[Salt-Man Z]

Who has two thumbs and was up until 2:30 last night devouring the rest of Locke & Key (vols 3-6)?

<-- This guy.

Holeeee crap.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 11:48 AM, said:

JPK, on 13 March 2017 - 06:13 AM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 05:07 AM, said:

Salt-Man Z, on 12 March 2017 - 05:43 PM, said:

Bumped up to the $10 tier, because why not.

Then I read Lock & Key, Volume 1 and holy crap that was fantastic. So I paid the extra $8 to get to the $18 tier and nab volumes 2-6. So yeah, what JPK said: $18 is an absolute steal for all that Locke & Key goodness, plus some other cool-looking stuff. (Also looking forward to reading D4VE2 now.)

NOT HELPING

Wait wait wait... Have you not read Locke & Key yet Abyss? This is right up your alley. If you have the money for this, you really really should hop on this asap.

ALSO NOT HELPING

Salt-Man Z, on 13 March 2017 - 03:13 PM, said:

Who has two thumbs and was up until 2:30 last night devouring the rest of Locke & Key (vols 3-6)?

<-- This guy.

Holeeee crap.

ASSHOLES.

*sighs, gets out credit card*

[JPK]

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 03:22 PM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 11:48 AM, said:

JPK, on 13 March 2017 - 06:13 AM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 05:07 AM, said:

Salt-Man Z, on 12 March 2017 - 05:43 PM, said:

Bumped up to the $10 tier, because why not.

Then I read Lock & Key, Volume 1 and holy crap that was fantastic. So I paid the extra $8 to get to the $18 tier and nab volumes 2-6. So yeah, what JPK said: $18 is an absolute steal for all that Locke & Key goodness, plus some other cool-looking stuff. (Also looking forward to reading D4VE2 now.)

NOT HELPING

Wait wait wait... Have you not read Locke & Key yet Abyss? This is right up your alley. If you have the money for this, you really really should hop on this asap.

ALSO NOT HELPING

Salt-Man Z, on 13 March 2017 - 03:13 PM, said:

Who has two thumbs and was up until 2:30 last night devouring the rest of Locke & Key (vols 3-6)?

<-- This guy.

Holeeee crap.

ASSHOLES.

*sighs, gets out credit card*

You're grumbling now, but you'll be back to thank us.

[Abyss]

JPK, on 13 March 2017 - 06:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 03:22 PM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 11:48 AM, said:

JPK, on 13 March 2017 - 06:13 AM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 05:07 AM, said:

Salt-Man Z, on 12 March 2017 - 05:43 PM, said:

Bumped up to the $10 tier, because why not.

Then I read Lock & Key, Volume 1 and holy crap that was fantastic. So I paid the extra $8 to get to the $18 tier and nab volumes 2-6. So yeah, what JPK said: $18 is an absolute steal for all that Locke & Key goodness, plus some other cool-looking stuff. (Also looking forward to reading D4VE2 now.)

NOT HELPING

Wait wait wait... Have you not read Locke & Key yet Abyss? This is right up your alley. If you have the money for this, you really really should hop on this asap.

ALSO NOT HELPING

Salt-Man Z, on 13 March 2017 - 03:13 PM, said:

Who has two thumbs and was up until 2:30 last night devouring the rest of Locke & Key (vols 3-6)?

<-- This guy.

Holeeee crap.

ASSHOLES.

*sighs, gets out credit card*

You're grumbling now, but you'll be back to thank us.

Yeah, whatever MY TRP SAYS THANKS ASSHOLES

[Salt-Man Z]

No joke, all I dreamt about last night was magic keys. (Oh and there was a dragon.)

[JPK]

Salt-Man Z, on 13 March 2017 - 06:41 PM, said:

No joke, all I dreamt about last night was magic keys. (Oh and there was a dragon.)

Yeah, it's so fucking awesome.

Spoiler

my favorite has to be the Head Key though. The full panel where Bode opens his head up is one of the best things ever.

Joe Hill's other work is good too. I'm currently flipping through The Cape.

[T77]

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 03:10 PM, said:

T77, on 13 March 2017 - 02:22 PM, said:

L&K is all on Hoopla if your library has it.

For some stupid reason my library has Hoopla, but not the comic function.

That sucks. Comics on Hoopla has saved me a bunch of cash. Though I pay almost $400 a year in a library tax. It doesn't hurt to request it

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 06:09 PM, said:

JPK, on 13 March 2017 - 06:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 03:22 PM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 11:48 AM, said:

JPK, on 13 March 2017 - 06:13 AM, said:

Abyss, on 13 March 2017 - 05:07 AM, said:

Salt-Man Z, on 12 March 2017 - 05:43 PM, said:

Bumped up to the $10 tier, because why not.

Then I read Lock & Key, Volume 1 and holy crap that was fantastic. So I paid the extra $8 to get to the $18 tier and nab volumes 2-6. So yeah, what JPK said: $18 is an absolute steal for all that Locke & Key goodness, plus some other cool-looking stuff. (Also looking forward to reading D4VE2 now.)

NOT HELPING

Wait wait wait... Have you not read Locke & Key yet Abyss? This is right up your alley. If you have the money for this, you really really should hop on this asap.

ALSO NOT HELPING

Salt-Man Z, on 13 March 2017 - 03:13 PM, said:

Who has two thumbs and was up until 2:30 last night devouring the rest of Locke & Key (vols 3-6)?

<-- This guy.

Holeeee crap.

ASSHOLES.

*sighs, gets out credit card*

You're grumbling now, but you'll be back to thank us.

Yeah, whatever MY TRP SAYS THANKS ASSHOLES

Bought it.

HOPE YOU'RE ALL HAPPY.





HAPPY ASSHOLES THAT IS.

[Salt-Man Z]

I am happy. Let's leave my asshole out of this.



Reading through more of the Humble Bundle stuff:

Wild Blue Yonder was fantastic. I was in love with the characters by the second issue (if not before; but I had a reaction at the end of issue 2 that surprised me.) And the art is both incredibly gritty and beautiful. The conclusion maybe wasn't as satisfying as I'd've liked, and some of the character arcs could have used more than 6 issues to really work, but those are minor complaints. Highly recommended.

D4VE2, on the other hand, was a major letdown. It doubles down on the vulgarity and quirk but retains none of the charm from the first installment. The character arcs make little sense, and it just feels gratuitous. Still recommend the first series, but here's the updog: lower your jobsdamn expectations for this one, ya butthorns.

[Abyss]

Transported from the reading thread...

Grief, on 31 March 2017 - 11:40 AM, said:

Just finished the main series of Gaiman's Sandman, which I really enjoyed. ... If anyone has recommendations for whether any of the spin-off type comics are worth reading -- or indeed comic recommendations in general, since it's a whole world I've really not explored -- I'd be happy to hear them.

polishgenius, on 31 March 2017 - 06:10 PM, said:

There's also a couple of Death-centered standalone stories (which also bring back some characters from Sandman) and they're fun too.

As for other comics: you need Warren Ellis in your life (Transmetropolitan probably being the key work). Also Grant Morrison, although more cautiously because while when he's brilliant he's amazing, he can go trying a bit too hard to be out-there. Start with his run on Animal Man, or WE3 for a short standalone.

And, of course, there's Alan Moore.

BLACK SCIENCE - Like someone took SLIDERS or QUANTUM LEAP and mashed it with FRINGE and PLANET OF THE APES with a dose of LOST IN SPACE and INDIANA JONES. Ongoing, five volumes in so lots to read.

SAGA - Winged and horned aliens stab and shoot each other, robot sex happens, drugs are taken. Beautiful to look at, all the feels. Ongoing, vol 7 just landed.

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN - but please, for the love of everything, just the first two volumes. Then stop and pretend Alan Moore never ever ever wrote anything about these characters ever again. Please.

WE3 - ...and be prepared to thank/hate me for recommending it. One and done.

PRIDE OF BAGHDAD - same.

THE AUTHORITY - the original Warren Ellis 12-issue run redefined all things superhero comics. One vol, easy to find.

GLOBAL FREQUENCY - Ellis again. 12 standalone stories loosely connected re a not-secret agency that saves the world from mad science and other fuckups. Each issue is like a Hollywood movie in 22 pages. Definitely collected, not sure if its one or two vols.

FABLES - All the legendary faerie-tale characters are alive and well and living in NYC. As refugees from their own world. It's complicated, and amazing. Completed.

PREACHER - because nothing says 'God is an asshole and i plan to punch him in the face' like a little sodomy and gunplay. Also, rednecks, assassins, angels, devils, and a vampire. Wanders a bit from its original track, but worth the read. Completed. Very different from the recent tv show.

Y THE LAST MAN - Just a great sf post manpocalypse story. All the men are dead except for one. And his pet monkey. Complete.

This post has been edited by Abyss: 04 April 2017 - 04:43 PM
Reason for edit: apparently not

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 31 March 2017 - 06:39 PM, said:

THE AUTHORITY - the original Warren Ellis 12-issue run redefined all things superhero comics. One vol, easy to find.

Is it collected in one volume now? I've only ever seen it in one-and-a-half where the last story is collected together with the first of Mark Millar's run, but it's been a while since I've looked since I own it already...


I also recommend reading Stormwatch, the predecessor series, which gets less love but is just as good imo. Less flash and swagger but more depth to the stories.


Eta: while we're recommending mid-90s superhero comics I can't not recommend Grant Morrison's run on JLA. It's fucking awesome and, as I said sometime recent-ishly after re-reading it for the first time in years, goes to some unexpectedly weird places for the mainstreamest of the mainstream superhero comics (DC's movie universe would be muchmuchmuchmuch better off if they took some inspiration from this run...). But then you learn pretty swiftly with Morrison that weird is normal.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 31 March 2017 - 07:53 PM

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 31 March 2017 - 07:48 PM, said:

Abyss, on 31 March 2017 - 06:39 PM, said:

THE AUTHORITY - the original Warren Ellis 12-issue run redefined all things superhero comics. One vol, easy to find.

Is it collected in one volume now? I've only ever seen it in one-and-a-half where the last story is collected together with the first of Mark Millar's run, but it's been a while since I've looked since I own it already...


I also recommend reading Stormwatch, the predecessor series, which gets less love but is just as good imo. Less flash and swagger but more depth to the stories.


Eta: while we're recommending mid-90s superhero comics I can't not recommend Grant Morrison's run on JLA. It's fucking awesome and, as I said sometime recent-ishly after re-reading it for the first time in years, goes to some unexpectedly weird places for the mainstreamest of the mainstream superhero comics (DC's movie universe would be muchmuchmuchmuch better off if they took some inspiration from this run...). But then you learn pretty swiftly with Morrison that weird is normal.

It was collected in a single hc, but that may be hard to find now. The split with Millar's run is a bit of a cheat, but not bad.

Stormwatch was never close in quality or art. It's the precursor, sure, and a decent read, but not in the same league (pun intended so to speak) and not necessary at all to understand the story.

Morrison's JLA run is pretty awesome.
His Final Crisis was the opposite of that.

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 31 March 2017 - 08:04 PM, said:

Stormwatch was never close in quality or art. It's the precursor, sure, and a decent read, but not in the same league (pun intended so to speak) and not necessary at all to understand the story.

The art isn't as good, to be sure, but the story is I think while very different just as good. It's a lot denser, much more political-type stuff, and possibly has more in common with a more OTT Suicide Squad than the Authority that came after. Pacing maybe not as rapid but that's a tradeoff for much more in the way of character work.

At the end of the day I love both...

Quote

Morrison's JLA run is pretty awesome.
His Final Crisis was the opposite of that.

There are some great moments in Final Crisis but the problem was it was Grant Morrison near his most self-indulgent and the good ideas got mixed up and buried in a deluge of other ideas (also mostly not bad but not fitting in the story- wtf did any of the monitor stuff have to do with the Darkseid stuff?) and got no room. It could have been five times as long and still been too short. Plus great chunks of it were set up in his Seven Soldiers series which was to be fair pretty good but which he couldn't have expected all the readers of Final Crisis to read- and portions of that were set up- very explicitly, so not having read it came out of nowhere- by another even more obscure comic, about the Ultramarine Corps, which was in turn set up by a minor consequence of the DC One Million* arc he did while writing the JLA. If he were writing in a vaccum that'd be clever long-form storytelling- writing in a very busy shared universe and expecting people to trace that kind of thing back (I did it entirely by accident) it's just obnoxious.


*Don't get me wrong though, DC One Million is fantastic. Wish other authors had picked up on Solaris as a villain for Superman because that's a great idea.



And of course, to go back to the subject that I began my rant on, the other problem with Final Crisis is that the core idea is an exact copy of the Rock of Ages arc in said JLA run, which tells much of the same story far more elegantly.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 31 March 2017 - 08:42 PM

[amphibian]

The glaring omissions to Abyss's list are below:

Planetary, which is probably the finest distillation/revisioning of a superhero series in a short form that we're ever gonna get. Beautiful, brilliant, and very, very full of references to other major works/characters while being its own story.

Hellboy - the second best ongoing multi-branching comics story worldwide today (One Piece is the best). Full of monsters, action, quiet moments, apocalypses avoided/brought about, and above all, a man trying to escape his own infernal doom in a very, very fucked up universe determined to drive him to it.

Astro City - Kurt Busiek makes the city and its cast of characters truly shine as original, thought provoking, funny, and moving even in sad ways. Very highly recommend it.

I think Y the Last Man isn't great (because I don't like Brian K Vaughan at all) and Preacher has a horrible ending that's kind of a "well... we don't exactly know what to do, so let's Texas it up" ending. But you may have a different opinion.

[Abyss]

Planetary... I do so love, but a non-comic reader would miss massive chunks of wtf.
Preacher... yeah, yeah, I know, but it's still worth the read.
Astro City I still haven't read, and I will fight you to the death or possibly just glare a lot over Y because it is excellent storytelling that doesn't shy away from any of the more difficult swerves the story takes.

[Andorion]

Planetary is awesome. I loved the very refreshing ultra direct approach.

I feel League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is often overlooked, as is V for Vendetta.

[Abyss]

V FOR VENDETTA is worth the read just to experience a political statement in brilliant graphic storytelling form. Moore at his divisive best.
HELLBOY... and all it's component parts... Has its strengths and weaknesses but Mignola and co just do great great things there.
WATCHMEN... opinions vary but the like/dislike tends to be extreme. Kind of reinvented comics for its 1980s time. Pretty much a Must Read, even if you've seen the movie.

[JPK]

Umm guys... I think you are all forgetting something awesome.

East of West by Hickman. Dystopian future tech-western. I really don't want to say much more as I don't want to spoil any of the surprise.

Locke and Key by Joe Hill. The remnants of a family move to an old family mansion after the father is brutally murdered. The children start finding old metal keys that will each unlock a special door in the house that will grant them a special power. In the process they let out an evil that was sealed away that is trying to find a very special key to open a very special door.

[PLUGO]

Locke & Key was great, The illustration work was mind blowing, though I was a little disappointed with their recent one shot.

I think we've touched on Hickman's stuff in general, East of West is indeed really good stuff.

[JPK]

PLUGO, on 01 April 2017 - 08:53 PM, said:

I think we've touched on Hickman's stuff in general, East of West is indeed really good stuff.

In the thread in general, yes. As far as the last few posts recommending strong graphic novel works to Grief, no.

Another question for you guys, what's your take on Fables? I've been considering grabbing it, but there's an awful lot of material out there.