What Did You Read November 2007

[dancj]

6 days in and still no the thread?

There is now:
Spider-Girl v2: Like Father, Like Daughter - More fun. The 2nd person narration is still a little bit irritating, but I'm still enjoying this.
New Avengers v:2 Sentry - This was a fun story. Including Paul Jenkins in the story didn't really work though. It felt like a bit of fanboy geekery that detracted from the story a bit - but it wasn't too bad. The biggest problem with this book is that they padded out the end of it with 50 pages of crap and charged us for it.
Jonah Hex v2: Guns of Vengeance - Not bad. I'm still not bowled over by this book, but it's decent. It would help if any two artists agreed on what Jonah Hex actually looks like. I loved the art that Hex co-creator, Tony DeZuñiga did for one issue. I've never seen his work before but it's great!
Gødland v2: Another Sunny Delight and v3: Proto-Plastic Party - I'm gradually warming up do Gødland. There's a lot I do like, but the pace is such a bombardment. Volume 3 seemed to relax a bit more and seemed better for it. I'm definitely around for the duration.
Secret War - This is a decent story from Bendis. I wasn't fond of the art - and the artist just couldn't manage to paint Jessica Jones at all right, but it did suit the style of the story. Again though (as with New Avengers v2 above) they've padded out the TPB with crap and charged us for it. The story is 5 standard sized issues. Without all of the padding they'd probably have charged $13-$15 but instead they filled it up with profile pages and charged $25. I'm sure there's a market for this kind of crap but they really shouldn't use it to pad out the actual graphic novels.
Smoke - I've been after this for years, but being an IDW book it was way overpriced. In the end I managed to get it on eBay for £3 including postage so I'm a happy bunny! It's a good story with a nice black sense of humour throughout. Igor Kordey's art is great too. I reccomend it!

[yoda510]

Legion of Superheroes 1 - 4 by Mark Waid
TMNT 1 -3 Volume 4
Powers #1

All my newer weekly books have not come out in awhile so I have been reading some older things. Bendis is amazing to me. Everything I dislike about him in is big company Large titles crossovers(House of M, Avengers) I love in his own world.

[Graham Vingoe]

Just finished Alan Moore Wild Worlds the collection of various and sundry Image titles written by the man himself. This is lesser quality Moore for the most part but with patches of Brilliance particulalrly in the one shot focussing on Majestic.
Now reading Ultimate X-men 13 through to the Return of the King Arc. for what its worth Chuck Beckum's 2 issue Gambit arc is readable, not excellent but passes muster.

[dancj]

So far that Gambit 2-parter is the only Chuck Beckum/Austen story I've read, and on the basis of that I haven't yet seen where all of the hate comes from. At least not with regard to his writing. His art on Elektra and Miracleman was pretty bad

[pmpknface]

• ANNIHILATION CONQUEST QUASAR #4 - Totally awesome!!! I loved it! Great art, and 100% action!
• ESSENTIAL WEREWOLF BY NIGHT VOL 2 TP - Excellent! Classic.
• IMMORTAL IRON FIST VOL 1 TP - 1/2 was through it and it is very cool.
• IRON MAN #23 - Not bad....
• MYTHOS FANTASTIC FOUR - Eh, I'm done w/ these origin deals now I think.
• SUB-MARINER #5 - Seems over, but there's more. Atlantis vs the US!
• ULTIMATE POWER #8 - It was ok. This should have been told in 4-5 issues max.

I read Grimm Fairy Tales V 2 - very cool stuff!

Justice HC 2 - Excellent! Although there was a page that was ripped and missing the ripped piece! And it was shrink wrapped! POO!!! :eek:

[torippu]

for what its worth Chuck Beckum's 2 issue Gambit arc is readable, not excellent but passes muster.

I had to google Chuck Beckum to figure out who you were talking about! I read the first couple of years of Ultimate X-Men but didn't recognize this name until I saw that it was the real name of Chuck Austin.

[torippu]

6 days in and still no the thread?



I haven't really been reading all that much. I am slowly making my way through the first five EX MACHINA trades in anticipation of Vol. 6 being released soon. I read up through Vol. 4 in single issues and then decided that BKV reads better in collected form. Looking forward to eventually making it to the first batch of new stuff in Vol. 5.

[pmpknface]

So far that Gambit 2-parter is the only Chuck Beckum/Dixon story I've read, and on the basis of that I haven't yet seen where all of the hate comes from. At least not with regard to his writing. His art on Elektra and Miracleman was pretty bad

No, but his WAR MACHINE was pretty cool. Oh, the hate comes from his Uncanny run. I didn't think it was hate-able, but just ok.

[De Carabas]

She-Hulk vol. 1: Single, Green Female TP
She-Hulk vol. 2: Superhuman Law TP
She-Hulk vol. 3: Time Trials TP
She-Hulk vol. 4: Laws of Attraction TP
She-Hulk vol. 5: Planet Without a Hulk TP
I figured since vol. 5 was the end of Slott's run I'd do a straight read through of the whole series. Overall, I really enjoy this series and think highly of the whole run, but the first three volumes are the strongest, IMO. I'll always remember Slott's run with great fondness, but byt the end, I'll say it is time for someone else to step in.

Damned: Three Days Dead TP--I'm only two issues in, but I'm loving it so much I didn't want to wait until I was finished before posting about it. (wow, that sentence really needs a comma or two, huh?) Brian Hurtt's done an absolutely amazing job on this book. I'm stopping to linger over panels in a way that I don't normally. Right now, I'm caught between being eager to finish so I know what happens and wanting to draw it out a bit more. We'll see which emotion wins tonight. I'll do a plot synopsis with my next post. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! :evilsmile

No, but his WAR MACHINE was pretty cool. Oh, the hate comes from his Uncanny run. I didn't think it was hate-able, but just ok.
I liked some of Chuck Austen's work. U.S. War Machine was pretty bad-ass. Now, while I may not have liked his X-Men work, I am baffled by the amount of vitriolic hatred that his name seems to bring out in fanboys. :confused:

EM, who's OCD enough that he's concerned about Marvel keeping the same She-Hulk trade dress for PAD's eventual collections

[goman]

A good thing to keep in mind with the Chuck Austen X-men hate, is that his work was coming out at the same time as Morrison's X-men run. So you had Morrison's really good stuff being compared to Austen's mediocre work, and thus the hate. I think the number of his books that I've read can be counted on my hands with fingers left over, so I'll make no comment to his skill.

All I've read so far this month is the last two issues of Shonen Jump, which had some really good Hikaru no Go, among other stuff. I'll get to this weeks books tonight.

De Carabas - I'm right there with you on Damned. I though it was great, and I hope they do some more. I'm a big fan of Hurtt's art.

[dancj]

I'll have to keep an eye open for War Machine - people seem to like that.

I've heard that Austen's Metropolis miniseries was good to, but for some reason no TPB has come out for that one

[De Carabas]

Damned: Three Days Dead TP--Finished it and loved it. It's a Prohibition Era gangster story where the heads of the biggest families are demons. Or it's a supernatural story about a hard luck case with a curse, set during Prohibition. It is never more one than the other, and that is its strength. The gangsters don't talk like bad Cagney impersonators and the demonic angle is never played for campy laughs (something that the show "Angel" was never quite capable of pulling off). Brian Hurtt's art is fantastic and his best yet.

EM

[Althalus]

Been reading a couple of Dutch comics, lately. There's some really nifty stuff I have to catch up with, like "January Jones" and other works by Eric Heuvel.

January Jones, volume 1 - Deadly ride to Monte Carlo
by Martin Lodewijk (writer) and Eric Heuvel (artist)
published in 1988 (German translation 1989)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5097/januaryjones01mu6.th.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5097/januaryjones01mu6.jpg)

I found volume 1 of "January Jones" (in German translation) at a recent comics fair. Hadn't heard of Heuvel before, because (AFAIK) this is his only German-translated series and it had its latest volume published in 1992, a good while before I even started reading BDs/albums. Heuvel's style is ligne-claire (like "Tintin", for example). "January Jones" apparently was Heuvel's first professional work, though I'd have never guessed (it looks that good already).

The story, for volume 1 is set in the 1930s. January Jones is a pilot and adventuress who just set a new flight record for the trip London-Capetown. During a stopover in the Netherlands she is recruited (rather underhandedly and against her will) by a US secret agent for an intelligence misson to Estonia. Plans (on microfilm) for a certain new technical advancement in airplane detection have to be kept out of Russian and German hands. Her cover is to participate in the Rallye Monte Carlo, since one of the start points is Tallinn in Estonia, and so to smuggle the microfilm straight through Germany and drop it off in the Netherlands. But German agents are already on her heels before she even gets to Tallinn.

It's not a hard and straight espionage thriller, though, but rather a light adventure story with several humorous interludes. I really enjoyed this first volume and will try and find the other 3 volumes of the series (http://www.stripinfo.be/strip.php?reeks=2085) (the last of which only exists in its original Dutch).

Two sample pages: http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/473/januaryjonesv1p6jt5.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/473/januaryjonesv1p6jt5.jpg) http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4439/januaryjonesv1p7mn9.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4439/januaryjonesv1p7mn9.jpg)
A few more images can be seen in this interview (http://www.stripelmagazine.be/pivot/entry.php?id=1134).


~Althalus

[goman]

Got caught up on some stuff this weekend, in addition to last weeks books. Yeah, New Avengers Illuminati #5 didn't really do much for me, ecept for the awesome fight sequence and Cheung's art. Most of the dialogue was stuff that has been explained before or stuff that has been discussed by Bendis in multiple interviews. I really need to just not read any interviews with him. The rest of the was pretty good, decent Buffy, Criminal was great as always, Maintenance was pretty funny, and Star Wars: Legacy just kind of chugged along.

Finished The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born HC. I don't know how to feel about this one. It looked great, and if Jae Lee draws the next one, I'll probably pick it up, but the story left me kind of cold. I think having read the books is important, not so much for understanding the plot but for identifying with the characters. The plot is easy enough to follow, and the writers do a decent job of establishing the world and whats going on, but a lot of the character work is skipped over because it's all been done in the books (I assume). I'm supposed to care about the events in this book because of how they affect the characters, but I don't really know them, not having read the books. You can enjoy it on it's own, but I think the full experience will come to fans.

Also read the first volume of MPD Psycho. Not sure if I'll pick up any further volumes. It was okay, but it didn't really grab me. The art looked good, and I don't have a problem with the content, although it was super gory and a bit questionable in parts. I just didn't love it.

Finally, finished Oldboy last night by reading volume 7 and 8. Kind of a non-ending. After all the back and forth that happens in the series, the ending just kind of happens. It's a let down. I don't know if I would recommend this series to people who've never read manga before, but could be interesting to fans looking for something more adult.

[torippu]

I did some reading over the weekend as well.

Dynamo 5 #8 - Another great issue and the use of Firebirds with the ad in the back has inspired me to seek out that one-shot.
Madame Mirage #3 - Better than the previous two with a neat twist. Still not sure that I'm going to invest in the last three issues yet.
Ms. Marvel #20 - Another enjoyable issue.
Nightwing #137 - This story arc started off so well and then peetered out with the main part of the story being used to set up a spin off series for the Vigilante.
The Order #4 - Another great issue. Look forward to reading this book each month.
Fantastic Four #550 - Another good read...even if I didn't quite get all of the cosmic stuff.
Wonder Woman #13 - Finally through the filler issues. Gail has a couple of issues to whoo me.
Astonishing X-Men #23 - Best issue of this series in a while. There was one panel with Wolverine jumping over some guys and stabbing them in the back with his claws that I thought was awesome!
Ex Machina Vol. 3 - Fact v. Fiction
Ex Machina Vol. 4 - March to War - This was all a re-read as Vol. 4 contained the issues that I had when I was reading this monthly. BKV reads so good in chunks. I also had forgotten how good this book is - a perfect blend of superheroes and politics.

[dancj]

Tell Me Something -by Jason. I enjoyed this. Not much more to say about it, but it was a good read. (If read is the right word when it's a silent comic)
War Fix - An autobiographical (I think) story of a journalist who gets addicted to war. It was a good read with nice art
Birds of Prey (Simone) v5: Perfect Pitch - Another good volume. Hopefully this will please the people who didn't like Prometheus being made to look small time in Gotham Knights. Some of the better art I've seen in BOP.
The Left Bank Gang - by Jason again. This story took famous writers (and one I've never heard of) in the latin quarter only it had them as comic writer/artists who decide to rob a bank. Another good read. I like the Jackie Brown style ending with the same period of time seen from each character's perspective

[goman]

Forgot to say that I also read Whiteout: Melt over the weekend. Didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. Felt like it went too quickly and the mystery was resolved very shortly, but I guess this one was designed as less a mystery and more of an action story on the ice. Still decent, just not quite up to the level of the first story.

Also finished Dynamo 5: Post Nuclear Family last night. It's certainly not bad, I just don't know if I'm ready to heap the praise upon that I've seen elsewhere. Maybe my tastes have just changed on I'm not looking for a good old fashioned superhero team book right now. It's certainly well done, it just didn't bowl me over. Might check out the next trade though to see if I warm to it.

[goman]

Not so much what I read as what I bought, has anyone else looked at LoEG: Black Dossier yet? It's pretty much the new standard in high production values. It's going to take a while to actually read though, looks like most of it is text. Looks decent though.

Did read the new Scott Pilgrim yesterday. Very good continuation of the story. In line with the first three volumes, so if you enjoyed them, you'll enjoy this one.

Also, New Avengers 36. So apparently the Civil War is over now? Really odd issue, due to the Mighty Avengers delay, among other things. Basically, it spoiled the end of not only the current arc of MA, but also the next arc. Kind of dissapointing.

World War Hulk #5 had great art, duh, and a kind of confusing ending, but at least it had an actual ending. Not sure if it's enough to get me reading the Hulk monthly, but it was a fun ride. I liked how much this one tied into the Planet Hulk story.

[torippu]

Green Lantern Corps #17 - Decent enough issue. Kind of waiting for this storyline to be over.
Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime - Best of the one-shots so far. Loved the art from Pete Woods and Jerry Ordway.
The Killer #5 & 6 - This book is pretty addictive and it was fun to read 2 issues in one sitting. I'm on through the end of the mini-series but may have to consider picking up a HC at a later date.

[torippu]

Not so much what I read as what I bought, has anyone else looked at LoEG: Black Dossier yet? It's pretty much the new standard in high production values. It's going to take a while to actually read though, looks like most of it is text. Looks decent though.



I flipped through it at my LCS and was pretty impressed with the package. Mini-comics? 3-D glasses? It all looked pretty cool. Too bad I've never read any LOEG.

[pmpknface]

I'm having a great week. Read Illuminati #5, which was awesome! Although not as cool as ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #1! That is just insanity all over the place! :)

I finished up Jack of Fables Vol 2, which had a ton of ups and downs, but I liked it.

I also read parts 1-2 of Messiah CompleX (excellent so far), DD Annual #1 (loved this!!! Art worked so well!), and a ton of other books. I'll try to get to them later.

[pmpknface]

I'm putting this here because, well, I read it and I want others to see it:

It's an intrview with ex-Wizard editor Rick Marshall. Everyone should know what it is like to work there...

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/newsmaker_interview_rick_marshall/

[dancj]

Barefoot Gen v1: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima - This is an autobiographical book from a survivor of Hiroshima (which surprised me because I didn't know there were any). The first volume covers the time leading up to the bomb being dropped. TBH, it was a bit sledgehammer-like in its preaching, and though I agreed with what it was preaching, the lack of subtlety was a bit much. Still the story moved along well.
The Living and the Dead - A silent Jason graphic novel following two characters during an outbreak of zombies. It was a kind of sweet little story, but just too short for me to get any real interest.
Bullseye: Greatest Hits - I've read a couple of Daniel Way/Steve Dillon books already and this was more of the same Ennis-lite stuff. Not bad, but a bit insubstantial.
Barefoot Gen v2: The Day After - The preachiness of the first volume was replaced by slightly more urgent concerns in the wake of the bomb, and the book is better for it. Good stuff - surprisingly un-grim to read considering all of the melting skin and things.
The Flash #233 - I'm still not grabbed by Waid's return to The Flash. The new artist is an improvement though not spectacular.

[Graham Vingoe]

Ego and Other Tails by darwyn Cooke- I've neevr been a fan of Cookes work depsite the adoration felt by many towards him. Giving this a go to see whether prolonged exposure turns me into a fan

[pmpknface]

I read almost all of last week's arrivals! Last night I read

Howard the Duck #2 - I'm liking this. Funny stuff!
Silver Surfer #1 - Great art! Could have used some inks though.

Finished JUSTICE!!! Now that was crazy. Beautiful art and story. That deserves an ABSOLUTE Edition.

[torippu]

Also, New Avengers 36. So apparently the Civil War is over now? Really odd issue, due to the Mighty Avengers delay, among other things. Basically, it spoiled the end of not only the current arc of MA, but also the next arc. Kind of dissapointing.



I've had a bunch of trades (Scalped Vol. 1, Ex Machina Vol. 6 & Captain America Omnibus) pile up on my side table over the past week so I've only read a couple of books in the past week. I was just as surprised at New Avengers #36 spoiling the first 2 MA arcs. I guess Marvel figured it was better to cut their losses and not have two high selling books be delayed. Yu's art did look a little rushed this month - can we please hire an inker for him for Secret Invasion?

Also, Brit #3 was another solid read. I do have to admit that if this wasn't a Kirkman related book, I'm not sure that I'd be reading it.

[pmpknface]

How is MA spoiled because of NA #36? Did you NOT think Tony was actually still alive or that they'd beat the new Ultron? You knew they would. So they appear here - that's fine. Am I missing something?

[torippu]

How is MA spoiled because of NA #36? Did you NOT think Tony was actually still alive or that they'd beat the new Ultron? You knew they would. So they appear here - that's fine. Am I missing something?

Nah, not that. Tony being alive was obvious. The symbiote story line is what I feel was given away.

[goman]

How is MA spoiled because of NA #36? Did you NOT think Tony was actually still alive or that they'd beat the new Ultron? You knew they would. So they appear here - that's fine. Am I missing something?

Yeah, as torippu said, it's not so much the Ultron arc spoiled, as it is the entire plot and resolution of the next arc. It just makes the story flow oddly, because I think Bendis orignally planned the two series to interlink to get the full experience, and the one side just doesn't read as well without the other.

[pmpknface]

I don't even know what the next arc is supposed to be. I don't read the solicit text for books I know I'm going to read. So the whole next set of issues was this battle that took 2 issues or less in New Avengers?

Even if it is, just like any other x-over, it'll tell you or show you something totally different. We still don't even know HOW they were stopped. And SURPRISE!!! Everyone's still ok at the end. Big deal. As long as the ride is fun, I'm cool knowing where it ends up.

[dancj]

Finished JUSTICE!!! Now that was crazy. Beautiful art and story. That deserves an ABSOLUTE Edition.
What it needs to get me reading it is an affordable paperback edition in one or two volumes. I'm sure it'll happen one day - just like Our Worlds at War now has. I can wait.

[devildinosaur]

What it needs to get me reading it is an affordable paperback edition in one or two volumes. I'm sure it'll happen one day - just like Our Worlds at War now has. I can wait.

Indeed. No "Absolute" hardcover editions for me unless I absolutely MUST have them (which is exceedingly rare)...it'd be far more financially feasible for me to see this book as a two volume paperback set.

[pmpknface]

Indeed. No "Absolute" hardcover editions for me unless I absolutely MUST have them (which is exceedingly rare)...it'd be far more financially feasible for me to see this book as a two volume paperback set.
And I believe that will happen. I'm sure they just saw the $ in selling it in HC's, and I waited to read them after they all were out. Plus, I got great deals on the HC's so I didn't wait. ;)

[torippu]

Also finished Dynamo 5: Post Nuclear Family last night. It's certainly not bad, I just don't know if I'm ready to heap the praise upon that I've seen elsewhere. Maybe my tastes have just changed on I'm not looking for a good old fashioned superhero team book right now. It's certainly well done, it just didn't bowl me over. Might check out the next trade though to see if I warm to it.

I re-read this as well over the long weekend and found that I couldn't put it down! Interesting premise, clean, crisp art from a new face who seems to be able to handle the monthly grind - still my pick for best new series of 2007.

I also read:
Invincible #46 - Nice to finally have a new issue out. More surprises and sub-plots from Kirkman and Ottley - another fun read.
The Walking Dead #44 - Things don't look so good for our main characters!
Captain America #32 - Another great issue. Butch Guice's inks added a new twist to Epting's always excellent pencils.
Catwoman #73 - Another great issue. Interested to see where the newly "single" Selina Kyle goes from here.
The Flash #234 - As happy as I was to see the return of Wally West, I think that I am slowly starting to realize that I don't like the incredible adventures of the family West.
Birds of Prey #112 - A decent one and done issue. A little explanation about the death of a New God would have been nice for those of us non-Countdown readers out there.

[pmpknface]

Oh man... I'm not going to be able to remember it all...

Started the recent League of Ext. Gentlemen book and I'm totally digging it! You so get your $'s worth on this. Lots of text and and great background info. Can't wait to finish it!

Read the OMEGA FLIGHT tpb and it was kinda cool. I like the premise, but something just didn't deliver with me. Not bad, but glad I got it for 40% off.

I read a ton of issues from things that came out the previous week. X-Factor #25, a GUN THEORY (remember that book?) 1-shot, Spider-Girl #14 (gread book), X-Men Die by the Sword #3 (eh...), adn a few more I can't remember.

Oh yeah... read the Dark Tower HC. I liked it. I'll get the next installment of it too. The language is something to get used to but the art is awesome. I didn't feel that lost by not ever reading the novels, but I know I'd get more out of it if I had. Still a decent read.

[goman]

Read books from last week, new Grendel was pretty good, Powers was great this week, really excited for the series now. Read the Death of Captain America trade and decided to jump to the monthly. Lot's of great stuff in there. Interesting how the book doesn't have a lead character, just multiple plots running at the same time. Great book.

Also did a bit of manga catch up this week, the stack gets gradually smaller. Finally read a bit of Essential X-men Vol 5. Storm just lost her powers, and it's cool to see really early Rogue stories. Cool to see X-men stories about the X-men, not Wolverine with special guest stars the X-men. JRJr's art on these issues is still an interesting mix of more classical superhero art, but you can still see the start of his personal stlye popping up in certain panels. Great stuff.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I'm shying away from LOEG: BLACK DOSSIER just for all the text I keep hearing about. It's not that I'm afraid of prose, but rather that I prefer to keep my prose and my sequential narratives separate. I find that long text pieces in the middle of comic books just slow things down to a tedious crawl.

-Augie

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

And I just read STEVE NILES' STRANGE CASES #2. Another enjoyable issue. Love the overall look of the series, though the T&A was a bit gratuitous.

-Augie

[dancj]

I'm shying away from LOEG: BLACK DOSSIER just for all the text I keep hearing about. It's not that I'm afraid of prose, but rather that I prefer to keep my prose and my sequential narratives separate. I find that long text pieces in the middle of comic books just slow things down to a tedious crawl.
I know how you feel - but I'm more averse to prose than you. I tend to save prose books for holidays when I have to worry about the luggage allowance.

I'll still get the book when it comes out in paperback (if I can - being based in England) but it's up in the air how much I'll read of the text sections. I never read the almanac in the first series.

[dancj]

Onward...


A Distant Soil v1: The Gathering - Not bad. The art is quite stiff (which for my tastes is about the worst crime an artist can commit). I might try future volumes, but only if I can find them cheap.
Road to Civil War - This book collects the Illuminati special, a couple of issues of Fantastic Four that really aren't very related to Civil War and Three issues of Spider-Man that are related. None of the stories are bad, but it's a bit jarring the way that JMS seems to have a completely different idea of how Tony Stark feels about the Superhero Registration Act to Millar and Bendis. His to-ing and fro-ing between this book and Civil War itself was a bit jarring.
Civil War - The main event! It's a decent story, but despite Millar's claims otherwise, the comic seems to paint Stark and his cronies as the villains of the piece which makes the fact that he and half the other heroes are taking the side they are a bit unconvincing. Especially considering one or two of the decisions they make as the story progresses. It was disappointing to see The Punisher back in the spandex that seems so contrary to his nature and it looked at one point that Millar was misunderstanding the character, but he fixed that to my satisfaction in one fail swoop! Overall, worth a read - and not deserving of the hatred that gets piled against it.

[pmpknface]

I'm shying away from LOEG: BLACK DOSSIER just for all the text I keep hearing about. It's not that I'm afraid of prose, but rather that I prefer to keep my prose and my sequential narratives separate. I find that long text pieces in the middle of comic books just slow things down to a tedious crawl.

-Augie
I can't stand prose, really. I think I just conditioned myself out of it. I read Warren Ellis' book in a few hours, but other than that I haven't finished a novel in almost a decade.

That said, I'm having fun reading this over the span of days. It's almost as if I'm reading it on the same pace as the characters. They read a few pages and go to bed, pick it up the next day.

There seems to be many layers to this story, and each of the text pieces (some of which aren't text, but different comic styles) add to overall story and none are longer than maybe 4 pages.

I'm enjoying this volume more than the previous 2! :)

[goman]

Yeah, even though I own it, I'm still kind of shying away from LOEG. It may end up sitting on my read pile until all other options are exhausted. I had the same problem when I was reading through Cerebus and came to "Reads" which is also largely prose. Actually a lot of the second half of Cerebus is prose, and I tended to skim these parts till I reached regular art. I don't want to skim LOEG, so it waits till I have the patience for it. I'm having a much more enjoyable time re-reading Box Office Poison and old X-men issues.

[devildinosaur]

I can't stand prose, really. I think I just conditioned myself out of it.

See, I'm the exact opposite...prose in good comics fires my imagination all the more.

[jclaus]

I have to agree that prose in comic books (e.g. floppies) is a distraction and not something I would want to read on a recurring basis, but it totally works for this book. I love that Moore and O'Neill are experimenting. Maybe it works. Maybe it fails. But for this story it does add in many additional levels. I am reading it over several days as well which is also adding a different angle to the experience.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Read MERCENARIES #1 from Dynamite tonight. Brian Reed wrote it. It's based on a video game. It shows. Average. There's one show-stopping bit of exposition in there, but the action in the first half is well done. Reed assumes we care about the characters, though. There's not enough THERE for me to care at this point.

Being based on a video game, though, being an "average" comic makes it 100 times better than an Uwe Boll movie.

-Augie

[torippu]

Read MERCENARIES #1 from Dynamite tonight. Brian Reed wrote it. It's based on a video game. It shows. Average. There's one show-stopping bit of exposition in there, but the action in the first half is well done. Reed assumes we care about the characters, though. There's not enough THERE for me to care at this point.
1 down, 82 more books to go? ;)

Is this the video game that Brian Reed actually wrote at one time as well? The preview art online looked decent, but definitely not enough for me to check it out.

Being based on a video game, though, being an "average" comic makes it 100 times better than an Uwe Boll movie.
-Augie
To most people, I'd say that'd be considered a cheap shot. However, as you are talking about Uwe Boll here, I'd say it's the gawd awful truth!

I'm knee deep (up to the Cap 65th Anniversary special) in the CAPTAIN AMERICA OMNIBUS right now. Not much more new to say about this book other than this danged thing is HEAVY - my wrist is killing me each time I read a couple of issues from it.

[dancj]

I had the same problem when I was reading through Cerebus and came to "Reads" which is also largely prose. Actually a lot of the second half of Cerebus is prose, and I tended to skim these parts till I reached regular art.
It's been a while since I read any Cerebus (about 11 books in IIRC) but after Minds (I think - the one with the misogynistic rants) I made a conscious decision to just completely skip all of the text portions.
Not much more new to say about this book other than this danged thing is HEAVY - my wrist is killing me each time I read a couple of issues from it.
Why? Is it pornographic? :evilsmile

[pmpknface]

It's been a while since I read any Cerebus (about 11 books in IIRC) but after Minds (I think - the one with the misogynistic rants) I made a conscious decision to just completely skip all of the text portions.

Why? Is it pornographic? :evilsmile
HA! You walked into that one Trip! ;)

I read the IM Annual last night. WoW! Great spy-thriller fun! :)

Read T-bolts 1-shot. Damn... Christos Gage is writign some killer stuff! He did both of these stories and they both were fun. I was especting a bit more of an internal brawl between Songbird and Moonstone, but I'm sure that'll happen eventually.

OH! I also finished LoEG: Black Dossier! I loved it!!! Of all the text pieces, one towards the end was rough - the beatnik novel chapter. 4 pages of text with no punctuation hurts your brain, especially in that speak. However the last 10-12 pages in 3-D were AWESOME!!! The tijuana bible was a nice touch, even though I'm not sure why it was there.

I'm sure if I read this one over from the begnning I'd get more out of it, as I was more interested in paying attention to the art and the history of the League as opposed to the political aspects that are brought to light during the reading, but it was still great. A very multi-layered story that uses a variety of formats and storytelling tools to get the job done. BRILLIANT! :D

[torippu]

HA! You walked into that one Trip! ;)



D'oh - sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Anyways, I can't hold this book like I would a normal HC because of the page count. Inevitably, the standard reading position is me at the kitchen table, hunched over the danged thing to block the direct light with the book lying flat open.

[goman]

D'oh - sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Anyways, I can't hold this book like I would a normal HC because of the page count. Inevitably, the standard reading position is me at the kitchen table, hunched over the danged thing to block the direct light with the book lying flat open.

Yes, a pain I know all to well from the Daredevil Omnibus. There is no comfortable way to read those thick damn things.

[kevhines]

OH! I also finished LoEG: Black Dossier! I loved it!!! Of all the text pieces, one towards the end was rough - the beatnik novel chapter. 4 pages of text with no punctuation hurts your brain, especially in that speak.

Yeah, I ended up skipping that. I just couldn't make it through. But I did enjoy this book a lot. I am glad I read the Moore interview (that was on the CBR site at some point) because it readied me for this book. It was more source/history book then story, and I am glad I knew that going in.

I would rather have had volume 3, but volume 2.5 is a great addition to the series. If only they made them faster!

[pmpknface]

The only thing you get out of that (that I could follow) was a few details on the 2 and their adventure in San Fran. It's sketchy as best.

Here's that interview: http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12376

I'm going to read it today. I've been waiting to read this one, the one with Kevin O'Neil, and the annotations with Jess Nevins. I may even print them all out and file them away with the book. ;)

Oh - I just read NEW X-MEN #'s 41-43. I missed out on #40, but 41 had the end of the Magik story and then the other 2 were a good lead into Messaih Complex. I f'n forgot to pre-order #44 that is part of MC (D'OH!!!) but I may try and findit after work today. All of this was pretty cool! I think I'll try and order the tpb's of the stories I missed.

I also read the MC2 digest of Wild Thing. I wouldn't recommend it.