[Spoilsport Stonny]

I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with Michael Kupperman. He does interesting comics. I won't attempt to describe his style, other than to say its irreverent and humorous. He recently won an Eisner award for work Moon 69 and you can read it here:

http://www.michaelku...man.com/moon69/

His father was a Whiz Kid, a golden era TV game show. I think he is brilliant.

[Studlock]

Man they're making a Justice League of Canada...as a Canadian it's just kind of bizarre. Does DC even have a single Canadian character? I know Marvel was a couple popular ones but I can't for the life of me think of a DC one. In other news Infinity # 1 was kind of awesome and I'm glad they're moving away from the Bendis style events with a bunch of action followed by a boring middle then followed by a weak ending. It seems, so far, not to have the pacing issues as a storyline.

[QuickTidal]

Studlock, on 27 August 2013 - 11:47 AM, said:

Man they're making a Justice League of Canada...as a Canadian it's just kind of bizarre. Does DC even have a single Canadian character? I know Marvel was a couple popular ones but I can't for the life of me think of a DC one. In other news Infinity # 1 was kind of awesome and I'm glad they're moving away from the Bendis style events with a bunch of action followed by a boring middle then followed by a weak ending. It seems, so far, not to have the pacing issues as a storyline.

Justice League Canada is a cool idea as it's a pretty much totally new playground for characters to be in, including northern Canada and the east coast. They announced it at FanExpo over the weekend.

There are probably about ten Canadian DC heroes/characters that are not amalgam characters from Alt Universes, the most known of which is Wesley Dodds who was the original Sandman and is featured in Earth 2. But there are grounds for invention of new characters (which I kind of hope is the case) and there are some more obscure characters who could stand a chance in the spotlight.

I'm quite cool with it. Also, it's Jeff Lemire....who is currently hitting home runs with GREEN ARROW, TRILLIUM, and ANIMAL MAN....and is Toronto born and raised. Like everything I read of his is gold, and so he'll bring a distinctly Canadian flavour to the proceedings. Polite SuperHeroes?

LOL

[McLovin]

Imagine the crossover potential: JUSTICE LEAGUE CANADA vs. ALPHA FLIGHT. A knock-down, drag-out battle of polite but firm corrections!

Meanwhile, I'm reading CRIMSON EMPIRE II. Kir Kanos is awesome.

This post has been edited by McLovin: 27 August 2013 - 01:14 PM

[stone monkey]

I'm waiting for Battling Boy by Paul Pope with feverish anticipation. Pope isn't the most productive of comic book creators (I've been waiting for him to finish THB for the best part of 15 years) but when he does come out with something it's always awesome - see Batman 100 or Heavy Liquid...

[Abyss]

JL,eh is just a short run story, not a permanent shift of JLA.
I'm fairly confident the Canadianism of it will be fairly minimal, but some new canuck heroes would be neat.


Reading Scott Snyder's AMERICAN VAMPIRE. This is solid stuff... old world Eurovamps vs new world vamps from the settlers era to current day. Great art, well written, including a surprisingly solid storyline by Stephen King that does not, at any point, refer to Stephen King, the Dark Tower, or the state of Maine.

[Abyss]

Two eps in, the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE cartoon is even worse than i feared. Juvenile, even condescending to juveniles who watched and enjoyed EARTH'S MIGHTIEST.
Feh.

[McLovin]

Anybody check out Dark Horse's THE STAR WARS yet?

I'm dying to grab it but waiting for the trade. If I go look at the floppy, I know I'll just buy it which is a waste of $ and paper.

[QuickTidal]

McLovin, on 12 September 2013 - 06:28 PM, said:

Anybody check out Dark Horse's THE STAR WARS yet?

I'm dying to grab it but waiting for the trade. If I go look at the floppy, I know I'll just buy it which is a waste of $ and paper.

The floppy copies have gone bananas, and have been sent for a reprinting already which has subsequently sold out...so yeah, I'm super excited to read it, but I will also wait for trade...but I hear nothing but good things.

I mean it's genius isn't it? An Alt-Universe Star Wars based off concept art, and the initial rough "Journey of the Whills" outline that Lucas wrote? GREAT idea to tell that story.

[Studlock]

School been going so I haven't been reading a lot but just got up on Infinity and Battle of the Atom. Infinity is awesome in a kind of summer block buster way but Battle of the Atom gots that Bendis flu. My man Bendis why you got to do that?

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 12 September 2013 - 06:57 PM, said:

McLovin, on 12 September 2013 - 06:28 PM, said:

Anybody check out Dark Horse's THE STAR WARS yet?

I'm dying to grab it but waiting for the trade. If I go look at the floppy, I know I'll just buy it which is a waste of $ and paper.

The floppy copies have gone bananas, and have been sent for a reprinting already which has subsequently sold out...so yeah, I'm super excited to read it, but I will also wait for trade...but I hear nothing but good things.

I mean it's genius isn't it? An Alt-Universe Star Wars based off concept art, and the initial rough "Journey of the Whills" outline that Lucas wrote? GREAT idea to tell that story.

Brilliant idea but I'm totally waiting for the trade.

[QuickTidal]

For those who are fans...and collect comics in floppies (or are willing to for a limited series) the first issue of SANDMAN: OVERTURE by Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams III came out this week.

And yes, it is every bit as amazing as you want it to be!

[QuickTidal]

As noted in an earlier moment on the "reading" thread by me:

Quote

I've read and loved GREEN MANOR by Bodart and Vehlman (French duo) books 1 and 2. Done back in 2005-2006, they recount the tales of a Victorian MANOR club where well-to-do gentleman get together to discuss murder most foul...they are absolutely charming tales written with aplomb and illustrated like Alan Moore's LOEG in style. Just wonderful! Highly recommended!

Still highly recommended and I've read the 3rd and final set of tales in the GREEN MANOR series.

Arguably one of the most interesting, witty, and fun standalone, indie series I've read. WEll worth your time, and can be found in two trades (book 2 and 3 have now been published together in one volume).

Look them up.

[Salt-Man Z]

I'm in the middle of Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise and it really is fantastic. Relationship drama with spurts of action in between. And gorgeous art, of course.

Also, last month I finally picked up the first three volumes of James Roberts' Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, and it is just as phenomenal as everyone says it is. So good to read some dense, voluminous writing in a comic book again. And the art is amazing. This is how you do a TF comic.

[Studlock]

So Uncanny Avengers and Black Science...I think I'm starting to see a pattern of the same 'broken' white male hero type emerging from Remender's work.

For those who are reading Uncanny Avengers and haven't read issue 14 spoilers***********




Anyways so he killed off two women (Rouge and Scarlet Witch), one of them being a Romani, and a pacifist (Wonder Man) while all the squared-jaw men of action look on in impotent sadness/rage. One of the women killed also happened to be the biggest opponent of Havoc's ideals of assimilation, and she died after killing the women that represented those ideals. Cool. I thought we were over fridging women...I really did. Marvel has been really good at representing women lately, given Captain Marvel a second chance, numerous women solo series so this issue comes at a surprise to me. I thought maybe this is just a long game happen here, and I still do but I don't think I'll be staying around for it.


In Black Science a woman is introduced to A] ask our white male hero what they should do and B] die to give our already 'broken' hero more to man-hurt over. Then a stupidly human-like female lizard is introduce so A] to represent how terrible the frog monsters are and B] for our white male hero (who is also a cisgender no-sense squared jaw individual) to save in a very Mighty Whitey way. I now understand Remender's quirk...he read and loved pulp fiction way to much. I should of realized it as I soon as I read the 'giving science-fiction it's balls back' quote that is associated with Fear Agent but I didn't. But yeah he's a talented guy that treads over the same type of character over and over, a type of character that is a really-old trope that should've been done away with long ago, and I simply can't continue on with it. Which is a shame because the art for Black Science is amazing.

[QuickTidal]

Studlock, on 03 December 2013 - 12:10 PM, said:

In Black Science a woman is introduced to A] ask our white male hero what they should do and B] die to give our already 'broken' hero more to man-hurt over. Then a stupidly human-like female lizard is introduce so A] to represent how terrible the frog monsters are and B] for our white male hero (who is also a cisgender no-sense squared jaw individual) to save in a very Mighty Whitey way. I now understand Remender's quirk...he read and loved pulp fiction way to much. I should of realized it as I soon as I read the 'giving science-fiction it's balls back' quote that is associated with Fear Agent but I didn't. But yeah he's a talented guy that treads over the same type of character over and over, a type of character that is a really-old trope that should've been done away with long ago, and I simply can't continue on with it. Which is a shame because the art for Black Science is amazing.[/size][/font]

Remender seems to be aping classic 1920's Adventure Fiction (Doc Savage type stuff) with BLACK SCIENCE so a lot of it is going to hit in that direction plot-wise, including the women and creatures. So yeah, if that's going to bug you, then probably best to not continue with it. Though if I can recommend a series that you may not have read in the same vein that is stellar which features a diverse cast...PLANETARY by Warren Ellis. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

As to my own current reading:

SAGA - Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples continue to knock it clean out of the park with every issue. Probably my most-looked-forward to book each month.

RED SONJA - Gail Simone and Walt Geovani's take on the character continues to sing with each issue. I read a few issues before Simone's run, but they were never as enthralling as this, and Geovani's art is amazing!

THE WAKE - Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy's present day / future flung underwater beastie book was already great from issues 1-4...but issue 5 turns the story on its ear, throws it into the future and pushes it in a whole new direction. And Murphy's art should be in a goddamned art gallery...seriously people. This book will only be ten issues complete in the end and as of now I'm saying you NEED to grab the trade when it drops. Best thing in Vertigo's arsenal, and I LOVE what Snyder can do with original material like this when he's not constrained to rules (See his BATMAN run) set out by DC about character license.

ROCKETGIRL - Which I'm reading mostly for Amy Reeder's art...but the story is fun. An Alt future-ish 2013 with a teen police squad that can fly with rocket packs (Basically 2013 in the Alt-verse looks like THE FIFTH ELEMENT) only exists because in 1985 a physics corporation got ahold of stolen Quantum Technology and reverse engineered it. Rocket-girl (Japanese teen Dayoun) sends herself back in time to 1985 to fix the schism and assure it doesn't happen. Great fun. Brilliant art.

KILLJOYS - Gerard Way (The band singer, yeah), and one of my fave artists Becky Cloonan bring a future book that's one part hipster, one part 80's colour explosion, and one part Big Brother 1984 Orwellian setting...it's entertaining, but I'm not going to lie and say I'm not collecting it solely for Cloonan's art. Which I am (got the first 3 issues signed by her at a recent Con)

EAST OF WEST - Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta - This book...like SAGA...is going to be one of those you wished you'd got on board with when it began. It's seriously THAT good. Basically it's a science fiction Western set in a dystopian version of the United States whose fate rests with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But that's only the tip of things...Death, it turns out, has long past fallen in love and while the other three horseman attempt to ring in the Apocalypse, he is busy trying to save things. It's. Amazing.

[Studlock]

I know he was riffing off 1920 pulp stuff...it's just I have high expectations for him for some reason?

But enough whining: I'm loving East of West, Nowhere Men, and various Marvel titles at the moment. I'm think of picking up Pretty Dead, I've been meaning to diversity-up my pull list (as in creators) so I'm think of starting with that.

[Abyss]

Just acquired the entirety of STRIKEFORCE MORITURI.
Psyched. Loved this series back in the day but stopped about halfway through, looking fwd to the whole read.

[QuickTidal]

Studlock, on 03 December 2013 - 08:08 PM, said:

I know he was riffing off 1920 pulp stuff...it's just I have high expectations for him for some reason?

But enough whining: I'm loving East of West, Nowhere Men, and various Marvel titles at the moment. I'm think of picking up Pretty Dead, I've been meaning to diversity-up my pull list (as in creators) so I'm think of starting with that.

As much as I love Kelly Sue Deconnick's stories...PRETTY DEADLY was kind of a weird one for me. A bit of everything. But DeConnick does female leads well, so I'll keep reading.

[McLovin]

Finally, after owning for a year, read the HB of AVENGERS VS X-MEN.

They should have put the one-on-one VS issues in sequence with the main AvX storyline issues. Other than that nitpick, I really liked it. Not enough to make me take up the Marvel NOWniverse again, but still a great story.