|
Post by Digi on Mar 18, 2022 15:54:49 GMT
Gotten into a bit of a Star Wars Old Sith Wars kick in the last couple of days. So far have re-read The Golden Age of the Sith and The Fall of the Sith Empire. Onward to the Exar Kun-era material today...
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Mar 21, 2022 15:32:15 GMT
Gotten into a bit of a Star Wars Old Sith Wars kick in the last couple of days. So far have re-read The Golden Age of the Sith and The Fall of the Sith Empire. Onward to the Exar Kun-era material today... Finished all the Tales of the Jedi stories last night, headed into the Knights of the Old Republic comics starting today!
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Apr 25, 2022 14:22:40 GMT
Three things I’ve read recently and discussed 1. Batman: Death of the Family: Really really dark but some genuinely brilliant examinations of themes of family and fandom with the Joker as a stand in for fans in a lot of ways. Not necessarily an episode for the faint of heart because of some of the violence, but still brilliant. youtu.be/o0iy-WuGa5Q2 Justice League: Origin/The Villain’s Journey: My first Geoff Johns experience and Origin is great. It’s such a good setup for a rebooted DC universe and all of the characters. Villain’s Journey is fun but more uneven with its characters so it’s a shame. youtu.be/X0vQGZXJ1qw3. Aquaman: The Trench/The Others: The book that made me an Aquaman fan. Both volumes kind of tell one big story. Aquaman as a character has been done way too dirty by pop culture in a way that other water powered characters haven’t. This podcast episode might also have been my favorite to record because of how fun a character Aquaman is.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on May 9, 2022 13:59:06 GMT
Aquaman/Justice League: Throne of Atlantis: This was a story that I found had been very influential considering it’s the basis for Aquaman starring Jason Mamoa. It’s got really interesting character work but the justice league volume has a weird little 2 parter that’s kind of Doctor Who Survival but on earth. It’s also kind of a breath of fresh air to have two brothers fighting but they don’t actually hate each other.
|
|
|
Post by grinch on May 14, 2022 10:59:38 GMT
Doctor Who: Empire of the Wolf
Well, I thought this was quite dreadful. I don’t know what it is but I haven’t been very impressed with Titan’s output as of late. It probably doesn’t help that they no longer do various runs for the Doctor(s)
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on May 14, 2022 11:53:07 GMT
Doctor Who: Empire of the Wolf Well, I thought this was quite dreadful. I don’t know what it is but I haven’t been very impressed with Titan’s output as of late. It probably doesn’t help that they no longer do various runs for the Doctor(s) I haven’t read Empire of the Wolf yet, it’s not due to arrive until next week for me, but I think Titan’s forte is the ongoing runs with Doctors. It allows them to forge their own eras with original companions - which is typically how I’d instantly be interested in expanded media so I’m biased! - and it feels as though that inspires them to tell their own stories in the eyes of that companion. It doesn’t easily revert back to multi-Doctor stories or the regular use of Rose, etc. By the time you’ve got the promotional hook for these ongoing miniseries, there just isn’t enough time to do any of it any justice. Having said that, I didn’t mind the Missy one, as it felt like a nice expansion of Series 10. I’m hoping they’ll go back to the ongoing runs next year for the 60th and let the miniseries thrive on the novelty of another Doctor / TARDIS team and little else.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on May 23, 2022 15:03:14 GMT
The New Teen Titans, Vol. 1 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez: Sadly timed due to Perez’s passing but honestly I loved reading this one. The first thing I’ve read that’s outside sort of the Modern Age of comics but you can really see a lot of what modern DC will become. It’s all character focused and there’s an exploration of nature vs nurture with the original creations as well as Wolfman’s penchant for making triads of characters. There are a few things that haven’t aged well, there’s some casual sexism used for humor and some aspects of racial depictions that don’t work at all but honestly it’s something everyone should read.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Jun 6, 2022 20:34:38 GMT
The New Teen Titans: Volume 2 by: Marv Wolfman and George Perez: A second episode on this run of comics and honestly better than the first volume. There are less problematic elements and Changling gets a genuine time to shine as a character along with Donna Troy. The biggest flaws are Wolfman’s lack of researching Greek Mythology and just a few tropes that haven’t aged well but aren’t inherently problematic. The podcast episode linked below was also a riot to record.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Jun 20, 2022 16:27:27 GMT
Green Lantern: Rebirth - My first Green Lantern comic and one that honestly I think is a bit overrated. It’s a story that goes on for an issue too long, has way too many cameos, and waits too long to give a potential new reader information about the main players and the history of the DC Universe up to that point that you need for it. It’s still pretty good otherwise with some great character interactions, especially at the bookends, and a fun enough plot but it feels like something is missing
Green Lantern: No Fear - The start proper of Geoff Johns’ nearly decade long run on the Green Lantern title. The six issues are two nice and contained stories that establish more who Hal Jordan is post Rebirth and examines his mental state making this feel a bit more substantive than Rebirth was. It also helps that there are less characters here than in Rebirth and there aren’t as many tangents. Still not perfect but it lays a good groundwork for what might come.
Full thoughts in the podcast episode out now
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Jul 6, 2022 14:35:16 GMT
Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns - Continuing the Johns run really well bringing together some brilliant single issue stories and a very tight four part story that also sets up the Sinestro Corps War really well.
Green Lantern: Wanted: Hal Jordan - This one was a mess. The three part Mystery of the Star Sapphires is what saves it from being the worst thing I’ve read this far for the podcast because that’s just a great story, if a bit problematic in places due to the Star Sapphires themselves. Wanted: Hal Jordan itself doesn’t work at all, it’s way too long a story and lacks any sort of connection to a lot of its villains (though the main villain is an exception)
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Jul 18, 2022 14:14:07 GMT
Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War: So this one was a surprise and a really good one to boot. Johns has come a long way in exploring the DC Universe as a whole without becoming so tied up in continuity. Despite some minor pacing problems this is honestly the near perfect Green Lantern story and the culmination of the first third of Geoff Johns’ run. It’s also really good at establishing and exploring character dynamics and ideas before the rest of the Corps can be established. Full thoughts in the links below.
|
|
|
Post by whiskeybrewer on Jul 20, 2022 15:33:04 GMT
Justice League #75
Prelude to Dark Crisis One shot
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Aug 1, 2022 13:05:42 GMT
Batman: A Death in the Family & A Lonely Place of Dying - I love the first half of A Death in the Family but the second half of the story is terrible. Jason Todd as a character is an innocent slaughtered and the second half doesn’t really address his death properly instead focusing on a racist plot about the Joker becoming Iranian Ambassador to the UN and it sucks. A Lonely Place of Dying on the other hand is a perfect comic book story, Tim Drake shines and Marv Wolfman’s writing is brilliant and should be looked at more often. Podcast episode below goes into more detail but be aware we do discuss the death of a child and terrorism.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Aug 15, 2022 16:41:36 GMT
Batman: Hush - The final of the Jeph Loeb 12-13 issue miniseries of Batman this time with art by Jim Lee. I went into this one not knowing anything about the plot outside of the tease that this was part of the resurrection of Jason Todd and I absolutely loved it. Structurally it is very different from Loeb’s other work but it’s perhaps the most interesting mystery, especially since it isn’t a series of crimes but Batman’s various rogues committing connected crimes. The big reveal of who’s behind all of this is genuinely brilliant and makes so much sense though this time there isn’t nearly as much foreshadowing. It’s also one that’s totally ambiguous on if the figure in the trench coat is who it wants it to be which is also very interesting. Full thoughts on a fairly long podcast episode below.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Aug 29, 2022 13:43:35 GMT
Batman: Zero Year - This should be the definitive Batman origin story bar none. It’s got more time to flesh out it’s ideas than Year One and less Frank Miller, the villain is a perfect choice, and the characterization of Bruce Wayne is perfect. It also splits into three nice chunks that each connect to one another in really smart ways.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Sept 12, 2022 14:24:03 GMT
Wonder Woman by George Perez, Vol. 1 - So Wonder Woman is a character who kind of always gets the shaft in terms of popularity and pop culture influence, DC doesn’t give her nearly a s many books as Batman or even Superman, but Perez’s 1987 reboot is a near perfect reboot and modernization for the character. He clearly loves the character and adds this mythic quality to the stories while not forcing her into having a love interest which is a decision I can’t help but love that decision. There’s also a lot of just really engaging stories and musings on the state of the US and the world at the time that get overlooked. Full thoughts in the podcast below.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Sept 14, 2022 10:11:27 GMT
In general I'm not a big fan of comics, but I've made an effort to read several of the "classics," and while I've not read anything recently this does seem the appropriate thread to share some exciting news. One of the series that I did wind up liking quite a bit was Resident Alien, and after more than a year of waiting, they've finally listed the 2nd omnibus edition on Amazon! It's a really good series. If y'all haven't read it, give it a try.
|
|
|
Post by nucleusofswarm on Sept 19, 2022 9:25:11 GMT
Spider's Shadow: what if Peter became Venom.
|
|
newt5996
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,696
Member is Online
|
Post by newt5996 on Sept 26, 2022 16:03:35 GMT
Wonder Woman by George Perez, Volume 2: I think I enjoyed this one even more than volume 1. Perez does such a good job in setting up all of the stories and transitioning from what could easily be a miniseries into an ongoing. There are some excellent stories in here, especially the sequence of issues with Circe, issue 20 on its own plus the first annual just wraps things up nicely. The final two issues make it a little weird of a stopping point but it generally works in keeping these trades a consistent length.
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Oct 6, 2022 23:25:37 GMT
Lost track of most Star Wars comics in early 2020 when pandemic chaos ruined my reading attention span. Earlier this year I caught up on The High Republic, the last week or so I've been working my way through the 'current events' stuff where all the other ongoing series are set in the ESB/ROTJ gap. Almost caught up now, and having a great time of it. Another half dozen or so issues and I'll be up to right before all of the currently running/not-yet-completed arcs.
And my goodness, the reading order for the two big crossover events has been a pain. You're all licenced by Lucas Licencing, you're all coordinated through the Lucasfilm Story Group, you're all published by Marvel -- how flipping difficult would it be for someone to at least tweet what order they're meant to be read in, instead of making people figure it out for themselves?! Bonus aggravation because this isn't a Star Wars-specific issue, or even a Marvel-specific issue (hello there, DC Comics); I don't know why everyone is so bad at this.
|
|