes, since author Brian K. Vaughan likes to jump from the middle of a finance meeting to the heat of an awkward super-powered fight without so much as a word of warning, but that's grown to be part of this book's charm over the years. To tell the truth, I'm actually enjoying the twists and turns of Mitchell's political career much more than I am the central plot point of the origin and intentions of his incredible powers. We get equal doses of both this month. Good but not great.

7/10

The Walking Dead #65 - I still haven't read an issue of Walking Dead I dislike. The current storyline is moving at an agonizingly slow pace, but that's only allowed me more time to savor and appreciate it from month to month. After playing the hunted for much of their time together, whether from the zombies or wandering groups of ill-intentioned survivors, Rick and company finally reach their breaking point this month and fight back. I was ready to jump off my couch and cheer when they caught the hunters unprepared and played their hand. Great pacing, fantastic characterization, unlimited potential for disaster and a sinister willingness to convince the readers that no single character is ever really safe. Most titles are lucky to count just one or two of those attributes in their stat sheet, but Kirman and Adlard's horror-tinged monthly digest enjoys a clean sweep.

9/10

Also, a few contributions to IIWY? since my last post: Dark Wolverine #77, The Red Circle: The Shield #1, Northlanders #20, Strange Tales #1 and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2

Comics: 134, TPB: 10, Graphic Novel: 5

[elnino14]

Justice League: Earth-2, - Rented this from the library and read it in one sitting, it's just really good what can I say. Even for Grant Morrison, who's off the wall ideas I'm growing to dislike more and more, it's still feels right here and it rarely every gets too crazy. It's a good story with good plotting, and an excellent high concept, I don't know who created the Crime Syndicate, but they were born to be in a story like this. It's just perfect for them. Not as much characterization as you might think, it's real focus is on the plot and the nihlistic theme of destiny. 9/10

Walking Dead Vol. 10 - I'm seriously considering dropping this book now, while Kirkman had a good run, I feel like it's running in circles now. Vol. 9 didn't impress me but it was still consistently good, and this is another good volume, but the lack of an overall endgame, and the recurring themes, makes it feel circular. I'm sure the series will ramp up once the characters runs up against some more evil people, but it's just been there done that at this point. The new supporting characters aren't particularly likable either. Anybody want to try and convince me to stay on. 7/10

Unknown Soldier vol. 1 Haunted House - This is a really good book. At the same time, the book makes me very uneasy as most entertainment based on real-life situations do. It makes me very uncomfortable and at times, I think that's the point of the book. Although, there's a lot of background that the author tries to fill you in on, it doesn't feel like too much of a lecture at any point, and it doesn't get too dense where you lose interest because in all honesty after you have the background set up, it's all about the main character.

Currently trying to read Starman TPB vol. 1, but I'm not as into it as I think I should be.

Total:

Comic books: 9

Trade paperbacks: 84

Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 1, 2, and 3; The Authority by Ellis/Hitch/Millar/Quietly Volumes 1 (Relentless) and 2 (Under New Management) and 3 (Transfer of Power); Batman: Year One; Batman: The Long Halloween; Planetary vol 1 (All Over the World and Other Stories), vol. 2 (The Fourth Man), and vol. 3 (Leaving the 20th Century), Planetary Crossing Worlds (The Crossover specials); Planetary 19-26; Batman: The Man Who Laughs; Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear; RONIN; JOKER; Deadpool #1; Punisher Max vol. 1-4; Penance: Relentless; Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis vol 1-2; Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion, Astonishing X-men Hardcovers volume 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again, Y: The Last Man vol. 1-10, The incredible Hulk: Tempest Fugit, Marvels, Daredevil: Redemption, Daredevil: Yellow, Hard-boiled, Hulk: Dogs of War, Spider-man: India, R.I.P.D., Daredevil: Love Labors Lost, District X vol. 1, Walking Dead vol. 1-8, Deadpool vol. 1: Secret Invasion, Superman: Red Son, Batman and Son, Justice League International vol. 1, Bullseye's Greatest Hits, Marvel 1985, X-men Children of the Atom, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Batman: Hush vol 1-2, Batman: Nine Lives, Walking Dead vol. 9, 52 vol. 1-4, Batman: Gothic, X-men: God Loves Man Kills, Daredevil by Bendis vol 4-7 and vol 9-13, X-men: Mutant Genesis, Transmetropolitan vol. 1 (Back on the Street), Unknown Soldier vol. 1 Haunted House, Justice League: Earth-2, Walking Dead Vol. 10

[Venneh]

Power Girl #5: Yeah, this book is pretty much what I expected it to be; mindless fanservice. ...And I can live with that. Guilty pleasure book, whee!

Blackest Night: Superman #2: Marked improvement over last month. Art remains awesome, and the story's coming together well on everyone's fronts. Also, Martha Kent going "It's on!" is beyond priceless.

Wednesday Comics #12: A good end to a nice run. The comics were wrapped up nicely, and I'd honestly love to see something like this again.

Comic Books: 102

TPBs: 22

Graphic Novels: 2

Motion Comic: 1

[Koete]

Batman and Robin #4 - Another great issue. The scene between Red Hood and Scarlett was my favorite in the book, excellent writing from Morrison there. The scene with Dick and Damian on the ledge was great too, as was Morrison's use of Twitter of all things. I also loved the nods to Morrison's run on Batman, the mention of Flamingo and the red and black imagery. I was worried about the changeover from Quitely to Tan on art, but I was pleasantly surprised. Is Tan's art as great as Quitely's? No, but it's still good and really fit the tone of the story. Can't wait to find out who Red Hood is.

Batman: The Brave and The Bold #6-8 - The uptick in quality that began in #4 continues in these three issues. J. Torres has probably the best handle on making the comic feel like the show, from Batman's self-narration to easter eggs for older fanboys. The team ups with Kid Eternity, Doom Patrol, and the Great Ten respectively were all a lot of fun. I do think that the characterization of Batman is off at times though, with him being more a part of the humor rather than being the straight man. The art is a mixed bag. Andy Suriano's art in #6 is too cartoony, J. Bone's art is cartoony, but on the good side of cartoony, and Carlo Barberi's art is the closest in style to the original cartoon.

Fantastic Four: 1234 TPB - Wow. I'm honestly at a loss for words. Wait, I think I just found a couple: this was fucking brilliant. In my opinion, this has to be some of the best writing of Morrison's career. He absolutely nailed the Fantastic Four and their world. The dialogue was perfect for every character; Morrison is such a perfect match for writing Reed, I can't believe I didn't think about it before. I love how Morrison took these individual looks at each member of the Fantastic Four and tied them into the tapestry of the larger story. The only negative about this? It's only four issues. It's an amazing (and fitting) four issues, but I want Morrison as the ongoing writer of Fantastic Four. I can only imagine what he could do with the Negative Zone, Galactus, Silver Surfer, and The Inhumans. Easily in my top 5 favorite books Morrison's written and making a good case for the top 3. Oh, and Jae Lee's art was gorgeous.

Total

Comic Books: 109

TPBs: 20

HCs: 1

Graphic Novels: 2

Manga: 2

Adventure Comics #0, Age of The Sentry #5-6, Agents of Atlas #1-9, Aliens/Predator FCBD 2009, Aliens #2, Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer, Animal Man Volume 1-3 TPB, Astounding Wolf-Man #10-13; 15-16, Athena Voltaire & Black Coat One-Shot, Atomic Robo Dogs of War #5, Batman #684-686, Batman: The Black Casebook TPB, Batman and Robin #1-4, Batman: The Brave and The Bold #1-8, Captain America #47-48; 601, The Complete Persepolis, The Contingent #3, Criminal Vol. 2-3 TPB, The Darkness Accursed Vol. 1 TPB, Dark Horse FCBD 2009,Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1, Detective Comics #320;853, Dethklok vs. The Goon, Doctor Who: The Whispering Gallery, Fantastic Four #1-5, Fantastic Four: 1234 TPB, Final Crisis Secret Files, Final Crisis #6-7, Four Eyes #2-3, Fred Hembeck Destroys The Marvel Universe, G-Man: Cape Crisis #1, Gantz Vol. 1, The Goon #31-32, Green Lantern #36-38, Green Lantern Corps #38, Guardians of The Galaxy #8-12, Incognito #1, Invincible #57, Invincible Iron Man #15, Iron Man & The Armor Wars #1, Irredeemable #1-2, JLA: Earth-2, Joker: The Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB, Justice League of America #35, Justice Society of America #22, Kick-Ass #5-6, Marvel Adventures: Iron Man Vol. 1-3 Digests, MPD Psycho Vol. 1, Nova #20-25, Planetary #1, Red 5 FCBD 2009, Ruins, Savage Dragon #148, Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye #1-3, Secret Invasion: War of Kings, Seven Soldiers of Victory Volume 1-4 TPB, Super Friends #11, Superman / Batman #62, Superman and Batman: World's Funnest, Superman Beyond #2, Tales to Astonish #27, 35-38, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, The Mighty Thor #356, Thor Vol. 2 HC, Vimanarama TPB, War of Kings: Darkhawk #1, Warlord #5, Wolverine: Origin of An X-Man FCBD, X-Force #11, Zot! 1987 - 1991: The Complete Black and White Collection TPB

[elnino14]

Starman vol. 1-3: I read the first three volumes of this highly acclaimed series. Let's get one thing straight, I didn't like the first volume, I liked the second volume and the first half of the third volume, and I didn't like the third volume. I can't tell whether I like this series or whether it's just not for me. The first volume and the first arc, I just wasn't getting into it, I liked the Jack Knight character and his apprehension towards the super-hero world but the dialogue was so stilted, everybody sounded the same, and the narration was kind of over-the-top and unnecessary. Jack Knight's arc really helped carried the book and was the biggest decision to check out another volume. Volume 2 is a step up, I could start to see more clearly what Robinson was trying to do, Jack Knight was more like a regular human being than the rest of us, I could see the connection between Knight's interest in the past and looking at the past with a glow and sense of awe and wonder resonate with how Robinson looks at the older superheroes. The past and present collide in the Night and Day arc, where the new Starman and the new Mist collide.

Some themes are pretty typical but with just a Starman twist on them, Robinson plays at the idea of superheros as freaks (X-men), he plays with the idea of the inescapable connection and similarity between hero and villain (Batman and Joker), amongst other things.

Volume 3 was off to a good start with a team-up story with the Sandman, again bringing back a sense of wonder to the past, having the past team up with the present, and basically an old-school superhero meshing with a new school superhero. As the story continues, Jack is becoming more and more of an actual Hero, and his hesitation is disappearing, which takes out one of the best ideas this story had going for it. But then the story took a turn for the worst for me, I didn't care for the Hell and Back arc, it just seemed too cluttered, and felt too mystical to me (sometimes I feel like that was the point), but in the end, all I could think about was how it was kind of ripping off a story from Gaiman's Sandman. It's more good than bad, and the narration is still over-dramatic and pretentious, more annoying than not but I'm reading it from the library, so what's there to lose.

Total:

Comic books: 9

Trade paperbacks: 84

Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Volumes 1, 2, and 3; The Authority by Ellis/Hitch/Millar/Quietly Volumes 1 (Relentless) and 2 (Under New Management) and 3 (Transfer of Power); Batman: Year One; Batman: The Long Halloween; Planetary vol 1 (All Over the World and Other Stories), vol. 2 (The Fourth Man), and vol. 3 (Leaving the 20th Century), Planetary Crossing Worlds (The Crossover specials); Planetary 19-26; Batman: The Man Who Laughs; Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear; RONIN; JOKER; Deadpool #1; Punisher Max vol. 1-4; Penance: Relentless; Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis vol 1-2; Thunderbolts: Secret Invasion, Astonishing X-men Hardcovers volume 1 and 2, Daredevil: Born Again, Y: The Last Man vol. 1-10, The incredible Hulk: Tempest Fugit, Marvels, Daredevil: Redemption, Daredevil: Yellow, Hard-boiled, Hulk: Dogs of War, Spider-man: India, R.I.P.D., Daredevil: Love Labors Lost, District X vol. 1, Walking Dead vol. 1-8, Deadpool vol. 1: Secret Invasion, Superman: Red Son, Batman and Son, Justice League International vol. 1, Bullseye's Greatest Hits, Marvel 1985, X-men Children of the Atom, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Batman: Hush vol 1-2, Batman: Nine Lives, Walking Dead vol. 9, 52 vol. 1-4, Batman: Gothic, X-men: God Loves Man Kills, Daredevil by Bendis vol 4-7 and vol 9-13, X-men: Mutant Genesis, Transmetropolitan vol. 1 (Back on the Street), Starman vol. 1-3

[Dread]

Doom Patrol #1-Wow, one of my more anticipated books of the year was a fucking stinker. Awful. Giffen, why hast thou forsaken me? Has Grant Morrison officially made it so thast every iteration of DP is now shit compared to his? Regardless, this is shit. The cofeature of Metal Men was tainted in the process and I won't even be grabbing the trade for Maguire's art. I can go back to JLI for that for free. And that was fun. 0/10

Marvel Comics #1 70th Anniversary-Yay. Reprints. Recolored. Woo-hoo. 2/10

All Winners #1 70th Anniversary-I read this two days ago and cannot remember a thing about it. 0/10

Captain America: Reborn #2-I'm finding it very hard to care about this mini. I'll stick it out to see if it ever gains a sense of story rather than a random spin through history with a ho-hum Osborn plot in the modern world. I may just be dropping Cap sooner than I thought. 3/10

The Marvels Project #1-Just when you think Brubaker's gotten stale... I loved this a lot. I'm psyched to see how it plays out. 8/10

Frankenstein's Womb-The best thing Warren Ellis has written since Nextwave, by leaps and bounds. If I read a better thing by Ellis I'll be convinced he isn't a product of the early 2000s with no hope of moving forward. This was spectacular. An amazing look at the sci fi origins of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Beautiful art combining the Avatar house style with a Bernie Wrightson-like touch. Gorgeous. 10/10

Irredeemable Vol 1-I think I had my hopes up a little high on this book. It was still very good, just didn't have the grip that Waid usually does for me. It's also some of the most inconsistent art I've seen in a long time. I have looked and seen pages of briliance and then stunningly mediocre. I'll check out volume 2 to be sure though. 7/10

Hunter-Can we clone Darwyn Cooke now please? Please? Stunning. I've never read a Parker novel but I've seen every movie based on one and I loved the little bits and pieces pulled from them from this novel. Stunningly, jaw-droppingly, awe-inspiringly beautiful art. Story is tight, if a little light at times. But goddamn is it purty! 9/10

Total

Comic books: 373

Trade paperbacks: 15

Graphic novels: 3

Jan 01-Aug 28=300 comics, 13 TPBs, 1 GN...Wednesday Comics #3, Wednesday Comics #4, Adventure Comics #1, Luke Cage Noir #1, Red Herring #1, Ultimate Comics Avengers #1, Batgirl #1, Blackest Night: Superman #1, Dominic Fortune #1, The Red Circle: The Web #1, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, Chew #1, Walking Dead #59-64, Viking #1, Broken Trinity #1-3, Broken Trinity: Witchblade #1, Broken Trinity: Aftermath #1, Fell #8-9, Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #4, FVZA #1, newuniversal: Shockfront #1,2, newuniversal 1959, newuniversal Conqueror, Daredevil #116-119, Justice League of America #31, 32, Captain America Comics #1 70th Anniversary, The Human Torch Comics #1 70th Anniversary, Sub-Mariner Comics #1 70th Anniversary, Justice Society of America #25, 26, Simon Dark #18, The Flash Rebirth #1-3, Essential Man-Thing volume 1, 28 Days Later #1, Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama #1, Batman: The Widening Gyre #1, The Darkness / Pitt #1, Fantastic Four #570, Seaguy #1-3, Terror Inc. #1-5, Wolfskin Annual #1, Wormwood: The Last Enemy, Batman and Robin #3, Blackest Night #2, Blackest Night: Titans #1, Blackest Night: Batman #1, Green Lantern #45, Green Lantern Corps #39, Doom Patrol #1, Marvel Comics #1 70th Anniversary, All Winners #1 70th Anniversary, Captain America: Reborn #2, The Marvels Project #1, Frankenstein's Womb, Irredeemable Vol 1, Hunter