[T77]

Abyss, I'm about a third into Fables, just finished vol 7 and it was very good. I concur that this is a quality comic. Good to hear it holds up to the end.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 01 April 2019 - 01:53 AM, said:

Finished FABLES.
Wow. They managed to keep that level pretty solid all the way to the end. As a complete story, the whole thing is just.... wow.
I didn't entirely love the A-plot heading into the finale, there was a level of contrivance to it that bugged me after how organically the previous storylines evolved, but even so, as a conclusion to 150 floppies... yeah, that was superior comics there.
I have a bunch of the spinoffs but I think i'll read something else first.

T77, on 01 April 2019 - 12:48 PM, said:

Abyss, I'm about a third into Fables, just finished vol 7 and it was very good. I concur that this is a quality comic. Good to hear it holds up to the end.

It does. If at any point you feel like it dips, just skim/push, it recovers quickly and whatever threw you was probably there for a reason.

Exception: Unless you read and deeply enjoy the JACK OF FABLES spinoff (and i acknowledge this is possible, because it lasted 50 issues, long enough that clearly someone enjoyed it, even if they were high as fuck and/or drunk), you can (and imnsho should) utterly skip 'The Great Fables Crossover', because it is terribad. Like wtf was that fuck you DCvertigo i am never reading this series again i want my money back with loan shark level interest bad.

[T77]

Thanks Abyss, I'll give it a pass.

[Abyss]

Ah... JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 is a sequel series to JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000.
NOW i see ...

[polishgenius]

I'm reading the first volume of James Tynion IV's Justice League Dark. It's pretty great (tbh much better than Jeff Lemire's version of the team)- except for that DC have made the baffling decision to collect Issues 1-3 and 5-7, which fair enough is a main arc, but #4 is the culmination of a crossover event with Wonder Woman (Witching Hour) that explained a key thing that happened in the first half and has a big effect in the second half, so there's a big jump in the story and it barely makes sense.

So what I'm saying is this book is highly recommended- it's a superb bit of fantasy/horror/mystery with one of the most convincing new threats to the DCU (of which there've been a lot) we've seen in years- but you should really only get it when the trade for The Witching Hour comes out in May so you can read that in the proper moment.


It might also help to have read Dark Knights Metal beforehand, since this essentially spins out of that, though it's not necessary because the relevant stuff is covered (but Metal is pretty great anyway so...).


But anyway apart from that complaint, I think this is the first work I've read by Tynion IV and if this is indicative he's fantastic and I'll definitely be seeking out more of his DC work.

[Abyss]

In striking contrast, JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 is astonishingly mediocre, and 3001 is just flat out bad.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 07 April 2019 - 02:28 AM, said:

In striking contrast, JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 is astonishingly mediocre, and 3001 is just flat out bad.

Barely bothered to finish 3001 and wow was the team phoning it in by the end there. There is actually one panel where two characters break the fourth wall to inform the audience that despite being written in the previous issue they are not participating in this last issue because cancelled books are a waste of their time. The entire 'future JL' thing was just a bad experiment made worse such that even Darkseid's severed head couldn't save it.


To cleanse the literary palate, i proceeded next to BATMAN VS THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.

This was so SO much better than it had any right to be. The art team drew on the Bat and the Turtles' Miller days and went dark, heavy on the ninja, the action is a little low on blood but ample violence, plot is your basic comic book team-up thing but all the more fun for it. The sheer glory of reading/looking at a well written sequence of the Turtles invading the Batcave... Don geeking out on the tech, Mike loving the toys (the big dinosaur!), Leo more or less wanting to be Batman, and Raph wholly misunderstanding him... it's just such a treat on a few levels.


Then back to the PREDATOR megabundle... after a series of stupendously mediocre-to-bad books, PREDATOR: XENOGENISIS was a treat. The basis story is that in the near future, human efforts to deal with Pred hunting trips force the human soldiers to become amped up cyborg hunter/killers... and the Predators are so happy about it that they start hunting them even MORE! Unfortunately there are a few other story beats this could have done without... a blunt, needless conspiracy, a mystical samurai plotline, but even so, enjoyable and very nicely drawn.

[Studlock]

Months later (lol):

The Wild Storm: by the incomparable Warren Ellis who is in the pantheon of comic book writers, and Jon Davis-Hunt who is amazing. A bunch of great stuff has already been said on this one here, so I'll focus on a singular point. The Wild Storm conveys action in a way that most American comics don't, that is to say good. Its control of space, and pacing of panels create a incredibly mind-blowing sense of kinetic movement in which the reader never gets lost. Actually two points--Jon Davis-Hunt's character work, which could be akin to acting, is top notch and really sells these characters the kicks the story to another realm of good.

Sword of Ages: written and drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez and coloured by Lovern Kindzierski. This is a Gabriel Rodriguez joint so no surprise its one of the best looking books that came out in 2018, buts not why I love it. I love it because its a well-down retelling of Arthurian myths in a science-fantasy setting, and I really can't get enough of retellings of Arthurian myths. One of the stand outs here, however, is the designed work, something I've been thinking about lately. Rodriguez clearly put a lot of time into designing this world and the look of the characters, and its shows, they distinct and honestly a bit iconic.

Coda: written by Simon Spurrier, and drawn by Matias Bergara. So Simon Spurrier is who I consider to be the premier fantasist in comics that often writes small self-contained fantasy series that are often both very good, and really utilizes the visual medium to its fullest extent. Matias Bergara is no exception in terms of doing this. The story is set after a apocalypse in a more standard fantasy world in which nearly all magic disappeared, and follows the story of a former, and grouchy bard named Hum. As you can tell by my pervious comments I get really excited for the art, and while the story is very good (his best next to the Spire), the art is like a techno-coloured fevered dream that just gets the appeal of the fantastic.

Domino: written by Gail Simone and the primary artist being David Baldeon. Domino is one of my favourite X-characters, and I'm a huge fan of X-Men so its a crowded list, and the voice Gail Simone brings to her is one of my favourite interpretations of the character yet. In a way its very Gail Simone: snarky, snappy dialogue, and the like, but instead of sounding out of place it just works. I never liked the interpretation of her as a female fatale, or as a 'hard operator', her power is luck, which is extremely fun, and built of death-defying stunts, which David Baldeon really delivers on. Its not just best work (see the Spirits of Vengeance miniseries, which I am sure is forgotten which makes me sad), but its still very good.

Giant Days: written by John Allison and art by Max Sarin. What I'd call this book, which is a slice-of-life comedy about three girls in university and their friends, is 'wholesome' and 'very funny'. The voices, while a smidgen exaggerated feel genuine, and John Allison has excellent comedic timing. Underneath it all, as well, it can hit those emotional beats that help all slice-of-life stories feel heart-warming. The art is more cartoony than realistic, but it help sells the characters and the comedy, while never being so cartoony as to break the reality of comic (not Bugs Bunny type hi-jinks)

And that's all for now, I mean to get back to it sooner this time but I'm sure we'll you in a couple months.

[Abyss]

Studlock, on 12 April 2019 - 11:47 AM, said:

...
Coda: written by Simon Spurrier, and drawn by Matias Bergara. So Simon Spurrier is who I consider to be the premier fantasist in comics that often writes small self-contained fantasy series that are often both very good, and really utilizes the visual medium to its fullest extent. Matias Bergara is no exception in terms of doing this. The story is set after a apocalypse in a more standard fantasy world in which nearly all magic disappeared, and follows the story of a former, and grouchy bard named Hum. As you can tell by my pervious comments I get really excited for the art, and while the story is very good (his best next to the Spire), the art is like a techno-coloured fevered dream that just gets the appeal of the fantastic.....

Noting your post because i always need more solid fantasy comic in my life. Would you reco SPIRE? ... i have it, haven't looked at it yet.

[Studlock]

Definitely. Its only 8 issues so it isn't really an epic, but its a very good story, and the art is amazing.

[Salt-Man Z]

Some great deals on some great series on Comixology at the moment:

Dynamite's first Bettie Page series is a ton of fun, and you can get the whole story for $5:
Volume 1 ($2.99): https://www.comixolo...al-comic/668276
Volume 2 ($1.99): https://www.comixolo...al-comic/688525

Also on sale is Terry Moore's magnum opus, Strangers in Paradise:
19 volumes: https://www.comixolo...ype=COLLECTIONS

Moore's excellent Echo series is also on sale:
6 volumes ($2.99 each): https://www.comixolo...ype=COLLECTIONS

(Actually, all of Moore's stuff is on sale through the end of May, including Rachel Rising and Motor Girl, which I have yet to read.)

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 12 April 2019 - 02:35 PM, said:

Studlock, on 12 April 2019 - 11:47 AM, said:

...
Coda: written by Simon Spurrier, and drawn by Matias Bergara. So Simon Spurrier is who I consider to be the premier fantasist in comics that often writes small self-contained fantasy series that are often both very good, and really utilizes the visual medium to its fullest extent. Matias Bergara is no exception in terms of doing this. The story is set after a apocalypse in a more standard fantasy world in which nearly all magic disappeared, and follows the story of a former, and grouchy bard named Hum. As you can tell by my pervious comments I get really excited for the art, and while the story is very good (his best next to the Spire), the art is like a techno-coloured fevered dream that just gets the appeal of the fantastic.....

Noting your post because i always need more solid fantasy comic in my life. Would you reco SPIRE? ... i have it, haven't looked at it yet.

Studlock, on 14 April 2019 - 01:49 AM, said:

Definitely. Its only 8 issues so it isn't really an epic, but its a very good story, and the art is amazing.

Just finished THE SPIRE.

That WAS good. I enjoyed the world, the different races, the fact the author didn't feel the need to explain everything.
The art was solid... not my favorite style, i tend to prefer something a little more 'kinetic', but it worked very nicely and the action scenes didn't suffer.

Good murder-mystery. I liked the twists, the hints were well played. This was a good story as well as a good comic. Worth reading.

Also, fart-powered gremlin cops.




Also just finished Marvels' BLACK VORTEX crossover on the marvel unlimited app.
I had paused my 'New X-Men' read (the series where the original 5 are brought forward in time, hang out with revolutionary Cyke and co) a while ago. As i read elsewhere Marvel had recently wrapped up that story and i'm curious how, i figured it was time to resume. This was the next story chunk.

It started fairly tropey boring... space-gadget found, X-men and GotG team up to recover, baddies do bad things, but it got more interesting and more elements came into play. Some of the inevitable crossover bits like writing in Capt Marvel and Nova were fairly weak, and the Guardians of the Galaxy have been done better, but as an 'X-Men in Space' story it did entertain start to end and worked in more Marvel cosmic space elements than i've seen since Infinity.

[T77]

I finished Coda vol 1 by Simon Spurrier, who also wrote The Spire as just mentioned by Abyss. I thought it was good, but the art, even though I like the style, I found to be muddled and confusing.

I read Dark Nights Metal and then Justice League Dark. Metal was OK, started off well enough but then it turned into a bit too much action for me. JLD was solid, I enjoyed it.

Also read The Magic Order by Millar. It was good, though it tailed off a bit at the end.

I'm still in a fantasy mood and I queued up and borrowed a bunch of TPBs on Hoopla. I went back to Promethea, which is still brilliant. And I'm reading Scales & Scoundrels and Rat Queens. I'll comment when I finish.

[QuickTidal]

After ENDGAME I went to grab some stuff from the related Comixiology Avengers sale...and grabbed Jason Aaron's & Sara Pichelli's AVENGERS: The Final Host....and my god it's so entirely pointless. It's basically the poor man's Hickman's Avengers run with none of the verve or writing, and way too much exposition layered over what is just one long battle. It just makes me want to read Hickman's run again instead. It also reduces Loki to the singular evil dude he hasn't been in a long time. The character designs are fucked (Thor especially). And It really mangles the Eternals, The Celestials, and other cosmic stuff done better earlier in the timeline.

Avoid.

I usually like Aaron's work, but this is terribad.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 03 May 2019 - 02:58 PM, said:

After ENDGAME I went to grab some stuff from the related Comixiology Avengers sale...and grabbed Jason Aaron's & Sara Pichelli's AVENGERS: The Final Host....and my god it's so entirely pointless. It's basically the poor man's Hickman's Avengers run with none of the verve or writing, and way too much exposition layered over what is just one long battle. It just makes me want to read Hickman's run again instead. It also reduces Loki to the singular evil dude he hasn't been in a long time. The character designs are fucked (Thor especially). And It really mangles the Eternals, The Celestials, and other cosmic stuff done better earlier in the timeline.

Avoid.

I usually like Aaron's work, but this is terribad.

It was Thor and Hulk making out that really blew it for you, wasn't it?

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 03 May 2019 - 03:39 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 03 May 2019 - 02:58 PM, said:

After ENDGAME I went to grab some stuff from the related Comixiology Avengers sale...and grabbed Jason Aaron's & Sara Pichelli's AVENGERS: The Final Host....and my god it's so entirely pointless. It's basically the poor man's Hickman's Avengers run with none of the verve or writing, and way too much exposition layered over what is just one long battle. It just makes me want to read Hickman's run again instead. It also reduces Loki to the singular evil dude he hasn't been in a long time. The character designs are fucked (Thor especially). And It really mangles the Eternals, The Celestials, and other cosmic stuff done better earlier in the timeline.

Avoid.

I usually like Aaron's work, but this is terribad.

It was Thor and Hulk making out that really blew it for you, wasn't it?

No, that was fine actually...if a little weird.

But man, it all felt like so much warmed over "we've done this before".

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 03 May 2019 - 03:46 PM, said:

Abyss, on 03 May 2019 - 03:39 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 03 May 2019 - 02:58 PM, said:

After ENDGAME I went to grab some stuff from the related Comixiology Avengers sale...and grabbed Jason Aaron's & Sara Pichelli's AVENGERS: The Final Host....and my god it's so entirely pointless. It's basically the poor man's Hickman's Avengers run with none of the verve or writing, and way too much exposition layered over what is just one long battle. It just makes me want to read Hickman's run again instead. It also reduces Loki to the singular evil dude he hasn't been in a long time. The character designs are fucked (Thor especially). And It really mangles the Eternals, The Celestials, and other cosmic stuff done better earlier in the timeline.

Avoid.

I usually like Aaron's work, but this is terribad.

It was Thor and Hulk making out that really blew it for you, wasn't it?

No, that was fine actually...if a little weird.

But man, it all felt like so much warmed over "we've done this before".

Yeah, unfortunately Big 2 comics, for me, have been in a cycle of repetition for ages.
There's very little original storytelling... more often just a story that's been done before w different characters. Case in point, this was like the sixth group of renegade Celestials planning to destroy the world. Meh.

[polishgenius]

And when it is original, it's Grant Morrison having a creative fit and it's 50/50 whether it's gonna be good or a mess of ideas.

But, having finally been able to give the Hickman Fantastic Four a proper start this week, I do go back and recommend Morrison's Multiversity which I mentioned before. It's not as good and, well, it's only one volume, but it's got a similar sort of madcap creative brilliance and joy, despite working with quite a dark plotline, and if you want something cosmic and huge, it should hit the spot.


But also alternatively I believe the trade of the Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark event Witching Hour hit this week, which makes it a good time to pick up both that and the Justice League Dark first volume (which the event falls bang in the middle of). It's perhaps not original but it is a new enemy and a slightly different slant to what we've been seeing recently.

[polishgenius]

Today I was going to buy the first volume of Monstress finally. Instead I got Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and I do not regret it one bit coz this is the best thing.

In other words

Abyss, on 26 March 2019 - 02:19 AM, said:

It failed, other than giving the world Kamala Khan.

and also Lunella Lafayette.

[T77]

FYI, East of West vol 9 digital drops today. Seems the physical version is a week away. It's on Hoopla.

And speaking of Hickman, as most of you have probably heard, he's writing more than just the X-Men mini. Seems they are doing an X-Men wipe and he's taking over. I guess he's getting the Bendis money.