[cervantor]

So, anyone here heard of “Soon I Will Be Invincible� by Austin Grossman? I just reviewed it HERE. Basically, it’s a comic book story told in a novel format with a satirical bent on superheroes and supervillains. All of the characters and plot devices are basically parodies of actual comic book characters and storylines, the most recognizable being the JLA, specifically Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman. There are plenty of other references as well. For instance, storywise I saw shades of Troy Hickman’s “Common Grounds�, DC’s “Identity Crisis� crossover series by Brad Meltzer, “Supreme Power� by J. Michael Straczynski , The Chronicles of Narnia, etc. Overall, the book had some flaws, which is understandable since the author is a first-timer, but I really enjoyed the novel and I’m interested to see what other people will think of it, both comic book lovers and the more casual reader…

Robert

[stone monkey]

As most of you don't buy floppies I should tell you that one of the most innovative comics of last year now has a collected edition; Jonathan Hickman's The Nightly News. It's fantastic stuff and he's really taken graphic storytelling in a new direction IMO. His new series Pax Romana, which has just started in the floppies, looks to be even better.

Warren Ellis has been let loose on the Marvel Ultimate Universe again with his Ultimate Human or Ultimate Hulk vs Ultimate Iron Man as it would appear to be. It's fun in the way his Ultimate stuff usually is although some of the art has problems IMO.

Anyhow, what are the rest of you reading at the mo?

[Morgoth]

I've been trying out my first marvel, and to be honest I didn't find it all that entertaining. Perhaps I didn't pick the right stuff. Ultimate X-men I think it was called. Featuring Casandra Nova, The destruction of magneto's city and a 150 y later epilogue of sorts.

Now, it started out very promising, and then imploded through what seems like nothing but the sheer stupidity of the writers.

[polishgenius]

I read Alan Moore's Top Ten recently. I'm liking these superhero comics that don't follow the usual storytelling rules- Top Ten, Astro City, Planetary and Wanted to an extent. Any others I should try? I've also started reading Invincible, but I won't get fully into that yet as I see it's a long series and I'm fairly short on money.
Also read Silver Surfer: Requiem recently. I liked it, but perhaps because I've not got a background of liking the character, not as much as everyone else seemed to. It seemed slight. Plus, well written as it was, I don't think this type of epic-mystic is JMMS's forte, and I was constantly thinking that Neil Gaiman could have done it better. Bit harsh maybe, but it was there. Still, good stuff.

Also got into Fell (<3 Warren Ellis), the first volume of 30 Days of Night towards the end of last year. Templesmith does very good moody atmosphere.


Anyway, couple of requests: a good superhero book that's not got too much to buy for me to catch up on (is Moon Knight any good? I've read some Daredevil and the trade of Iron Fist that's out. DC is currently driving me crazy, seemingly no quality control, but still, anything good there too), and any non-superhero series that's good. Preferably not Vertigo, because I know what's there even for what I haven't read. I'll look into the one Apt recommended, any others? I'd like a good fantasy, but it's by no means necessary, I'd just like something varied from the big-two norm. Not Bone, I've read that.

Neither has to be recent.

Cheeeeeeeers.

[Skywalker]

My favorites (haven't read much, but):

The Sandman - 10 volume collection
The Watchmen
Batman: Year One/ The Long Halloween/ The Killing Joke
Sin City
Any Asterix
Any Tintin with Captain Haddock in em
Leonard (its French/ Belgian) by "Turk & DeGroot" - I read the very well done English translation... this I heavily recommend.
Ziggy compilations
The Complete Calvin & Hobbes
Hellboy (dabbled a little)
Spawn (same)
V for Vendetta

That done with..

I am at best a comic dilettante... and mostly stick to reading comic books that jump into other media (and therefore catch my attention).

I have a question for the hardcore superhero comic fans. Especially of the DC and Marvel 'universes':

Don't they bug you? The way they go on and on and on... the way cross-overs are the norm not the exception. The way superheroes that were iconic and actually had an engaging backstories/ consistent universes get cross-overed and retconned into these horrible convoluted things with multiple incarnations and versions and whatnot? I mean both those series/ plethorae of series are just so... messy!

I like my superheroes simple. I liked it when Batman was a vigilante in Gotham fighting crime because his folks got offed. When Superman was the only superhuman from a distant planet who fought for truth, justice, and the American way. When Daredevil was Matt Murdock and Peter Parker didn't unmask himself in a press conference. I love Hellboy these days because his is an insular universe that doesn't get a sudden cameo .

I am from a generation scarred by the death and convoluted resurrection of Superman... and although I don't follow them, the press on the stupid-ass Crises and Civil Wars and so on is enough to exasperate me. Give me the relative standaloneness of a Gaiman Sandman over Infinite Crisis any time.

Sigh... so yeah... aren't you tired of it?

[ch'arlz]

sky_walker;241789 said:

I am at best a comic dilettante... and mostly stick to reading comic books that jump into other media (and therefore catch my attention).

Same here. I've picked up several of the Ghost in the Shell graphic novels, but much prefer the films and TV series.

[Illuyankas]

A friend told me about One More Day, the recent Spiderman arc. Now, I'm not so sad as to really care about all the continuity fuckups this has done (WIPED VENOM COMPLETELY FROM EXISTENCE, etc) but it's just really, REALLY bad storytelling done to justify an editor's version of a character. He then showed me the comic in question.

...QUESADAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!



@sky_walker: I used to agree with you fully, but recently got back into comics (finding a cheap source helped) and although most of the stuff the big two have released recently have sucked, Annilation and Sinestro Corps War have been really awesome. Mostly due to the fact that one group of writers have been left to get on with it, instead of spreading it over practically the whole writer's stable, such as DC's thing where all the other crossovers (Amazons Attack, Countdown) have sucked ass. SCW has been so popular, partly due to it having been planned over the next two years, into 2009, therefore having a coherent plot beyond "Oh fuck!" and partly due to it just kicking ass.

Nerdy paragraph approaching, but if you have any knowledge of DC, how does a force consisting of:

Spoiler

Sinestro leading 3600 Yellow Lanterns, Parallax inhabiting Kyle Rayner, Cyborg Superman leading the Manhunters and wielding five rings at once, Superboy Prime (a total armripping, murdering, Pre-Crisis powered nutjob), and the fucking ANTI-MONITOR

Not make you think, "This is going to ROCK" ?

[Skywalker]

hehe... yeah, that did make me geek out a little...

but still. Marvel/ DC are too convoluted for me these days.

You know what I would love to see? I'd love to see these incredibly talented hordes of artists and authors stop reimagining and retconning old stuff (let it be... make movies out of it) and invent some new stuff.

I dare you to name one major new superhero in the past decade that captured our imagination the wa Supes/ Spidey/ Batman did back in the day... there isn't one! Hellboy comes closest to the perch methinks... but I may be a blind fan...

Makes me wonder if Marvel/ DC are wasting talent

[Dayne]

I don't read many comics anymore, though I do still have an interest in them and sometimes get a chance to read a couple.

I buy The Walking Dead when the trades are released though. It's some of the best zombie fiction ever written IMO. Highly recommended to zombie fans.

[wolf_2099]

Marvel/DC have finally started having some world spanning events that for DC have been quite good, and for Marvel have been god awful.

Especially Brand New Day for Spider-Man. Spidey doesn't get screwed often, but when he does it is glorious. It hasn't been this bad since Clone Saga, and this might be worse.

Morgoth, you would have been reading New X-Men, (Well, X-Men) by Grant Morrison, very good run he had, I enjoyed it immensly.

Ultimate X-Men is part of the Ultimate line of comics, a different universe. It is a modern retelling of the marvel classics. It launched back around 2000, and was very well recieved,, but lately it has become stagnent and feels like the old re-hashing of tales we get in the normal Marvel U.

Brian Micheal Bendis and Mark Bagley did however set a new record for most consecutive issues done at 112 or 113 with no break or fill-ins for their run on Ultimate Spider-Man.


If you can't tell, I read a lot of comics, and own something like eleven thousand.

Kirkman's Walking Dead and Invincible have to be two of the best new series going. Kirkman's the best "new" writer I have seen in years.

[wolf_2099]

sky_walker;241815 said:

I dare you to name one major new superhero in the past decade that captured our imagination the wa Supes/ Spidey/ Batman did back in the day... there isn't one! Hellboy comes closest to the perch methinks... but I may be a blind fan...

That isn't fair, mostly because the youngest of those characters are 40 years old, and there was far, far, far less choice when they came out. These days you have new heroes coming out every week.

There have been people like Spawn or Invincble and that sort, but the big thing is, the new, hit comics that come out aren't normally about 1 person. You still get some great writing like Fallen Angel, or whatever the Luna Brothers do.

With ensemble books like Fables, the Walking Dead, Powers, the Boys and so on.

And frankly, as classic as a lot of those characters are, ever tried reading those old stories? A lot of them aren't terribly good, or at least not by todays standards.

[Morgoth]

@Wolf - Oh come on, it was so obvious that the whole magneto twist was not invented until halfway into the... fourth issue? It didn't fit at all and just felt so incredibly clumsy.

IT started out good, but died right there and then in my opinion

In other news, I got a copy of the first issue of Rex Mundi from the store, it seems promising

[wolf_2099]

Morgoth;242906 said:

@Wolf - Oh come on, it was so obvious that the whole magneto twist was not invented until halfway into the... fourth issue? It didn't fit at all and just felt so incredibly clumsy.

You're speaking of Xorn?

[Illuyankas]

You mean Xorn's brother who thought he was Xorn who thought he was Magneto? That is seriously the canon explanation. Thank god for cosmic Marvel, that's all I can say.

[wolf_2099]

Some of the writers severely mess up Morrison's run, but that always happen. Not to say he didn't do it himself, with the crippled magneto who was supposed to dead, then got pwned in Genosha by the sentinals when Casandra Nova slaughtered the mutants. Then Xorn becoming magneto and destroying NYC and all.

But he did give us an awesome villian in Casandra Nova, and his run was 40 issues long, and very entertaining I think.

And a hell of a lot better than the aborotion Chuck Austen followed it up with.

[Morgoth]

ah but I agree about Nova. As I said, the first two, three collection issues were great, but then it just collapsed I think

[Aptorian]

Wow, never noticed this thread.

I used to be a big marvel fan (8 years or so ago) collected everything I could find in antic bookstores etc. Probably had everything published with Spiderman, X-men, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, etc over 20 years. I even had weird shit like the She-hulk comics from the seventies, in Denmark given the incredible name of "Hulky" and the weird tales of Doctor Strange.

Keep in mind that the danish publications were stitched together from the most popular and most significant storylines in the american market. We'd get one "floppy" every month at around 50 pages. No commercials or other weird filler. Later, 90's and 00's, some, like the x-men, every second month and as much as a hundred pages.

I loved the old stuff. Especially Clairmont-Burns X-men, I've always been very fond of Burns drawings.

Like mentioned before I liked the Marvel comics "realism". Their characters were more human compared to DCs characters. To be honest I've always thought that DCs line of characters were stupid. Half (all?) their characters are from outer space or have magical abilities. Everything is so over the top. I did love the Death of superman story though... too bad they didn't have the balls to keep him in the grave.

[wolf_2099]

I do agree with how he got to the Magneto story was pretty um... out there.

The idea of Magneto being at the school in disguise, and the severve punishment of NYC, and subsequent death of Jean Grey I very much enjoyed, I just need to not focus on how they got there.

[Aptorian]

Jean Grey died again?

[wolf_2099]

She only ever really died once.

The first time she was in the bottom of the ocean while the pheonix force went around as her.

The next time it was a clone named Madelyne Prior a "clone" of Jean created by Sinister.

hen during New X-Men, when Asteroid M is falling into the sun, Wolverine stavbs her, "killing" her and releasing the pheonix force.

They return to earth and Xorn/Magneto using electro magnetic activity causes a massive stroke in Jean Greys brain, killing her well and truly for the first time.

The pheonix force return a year or two later looking like Jean Grey in Phenex Endsong, then returned as something else in Phoenix Endsong. We jabe heard nothing since.

God I am a geek.

I hope she comes back some way, I quite liked her. Maybe the new mutant birth is her...