TPBs Bought/Thought Thread

[Anubis]

...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Fell trade is basically like Ellis distracting you with a shiny object and then punching you when you turn back to him.

 

[Anubis]

Classic Ellis.

 

[Manic]

Frankly, I'm surprised. I expected Fell to hit a dead-end after the 12th issue. Ellis does that all the time, right? Only writing 12 really good issues before stopping abruptly? At least it keeps his stuff fresh.

 

[Anubis]

Finished Fables Volume 9: Sons of the Empire. Geppetto has called together his war council, which includes the Nome King, some guy whose just a head, that Ice B***h from Narnia, and.....Hansel from Hansel and Gretel, whose become a total puritan mass murdering witch hunter. (Which I gotta admit, is a pretty logical progression of the character when you really think about it. That chick did try to eat him.) This volume also included a ton of shorts about as unseen characters, as well as a cool reunion between Bigby, his Father, and his six big brothers. And by Reunion, I mean massive battle the likes of which the Fable world has rarely seen. We're talking Biblical. Frogs falling from the sky, the dead rising, dogs and cats, living together, total anarchy. God this series is awesome. It's rare that I can produce a Ghost Buster reference. Rating: Bee P***y

 

[Elijya]

We're talking Biblical. Frogs falling from the sky, the dead rising, dogs and cats, living together, total anarchy. God this series is awesome. It's rare that I can produce an Ghost Buster reference. Rating: Bee P***y

I smiled to myself because I got the reference, then you had to go and blurt it out so it's not an in-joke anymore

 

[SouLeSS]

I picked up Hatter M last week, and I've read it 5 times now.

It's around 120 pages, but there isnt to much dialogue. It's beautifully illustrated, and the story is amazing. If you read The Looking Glass Wars, then you need to buy this. As if you alreayd havn't.

 

[GNR]

Thor Blood Oath.

Haven't finished it,but 2 books in,I'm really liking the classic premise.

 

[CaptainCanada]

DC: The New Frontier

In which I heretically say that this story isn't all that.

Don't get me wrong, it's a decent tale, but I think it has a lot of problems, and I certainly wouldn't call it one of DC's best stories. Firstly, Cooke's art is seriously at odds with the kind of story he's trying to tell; it's a fairly serious, dramatic tale, but told with a cast of cherubs, and it doesn't convey drama or stakes at all. The story has a cast of about three-score characters, and doesn't juggle them well at all, so that almost no one has any real story (Green Lantern (who's stuck with a bevy of annoying expressions like "sufferin' Suzie") and the Martian Manhunter coming the closest); Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash are all neglible (Aquaman isn't even in this story). Justice balanced a huge cast while still giving everyone small moments that really said a lot about the characters. And the whole "new frontier" motif doesn't really amount to a whole lot.

 

[Elijya]

(Aquaman isn't even in this story).

Yes he is

 

[CaptainCanada]

Yes he is

About three pages, and he does nothing. He's in the text, but he's not in the story.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Aw, that drops my anticipation for the second half of New Frontier a bit. Cooke can give the Blackhawks and the Sea Devils some good material, but he can't find room for Aquaman to shine? I'm pretty sick of how neglected Aquaman's become. He's like the redheaded stepchild of DC's characters, even though he could be excellent if used properly.

 

[Anubis]

He could but, come on man. Good story is a good story. So Fish f**ker wasn't all that involved. When he did show up, he saved Superman's ass. Gotta count for something.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I know it's a good story, and I still intend on buying the second trade and finally finishing it someday, but it's annoying that someone can write a love story to the Silver Age JLA and somehow think it's okay for Aquaman to be basically negligible. I'm not holding it against Cooke or anything; it's practically universal at this point. He's been a major part of the team since its inception. It's only since the stupid '80s Superfriends show that he's gotten this stigma that makes everyone think, "**** him, the JLA is better off without him." It was kind of mitigated when Morrison put him back on the team and he, Waid, and Kelly had him make a difference every once in a while, but after they were gone, so was Aquaman. I was actually surprised that Chaykin used him in a JLA Classified story a while ago. He's one of the big seven, ostensibly supposed to be the biggest and best group on the JLA, and I'm now surprised when writers deign to include him!

 

[CaptainCanada]

When he did show up, he saved Superman's ass. Gotta count for something.

He fishes him out of the water, and arrives after the fight, to which he contributes nothing.

 

[masteryoda]

I know it's a good story, and I still intend on buying the second trade and finally finishing it someday, but it's annoying that someone can write a love story to the Silver Age JLA and somehow think it's okay for Aquaman to be basically negligible. I'm not holding it against Cooke or anything; it's practically universal at this point. He's been a major part of the team since its inception. It's only since the stupid '80s Superfriends show that he's gotten this stigma that makes everyone think, "**** him, the JLA is better off without him." It was kind of mitigated when Morrison put him back on the team and he, Waid, and Kelly had him make a difference every once in a while, but after they were gone, so was Aquaman. I was actually surprised that Chaykin used him in a JLA Classified story a while ago. He's one of the big seven, ostensibly supposed to be the biggest and best group on the JLA, and I'm now surprised when writers deign to include him!

I might have to reread it but if I remember correctly Cooke devoted alot less time to Batman then he did Aquaman. And the time he did give Aquaman he was treated as a powerfull character where Batman was just kind of there. Cooke was presenting a world where superhero's were fairly new the world didnt' believe aliens existed except for Superman. So I think the idea of a King from a fabled world was better suited to be revealed towards the end of the story to broaden the scope the world to the public.

 

[Sparta*]

Has anyone read 30 days of night, or Criminal Macabre? I was wondering if they were any good

 

[Elijya]

Has anyone read 30 days of night, or Criminal Macabre? I was wondering if they were any good

I like the first 30DoN, but wasn't big on the sequels or Criminal Macabre

 

[GNR]

I know it's a good story, and I still intend on buying the second trade and finally finishing it someday, but it's annoying that someone can write a love story to the Silver Age JLA and somehow think it's okay for Aquaman to be basically negligible. I'm not holding it against Cooke or anything; it's practically universal at this point. He's been a major part of the team since its inception. It's only since the stupid '80s Superfriends show that he's gotten this stigma that makes everyone think, "**** him, the JLA is better off without him." It was kind of mitigated when Morrison put him back on the team and he, Waid, and Kelly had him make a difference every once in a while, but after they were gone, so was Aquaman. I was actually surprised that Chaykin used him in a JLA Classified story a while ago. He's one of the big seven, ostensibly supposed to be the biggest and best group on the JLA, and I'm now surprised when writers deign to include him!

Aquaman was quite the badass in Justice and JLA Year One.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I might have to reread it but if I remember correctly Cooke devoted alot less time to Batman then he did Aquaman. And the time he did give Aquaman he was treated as a powerfull character where Batman was just kind of there.

Batman has a lot more time than Aquaman, with a role in the plot (although he's still fairly minor, and has no character arc), and is treated pretty much like he usually is; a mysterious avenger of the night. As for Aquaman:

"'Within and without, one casts all about, for fear of what lives at the centre.' Like the surface dwellers' 'bogey man', Atlantean mothers would use that rhyme to scare their children. We were told to behave or we'd be spirited away by the centre. It's been on the move for weeks now, slowly making its way around the Americas. The centre's consciousness is so powerful, that broad horrific strokes of its intentions haunt my mind. It yearns to reach past Earth's boundaries, but there is something more..something just out of reach of my perception. At my back, the largest army in the world. Ahead of us a threat so vast it could exterminate half of my birthright. It has no quarrel with my kingdom, but there are those on which it has cast its fancy. It's after the poisoners. The murderers. It seeks to cleanse the surface."

"I am King Arthur of Atlantis. I come in peace. This one has been asking for a woman named Lois."

That's all his dialogue, delivered over five panels (on three pages); he appears on a couple of more as a background character.

 

[Roughneck]

Question.....Can I ween myself off of comics and only onto TPBs?

If I do this right......Can I still have around 2-4 TPBs every week waiting for me?

 

[Anubis]

Depends. What would you like to read?

 

[CaptainCanada]

Question.....Can I ween myself off of comics and only onto TPBs?

If I do this right......Can I still have around 2-4 TPBs every week waiting for me?

2-4 a week? Depends on how much you buy now, really. The average length of a TPB is six issues, so a series will average two worth of material a year.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Batman has a lot more time than Aquaman, with a role in the plot (although he's still fairly minor, and has no character arc), and is treated pretty much like he usually is; a mysterious avenger of the night. As for Aquaman:

"'Within and without, one casts all about, for fear of what lives at the centre.' Like the surface dwellers' 'bogey man', Atlantean mothers would use that rhyme to scare their children. We were told to behave or we'd be spirited away by the centre. It's been on the move for weeks now, slowly making its way around the Americas. The centre's consciousness is so powerful, that broad horrific strokes of its intentions haunt my mind. It yearns to reach past Earth's boundaries, but there is something more..something just out of reach of my perception. At my back, the largest army in the world. Ahead of us a threat so vast it could exterminate half of my birthright. It has no quarrel with my kingdom, but there are those on which it has cast its fancy. It's after the poisoners. The murderers. It seeks to cleanse the surface."

"I am King Arthur of Atlantis. I come in peace. This one has been asking for a woman named Lois."

That's all his dialogue, delivered over five panels (on three pages); he appears on a couple of more as a background character.

Well, that does have a good tone to it, at least. Orin sounds majestic and regal, which is good. It's a shame Cooke didn't devote more time to him, but he at least treated him well in the time he did give him, based on that dialog. Once I buy the Absolute New Frontier and see it for myself, I'll be able to form a better opinion, obviously.

 

[Dread]

Technically I just got finished with the Brubaker/Epting/Perkins Captain America Omnibus, which is awesome, but figured I'd repost something from elsewhere:

CAPES: This is a recently released TPB of a superhero series Robert Kirkman & Mark Englert started in 2003 (before WALKING DEAD started but around when INVINCIBLE #6 shipped) that was intended as sort of a complimentary book to INVINCIBLE. It only lasted 3 issues, however. But in 2006-2007, the team re-united to write another 3 issues worth of material via back-up strips in INVINCIBLE, and the combined story is presented here. Englert's style is very simular to Erik Larson's; so much so that you might confuse him for a younger, less experienced Larson (with some hints of Frank Miller thrown in). It isn't a style that is everyone's cup of tea (as many times the character models are distorted and exaggerated, even for comics), but Englert definitely gets better as the story goes on; the stuff from the back-ups is his best work on the title, especially the last 35 or so pages worth (and the trade cover). The series is about a handful of superheroes who make up Capes, Inc., a superhero company that gets government funding and has heroes on payrolls, with things like overtime, hazard pay and even rules regarding resurrections and back-pay! Coming off CW, which sought to make all superheroes federal employees with "benefits", the timing was interesting as this was a more humorous take. These characters popped up now and again in INVINCIBLE, most notably during the fight with Omnipotus. It isn't deep reading but it is full of humor and Kirkman's style of over the top violence at the end. Image's website marks the retail at $14.99 but the actual trade I have says $17.99; a printing error that benefits the shops, or is the website wrong? Considering six comics at $2.99 would be $17.94, it is about a nickel overpriced, but I didn't care much. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

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