Bought/ Thought January 7th, 2009

[Phaedrus45]

Boy, am I way behind in my comic reading. First, the comics that were suppose to come Dec. 24th got delayed because of our snow storm, and my LCS didn't get them until the following Monday AND Tuesday; then, the next set of comics came that following Friday; and, this last batch came Wednesday. So, in a ten day period, I must have gotten about 120+ comics to read.

Anyway, I've only read one Marvel comic, that being the wrong covered X-Men/Spider-Man #3. I am loving this mini, and it's great to see a writer acknowledging The Clone Saga, and not just making a one-liner joke about it. Very nicely done, and worth it, even with the wrong cover. (Who knows, it might end up being worth more than the resolicited edition next week.)

The rest of my books that I read were the Independants. Walking Dead was excellent, especially seeing how the survivors are usually more dangerous than the zombies. Kirkman really knows how to increase the tension in this book. The Sword continues to impress me, and I really appreciate how the Luna Bros. have a complete 24-issue story in mind when writing their books. I really appreciate a title that has an end in sight, while not being just another miniseries. Compare that to the new issue of The Boys, which is suppose to end around issue 60, you appreciate what the Luna Bros. do even more. I enjoy The Boys well enough; but, Ennis seems just as concerned about trying to shock his readers as tell a good story. Unlike The Sword, this story has a lot of filler, and I don't feel as if I'm reading anything significant to what's going to be the inevitable end of it.

Buffy was pretty good, as usual. It entertained; but, again, I feel as if it was more filler for some things that are suppose to come later. It will be cool if we see more of Harmony in the future, though.

Finally, I'm loving the Dark Horse title, Kull. Dark Horse does a really good job with these kinds of titles, whether it's Conan, Kull, or Solomon Kane.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Okay.... got a liiiiitle bit more than I was intending to. I came home with a haul of 17 comics, and my wallet cried out in despair.

The reason for the increase in spendage was that, rather than simply picking up the most recent single issues of various Marvel titles, as I had intended, I ended up picking up the last two issues of Invincible Iron Man (from the start of World's Most Wanted), the last two issues of Daredevil (from part 3 of Lady Bullseye), the last three issues of Captain America (the whole Time's Arrow three-parter), and - sorry, Corp! - the last three issues of Thor.

I felt that, if I was going to make any kind of qualified judgement on these titles, a slightly deeper context was required. Overall, having read my first issue of each, the impressions I have are positive. With Invincible Iron Man and Captain America, I did get the sense of a fresh start that suggested I chose a good jumping-on point, coming in the aftermath of big events for Iron Man and Captain America - the Director of SHIELD/Civil War/Secret Invasion/Bastard Tony era and the Death of Captain America saga, respectively. Though I'm entering midway through this current arc of Daredevil, the handy little "Previously On" page that DC titles lack caught me up on the key points, so I didn't feel like I was totally lost. All proved to be easy, accessible reads, though I'll have to read more of each to determine whether or not I'm in for the long haul.

As I expected (and Corp warned) Thor was rather more confusing. While I am basically familiar with the broad strokes of the other heroes whose titles I was getting into, the world of Marvel's Thor is near-completely unknown to me. I'd have trouble even telling you his Stan Lee origin. And so yes, there was a lot of "Who's that guy/what's going on here?" type reactions when reading #10. But while I found myself knowing very little of the grand scheme of things, the writing was strong enough for me to definitely feel enthused about learning more. And overall, I'd say the Thor issue was arguably the best-written of the lot.

I'll offer more in-depths reviews later, likely after further reading.

Feel free to ask about anything you don't understand or recognize. There are few things I enjoy in this sad, hollow life of mine more than talking about Thor.

 

[fifthfiend]

Bingo. Man, that gif was uttered irrelevant in 12 parsecs.

He should have stood just behind the sweater. I mean thinking about it, if you were planning to punch a dude in the face, that'd be a pretty great sweater to wear.

 

[Manic]

Bingo. Man, that gif was uttered irrelevant in 12 parsecs.

It was uttered irrelevant in the length of 228 trillion miles?

 

[Blader5489]

Knew I should have used that Ari Gold gif instead...

 

[Darthphere]

It was uttered irrelevant in the length of 228 trillion miles?

It worked for Han.

Knew I should have used that Ari Gold gif instead...

See, then I really would've hated you.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Did you get the new Punisher book? Sentry's all over it.

Indeed he is, and I loved every minute of that fight between him and the Punisher.

Also, tommorow, I'll be writing a review on all the books I Got on wednsday.

 

[Manic]

It worked for Han.

Han barely pulled it off, and that's only because he's got an awesome vest and roguish good looks.

 

[Darthphere]

I have a vest.

 

[Manic]

Show me roguish good looks or go away.

 

[Darthphere]

I will, later. However, someone needs to go ahead and make some Han Solo dress pants.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I thought Han Solo's pants already were dress pants. I've only seen pants with a colored stripe down the legs on dress pants and cop pants.

 

[DBM]

I thought Han Solo's pants already were dress pants. I've only seen pants with a colored stripe down the legs on dress pants and cop pants.

They're his pants from his time in the Imperial military with the Corellian Bloodstripe. So they would be dress-pant like.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Ha, cop-pants. I knew it.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Feel free to ask about anything you don't understand or recognize. There are few things I enjoy in this sad, hollow life of mine more than talking about Thor.

If anything occurs to me, I'll be sure to ask. t:

Awesome avatar/sig, BTW. I loved Life on Mars, Gene Hunt rocks.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh, Lord Valumart over in the Doctor Who thread got me calling him "him who is Gene Hunt" all the time.

I'm not so sure about him in Ashes to Ashes, though. I've only watched one episode, but it seems like he might be watered down a bit by the advances in policing and greater oversight during the '80s. Instead of Sam introducing all these new police techniques when all he wants to do is bust down doors, he's gonna be using those new police techniques as a matter of course since a lot of them already existed by '81.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Having seen a whole season of Ashes to Ashes, I can confirm the magic of Life on Mars is largely lost. They try and nice-up Gene a bit to build him as a potential love interest for the new female lead, and so yes, he becomes somewhat watered down. However, if you stick with it, there is the odd moment of Gene Hunt brilliance, and a pretty strong season finale.

Overall, though, I think it would have been better ending the story with Life on Mars, and leave 'em wanting more.

 

[RockSP]

They're his pants from his time in the Imperial military with the Corellian Bloodstripe.

Geek overload.

 

[DBM]

Geek overload.

We all have our specialties. Star Wars is one of mine. t:

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Having seen a whole season of Ashes to Ashes, I can confirm the magic of Life on Mars is largely lost. They try and nice-up Gene a bit to build him as a potential love interest for the new female lead, and so yes, he becomes somewhat watered down. However, if you stick with it, there is the odd moment of Gene Hunt brilliance, and a pretty strong season finale.

Overall, though, I think it would have been better ending the story with Life on Mars, and leave 'em wanting more.

AARGH, I knew it! There were hints in the first episode and I was dreading that they would try that. Ugh. Also, the fact that Alex has a daughter in the "real" world takes some of the suspense out because obviously she's gonna wind up going back to her.

One thing I did like, though, is that they left it nice and open-ended as to whether Sam is alive or dead. Everyone thinks he's dead but he's apparently still in a coma in the "real" world and no one actually saw his body in Hunt's world (yeah, I'm totally calling it that). I hope they can get Simm back for a guest appearance in the next series.

 

[Blader5489]

See, then I really would've hated you.

It's hard to insult your taste when you're sporting that BKV avatar.

 

[Darthphere]

It's hard to insult your taste when you're sporting that BKV avatar.

I have excellent taste. I like Warren Ellis, when he's doing his own thing. He should not be doing established characters IMO.

 

[Manic]

I want to say "his Astonishing X-Men hasn't been that bad," but how many issues have come out since the summer? 3?

Damn you, Simone "I don't draw backgrounds but my art is still late" Bianchi!

 

[Darthphere]

I lost interest with Astonishing after the first 12 issues. I have the full Whedon run because, well, I was a ****e then.

 

[Manic]

Spoiler alert: [blackout]Colossus became the new king of Breakworld, but none of the other X-titles acknowledge it.[/blackout]