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Best Trade/Hardcover/OGN you read this week

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  • Parker: The Hunter
    Brilliant book! I've seen Payback and I think I've seen Point Blank but I never read the original book (and I suppose I still haven't!) But this was stunning! Really nicely designed book all round with stunning art by Darwyn Cooke!

    I have read the original novel, and I think Darwyn actually improved the pacing of the story in his adaptation. Great stuff.

  • jaydee74jaydee74 Posts: 1,526
    Marvel Masterworks: Uncanny X-Men Volume 1
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    I need to read these "Parker" books. I might see if the library can get them through ILL.
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    jaydee74 said:

    Marvel Masterworks: Uncanny X-Men Volume 1

    Does that start with the 60s era X-men or does it start with Giant Sized #1?

  • I've been reading my copies of the Batman Archives, Dark Knight Archives, and Batman: The World's Finest Archives, and getting a solid look at Batman and Robin's first decade of existence. (I'm up to volume 6 of Batman Archives and volume 2 of the World's Finest stories.)
  • @Will_TWOTH -- I absolutely agree, all three of Cooke's Parker books are worth a look.
  • larrylarry Posts: 125
    Read The Tourist by Brian Wood. Loved the story, couldn't stand the art.
  • @dubbat138
    I believe masterworks 'Uncanny' starts with Giant Sized, and just regular masterworks X-Men starts from the sixties. I have the first sixties volume of the sixties one on my shelf and it's just 'Masterworks: The X-Men'. Hope this helped! :)
    Cheers,
    Will
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200

    @dubbat138
    I believe masterworks 'Uncanny' starts with Giant Sized, and just regular masterworks X-Men starts from the sixties. I have the first sixties volume of the sixties one on my shelf and it's just 'Masterworks: The X-Men'. Hope this helped! :)
    Cheers,
    Will

    Thanks @Will_TWOTH. I was pretty sure that is the way it was but not positive.
  • Just re-read Blankets for the first time since buying it in 2005 or so. I found it to be MUCH stronger the second time around. On the first read, I focused on the romantic situation and somewhat dismissed the book as a bit precious.

    But this time, I saw the romance as less important in and of itself to the book, but more of a rung on the ladder of his human development, where he starts to learn to trust himself rather than letting the restrictive interpretations of his parents' religion overrule his own experience. REALLY solid work.
  • kgforcekgforce Posts: 326
    edited November 2012
    JUSTICE by Alex Ross / Jim Krueger


    I've had it for sometime via a Comixology sale, but just finally got around to reading it. Great artwork, of course. Pretty good story.
  • CaptShazamCaptShazam Posts: 1,178
    I have just started The Walking Dead. I got the first compendium and am about a third of the way in. It is fantastic. I also just started the first pocket book volume of strangers in paradise and so far I am loving that too.
  • mguy1977mguy1977 Posts: 801
    Fables Werewolves of the Heartland OGN is a off shoot from the Fablesverse following the events of Mister Dark & its aftermath. Bigby is in searching mode for an area that would be suitable for Fables to relocate away from humans. Bigby stumbles across an old friend in his WWII days and to put it lightly Story Town (no I'm not making that name up) has more secrets than any Fable would want to know. I can't say this OGN is Willingham's highpoint in Fables just slightly better than the Great (translation crappy) Fables Crossover tpb. The art is not Buckingham good just average. The story is just too predictable or I have been reading the series for long enough to know where the quarter comes from the kid's ear or pull a rabbit out of the hat. If you want Bigby vs several werewolves fighting in a grand finale you will get your fill in the last third of the OGN. There was one scene that was disturbing a suicide of one of the characters that just creeped me out as a word of caution. There was some elements of T & A that you expect & a different variety that goes along w/ the story. In comparison, the previous volume of the Great (crappy) Fables Crossover got a 3 out of 10 & this Fables Werewolves OGN gets 4.5 out of 10 rating so only slightly below average. So unless you are a diehard Fables fan or really like werewolves in the Fablesverse you can skip this or you can try the Fables spinoff series Fairest and see if that is to your liking.
  • Both Fables and werewolves would do it for me. I need to wait until I can spare the cash, though.
  • mguy1977mguy1977 Posts: 801

    Both Fables and werewolves would do it for me. I need to wait until I can spare the cash, though.

    Then you will not be disappointed by this collection. Bigby is the main Fables character w/ a brief flashback to two other Fables the other main characters are Bigby's WWII friend and werewolves. I got my copy from Instocktrades for 50% off but I also spend 50 bucks total doing some pre-turkey day comic shopping and got free shipping. I just felt that Fairest, the Fables sequel had more to it & it wasn't by the numbers story and by that account I enjoyed it more.

    Happy reading & Merry Christmas Chuck.

    Matthew


  • mguy1977mguy1977 Posts: 801
    edited January 2013
    Superman Earth One vol. 1 & 2 HCs is retelling of Superman in modern setting w/ a capable writer & talented artist w/ fresh ideas on both ends of the creative spetrum. JMS who let me & other comic fans down by bailing on his mainstream Superman monthly comic half way for the OGN format. The Earth One format seems to tilt the main character, mythos & supportive characters into a new direction ever so slightly that you can tell differences from Byrne, Johns, Morrison takes on the Man of Steel. The only drawback was the villain in the first volume looked like the grown up version of Silver Banshee & Gene Simmons had a baby together. The art on both collections have pages where it takes you back as you soak it all in then read the story. In the second volume, we are introduced to another person w/ the "LL" initials Lisa Lasalle who is totally different from Lois or Lana. This new character has a wild side to her & is sweet on Clark (not Superman). Lois is not played for a dummy in asking questions about Clark behind the scenes which is an improvement over previous writers. The parasite is the villain in the second volume & unlike in the Superman Secret Origin in the OGN he is given a background that makes you believe he can be a real villain. The epilogue of the second volume made me smile & I will leave it at that in the changes done to that character. I am onboard for vol. 3 of this series. How do I rate this experiment of epic proportions by JMS & Shane Davis? A 9 out of 10 rating for both volumes call me impressed.

    Matthew
  • TorchsongTorchsong Posts: 2,794
    Just this morning finished DC Library: The Life and Death of Ferro Lad. Important in that it showcased a death in the Legion of Superheroes that has for the most part remained permanent in some form. MORE important in that it was written by a 13-year old named James Shooter, who'd go on to do other work for a few comic companies you might have heard of. :)

    I sometimes find early Legion work to be difficult when compared to what I'm reading now (the later stuff), but this was a really solid piece of work all things considered.
  • kgforcekgforce Posts: 326
    The Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward

    I really enjoyed this book. I love how Manapul incorporates the title into the splash page.
  • kfreemankfreeman Posts: 314
    I'm really digging Grand Duke from Archaia Books, by Yann and Romain Hugault. Beautiful, beautiful artwork.
  • John_SteedJohn_Steed Posts: 2,087
    kfreeman said:

    I'm really digging Grand Duke from Archaia Books, by Yann and Romain Hugault. Beautiful, beautiful artwork.

    Yep - "Le grand duc" is awesome. Romain Hugault lives, breathes and draws aviation themes like no other. Many of Europe's aviation organisations promote his work.

    If you are into the history of aviation you should pick up all his books - even if they're not all translated yet. The art doesn't need many words.
  • luke52luke52 Posts: 1,392
    Just finished off Avengers vs Xmen. Really fun stuff. Having not read much of Marvel this was a good book for me to pick up, having read the Dark Pheonix Saga, I got a few of the comments to related to that. I'd kind of like to get into a few more Marvel story lines to extend my reading horizons. I've heard a lot of good things about Planet Hulk so may make that my next Marvel purchase.
  • kfreeman said:

    I'm really digging Grand Duke from Archaia Books, by Yann and Romain Hugault. Beautiful, beautiful artwork.

    Yep - "Le grand duc" is awesome. Romain Hugault lives, breathes and draws aviation themes like no other. Many of Europe's aviation organisations promote his work.

    If you are into the history of aviation you should pick up all his books - even if they're not all translated yet. The art doesn't need many words.
    Sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation, guys.
  • kfreemankfreeman Posts: 314
    I actually met him at SPX a few years ago and picked up The Final Flight from him. Got a nice sketch inside it of a US WW2 plane. I've hit his Wings pin-up book as well, but haven't delved into his French-language stuff. Maybe it's time :)
  • CaptShazamCaptShazam Posts: 1,178
    Reading the first trade of Fairest. The Phil Jimenez art is fantastic.
  • I read the new Valiant XO man-o-war, I had recently read Shadowman #1and wanted to try out the other titles. . . at 10$ there is not much better a value and I plan on trying them all as the come out
  • TorchsongTorchsong Posts: 2,794
    You'll laugh at the title, but this was one of the best books I've read in quite a while:

    Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat

    Yep. It's a manga. The male protagonist is a high school teen with a perverted side he wishes he could be more open about. It seems whenever he's caught doing something perverted it somehow turns around and he ends up looking like a saint (example: He offers to clean the school floors to get an opportunity to see up girl's dresses in the reflection - He gets commended for his service to the school and gets an award). For some reason, this bothers him. He wishes he didn't have to hide behind a facade and could just be open about how he feels about the girls at his school.

    So he hears about a cat statue deep in the woods where you can make a wish to have something about yourself removed and it will be passed on to someone else. While going there, he runs into a cute young girl who freaks out and goes through a wide range of emotions - from freaking out that he's going to assault her, to crying to anger to...you get the idea - and she wishes she could mask her emotions instead of wearing them on her sleeve for the world to see. The guy tells her about the statue and they both pray to have their "conditions" removed.

    And then the fun begins.

    Remember that girl from your school that every guy fawned over, and she knew it, and she treated them like baggage? What if you suddenly had nothing holding you back from pointing out that she has absolutely no chest? In public. In a crowd of people. What if you were suddenly just completely brutally honest about your perceptions of the women around you, and didn't lie or defer your true feelings in the hopes they might think better of you?

    Even better is what happens to the girl. She has one facial expression. One. She can't show fear. Anger. Sadness. You don't know WHAT she's feeling...because she asked to have her emotions hidden. Be careful what you wish for.

    Of course I've read enough manga to know where this is going to end up, and you can probably figure it out as well. I think this is going to be a fun journey watching them get there, though. The artwork is good (assuming you like Japanese style art) and the translation is really well done. DMP (Digital Manga Production) is known more for their yaoi titles and licenses, but this is a rare release that (despite the title it's not nearly as lewd as you'd think) could be a lot of fun for any audience.
  • mguy1977mguy1977 Posts: 801
    edited December 2012
    Blacksad returns in a single story collection, Blacksad: A Silent Hell from Dark Horse continues the adventures of the PI who looks like cat (because he is one) in a universe where all the animals have anthropomorphism but is all business. Blacksad is looking for a druggie jazz playing dog who has secrets that not only hurt himself but others in the heart of New Orleans. Yes the art is way off the charts stunning on every page & panel but unlike the three story collection that preceded it, this short collection was just okay in terms of the writing. It seemed to lack the passion or take the necessary chances to turn a okay to a great one that matches the wonderful art. I'm explaining my rating this way so to be as clear as possible the art is 5 out 5 stunning but the writing only earned a 3 out 5 combine the two you have a 4 out 5 rating. I had high hopes that the writing/art duo of Juan Díaz Canales & Jaunjo Guarnido but I will return for the next collection regardless. Note while the collection is listed at about 110 pages; only 60 is the main story, 30+ pages is backmatter of art design & 2 two page very short pages stories that close out the volume.

    Matthew
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    image

    Volume 5 of Warren Ellis run on Stormwatch. This reprints Stormwatch Vol 2 #10,Stormwatch Vol 2 #11,WildC.A.T.s/Aliens (1998) #1. Really fun story that killed off a bunch of Wildstorm characters. And it has some great artwork from Bryan Hitch,Michael Ryan,Chris Sprouse. This got me interested enough in Stormwatch and the Wildstorm universe,that I now want to get every issue of Stormwatch and try out Authority.
  • Been off the forums for a while due to family members in hospital, and have done a lot of reading in that time. Very briefly Grandville by Bryan Talbot has been the best thing I've read in a long time. Definately going to carry on with this series of GNs. High praise also goes to the Rasl trades currently being published and the Scene of the Crime HC from Image. Worth a look is the Disconnected collections from Disconnected Press here in the UK
  • John_SteedJohn_Steed Posts: 2,087
    @PaulPhelan : hope all is fine with your family.

    Rasl is aweseome. Meant to check out the other books you mentioned. Might even have some on my Amazon wishlist.

    There are so many mindblowing awesome comics around these days. Great to be alive.
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