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Post by relativetime on Apr 15, 2021 9:47:37 GMT
Spider-Gwen #9-13 and Teen Titans Vol 1: Damian Knows Best. Didn’t realize there was a very relevant crossover before Spider-Gwen #9, so I was a bit confused and concerned I hadn’t read the past few issues so thoroughly, but I caught on after a bit. I really enjoyed the Teen Titans issues. I like Damian Wayne’s Robin - he’s such an arrogant jerk, it’s great!
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Post by kurumais on Apr 15, 2021 16:46:46 GMT
guardian of the galaxy 13 batman dark detective 1
slaine the brutania chronicles tpb 1 never read slaine before its pretty good i really like simon day's art except the female lead is really really ugly and she is almost naked so it
a bit disconcerting while i was reading
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Post by relativetime on Apr 16, 2021 16:29:45 GMT
Ultimate Fantastic Four #1-8
I’m liking it overall so far. Nothing that’s blown my socks off, but it’s at least a solid origin story. This coming from someone who hasn’t read much of the mainline FF besides that one issue when Black Panther showed up.
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Post by grinch on Apr 18, 2021 14:50:20 GMT
Even though they don’t hold the license for it anymore (at least last time I checked) I’m currently rereading IDW’s Ghostbusters line.
I don’t always get on with the stuff IDW publish (wasn’t impressed with their Doctor Who in the slightest) but I thought this was a very strong line.
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Post by relativetime on Apr 20, 2021 14:12:08 GMT
Just finished #19 and #20 of Ultimate Fantastic Four. Ooh boy, these two were actually a slog to get through. I just really disliked the artwork for these two. I really didn’t like how the characters were drawn and I thought it got real lazy in places by just showing silhouettes instead of drawing the actual characters. It was hard to tell what was going on in places too. It’s minimalist in an uninteresting way to me. It’s like total whiplash reading these two issues after I really enjoyed the last couple - in fact I thought Kubert’s artwork was the best I’d seen for this book so far. The story itself is kind of “meh” too. It just feels a bit tacked on coming after the events of the previous couple of issues.
Oh well. Not everything is going to be a winner and I’m at least glad I read through these issues so I know what my tastes are when it comes to comics.
EDIT: You know what, I want to retract my statement calling the artwork “lazy” because I do understand why the decision was made to show silhouettes instead. I just personally would have preferred a different approach.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Apr 20, 2021 19:06:48 GMT
I managed to aquire issue 4 of JLA/Avengers (a second-hand copy of the UK Panini reprint in 'Avengers United'). So now I have the beginning and the end, and fifteen-year-old memories of reading the middle in a library's copy of the tpb. And it's just joyous.... It's such a shame that the proposal from last year to do another crossover seems to have fizzled out.
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Post by tuigirl on Apr 24, 2021 18:08:19 GMT
Squirrel Girl beats up the Marvel Universe. This should not work. The title is silly, the premise ridiculous, the cloning plot is a skeletal long dead horse. But... It DOES work. I think this comic is amazing. It is fun, entertaining, pokes fun at the more sombre Marvel comics, there are some really clever jokes in there (the only really lame joke is the Trump joke, but I guess back when this was published, Trump jokes just started to become popular, so I let this slide). The pacing and plotting is fantastic. I also like that almighty heroes like the Avengers are outwitted in the blink of an eye, and the saving of the world is left to the likes of Squirrel Girl, Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi. Very entertaining. Very well done.
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Post by relativetime on Apr 29, 2021 9:39:12 GMT
Ultimate Fantastic Four #21-32
Zombies...
They’re cool I guess.
This was my first exposure to Marvel’s Zombies and I guess they’re a little different to the kind of zombies I was expecting, but they were still pretty entertaining all the same. My favorite moments with them were when they were defeated, mostly because I just really loved the interaction between Reed and Doom. I even felt sad for pool ol’ Doom that they snubbed him once again in the papers. Great storyline overall, though.
My favorite storyline here though was hands down the time travel arc focusing on Ben. My heart really just ached for the poor guy and it was so heartwarming to see the whole team make sacrifices for their friend. The ending to that story was really touching and I hope it sticks for a while. I just want the big ol’ guy to be happy!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2021 9:53:00 GMT
2000AD's Thistlebone has been collected together into an omnibus graphic novel - and it is terrific. I find the old comic a bit hit and miss if I'm thoroughly honest; their desire to be quirky sometimes overrides what could be some powerful story-telling. Thistlebone, however, is quite happy to be a well-paced, intriguing slice of traditional folk horror, ably written by Tom Eglington and wonderfully drawn by Simon Davis.
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Post by relativetime on Apr 30, 2021 13:09:32 GMT
Turns out I was on more of a zombie kick than I realize, because yesterday I tore through Marvel Zombies #1-5 and DCeased. Both were good. MZ focused more on the shock value and gore, and DCeased was more character focused.
Marvel Zombies makes the choice to make the zombies the heroes, which isn’t quite what I was expecting but it was fun all the same. Reading the foreword from Kirkman, you can tell he approached this series like a kid at a toy store with a blank check to spend. There’s some real gruesome imagery here and if that’s your thing when it comes to horror, this’ll delight. Myself, I was kind of hoping for more drama instead. There’s some of that here, like with Spider-Man being unable to face what he’s done so he literally keeps his mask on, or Ant-Man’s guilt for what he’s doing to Black Panther in order to suppress his zombie urges - the latter I think worked very well with the visual horror of the situation. But for the most part, the fun of this book is rooting for the zombies and there’s nothing wrong with that.
DCeased, though, was just the better zombie story in my opinion. DCeased is heartbreaking and tragic, but still a good time in places. It does what all good comic books should do and made me want to find other books with these characters. Seriously, this book made me realize I REALLY need to read some Green Arrow and Constantine books - they’re by far my favorite parts of DCeased. I loved the small wholesome moments between Harley and Ivy. My heart ached for Alfred, seeing his family fall apart around him. In fact, all the loss here has weight and adds to the dramatic tension. How the plague spreads is done through a real interesting use of the DCU lore - though thematically, it suspiciously comes close to some boomer saying “these dang kids and their phones are ruining society!” but I’ll let it slide because it’s still a real story and it is actually a clever way for the virus to spread so quickly. The ending is bittersweet but hopeful and it leaves room open for a sequel which may have already happened, I’m not up to date on everything, but I kinda hope this is left as a one off because it’s sort of poignant that way.
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Post by tuigirl on May 1, 2021 8:28:18 GMT
Continuing with Squirrel Girl, which continues to be fresh, fun and witty. And since she has these online chat discussions with Tony, I made an effort also getting some of the highly rated Iron Man comics. Finished Extremis and Execute Program which were pretty amazing with great pacing and fantastic character work. Last night I read Iron Man Civil War, which really amanaged to pull my heartstrings and is one of the few Marvel comics so far where I had to shed a tear. Now I need to go to work, but when I come back, I am looking forward to more Squirrel Girl as well as the Iron Man series by Matt Fraction. I already adored Matt Fractions Hawkeye series, so I am definitely curious.
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Post by shallacatop on May 3, 2021 18:51:10 GMT
We’ve started a trial of Kindle Unlimited and I noticed that there’s quite a few of the Bond graphic novels on there by Dynamic Entertainment. Thought I’d give the first volume a try, VARGR, and was hooked! Also managed to read volume two, Eidolon too.
Really great stuff. It’s Fleming’s portrayal of Bond brought to the modern day, though it doesn’t dominate, is much grittier than the books or films and has some distinct art. Looking forward to delving into further volumes.
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Post by relativetime on May 3, 2021 21:03:16 GMT
Two chapters into The Walking Dead.
I gave the show a shot a couple years ago and I remember having some pretty mixed feelings about it overall. I think I stopped watching just before they left the prison - which is where I’m currently at in the comics. Reading the comics has reminded me of some of the things I remember not liking about the show, but a little toned down here. For instance, I remember thinking the show was a bit sexist in places, but the comics so far haven’t been as bad, though I do think the female characters so far haven’t been characterized particularly strong.
I’m not really enamored with this book so far to be honest, but I can see the appeal of this series. Why else have I given it a shot twice now? I did buy this huge omnibus, so I feel obligated to keep with it until I’m finished with what I’ve bought. I think there’s room for this series to grow on me, warts and all.
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Post by relativetime on May 5, 2021 13:25:40 GMT
Finished Chapter 3 of The Walking Dead. It’s... fine, I suppose. Again, I just don’t think I really care for this kind of story and I don’t really like some of the thematic messages this series has. I’m still sticking with this until I’ve finished what I’ve bought, though.
Also up to #25 in the 2000-2006 Cassandra Cain Batgirl series. Besides one issue (#19), I’ve been enjoying it so far. I’m split on the artwork, though. When it works, it’s great, but at other times I’m not a fan of how cartoony it can look. It’s not a dealbreaker though.
Read #1-6 of the 2006-2009 run for Moon Knight. It’s a lot darker than I was expecting, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Very continuity heavy too, but for the most part it does a good job bringing newbies like me up to speed. It has this cinematic feel to it that I really liked too.
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Post by tuigirl on May 5, 2021 21:38:43 GMT
Iron Man World's Most Wanted. Read the whole thing all during this evening in one sitting. I just could not put it down. Wow. This was dark, gritty and deeply humanizing for a superhero comic. Tony is completely and utterly destroyed. It really hit my emotions big time, and I did not expect this from a Marvel comic. Curious what comes next. I loved Fraction's previous work, especially Hawkeye, and I am not disappointed at all that I got his Iron Man series. I am blown away. I like his writing, I like how the superhuman characters are humanized and brought down to Earth, how he breaks the characters and then manages to built them back up again.
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Post by kurumais on May 16, 2021 0:06:11 GMT
the hawkman story from wednesday comics it stars the silver age hawkman the alien katar hol. kyle baker wrote and drew it. everytime i see his stuff its like a brand new
creator. it has a nice fun kind of goofy but not quite goofy 60s sci fi feel to it. a bunch of alien shapechagers are trying to invade earth. im in a huge hawkman phse so ive
been devouring everything hawkman i can find gold age silver age post crisis age new 52 age and modern age. its all good to me.
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Post by tuigirl on May 16, 2021 9:57:08 GMT
Still making my way through the Squirrel Girl comics and the Iron Man run by Fraction.
Absolutely loving both.
Iron Man got REALLY dark and gritty and I love that it is much more of a character study than action and explosions. So Tony‘s biggest enemies have teamed up and are about to destroy him on several fronts. They try (and succeed) to take away everything from him, his dignity, his company, his armor, his friends, his life. This is a series where Tony gets his butt kicked. But he is not called invincible for no reason. He is not going to give up. He has a plan. And he certainly keeps his humor. Despite this being so dark, it is also a very inspiring tale.
And Squirrel Girl.... her teaming up with her old friend Tony (or, to be more precise, her old stalking victim Tony), and riding on his armored back into battle is epic. This soooo needs to happen on screen.
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Post by fitzoliverj on May 16, 2021 11:50:06 GMT
Great shame they never did another run of this.
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Post by kurumais on May 17, 2021 8:06:44 GMT
Great shame they never did another run of this. i was thinking the same thing Fitz i think ill go thru and read the metamorpho run next
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Post by tuigirl on May 21, 2021 21:23:07 GMT
Fell into a rabbit hole (and well, there was a sale on Comixology last week). Made my way through the Marvel Civil War saga. Got interested in Spidey's story, so also got the prelude stories to see how Tony becomes his close friend and boss when Peter and his family lost everything. Therefore, the Spidey story had an even greater emotional impact on me.
It was every bit as good as the reviews say it would be. It was an exciting story, about loyalty, being different and fighting for what you believe in. Deeply moving and emotional. And it also draws quite a few parallels to the real world, about "coming out" and the consequences, both to one self and to friends and family, and also showing, in grim detail, all that is wrong with places like Guantanamo and the "justice" served there.
Tony is shown as utterly ruthless in this, scheming and becoming the very thing he despises. He hates what he is doing, and he is aware of how much he is destroying, bringing down his friends and destroying the way of life of the superheroes. However, even after reading this, and considering the points made by both sides, I still think the whole plot was completely insane. The amount of destruction and collateral damage would have landed everyone, including Tony, in jail several times over. And in real life, registration would have been a fact, since the start. And it would have been the sensible thing to do, too.
I have to say I enjoyed the Civil War saga more than I thought I would, and that was mainly due to the devastating character developments that take place. I am usually pretty bored by just fights, explosions and superheroes go smash, so this was a nice positive surprise for me.
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