TPBs Bought/Thought Thread

[TheCorpulent1]

I bought the Planet Hulk hardcover last week. I'm only about halfway through it because I spent the last few days reading all of the comics I bought for last week, but I can already tell why people have been hailing it as possibly the best Hulk story ever. First off, it ditches the ****** Hulk and gives us a smarter, craftier, but no less angry Fixit-like Hulk, only he's still green. Second, it actually challenges the Hulk, and it does so in the way I love to see; rather than bringing the Hulk down to make him seem less impressive than he has been in the past, it simply scales his surroundings and opponents up. The Hulk is still weakened, but it doesn't seem to be by much, and the characters on Sakaar all seem to be pretty credible threats in their own right. For those (like me) who love seeing some cohesion in their comic universes, Pak even throws in some references to past Marvel tales in the form of the Hulk's Warbound allies. Korg and Brood's stories made the influence of Earth's heroes and Marvel's history really stand out for me. But I mentioned earlier that I can see why some have called this the Hulk's best story ever--surely I couldn't have said that if all there were to it were great action, an epic plot, and a few continuity references. That's true, and the final component--and, for me, the lynchpin--of the story is the fact that, at its heart, Planet Hulk is one giant character arc. The rest of that stuff is just the context through which we see the Hulk grow from little more than a childish blunt object into a more of a whole, well-rounded character in his own right, entirely separate from Banner. He goes from the consummately cynical loner to a friend and even a family man by the end. Given how interesting the Hulk's life was on Sakaar, it's almost kind of sad that it ultimately had to end in tragedy to pave the way for World War Hulk.

 

[hippy fascist]

I read thru Grant's Animal Man at Borders,didn't feel compelled to buy it though.Not my cup of tea.

Bought Rising Stars Books 1 to 3 and it literally changed my life.

 

[Elijya]

Bought Rising Stars Books 1 to 3 and it literally changed my life.

Literally? What happened?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He now knows what happens in Rising Stars books 1 through 3, whereas before he did not.

 

[Anubis]

He's become a new man.

 

[GNR]

I bought the Planet Hulk hardcover last week. I'm only about halfway through it because I spent the last few days reading all of the comics I bought for last week, but I can already tell why people have been hailing it as possibly the best Hulk story ever. First off, it ditches the ****** Hulk and gives us a smarter, craftier, but no less angry Fixit-like Hulk, only he's still green. Second, it actually challenges the Hulk, and it does so in the way I love to see; rather than bringing the Hulk down to make him seem less impressive than he has been in the past, it simply scales his surroundings and opponents up. The Hulk is still weakened, but it doesn't seem to be by much, and the characters on Sakaar all seem to be pretty credible threats in their own right. For those (like me) who love seeing some cohesion in their comic universes, Pak even throws in some references to past Marvel tales in the form of the Hulk's Warbound allies. Korg and Brood's stories made the influence of Earth's heroes and Marvel's history really stand out for me. But I mentioned earlier that I can see why some have called this the Hulk's best story ever--surely I couldn't have said that if all there were to it were great action, an epic plot, and a few continuity references. That's true, and the final component--and, for me, the lynchpin--of the story is the fact that, at its heart, Planet Hulk is one giant character arc. The rest of that stuff is just the context through which we see the Hulk grow from little more than a childish blunt object into a more of a whole, well-rounded character in his own right, entirely separate from Banner. He goes from the consummately cynical loner to a friend and even a family man by the end. Given how interesting the Hulk's life was on Sakaar, it's almost kind of sad that it ultimately had to end in tragedy to pave the way for World War Hulk.

Nice review.

As for the Rising Stars comment,I was just being stupid.But it's a book that honestly made me think alot about the world and all the madness that's going on right now.

 

[The Hero]

Finished Brief Lives the other day. Awesome as always.

I'm really loving Box Office Poison.

 

[KingOfDreams]

Planet Hulk - I got way behind so I decided just to wait for the hardcover. Of course, it's pure badassery. I like reading the whole thing in one sitting I have to say. Gives the story a more epic, cinematic feel.

Iron Man: Extremis - I don't think I've reviewed this one yet. I found a used copy. This is probably the only arc from the relaunch that I've liked. The art's fantastic. It's unfortunate this creative team couldn't keep to a schedule.

Archenemies - This is a good, darkly comic tale of two roommates who also happen to be archenemies, in thier civilian lives and in thier superhuman lives. This was just a miniseries but I'd really like to see more of these characters.

Star Wars: Dark Empire - My favorite part of this is the coloring. The watercolor aspect creates a very moody look. Fits the tone of the story well. Pretty good penciling too, if a little scattered in places. The story, meh, it's perfectly decent but I've seen more original Star Wars tales.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Spider-Man: Reign
I liked it. It's all one big love letter to Frank Miller (I liked the fact that the reporter was even named "Miller Janson") and the Dark Knight Returns, but it's also a good story on top of that. I sure as hell don't want it to be the official, canon future for Spider-Man, but as a more elaborate What If? or The End scenario, it's good stuff. Kaare Andrews can do just about every style under the sun, and the Miller homage he chose here was nice. My one complaint about the art is the CG backgrounds. Entirely CG art in comics--not just computer-colored, but built from the ground up in 3D modeling programs--is always tacky.

 

[Sun_Down]

Wanted

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed in this book, mostly because of its length. I got to the end and was like "Is that it?". But I suppose I was expecting too much. I'd heard this book described as "Watchmen for villains" and that's obviously a tall order to fill. I did, however, like the characters and the nihilistic attitude of the book. It was refreshing to see so many unabashed bastards as the main characters of a comic book.

 

[Anubis]

Who said "Watchmen for Villains"? That's pretty stupid. It was good, yeah, in a summer block buster sorta way.

 

[Erzengel]

Spider-Man: Reign
I liked it. It's all one big love letter to Frank Miller (I liked the fact that the reporter was even named "Miller Janson") and the Dark Knight Returns, but it's also a good story on top of that. I sure as hell don't want it to be the official, canon future for Spider-Man, but as a more elaborate What If? or The End scenario, it's good stuff. Kaare Andrews can do just about every style under the sun, and the Miller homage he chose here was nice. My one complaint about the art is the CG backgrounds. Entirely CG art in comics--not just computer-colored, but built from the ground up in 3D modeling programs--is always tacky.

Heh. I read that too a couple of days ago and it has to be one of the better stories I have read in a while. I found it very touching and sad, and I thought I was going to have trouble with comparisons to DKR but I felt it stands on it's on and is an excellent story and very engaging. I highly recommend it.

 

[Sun_Down]

Who said "Watchmen for Villains"? That's pretty stupid. It was good, yeah, in a summer block buster sorta way.

I wanna say it was Elijya. But the man's turned me on to more great readings that anyone, so I can let this one slide

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh. I read that too a couple of days ago and it has to be one of the better stories I have read in a while. I found it very touching and sad, and I thought I was going to have trouble with comparisons to DKR but I felt it stands on it's on and is an excellent story and very engaging. I highly recommend it.

I got a little choked up with the scene about the Sandman and his daughter. It was a really clumsily executed plot point, but damn if Andrews didn't sell it in the art. I don't know why he's not doing more big-name stuff at the big two.

 

[Anubis]

Got Planet Hulk today. Read in one sitting. Freakin' awesome. Best Hulk story i've ever read. Had passion, had romance, had heart ache. Everything. The pacing was off in some portions, but a minor setback at best. Rating: Bee P***Y

 

[Elijya]

I wanna say it was Elijya. But the man's turned me on to more great readings that anyone, so I can let this one slide

I can't be certain, but I don't think it was me.

I'm on vacation, and the only comic I happened to bring with me was Superman: Secret Identity again, which is an INCREDIBLE book by the never disappointing Kurt Busiek. My highest recommendation on that one.

 

[GNR]

Hmm...last trades I bought were the Rising Stars series and Johns' Hawkman series.Pondering what to get into next.

The footage of Iron Man makes me want to pick up Ellis' Extremis.Was it any good?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I can't be certain, but I don't think it was me.

I'm on vacation, and the only comic I happened to bring with me was Superman: Secret Identity again, which is an INCREDIBLE book by the never disappointing Kurt Busiek. My highest recommendation on that one.

You should read Shockrockets and Arrowsmith by Busiek if you haven't already. Fantastic books.

 

[KingOfDreams]

Spider-Man: Reign - I really enjoyed this. Good storytelling. Good, unique art. Nice and bleak...but with hope for the future. Reminded me a bit of Dark City actually. More anguish from Peter Parker, as we've grown occustomed to over the years. But it was nice to see a Peter that was always the Peter I liked...i.e. sans Avengers. In this world it didn't seem like he was ever an Avenger. Just a "normal" guy trying to hold down a job. I certainly didn't expect the man behind it all to be

Spoiler

Venom.

And then there's Jonah. He's actually somebody you can respect in this, especially for me...as a future journalist. I liked finding out that the little girl was

Spoiler

Sandman's

daughter. The expressions on the newscaster's faces were funny too. They looked like robots, which was the point I'm sure. The only problem I had was the ages. Seems to me if Peter's really as old as he looks than Jonah should be dead, and a few other characters should definitely be older than they were.

 

[KingOfDreams]

Asylum - This edition appears to be an import because the guys at the shop had to look up the exchange rate or something. No dollar price on the back. Anyway, this is a pretty interesting, if fairly straightforward tale/allegory/what have you about religious corruption and racism. The art and character designs (the alien Belly may be the most interesting) are really what attracts me the most to this project. The story is told in two parts. The first part has pretty bright, sharp and colorful art, whereas the second part is a bit more dream-like and realistic at the same time. Softer I guess I'd say. The story does kind of end on a cliffhanger but actually, I think if the story were to end with a finite ending, the climax would not have been as powerful.

 

[Anubis]

Finished Volume 4 or Conan: The Hall of the Dead. Another great story. Beautiful art from Nord. At first, I didn't care for the Conan Thief of Thieves saga, but it's really grown on me. Good stuff. Rating: Freakin' Sweet!

Question though, has anybody been reading Conan after Busiek left the book? Is it still as good?

 

[Sparta*]

What is a good site to check out all upcoming DC/Marvel graphic novel releases for the month?

 

[Tron Bonne]

I just recently read Fables Volume 1: Legend In Exile, I'm very interested in it so far and plan to check out other Fable trades in the future

All Star Superman Volume 1 was great, too, I was really sucked in, been the first time I have been really into a Superman story in awhile

I just got into Ultimate Spider-Man, so I plan to grab some of the earlier trades and catch up on past events, plus, at high recommendation I'll probably look into the Hellblazer trades

 

[Anubis]

I gotta tell you, USM went into the toilet around the Venom Arc, so, I don't know. Maybe you'd like it, I dropped it after Carnage and never looked back.

 

[The Hero]

Even though I was being very careful not to, I somehow broke the spine to my copy of Box Office Poison and one of the pages fell out.

By the way, everyone who has the ability to should buy it. Jesus H. Christ with a side of bacon, is it good.