[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 17 May 2019 - 06:36 PM, said:

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.

I've heard Moon Girl/Devil Dino is good/fun, will have to check it out.

That said, MONSTRESS is pretty awesome - art, story, and characters - and i do reco.

T77, on 22 May 2019 - 01:49 PM, said:

FYI, East of West vol 9 digital drops today...

YES.

Quote

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.

It's two parallel minis followed by an across-the-line restart w various creative teams most of whom were already writing x-books.

I admit to scepticism, but it's Hickman, so i will read it once it's all on Marvel Unlimited.



Just devoured the first five BIRTHRIGHT collections... holy dragonfuck, this is a great comic. The art and elements of the setting are very SEVEN TO ETERNITY, there's a family theme that brings SAGA to mind, and the action is bugnuts insane. Nutshell summary, kid gets abducted from Earth, brought to parallel reality, told he's the hero meant to save the world and defeat the big bad. A year later he's back, decades older, his Earth family is messed up, and things over in fantasy-world did not quite go as planned by anybody. Massive stabbiness and magic-'splody ensue. Great pace... fun twists i didn't see coming most of the time... five trades just burned by, glad i have two more standing by.

[T77]

Birthright added to my ever growing fantasy comics list. Seven to Eternity is already on the list, I might read it this long weekend especially considering East of West won't load on Hoopla.

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 22 May 2019 - 03:12 PM, said:

I've heard Moon Girl/Devil Dino is good/fun, will have to check it out.

That said, MONSTRESS is pretty awesome - art, story, and characters - and i do reco.

Oh, I'm definitely going to get into it at some point, the main reason I got Moon Girl now is coz Monstress is so ubiquitous there's always going to be a chance to get it but Moon Girl might be harder to find or remember to look for if I didnae get it when it caught my eye.


Although (to avoid overlevelling expectations) it's not on the level of either for polish it reminds me weirdly of a fusion between the gleeful sci-fi inventiveness of All-Star Superman with the humour-mixed-with-seriousness of Bone. It's not quite a classic for the ages but it is superb fun.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 22 May 2019 - 03:12 PM, said:

...
Just devoured the first five BIRTHRIGHT collections... holy dragonfuck, this is a great comic. The art and elements of the setting are very SEVEN TO ETERNITY, there's a family theme that brings SAGA to mind, and the action is bugnuts insane. Nutshell summary, kid gets abducted from Earth, brought to parallel reality, told he's the hero meant to save the world and defeat the big bad. A year later he's back, decades older, his Earth family is messed up, and things over in fantasy-world did not quite go as planned by anybody. Massive stabbiness and magic-'splody ensue. Great pace... fun twists i didn't see coming most of the time... five trades just burned by, glad i have two more standing by.

All caught up to current floppy.
Dammit.


This is VERY good comic.....

[Abyss]

Mark Millar's EMPRESS. Four issues into the 7 floppy run.


It's not very original... Space Empress flees Evil Space Tyrant to save her kids, loyal Space Super Soldier comes along to protect them, planets are visited, quirky characters are encountered, things 'splode, spaceships fly, aliens get spacekicked.

The characters are familiar archetypes, it's got none of the originality EAST OF WEST or family dynamics of SAGA or BLACK SCIENCE, isn't as visually striking as SEVEN TO ETERNITY ... but Millar writes a good story and Stuart Immonen could make an septuagenarian accountant peeling a banana look kinetically exciting, so i'm enjoying it so far.

[QuickTidal]

My staving off reading issues of EAST OF WEST ends this weekend as I head to Ottawa (yes Abyss, I'm coming to your neck of the woods, have the cat army ready!), so I'm about to dive into the last 9 issues all in one go!

Hickman!!!!!!!

[polishgenius]

I have got to the stage these days where seeing other people read Mark Millar makes me sad. He's such a chode. Politically, and waaaay too often, in his comics.


But he does occasionally hold himself together enough to write a good one so...

[Abyss]

I acknowledge his shortcomings but as far as I am aware he hasn't pulled an Orson Scott Card, a Goodkind, a Frank Miller, or an Upchurch, so I can enjoy his work. And afaik Immonen's only misdeed is working with Millar.

[polishgenius]

Yeah he hasn't entirely crossed into boycott territory for me though I haven't really needed to think about it since I've not wanted to read a comic of his for a while anyway.


Me and Hal Duncan twitter-bonded over getting blocked by him over slagging him recently, that was fun. But I mean fucking really.




Anyway I got two what I believe are standalone graphic novels/miniseries on a mini-buying spree today. Firstly, Warren Ellis and Jason Howard's Cemetery Beach, a sorta Mad-Maxian action adventure for which I have only two comments - first the story is a bit slight but as an action comic it's fucking great with some of the most dynamic art I've seen for time, and second GRENADES ARE BAD VERY VERY BAD.



And secondly, Magdalene Visaggio and Jason Smith's Vagrant Queen, a royal-on-the-run space opera caper thing which is a lot of fun. Doesn't seem to have sold a lot so it being one volume may be more a case of market rather than deliberate decision, though it does have a definite end (there's a sequel hook but nothing urgent left hanging). It's apparently being developed by Syfy into a show, which is both heartening and worrying because I'm not sure Syfy has the budget to do something this OTT justice.

eta: a quick twitter browse tells me that Jason Smith has in the last two weeks been drawing more Vagrant Queen, which smacks strongly of it was cancelled but the interest generated by the TV show got Vault (the publisher) to put it back into production again.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 29 June 2019 - 05:13 PM

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 29 June 2019 - 05:02 PM, said:

...Warren Ellis and Jason Howard's Cemetery Beach, a sorta Mad-Maxian action adventure for which I have only two comments - first the story is a bit slight but as an action comic it's fucking great with some of the most dynamic art I've seen for time, and second GRENADES ARE BAD VERY VERY BAD.

I did not know this was completed. Must read soonest.
Also need to pick up floppy#24 of THE WILD STORM because holy drugsandsplosionfucks that was an awesome read so far.

Quote

And secondly, Magdalene Visaggio and Jason Smith's Vagrant Queen, a royal-on-the-run space opera caper thing which is a lot of fun. Doesn't seem to have sold a lot so it being one volume may be more a case of market rather than deliberate decision, though it does have a definite end (there's a sequel hook but nothing urgent left hanging). It's apparently being developed by Syfy into a show, which is both heartening and worrying because I'm not sure Syfy has the budget to do something this OTT justice.

eta: a quick twitter browse tells me that Jason Smith has in the last two weeks been drawing more Vagrant Queen, which smacks strongly of it was cancelled but the interest generated by the TV show got Vault (the publisher) to put it back into production again.

VAGRANT QUEEN noted, tnx. Apropos of upthread, a quick google brings Millar's EMPRESS to mind, not a bad thing.

Lately the fact that anything comicsy is being developed, considered, or otherwise munched on by any network is almost non-news. They are scrambling to find the (more like 'a')next thing. It's funny because while the CW Arrowverse and Marvel/Netflixverse have seen decent numbers, as have a few other comic originated properties (UMBRELLA ACADEMY, TITANS) have done well enough to merit more seasons/dollars, nothing is hitting GAME OF THRONES levels... tho HBO is clearly hoping that WATCHMEN will and Netflix has similar feels for Gaiman's SANDMAN.

...of course they're looking at fantasy lit properties too... WoT and LotR appear to be things that are happening.

[Tsundoku]

Really enjoyed Garth Ennis' "The Boys". Looking forward to the TV show starting later this month. Hopefully it does the theme justice even if they don't hew too closely to the plot. Which is fucking intense.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 03 July 2019 - 08:17 AM

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 02 July 2019 - 02:23 PM, said:

polishgenius, on 29 June 2019 - 05:02 PM, said:

...Warren Ellis and Jason Howard's Cemetery Beach, a sorta Mad-Maxian action adventure for which I have only two comments - first the story is a bit slight but as an action comic it's fucking great with some of the most dynamic art I've seen for time, and second GRENADES ARE BAD VERY VERY BAD.

I did not know this was completed. Must read soonest....

...aaaaaaaaaaand just finished CEMETARY BEACH.

It's a Warren Ellis actioner. Decent but not brilliant sf setting (the core concept, bunch of science-people find way to other planet in the 50s, become semi-immortal, stay hidden, run the place like assholes, could be the basis for a way way more complex story) , gonzo action sequences, pithy/snappy dialogue, things 'splode, dudes get shootsed.

It's a fun reminder that Ellis, big brain futurist guru that he is, can sort of dumb it down sometimes and just have fun. One sequence in particular, involving skyships, is so far over the top insane i read it twice laughing right thru.


Made some brief forays into old school marvel... QUASAR and ROM.

QUASAR... it's just too standard comic hero to hold my attention. Read about 10 issues and bailed. I kow it got better and i want to revisit the New Universe story eventually, but for now too meh vanilla predictaboring to stick with it.
ROM... i have a deep fondness for the property, which basically invented the Big Crossover Event at Marvel... but i picked up where i had left off decades ago, at the end of the Wraith War... and wow that got ... if not 'bad' then 'basic'.... ok parts were just bad. Meh. It's funy to me because the Rom toy was only on loan to Marvel and they lost the rights, so while the big baddies, the Dire Wraiths, have more or less been around in the marvel comics universe since the 80s (see War of Kings), Rom himself went on to nothingness. I know Hasbro/IDW have brought him back, haven't looked at that version yet.

Thusly unimpressed with old school mainstream comics, i went and finished DARK ARK. Wow... even for a book about a parallel Noah's Ark captained by an evil sorcerer and filled with two of every kind of monster, that got dark.
My critique of the art remains... it's hard to differentiate between most of the monsters and even humans who aren't the few main focus characters. This is to the book's detriment because it's hard to know which human s doing what at times, and also in a book about vampires and werewolves and goblins and so on you should be able to tell the difference between them. That said, the story is well written, takes some fun and unexpected twists, and has satisfying ending that was well built to. Happy to see a sequel series AFTER THE FLOOD planned for later 2019.


Next up, revisited the original ALIENS V PREDATOR limited series... the one with the space cattle raising planet and the Pred training hunt gone wrong... still the best example of how those properties work together, with the humans in the middle just trying to survive. I have a few of the sequel series' from a Dark Horse megabundle, will likely keep going.

[T77]

FYI, Hickman's House of X #1 drops today.

[QuickTidal]

Going on a cottage weekend for the civic holiday, and I'm bringing some Pratchett to read, but I also decided (after re-watching ENDGAME and being in a Marvel mood) to re-read Hickman & Ribic's SECRET WARS...and I honestly forgot just how epic and badass the opening issue is with the Incursion and the fight. It's fucking phenomenal. And if they ever want to bring Tony (sort of) back in the MCU...having Earth 1610 (Ultimate Universe) Iron Man be a part of a multi-versal fight is the way to do it! Also, E-616 Rocket making fun of E-1610 Tony's tech is a highlight!

Anyways, I love this volume. Hickman rarely disappoints.

I'm holding off on both POWER OF X and HOUSE OF X until they are done, and I'll grab a collected volume. Hickman is way better to read all at once, not piecemeal.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 01 August 2019 - 12:24 PM, said:

...I'm holding off on both POWER OF X and HOUSE OF X until they are done, and I'll grab a collected volume. Hickman is way better to read all at once, not piecemeal.

Same. The moment it's all on MU i'm there, but likely not before that.

[Salt-Man Z]

Abyss, on 01 August 2019 - 03:06 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 01 August 2019 - 12:24 PM, said:

...I'm holding off on both POWER OF X and HOUSE OF X until they are done, and I'll grab a collected volume. Hickman is way better to read all at once, not piecemeal.

Same. The moment it's all on MU i'm there, but likely not before that.

I wasn't interested in either (yawn another reset) until I started reading reviews, and now I'm really excited for both series. But I'm not going to pay the $5-6 per issue that Comixology wants, geez.

[QuickTidal]

Salt-Man Z, on 01 August 2019 - 05:25 PM, said:

Abyss, on 01 August 2019 - 03:06 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 01 August 2019 - 12:24 PM, said:

...I'm holding off on both POWER OF X and HOUSE OF X until they are done, and I'll grab a collected volume. Hickman is way better to read all at once, not piecemeal.

Same. The moment it's all on MU i'm there, but likely not before that.

I wasn't interested in either (yawn another reset) until I started reading reviews, and now I'm really excited for both series. But I'm not going to pay the $5-6 per issue that Comixology wants, geez.

Yeah, they are doing "Director's Cut's" only issues of them. $6 for a floppy with the promise of some nonsense Directors Cut DLC garbage is ridiculous.

I'll trade wait on this one for sure. It's what I did with SECRET wARS actually. I wanted and bought the nice hardcover version of the collected whole.

[Abyss]

All that being said, i saw some preview pages of POWERS and DAMN that looks GOOD.

[Salt-Man Z]

Abyss, on 01 August 2019 - 06:25 PM, said:

All that being said, i saw some preview pages of POWERS and DAMN that looks GOOD.

Mmmm-hmm.

[Abyss]

Positive buzz for the show, prompted me to get into the THE BOYS comic omnibus collection. About halfway through book one.

...it's been a while since i spent any time on Garth Ennis, and this is all very Ennis, and moreso than say, PREACHER.

Now and then i reach a point of disgust/annoyance to a degree that i might consider dropping the read, and then he subverts expectation at least a little. It's still very much Ennis doing his (not always good) thing, but to his credit he manages to do what he does and still offer more than what initially appears to be superficial homophobic/misogynistic idiocy. I think he is too subtle for (the majority of) readers who read Ennis for headshots and blood splatters and blowjob jokes, but it's there and it's holding my attention.