The New Diamond List for September 9th, 2010

[TheCorpulent1]

I'll hop on with the Avengers round, then. I like the vampire civil war plot, but I still can't give a rat's ass about the X-Men as they currently stand. Really, what they ought to do is just give Gischler a Blade series. Maybe if they tie it into the ongoing vampire plot and give Blade a decent supporting cast and a decent some inkling of a personality, it can actually sell this time.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I've actually not liked most of the X-Men line over the past few years but the first two issues of X-Men have actually been pretty decent. It kinda felt like older X-Men when I enjoyed it more. I hear the Blade oneshot was pretty decent too but I didn't read it.

 

[Keyser Soze]

DC COMICS
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #6
BATMAN AND ROBIN #14
GREEN LANTERN #57

MARVEL COMICS
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #30
THOR #614

I'm going to have to echo the statements made by Dread and others in this thread, that I'm considering dropping Invincible Iron Man. There are some good ideas at work, and Fraction is such a skilled writer and so good with this ensemble that he could make these characters spend a whole issue just drinking coffee and making small talk and it would be compelling reading. But I feel the book has been coasting on the strength of its characterisation a little in recent months, and now I'm viewing it in a similar way to how I was viewing S.H.I.E.L.D. when I dropped it: the book is more interesting than exciting, if that makes sense. I've stuck with Invincible Iron Man longer than I would have other books in similar decline, as I loved "World's Most Wanted" so much and think for much of 2009 it was arguably Marvel's best book. But now I feel like I'm buying out of habit rather than out of genuinely wanting to know what happens next.

Thor is also on the threshold. While J Michael Straczynski's run made me a fan, and Gillen's run has kept me entertained, I'm going to have to see how Fraction handles working on the Thor ongoing. I'll maybe give it a couple of issues, see how it's going to progress, then decide if it's a keeper or a dropper.

I think I find myself now more gravitating towards the creator-owned stories than the superhero stuff - as the superhero titles drop off my pull list, more and more titles from Vertigo, Icon and Image seem to be replacing them. But the one superhero book that is undoubtedly safe is whatever Batman book Grant Morrison happens to be working on. His run has been incredible, and this latest issue of Batman and Robin is my most anticipated book of the week.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Fraction's Thor has me a bit wary, but that preview they released a little while ago showed that he has a pretty good handle on the complex relationship between Thor and Loki. Even after everything Loki did, up to and including the fall of Asgard itself, Thor still remembers him primarily as his kid brother who was clever and funny. Family is probably the single most important aspect of Thor's mythos, and I'm glad Fraction seems to get that. On the other hand, Fraction still has a pretty lousy track record of holding my interest in anything besides The Immortal Iron Fist (and even that, looking back on it, had a few arcs that dragged). Ferry's art still doesn't really suit Thor to me, either.

But look on the bright side: If you're interested in Thor and Fraction's run doesn't grab you, you'll still have plenty of other Thor comics to choose from, at least for the next 9 months. For Asgard got off to a bloody fantastic start last week.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Picking up the following tomorrow that wasn't on the original list or I reconsidered:

Dark Horse

Buffy One For One
Magnus Robot Fighter One For One
Doctor Solar, Man Of The Atom #2 - (Not sure about keeping this one. But, I never got around to reading the first issue yet.)

Image

Image Firsts Liberty Meadows #1 $1.00 - (This is a nice addition to my collection, as I'm only missing that first issue of this series. Now, I can read it, until that time I find the original at a good price.)

Comics

28 Days Later #14
Irredeemable #17
Sixth Gun #4 - (Good series; but, my shop never got in the last issue. I'll have to see what's up with that; but, think I'll have to get it online.)