What did you read 3/2007

[goman]

Well, may as well start a new one. Finished my books from last week, guess the stand out was Green Lantern #17. I like the concept of the Sinestro Corps, I wonder why no one's done it before. I thought it made complete sense for a weapon that is used to instill great fear to go to Batman first. But it was also cool to see it reject him due to his great will power. A really cool moment in the book. the rest of the issue was good as well, I think I'm back on board this book. I like how the Sinestro Corp story has been on a nice slow build up, it should be great when it explodes.
Also finished the Hellshock tpb. Jae Lee's art is the big draw here, as the story is just mediocre, or at least didn't due much for me. i guess I was expecting something more super-natural, and was dissapointed when it just turned out to be a personal drama. The art's great though, and fits the mood of the story. That black and white coda is right out of left field though, and I'm with Augie, I wish Lee had written some kind of explanation as to what the point of that was.
Lastly, read First Moon, an OGN from AiT/Planetlar. Forget the creator's names. Again, meh. The art was nice and detailed, I just think it was a little muddled at points due to the black and white, and it wasn't my kind of style. The story was kind of interesting, but a kind of basic coming of age story, and it didn't really offer anything that I've never seen before. A bit of a dissapointment.
Started on Absolute DC: The New Frontier though, so that should be better. I know it's nice to see the art oversized, but for reading purposes, that Absolute size is almost too big. At least the pages flip nice and easy and stay in place without losing anything in the gutter.

[torippu]

Finished my books from last week, guess the stand out was Green Lantern #17. I like the concept of the Sinestro Corps, I wonder why no one's done it before. I thought it made complete sense for a weapon that is used to instill great fear to go to Batman first. But it was also cool to see it reject him due to his great will power. A really cool moment in the book. the rest of the issue was good as well, I think I'm back on board this book. I like how the Sinestro Corp story has been on a nice slow build up, it should be great when it explodes.

I'd have to agree. Another great issue of Green Lantern. I have been greatly enjoying the build up of the Sinestro Corps as well - can't wait for the Johns/Van Sciver special coming out this summer. This plot line reminds me of the rogues build up in The Flash from Johns. The art in this issue looked a little rushed, but still excellent stuff from Ivan Reis. One of the few DC monthly books that I look forward to each month.

I also read the following books:

The Walking Dead #35 - A decent issue. I sure hope that the cliffhanger is a swerve!

Sensational Spider-Man #35 - Courtesy of eBay, I finally got my grubby little hands on a copy of this issue. Loved the cover. It's still weird reading Spidey books where there is no explanation about his reasons for wearing the black costume. Hopefully, ASM will do a good job of explaining this plot point. Still a good read.

Runaways Digest Vol. 1 & 2 - Borrowed the first 6 volumes from the library and I finally understand what everyone has been raving about. This book is awesome! I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it. Love the art from Adrian Alphona. Bet it looks even better in the oversized HC. I may have to pick these up now. Is he Marvel exclusive? Has there been any announcement what he is going to be doing next?

Trip

[torippu]

Started on Absolute DC: The New Frontier though, so that should be better. I know it's nice to see the art oversized, but for reading purposes, that Absolute size is almost too big. At least the pages flip nice and easy and stay in place without losing anything in the gutter.

I've listened to enough iFanboy podcasts over the past month to realize that I am really missing out by never having read New Frontier. Other than the Absolute edition, what are my options for collected form - 1 normal sized HC or TPB? More than one trade? How long was this series? Think I'll check to see if my library can get a copy for me.

[goman]

I've listened to enough iFanboy podcasts over the past month to realize that I am really missing out by never having read New Frontier. Other than the Absolute edition, what are my options for collected form - 1 normal sized HC or TPB? More than one trade? How long was this series? Think I'll check to see if my library can get a copy for me.

I know that they have two volume tpb's which should be resonable for anyone to get. It was five issue prestige edition, I believe 48 pages each. I right with you on listening to ifanboy. I've been catching up with old episodes while playing Final Fantasy XII. It's funny to hear how optimistic they were towards Civil War at the begining.

[dancj]

New Frontier was six 64 page issues - and is indeed split accross two TPBs - which seems mean, but it's not so bad when you consider that's 192 pages of story per book and would have been 384 if they'd squeezed into one. (splitting Justice into three boooks on the other hand....)

Beware though - there is a huge amount of love for it out there, but there are plenty of us who think it was merely okay.

I'm about 70 pages from the end of Outlaw Nation so I'll save my proper post in this thread till I've finished that

Dan

[goman]

New Frontier was six 64 page issues - and is indeed split accross two TPBs - which seems mean, but it's not so bad when you consider that's 192 pages of story per book and would have been 384 if they'd squeezed into one. (splitting Justice into three boooks on the other hand....)

Beware though - there is a huge amount of love for it out there, but there are plenty of us who think it was merely okay.

Dan

Thanks for the clarification. After posting that yesterday, I thought 48 pages was too short, as there were a lot of pages in the book. I could have sworn they only show 5 covers in the back of the HC though. I'll have to check that when I get home. And a book being merely okay is still better than a lot of junk out there, but I'd say if you're any kind of DC fan, there will be something to enjoy in there.

Runaways Digest Vol. 1 & 2 - Borrowed the first 6 volumes from the library and I finally understand what everyone has been raving about. This book is awesome! I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it. Love the art from Adrian Alphona. Bet it looks even better in the oversized HC. I may have to pick these up now. Is he Marvel exclusive? Has there been any announcement what he is going to be doing next?

Alphona's art is pretty nice in the oversive, enough that I may pick up the other two HCs even though I own those issues. I don't remember him being announced as exclusive to anyone, but I haven't seen him do anything else, and I don't think they've announced what he's working on next. I'll be buying whatever it is though.

[dancj]

And now my proper post - only two books but one of them is three times the normal size....

Brodie's Law v1: Project Jameson - The artists brother gave me the hard sell on this at the Bristol Comics festival a couple of years ago. I didn't buy it then but it peaked my interest. Now having read it it's quite a good little thriller. The art has a really nice style about it with perspectives that reminded me of Paul Pope, but completely different linework. There were definite storytelling issues though - Some of the action scenes were a bit unclear and I often read the panels or the word balloons within them in the wrong order. I'm still interested enough to look out for volume 2 when it appears though.
Outlaw Nation - This was definitely a good day for Jamie Delano who's always a bit inconsistent for me. Luckily he wasn't too into the sound of his own voice for this one so it read quite well. It's a shame that the series had such an abrupt end though. You can see pretty clearly the point at which he heard the book was cancelled suddenly started scrambling to get everything tied up. Nice art too!

[goman]

Read Mighty Avengers #1 last night. Meh. Of course it looked pretty, and the action was pretty solid, but Bendis is going to have to get me to like these characters quick for me to stick with it. I don't have much familiarity with them, so I don't have the connection other readers might. And while the thought balloons were maybe a cool concept, I found them distracting pretty quickly. I can see what he was going for with them, but I think Bendis over-used them. The ending was cool though. I'll be buying it through the first arc, but we'll see after.

[sschroeder]

Re: Green Lantern # 17

I'd have to agree. Another great issue of Green Lantern. I have been greatly enjoying the build up of the Sinestro Corps as well - can't wait for the Johns/Van Sciver special coming out this summer. This plot line reminds me of the rogues build up in The Flash from Johns. The art in this issue looked a little rushed, but still excellent stuff from Ivan Reis. One of the few DC monthly books that I look forward to each month.

I enjoy this series, and I hope people keep reading it. Yet the more I think about this issue, the more shaky some of the plot points seem. Can any GL spoilers:

impersonate someone

end of spoilers like that? I don't think I've ever seen that until now.


Given the ending to Mighty Avengers # 1, it could be getting some mass media attention too, or not?

[Maukingbird]

While my comments will admittedly be coming from a "Bendis can do no wrong" point of view (mindless slave), I have to admit to going into Mighty Avengers with SOME trepidation. I don't really have any emotional connection with any of the characters on the team, aside from frequent (but usually unpursued) interest in Ms. Marvel and The Wasp, enjoying when they appear in things but rarely seeking them out unless they happen to be in a project that excites me for other reasons (like buying Cammo's Ms. Marvel Special from last month). So Bendis was REALLY going to have to win me over with the character interplay and thankfully, the interplay was a lot of fun. They a vastly different team from the New Avengers, but there's still some sparkle in them.

[goman]

Read most of the rest of my books this weekend. Apparently no, they aren't going to have Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears #2, as the flame head fails to make an appearance. there is at least a demon type on the last page, but it's taking awhile to set up the tale of vengeance. Still the art is nice, but this is moving at a snails pace.
Oh man, nice last page in Ultimate Spidey #106, especially given what happened in the last issue of Ultimate X men. This should lead to some interesting stories.
Fantastic Four #543 was worth the pick up. A decent main story setting up the new status quo, and two great back up pieces. The first wrtten by Stan Lee, drawn by Nick Dragotta(I think, I don't have the issue in front of me and I can't find any info on Marvel's webpage) to celebrate the FF's 45 anniversary was hilarious, and the second by Paul Pope was a beautiful piece of silver age FF goodness, with a great fight between Johnny Storm and Spider-man.
Justice League of America #6, well that's certainly the end of the first arc. I didn't find it patently bad, but it's just not very good either. There was one panel where the Red Tornado puts on the glove of one of the duplicate Tornado's, and swear to god, it took me three reads of the page to figure out was supposed to be going on, and it really wasn't till a few pages later that it was really explained. It's a perfectly nice story, but everything pretty much goes back to normal at the end, so it's like, what's the point?

[dancj]

Catch-up time....

Desolation Jones v1: Made in England - I liked this. J H Williams is excellent as ever and this had a good bit of bite to it. For me this is Ellis on a good day (as opposed to JLA: New Maps of Hell)
They Found the Car - I got this on the strength of the rave reviews in the Page 45 mailing list. I wouldn't go quite as apeshit as they did but it was good. There's obviously a big history with the car the author's restraint to only tell you what you need to know is admirable.
Green Arrow v7: Heading into the Light - Oooh the shit really hits the fan in this one. It's a big step up in writing quality from the previous volume which got hijacked by Winick dealing with HIV and then Arrowette joining The Teen Titans. The art is unspectacular, but never worse than competent (which puts it miles above some of the art in the second half of the last TPB). Overall I enjoyed this - but it ends without resolving the story and now I just want to get my hands on the next volume.
Dodge's Bullets - A decent but unspectacular little detective story by Jay Faerber and some not particularly good artist. I did enjoy it, but it's nowhere near the standard of Noble Causes
Hellblazer v2 (Carey): Black Flowers - After the disappointment of Red Sepulchre this is a big step up. It's not exactly classic Hellblazer, but it is decent - which is handy because I've already got the next two volumes. The art is good throughout too.

[goman]

Finished Absolute DC: The New Frontier last night. Awesome ending. I especially like the large amount of extras at the back of the book, with Cooke's annotations and other artwork. I got used to the big size of the book, but it was still a bit cumbersome to read.

Next up: Today's books and then the manga backlog I've built up. Or the Miller Daredevil Omnibus. Or Infinity Gauntlet. Haven't decided yet.

[torippu]

I've got a backlog of books that I'm working through as well.

Runaways Digest Vol. 3 ~ 6 - This is such a good series. I can't believe that it took me this long to finally get around to reading it. That being said, Vol. 3 was excellent. I can see where the first HC would be a good investment. Vol. 4 (Excelsior arc) was decent but if not a little let down from the previous 18 issues. Loved the New York arc (Vol. 5) and the return the Pride/death arc (Vol. 6). The only complaint that I have is the coloring of the digests is that it is so darned dark! Had to hold the books at the correct angle in the light to be able to take in all of the amazing Alphona art.
Captain America #25 - This book has been talked to death in the past week so I'll keep it short. Another excellent issue with the reveal at the end and the intrigue of upcoming storylines being what will keep this book at the top of my reading pile.
CW: The Initiative - Already whined about the price point and the number of previews in this book. The Silvestri art was decent, although Spider-Woman's boobs in the panel where she is hitting Gray Gargoyle were really distracting - no woman has such perfect boobies like that!
Mighty Avengers #1 - Outside of Ms. Marvel, I don't really care for any of the characters on this team. Frank Cho's art is gorgeous, although leisure suit Wonder Man has got to go. The thought balloons were a little distracting and I'm interested to see if they stay that way through the next couple of issues. What happened to Tony at the end of this book? Was Ultron in the armor? And why is Ultron a she?
Ultimate Spider-Man #106 - They finally found an inker that works well with Bagley's pencils. Great issue as we race to the end of Bag's run. Very happy to hear on the Bendis Tapes podcast that Bagley's last issue is going to be split with Immonen's first issue. That should be cool.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17 & 18 - first issues of this book that I have bought since The Other arc. Decent enough plot which probably would mean more if I had been reading since the beginning. Not sure if I will continue reading...
Dynamo 5 #1 - Excellent start to a book that I initially had no intention of getting. All of the recent press that Faerber did for the book really helped sell it for me. Really glad that I got it. Does anyone know if I need to be reading Noble Causes to understand what F.L.A.G. is supposed to be. Loved the concept, liked the art better than expected - definitely going on my pull list!
Star Wars: Dark Times #1 & 2 - Impulse buy from a couple of weeks ago. I'm a old school SW nerd and all of the books are really clicking right now. It seems that not having to work around the movies has allowed the authors room to breathe new exciting tales into the SW universe. If this book ever ships again, I'll probably pick it up.
CW: The Confession - Liked the first part, thought the second part was so so.
New Avengers #28 - Yu's art is growing on me. Good to see some payoff from the most talked about panel in CW: Initiative in this book. I actually like this team a lot more than Mighty Avengers so it's going to be a excruciatingly long 4 weeks until the next issue.
Irredeemable Ant-Man #6 - another great issue and I loved how the two story timelines finally met. How is this book selling? Is it OK for a while? It's a shame because this is probably Kirkman's best Marvel book to date.

Trip

[goman]

Read a few from last night. Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 was decent if you're a fan, but beware if you're not. It was friendly to readers if you've never seen the show, or have seen some episodes but not season 7, very continuity heavy. Whedon shows that he still knows these characters, and has a few good lines for everyone. The art is so-so, but if Whedon wasn't writing it, I'd drop it. His character faces change quite a bit, and his background characters are lacking. But he tells the story fine, and stays out of Whedon's way.

52 week 45 was okay, but a bit of a let down. More of a universe tour as we see how different groups react to Black Adam, but his fight with Death (literaly) was exciting and the whole thing was well drawn. I miss the origin back ups though.

New Avengers #28 was good as well, with great Yu art. The story helps to fill a few holes in the team formation and Wong makes for a funny fill in for Jarvis. There's a comic we need, Jarvis/Wong: Action Man-Servants. I'm pretty sure that was the Silver Samurai's place they crashed, but a little better explanation would have been helpful, especially if it wasn't his house.