Bought/Thought May 23

[gildea]

THE SPIRIT #6: With Dini taking breaks on DETECTIVE and 52 over, I've not been buying as much DC as I was a month ago. There's this, Dini DETECTIVE and BLUE BEETLE, basically. But that's fine because, much like DYNAMO 5, this has quickly emerged as one of my favorite monthly titles. It doesn't well as well as it deserves either, but it's in the Top 90 and DC & Cooke are at least comitted for another 2-3 issues, and probably more. Even BLOODHOUND made it #10 a few years back and that sold much worse than this. So does BLUE BEETLE for that matter, and that book might actually make it to #18. Anyway, this is what one has come to expect from Cooke's THE SPIRIT, another noir tale that makes good work of his style and cinematic-style pacing, as well as has bits of Tim Burton-esque character development, usually on the "villian" of the piece. In this case, the story works backwards by starting with an explosion and Spirit asking for an explaination from a bald girl who has blue skin, who isn't from BLUE MAN GROUP. The story winds into the sordid tale of a rocker named Almost Blue, the step-brother to Spirit's enemy (who he has been chasing since issue #3, who basically created him), and blue meteors. Much like with his other work, Cooke makes it all work with this pacing and the fact that he embraces Golden Age fare with all the trappings, rather than trying to explain it away. It works as comic pulp, much like HELLBOY does. Highlights include Spirit basically overcoming being bum-rushed by dozens of goons off panel with a casual, "Please. They're just punks" line. As the story is told from another's POV, the Spirit himself only shows up sparingly in the flashback, which actually works to give him an aura of mystery to him; he's Cary Grant in a domino mask. It's what the little icon says next to the title every month: Action-Mystery-Adventure. It always delivers. Chasing down the last 5 issues of this may be a chore, but I would definately recommend it. It's not as iconic as NEW FRONTIER was, but it's definately good, stress-free DC readin'. Which, considering all their crossovers and weekly series and universe upheavals, may be a blessing.

Excellent review sir, minor correction almost blue isn't the relation of mortez it's rico. It saddens me that this title isn't reaching a larger audience, it has fun and clever stories, amazing art and tells a complete story each issue. It just irks me to think of all the lesser quality books selling more due to their big name characters and jim lee wannabe art.

 

[PhotoJones]

Do whatever strikes your fancy. I might DL one. I actually imagined doing video reviews if I ever had some sort of digital camera and skills, like a twisted, bitter version of READING RAINBOW, but admittedly, these desires only came after watching too many ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD installments in a row.

Of course, the democratic vote is about 2-1 so far for "waste of time".

I just started watching the Angry Video Nerd's videos; it's funny you mentioned him. My favorite, I think is the Ghostbusters review.

That is one angry dude.

 

[Dread]

Excellent review sir, minor correction almost blue isn't the relation of mortez it's rico. It saddens me that this title isn't reaching a larger audience, it has fun and clever stories, amazing art and tells a complete story each issue. It just irks me to think of all the lesser quality books selling more due to their big name characters and jim lee wannabe art.

Thanks for the praise and not point out some of my glaring typo's. Yeesh, I'd edit but they were 3 pages ago.

THE SPIRIT's been great, and I agree more should get it.

I just started watching the Angry Video Nerd's videos; it's funny you mentioned him. My favorite, I think is the Ghostbusters review.

That is one angry dude.

Definitely, but that is his charm. I've known about them for a while and watch 'em avidly.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Captain America #26 - Well, this one's got me a little nervous. First of all, a lot of things take place off panel. Things like Falcon's speech, Tony's speech and the entirety of Steve's funeral. They're all referenced by characters in the issue, and in the case of Sam's speech, referenced many times. That must have been one hell of a speech. Where is it?

Going along with that, I have to wonder that if those scenes are shown in future issues, then where are we going? At this point, Steve's dead, and it's time to advance the plot. If I'm going to read Sam's eulogy, I wish I could've read it now, and not in the next issue or two. Basically what I'm saying is that I don't want to still be dealing with the immediate aftermath of Steve's death in three or four months. It wouldn't advance the story, and the impact would definetly be lessened.

If we see those things anywhere, it'll be in the final issue of Fallen Son. It's not necessary to see them; the funeral is straightforward, we see all that there was of Tony's speech (he broke down and left), and, in the case of Sam's, it's probably better that we not see it, since it likely wouldn't live up to expectations. It's the kind of muted, subtle touch I've come to expect from Brubaker.

Captain America #26

This is another very good issue, although it doesn't (and probably couldn't) match the gut-wrenching intensity of the previous issue. This issue would probably have seemed a bit better had it come out shortly after #25, instead of after a much longer wait, since it's really about quietly setting the scenes for the next big story and mourning Cap, when we've already seen a tremendous amount of the latter in the intervening period in other titles. Brubaker's run was being called the character's defining run even before the first arc was over, and "Death of a Dream" is a thousand times more ambitious than even the resurrection of Bucky (a complete success). If he succeeds here, and based on the first two issues I don't doubt he will, he'll have written one of the great Marvel stories.

It's really a mark of accomplishment that Brubaker took over a title that really didn't have a supporting cast worth noting and, twenty five issues later, I have no problem seeing them carry book themselves for a considerable period of time. He's taken the best supporting characters from various eras of the title, and brought them together, along with the Winter Soldier. Incidentally, I really hope we'll see more of Union Jack and Spitfire; they're too awesome to be cooped up in England while all this Skullduggery is going down.

I was trying to break down the division of art chores here by chapter; this is what I've got:

Sharon and the Contessa - Perkins
The Wake - Epting
The Other Side - Perkins
The Secret Wake - Perkins (this one gave me the most trouble)
How It Begins - Epting

It was cool to see so many costumed heroes in this issue; most of this series uses fairly 'realistic' power sets (the most outlandish power on display so far was probably Jackie the speedster in "21st Century Blitz") and muted costumes and appearances. Seeing the Thing drawn by Epting is great; same with all the New Avengers, Kate and Eli, and Simon and Carol, etc. Rick Jones even puts in an appearance.

This issue also highlights one of the biggest characterization problems in current Marvel: Iron Man. In issues like this one under Brubaker's pen, in his own title, and in some other places (Civil War: The Confession) you get a very human, fallible Tony who is wracked by guilt and genuine conflict; in all kinds of other stories, you get proto-Doctor Doom Tony, who is manipulating everyone around him every second of the time, and never saw a situation he couldn't spin. Here, Iron Man is portrayed fairly sympathetically. However, his duplicitous portrayals in other titles undermine this; you could write a book about Tony monologuing to himself in a void and people would still suspect he was trying to deceive someone.

We also get some fun dynamics among the villains; the Skull looks rather haggard, and is using Doctor Faustus' service, seemingly, to control Lukin's personality (the Skull is now the dominant one, from all appearances); Faustus is squabbling with him, and may be up to something; Zola is chafing under the Skull's leadership as well. And Sin is just annoyed that Crossbones isn't getting enough credit from the media for his actions.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

 

[Dread]

An honest, serious question, for those who seem to be liking Brubaker's CA: To someone who never, in their entire life, read a single solo issue of Cap because they really didn't care too, is it honestly good enough to make you give a damn? That Omnibus of the first 24-25 issues plus some one-shot's will be coming out later this year, and I've been seriously debating it. There's too much HELLBOY to start out on, after all. I'm the "buy everything at once" type of trade buyer, not a "buy one trade slowly over a period of months so you actually get it done and read vs. just saving and talking and never really reading anything" type of TPB buyer. So that Cap Omnibus is definitely on the radar. But if I am going to piss maybe $80 to the wind I want some guarantee's.

Anyway, today I have been reading WATCHMEN again. Don't get me wrong, while some people may call it overrated, I certainly am not one of them; this is definitely one of the greatest Western comic tales put together, not only for the plot and the characters (and their gritty, human development), but because of the mastery of the craft of comic storytelling; Moore & Gibbons employ expert cinematic mastery of the craft a good generation before that became very common, and that even today is not easily imitated, much less surpassed. It had simply been about 6-7 years since I read it, and with all the talk of pre-production on a film, figured it was as good excuse as any to curl up to the ol' classic. I honestly don't envy anyone trying to make a film about it. There's so much to pack in that the only way any motion medium could carry it would be a mini-series (like the comic itself was, go figure).

 

[yenaled]

For what it's worth, reading just #25/26 has been enough for me to give a damn. I'm buying that Omnibus.

I only buy Y: The Last Man in trade, it's my version of Harry Potter. I'll camp out overnight at my comic book store for it.

Yeah I only read it in trade too, actually I got 1-5 at the same time and then 6-8 at the same time. Fantastic sessions were had reading it. When 9 came out a few weeks ago I was straight into the shop.

The wait for 10 is now killing me.

 

[Darthphere]

An honest, serious question, for those who seem to be liking Brubaker's CA: To someone who never, in their entire life, read a single solo issue of Cap because they really didn't care too, is it honestly good enough to make you give a damn?

Simple answer, yes.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

You all should watch Bleach, it's a really cool anime.

If I want the same pretentious crap that flows out of most, if not ALL mainstream anime, I'll go watch it, or Naruto, or DBZ, or something along those lines.

Yes, my friends also read manga and watch like 3 anime series a day. They keep trying to get me to watch anime series, and I keep telling them I'll get to them one day, but they just keep telling me about more and more anime.

I hate that. They do that, and I try to sell them on American comics, which pisses them off. I love eet.




As for the only comic I had a complaint about, which really encompasses two, it's Fantastic Four. Last month, Black Panther was somehow able to stalemate the Silver Surfer with a simple lock, THEN he just has Doctor Doom's stuff on hand for such a situation. But the second part was more of a personal dealy.

How the hell did he armlock an upgraded Silver Surfer?!

AND, and I may just not understand Stardust, how did Ororo make hir explode?

But one thing is weird. Galactus basically left the FF with a full charge of the Silver Surfer's power. I would figure he would just take it back.

 

[PhotoJones]

An honest, serious question, for those who seem to be liking Brubaker's CA: To someone who never, in their entire life, read a single solo issue of Cap because they really didn't care too, is it honestly good enough to make you give a damn? That Omnibus of the first 24-25 issues plus some one-shot's will be coming out later this year, and I've been seriously debating it. There's too much HELLBOY to start out on, after all. I'm the "buy everything at once" type of trade buyer, not a "buy one trade slowly over a period of months so you actually get it done and read vs. just saving and talking and never really reading anything" type of TPB buyer. So that Cap Omnibus is definitely on the radar. But if I am going to piss maybe $80 to the wind I want some guarantee's.

Wow. The question now becomes which do you pick up, Captain America or Hellboy? In my opinion, you're going to enjoy both of them, no question. It really just depends on what your cup of tea is. Do you like red demons fighting Nazis or Super Soldiers?

The omnibus is going to set you back a pretty penny. The Hellboy trades you can pick up for next to nothing. I'd try either Amazon or Ebay. I myself have been working Ebay for all it's worth regarding Hellboy. I've been able to snatch up every major issue for less than $60, and I don't buy trades. It's actually less daunting than you think. Here's the list:

Seed of Destruction 1-4
Wake the Devil 1-5
Almost Colossus 1-2
Box Full of Evil 1-2
Conqueror Worm 1-4
Third Wish 1-2
The Island 1-2
and the current Darkness Calls (on issue #1 right now)

So that's only 21 issues of essential backstory. Sure there's the Hellboy Junior stories, and the Weird Tales, but they're not necessary.

Like I said, it'll come down to personal preference. I think your wallet would fare better with Hellboy, though.

Hope that helps.

 

[Anubis]

I was never able to really get into Hellboy. Try as I might.

 

[Darthphere]

I was never able to really get into Hellboy. Try as I might.

Me neither. Really, I own a couple of trades, but not really my thing.

 

[PhotoJones]

If I had to choose, I'd rather read Hellboy, myself.

 

[Anubis]

And the thing is, It's everything I would enjoy in a comic. The undead, killing nazis, killing undead nazis...again. But it was all just...boring to me. With the exception of Lobster Johnson, the whole thing means nothing to me.

 

[Darthphere]

I don't know, at this point it just seems like Dread is coming up with reasons not to read Captain America. Next time it will be a choice between Cap and Essential Dazzler.

 

[Anubis]

With Dread it's like pulling teeth. I tried for two years to get the guy to read Invincible, and the only thing that finally did it was Dew basically giving him some hardcovers. I'm like, you bastard, i've been telling you to get that stuff for years!

 

[PhotoJones]

And the thing is, It's everything I would enjoy in a comic. The undead, killing nazis, killing undead nazis...again. But it was all just...boring to me. With the exception of Lobster Johnson, the whole thing means nothing to me.

Hmm...To each his own. Out all of them, I think Conqueror Worm is my favorite. BPRD is also equally as good, in my book.

 

[Not Jake]

Hellboy is awesome. Great art, moody, retro sci-fi with a great sense of fun. What else do you want, idiots

 

[PhotoJones]

Hellboy is awesome. Great art, moody, retro sci-fi with a great sense of fun. What else do you want, idiots

Word. To your mother.

 

[Not Jake]

no, not her

 

[Anubis]

Hellboy is awesome. Great art, moody, retro sci-fi with a great sense of fun. What else do you want, idiots

For you to admit that this is your son!

 

[GNR]

An honest, serious question, for those who seem to be liking Brubaker's CA: To someone who never, in their entire life, read a single solo issue of Cap because they really didn't care too, is it honestly good enough to make you give a damn? That Omnibus of the first 24-25 issues plus some one-shot's will be coming out later this year, and I've been seriously debating it. There's too much HELLBOY to start out on, after all. I'm the "buy everything at once" type of trade buyer, not a "buy one trade slowly over a period of months so you actually get it done and read vs. just saving and talking and never really reading anything" type of TPB buyer. So that Cap Omnibus is definitely on the radar. But if I am going to piss maybe $80 to the wind I want some guarantee's.

.

Buy the Omnibus and start picking up the current arc of Cap.I used to pick up the odd issue here and then as a kid at my local Wal Mart of Waid's run but never actually followed Cap's stuff.

Very interwoven story which doesn't lag at all.

 

[Assassin]

I only buy Y: The Last Man in trade, it's my version of Harry Potter. I'll camp out overnight at my comic book store for it.

It will prob make you sick when I tell you, "me too". Same with Walking dead and Invincible.

 

[Phaedrus45]

A Few More Thoughts:

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1: Decent issue that seems to be following a common theme we're seeing pretty frequently in comics today. Namely, retelling a hero or villian's origin or past and making the reader sympathetic to their problems. In this issue, we have Sandman, and we see what a hard childhood he had and how it effected his decisions to become a villian. Again, it highly stresses the sympathetic elements of his life, and it would possibly be more powerful if it wasn't used so frequently. The second story at the end was also nothing original, a fluff piece meant to break the reader's heart. Again, been seen and done numerous times over. 7/10

Fantastic Four #546: Again, I'm left less than impressed. This new F4 really does little for me, and the personality that made Storm and Black Panther interesting in the past are non-existant in this issue. (Really, they could have been switched with Reed and Sue and nothing about the story would have changed.) This Galactus story is over as quickly as it began, everything returns to normal in the end, and all the cosmic characters the New F4 fought were made to seem much weaker than they really are. Plus, Reed and Sue's "return to romance" is extremely dull. 7/10

Wisdom #6: The conclusion to a pretty forgettable miniseries. And, while it's gotten much better after what seemed to be a drug induced first couple issues, it's still rather strange. In this final issue, we get Captain Britain, Fairies, Skrull Beatles, Martians and a bunch of alternate world Jack The Rippers. The problem lies in the fact that the main character, Pete Wisdom, has always been a bit of a bore and his witty banter just isn't that witty. The saving grace to this issue is the end with a final scene I just didn't see coming. (Of course, most of this mini was so "out there" that hardly could have imagined what would happen throughout it.) 6/10

Marvel Spotlight - Fantastic Four: In this issue, we get an interview with new F4 writer, Dwayne McDuffie, a commentary on some of artist Paul Pelletier's drawings, Erik Larsen's thoughts on the Jack Kirby's Galactus Trilogy, a look back at Walt Simonson's past stint with the F4, the top 10 Thing stories of all time, a look at Stracynski's upcoming Silver Surfer limited series with four pages of art, an interview with Alan Davis concerning his F4: The End miniseries, and an interview and preview of "Stan Lee's last Fantastic Four Story." So far, it's the best issue I've read from Marvel this week. It's good to see Marvel Spotlight is now focusing on one topic instead of two different writers and/or artists each week. 9/10

 

[Darthphere]

It will prob make you sick when I tell you, "me too". Same with Walking dead and Invincible.

Not really, I respect your opinions a lot more than I do a GAH for instance, you know this.

 

[Assassin]

Not really, I respect your opinions a lot more than I do a GAH for instance, you know this.

Ohh snap, I just got a tear in my eye :heart:

Only 2 trades left of Y right? I may have to break my trade only policy, I have to buy that cover of that supermodel/garbage chick. Thats the hottest cover ever.