Finally read Black Science #1. I'm intrigued - just need to find the second issue somewhere. The art work, while really pretty dissimilar, gives me the same feeling I get when looking at Dan Brereton's work, which is, for me, a huge plus. The bizarre storyline just adds to the overall sense of intrigue and the League of Anarchist Scientists is just way cool.
Also just read Three #4. Really liking this one a lot as well and the art seemed to really step up a notch this issue. Particularly interesting, to me, at least, is the on-going dialog between Gillen and a professor of classical studies regarding the story and the history of Sparta. I haven't seen anything that clearly says so, but I have to assume that this is a limited series.
Picked up and read a copy of the Nocturnals: Dark Forever. As I mentioned above, I'm a big fan of Dan Brereton so this was a joy for me. My familiarity with Nocturnals was limited to my reading of the Bravura series in the 90's. As such, I was a little out of touch with the characters, except for Gunwitch. It took a bit for me to figure out who everyone was, but all in all, it was entertaining and, to my eye, a beautiful read.
Superman/Wonder Woman 1-3, it keeps upping the level in every issue. The villains & the relationship I care about. Soule & Daniel make a great team. I gave issues 1 & 2 a 4 rating and issue 3 a perfect 5 rating. Bring on Soule's She Hulk over at the house of ideas hoping they are still fresh
Glad to hear this. I bought the first issue, thought it was okay, then decided to trade-wait if I heard good things. I'm glad I'm hearing good things.
Thus far I've never read a Charles Soule comic that was less than good. I'm really looking forward to his She-Hulk, and his "Inhuman".
I read issues 2 and 3 of Alex + Ada and I don't know why I like this comic but I do. I like the simple yet amazing way they portray the future, not going crazy over the top, and everything seems kind of believable. Still not sure where it's headed but I guess I'm going to keep up.
I going through some of my back log and I finally finished Remender's run on Secret Avengers. I really enjoyed what he did with that book. I loved the team mix and the last storyline with robots striving for recognition was pretty freaking awesome. If people dug his Uncanny X-Force run you should really give this run a try.
read the Alpha Big Time 5 part series this week, it was a lot better than I expected which is why I was just getting to it
the art was fine, my only complaint was that the covers were done by Humberto Ramos (which I actually like) but the interiors were done by someone else, so it was a little bit of a let down
This week I have carried on with detective comics think im on issue 19 now and loving it. Also read the couple new marvel all new invaders which I thought was pretty good art work is good. And the other was empire of the dead act one im wasnt to sure on this one story seemed quite slow but I will give it another go whe issue 2 is out
I have been catching up on the post Battle of the Atom issues of All New X-Men and Uncanny. Loving it. I hope the Bendis run on X-titles lasts as long as his time on Avengers.
Read Saga issues 13-17 & dang it now I'm eagerly awaiting 18. First a character dies then another one gets hurt. The lying Cat is ready to make a meal out of someone in quick order while our heroes are worried of being located. Fatale 16-18 ooh Fatale she is indeed the black magic woman of great looks, sex & TROUBLE w/ a capatal T as her past is catching up to her. Sean Phillips & Ed Brubaker keep me hooked into the world of demons, crime & suspense like a tightly wound up clock. Finally Velvet #2, Miss Velvet has me most intrigued w/ what happens next as an ex-spy on a run from the good guys. It is a wild ride over at Image!
Hawkeye #16 was a true return to form. Best issue of the series in a very long time, and I think it also represented a different type of issue from Fraction. It was a departure in tone. And as a fan of Brian Wilson, I loved the homage.
Over at Image, I was finally able to pick up issues 2 and 3 of Remender's Black Magic. Issue #1 was "okay" but didn't give me enough to go on in terms of what the series was going to be about. But these next two issues really put things in perspective. What a great series this is going to be!
Last week I ordered Skullkickers Treasure Trove vol 1 & 2 off amazon. Volume 2 came in on Saturday, so I started flipping through it and ended up reading/finishing the thing last night.
First off Skullkickers is a great book; I really enjoyed everything about it (art and writing). It is an awesome story about a bald guy and dwarf that get into ridiculous situations that end in violence, set in a D&D type world (with a Cthuluish bad guy). If you enjoy fantasy, RPGs, or just good comics I would recommend you try it out.
Secondly I had no problem picking the story up at issue 12. I came in with no knowledge of the story (i knew there was a big bald guy and dwarf and I assumed they kicked badguys heads in). The narration in issue 12 caught me up without being boring or overly spoilery (for those that are sensitive), and it is a pretty easy story to follow. That is huge win for this series.
I should be wrapping up the new Creature Commandos trade tonight (I've got about 2 issues left to go in it).
I remember the characters fondly from my childhood but have a couple of obvervations:
1 - Had no idea that they were a creation of DeMatteis and Pat Broderick. 2 - Lt Shrieve was a real tool. 3 - My recollection of Shrieve was that he wore a red turtleneck. Most of the time, he's in a standard cut field jacket but made from red fabric instead of olive drab. I really don't get this - He doesn't really need to stand out - he's the normal human - that makes him stand out all by itself. Also, I love seeing him out on leave and still wearing his helmet, complete with chin strap during the Carrillo years! 4 - G.I. Robot crossover issues! Loved GI robot even more! 5 - Kannigher took over pretty early in the run. Definitely liked his work more on other DC war titles. 6 - Lots of strange panel sequences where a row of panels show the same character head and shoulders but multiple poses in order to get in a long piece of dialog.
Glad I picked it up, it was a pleasant stroll down memory lane.
And if you like Skullkickers, check out Zub's work on Pathfinder.
I'm not a D&D or Pathfinder player (or a big gamer at all); I have gamer friends,and read KDoT (which may explain why I love Skullkickers) and a few TSR books. So will it be easy to pick up? I mean can I come in with zero Pathfinder knowledge and enjoy the story?
And if you like Skullkickers, check out Zub's work on Pathfinder.
I'm not a D&D or Pathfinder player (or a big gamer at all); I have gamer friends,and read KDoT (which may explain why I love Skullkickers) and a few TSR books. So will it be easy to pick up? I mean can I come in with zero Pathfinder knowledge and enjoy the story?
You should be able to. Each arc has been pretty self contained and they are on issue 12 or 13 now, so there isn't a whole lot to catch up on.
I picked up the first New 52 Flash TPB, Move Forward, from the library the other day and really liked it. I consider Wally to be "my" Flash, and I always thought Barry was overshadowed by the much more interesting Rogues, but I liked this version of him (probably because I had no real attachment to the original). I think I'll continue on reading this in collected form.
I just read Dave McKean's Cages. I tried ordering the series as it came out, but Diamond would rarely send a copy (and the one or two issues that I remember getting were beat up). I read an interview with Eastman a few years ago that said that this was standard, even though he had a warehouse full of inventory. I ordered a lot of Tundra stuff back then, and I never knew what would arrive.
Anyway, 20 or so years later, I finally get to read it. Maybe it was because I'm working 16 hour days, but I found it just okay. Parts of it were very good, but other parts bored me. Maybe I should have waited until I had more energy, but it's not something that I'm giving a second chance.
After that, I switched it up and started Ennis' Punisher Max run. The first 10 issues were good, and I'll get the rest. I also read Annual #1 (which must have been post Ennis), and it made me wonder why I haven't learned not to read annuals.
After that, I switched it up and started Ennis' Punisher Max run. The first 10 issues were good, and I'll get the rest. I also read Annual #1 (which must have been post Ennis), and it made me wonder why I haven't learned not to read annuals.
You may have read it already, but if you haven't, Born, by Ennis and Robertson (probably traded as Punisher: Born, or maybe even Punisher MAX Born, I'm not sure) is fantastic, and is the perfect lead-in to the MAX series you are now reading.
This week a trio of DC comics that I've been ambivalent for some time.
"Batman & Two Face " was pretty good. I was generally underwhelmed with this arc, but it picked up in the last couple of issues and I want to reread the whole thing all in one sitting. Also, wow, two very important things happened in this issue. A big revelation and then a big... err... I'm not going to spoil it. Looking forward to the resumption of "the search for Robin" or whatever they're calling it, next issue. With Aquaman, WW, and Frankenstein waiting in the wings, I'm feeling better about "Batman & ___" on an ongoing basis.
"Batwoman" was also a step up. I've had mixed feelings about this book for years now, usually wanting to like it more than I'm able to, due to inconsistent art and writing. Last year I thought the writing was finally improving and getting on solid ground again, then Williams and Blackman left the book. I know Trevor McCarthy is coming back eventually, but right now I've found Jeremy Haun's artwork to be serviceable at best, a far cry from what I'm used to seeing on this title. The writing, though, is improving, and that's making me continue to give this series a chance. Andreyko's stories in the first few issues seemed kind of all-over-the-place. With this issue the character work and plotting seems on solid ground. It feels like I've been proceeding on a constant basis of "giving Batwoman another 2-3 more issues" for 2-3 YEARS now, but all in all the series has continued to be worth following.
"Harley Quinn" was also a slight improvement. At least, the first half of the issue seemed really good, like Conner and Palmiotti had gotten into a groove and were going to deliver a solid Valentine's Day issue. The second half of the issue, though, just felt kind of anticlimactic. I had been thinking that Harley was literally and figuratively on her way to a more interesting story, but then on the way to that story she got waylaid by mindless slapstick violence. It was okay and still a step in the right direction overall, but once again I feel like I had higher expectations that weren't met. For the fourth issue now, I go into things expecting a fun adventure and leaving with a funny taste in my mouth. It hasn't clicked yet. The fact that Amanda Conner does the covers but not the interiors is like a metaphor for how I perceive the series overall: It looks great on the surface, on first glance, but somewhere after that fact things just get weird and wonky in ways that aren't wholly enjoyable. That said, this is still a unique title and I'll keep reading it for a while yet. With every passing issue I keep getting the sense that the creative team has gotten one step closer to really clicking.
I just read Dave McKean's Cages. I tried ordering the series as it came out, but Diamond would rarely send a copy (and the one or two issues that I remember getting were beat up). I read an interview with Eastman a few years ago that said that this was standard, even though he had a warehouse full of inventory. I ordered a lot of Tundra stuff back then, and I never knew what would arrive.
Anyway, 20 or so years later, I finally get to read it. Maybe it was because I'm working 16 hour days, but I found it just okay. Parts of it were very good, but other parts bored me. Maybe I should have waited until I had more energy, but it's not something that I'm giving a second chance.
I always wanted to check out Cages but never got around to it. Despite awesome covers, I always suspected that it would be a mixed bag.
You may have read it already, but if you haven't, Born, by Ennis and Robertson (probably traded as Punisher: Born, or maybe even Punisher MAX Born, I'm not sure) is fantastic, and is the perfect lead-in to the MAX series you are now reading.
Thanks for mentioning it--I haven't read that yet. I'm around issue 22 now, but may jump back and check that out before I start the next storyline.
SkullKickers Treasure Trove vol 1- As noted above I read Skull Kickers vol 2 before this, and loved it. How did volume 1 compare? Treasure Trove 1 was an excellent book. I love this series. The best part of the series was volume 1 is awesome and volume 2 is even better.
She Hulk #1 was excellent Loki Agent of Asgard #1 was good. clearly bringing the movie Loki into the 616 Universe. Amazing X-Men #4 continues to be a ball of energetic joy for me All New X-Men #23 okay but i don't care about Corsair All New Invaders #2 borrow Fantastic Four#1 interesting, reserving judgement, liked the art
right now She Hulk is my pick of the week, or in my case month.
Daredevil 36 had a nice (semi-) finale & earned a solid 5. She Hulk while the art takes some getting use to the writing is helpful since I'm one of the DC fans that never read Iron Man in recent years so I found the small balloons of text helpful. She Hulk #1 earns 4 stars. I think Soule created real life Doombots of himself for comics writing, legal work, family time, etc...
Comments
Also just read Three #4. Really liking this one a lot as well and the art seemed to really step up a notch this issue. Particularly interesting, to me, at least, is the on-going dialog between Gillen and a professor of classical studies regarding the story and the history of Sparta. I haven't seen anything that clearly says so, but I have to assume that this is a limited series.
Thus far I've never read a Charles Soule comic that was less than good. I'm really looking forward to his She-Hulk, and his "Inhuman".
the art was fine, my only complaint was that the covers were done by Humberto Ramos (which I actually like) but the interiors were done by someone else, so it was a little bit of a let down
Also read the couple new marvel all new invaders which I thought was pretty good art work is good.
And the other was empire of the dead act one im wasnt to sure on this one story seemed quite slow but I will give it another go whe issue 2 is out
Matthew
Over at Image, I was finally able to pick up issues 2 and 3 of Remender's Black Magic. Issue #1 was "okay" but didn't give me enough to go on in terms of what the series was going to be about. But these next two issues really put things in perspective. What a great series this is going to be!
Haven't read it myself... but this is a good deal. $9 TPB, $18 hardcover, $8.59 on "kindle"
First off Skullkickers is a great book; I really enjoyed everything about it (art and writing). It is an awesome story about a bald guy and dwarf that get into ridiculous situations that end in violence, set in a D&D type world (with a Cthuluish bad guy). If you enjoy fantasy, RPGs, or just good comics I would recommend you try it out.
Secondly I had no problem picking the story up at issue 12. I came in with no knowledge of the story (i knew there was a big bald guy and dwarf and I assumed they kicked badguys heads in). The narration in issue 12 caught me up without being boring or overly spoilery (for those that are sensitive), and it is a pretty easy story to follow. That is huge win for this series.
I remember the characters fondly from my childhood but have a couple of obvervations:
1 - Had no idea that they were a creation of DeMatteis and Pat Broderick.
2 - Lt Shrieve was a real tool.
3 - My recollection of Shrieve was that he wore a red turtleneck. Most of the time, he's in a standard cut field jacket but made from red fabric instead of olive drab. I really don't get this - He doesn't really need to stand out - he's the normal human - that makes him stand out all by itself. Also, I love seeing him out on leave and still wearing his helmet, complete with chin strap during the Carrillo years!
4 - G.I. Robot crossover issues! Loved GI robot even more!
5 - Kannigher took over pretty early in the run. Definitely liked his work more on other DC war titles.
6 - Lots of strange panel sequences where a row of panels show the same character head and shoulders but multiple poses in order to get in a long piece of dialog.
Glad I picked it up, it was a pleasant stroll down memory lane.
Matthew
I'm glad I did. Really good comic!
Anyway, 20 or so years later, I finally get to read it. Maybe it was because I'm working 16 hour days, but I found it just okay. Parts of it were very good, but other parts bored me. Maybe I should have waited until I had more energy, but it's not something that I'm giving a second chance.
After that, I switched it up and started Ennis' Punisher Max run. The first 10 issues were good, and I'll get the rest. I also read Annual #1 (which must have been post Ennis), and it made me wonder why I haven't learned not to read annuals.
"Batman & Two Face " was pretty good. I was generally underwhelmed with this arc, but it picked up in the last couple of issues and I want to reread the whole thing all in one sitting. Also, wow, two very important things happened in this issue. A big revelation and then a big... err... I'm not going to spoil it. Looking forward to the resumption of "the search for Robin" or whatever they're calling it, next issue. With Aquaman, WW, and Frankenstein waiting in the wings, I'm feeling better about "Batman & ___" on an ongoing basis.
"Batwoman" was also a step up. I've had mixed feelings about this book for years now, usually wanting to like it more than I'm able to, due to inconsistent art and writing. Last year I thought the writing was finally improving and getting on solid ground again, then Williams and Blackman left the book. I know Trevor McCarthy is coming back eventually, but right now I've found Jeremy Haun's artwork to be serviceable at best, a far cry from what I'm used to seeing on this title. The writing, though, is improving, and that's making me continue to give this series a chance. Andreyko's stories in the first few issues seemed kind of all-over-the-place. With this issue the character work and plotting seems on solid ground. It feels like I've been proceeding on a constant basis of "giving Batwoman another 2-3 more issues" for 2-3 YEARS now, but all in all the series has continued to be worth following.
"Harley Quinn" was also a slight improvement. At least, the first half of the issue seemed really good, like Conner and Palmiotti had gotten into a groove and were going to deliver a solid Valentine's Day issue. The second half of the issue, though, just felt kind of anticlimactic. I had been thinking that Harley was literally and figuratively on her way to a more interesting story, but then on the way to that story she got waylaid by mindless slapstick violence. It was okay and still a step in the right direction overall, but once again I feel like I had higher expectations that weren't met. For the fourth issue now, I go into things expecting a fun adventure and leaving with a funny taste in my mouth. It hasn't clicked yet. The fact that Amanda Conner does the covers but not the interiors is like a metaphor for how I perceive the series overall: It looks great on the surface, on first glance, but somewhere after that fact things just get weird and wonky in ways that aren't wholly enjoyable. That said, this is still a unique title and I'll keep reading it for a while yet. With every passing issue I keep getting the sense that the creative team has gotten one step closer to really clicking. I always wanted to check out Cages but never got around to it. Despite awesome covers, I always suspected that it would be a mixed bag.
It was really great. The story and art were fantastic. I
SkullKickers Treasure Trove vol 1- As noted above I read Skull Kickers vol 2 before this, and loved it. How did volume 1 compare?
Treasure Trove 1 was an excellent book. I love this series. The best part of the series was volume 1 is awesome and volume 2 is even better.
What a great month for my reading!
Loki Agent of Asgard #1 was good. clearly bringing the movie Loki into the 616 Universe.
Amazing X-Men #4 continues to be a ball of energetic joy for me
All New X-Men #23 okay but i don't care about Corsair
All New Invaders #2 borrow
Fantastic Four#1 interesting, reserving judgement, liked the art
right now She Hulk is my pick of the week, or in my case month.
Matthew