Bought/Thought 19/12/07

[hippie_hunter]

*****.

Oh come on, I started buying Checkmate and X-Factor, that should be enough for you

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Buying Checkmate and X-Factor should be considered two standard acts of self-improvement.

Glad someone else besides me is starting to admire the simple charm of Parker/Cruz's X-MEN: FIRST CLASS.

I'd honestly forgotten that X-Men comics could be so fun. They became the industry standard for angst and shock-based storytelling somewhere along the way. The main titles are getting better now, but none of them are just outright, uncomplicated fun the way First Class is.

 

[BrianWilly]

I've stopped buying X-Factor while Messiah Complex plays out

.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

You're a crazy person. Messiah Complex has had its rough spots, but it's one of the better crossovers Marvel has done lately. Granted, X-Factor's part in it has sucked so far, but the stuff with Cable and the main X-Men teams are golden. X-Force is shaping up to be fairly interesting, too.

 

[PhotoJones]

Yeah, so far X-Factor has been wasted. The Jaime/Lyla thing in the future need to start getting interesting, STAT.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, that'd be nice. Isn't the real Jamie still in the present, too? What's stopping him from actually helping out the other characters there again?

 

[PhotoJones]

A coma.

 

[BrianWilly]

Oh, I'm still following Messiah Complex. And if it all comes together, I'll buy the trade. But for now I have no faith, no faith at all, that it will come together differently than any other X-event has in the past ten years of Marvel: everything sucks for our incompetent X-friends who are always one step behind and then everything continues to suck and by the end nothing is accomplished and everything still sucks. Oh, look, the mansion is destroyed. Again.

. Gee, it's really too bad that no one ever considered the possibility of the mansion being attacked by Sentinels or anything. Come on guys, this is the exact kind of cliche holdover that the writers themselves will mock from time to time.

I will say that the characterizations are all very nice and, yes, on the technical level it's one of the most well-put-together crossovers from either Marvel or DC in the past year at least.

 

[Darthphere]

Yeah, that'd be nice. Isn't the real Jamie still in the present, too? What's stopping him from actually helping out the other characters there again?

A coma.

Punchline.

 

[GNR]

The Order #6 - More people should be reading this.Fresh characters,over the top action and lots of unpredictability.

Iron Fist #11 - Yu-Ti is hiding something for sure.There was enough sexual tension between the Thunderer and him in that last scene,thank god Danny showed up.I hope Tiger daughter isn't dead,she was hot.

Dock Walloper #1 - I thought this was going to be a hard lined crime throwback,but it looks like Burns and Jimmy are throwing some powers and abilities into the mix.Pretty good start,the colors are perfect and NY looks beautiful as always.

The Incredible Herc #112 - The only thing that bothered me was the way Pham drew Herc's legs in the one page splash and the flashback of where he's holding his dead kid.The torso looks fine,but his legs are totally not proportionate and way too short.It's not so noticeable in the splash,but in the flashback it's very distracting.

Other than that,this was a great start to Herc's first monthly.Love the use of MU history and Greek mythology.The flashback of Herc with the bow and arrow was badass.

 

[Dread]

I'd honestly forgotten that X-Men comics could be so fun. They became the industry standard for angst and shock-based storytelling somewhere along the way. The main titles are getting better now, but none of them are just outright, uncomplicated fun the way First Class is.

Indeed. That is why I have stuck on. In terms of the X-Mythos and how the X-books tie together, there really is no purpose for FIRST CLASS, as the stories are short and random. But I enjoyed the simple fun of them, especially, as you said, the X-Men have become poster children for bleakness, which MESSIAH COMPLEX is again living up to. I'm surprised all the X-Men haven't drank the poison Kool-Aid and committed ritual suicide. Everything they do, try, or don't do ends in death, destruction, horror, and underachievement. When you're a teenager, that's great, but as I have grown up, even a pessimist like me feels it is cyclical.

FIRST CLASS is a breath of fresh air. Vaughan on ULTIMATE X-MEN also spent his 19 issues trying to wash away the bleakness that Millar & Bendis did in their runs/launch so the kids could actually have fun every now and then, and did a good job of that, too. Then Kirkman pooched it.

I kind of wish Parker's AGENTS OF ATLAS had some better, though. That was his best 616 work so far to me. But, the sales tanked and Namora's a Renegade, so that's pooched too.

 

[GNR]

I also reserved Umbrella Academy #1-4 at my shop.Still on the fence,but might pick them up.

 

[Dread]

I also reserved Umbrella Academy #1-4 at my shop.Still on the fence,but might pick them up.

Pick 'em up. UMBRELLA ACADEMY is great.

Glad you are enjoying THE ORDER.

 

[GNR]

Pick 'em up. UMBRELLA ACADEMY is great.

Glad you are enjoying THE ORDER.

Yea,I've been with it from the start.After a shaky first issue,the series has been great.

 

[RockSP]

Pick 'em up. UMBRELLA ACADEMY is great.

Co-sign.

 

[GNR]

Indeed. That is why I have stuck on. In terms of the X-Mythos and how the X-books tie together, there really is no purpose for FIRST CLASS, as the stories are short and random. But I enjoyed the simple fun of them, especially, as you said, the X-Men have become poster children for bleakness, which MESSIAH COMPLEX is again living up to. I'm surprised all the X-Men haven't drank the poison Kool-Aid and committed ritual suicide. Everything they do, try, or don't do ends in death, destruction, horror, and underachievement. When you're a teenager, that's great, but as I have grown up, even a pessimist like me feels it is cyclical.

FIRST CLASS is a breath of fresh air. Vaughan on ULTIMATE X-MEN also spent his 19 issues trying to wash away the bleakness that Millar & Bendis did in their runs/launch so the kids could actually have fun every now and then, and did a good job of that, too. Then Kirkman pooched it.

I kind of wish Parker's AGENTS OF ATLAS had some better, though. That was his best 616 work so far to me. But, the sales tanked and Namora's a Renegade, so that's pooched too.

That's a good way of putting it,but BKV's run was still pretty bad.Don't tell that to Darth though,he'll cry and get even more fat.

 

[PhotoJones]

Pick 'em up. UMBRELLA ACADEMY is great.

Co-sign.

Add me to that list, too. This year has been a great one in terms of new properties. The Umbrella Academy, The Order, Atomic Robo, Dynamo 5, Casanova, The Sword and Scalped have all been phenomenal.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

What If? Civil War
Good read. I liked the second story more than the first. Wow, if everyone were rational instead of complete jackasses with characterizations that skipped along the fringes of their usual portrayals courtesy of Millar's hack ass, things might've worked out; what a concept. Harvey Tolibao's art was also much better than Gustavo's, who makes me hate him even beyond his bad art for having just the one name. Although the first story must be commended at the very least for giving mad props to Thor. "[...] No matter how powerful a mortal may be, he'll barely use a third of his strength; even at the risk of losing a battle, for fear of killing him." Bad punctuation aside, that quote from Cap made me a little bit giddy.

 

[PhotoJones]

How was Tolibao's art in this compared to the Iron Man Annual?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

A little less consistent. Still better than Gustavo I-Can't-Be-Bothered-To-Have-A-Last-Name's, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

Hmm. That guy seems to have some potential. The Iron Man Annual wasn't perfect, but there were some pretty good moments, art-wise.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He's my second-favorite artist on Knights of the Old Republic, after Dustin Weaver. Now, if Marvel wanted a really solid artist for one of their second-tier books, Weaver'd be great. He doesn't have quite the flash to be a top-level artist, but he does great work and can tell the pants off a story.

 

[PhotoJones]

Pics? I don't think I've ever seen his work.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

http://groups.msn.com/dustinweaversportfolio/starwarstales23.msnw

 

[PhotoJones]

Looks good to me. The ink washes are beautiful.