What comics are you reading now?

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:56 pm

Chiclo wrote: Savage Dragon comes off as a bit preachy in the kind of direction that bugs me. It is like Eric Larsen is telling me "If I were a cop, I would do it this way..."

I tend to agree. I gave it a shot in the 140s for about 5 issues. Not my bag. The art in some of the panels hurt to look at too.

Lots of peeps like it though.

captain1stern · Post by **captain1stern** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:13 am

400yrs wrote:
captain1stern wrote: Those are my recommendations!
Based on your recommendations, you might like Invincible. Every tried it?

Yes, I checked a couple of issues and it just didn't grab me. I'll give it a shot again if I can pick up a collection for cheap. I did dig the concept of the book though. I pretty much had the same impression of Chew. I thought the idea was unique, but I didn't want to read it monthly. Not sure why, I just didn't get into it.

captain1stern · Post by **captain1stern** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:17 am

400yrs wrote:
Chiclo wrote: Savage Dragon comes off as a bit preachy in the kind of direction that bugs me. It is like Eric Larsen is telling me "If I were a cop, I would do it this way..."
I tend to agree. I gave it a shot in the 140s for about 5 issues. Not my bag. The art in some of the panels hurt to look at too.

Lots of peeps like it though.

It's really more the first 75 issues that I thought were so awesome. I still like it now but not as much as I use to. His art does drop off a bit in later issues because he took on so many side projects. I guess as a fan I over look it, because I'm so impressed that the creator is still doing his book after 18 years. There is something to be said for that. Most creative teams are gone after 20 issues or less.

captain1stern · Post by **captain1stern** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:24 am

Chiclo wrote:
captain1stern wrote:I've found several good series.

"Irredeemable" by Mark Waid is a really awesome tale of a Super-Man like character gone bad. For about fourteen issues the story was fast paced and intertaining. The horror of having an evil "Super-Man" flying around the world terrorizing people and generally just being sick of everybody needing his help was quite entertaining. It's slowed down recently and the new artist isn't as good as the first one, but I really recommend the early issues.

"Project Superpowers" with Alex Ross has also been very good. Of course the covers are amazing, but the inside artist and the stories are good as well. Seeing a bunch of Golden Age heroes taken in a new direction has been enlightening to say the least. This comic really gave me a sense of where today's comic book heroes came from. It's a fun read.

"Savage Dragon" with Erik Larson is just good silly entertainment. This series was one of the Image titles that came around shortly after Valiant got started and unlike the rest of them it actualy had a story. Erik Larson started this book 18 years ago and he's never quit. It's still fun, it's still funny, and it's still everything an Image book should have been. The arts good, the stories are interesting, and Erik spoofs a lot of stuff that older readers remember. He takes characters and storylines that you already know, but moves in a different direction with them and in many cases gives them a proper ending. He had a Galactus knock off who got shrunk and beat up for trying to eat the earth. He also had a Darkseid rip who got executed a couple of times (multi-universe bugger kept coming back).
Lots of characters die in this book, if you read it from the beginning, I warn you that noone is safe. Even the main character might be introuble in the current storyline. Seriously, give this one a try. There's 163 issues, plus numerous mini-series and the whole thing is just a trip.

Those are my recommendations!
I will agree with 2 out of 3 of your recommendations.

Savage Dragon comes off as a bit preachy in the kind of direction that bugs me. It is like Eric Larsen is telling me "If I were a cop, I would do it this way..."

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I guess I take the book so light heartedly I don't really notice that stuff. I'm more there for the laughs like when the Savage Dragon used his house vacuum to suck up and dispose of a gang of shrunken super villains.

I haven't served on the force so I don't have the same kind of connection to it that someone who did has.

I'm glad people agree on the others though. I really hope Mark Waid gets a better artist and picks up the pace on the Irredeemable stories.

I'm also curious to see where Project Superpowers is going next. It's all wrapping up pretty nicely.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:43 am

captain1stern wrote: because I'm so impressed that the creator is still doing his book after 18 years. There is something to be said for that. Most creative teams are gone after 20 issues or less.

Agreed. That's exactly why I gave the book a shot. If the creator loves it so much to do it for 20 years, there must be something to it. Just wasn't for me.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:34 am

After really disliking the recent Lex Luthor issues of Action Comics, I went back and read them again in one sitting to see if they work better read that way. This could be an interesting story and at times it almost is, but I'm having the same the same problem with Paul Cornell's handling of Lex as I am with JMS' handling of Superman. I don't think either of them are capable of finding the character's "voice". Lex just doesn't read like Lex. I'm just not feeling it.

Plus his Lois Lane robot-love-doll is creepy.

Strange that a Superman fan's only respite from the mediocrity of the Superman family of books is Supergirl, which is a consistently great series. I was looking forward to the new Superboy series, but after reading the preview in the next-to-last issue of Action Comics, I'm not exactly hopeful.

StarBrand · Post by **StarBrand** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 10:53 am

I'm diggin' Dracula: The Company Of Monsters from Boom! Issue 2 just came out Wednesday.
I didn't dig Matt Fraction's first Thor issue, 615, and won't read anymore of them. First new Marvel comic I'd tried in a few years.

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:04 pm

Still in Ult X-men. Just read the Daethstrike issue. I think I'm in the 50's somewhere.

Still enjoying it but have not had the time to read as much as I would like the last few days.

xodacia81 · Post by **xodacia81** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 8:33 pm

I read issue 1 of the new Green Arrow. Verdict: good enough to see what the next 3 are like.

I also read Fables 94-98(yes, I held off on finishing up Rose Red) and all I can say is that, combined with Witches(87-91), the 2 part Flycatcher story(92 & 93) and the Mister Dark 1-off in 86, Fables is more than back on track after Dark Ages and The Crossover. In fact, it hasn't been this good since The Good Prince or Homelands. Issue 100 is going to be 100 pages long, by the way.

I got caught up with DC: Legacies. I'm enjoying this, as well. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, or maybe it's Len Wein's writing, but I like this series.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 9:11 pm

xodacia81 wrote:I read issue 1 of the new Green Arrow. Verdict: good enough to see what the next 3 are like.

I also read Fables 94-98(yes, I held off on finishing up Rose Red) and all I can say is that, combined with Witches(87-91), the 2 part Flycatcher story(92 & 93) and the Mister Dark 1-off in 86, Fables is more than back on track after Dark Ages and The Crossover. In fact, it hasn't been this good since The Good Prince or Homelands. Issue 100 is going to be 100 pages long, by the way.

I got caught up with DC: Legacies. I'm enjoying this, as well. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, or maybe it's Len Wein's writing, but I like this series.

Do you know what issue the 14 trade should cover through?

xodacia81 · Post by **xodacia81** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 9:19 pm

400yrs wrote:
xodacia81 wrote:I read issue 1 of the new Green Arrow. Verdict: good enough to see what the next 3 are like.

I also read Fables 94-98(yes, I held off on finishing up Rose Red) and all I can say is that, combined with Witches(87-91), the 2 part Flycatcher story(92 & 93) and the Mister Dark 1-off in 86, Fables is more than back on track after Dark Ages and The Crossover. In fact, it hasn't been this good since The Good Prince or Homelands. Issue 100 is going to be 100 pages long, by the way.

I got caught up with DC: Legacies. I'm enjoying this, as well. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, or maybe it's Len Wein's writing, but I like this series.
Do you know what issue the 14 trade should cover through?

The 14th trade covers issues 86-93, so it covers the 1-off Mister Dark story(his origin, so to speak), Witches(issues 87-91, focusing mainly on Buffkin but also the "magic users" of the 13th floor) and then the 2 part FlyCatcher/Baseball/Trial story from 92 & 93. Lots of good stuff in this one. The 15th trade is coming out sometime early next year, I think. March or April and it contains 94-100. Rose Red was just a GREAT story, even better than Witches and if the next two issues go where I think they will, then we are getting a finale to a story that will outstrip War & Pieces.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 2:08 am

2 of 3 as well i dont like SD

chisumwomack · Post by **chisumwomack** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 6:28 am

Tried Dragon, wanted to like it, couldn't stand it. Just comes off as preaching or something.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:18 am

Read Pride of Baghdad (thanks, Slym!) the other night. Really good. I saw the end coming, but it was still very emotional.

I give my aunt a TPB or GN for Christmas each year. I think I'll pass this one along to her as I think she'd really enjoy it.

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:30 am

-slym

ian_house · Post by **ian_house** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:59 am

Heath wrote:Read Pride of Baghdad (thanks, Slym!) the other night. Really good. I saw the end coming, but it was still very emotional.

I recently read that and agree that you could see what was coming but it didn't make it any less poignant.

ian_house · Post by **ian_house** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:02 am

Tim wrote:After really disliking the recent Lex Luthor issues of Action Comics, I went back and read them again in one sitting to see if they work better read that way. This could be an interesting story and at times it almost is, but I'm having the same the same problem with Paul Cornell's handling of Lex as I am with JMS' handling of Superman. I don't think either of them are capable of finding the character's "voice". Lex just doesn't read like Lex. I'm just not feeling it.

Plus his Lois Lane robot-love-doll is creepy.

Strange that a Superman fan's only respite from the mediocrity of the Superman family of books is Supergirl, which is a consistently great series. I was looking forward to the new Superboy series, but after reading the preview in the next-to-last issue of Action Comics, I'm not exactly hopeful.

I'm loving the Luthor run in Action. It's turning into a great romp through the darkest corners of the DCU whilst still remaining light hearted and entertaining imo. I think Cornell is writing a great Lex, he reads just as he should in my head.

The Lois robot is creepy, but I think thats the point.

xodacia81 · Post by **xodacia81** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:56 am

Just finished up Green Arrow: Quiver. It was a very unique Green Arrow story and I liked it, even if at times it felt like things were being stretched to include a wide swath of the DCU. Still, I enjoyed it, even though the scene with:::SPOILERS:::Barry Allen:::END SPOILERS:::makes their later"return" somewhat problematic. There was a lot of humor in the book and that's to be expected, coming from Kevin Smith. The art I wasn't too sure about, at first, but as it went on, I had no issues with it, as I feel the style fit the story being told. Excellent work. Not as great as Longbow Hunters, but a very fine GA story.

geocarr · Post by **geocarr** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:43 pm

xodacia81 wrote:Just finished up Green Arrow: Quiver. It was a very unique Green Arrow story and I liked it, even if at times it felt like things were being stretched to include a wide swath of the DCU. Still, I enjoyed it, even though the scene with:::SPOILERS:::Barry Allen:::END SPOILERS:::makes their later"return" somewhat problematic. There was a lot of humor in the book and that's to be expected, coming from Kevin Smith. The art I wasn't too sure about, at first, but as it went on, I had no issues with it, as I feel the style fit the story being told. Excellent work. Not as great as Longbow Hunters, but a very fine GA story.

I enjoyed this story arc as well but enjoyed the next two story arcs even more. Keep going!

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 5:48 pm

I'm halfway through Bone. Loving it.

I'm about 20 issues in on my Valiant re-reading project. I just did a real rough count and came up with about 700 unique story issues. Are there really that many? Yeesh.

xodacia81 · Post by **xodacia81** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:16 pm

geocarr wrote:
xodacia81 wrote:Just finished up Green Arrow: Quiver. It was a very unique Green Arrow story and I liked it, even if at times it felt like things were being stretched to include a wide swath of the DCU. Still, I enjoyed it, even though the scene with:::SPOILERS:::Barry Allen:::END SPOILERS:::makes their later"return" somewhat problematic. There was a lot of humor in the book and that's to be expected, coming from Kevin Smith. The art I wasn't too sure about, at first, but as it went on, I had no issues with it, as I feel the style fit the story being told. Excellent work. Not as great as Longbow Hunters, but a very fine GA story.
I enjoyed this story arc as well but enjoyed the next two story arcs even more. Keep going!

I can't find the issues and the prices online for the next two tpb's are prohibitive for me at this moment in time. If I could get the regular books, I'd do it, since I know I could get the next two arcs for far less than 40-60 an arc, which is what the trades are going for.

xodacia81 · Post by **xodacia81** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:19 pm

400yrs wrote:I'm halfway through Bone. Loving it.

I'm about 20 issues in on my Valiant re-reading project. I just did a real rough count and came up with about 700 unique story issues. Are there really that many? Yeesh.

I always figured there were about 750 or so "Valiants" to be read. As for Bone, keep it up. I need to finish that story one day. Smith has a style that just draws you in.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:21 pm

xodacia81 wrote:
400yrs wrote:I'm halfway through Bone. Loving it.

I'm about 20 issues in on my Valiant re-reading project. I just did a real rough count and came up with about 700 unique story issues. Are there really that many? Yeesh.
I always figured there were about 750 or so "Valiants" to be read. As for Bone, keep it up. I need to finish that story one day. Smith has a style that just draws you in.

Agreed. The only problem I have is that it's tough to make out some of the panels where there is action. It's tough to do action with B&W with no gray tones or anything.

I'm wondering if the colored version would be a bit clearer.

xodacia81 · Post by **xodacia81** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:25 pm

400yrs wrote:
xodacia81 wrote:
400yrs wrote:I'm halfway through Bone. Loving it.

I'm about 20 issues in on my Valiant re-reading project. I just did a real rough count and came up with about 700 unique story issues. Are there really that many? Yeesh.
I always figured there were about 750 or so "Valiants" to be read. As for Bone, keep it up. I need to finish that story one day. Smith has a style that just draws you in.
Agreed. The only problem I have is that it's tough to make out some of the panels where there is action. It's tough to do action with B&W with no gray tones or anything.

I'm wondering if the colored version would be a bit clearer.

I've only spent real time with the B&W, but what I've seen of the color editions, they are super nice. I agree about how there are moments where you go "wait, what was that?" It was especially problematic in the first volume, where there was a lot of action in the snow.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:40 pm

Ignition City 1-5 by Warren Ellis from Avatar. This was a pleasant read, but other than it being a revenge story set in a city in outer space in the future, I can't tell you what I read....... so it wasn't that super.