Dread Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Cowboy Ninja Viking #3-I totally do not regret in any way buying the first four issues of this series AND the first trade already. This is thumbs up extraordinaire. Crazy fun. Plus the Karate Master/Chef/Sniper is kinda hot. 8/10 Green Lantern #50-Kind of a quick read for 4 bucks but holy shit this one was awesome. Doug Mahnke is officially my favorite artist. Combine that with the way Johns writes Sinestro and I have my favorite character being drawn by my favorite writer in this book Also, could Mera be any hotter? 9/10 Green Lantern Corps #44-Goddamn, Guy is the most badass character in comics. Mogo doesn't mince words. Gleason's art is constantly improving. Tomasi is consistently writing DC's best book and Arisia drives her thumbs into the eyes of a black Lantern. 10/10 Comic books: 42 Trade paperbacks: 12 Graphic novels: 1 Omnibuses: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Blackest Night Flash #2-Johns has a handle on the Rogues more than any other author who has ever written them. Holy fuck is a Rogues centred comic needed? yeah, it is. Kolins' art makes things look frenetic beautifully. This was beautiful. Excellent cliffhanger. Maybe the best Blackest Night tie-in yet. 10/10 Blackest Night Wonder Woman #2-The first half of this issue was doing a good job of erasing the abortion that the first issue was. Scott's art was miles abover where it was before. and then the new artist takes over and it looks like a completely different book. Stylistic change = quality change. Then when Scott comes back, she can't bring back the good. I don't like WW as a Violet Lantern and think that Indigo and Hope are far more suitable but I have to say that the kiss, while I disagree with it happening at all, was still super-hot. 4/10 Blackest Night JSA #2-Holy shit! Wayyyy better than the first issue. It's like James Robinson said "Hey Tony Bedard, this one's yours. I'm gonna go stink up some other comics for a while." Because holy shit is this rad. Much better. The change in compassionate BLs is more widespread here and the emotional impact works. Barrows' art is never better with some Marcos Marz to temper it. Who is this Marz guy? He kicks ass. 8/10 Secret Six #17-Fuck this title. Fuck Gail Simone. Fuck Catman. Seriously, anyone complaining about Johns being in love with Hal is unaware of the writings of Simone. I'm ashamed for John Ostrander. But Gail Simone is on the list. 0/10. Captain America: Reborn #6-So, about 9 or 10 months ago, when this series was being produced, poor Ed Brubaker slipped steppiong out of the show, hit his head on the floor and usffered minor brain damage. That's the only excuse for having the best comic Marvel publishes and turning it into a cliched and cheap pile of shit. Fuck. 1/10 Comic books: 47 Trade paperbacks: 12 Graphic novels: 1 Omnibuses: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Holy fuck is a Rogues centred comic needed? yeah, it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 The Authority #2 - The first issue of the failed Authority relaunch of '06 wasn't that great, but this was an excellent issue. Great story by Grant Morrison introducing the Authority and advancing their situation, with equally great art by Gene Ha. I know Keith Giffen is finishing the series off of Morrison's plots, but it's a shame that Morrison didn't write what came next after that last page. Batman and Robin #7-8 - The previous storyarc, "Revenge of The Red Hood," is one of my least favorite Morrison stories. "Blackest Knight" has happily been a major step up from that. Love seeing not only The Knight and The Squire, but also villains from their rogue's gallery. Now that the Batman body has been revived, really looking forward to the showdown next issue. I've been a fan of Cameron Stewart's art since Seaguy and it's been great seeing him tackle Batman. Can't wait for the final part. G.I. Joe European Missions #3 - Pretty linear Storm Shadow story written by Morrison. The only reason I read it was out of interest in his early comic work. Hellblazer #25-26 - A creepy as all hell story by Grant Morrison and David Lloyd where a town surrenders to it's deepest desires. Marvel Must Haves #1 (Collects Wolverine: Origin #1, Startling Stories: Banner #1, Tangled Web #4, Cable #97) - Re-reading Origin was interesting, seeing Andy Kubert's colored from pencils art again (which I like) and catching hints to later story points I missed on my first read years ago. It kinda made me want to read the whole story again. Banner was a great look at the devastation that follows a Hulk rampage, and if you're going to draw the aftermath of a Hulk rampage, Richard Corben is your guy. "Severance Package" from Tangled Web #4 was easily the best story in the issues. By Rucka and Risso, it tells the story of what happens after a guy in the Kingpin's employ screws up royally. Fantastic story, grab the back issue if you can. Cable #97 was awful. The story, the art, everything was just awful. Marvel Must Haves #3 (Collects The Call of Duty #1, Daredevil #32 and 33) - Skipped Call of Duty as I had no interest, but checked out the Daredevil issues after all the praise Bendis' run has gotten. And considering my general dislike for Bendis' writing, I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed both issues. They marked the beginning of "Out" storyline and left me wanting to know what happens next. This was also the first time I read a comic with sequential work by Maleev and I absolutely loved his art. I have other items on my "to buy" list ahead of them, but I'll definitely be picking up the trades sometime. Marvel Must Haves #4 (Collects Truth: Red, White, and Black #1, Captain America Volume 4 #1, The Ultimates #1) - Truth tells the story of a regiment of black soldiers who were test subjects for the super soldier serum. This issue mostly appears to set up the characters that will be important throughout the mini-series. Kyler Baker's artwork is a mixed bag for me, some pages I liked and some I did not. Definitely left me interested to read the whole story at some point. John Cassaday's artwork in the Captain America issue was absolutely gorgeous, my favorite art of his I've seen. I had actually never read Ultimates #1 before, only the second trade, and enjoyed it. Loved the build-up to the full reveal of Captain America. I'm sure I'll pick the first volume up at some point. Marvel Must Haves #9 (Collects Incredible Hulk Volume 2 #34-36) - The beginning of Bruce Jones' run on the book. Bruce is back on the run, with good reason, and there's apparently some secret organization involved. Really, a whole lot of running like we've seen before in a Hulk book, with an uninteresting pair of antagonists introduced. And after reading this, I've decided that I'm just not a fan of Romita Jr.'s current style. Marvel Must Haves #15 (Collects Incredible Hulk Volume 2 #50-52) - More Bruce Jones, now with Mike Deodato on art. Much better than the start of his run. Banner hooks up with a woman in the middle of nowhere and the reveal of her true identity is a game changer. We get another pair of secret organization agents, who are thankfully much more interesting than the previous pair. Deodato is hit or miss for me, but I really liked his art here. Sam Slade RoboHunter #27 - Issue reprinting a 2000 A.D. Morrison story. Called "Fruitcake and Veg," the main plot involves the Vegetable Liberation Front hiring a total badass to rescue a king from another planet, who is a sentient potato. It was awesome. Time Twisters #2,8,15,17,20,21 - Reprints of short stories from 2000 A.D. Once again, read these for Grant Morrison's early work. Some were good, some were bad, overall the best part of reading these was seeing where Grant started out. Weird War Tales #3 - Contains a short story by Morrison and Quitely. Maybe it was that the bulk of the story is about toys, but this was probably the most un-Quitely art I've seen. Not bad or anything, but it didn't really feel like him. The last page freaked me the hell out. A "nice" little story. WildCats #1 - An action comic, Grant Morrison style. It was good, but not as good as The Authority. Grifter has a great line early in the issue parodying one associated with Wolverine. And I have to say, the use of psychedelic colors might be the most interesting way I've seen to cover up people having sex in a comic. Jim Lee's art was Jim Lee art, nuff said. Total Comic Books: 24 TPBs: 1 HCs: Graphic Novels: 1 Manga: The Authority #2, Avengers vs. Atlas #1, Batman and Robin #7-8, G.I. Joe European Missions #3, Hellblazer #25-26, Joe The Barbarian #1, Marvel Boy: The Uranian #1, Marvel Must Haves #1, 3-4, 9, 15, Pinocchio Vampire Slayer OGN, Sam Slade RoboHunter #27, Secret Origins #50, Spider-Man/Human Torch: I'm With Stupid Digest TPB, Time Twisters #2,8,15,17,20-21, Weird War Tales #3, WildCats #1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted February 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 G.I. Joe European Missions #3 - Pretty linear Storm Shadow story written by Morrison. The only reason I read it was out of interest in his early comic work. Unless I sold it when I purged a lot of my comics a few years ago, I think I have that. I'll have to check for it later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Captain America #602-This is the controversy issue. I thought it was great. After the shitstorm of mediocrity and convenient for the plot, boring writing that was Reborn, the regular series is back on track. The whole idea of Two Americas and the idealogy behind it is brilliant. Cap, the embodiment of selfless battle, courage and honor (the 1940s) versus another Cap who is all about material and establishing himself as a visible and destructive force (1950s...and onward ) is a great way to pit the two forces againts each other. I may not drop this book after this run. The backup is shit though. I really don't give a shit about the new Nomad and I wish she'd stop making this book cost another dollar. 8/10 The Marvels Project #5-Captain America is here. And he's pissed off. The Red Skull is amazingly brutal for how little he's in this book and the cameos are beautiful. Loved it. 9/10 The Ghoul #2-Only got this because I had already bought it before reading the first issue. Another chunk of shit. The art isn't even up to Wrightson's standard and the writing...don't get me started...1/10 Batman and Robin #7-Love Cameron Stewart. Did a bangup job on this issue. It's kind of a transitionary issue so it's excusable but I'm psyched for the set-up. 8/10 Pilot Season: Demonic #1-A stinker through and through. 2/10 Ed Hannigan: Covered-What a waste of time but it was worth the money if it goes towards helping this great artist. 2/10 Mr. A #1-This is not a comic. This is a treatise on Moral Relativism that is in no way whatsoever even attempted to be hidden within a story. I stopped reading it because it was boring as shit and I'm not a fan of the writing as it feels like it comes word for word from a textbook. It looks good and that's about it. This is not for anybody except for the hardest of core Ditko fans. 1/10 Comic books: 54 Trade paperbacks: 12 Graphic novels: 1 Omnibuses: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 This is not for anybody except for the hardest of core Ditko fans. Yeah, I'll back that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Secret Six #17-Fuck this title. Fuck Gail Simone. Fuck Catman. Seriously, anyone complaining about Johns being in love with Hal is unaware of the writings of Simone. I'm ashamed for John Ostrander. But Gail Simone is on the list. 0/10. Johns is writing a character who is now making the trinity a quadrilogy. He also was able to make an entire event around a character nobody really liked fifteen years ago. Simone has just been able to make Catman "Most likely to turn good" so, yeah, not on the same level. Also, I thought this was alright, but nothing spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I'll agree with Suave. I make no secret of my love of Gail Simone but rereading this last arc on Secret Six, I have to say it's not very stellar and very off-putting to anyone who hasn't been reading the series, which is a shame considering they probably won't be gaining anyone from the Blackest Night crossover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Johns is writing a character who is now making the trinity a quadrilogy. He also was able to make an entire event around a character nobody really liked fifteen years ago. Simone has just been able to make Catman "Most likely to turn good" so, yeah, not on the same level. Also, I thought this was alright, but nothing spectacular. Johns is taking one of the big seven of the DCU and proving why he's one of the big seven by writing the best GL stories ever written. Gail Simone took a character who hadn't been seen since the seventies, completely changed him, turned him into Tarzan meets Batman and then proceeds to show us why the biggest laughing stock of Batman's rogues gallery is tougher than everybody else. Never mind the fact that the big BL of this issue was the character they introduced in part one who refused to shoot one of the world's most ruthless assassins, though she feels a lot of hatred towards him for blowing her away. This was the most retarded comic I've ever read. I need something better to cleanse the pallette...anyone got a copy of NFL Superpro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Steve Ditko's 160 Page Package-Sorry Koete. Even for mediocre seventies horror comics, as this is reprints of Charlton's stuff, this is about as bad as it gets. Except in a few cases, where the lighting is actually allowed to get dark, the art is just plain flat. I am also not a fan of stories in which the "horror host" floats in and out of the 8 pages needed to tell the story and it is done almost throughout this book. 3/10 Comic books: 54 Trade paperbacks: 13 Graphic novels: 1 Omnibuses: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Gail Simone took a character who hadn't been seen since the seventies, completely changed him, turned him into Tarzan meets Batman and then proceeds to show us why the biggest laughing stock of Batman's rogues gallery is tougher than everybody else. Catman was featured in Green Arrow a couple of times during his last solo series, how he is now makes sense as explained in the Villains United mini where this team was formed. Its not like someone picked some random villain from Decades ago and made them a significant player in a massive event with their own mini series to follow. Human Flame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elnino14 Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Point Blank, Sleeper: Season 1: I thought Point Blank was okay, it helps get the reader familiar with the wildstorm universe in which the much better Sleeper takes place. It also provides an introduction to the Lynch, Tao, and, very briefly, Holden Carver characters. I didn't like the idea of a tour of the wildstorm universe as much of the supporting characters in Point Blank were so mildly fleshed out in terms of character, and served little purpose than getting our main character one step closer to answers. Sleeper on the other hand, is freaking off the chain. It's got a great dark mood to the whole thing, and you never really know who to trust like Holden doesn't. Plus it's a great series about identity, and how actions shape who we are and who we become. Love it. Going to jump into Volume 2 tomorrow. Comic Books: 1 TPBS: 20 X-factor vol. 4, X-men: Messiah Complex, X-factor vol. 5-7, X-factor: Layla Miller, Authority: Relentless, American Virgin 1-4, Incredible Hercules: Against the World, Dark Avengers Assemble, Thunderbolts Burning Down the House, Deadpool vol. 2, Secret Warriors vol. 1, Fell, Avengers/X-men: Utopia, Planet Hulk, Point Blank, Sleeper: Season 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prez Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Gail Simone took a character who hadn't been seen since the seventies, completely changed him, turned him into Tarzan meets Batman and then proceeds to show us why the biggest laughing stock of Batman's rogues gallery is tougher than everybody else. Catman was featured in Green Arrow a couple of times during his last solo series, how he is now makes sense as explained in the Villains United mini where this team was formed. Its not like someone picked some random villain from Decades ago and made them a significant player in a massive event with their own mini series to follow. Human Flame. Ohhhhhhhhh, good stuff. Although, after the way he was written/reintroduced in "Green Arrow," this might as well have been a completely new character. I generally like Simone a lot, but, yeah "Secret Six" has been pretty shit lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Yeah, I'm going back and forth on should I get the Depths TPB when it comes out, seeing as the whole depths storyline, from the first two-three issues, was shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewMG Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Batman: R.I.P. - Disjointed, confusing art, and that Apokolips coda just felt out of place. On the whole, however, this was an exciting and fun romp. Kind of like that BTAS episode "The Terrible Trio," but, y'know, good. 7/10 Booster Gold 29 - I'm noticing a distressing pattern in Matt Sturges' work. He starts off with an entertaining but padded arc. Unfortunately, by the time he reaches an interesting arc the book gets canceled and he has to rush the conclusion. The main story's The Waters of Mars in the DCU. Kind of clever, but not enough to keep me coming back now that BB's over. 4/10 Blackest Night 7 - Huh. Is it my imagination or did The Master accurately predict Sinestro's fate a few months ago? A great action issue but I have a problem with life originating on Earth. IIRC our planet's about 4 billion years old. I'm pretty sure there are a few races like the New Gods who've been around longer than that. 7/10 Blackest Night Wonder Woman 2 - Bought this for the Mera fight, and it wasn't nearly long enough. 4/10 Green Lantern 50 - 51 - These were pretty much a string of "Hell Yeah!" moments backed up by some really nice art. Normally I don't care for Mahnke but he really knocked theses issues out of the park. 8/10 Green Lantern Corps 45 - So it takes three corps and an entire eco system to take down one pissed off Guy Gardner? I can buy that. 8/10 Groo 100 - The climax never fails to make me cry and the story as a whole never fails to make me feel better. A great way to cheer up after a really shitty day. 10/10 R.E.B.E.L.S. 13 - Despero: "You care what happens to Earth?" Vril Dox: "Not really, no. But if Starro is stopped, I want the credit." Hee. Bedard has really nailed Dox's misanthropic altruism. He's also conjured up some twists worthy of Keith Giffen's run on L.E.G.I.O.N. He even found a way to make Blackest Night relevant to the story without bringing back the Black Lanterns. Can't wait for the next issue 9/10. R.E.B.E.L.S. 1 - 11 and R.E.B.E.L.S. Annual 1 - I enjoyed 13 so much re-read the entire series. Big thanks to drqshadow for recommending it. I loved the first 60 or so issues of L.E.G.I.O.N., but hated the original R.E.B.E.L.S. and was planning to skip this. Now it's my favorite current title. In Hollywood terms it's Star Wars meets The Dirty Dozen. I'm still bored with the Omega Men and how you do a L.E.G.I.O.N. Blackest Night tie-in without Lyrissa Mallor boggles the mind. These are just quibbles though. A lot of team books strive to portray the cast as a rag-tag band of misfits but this is one of the few to succeed. A worthy revival of a criminally unappreciated franchise. God I hope DC doesn't cancel it. Comic Books: 30 TPBs: 2 HCs: 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 I think I predicted Sinestro's fate (see Blackest Night thread). L.E.G.I.O.N. is one of DC's best books. The first trade is phenomenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Cowboy/Ninja/Viking #4: It had it's moments. Fun in places, dull in others. Switching to trade next issue. Robocop #2: This comic got better fast. Batman and Robin #9: first half was pretty bland, second half was like night and day. Looking forward to new arc. Billy Batson and the magic of Shazam #13: I love this comic. The art is good, and the writing is fun. It's good, clean, superhero fun. Trades: 8 HC:0 Comics: 45 GN:0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Cowboy/Ninja/Viking #4: It had it's moments. Fun in places, dull in others. Switching to trade next issue. You might want to wait on that, the first trade will collect issues 1-5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Ditko's The Avenging Mind-Not necessarily a comic as it is all prose with the occasional drawing. So I'll count it as a comic whereas it is about a TPB's worth of reading or more. The Avenging Mind (also titled "Stan Lee is a lying fuck and here's a bunch of essays to prove it") has a great standpoint of using moral relativism to dissect Stan Lee's comments about Ditko, in particular the shady creation of Spider-Man, in his autobiography. But, like all philosophical writing, it ruins any great momentum it could gain by using the first several hundred words to define things over and over. It's exhausting, dry and boring. The actual content is good but it is so harrowing getting there that it is almost completely devalued. Ultimately, it's a good read if you skip to the point where you see a familiar name (Lee, Ditko, Kirby or Martin Goodman). Not really impressed with Ditko's self-published stuff. 5/10 R.E.B.E.L.S. The Coming of Starro-This one the other hand was a dleight. I actually bought the first two issues even though I knew I would be grabbing the trade after the first issue. I couldn't get enough. Vril Dox is one of the greatest characters in the DCU and Tony Bedard has him down pat. Andy Clarke's art on the first three issues is...mindblowingly beautiful. He joins Mahnke on my list of guys whose art i will buy because of them. Maybe even original stuff. The art in the last three issues is a little uneven at times but is still good overall. Loved it. 9/10 Comic books: 55 Trade paperbacks: 14 Graphic novels: 1 Omnibuses: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Yeah, you do kinda have to be a Ditko geek when it comes to his self-published work. Cool that you gave it a shot though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 I would like a collection of his Charlton Heroes work though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 There's the two volumes of the Action Heroes Archives from DC that collect all of his Captain Atom, Question, and Blue Beetle stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Yeah but then I'd have to take out a line of credit to afford the Archive collections... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Cowboy/Ninja/Viking #4: It had it's moments. Fun in places, dull in others. Switching to trade next issue. You might want to wait on that, the first trade will collect issues 1-5. Yeah, what I meant was that I would get issue 5, and if they have any trades after that, I'll get them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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