Reading a fun manga series right now called Servant x Service. It's a series of yonkoma (4-panel strips similar to newspaper funnies) centered around a group of civil servants and their office problems. This one hits home for me because, in my Bruce Wayne identity, I am a public servant, so the humor usually gets a nod of the head from me. Apparently not too much difference in public workers from Japan and America. :)
Having finished "Stranger Things," I finally now jumped into the first arc of Brian K. Vaughan's PAPER GIRLS and man, what a fun comic to compliment the Netflix series. The last panel of issue #1 alone is genius storytelling/cliffhanging.
Having finished "Stranger Things," I finally now jumped into the first arc of Brian K. Vaughan's PAPER GIRLS and man, what a fun comic to compliment the Netflix series. The last panel of issue #1 alone is genius storytelling/cliffhanging.
Having finished "Stranger Things," I finally now jumped into the first arc of Brian K. Vaughan's PAPER GIRLS and man, what a fun comic to compliment the Netflix series. The last panel of issue #1 alone is genius storytelling/cliffhanging.
There’s a reason I voted for Paper Girls as Best New Comic. It's probably my favorite comic at the moment.
Late to the party because there's a few issues out now, but Adam Hughes absolutely killed it on Betty & Veronica. I can't believe I'm reading and excited about Archie comics...
I'm 3/4 of way through the Sandman Mystery Theatre trade and this is some great stuff. I've been hearing @wildpigcomics and others praise it for a while now and it really lives up to the hype. "Highest recommendation."
I'm 3/4 of way through the Sandman Mystery Theatre trade and this is some great stuff. I've been hearing @wildpigcomics and others praise it for a while now and it really lives up to the hype. "Highest recommendation."
Future Quest #4 was the first bump in the road of what has been an excellent series. The inclusion of Frankenstein Jr. is interesting. Unfortunately, to much time was spent justifying/explaining the character. An info dump that bogged down the issue.
Future Quest #4 was the first bump in the road of what has been an excellent series. The inclusion of Frankenstein Jr. is interesting. Unfortunately, to much time was spent justifying/explaining the character. An info dump that bogged down the issue.
I didn't mind the slight detour in the story so much. Stuff still happens, and the story does move forward. For me it was the artwork that brought this issue down a notch. Not that the art was bad, it wasn’t. But let’s face it, Ron Randall (a solid artist) and Jeff Parker (interesting to see Jeff pick up the pencil again) aren’t Steve Rude, and there wasn’t much Doc Shaner in this one either. Still a fun book though.
Been going through the collected Multiversity in fits and starts. The annotations provided by Comics Alliance have helped me understand much of the dense nuance I was missing in Pax Americana. Not sure if I can honestly say that I'm "enjoying" the read, but there has been a lot to chew on. Seeing Tiger on the team did make me giggle. I remembered him from my few Judomaster funny books. Just dipped into Thunderworld, and it is already more enjoyable, so we'll see.
Black Lightning tpb - this is the original series from the late 70s. I really enjoyed it; I think it might be better than the early issues of Power Man. There was an issue 12 included in the story that was drawn by Mike Nasser (Netzer), that guy could draw; this might be the first time I've ever really seen his work.
Been going through the collected Multiversity in fits and starts. The annotations provided by Comics Alliance have helped me understand much of the dense nuance I was missing in Pax Americana. Not sure if I can honestly say that I'm "enjoying" the read, but there has been a lot to chew on. Seeing Tiger on the team did make me giggle. I remembered him from my few Judomaster funny books. Just dipped into Thunderworld, and it is already more enjoyable, so we'll see.
Thunderworld was my favorite, along with the pulp-style world. Pax Americana was kind of meh for me. I appreciate the thought Morrison put into the book, but the book became too much about the homages, and too little about the story. It ended up being too choppy to enjoy on a simple reading level, and only enjoyable on a metafictional level, which defeats the whole beauty of Watchmen.
There was an issue 12 included in the story that was drawn by Mike Nasser (Netzer), that guy could draw; this might be the first time I've ever really seen his work.
He was a bit too much of a Neal Adams clone (he worked with Neal at Continuity for a while), but if you can get past that, yeah, he’s a good artist. Lives in Israel now.
That Black Lightning #12 was in the Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, and then was broken into two chapters that ran in World’s Finest #259-260, which is where I first read it.
There was an issue 12 included in the story that was drawn by Mike Nasser (Netzer), that guy could draw; this might be the first time I've ever really seen his work.
He was a bit too much of a Neal Adams clone (he worked with Neal at Continuity for a while), but if you can get past that, yeah, he’s a good artist. Lives in Israel now.
That Black Lightning #12 was in the Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, and then was broken into two chapters that ran in World’s Finest #259-260, which is where I first read it.
That explains the reason why issue 12 isn't showing up in comicbook db. Like I said I had no clue Nasser this was my introduction to him. I did some googling, and he seems like an odd/different guy.
Onto the next good thing I've read. I really like Jarret Williams all ages wrestling comic Super-Pro KO. There are three volumes right now, and they are so much fun.
Like I said I had no clue Nasser this was my introduction to him. I did some googling, and he seems like an odd/different guy.
Warning! Warning! Extreme understatement alert!
Agreed!
Nasser also did a Martian Manhunter story in ... World's Finest (?). This was my introduction to his work. I remember looking back through the book some years later and wondering what had happened to him. Did some Googling and ... yeah. He's an odd duck.
Enjoying Superman & the Justice League Vol. 2 - This is pretty much the ending of the 80s Giffen-era Justice League as the Morrison JLA looms on the horizon with mullet-head Superman. It went out well...giving some B-listers a day in the sun and the Destiny 4-issue saga providing a nifty parallel universe JLA where they're pretty much fascists.
I'm kinda hoping DC will collect the JL Europe / JL International books into trades. There's a couple already but I know a good number haven't been put together yet.
Like I said I had no clue Nasser this was my introduction to him. I did some googling, and he seems like an odd/different guy.
Warning! Warning! Extreme understatement alert!
Agreed!
Nasser also did a Martian Manhunter story in ... World's Finest (?). This was my introduction to his work. I remember looking back through the book some years later and wondering what had happened to him. Did some Googling and ... yeah. He's an odd duck.
I should add that he’s a very nice guy, and a complete professional. Just odd.
This week's Uncanny Avengers' presents a novel solution to the problem of "Bruce Banner's dead" that I pretty sure will give us a twist on the Hulk we've not seen before. It's the sort of crazy logic that only comes from decades old shared superhero universes.
This week's Uncanny Avengers' presents a novel solution to the problem of "Bruce Banner's dead" that I pretty sure will give us a twist on the Hulk we've not seen before. It's the sort of crazy logic that only comes from decades old shared superhero universes.
Just finished Young Animal’s Doom Patrol #1, and... it was okay? I think? It’s really difficult to get much of a handle on things with this one issue. Those who want THINGS TO HAPPEN in every issue probably aren’t going to like this one.
The issue focuses on only one of the main characters, Casey Brinke—in fact, she narrates the issue, so she is clearly meant to be the entry point character, and as such she is very likeable and relateable (for those who need that sort of character), though there is clearly more to her than we are shown in this issue. Cliff is there as well, but only in a limited way, and there are glimpses of other Doom Patrolers past, but this part of the story is primarily the Casey show.
The art from Nick Derington is really nice. For those that don’t know him, his work makes me think of John Romita Jr. doing layouts if he was finished by someone like Tyler Crook or Colleen Coover—a softer, less angular JR, if you will. There’s an interesting sequence that takes place in... another universe sort of, and those scenes are left in the pencil stage, and the colorist, Tamra Bonvillain—who does a really nice job throughout the issue—does a pastel treatment with the coloring over the pencils. It’s beautiful and not something you see often in comics, and it really helps set the two universes apart.
The only problem I have with it, really, is that sometimes it feels like Way is trying too hard to be weird for the sake of being weird. Morrison’s Doom Patrol was every bit as weird, but he always seemed to make it seem like the natural order of things—everything seemed to makes sense in its own way. I'm just not getting that vibe from this first issue. It was like Way was trying to establish the tone of the book more than the story itself, but Morrison’s weirdness was always an extension of the story. I liked Way’s writing on Umbrella Academy though, so I’m hopeful that this will work itself out once the actual story gets going.
Overall, I'm going to give it a B-, which these days isn’t quite good enough, but I'm going to stick with it through the first arc before I decide on whether to drop it or not.
Just finished Young Animal’s Doom Patrol #1, and... it was okay? I think? It’s really difficult to get much of a handle on things with this one issue. Those who want THINGS TO HAPPEN in every issue probably aren’t going to like this one.
The issue focuses on only one of the main characters, Casey Brinke—in fact, she narrates the issue, so she is clearly meant to be the entry point character, and as such she is very likeable and relateable (for those who need that sort of character), though there is clearly more to her than we are shown in this issue. Cliff is there as well, but only in a limited way, and there are glimpses of other Doom Patrolers past, but this part of the story is primarily the Casey show.
The art from Nick Derington is really nice. For those that don’t know him, his work makes me think of John Romita Jr. doing layouts if he was finished by someone like Tyler Crook or Colleen Coover—a softer, less angular JR, if you will. There’s an interesting sequence that takes place in... another universe sort of, and those scenes are left in the pencil stage, and the colorist, Tamra Bonvillain—who does a really nice job throughout the issue—does a pastel treatment with the coloring over the pencils. It’s beautiful and not something you see often in comics, and it really helps set the two universes apart.
The only problem I have with it, really, is that sometimes it feels like Way is trying too hard to be weird for the sake of being weird. Morrison’s Doom Patrol was every bit as weird, but he always seemed to make it seem like the natural order of things—everything seemed to makes sense in its own way. I'm just not getting that vibe from this first issue. It was like Way was trying to establish the tone of the book more than the story itself, but Morrison’s weirdness was always an extension of the story. I liked Way’s writing on Umbrella Academy though, so I’m hopeful that this will work itself out once the actual story gets going.
Overall, I'm going to give it a B-, which these days isn’t quite good enough, but I'm going to stick with it through the first arc before I decide on whether to drop it or not.
What he said. I think I liked it a bit more than you did. It was a fun read and I'll also stick around for the first story arc.
House of Penance finished it's six issue run last week. All in all, I liked the book. The story suffers a bit from "Movie pitch syndrome". I found myself casting a "Penance" movie while I was reading the books. However, considering the subject I imagine that some film maker would jump at the chance to make a horror movie about gun violence and repentance.
I'm surprised that the Remington house hasn't been used as a location for horror stories more often.
Comments
There was an issue 12 included in the story that was drawn by Mike Nasser (Netzer), that guy could draw; this might be the first time I've ever really seen his work.
That Black Lightning #12 was in the Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, and then was broken into two chapters that ran in World’s Finest #259-260, which is where I first read it.
Onto the next good thing I've read. I really like Jarret Williams all ages wrestling comic Super-Pro KO. There are three volumes right now, and they are so much fun.
Nasser also did a Martian Manhunter story in ... World's Finest (?). This was my introduction to his work. I remember looking back through the book some years later and wondering what had happened to him. Did some Googling and ... yeah. He's an odd duck.
I'm kinda hoping DC will collect the JL Europe / JL International books into trades. There's a couple already but I know a good number haven't been put together yet.
The issue focuses on only one of the main characters, Casey Brinke—in fact, she narrates the issue, so she is clearly meant to be the entry point character, and as such she is very likeable and relateable (for those who need that sort of character), though there is clearly more to her than we are shown in this issue. Cliff is there as well, but only in a limited way, and there are glimpses of other Doom Patrolers past, but this part of the story is primarily the Casey show.
The art from Nick Derington is really nice. For those that don’t know him, his work makes me think of John Romita Jr. doing layouts if he was finished by someone like Tyler Crook or Colleen Coover—a softer, less angular JR, if you will. There’s an interesting sequence that takes place in... another universe sort of, and those scenes are left in the pencil stage, and the colorist, Tamra Bonvillain—who does a really nice job throughout the issue—does a pastel treatment with the coloring over the pencils. It’s beautiful and not something you see often in comics, and it really helps set the two universes apart.
The only problem I have with it, really, is that sometimes it feels like Way is trying too hard to be weird for the sake of being weird. Morrison’s Doom Patrol was every bit as weird, but he always seemed to make it seem like the natural order of things—everything seemed to makes sense in its own way. I'm just not getting that vibe from this first issue. It was like Way was trying to establish the tone of the book more than the story itself, but Morrison’s weirdness was always an extension of the story. I liked Way’s writing on Umbrella Academy though, so I’m hopeful that this will work itself out once the actual story gets going.
Overall, I'm going to give it a B-, which these days isn’t quite good enough, but I'm going to stick with it through the first arc before I decide on whether to drop it or not.
I think I liked it a bit more than you did. It was a fun read and I'll also stick around for the first story arc.
"It's a boy!" made me laugh out loud.
I'm surprised that the Remington house hasn't been used as a location for horror stories more often.