What did you read - January 2009!

[torippu]

New year, new thread!

Spider-Man #13, 18~23 - While I have access to them, figured that I would try and read as many of the McFarlane & Larsen written & drawn issues of the adjectiveless book. These were some fun issues by Erik Larsen. You can see the modern Larsen writing (if a bit wordy at times) and art style in these issues. Having read these so close to his ASM ones, I think that I prefer Larsen's Spidey art with an inker. I also really love suit and tie Doc Ock! Having read all of these issues, I really wish that I had time to read the issues that Toddy Mac worked on.

[dancj]

I'm still gaining momentum after Christmas, but I have read:

Too Cool to be Forgotten - This was an enjoyable story, but I can't say it's made any real lasting impression on me the way Box Office Poison did. Still decent.

X-Factor v1: The Longest Night - Very good stuff. I generally avoid the X books, but I heard so much good stuff about this that I gave it a try and I'm impressed! Good art, good story! I do need to read Decimation though. People keep talking like that took away the powers of 90% of the mutants, when I thought House of M had already taken it away from 99.9%

[torippu]

I'm reading, just not posting much right now.

Savage Dragon #142 & 143 - Erik really is on a roll here. This is the most enjoyable the book has been in a long time. Can't wait til Dragon gets back on the Chicago police force!
Invincible #56 & 57, Astounding Wolf-Man #11 - The Invincible stuff was good. Not really sure why the book crossed over with Wolf-Man. Did it need a sales boost?
Fear Agent #25 - Time travel makes my head hurt. This issue was so very confusing to me. Think I need to re-read the current arc from the beginning again.
Brit #11 - Not sure that this book is going out on a high note as I didn't really enjoy the last mini-arc.
The Walking Dead #56 - Good issue. What is the rage-aholic's name again? Brings a new dynamic to the group.
Amazing Spider-Man #579, 580 & 581 - Loved the Waid/Martin story. Is this the first appearance of JJJ Sr. or did I miss his last one 25+ years ago? The Stern/Weeks one felt like it had been sitting in a drawer for 20 years and was repurposed for the new status quo (footnotes for West Coast Avengers, really?) and the Slott/McKone stuff was a good beginning. A Mysterio sighting! McKone is really my favorite Spidey artist right now.
Kick-Ass #5 - I'm still trying to figure out what this book is about. Also, how weird is it seeing JR Jr drawing nipples?
Wolverine #70 - This has been such a great read! The art is fantastic. Another Mysterio sighting! Venom attaching itself to a Tyrannosaurus Rex? AWESOME!

[pmpknface]

I've read a bunch, but YOUNG LIARS TPB was the BEST!!!!!! Man that was good. It a thrill a minute, I can't believe it went there type of ride. More people need to be reading this book!

[kevhines]

A few weeks back I reread Tom Peyer's Hourman and Karl Kesel's Human Torch.

Hourman was great, although I found the pacing in the first few issues to be a bit fast for me. That might have paid off because it got Hourman to a good place, and I think Peyer knew where he wanted to get and didn't want to waste too much time in set up. I just dig setting up new status quos.

I remember Human Torch being ok, but not great. On Rereading I liked it a lot more then that. It was fun. I wish this AND Slott's The Thing had gotten long runs.

I also read Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright. Lenil Yu's art is nice, but I wish he drew a bit more background. His character work is real good though. This story was good. And while Luthor's scheme might have been a bit extreme for the type of Luthor I like (it fit the Luthor in this story - he was just more extreme in the entire story then I like him to be written) the ending was really really good.

[kevhines]

I've read a bunch, but YOUNG LIARS TPB was the BEST!!!!!! Man that was good. It a thrill a minute, I can't believe it went there type of ride. More people need to be reading this book!

I got and read that. Its hard to resisit sampling Vertigo books with the 9.99 first trade price (generally for 6 issues!).

I liked it a lot too. Lapham doesn't seem scared to do things to his characters. That's vague but I'd hate to spoil anything in this book.

Did you read Stray Bullets. I did - but it was so long ago I can't remember much about it. I might need to reread it.

[pmpknface]

Yeah, I STARTED reading Stray Bullets, but I waited for trades. Now they never even came out with volume 3! That annoyed me.....

I also loved MURDER ME DEAD, SILVERFISH, and just about everything else Lapham has done, even his Matrix story.

I liked Supes: Birthright. Now they are gonna pretty much make it a non-continuity story. O well....

[dancj]

Yeah, I STARTED reading Stray Bullets, but I waited for trades. Now they never even came out with volume 3! That annoyed me...
There were about 8 trades of Stray Bullets - the original trades that collect bang on 4 issues each. I do vaguely remember seeing some bigger trades which might be what you're talking about...

[dancj]

And my catch-up:

The Boys v2: Get Some - One trade with two four issue storylines! Marvel would have squeezed us for two trades so credit to whoever made the decision to keep these in one. I enjoyed this. I enjoyed the first story more than the second, but both were good.

Powers v11: Secret Identity - Much as Bendis isn't in general up to the quality of his better stuff these days, I still love Powers as much as ever. I love the fact that this book doesn't maintain a status quo. Good stuff as always.

Criminal v3: The Dead & the Dying - Another good volume. I don't get quite as excited about this as other people - which I did with Sleeper - but it's still good.

[De Carabas]

[B]I do need to read Decimation though. People keep talking like that took away the powers of 90% of the mutants, when I thought House of M had already taken it away from 99.9%
Decimation is the name for what happened in House of M, at least in the comic book universe ('cause only about 12 people really know what happened in the end of HoM). It wasn't a separate series or an official crossover. Since this was such a big shake-up, Marvel wanted/needed to promote the X-books, but without spoiling the ending to the still-running House of M. Decimation, The Initiative, Dark Avengers, are all examples of how Previews and advance solicitations have changed the marketing of comics.

Oh, and don't fixate on the numbers. That was a minor fumble on Marvel's part.

EM

[dancj]

Righto, thanks.

[torippu]

Criminal v3: The Dead & the Dying - Another good volume. I don't get quite as excited about this as other people - which I did with Sleeper - but it's still good.

You and me both. I really need to track down SLEEPER.

[dancj]

Have you not read Sleeper? Seek it out right now!!

But read Point Blank first. It's not as good as Sleeper, but it's still good and gives the background to Sleeper.

[kevhines]

I read volume 1 of House of Mystery last night. I really enjoyed it. Actually, I wasn't that into the short stories that were in each issue. I get that its the hook for the series, but I am more interested in the characters and the house.

Though I expect those stories to tie in more as time goes on.

I love Vertigo's 9.99 1st trade plan. It makes it so easy to sample a healthy chunk of all their books.

[NickGuy]

im just living under a rock waiting for asbar. although i did read new avengers dark reign at barnes and nobles last night.

[torippu]

Have you not read Sleeper? Seek it out right now!!

But read Point Blank first. It's not as good as Sleeper, but it's still good and gives the background to Sleeper.

If you can believe it, my first real exposure to Brubaker was Captain America.

[dancj]

Captain America's is Brubaker on nearly top form, but Sleeper just pips it for me.

[mgs]

Comic book wise? Even though I already read most of it on their MySpace Dark Horse Page, this..... :smile:

I love it! Ordered from Amazon and got it from some store in New Jersey, cause the ones I saw from Midtown were in crappy condition.

[kevhines]

I got Andy Diggle's story from Batman Confidential on sale the other day and I read it this weekend. I've never disliked ANYTHING I read from Andy Diggle so it seemed like a steal.


Uh. This was really bad. Sorry Diggle! I just couldn't get into it. I am going to reread Losers and Adam Strange and Hellblazer to remind myself how good Diggle can be.

[dancj]

Personally I hated Diggle's Swamp Thing, and found Adam Strange, Lady Constantine and The Losers to be pretty weak. At the moment I'm still wrestling with whether to try his Hellblazer or just give up on him altogether.

For me:

Checkmate v3?: Fall of the Wall - I accidentally read this before the Outsiders/Checkmate book which follows it. Decent book, though for me not quite living up to the potential the first volume showed. Also the step towards more standard superheroey art was a shame.

The Flash #244-247 - This arc was okay, but it played a bit too much like a flashback episode for me. I really didn't see the point in all of that naval gazing.

Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout - I know a lot of people were rude about the Outsiders chapters of this book, but TBH, it seemed quite consistent to me. A decent book.

[pmpknface]

If you can believe it, my first real exposure to Brubaker was Captain America.
I liked Sleeper, but I didn't like how tied it was to Wildstorm continuity. Especially because it was advertised as to NOT have continuity issues. In the end, I still bought all 4 tpb's though.

My first Ed book was THE FALL, and I met him at my LCS and got him to sign it:

http://www.edbrubaker.com/past/thefall.html

http://www.edbrubaker.com/images/thefall/tall-thefall.jpg
___________

Also, I'm quite caught up on my new issues. I'll get a few more today, including the Obama cover to ASM, but I'm almost all done w/ new stuff. I do have a few TPB's to get to though. With no football on this weekend maybe I'll read 1-2.

Just read WALKING DEAD Vol 8. And as always, I NEED MORE! :)

[torippu]

The Walking Dead #57 - As the father of a little boy, it was very hard to read this issue when the hillbillies attacked Rick & Abraham. A very dark read.
Invincible #58 - My first thought after reading was that I really loved Ottley's layouts. It was planned and this issue gave a great overview of all the various plots running through the book right now. Next month can't come soon enough.
Nightwing #151 - A great end to this series. Waitaminute...there are still 2 more issues? Oh well.
Green Lantern #36 - Those Red Lanterns really do like vomiting blood, eh?
New Avengers #47 & 48 - Loved the Luke Cage/Jessica Jones issue and the kick-off to Dark Reign is intriguing. None too happy about the upcoming price increase though.
Mighty Avengers #20 - Probably my favorite issue of the series so far. The various art styles meshed really well with the story that was told in this issue.
SI: Dark Reign One-Shot - Geez, that was some ugly art from Alex Maleev!

[dancj]

My first Ed book was THE FALL, and I met him at my LCS and got him to sign it:
The Fall is excellent.

[De Carabas]

I haven't posted in a while, so I'll keep the comments succinct.

Rex Mundi vol. 1 & 2--Re-reads for the third (fourth?) time. Love 'em!
Rex Mundi vol. 3--Good but not as strong as previous vols. Three artists on this volume make it an uneven read, especially since this is less history lesson driven than the previous two. I miss Eric J, don't think Di Bartolo was a good fit, and absolutely love Ferreyra! Ferreyra is so different from Eric J, that it seems counter-intuitive to switch to him after Eric J's departure, but it really works.
Rex Mundi vol. 4 & 5--Loved 'em! There are so many Ferreyra pages I want to own now. Stupid mortgage!




OK, computer tech is here to replace my computer, so I'll finish posting later.

EM

[pmpknface]

Finally! Someone else who reads REX MUNDI! I've been on that book since #0!

[dancj]

I read Rex Mundi v1 and didn't really enjoy it. I have had volume 2 sitting around for a couple of years now and have pretty much given up hope of it ever reaching the top of my pile.

[torippu]

Dark Reign: New Nation One-shot - Secret Warriors: good, but I already had interest in this book. Agents of Atlas: intrigued, may have to pick up the recent trade. War Machine: better than expected, was excited to read issue #1. Skrull Kill Krew: pass. NA: Reunion: like David Lopez art, don't have much connection to the Hawkeye/Mockingbird team, will probably now pass on the mini-series.
G.I. Joe #1 - Why did IDW have to get Chuck Dixon to write this book? I was going to pass on this iteration if not for him. Overall, a good set-up to the new status quo. I now need to decide if I will follow along monthly or wait for the trade.
Punisher #1 - Would much prefer to see Opena back on Fear Agent but this was a lot more enjoyable than expected. May have to check out the next issue. Loved the McKone homage covers.
War Machine #1 - After reading the one-shot, was interested in this book. After having read it, I'm not sure that there is enough for an ongoing series.
Ms. Marvel #34 - That is now 3 issues in a row where I have no idea what is going on in this book. I thought that this arc was going to be a flashback. What happened to the characters introduced in the last issue? This book may find itself on the chopping block if it doesn't improve soon.

[mgs]

hmm...last night I couldn't sleep so I went over to my comic shelves and pulled out these two: Tails, by Ethan Young

http://www.ww.ifreelance.com/provider/portfolio/detailview.aspx?providerid=21971

http://www.clovenhand.com/webcomics/ethan

http://www.tailscomic.com/index.php


and Savage Dragon 115.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=3061



Both were good, but I felt ethan, if that was his true thoughts, got a bit crazy for a few moments, but he has a kind, animal-loving heart. and reading good SD stories make me sad that I still don't really pick up the series nowadays.

edit: Augie's story was very funny! ;)

[pmpknface]

On Ms Marvel - There is a lot of things going on with this book soon.... If you've read DARK AVENGERS than you gotta know something is gonna be up with the "title" of Ms Marvel. And those weird issues will have an impact on upcoming storylines. I'd say stick with it until at least #38.

[pmpknface]

Started OISHINBO yesterday! It's friggin' COOL! :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oishinbo

[mgs]

late last night...True Porn 2.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189186789X/104-8650642-0481555?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance

It's still interesting reading and I was especially thinking about the opening thoughts of the editor re: how one goes about the making and thought behind an autobiographical comic 'strip'.

[dancj]

Outsiders v7: Five of a Kind - This was a bit of a mixed bag. The worst of the bunch was Mike W Barr's Katana story (kind of sad considering I loved his run on Detective Comics in the 80s). I'm not convinced, but I'll give the next volume a try to see where the book is going now.

Army@Love v2: Generation Pwned - This does a pretty good job of tying up most of the plots. Good stuff - I like Rick Veitch's sense of humour. Nice and dense too - it took twice as long to read as most books of a similar length. Is there any sign of season 2?

Pounded - Fairly slight story from Brian Wood and Steve Rolston. It read fine, but the ending seems pulled out of no-where and completely undeserved. It's always nice to see Rolston's art though.

[torippu]

Outsiders v7: Five of a Kind - This was a bit of a mixed bag. The worst of the bunch was Mike W Barr's Katana story (kind of sad considering I loved his run on Detective Comics in the 80s). I'm not convinced, but I'll give the next volume a try to see where the book is going now.


You definitely read farther than I did on the series. I think that I checked out (ha) around the Checkout crossover, which may have been around issue #40 or so. One of these days, I may have to go back and finish out my run with the books that I missed.

I must be an Outsiders fan at heart. Gave the new series a try and left when Dixon was booted from the book. Now I am going to see what Peter Tomasi has planned. His run on Nightwing & Green Lantern Corps has been good so I am hopeful.

[torippu]

Dark Avengers #1 - Deodato's art is still not my favorite but I really enjoyed this issue. A classic putting the team together issue.
Green Lantern #37 - Different colored Lanterns fighting! A death of a Red Lantern! The introduction of a new Red Lantern! Beautiful art from Ivan Reis! Geoff Johns! Excellent issue. The run up to Blackest Night has been great.

[pmpknface]

I just read CRIMIUNAL V. 3, started V. 4 and I'm loving it! I also started that Adam Pollina Angel trade. Not bad so far...

I'm loving War of Kings from Marvel. All of the space stuff is killer!

I finally chased down Ultimatu #2. HOLP CRAP! "Tastes like chicken!" HA!

[torippu]

I'm loving War of Kings from Marvel. All of the space stuff is killer!



With the holidays and then a crappy, busy month at work in January, I have fallen behind (about 2~3 months) for some of my books. I still have 2 issues of Nova, GotG & the SI: War of Kings special to get through. Was going to sit out the War of Kings event but decided that Paul Pelletier is one of my favorite artists so I am going to jump right in. Not going to get any of the extra mini-series though...can't stomach a $2.99 with reprints of books I bought (and didn't like) in the 90s (ahem...Darkhawk).

[pmpknface]

I can't wait for Darkhawk. He's been very cool in the past few years in the Losers and recently in Nova. I think they are going to bring him into his own now with this War of Kings deal. We'll see.....