What comic are you reading at the moment.

Fysh

Yeah, I'm wondering what the hell I can pick up now that might replace Nextwave. *sob!*

I forgot to mention Fell #7, and yes, it was interesting to see Rich hoist by his own petard. Wasn't hugely impressed at the complete non-event that was the casanova preview instead of backmatter, considering how much Ellis bangs on about the backmatter being stuff that won't be in the trade, though.

MikeHoncho

Just finished first 6 issues of Nextwave in hardcover form. Man it was awesome. I really enjoyed it and regret not picking it up monthly. Marvel have really dropped the ball by cancelling this. It seem like exactly the kind of book they should be producing. Quick 2 issue story arcs that casual readers can dip in and out of. Although I suspect you wouldnt be dipping in and out as you would get hooked. Def gonna pick up the rest of this.

Jack B. Badd

They cancelled it? I thought it was only planned for 12 issues in the first place.

Fysh

It's a bit of an odd case. As far as I know it wasn't planned as a long-form ongoing thing, but there were going to be more than 12 issues. I think it was initially posited as 12 issues to start off, and then take it from there. Around about the time the 6th issue came out it was looking to be selling ok as a monthly thing. The trade sold phenomenally well once it was released, at which point Ellis sent out a message to the Bad Signal mailing list saying that with the way it was selling they could either call it quits for now at the 12 issue mark with a possibility of coming back later, or they could get another artist in to continue it (financially impossible to carry on with both Ellis and Immonen involved). Given the situation, everyone involved decided to call it quits for the time being.

Ah, Nextwave, you'll be missed. Not least those daft little comments every 8 pages, like "Nextwave : Gets its loving from yo' mama!"

Jack B. Badd

Hmmm...I get the feeling I may end up being hurt (and hurt badly) for this comment but I like the fact that it's only 12 issues long. Given the nature of the plot, I doubt it would work well as a long-term project unless Ellis decided to shift the standard of writing up a few gears. I mean, its a very enjoyable short story but it relies on scripting and timing of humour more than a strong storyline. It's hard to successfully stretch that beyond the format of a short story.

Ellis is going to smite me now, isn't he?

Fysh

See, while I'm normally very picky about storyline and proper characterisation with what I read, I'll happily settle for something that's just intended as entertainment if it has a decent excuse/premise behind it. Nextwave was funny and frenetic enough to keep me happy in this regard and, if it were possible to keep Immonen and Ellis producing more of the stuff then I'd be there buying it. Probably kicking babies out of the way to make sure I got to the shop in time to buy a copy before it sold out, in fact.

On the other hand, I know what you mean. Something like this can quickly get boring if there's no end-point in sight. I guess the real disappointment is that, before I read Nextwave, I was aware that there were no monthly comics that matched my peculiar standards as light-hearted action/comedy. Having now seen it come and go as a damn fine read, I'm left pretty much scratching around in the dirt hoping to find something else to fill its place. It's been a long time since I looked forward to a monthly comic as much as I did Nextwave.

Ah well...

Jack B. Badd

Just finished vol. 9 of Preacher and I really enjoyed the story God bless his cotton socks, but doesn't Ennis just have the most romantic view of the Wild West? I found it pretty cute actually though it did border on the outright ridiculous in places. It wasn't as bad as I had been led to expect after being forced to listen to the rantings of certain people (who shall remain unnamed but who exhibit an almost alarming obsession with, and I quote, "the great American cock" :rolleyes:). I did find the characters a wee bit 2-dimensional and the repetitiveness of themes involving Jesse and Tulip had started to grate well before the end. Overall, a highly enjoyable read if a bit bubblegummy.
Not too sure about Ennis' French-bashing though, it doesn't particularly add to the story and the humour comes across as forced more than anything.

Undergod

Ennis kind of admots he has a romantic view of the wild west, though, that's one of the things underlying Preacher, I always felt, although I'm not that far in. I just bought Preacher 4, the collection of the spin-offs and one-offs.

the Shades

Just read the last issue of Civil War yesterday and have to say was quite surprised by the outcome. Not what I expected at all and kind of interesting to see one side definitively winning over the other.

constitutionus

the Shades wrote:

Just read the last issue of Civil War yesterday and have to say was quite surprised by the outcome. Not what I expected at all and kind of interesting to see one side definitively winning over the other.

im waiting for the trade of that but flicked through the book while it was coming out and have to say i didnt see that coming either. wonder what the flak from that decision will be:D

just read the prelude myself lately and have to admit it sets up civil war nicely. the strongest part obviously being the illuminati one shot. very good story though i dont think maleevs art suits traditional super fare, dont get me wrong hes perfect on daredevil but the brighter the heros get the more scratchy and out of place his style looks. didnt like his iron man at all.

that said its nice to finally know where the hell the new spidey suit came from at last and feel that while not essential this book complements civil war nicely, cant wait for the trade now

Zoton

Currently reading Volume 1 of Garth Ennis' War Stories. While not as good as i'd hoped it's still a good read.

ztoical

I love french comics but man they depress me - why can't all comics be as good as the french!!!!!!!! Anyway finally finished some of the french books I ordered last month.

"CANARI TOME 1 - LES LARMES D'OR" by Carlos Meglia. I picked this book up pretty much blind as i could only find a few scans of the interior but the cover looked interesting and I had Superman: Infinite City which Meglia worked on. Overall the book is ok, should have been great, the pencils and inks look like they were very strong but they have been destroyed by awful digital colouring. Super detailed pages have been rendered messy and unreadable cus the colouring is so flat and even arcross ever panal. It looks like they were going for cell shaded effect and far juice for trying something but its a real shame to have lost all the detail and energy from the pencils.

"BELLADONE TOME 1: MARIE" by Pierre Alary - this was a special edition of this book and a real find. I'd seen it in american stores for $125+ but found it on a french site for under $20 Why is it special? Well on the right side page we have the finished artwork, with the most amazing ink work I've seen in a while. Beautiful lines, following thick to thin, so full of energy which is good as this is a story about a female sword fighter/spy set in 1680's france. On the left side page [as your looking at it] is the rough pencils and thumbnails for the opposing page. Really great to see how the page developed from a rough little pencil doodle to finished art. The regual edition of the book is in full colour but i prefer the black and white as you can see the inks so much better. go to stuart Ng books and scroll down to see some scans from both versions.

LES COEURS SOLITAIRES - Cyril Pedrosa Another book picked up just based on the cover - super super pretty book, the art and colouring is just fab. The story of one mans search for love is pretty easy to follow even with my limited french.

ALIM DE TANNEUR TOME 1: LE SECRET DES EAUX - Virginie Augustin Augustin was an effects animator at Disney’s French studio working on Hercules and Tarzan among other films. This is her first comics work and it’s great. This is the story of Alim, a humble tanner, and Alim’s daughter who live in a huge, imperial city by the sea. Their lives are turned upside-down when Alim discovers “the secret of the waters.” Lovely pencils with amazing range of facial expressions [the daughter is particularly well done] and the colouring fab as well.

I've link most of them to amazon.fr as it was the easier site to link to but i didn't actually buy anything from there, there are some online french books stores that are alot cheaper and my french is rubbish and i managed to order form them.

Undergod

I wasn't sure about Civil War.
They didn't screw it up as much as they could have, I'll say that much.
Some of the little elements of what happened in it were dumb, but I've only followed the main title, so I'll withhold judgement.
Still, it was an unexpected ending and that's pretty cool.

spooydermot

Civil War #7

spoiler follows
somethings not sitting right with me about the ending....maybe I just didn't want the side who 'lost' to loose....but there was a definite sense of

"the establishment wins"

which I didn't like.
Be interesting to see how Front Line resolves its own story line.
I guess its also cheapened by the fact that it'll be used to launch x amount of new titles ...but that said it was a well written story but suffered from missing deadlines etc. Will have to sit down and read the whole lot from start to finish and see how it shapes up. Anyway thats another thread....

Planetary:Crossing Worlds
Not something that you really *need* to read to get the Planetary story (I feel) but it'll tide me over until the 4th vol of the 'real' story is released.
Not up to scratch with the high quality of the other 3 books, but still worth a read.

Illuminati #2: Quite good this - each issue seems to be a a self contained story - with the possibility of an overall arc emerging.

Jack B. Badd

spooydermot wrote:

Planetary:Crossing Worlds
Not something that you really *need* to read to get the Planetary story (I feel) but it'll tide me over until the 4th vol of the 'real' story is released.
Not up to scratch with the high quality of the other 3 books, but still worth a read.

Thought it was pretty crap myself. Waste of a tenner That said, if anyone is looking for a secondhand copy in good nick I could possibly be persuaded to part with such an inspiring read for a small fee...

the Shades

I read some of the Planetary crossovers when they originally came out and came remember thinking how each one was worse than the last. It's weird when you consider how good the book itself is. I think it's just a book that doesn't mix well with others. It's the cool kid at the back of the class with the long hair and slightly dark look in his eye.

spooydermot

Jack B. Badd wrote:

Thought it was pretty crap myself. Waste of a tenner That said, if anyone is looking for a secondhand copy in good nick I could possibly be persuaded to part with such an inspiring read for a small fee...

your a lousy salesman.....:D

did you buy it online? (just wondering where you got it for a tenner)

Tree

the Shades wrote:

I read some of the Planetary crossovers when they originally came out and came remember thinking how each one was worse than the last. It's weird when you consider how good the book itself is. I think it's just a book that doesn't mix well with others. It's the cool kid at the back of the class with the long hair and slightly dark look in his eye.

nope, the long haired kid is vaguely cool, or at least i like the hairdo.

crossworlds doesnt even have a nice hairdo to make up for it

Jack B. Badd

spooydermot wrote:

your a lousy salesman.....:D

did you buy it online? (just wondering where you got it for a tenner)

Ah but this thing just sells itself...tis a little hussey out for the night down the quays

It probably cost more like 15, I picked it up in Other Realms on a whim. I should have returned it as faulty goods tbh.

ActorSeeksJob

just finished volume 1 of The Sandman, and all of 1602. i found both to be pretty damn good, really like Neil Gaiman, what other pieces of work has he done that i should read?
about to read Batman Year one and the rest of The Invisibles

Jack B. Badd

I just finished Sandman Vol I also. Was pretty impressed with the story if not with the artwork/colour. I was surprised at how much I liked it actually, somewhere along the way I've developed this opinion that Gaiman is a tad over-rated.

ActorSeeksJob

you should check out 1602, i really liked that. gotta go in and buy more of sandman and 100 bullets this week.
just read Batman : Year One, was pretty good, now going onto The Invisibles volumes 2+3

i was wondering is Batman : The Killing Joke hard to get in town?the guy didnt have it in one of the main shops i visit.also is Civil War good?

Jack B. Badd

ActorSeeksJob wrote:

you should check out 1602, i really liked that.

Read 1602 Vol I. the other night and I tbh I'm not too sure what to make of it. The writing and dialogue are reasonably good and the artwork is certainly impressive but it feels like a fanfic. The entire concept behind it had me scratching my head for the night. It also expects at least a fundamental knowledge of the big Marvel superheroes, which is a bit annoying from my point of view. Overall, I enjoyed the story even if I do feel that Gaiman is pandering to the mainstream Marvel fans :rolleyes:

BrenC

Im reading Preacher and Blankets at the moment. War in the Sun for Preacher

Tree

just finished ultimate spiderman, took far too long to get going, delighted with it at the end. uncle ben and his pony tail

bombidol

I enjoyed USM

partholon

used to collect it myself but dropped it around the crossover with ultimat xmen (i think?) it was sadly one of the casualites of my mortgage. fair play to bagley though, i dont think he's the best artist but he's certainly consistant. every issues from 1 to 100 if memory serves. now that professionalism

got the transformers movie prequel no 1 today but havent had chance to read it yet. will get back later on it

*EDIT* well ive read it now and i have to admit its not bad! im always wary when someone other than furman writes transformers cause basically most people dont get its the characters that are important and first and foremost its a war story but ryall aquits himself admirably. ok the fact he's involved as well probably helps but theres a distinct feel thats not furmans in it in the manerisms and thats ok.
im not a huge fan of the new designs and i think theyre a little to complex for a comic book. don figuroa must be going mad trying to keep it all consistant but he pulls it off and while i dont think megatron looks like megs at all he does feel like an evil bastard and they do a good job portraying him as a feared character (by BOTH sides !) i must say theres something really good about the black and white flashback stuff, sometimes it almost feels like an "ABC warriors" story . its weird seeing bumblebee as a leader/ powerful type character. dont get me wrong i always liked the character but one of his joys was he was the smallest and weakest of the bots but made up for it in the guts department. now he feels more like jazz. still they came up with a good reason why he cant talk in the film and they got an awful lot in the first issue. so much so its off to earth next one !

i was gonna give this a miss but seeing as by the time its finished up the movie will be upon us it acts a a good segue into that and a way of biding my time untill then.

oh and "Simfur" , its nice to see someone give simon some recognition after all he's contributed to the character for over 20yrs. i can honestly say if it wasnt for furman i probably wouldnt be still reading comics let alone transformers so its a well deserved nod of the head. heres hoping they dont nuke it too soon

BrenC

I just finished Preacher and Its reallllyy good

I've start on Johnny the Homicidal Manic now and I've to finish Blankets

Q_Ball

there's a transformers prequel story?!

Tree

finished guy davis' the marquis , volm's one and two. loved it, full of hell and tentacled bad guys and sheer madness. need to find the rest of it.

also read the nevermen, got a bit lost so i'll be rereading it again over the weeke nd i think