Bought/Thought - February 25th, 2009 - Spoilers!

[Manic]

I think Slott is trying to appeal more to old fans.

 

[Dread]

I think Slott is trying to appeal to fans who like adventure, would rather not abandon characterization for a spectacle, would rather have their Avengers nor fight ninjas, or devote 44 pages of material to maybe two scenes, both of which are usually mundane.

 

[hippie_hunter]

To be fair, the Defenders managed to keep Childlike Hulk involved in their adventures off and on for well over a decade or two. Granted, that often took magic and coincidence. I agree that Iron Man has the better chance of staying. Thor would be cool, too, to add to the roster at time point. Every Avengers team needs at least one A-Lister on the roster and either Iron Man, Hulk, or Thor at this point serve that role.

With Iron Man on the run, Thor being exiled, and Hulk returning to his childlike manner (which is said that it will be explained in Loeb's Hulk). I'd say that all three of them need the Avengers to provide them support.

 

[Manic]

I think Slott is trying to appeal to fans who like adventure, would rather not abandon characterization for a spectacle, would rather have their Avengers nor fight ninjas, or devote 44 pages of material to maybe two scenes, both of which are usually mundane.

Like I said, old fans.

 

[iloveclones]

^ Oh, give me a break. I've been reading Avengers since around #150, I think that qualifies me as an old fan. Say what you want about Bendis, there are now 4 Avengers titles that people are actually arguing over which is better. And one of them has been consistently in the top 5 (and many times #1) for the past, what, four or five years. I dare you to show me another recent title with that kind of a track record. If his job was to rejuvenate the Avengers franchise, well, George W. may judge me, but: Mission Accomplished.

 

[moraldeficiency]

^ Oh, give me a break. I've been reading Avengers since around #150, I think that qualifies me as an old fan. Say what you want about Bendis, there are now 4 Avengers titles that people are actually arguing over which is better. And one of them has been consistently in the top 5 (and many times #1) for the past, what, four or five years. I dare you to show me another recent title with that kind of a track record. If his job was to rejuvenate the Avengers franchise, well, George W. may judge me, but: Mission Accomplished.

Loeb's rulk is kicking ass in sales. Hey hulk fans you guys loving that?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yep, appealing to the lowest common denominator tends to do that.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Ender's Shadow #3: The idea behind the Ender's Game story isn't anything new or remarkable; it basically shows how exceptional children are taken from their homes at a young age if they meet certain requirements and are trained to fight in an intergalactic war sometime in the future, all for mankind's survival. What's great about the story is the characters, and how we have two different stories taking place with the two comics, "Ender's Game" and Ender's Shadow," at the same time. Both of the main characters in each comic come from different backgrounds; and, I find myself more drawn to this secondary story more than the main one involving Ender.

In this issue, Bean goes through many of the same things as Ender did when arriving at the training camp; but, his approach is very different. While this is going on, Sister Carlotta continues her search for Bean's parents, concerned about who he really is. She receives an answer at the end of the issue; but, being a comic, they are going to keep it a mystery to the reader, at least until the next issue.

These two Ender comics are some of my favorites being put out by Marvel lately. It's better than their bigger franchises, like Dark Tower, The Stand, Anita Blake, or Wizard Of Oz. I would want to read them over any of the Dark Reign issues, it's that good. It's just too bad I don't see anyone else giving them a try.

9/10

 

[Doc Destruction]

Like I said, old fans.

If that's being an old fan, then F BEING A NEW FAN. What simpleton nightmarish lameness. The lack of substance in books being fawned over these days is pretty damn disgusting.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Yeah if guys like gaiman and moore were new and non-established writers people would just walk right by anything they did for their latest bendis or loeb fix, that sucks.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm sure people have always walked by Moore and Gaiman's work for other writers' stuff anyway. Their best work tends to be non-superhero comics and the market is still heavily dominated by superhero comics. People miss good s*** in favor of trash all the time.

 

[Phaedrus45]

I just finished reading Legion of Superheroes #47-#50, and Rebels #1. Does anyone know what the dirt is on LOSH #50, and why "Justin Thyme" was listed as the writer; and, what happened that Jim Shooter didn't get to finish his storyline?

 

[prince_dylan]

The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #4

Wow. I love Gabriel Ba's art. Very reminiscient of Mike Mignola, but still indicative of an original talent. The covers are welcome diversions from the standard comic cover and the back cover is a pretty cool repurposing of a panel of story art for a propaganda page. Gerard Way keeps bringing interesting ideas and characters to the fold while building on the previously established. The craziness makes for a very enjoyable read. Please support this series in any way possible.

 

[prince_dylan]

The Dark Tower: Treachery #6

Speaking of great art, major kudos to Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. Each panel, splash, and spread is beautifully drawn and painted. A lot of emotional depth for art that could easily be screwed up by any other artist. I really dig Peter David's scripts for the series. The interplay of dialogue and fourth wall breaking narration is really effective for me. Not to mention the bad ass characters, in action and design, that inhabit the story and the in-depth history prose and illustration supplements. Another book that should be selling a lot more for how consistently good it is.

 

[prince_dylan]

Unknown Soldier #5

Man, this is an intense series. This issue is more a back-story-centric tale, which is welcome due to the incredible bleakness of the present-day story and the necessity for ongoing threads. This is a violent story that horrifies me on a level that The Walking Dead seems to do because of who the victims are and how it goes down. Alberto Ponticelli's art is really gritty and dark, grounding it in a really harsh reality. I also appreciate the history lesson that Joshua Dysart gives in each issue.

It seems that the "indie"-minded titles seem to be the best out of any given week.

 

[iloveclones]

Loeb's rulk is kicking ass in sales. Hey hulk fans you guys loving that?

Yeah, I think it's a pile of poo myself. But I sure as hell don't begrudge people's enjoyment of it.

And if Loeb carries Rulk for 5 years of sales like that, it's not just a fad or a flash in the pan. I'll give him his due. Believe it or not they are trying to SELL comics. It's not some SOHO starving artist project.

 

[Manic]

I've learned to accept people who have a different taste in comics than myself. If you think Hulk is the greatest thing since sliced bread, then go ahead and read it.

It's the idiots who read comics they don't like who piss me off. I don't mean when the comic is having a rough couple of issues, but it's usually good. I mean when the comic is just bad, the reader admits it's bad, but they continue to read it because they're a completist or it's a force of habit or they somehow think reading that particular bad comic will somehow enhance their enjoyment of other good comics.

If you're buying Loeb's Hulk and you don't even like it, then stop wasting your money.

 

[iloveclones]

Well, in this particular case, I had a sub to one thing that got cancelled, and the remaining issues were transferred to Rulk. I could switch it if I really wanted it to, but there's only one or two left, and I wanna see how ridiculous Loeb is planning on getting.

That said, Hey, it's my money. If I want to waste it, that's my call. When I hire you as my personal Money Manager, then you can have an opinion about how I spend my money. Until then, the LCBS has got me by the short and curlies.

 

[kguillou]

Its become so much fun lately to bash on Loeb, i really really think he purposely writes ridiculous things like Ultimates and Hulk just so fanboys like us could yell about it. There's no way Loeb takes his work seriously.

 

[Manic]

Well, in this particular case, I had a sub to one thing that got cancelled, and the remaining issues were transferred to Rulk. I could switch it if I really wanted it to, but there's only one or two left, and I wanna see how ridiculous Loeb is planning on getting.

That said, Hey, it's my money. If I want to waste it, that's my call. When I hire you as my personal Money Manager, then you can have an opinion about how I spend my money. Until then, the LCBS has got me by the short and curlies.

It's not your money I'm worried about. I just can't help but wonder how well some of today's comics would sell if people stopped buying stuff they don't like.

 

[iloveclones]

There's been plenty of titles that I've liked over the years that have died on the vine (Kirkman's MTU and Ant-Man, Slott's Thing). Do I wish more people would have read them? Sure! But as my Grandmother used to say, "Wish in one hand, **** in the other...."

 

[iloveclones]

Its become so much fun lately to bash on Loeb, i really really think he purposely writes ridiculous things like Ultimates and Hulk just so fanboys like us could yell about it. There's no way Loeb takes his work seriously.

There is a bit of a trainwreck phenomenon going on here...

I've never really understood the Loeb love. He did a run on (one of) the Wolvie titles that people were so excited about, that turned out to be just an awful confusing mess.

 

[kguillou]

Sorry double post.

 

[kguillou]

To be completely completely honest (i know people are gonna yell at me) but i didnt even like Long halloween and Dark Victory all that much. I mean they were ok (much better than his recent stuff) and the art was real nice but the story substance was real bland to me in my opinion. Dark Victory especially, i felt like he had Batman repeating the same thing over and over and over again every issue and...i dunno, I dont see what was so revolutionary about those stories.

 

[GNR]

I've learned to accept people who have a different taste in comics than myself. If you think Hulk is the greatest thing since sliced bread, then go ahead and read it.

It's the idiots who read comics they don't like who piss me off. I don't mean when the comic is having a rough couple of issues, but it's usually good. I mean when the comic is just bad, the reader admits it's bad, but they continue to read it because they're a completist or it's a force of habit or they somehow think reading that particular bad comic will somehow enhance their enjoyment of other good comics.

If you're buying Loeb's Hulk and you don't even like it, then stop wasting your money.

Hah!Sounds like a few ppl on this board.