The General Comic Discussion Thread - Part 2

[CrimsonMist]

Honestly...there's zero reason to have the Superman line in there. Take out that portion and you still get Diana's fear across.

I see this as a blip on the radar but Superman/Batmans sons have an entire backup in her book, and we get an issue of WW/SM shopping for a present for Batman. That's A LOT of Superman. When Diana and her fam are never treated the same in their books. So its never good to downplay her in relation to either in any book related to her.

Eeeh, I still don't agree. Given the back-ups with the Super Sons, I see the Superman line working as nothing more than an acknowledgement that her kid and his kid hang out all the time. I still don't see a need to view this as some anti-woman conspiracy at worst, or some Tom King fumble at best. It's much ado about nothing, especially considering how Diana has been otherwise portrayed in this series so far. King has proven again and again and again that he doesn't has much interest in the typical, if not cliche binary of superheroics. He does what he can to get to the (sometimes very) basic humanity of these characters as functioning people. The archetypes of these characters, and the pedestals they're supposed to be on are often hoisted onto them by others, including fans which to me reduces these characters to action figure fights in sandboxes.

Until King does something particularly egregious, this series continues to be damn good comics.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Eeeh, I still don't agree. Given the back-ups with the Super Sons, I see the Superman line working as nothing more than an acknowledgement that her kid and his kid hang out all the time. I still don't see a need to view this as some anti-woman conspiracy at worst, or some Tom King fumble at best. It's much ado about nothing, especially considering how Diana has been otherwise portrayed in this series so far. King has proven again and again and again that he doesn't has much interest in the typical, if not cliche binary of superheroics. He does what he can to get to the (sometimes very) basic humanity of these characters as functioning people. The archetypes of these characters, and the pedestals they're supposed to be on are often hoisted onto them by others, including fans which to me reduces these characters to action figure fights in sandboxes.

Until King does something particularly egregious, this series continues to be damn good comics.

Like I said-i see it as a fumble.

He can still prove himself in a variety of areas. But WW doesn't need to be tied down to the SuperSons long term. I want to see Trinity with members of her Wonder family

 

[Mani-Man]

New Comics Week

Batman #142

Eh, not a huge fan I have to say.
Zdarsky tries here something I absolutely never want…giving the Joker a true origin.
This is the thing that makes him so unqiue.
But when we understand where he comes from, we know why he is how he is…and that ruins the fun a lot of the character.
Not knowing what made him how he is, is the far more interesting thing.
So Zdarsky including him into the Zur-En-Aarh story alone is questionable, but also trying to tie it somewhat to the Jokers origins…im not a fan.

The Writing is wild, the art is good…but im just not a huge fan of the story so far.

I do however like all the covers.
The regular one the most, but you never go wrong with a good joker cover.


Birds of Prey #6

Here we have the usual…a fantastic written book that wins alone for the chemistry the writing manages to get across.
The team works so well together, the characters are balancing each other out quite well.
It’s a very fun book and I hope the creative team sticks together longer, they make this book so special.

Main Cover here for me, it fits just the best.

Shazam #8

Shazam by Mark Waid…what more can one say?
The Writing is just fun Comic Book goodness…you just have to love it.
The Art is not Dan Mora but still great and colorful.
Not complaints from me on this.

Dan Moras cover is neat, but something about Pete Woods cover hits different…I love it.

And that’s pretty much it for this Week.
Batman a bit disappointing, but the rest did absolutely not disappoint.
I get the idea behind what Zdarsky tries etc, but i just dont like Humanizing the Joker too much, it can take away what makes the joker so fun.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Pitifully small week this week.

Conan The Barbarian #7. This book is so good. The writing is great. The art is great. The colors, the covers...all great. I know that Conan is now very much a niche book these days but this new series from Titan is checking all the boxes for me.

I forgot that Birds of Prey #6 came out but since next week is a dead week for me (no books I read are coming out), I'll grab it then.

 

[Babillygunn]

I just read The Golden Age by Robinson. Very well written and interesting. At first it almost seemed like it was going to go a Miracleman or Watchmen route before going to the straight up hero vs villain story. I would definitely recommend

 

[Mani-Man]

Big Comics week this time


Action Comics #1062

I really love this arc so far…it shows the Potential you have with Bizzaro.
Great art and writing, a fantastic flow and overall a fun story so far.
Very happy with the Arc and im looking forward to the next issue.
John Timms has a very nice art style and it works quite nice with Superman and especially Bizzaro and in context of the story I thought.
Jason Aarons writing is fun and hits good notes…im happy.

As for Covers, Regular one does the job and fits the story.

Batman #143

That was a good issue I cant lie…but super confusing.
Im already lost on what is going on with the changing art style and storytelling.
Does this go into “Actually the three jokers thing is just the joker having three personalities”?
I don’t know, im getting lost in the story.
There is so much going on, so much to see.
Im still not really feeling the arc here, but the issue was very interesting done and had a few nice panels going in terms of story and art.

Next to the regular one, Yasmine Putris cover has something…something about the Joker in white and Purple, looks cool to me.

Batman and Robin #6

Oh this was wild fun, the art was so energetic and made Zsasz look like the craziest guy ever.
I love how this book further humanizes Damian and gave us a few very nice Father/Son moments.
Im really enjoying this book so far a ton.

As for the covers, choose whatever you want…they all are neat.
The Regular one is not really fitting to the vibe of the Issue, but it’s a nice cover.

Batman: City of Madness #3

Sadly the issue number 3 is the last.
But man, it goes out very strong.
This is such a great book…I cant wait to get it Physical.
The Art is so cool, the writing incredible…just a absolutely crazy good book.

The Regular Cover is so cool.

Green Lantern #8

Im really liking this, even though im seemingly not up to date on the Lantern lore.
Still, it’s a fun read with great writing and fantastic visuals.
Im very invested in the story and the characters, so that Is always a good thing.

You gotta love Steve Beachs covers, they have these wild faces that you still find very cool.
But its mean to have to choose between him and Doc Shaner.
I think I would go with Beach because it fits the story of the book more.

A strong Comic week, im quite happy with it.
Even kind of liked Batman…not 100%, but this issue was good.

 

[Babillygunn]

I’ve finished the first 8 issues of Superman Lost and plan to finish the final 2 tomorrow morning. Holy cow, this got good halfway through. I am so surprised at the depth of this story.

Im truly interested to see what @flickchick85 thinks of it.

 

[flickchick85]

I’ve finished the first 8 issues of Superman Lost and plan to finish the final 2 tomorrow morning. Holy cow, this got good halfway through. I am so surprised at the depth of this story.

Im truly interested to see what @flickchick85 thinks of it.

I need to catch up now that it's done!

 

[Babillygunn]

So, here is actual footage of me having read the conclusion to Superman Lost:

 

[CrimsonMist]

I just read The Golden Age by Robinson. Very well written and interesting. At first it almost seemed like it was going to go a Miracleman or Watchmen route before going to the straight up hero vs villain story. I would definitely recommend

The Golden Age doesn't get talked about enough, and I can't rave about it enough either. What Robinson did so masterfully in this and in Starman (another book that needs much more deserved attention) was reconstruct the concept of the superhero, that these people are all inherently good, even with their flaws, and can be counted on to do the right thing when it's time. The writing is just pitch perfect. It just builds and builds and builds and the payoff is just incredible. I think my jaw hit the ground when the twist was revealed. It's a silly b-movie plot elevated to something profoundly sinister and twisted. It's such a great book.

Anyways, I ended up pushing Birds of Prey to this week instead of last so I have a bigger stash of comics to read. Instead of getting BOP, I opted to instead read the script for the aborted George (Mad Max) Miller Justice League film and...it was pretty damn satisfying. It could use maybe another 30/35 pages of character development (as Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Aquaman to a lesser extent kinda sorta get the shaft). But much like the Justice League cartoons, it takes full advantage of the fact that you, as the viewer, should already be well enough acquainted with these characters to forgo their introductions and their explanations. It was just an old-fashioned superhero romp that they should really get back to making. If there's a god above, Miller will get to a do a Justice League movie in the future.

 

[Gee]

Amazon Canada has it for $49 CAD (down from $66). Easy pre-order purchase!

 

[Primal Slayer]

WW was on point this week

 

[blueharvest]

WW was on point this week

Every issue of that Wonder Woman run has been great, in my opinion.

 

[CrimsonMist]

If'n Wonder Woman #6 doesn't go down as one of the finest Wonder Woman comics of all time, I'd be quite disappointed. One of the high points of this issue, but really of this entire run thus far, is how The Sovereign, smug in his sexism, just keeps on underestimating Diana. He's so smug in his assurance that he's got her beat only to find that he woefully miscalculated. This issue succinctly capitalizes on it. The splash pages of Diana lifting the Washington Memorial over her head and KO'ing Grail are just ****ing iconic. And not only that, they carry so much weight. These aren't glorified pin-ups. You can feel the weight of the monument and Diana's effort to lift it. You can feel the shockwave of Diana's fist meeting Grail's jaw. And the way Sempere draws the musculature's of Diana's arm and back...this man has fully come into his abilities as an artist.

All that to say, I'm a little confounded by King's other book, Animal Pound, for Boom! It's essentially a retelling of Animal farm set in a pound, as cats and dogs and rabbits try to create a system in which they are all equal. It's full of classic King philosophical and political diatribes, but I wonder if it lends too much of itself to simply being a modern Animal Farm. Granted, I haven't the Orwell book something like 15 years so maybe I'm off in my assessment. Until it concludes, I remain a little iffy on this one. As far as King's explicitly political books like Omega Men and Rorschach go, Animal Pound rests at the bottom.

Hellblazer: Dead in America #2 continues to be simple perfection. We get Constantine back to his old con-man ways, and we get some wonderful purply-prose Swamp Thing dialogue. Sometimes I surprise myself by how easy to please I can be. I love this book. It's a very smart, well-written book. If Spurrier, who's already doing a bang up job on The Flash, and Aaron Campbell can keep this up, this run on Hellblazer should be a damned memorable one.

 

[Mani-Man]

Another Big Comics week


Batman #144

Okay…what exactly was the point of this Arc now?
Like, I feel like im missing the point here despite reading it 3 times.
How the Joker became who he is…okay and?
Its such a confusing written and paced Arc that has some interesting aspects, but in the end is not moving a lot forward I felt.
Don’t get me wrong, I take every Arc that shows how great Gordon of a character is…but it feels a bit pointless in the grand scheme of Zdarskys run.

I like Yasmine Putris Cover, but you cant go wrong with either of the ones avaliable.

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #24

Oh man, I loved everything about this.
First and foremost the writing…I love how Waid writes Clark.
He also writes Bruce as smart but not in this annoying Batgod manner.
And he wrote a incredible powerful and dangerous Darkseid here.
His writing and Dan Moras art made Darkseid so incredible…I loved it.
In General Dan Moras art is incredible and certainly helps elevating a already fanastic writing.
This is such a incredible book, im so happy with it.

In terms of Covers you cant go wrong.
You get a great regular cover and incredible Kingdom Come covers.

Nightwing #111

That was a fun issue, one that felt again like Nightwing I was used to.
Don’t know, just was flowing better for me.
Of course Batfamily stuff is always the right way to get in my good grades.
But in general I felt the Issue itself felt more like one of the earlier Nightwing issues.

I like the Regular Cover, but of course Dan Mora delivers a fantastic one too.

Superman #11

This is such a wild Arc with Art and Writing that totally fits that.
The Pace is picking up and it’s a very fun read.

Im loving the Regular cover the most.
Jamal Campbell is next to Jorge Jimenez one of my favorites when it comes to drawing superman.


Wonder Woman #6

Another strong WW issue, this time with a lot of Action.
I continue to like the way King writes Diana and the Art is just incredible.
Grail is a character I need DC to invest more into, she could be one of the big DC Villains or Dianas Joker/Lex Luthor if you would try.
I like her and her Design, but often in terms of character there is little done.
She could be bigger as character, that would be neat.
Other than that, yeah I still love the arc, the writing and art is fantastic.
A very good WW book so far.
There is this cool vibe about this that i just love.

There are a few cool covers for this one, but I prefer the simple Regular one…that one is really neat.


So, that’s a big comic week again that I truly enjoyed.
Keep up with that DC.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Its crazy to think that this is the first time in over 20 years that WW has had the same launch team with no fill-in. No launch team since Perez post-COIE has given us consistent art for 6 straight issues. Thats a rarity in general for DC comics nowadays

 

[Babillygunn]

All that to say, I'm a little confounded by King's other book, Animal Pound, for Boom! It's essentially a retelling of Animal farm set in a pound, as cats and dogs and rabbits try to create a system in which they are all equal. It's full of classic King philosophical and political diatribes, but I wonder if it lends too much of itself to simply being a modern Animal Farm. Granted, I haven't the Orwell book something like 15 years so maybe I'm off in my assessment. Until it concludes, I remain a little iffy on this one. As far as King's explicitly political books like Omega Men and Rorschach go, Animal Pound rests at the bottom.

I’m very interested in reading Animal Pound as I’m a huge Tom King fan and I’m also a fan of Orwell’s original book. But I’m waiting for it to conclude as I imagine that it would be difficult to read in thirds.

But from what I’ve heard in King’s interviews, he has said that he is modernizing Orwell’s ideas in Animal Farm. Whereas Orwell was a democratic socialist who saw the dangers of communism morphing into authoritarianism and fascism, King has stated that in today’s political climate, he believes that the biggest threat of fascism/authoritarianism isn’t from communist philosophies but from elsewhere. He wanted to update the story to reflect that. I believe that he’s right about his observation of the current political landscape and I’m very interested in seeing his execution. So I’m eagerly anticipating it concluding hopefully in April.

 

[CrimsonMist]

I’m very interested in reading Animal Pound as I’m a huge Tom King fan and I’m also a fan of Orwell’s original book. But I’m waiting for it to conclude as I imagine that it would be difficult to read in thirds.

But from what I’ve heard in King’s interviews, he has said that he is modernizing Orwell’s ideas in Animal Farm. Whereas Orwell was a democratic socialist who saw the dangers of communism morphing into authoritarianism and fascism, King has stated that in today’s political climate, he believes that the biggest threat of fascism/authoritarianism isn’t from communist philosophies but from elsewhere. He wanted to update the story to reflect that. I believe that he’s right about his observation of the current political landscape and I’m very interested in seeing his execution. So I’m eagerly anticipating it concluding hopefully in April.

That's interesting. I'm gonna have to do a deep dive on some of the Word Balloon podcasts he's done and try to find other interviews with him about it. At the moment, Animal Pound is still a good read but it feels less go-for-the-throat as some of his other political work. I imagine that'll change as the series progresses. With 4 issues left, we'll see.

 

[Babillygunn]

That's interesting. I'm gonna have to do a deep dive on some of the Word Balloon podcasts he's done and try to find other interviews with him about it. At the moment, Animal Pound is still a good read but it feels less go-for-the-throat as some of his other political work. I imagine that'll change as the series progresses. With 4 issues left, we'll see.

Yeah. The interview that I reference is from Word Balloon. I love to listen to those interviews even if i find John Suntress to be insufferable.

 

[Karelia]

Jeremy Adams is doing great with Green Lantern. A little slow the past few issues, but I'm still enjoying it a lot. Probably the moat fun I've had with GL since Johns & Venditti (Rebirth)

Kinda ready to know what's going on with the United Planets. I'd love to see some familiar faces before his run ends. (Larfleeze & Saint Walker.)

 

[Babillygunn]

Jeremy Adams is doing great with Green Lantern. A little slow the past few issues, but I'm still enjoying it a lot. Probably the moat fun I've had with GL since Johns & Venditti (Rebirth)

Kinda ready to know what's going on with the United Planets. I'd love to see some familiar faces before his run ends. (Larfleeze & Saint Walker.)

In general, I’m not usually a fan of Green Lantern and especially not Hal. But Adams run has been pretty good. But I really miss Adams on the Flash. The drop in quality on that book has been significant imo.

I‘ve also really enjoyed Green Lantern War Journal. PKJ is a great writer. I love his stuff

 

[Karelia]

In general, I’m not usually a fan of Green Lantern and especially not Hal. But Adams run has been pretty good. But I really miss Adams on the Flash. The drop in quality on that book has been significant imo.

I‘ve also really enjoyed Green Lantern War Journal. PKJ is a great writer. I love his stuff

War Journal has been fantastic! As a huge GL Corps fan, these books are delivering for the most part! The stuff with John Stewart's mom has been written pretty well, and the "Radiant Dead/Revenant Queen " have made for an interesting villian.

I've been a fan of GL since Johns Rebirth, but I get why people aren't a fan of Hal. I've come to pretty much enjoy all the human GLs.

 

[Mani-Man]

And we get the third big comics week in a row…wow.


Batman: The Brave and the Bold #10

Now that the Joker story is over, I can focus better on the Anthology aspect of this…and I really like that.
Ive said it before but I really like Batman anthology books.
It has something having several completely different Batman stories in one book…that’s cool.
Here we aren’t just getting batman related stories and that is fine too.
So I definitely keep going with this book because I like it…also you can sell me this already well with a Manbat story…so juhu.

Regular Cover rocks.


Detective Comics #1082

Do I need to say more? Its Ram V goodness…after what felt like a super long break.
I just love this book so much, even if I struggle here and there following it.
But still, a incredible book and the arc Is so good.

This time im not a fan of the Regular cover, its too overloaded for my taste.
I prefer the Sebastián Fiumara one.


The Flash #6

There is not much to say to this…its stays consistent in what it does.
Its one of these Runs currently that is not setting the world on fire, but is solid, fun and entertaining enough.
Not much else to say to that.
Not every book needs to have something groundbreaking or so…as long as it’s a fun read, I think that is enough.

Regular cover is fine, I like that.


Green Arrow #9

I keep forgetting to what DC is working towards, this book reminded me of that and why.
Did a good job and involving Green Arrow makes me hopefull that he will play a part in the big event…Absolute Power did they call it right?
We will see.
A good issue, liked it a lot.

While the Regular cover fits the issue, David Nguyens cover is crazy good.

The Penguin #7

This is such a good Book, the few times I feel like King is good when writing batman related characters.
The art helps this book so much, its so twisted and wild, fits the overall vibe and storytelling a lot.
Fun read that keeps me very interested.

The Covers on these also continue to be very interesting and nice.
The Regular cover is good, but Francesco Mattinas cover also hits quite good notes for me.
Just looks very cool.


Yeah, a big comics week with a lot of good stuff…im happy.

 

[Babillygunn]

And we get the third big comics week in a row…wow.


Batman: The Brave and the Bold #10

Now that the Joker story is over, I can focus better on the Anthology aspect of this…and I really like that.
Ive said it before but I really like Batman anthology books.
It has something having several completely different Batman stories in one book…that’s cool.
Here we aren’t just getting batman related stories and that is fine too.
So I definitely keep going with this book because I like it…also you can sell me this already well with a Manbat story…so juhu.

Regular Cover rocks.


Detective Comics #1082

Do I need to say more? Its Ram V goodness…after what felt like a super long break.
I just love this book so much, even if I struggle here and there following it.
But still, a incredible book and the arc Is so good.

This time im not a fan of the Regular cover, its too overloaded for my taste.
I prefer the Sebastián Fiumara one.


The Flash #6

There is not much to say to this…its stays consistent in what it does.
Its one of these Runs currently that is not setting the world on fire, but is solid, fun and entertaining enough.
Not much else to say to that.
Not every book needs to have something groundbreaking or so…as long as it’s a fun read, I think that is enough.

Regular cover is fine, I like that.


Green Arrow #9

I keep forgetting to what DC is working towards, this book reminded me of that and why.
Did a good job and involving Green Arrow makes me hopefull that he will play a part in the big event…Absolute Power did they call it right?
We will see.
A good issue, liked it a lot.

While the Regular cover fits the issue, David Nguyens cover is crazy good.

The Penguin #7

This is such a good Book, the few times I feel like King is good when writing batman related characters.
The art helps this book so much, its so twisted and wild, fits the overall vibe and storytelling a lot.
Fun read that keeps me very interested.

The Covers on these also continue to be very interesting and nice.
The Regular cover is good, but Francesco Mattinas cover also hits quite good notes for me.
Just looks very cool.


Yeah, a big comics week with a lot of good stuff…im happy.

My friend, I’ve always thought that you and I had similar sensibilities when it comes to the comics that we enjoy (with the exception of King’s Batman run, but even there I understand where you are coming from and I agree to a certain extent even if I was intrigued by what King was aiming at before DiDio got involved). But I really don’t see the love for Ram V’s Detective run. It feels like all style-no substance and all sizzle no steak to me. But I’m glad you like it. I just can’t wait for it to end so that I can hopefully enjoy Detective again.

And I really feel bad for Simon Spurrier. I might’ve enjoyed his Flash run but it is hard for anyone to follow the job that Jeremy Adams did in his run. The tone feels so markedly different with Adams focusing on the fun, family dynamics whereas Spurrier leans more sci-fi. It’s a jarring tonal shift. Spurrier is doing a decent job at writing what he is writing, but it’s just not Adams. But then again, Adams is kind of a bargain Mark Waid, which I mean as a compliment to Adams. Whereas Spurrier strikes me as more from the Scott Snyder style of writing.

It’s hard to make a turn from one to the other. I actually read the first half of Flash #5 and then didn’t finish. I anticipate that I probably will at some point, but truth be told, I can say with decent certainty that the only thing keeping me even considering reading that comic is that it is Wally. If this were Barry-centric, I would bail. But ironically, I think that Spurrier doesn’t really differentiate between the two the way that he writes.

 

[Mani-Man]

My friend, I’ve always thought that you and I had similar sensibilities when it comes to the comics that we enjoy (with the exception of King’s Batman run, but even there I understand where you are coming from and I agree to a certain extent even if I was intrigued by what King was aiming at before DiDio got involved). But I really don’t see the love for Ram V’s Detective run. It feels like all style-no substance and all sizzle no steak to me. But I’m glad you like it. I just can’t wait for it to end so that I can hopefully enjoy Detective again.

And I really feel bad for Simon Spurrier. I might’ve enjoyed his Flash run but it is hard for anyone to follow the job that Jeremy Adams did in his run. The tone feels so markedly different with Adams focusing on the fun, family dynamics whereas Spurrier leans more sci-fi. It’s a jarring tonal shift. Spurrier is doing a decent job at writing what he is writing, but it’s just not Adams. But then again, Adams is kind of a bargain Mark Waid, which I mean as a compliment to Adams. Whereas Spurrier strikes me as more from the Scott Snyder style of writing.

It’s hard to make a turn from one to the other. I actually read the first half of Flash #5 and then didn’t finish. I anticipate that I probably will at some point, but truth be told, I can say with decent certainty that the only thing keeping me even considering reading that comic is that it is Wally. If this were Barry-centric, I would bail. But ironically, I think that Spurrier doesn’t really differentiate between the two the way that he writes.

In the end you either like Ram Vs run or not, there is no inbetween.
That can happen quite often with such kind of Runs, especially when you have something in the style of what Ram V does, how he tells a story and stuff.
But that is the beauty of comics, so many different styles and ways to tell stories about these characters.
I will say that i do look forward to when his Run ends, because i dont want his run to drag out for too long and lose what makes it interesting to me.
At first i was a bit sad when it was announced he would leave, but then i thought about that his way of Writing and stuff, maybe isnt suited for longer runs, so im fine with it.
Also im excited what the next team brings to the table, who it will be and all.

Spurrier has a bit of a hard stand since Adams did such a great Job.
Im not seeing too much talk about Spurriers run so far, which is never a good sign.
I do enjoy his run, but as you can see...there is not much to talk about.
Maybe that is why i dont see many people talk about it, because what is there to say?
Its fun and enjoyable...but nothing you go out of your way to recommend to people.
And its kind of sad since he doesnt do much wrong, which should be good...but he also doesnt do enough to make it a story people have to read.