What comics are you reading now?

X-O HoboJoe · Post by **X-O HoboJoe** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:40 pm

Draco wrote:
dave wrote:
Elveen wrote:I just read Ronin #1. VERY intriguing.

Looking forward to the rest.
FINALLY!

i'm reading identity crisis right now (pretty much to see if i agree with that yahoo who wrote that book i kept referring to).

i think it is quite an engaging read, and the fact that you don't know sue dibney as well as you know lois lane does not seem to lessen the impact.
one of the strongest emotional reactions i've had to a comic book.
Now go read Walking dead. And when you read either the last chapter of volume 8 TPB or issue 48 you will know how strong a reaction a comic can create.

NO spoilers please anyone with names or any reference. Just read and try to speak afterwards. I was numb for half hour and had to drive.

It was insanely horrific. Blew IC's story out of the water. Of course, Rags did the art on IC and it is amazing.

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:43 pm

Elveen wrote:
Knightt wrote:I am just about finished with 'The Watchmen'.... interesting but overall (yawn). I will save the complete yay or nay until I finish it tonight.

I can see how back in the day, it changed comics and might have loved to read it when I was younger.

We'll see...

When I first read it, I was not as impressed as I thought. I could ahve done with out the pirate story.

It's all about allegory, my man! Check this bit I picked out of the Wiki page on Watchmen :

Tales of the Black Freighter

Watchmen features a story within a story in the form of Tales of the Black Freighter, a fictional comic book from which scenes appear in issues three, five, eight, nine, ten, and eleven. Moore and Gibbons conceived a pirate comic because they reasoned that since the characters of Watchmen experience superheroes in real life, "they probably wouldn't be at all interested in superhero comics." Gibbons suggested a pirate theme, and Moore agreed in part because he is "a big [Berthold] Brecht fan": the Black Freighter alludes to the song "Seeräuberjenny" ("Pirate Jenny") from Brecht (and Kurt Weill)'s Threepenny Opera. Moore theorized that since super-heroes existed, and existed as "objects of fear, loathing, and scorn, the main super-heroes quickly fell out of popularity in comic books, as we suggest. Mainly, genres like horror, science fiction, and piracy, particularly piracy, became prominent--with EC riding the crest of the wave." Moore felt that "the imagery of the whole pirate genre is so rich and dark that it provided a perfect counterpoint to the contemporary world of Watchmen". The writer expanded upon the premise so that its presentation in the story would add subtext and allegory. The supplemental article detailing the fictional history of Tales of the Black Freighter at the end of issue five credits real-life artist Joe Orlando as a major contributor to the series. Moore chose Orlando because he felt that if pirate stories were popular in the Watchmen universe that DC editor Julius Schwartz might have tried to lure the artist over to the company to draw a pirate comic book. Orlando contributed a drawing designed as if it were a page from the fake title to the supplemental piece.

"Marooned" tells the story of a young mariner cast adrift at sea, making his way to his hometown to warn its inhabitants of the coming of the Black Freighter. During his journey he is "forced by the urgency of his mission to shed one inhibition after another", including using the bodies of his dead shipmates as a make-shift raft and mistakenly killing innocent people as he makes his way to town. When he finally returns home, believing it to already be under the occupation of the ship's crew, he accidentally attacks his own wife in their darkened home. Afterward, he returns to the sea shore, where he finds the Black Freighter; he swims out to sea and climbs aboard the ship. Moore has said that the story of The Black Freighter ends up specifically describing "the story of Adrian Veidt". Richard Reynolds states that just like Veidt, the protagonist of "Marooned" "hopes to stave off disaster by using the dead bodies of his former comrades as a means of reach his goal". Moore has said that "Marooned" can also be used as a counterpoint to other parts of the story, such as Rorschach's capture and Dr. Manhattan's self-exile on Mars.

-slym

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:47 pm

slym2none wrote:
Elveen wrote:
Knightt wrote:I am just about finished with 'The Watchmen'.... interesting but overall (yawn). I will save the complete yay or nay until I finish it tonight.

I can see how back in the day, it changed comics and might have loved to read it when I was younger.

We'll see...

When I first read it, I was not as impressed as I thought. I could ahve done with out the pirate story.
It's all about allegory, my man! Check this bit I picked out of the Wiki page on Watchmen :

Tales of the Black Freighter

Watchmen features a story within a story in the form of Tales of the Black Freighter, a fictional comic book from which scenes appear in issues three, five, eight, nine, ten, and eleven. Moore and Gibbons conceived a pirate comic because they reasoned that since the characters of Watchmen experience superheroes in real life, "they probably wouldn't be at all interested in superhero comics." Gibbons suggested a pirate theme, and Moore agreed in part because he is "a big [Berthold] Brecht fan": the Black Freighter alludes to the song "Seeräuberjenny" ("Pirate Jenny") from Brecht (and Kurt Weill)'s Threepenny Opera. Moore theorized that since super-heroes existed, and existed as "objects of fear, loathing, and scorn, the main super-heroes quickly fell out of popularity in comic books, as we suggest. Mainly, genres like horror, science fiction, and piracy, particularly piracy, became prominent--with EC riding the crest of the wave." Moore felt that "the imagery of the whole pirate genre is so rich and dark that it provided a perfect counterpoint to the contemporary world of Watchmen". The writer expanded upon the premise so that its presentation in the story would add subtext and allegory. The supplemental article detailing the fictional history of Tales of the Black Freighter at the end of issue five credits real-life artist Joe Orlando as a major contributor to the series. Moore chose Orlando because he felt that if pirate stories were popular in the Watchmen universe that DC editor Julius Schwartz might have tried to lure the artist over to the company to draw a pirate comic book. Orlando contributed a drawing designed as if it were a page from the fake title to the supplemental piece.

"Marooned" tells the story of a young mariner cast adrift at sea, making his way to his hometown to warn its inhabitants of the coming of the Black Freighter. During his journey he is "forced by the urgency of his mission to shed one inhibition after another", including using the bodies of his dead shipmates as a make-shift raft and mistakenly killing innocent people as he makes his way to town. When he finally returns home, believing it to already be under the occupation of the ship's crew, he accidentally attacks his own wife in their darkened home. Afterward, he returns to the sea shore, where he finds the Black Freighter; he swims out to sea and climbs aboard the ship. Moore has said that the story of The Black Freighter ends up specifically describing "the story of Adrian Veidt". Richard Reynolds states that just like Veidt, the protagonist of "Marooned" "hopes to stave off disaster by using the dead bodies of his former comrades as a means of reach his goal". Moore has said that "Marooned" can also be used as a counterpoint to other parts of the story, such as Rorschach's capture and Dr. Manhattan's self-exile on Mars.

-slym

I understood it. I "got it", I just did not like it. For me, is distracted from the story. I knew what was going to happen pretty much from the beginning. But that's just me.

X-O HoboJoe · Post by **X-O HoboJoe** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:48 pm

The biggest knock I see on Watchmen now is that the story is cliche to so many new readers. It's been so influential that the plot has become ubiquitous and hell, it wasn't even the first to pull it off, though it really is one of the best, IMO.

Then again, I did first read it at 16/17.

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:37 pm

Elveen wrote:I understood it. I "got it", I just did not like it. For me, is distracted from the story. I knew what was going to happen pretty much from the beginning. But that's just me.

Gotcha.

-slym

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:16 pm

Elveen wrote:
I understood it. I "got it", I just did not like it. For me, is distracted from the story. I knew what was going to happen pretty much from the beginning. But that's just me.

Yeah, the prose after each of the first 2 issues is just rambling. It makes me not want to finish the rest of the book.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:23 pm

Elephantmen 1-4.

This series is strange. I've read 4 straight issues, but I don't feel like I'm getting a story, but it's enjoyable..... kind of.

Most of the issues are split up by 2 different stories (10 pgs or so per story). Each story is somewhat enjoyable on its own, but the stories don't seem to go anywhere or blend together.

The story in issue #1 with Ebony was awesome.

I do love the coloring on this book and the art is nice. It's not something I would subscribe to though.

I've heard that the Hardcover for this book is disjointed and now I know what they mean. I'm glad that I read these issues before deciding to pull the trigger on the HC.

Doorman · Post by **Doorman** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:42 pm

Watchmen is indeed a slow read. Especially the first time. And, I'd suggest skipping the "backmatter" the first time through.

However, upon second [and third and fourth, etc] readings, this becomes an incredible story. The backmatter adds so much depth to the story that you get really into it [or, at least I have].

Also, the symbolism and story-telling process is amazing. There are websites out there that delve into the symbolism that Moore incoporates. I highly recommend you checking them out after you've read through the book.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:22 pm

Doorman wrote:Watchmen is indeed a slow read. Especially the first time. And, I'd suggest skipping the "backmatter" the first time through.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking, but I didn't know if I needed to read that to understand the rest of the story. With that advice, I'll skip it and then go back to it after I'm done with the story.

hulk181man · Post by **hulk181man** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:37 pm

Read Daredevil 114 today....each month I seem to enjoy this book more. The current plot with Dakota North and Matt's personal life has been excellent. Brubaker goodness

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:55 pm

just finished new Krypton it rocked by far

and glc was fantastic as usual

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:01 pm

Lightning Strike wrote:
X-Factor---it's still brilliantly written, and now that Stroman is no longer the artist, this book is starting to gel again.

I picked up a 6 issue run starting with #29. I've read 3 of them. So far, I definitely like it better than Uncanny. Is it worth going back to the beginning on this book?

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:05 pm

I got dark avengers coming first new marvel i bought in a few weeks

siren3-4 · Post by **siren3-4** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:10 pm

400yrs wrote:
Lightning Strike wrote:
X-Factor---it's still brilliantly written, and now that Stroman is no longer the artist, this book is starting to gel again.
I picked up a 6 issue run starting with #29. I've read 3 of them. So far, I definitely like it better than Uncanny. Is it worth going back to the beginning on this book?

I picked up the Madrox mini HC and the first 3 HC collections of the X-Factor series (one leads right into the other) and I really liked them . . . He really makes these characters interesting . . .

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:09 pm

read the first terminator salvation prequal pretty good

siren3-4 · Post by **siren3-4** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:50 am

Jay Tomio wrote:Wow. I'm a little surprised, I just read Dark Avengers#1 and really excited about it.

I threw this in my pile as it was a short week for me . . glad I did . . I really liked it . . .

I love the people they chose to represent the Avengers . . . just rude . . . and I like the fact that they were up front with everything and didn't play the guess who this is game . . .

Good stuff . . .

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:12 am

Jay Tomio wrote:I don't like the work by the artist or colorist on the current Ghost Rider.

The writer isn't doing anything for me either.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:35 am

Jay Tomio wrote:
Heath wrote:
Jay Tomio wrote:I don't like the work by the artist or colorist on the current Ghost Rider.
The writer isn't doing anything for me either.
I like Aaron's dialogue and narrative. I kind of hate the concept.

Which concept? The Ghost Rider concept as a whole, or the "Heaven vs Hell" with there being not much difference between the two sides? Personally, I LOVE the Ghost Rider concept. But I come from an outlaw biker background so the character really resonates with me. But I hate the "Heaven vs Hell" concept. I didn't like it when Garth Ennis did it and Aaron's storytelling seems to be a really bad, watered down, drawn out Garth Ennis imitation.

I emailed Daniel Way after reading a few of Aaron's issues just to let him know I had enjoyed his run on the title and what the character meant to me from my "biker" perspective. He wrote back and said he came from an outlaw biker background as well. I thought that showed in his Ghost Rider stories as well which is probably why I liked them more.

For the new team, it seems the biker part is an afterthought. It's a cool visual they really know nothing about. And now they're bringing back Danny Ketch and Caretaker and Blackout and saying there are a bunch of other Ghost Riders all over the world and it's starting to bog down with the same problems the 90's series had toward the end. Daniel Way's run was character driven stories. Jason Aaron's run is plot driven stories instead (which, as I said, is a bad imitation of Garth Ennis on a bad day). Plus the art stinks.

dave · Post by **dave** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:20 am

Heath wrote:
Jay Tomio wrote:
Heath wrote:
Jay Tomio wrote:I don't like the work by the artist or colorist on the current Ghost Rider.
The writer isn't doing anything for me either.
I like Aaron's dialogue and narrative. I kind of hate the concept.
Which concept? The Ghost Rider concept as a whole, or the "Heaven vs Hell" with there being not much difference between the two sides? Personally, I LOVE the Ghost Rider concept. But I come from an outlaw biker background so the character really resonates with me.

I emailed Daniel Way after reading a few of Aaron's issues just to let him know I had enjoyed his run on the title and what the character meant to me from my "biker" perspective. He wrote back and said he came from an outlaw biker background as well. I thought that showed in his Ghost Rider stories as well which is probably why I liked them more.

i come from a biker outlaw backround too. except, that instead of a bike, i rode a honda scooter. and instead of being an outlaw i was more of a law abiding citizen. but every once in a while i would really let loose and gas it-then i'd go like-50!

on topic though, i'm reading soem eisner stuff-contract with God trilogy and a Spirit collection.

just read the dark tower GN. visually stimiulating, but the story kinda plodded along. at the end it picked up really well, but by then i wasn't enjoying it as much as i had hoped. the only other gripe i have is that the male characters looked too similar-it was hard to figure out who was who sometimes.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:41 pm

the next issue of gl is a H@ly S@it moment its hella crazy stuff

amazing job

dave · Post by **dave** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:41 pm

reading the spirit collection.

it's got an intro by gaiman.

publilshed by DC. huh.

also have 3 swamp things coming! (the library ordered em for me!)

hey veen, did you finish ronin? i read you started on issue #1-then i din't hear nuthin more

robb77 · Post by **robb77** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:26 am

just got the latest deadpool and wow this is great made me pull out the whole series from the garage to read through again

SnotDrip · Post by **SnotDrip** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:25 am

Just finished No Enemy, No Peace, 0ne-hot published by Machinegun Bob Productions

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:50 am

i got to catch up i have the new deadpool stuff laying around here but have not read it yet

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:39 pm

Finished reading the fairly recent Detective and Action issues that I have.

I'm going to continue picking up any Detectives by Dini and any Actions by Johns that I'm missing. Those books by those writers are awesome. There was a 2 issue Scarecrow story in Detective that Dini didn't write, but that was very entertaining as well.

As I continue to put off finishing up Watchmen, next up is Gotham Underground and Umbrella Academy since I finally got all the issues.