What did you read? May 2008

[torippu]

A new month already?

DC Universe #0 - Read it and realized afterwards that I would have had no idea who was returning at the end if I wouldn't have been spoiled with the stuff online. Still didn't do too much to get me excited about the upcoming stories coming from the DCU.
Green Lantern #30 - Excellent issue! Well written, filling in the origin for a GL neophyte for me with some gorgeous art from Ivan Reis.
New Avengers #40 - Ooooh, how about that last page reveal? Should lead to some good stuff in Secret Invasion.
The Order #10 - Sadly, the last issue! Overall, it was a good finale to this book (we even got 2 extra pages of art) that leads me to wonder if Fraction's Iron Man book will follow-up on some on the open threads from this book?
Hellboy FCBD - The Hellboy story was OK but the B.P.R.D. stories were great - especially the story that follows up on the most recent Arcudi/Davis mini-series.
X-Men FCBD - Been years (probably since the demise of Sojourn) since I read a book that included Greg Land art. I think that I have been affected by the online furor about this art and was distracted by it. Even if this is a lead-in to Uncanny X-Men #500, I don't think that I will be giving the mutant books a try when it ships in a couple of months.
All-Star Superman FCBD - Got burned with this creative team on New X-Men so I decided to pass when this book was announced. That being said, this was a really good issue and I'm very interested in getting the Vol. 1 TPB that will be released soon.

[DF2506]

Free Comic Book Day Books I've read Recently:

EC Comics Sampler: Finished it! Excellent! I really have to look into the collections when they come out.

Kid Houdini & the Silver Dollar Misfits: I think I've mentioned this before here, but I have to mention it again: really good book. Lots of fun. It also lead me to Edgar Allan Poo online which is also a really good book!

Broken Trintity: Read the first part with the reporter. Not great, but kind of neat/interesting.

X-men: Its been awhile since I've read anything X-men related. The story was interesting and the artwork was really good. Nice free comic!

And I've still got some other books to read! This free comic day was great!

DF2506

[De Carabas]

Wrote thsi several days ago, but couldn't post it. There's more to add later.

Some good, and some bad.
Ultimate Spider-Man #121--Great single issue.

Mighty Avengers #12--I liked it! Spies and duplicates and paranoia!

Justice Society of America vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come Part 1 HC--Very good. My skipping the JLA/JSA volume didn't cause any problems in following along, thankfully. Love Eaglesham's pencils.

X-Men: Emporer Vulcan TP--[blows a raspberry while giving a thumbs down] Fought against my instincts and lost. Should have saved my money. The only upside to this is that Yost obviously shares my love for Ch'od, and there are several very amusing (and one laugh out loud) lines of dialogue.

I fell behind on Noble Causes a long time ago, so I re-read vol. 1-5 before starting 6 and 7.
Noble Causes vol. 1: In Sickness and In Health--Upon a second read through, I didn't enjoy it and marvelled at why I initially stayed with the series. Nice early Patrick Gleason art, though.
Noble Causes vol. 2: Family Secrets--Same as above, but without Gleason's art.
Noble Causes vol. 3: Distant Relatives--Somewhat better, but I'm too grouchy from not liking 1 and 2.
Noble Causes vol. 4: Blood & Water--This one I really liked and it better captures the mood of what I remember liking.
Noble Causes vol. 5: Betrayals--Really good, and I'm happy with this series again.
Noble Causes vol. 6: Hidden Agendas--Good stuff, but am glad I reread the previous volumes. I had forgot some major plot points.
Noble Causes vol. 7: Powerless--I still think the series is quite good, but Faeber needs to be careful about making Race such a jerk. I understand that this is a planned character development arc, but Race has been consistently portrayed as the only family member that doesn't need a workboot up his a$$, so when he goes off the rails, it makes it difficult to stick with the book. So I liked this volume, but hope that this situation gets resolved soon.

EM

[dancj]

For me...

Infinite Crisis - Not bad. About what I'm used to from Geoff Johns. Phil Jimenez did quite a good job considering I'm not usually fond of his work.

Superman: Infinite Crisis - The first 50-odd pages of this book were a complete waste just repeating the same things over and over. It got a little bit more interesting after that with Superboy trying to create a better world, but overall really not that good.

The Flash #238 - It's still too early to be sure, but this looks like it's going to be the best Flash we've had since Johns left the book.

Infinite Crisis Companion - Mostly pretty crap, but the OMAC Project one was good.

JLA: World Without a Justice League - Again pretty crap. I really didn't like the art until I realised it looked very much like Shawn McManus's work, which helped, but didn't completely redeem it. Next on my pile of unread Infinite Crisis crossovers - the universally reviled Battle for Bludhaven......

Grendel Tales: Homecoming - This was a decent little story. It suffered a bit from being too short though.

[kevhines]

World War Hulk: Fun stuff. I enjoy Pak's work. Not quite as much as PAD's, but that is a tough bar to reach. This series did nothing to make me like Sentry, and I would have enjoyed this book much more without him. But everything else in it was nice big Hulk fun. I can't wait to get the Incredible Hercules trade to read some Amadeus Cho action.

[De Carabas]

For me...

Grendel Tales: Homecoming - This was a decent little story. It suffered a bit from being too short though.

If you liked this one, the Grendel: Past Prime novel, by Greg Rucka, focuses on Susan Veraghen, and it take place shortly after Homecoming. I haven't read it in 7+ years, but I do remember liking it.

EM

[De Carabas]

I've read

Mighty Avengers #12--Wow. Cool to see Nick Fury back in action.
New Avengers #40--Wow^2. Yes, the MA issue felt more like a NA issue, but I now realize that that issue had to precede this one.

Stormwatch PHD vol. 1--Re-read it before starting vol 2 tonight. Enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first time.

Marvel Adventures The Avengers vol. 5: Some Assembling Required--Not bad, but seriously missing Parker's quirky sense of humor on the Templeton issues. Also, the psuedo-science got so thick in Templeton's issues, that I'm having doubts about our niece making it through this one with the same love and excitement as the previous volumes.

Tonight's agenda one of the following: Stormwatch PHD vol. 2, BPRD vol. 7, or Essential Tomb of Dracula vol. 1.

EM

[torippu]

Secret Invasion #2 - Not as good as the first issue but still a really good read. I like the idea (in theory at least) that some of the 70s heroes that popped out of the Skrull ship could in fact be long lost friends. Sure were a whole lot of double page splash pages in this book.
Mighty Avengers #13 - Was a whole issue needed to get together the Howling Commandos?
Amazing Spider-Man #558 - Nice Kitson art but an OK story from Gale. I really don't care for the Freak character.
Robin #173 - First issue since Dixon returned where I couldn't wait to get to the next issue after getting to the end. That's a good sign of things to come.
Titans #1 - I'm probably in the minority here but I like Churchill's art even though I think that this issue was extremely boob-tastic. I also tend to like Winick's writing so I'm going to give this series a couple of more issues to try and woo me.
Fantastic Four #556 - I didn't think that the snow effects were that bad even though there were a couple of panels that I had no idea what was going on. I'm really liking this book.
Dynamo 5 #12 - Great issue with a cliffhanger that has me jonesing for the next issue!
Wonder Woman #19 - Loved Bernard Chang's art in these 2 issues!
Nightwing #143 - Probably a bit of let down from the previous couple of issues. The grave robbing plot didn't pan out like I was thinking that it was going to.
Serenity Better Days #2 - Fun mini-series.
Gemini #1 - Another excellent Faerber-verse book that I think was hampered by the artistic choice. Seemed a bit too cartoony for the subject matter - especially that last page!
Youngblood #3 - I am really loving the media angle that Casey is weaving here.
BPRD - 1946 #4 - This mini-series has held up pretty well in issues and the ending should be fun!
Kick-Ass #2 - I'm still on the fence about whether or not I am liking this book.
Legion of Super-Heroes #41 - meh.
Nova #13 - Awesome! Bring on the Surfer and Galactus!

[kevhines]

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 - So I mentioned in the shopping list I am afraid this won't sell well (it seems a tougher sell the Nova, which is a tougher sell then the Annihilation serieses) but I hope I am wrong, because this first issue was great. It blows Nova out of the water (and I love Nova)! MORE MORE MORE!

I loves me that Marvel Cosmic!

[pmpknface]

I've read a handful of books over the past week or so, and I read TO TERRA vol 1. It looks like Osamu Tesuka, but it's not quite him. Vol 1 is 1/3 of the story and it's barely off the ground.

I'm almost done with Strange Girl vol 3. It's ok. I guess I expected more from the art, but it's a fun ride.

Just started Punisher HC vol 4! AWESOME so far! I just got it in from Amazon, and I want to read more of it before I continure reading the current PWJ arc.

[torippu]

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 - So I mentioned in the shopping list I am afraid this won't sell well (it seems a tougher sell the Nova, which is a tougher sell then the Annihilation serieses) but I hope I am wrong, because this first issue was great. It blows Nova out of the water (and I love Nova)! MORE MORE MORE!

I loves me that Marvel Cosmic!

This is so good to hear. I had avoided most of the cosmic stuff until Pelletier was tapped to draw NOVA. Read and enjoyed his 2 issues and then was bummed to heat he was leaving and then very, very, very excited to hear that he was given the chance to launch GotG with DnA. I've yet to make it to my LCS (danged business trips to Portland!) but I hope to get there tomorrow. This and THE WALKING DEAD are at the top of my reading list this week.

[goman]

Damn, haven't posted in a while. Lots of weekly books, but the big trades I've been working through are the first two Animal Man trades. About halfway through the second one. Enjoying it so far, and while the individual issues are good, I can feel the whole thing will work well once I reach the end.

But I had to take a break from it to get through the Indiana Jones Omnibus before next week so I can review it. That ones fun so far and Indy fans will get a kick out of it.

[De Carabas]

One Like, two Dislikes.

X-Men: Messiah Complex HC--I really really enjoyed this. Like, a lot. This is the first X-crossover I've read that I've actually liked and has me eager to read more.

World War Hulk TP--Hated it and am pissed that I cut other stuff from my pre-order to make room for this. Oh, and worst use of the Sentry yet.

She-Hulk: Jaded PrHC--Incredibly disappointed in this one. With Layla Miller, PAD toes the line between interesting and obnoxious. If handled by a different writer, I could easily see myself hating Layla, but PAD manages to keep her...intriguing, if not likable. Jazinda is so squarely in obnoxious territory, that she is a major factor in my not liking this book. A moody She-Hulk I could give some rope on. I would justify it with "PAD is moving to the next logical place with the character after everything that happened to her" and give him another issue or two, to see where it goes. But moody She-Hulk teamed with the Living Obnoxiousness whose power is to steal joy from the readers? No thank you.
Oh, and what is with the colors? Why does She-Hulk constantly have bloodshot eyes?

EM

[pmpknface]

Finished off the Punisher HC vol 4, and read PWJ #19 yesterday. Great issue, cool action.

I gotta hit my LCS too, but I'll wait for the Sox to leave town.

OH - and I went to the game last night and saw the no-hitter! Friggin' UNREAL!!!! :)

[kevhines]

I am just commenting on other people's posts.

I am so jealous of you Jamie! Being at a no-hitter has got be a thrill, let alone being at one for your team. I've been at some great games, but I can't imagine being there.

also Jamie, your signature needs to be updated, the link to your CBR articles doesn't work.

Eric, I also really enjoyed Messaih Complex. Brubaker and Carey sucked me back into the core X books, a place I have not been since....well Fall of the Mutants, and I enjoyed it. Even if there were characters I didn't know or powers I wasn't fully aware of, I enjoyed the story. And that's great.

Unlike Eric I enjoyed World War Hulk - other then Sentry, a character I have never enjoyed. Every part with him felt dull. I was worried the use of Sentry would hurt the end of the story for me, but it didn't. Still if I could edit all the Sentry stuff out I would have enjoyed this book just fine. It was a fun read. I didn't enjoy it as much as the Annhilation series, but its more my speed then Civil War was.

I didn't pick up She-Hulk, which might be the first Peter David series I passed on. His stuff has been more hit or miss for me lately, so I have stopped buying his work blindly. I am glad his X-Factor work is still so good though.