What comic are you reading at the moment.

Fysh

Argh, I swear the pile has grown to a size where it's muttering behind my back...anyway.

2008 Thing Anthology

I'm not sure if this counts, but I reckon it should - I got it for £1 at this year's Thing. It's a load of short strips from the exhibitors, and they're really good. I like anthologies anyway, but you practically have to like one that's got decent production values, over 100 pages of stuff, and costs less than a pint. Well worth a look.

Crazypants issues #0 & #1

I feel faintly embarassed to admit that I picked these up because the logo made me laugh, being a brightly coloured pair of Y-fronts. For a small press comic they're very good; a mix of full-colour and two-tone pages. Perversely, though, I thought the #0 worked better than the #1 overall - the #0 had strips which were self-contained, whereas several stories in #1 seem to be setting the scene for stories that will run throughout several issues. Which isn't a bad thing in itself, but it is kind of annoying to have several stories which effectively end with "to be continued" when you know that the next issue is quite some time away.

Mediocralypse

I picked this up because it's by the same guy who did Banal Pig. I'm not greatly impressed with this, though - it's more like a sketchbook than a set of comics, and while it's interesting in a way, it's a bit like having someone tell you about the really cool dream they had yesterday. There's something interesting there but it's not coming through clearly enough to make sense of it.

Amusing Paper #2

Simple but very effective small-press slice-of-life stuff. The style of drawing is deceptively simple and had me unsure what to expect, but the writing is solid and the style is confident and lively.

The Sound Of Drowning #10 : The Call

This was a weird read; it's a combination of illustration, graphic design, and photomontage. The weird thing about it is that this is structured like those old Choose Your Own Adventure books - each page furthers the narrative in its own weird way and then gives you further options, or in some case concludes. But the narrative itself is thoroughly surreal and bizarre; somewhat like walking into a room only to find yourself standing on the ceiling in an M.C. Escher painting.

Dead Space issue #1 & #2

I picked this up because it's illustrated by Templesmith and I like his art style. It's a prequel for an upcoming videogame, but so far seems to be working quite well as it would appear there is a proper story to be told to set the scene for this game. Worth checking out if you like light sci-fi/horror, although it's not going to be massively groundbreaking or anything.

Comic Creators Guild Annual 2006 & 2007

More anthologies, because I can't get enough. These are from the Comics Creators Guild and have a nice range of material in them, although the quality is inconsistent. The Fred The Clown strips alone make them worth checking out though.

Sleepwalk & Other Stories

Yay, more Tomine stuff. This is more of the same in a good way - short stories in which the events aren't necessarily momentous but the character development and depiction is superbly nuanced. Great, great stuff.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

I think this was already mentioned by someone, but I just finished reading it today. Great, great stuff, particularly considering it's an autobiographical comic, a genre at risk of disappearing up its own arse (at least in the hands of some writers). I really like the art style; the combination of faded, washed-out looking tones and a drawing style that has most of the main characters looking at best non-commital and frequently dour even when they're quite happy works very well to draw you into the story of growing up in a dysfunctional family.

Weidii

Just read Fables, the first in the Preacher series and Battlechasers. They were all really enjoyable for their own special reasons

thusspakeblixa

I'm reading the current Fantastic 4 arc (The World's Greatest) as well as as much of Alan Gibbons' Doctor Who Classics as I can possibly get
... oh and ''Cthulhu Tales'' whenever I come across money

bombidol

Reread all of Fables the other day. Have to say I really really like that series although I dont regularly get it.

spooydermot

also just re-read all of the Fables tpbs and also revisiting Y: The Last Man - while waiting for the next tpb to come out

sharkie2008

like a few others I've just finished all the fables

starting on Y: the last man now which I haven't read before

Fysh

There's supposed to be another Fables spin-off announced at San Diego this year, isn't there? Have to admit I really enjoyed it to begin with, but I still can't tell if it's intended to be a perpetually-ongoing thing or whether Willingham has an end in mind for it and that led to me dropping off the Fables train.

Anyway, this week's pick-ups for me. No Black Summer #6 as it hasn't arrived over here yet. Pesky Diamond (although I'm very curious about what's up with this, as it seems to be a fairly wide-spread problem - my LCS mentioned that all their indie stuff is being delayed at the moment and Hannibal Tabu of "The Buy Pile" at CBR has mentioned various recent stuff-ups by Diamond to his local LCS to the tune of several thousand dollars worth of books at a time...).

Ultimate Human #4 did arrive, and was a rather limp conclusion to the whole affair. The fight sequence was nice, but with Warren Ellis at the helm it shouldn't have felt quite so much like an attempt to have a TPB on the shelves featuring Iron Man & the Hulk in time for the Hulk's movie release. The whole story lacks any real impact, since nothing is really changed by its events. I'm guessing that when Ultimate Iron Man II #5 ships, that'll be me done and dusted with the Ultimate line-up for good.

Cthulhu Tales #1 I picked up out of curiosity as much as anything else. It's not bad, and has a nice premise - short stories set in a Lovecraftian world - but the problem is that only the first story really sits comfortably within the mythos. The second story works quite well but doesn't do anything with the Lovecraftian aspect that couldn't be substituted by any other horror/monster device, and the third story is a bit of a mess. Still, nice to see a horror comic taking its inspiration from one of the all-time greats.

The Irredeemable Ant-Man Volume 1 : Lowlife

My first venture into the world of Marvel Digest TPBs, and it's a good one. I'd seen mention of this a few times and am glad I picked it up; it's action & humour in equal measure, which a lead character who, for a change, is not conflicted but just a jerk. Straightforward but entertaining story, nice art, and some great jokes. Plus it's cheap because of the size.

Tales From The Flat Vol. 2 (issues 4-6)

More small-press goodness, after having picked up #1 a while ago. This is an odd one - for a small press comic the art's good, the writing is solid, and yet something's a bit off. Maybe it's just that the starting point is too familiar to be entertaining any more (a bunch of lads living together who have Wacky Adventures, including one of them working in a comics shop and another two being actual superheroes). It's by no means bad and it's not like plenty of other people haven't gotten plenty of entertaining stories out of the setup, but on the other hand having read the Jay Storyline on Flem Comics (link may be NSFW, btw) I think the setup is suffering from over-use at the minute because of the number of webcomics that resort to it.

Fetishman #1-#5

Yet more small-press goodness, but this time of a distinctly more sarcastic/satirical bent. Being the not-exactly-adventures of Fetishman and Lactose Intolerant Boy, a "hero" whose abilities extend to wearing a full-body gimp suit and falling over, and a sidekick whose name describes his only distinguishing feature. Far funnier (and less smutty) than it has any right to be.

Fysh

So, uh....Secret Invasion #2 is out this week, has anyone read it? (I'm keeping more or less abreast of what's happening but not buying the comic as I don't actually care all that much either way)

This has been a pretty brutal week for me in terms of purchases, I've spent a daft amount of cash on new stuff this week but on the plus side it's been good so far.

The Irredeemable Ant-Man vol 2

As with Nextwave, I'm disappointed that this ended. Also as with Nextwave, I have the sneaking feeling that if this had gone on indefinitely, the joke would've worn thin and it would have gone crappy. As it is, this was a great series - good humour, fun action sequences, and for a change, a character who's engaging because he's a complete knob. After losing interest in both The Walking Dead and Battle Pope, this was a nice reminder of what Kirkman can do when he puts his mind to it.

Metronome

I haven't finished this yet, but I picked it up after seeing it mentioned in Rich Johnston's column on CBR. It's interestingly weird, a silent and rhythmical comic that's almost like a final storyboard for an animated piece.

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

After reading Persepolis, I figured I should pick this up. It's a short fun piece, essentially a snapshot of Iranian culture presented as a bunch of women (mostly related) gossipping after dinner while their menfolk sleep off the meal. It's interesting and funny, but feels like it could easily be longer.

Black Summer #6

Mostly consisting of a large fight scene and the setup to an even larger fight, interspersed with flashbacks and some interesting dialogue involving John Horus and some military folks. It sets up the last issue nicely, but Black Summer is very obviously something that will read better when it's collected as a TPB.

Other stuff I've picked up in the last week or so, but not had a chance to read yet:

Iron Man : Viva Las Vegas #1,
The Invincible Iron Man #1,
Omega The Unknown #8,
Dead Space #3,
Iron Man : Enter The Mandarin TPB,
Suburban Glamour TPB,
Joe Sacco's Palestine,
Injury #2,
a collection of Aaron McGruder's Boondocks comics,
Andi Watson's Princess At Midnight,
A random issue of Fred The Clown I found in the back issue section while looking for something else.

(All of this in the week before going to the Bristol comic expo and quite probably spending yet more money on comics. Whaddya mean, I'm addicted?!)

navin.r.johnson

There's too bloody much to read!! Finishing up Planet Hulk, was never much of a Marvel fan but enjoyed it all the same. Gladiator on another planet..... with Hulk. Nuff said.
Hellboy:Conqueror Worm is next, newly introduced to Hellboy and cant get enough.

Delirium

Starting the second collection of the boys garth ennis. Enjoyed the first book, so looking forward to reading it.

Also, starting into the love and rockets collection as well as the Birds of Prey graphic novels.

JangoFett

Just picked up Avengers/Invaders

The premise is the 1940's WW2 Invaders somehow travel to the present and meet the modern day Mighty Avengers

Its weak how they get there...they walk through this green mist that appears somewhere on a battlefield in Italy...this green mist just appears outta nowhere like...

Thats pretty much the setup in this issue, first of 12, I'd say I'll collect the whole thing outta curiosity

TickingOrange

JangoFett wrote: »

WW2 Invaders somehow travel to the present ...Its weak how they get there

Yeah Marvel don't even try anymore. "Its magic we don't have to explain it".

Reading Harvey Pekar's 'The Quitter' at the moment. I have read some of his stuff before and to be honest I couldn't see the appeal. This book however is a disarmingly honest portrayal of Pekar's childhood and his constant struggle with self doubt. The book is tough going at times just because how intimate the depictions are. Art is provided by Dean Haspiel which provides a lighter tone at times where needed. I would highly recommend this book but its not light hearted fun.

Recently read Batman vs. Grendel by Matt Wagner. These are old stories but the TPB has just been released after long legal negotiations between DC and Dark Horse. I first became aware of Matt Wagner with the rather brilliant 'Batman and the Monster Men' and 'Batman and the Mad Monk'. I love the way he depicts The Batman in pictures and words. Wagner sees Batman as someone who is driven to do right as opposed to a slightly insane reflection of his rogues. I am relatively new to Grendel but the book is fairly reader friendly in that way. There are two separate stories pitting Batman against Hunter Rose and then Grendel Prime. The writer skillfully displays the prowess of all three characters without allowing them to loose face. Both stories are very different in tone and the book is well worth checking out.

Fysh

TickingOrange wrote: »

Yeah Marvel don't even try anymore. "Its magic we don't have to explain it".

If people keep buying it, they'll keep selling it...

TickingOrange wrote: »

Reading Harvey Pekar's 'The Quitter' at the moment. I have read some of his stuff before and to be honest I couldn't see the appeal. This book however is a disarmingly honest portrayal of Pekar's childhood and his constant struggle with self doubt. The book is tough going at times just because how intimate the depictions are. Art is provided by Dean Haspiel which provides a lighter tone at times where needed. I would highly recommend this book but its not light hearted fun.

The Quitter is a great book; my only disappointment with it is that I wished it had been longer because I enjoyed it so much. In a lot of ways its stronger than the American Splendor collection that came out around the time of the movie, and it's certainly a better introduction to Pekar's work. Plus, as you say, Haspiel's artwork is beautiful to behold...

film_gonzo

Most of the way through 'Y-The Last Man'. I have to say that the plot has me hooked but the charcter writing leaves a lot to be desired and irritates me sometimes. Each character sounds exactly the same. Never the less I am enjoying it enough to see it through.

Just finished Hellboy: Right Hand of Doom. I love, love, LOVE Hellboy. It's the little adventures that perfectly capture the spirit of the character and story with little fuss (reminds me of early X-Files before the Alien Conspiracy stuff took over) and such wonderful striking art work that gets me. If I could draw like anyone right now it would be Mike Mignola.

ztoical

Picked up the usually massive pile of stuff at MoCCA, havn't had a chance to read everything fully yet but I just have to rave about the Out of Picture 2 book.

If you didn't get Out Of Picture 1 shame on you and go get it. It started life with some artists from Blue Sky studios [they made Ice Age] 2 years ago and is one of the most beautiful books I own. Hardcover, high quality print job, and amazing art. 10 mins after arriving at MoCCA I wandered into one of the other ballrooms to look for people and walked right past the Out of Picture table and saw they had finally got number 2 out and I will admit I went all uber fan girl. Book 2 is soft cover but more then twice the thickness of one, same amazing print quality and the line of artists is even better then 1. It was only $25 which is a steal for such an amazing book [not sure if that was the MoCCA price and it might cost more retail].

Fysh

I read about Out Of Picture in a recent Steven Grant column, and have thus far managed to avoid buying them at my local shop but it's a touch-and-go thing. They're not cheap at retail unless I'm remembering more. I'd gladly pick 'em up for $25 a go, but IIRC they were considerably more than that in store.

Recently I've been re-reading Ellis' Stormwatch. Ah, greatness. If superhero material were regularly of that calibre, I'd be quite happy to read it.

Also picked up a copy of Brodie's Law vol 1 on eBay. Some very interesting stuff; the story isn't exactly groundbreaking although it does have a nice core conceit which is quite well explored. The art is lovely though and really works for the story. It seems very influenced by graffitti techniques, in a good way. I've now started reading vol. 2 (which I picked up last year at a con) and am wondering when vol 3 will be out.

Singles I've read recently:

Omega The Unknown #9:

This story is fantastic. I'd originally picked it up just because I like Farel Dalrymple's artwork but it's become something fantastic, a very weird story with elements of superhero, sci-fi, and in an odd way aspects of autobiographical indie comics. Definitely something to pick up in collected form if you haven't been following it already.

Invincible Iron Man #2:

OK, so I'm weak. I decided I'd follow this for the first arc to see what Fraction does with it. More good stuff on show so far, although the funeral scene was a bit emo. The rest of it, though, is great - an Iron Man comic with a compelling and interesting character, a compelling villain for him, and a sensation of stuff happening around him.

Dave Sim's Judenhass:

This is a weird and uncomfortable read. Being essentially a long list of people (usually in government but if not, then at least in positions of influece) who have espoused hateful sentiments about Jews, illustrated with pictures of some of the victims of the Holocaust, it was never going to be a happy funtime read, but I still come away from this feeling that it boils the situation down to a "you're with us or against us" perspective which benefits nobody. It's an interesting read if you can see past the propagandist aspects, though.

(There's more but off hand I can't remember)

cronndiesel

re reading the ''the war machine'' by gibbins/simpson

32 by adrian tomine

some TF from 86/87-aftermath and distant thunder by furman(who else??) simson/johnson

have a ton of 100 bullets grafics to go through

some overkill and havoc issues to wade through enough there to keep me going for awhile

Eamo71

The comic I head for every month is Amazing Spider-MAn x 3. I love the schedule. I love getting a complete story every month ... that is untill Slott's six parter and we'll get tat in two months!
Most of all I'm loving Spider-man being Spider-Man again...

MarkHall

Recently Picked up the Deaths head Trades from Chapthers. Man I didn't realise how much I like that Characther. He only had a limited Run but just Brought the Fun. A few minor issue with it but that only after reading it all in quick succession. the main one being the father that created him being Human sized when DH started out Transformer sized. But I over looked it to enjoy some good Reading.

Currently working my way throught Y the Last man while I await TP number 10 to arrive. Woo!


Should also give Stormwatch a relook. Damn you for putting that notion in my head man. Now have to dig through my Singles Bag.

alnolan

I am currently rocking to Last Bus by the bould Paddy Lynch. Feckin brilliant stuff, great slice'o'life story, great greytone artwork, great design, even great paper stock, I love it down to the staples.

Fysh

alnolan wrote: »

I am currently rocking to Last Bus by the bould Paddy Lynch. Feckin brilliant stuff, great slice'o'life story, great greytone artwork, great design, even great paper stock, I love it down to the staples.

Al, have you being doing bold things to the staples again? remember what the judge said about that. "Deviant and unnatural" were his exact words, I think...

Anyway, I'm glad to see that Last Bus is getting a good reception, although I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Hopefully should be able to buy a copy via the website soon though.

alnolan

Kyle -- I thought we made a pact never to mention the staples -- what happens in Bristol stays in Bristol, remember? *shifts in seat uncomfortably*

thebaddy

alnolan wrote: »

I am currently rocking to Last Bus by the bould Paddy Lynch. Feckin brilliant stuff, great slice'o'life story, great greytone artwork, great design, even great paper stock, I love it down to the staples.

ah shucks you guys *blush* - thanks a million. Al - you know I'm rockin' to both the Sancho collection and those dance moves you were displaying up in Derry on Saturday night.

Also I picked up the "Skyscrapers of The Midwest" (Adhouse books) hardback about two weeks ago and it kept me completely captivated for an entire bank holiday weekend - dense stuff, great storytelling.

Delirium

Picked up the first two collections of the league of extraordinary gentlemen. Have seen the film and heard so many people say it doesn't do the comics justice.

all-time-FANBOY

Bought the latest issue of Buffy Season Eight. Beyond tracking down part two of 'The Wolves At The Gate' arc somewhere (Sub City?), I fully intend on this being the last comic book I'm buying for the last while... hitting the trades! Buy single issues is just not worth it in this day and age. (Well might make exception for the erm... Power Girl on-going).

Recent graphic novels include Showcase Booster Gold Vol.1, The Best of Steve Ditko... and in anticipation of the new Batman movie, Batman: The Killing Joke and Knightfall Part One: Broken Bat.

spooydermot

Y:The Last Man 10: Whys and Wherefores

I really wanted to read this chapter at a time but was unable to restrain myself. I wonder how much of the ending was meticulously planned out and how much was 'evolved' along the way. Either way a fitting end to one of the most enjoyable comic books serial I've read so far.

I think Vaughn did a decent job of giving the characters a satisfying ending - although a couple did seem slotted in - I wont mention anything even with spoiler tags for fear of ruining anyones enjoyment of the ending - if you were like me and was waiting for the trades.


Fables - The Good King

I think one of the strengths of Willinghams book is his ability to put characters such as Snow and Bigby on the shelf for a while and use the likes of Boy Blue and Flycatcher to drive the story for a while, it works well here and leaves some unanswered questions to be addressed later. Anyone know how many more issues they are planning to put out of this?


Transformers Spotlight Wheelie
Considering the protagonist is Wheelie, one of the most annoying characters in the Transformers universe this isn't all bad - but at the end of the day the issue is really one big in-joke which leads to a one panel revelation as to what could be coming later on in the overall IDW transformers arc, to be honest this could have been slotted in with another more interesting character.


Transformers Revelations:Cyclonus
I like the way theres a broad canvas for the writers to work in in IDWs Transformers universe - theres the 'Dead Universe' story arc (which we learn more about here -but not enough more) and the more traditional 'Decepticons take over the Earth' storyline thats coming up in 'All Hail Megatron'

Red Mass For Mars
Pretty good stuff - looking forward to the second issue to see if we get whats going on in the different time periods pulled closer together.

Ultimate X-Men vol1&2 (ultimate edition):
Pretty good - picked it up cause I fancied reading something with the X-Men in it

Genius
I really love the colour work done in this comic and hope it gets picked for a full run (its part of 'pilot season') - like the idea that the next great military strategist is living in the wrong part of town and organising her own gang to protect their own and to mark their territory off from that of the authorities.

Fysh

On the subject of Y: The Last Man volume 10, I was really disappointed with this. To be honest with you, around about volume 8 and its kooky choice of reveal

the gendercide being caused by "morphic resonance"

I started to find myself a bit disappointed with the series but frankly, Volume 10 was an awful closing. The Epilogue wasn't too bad, but the rest of it really felt to me like Vaughan was pulling it out of a hole in his ass. Particularly the resolution to the

Yorick & 355 and the Alter

subplots. Both of those felt jammed in because Vaughan didn't know what else to do with them rather than because they actually made sense as thematic conclusions to the character arcs.

I expected much more of this given how promising it was to start with. *sigh*

On the other hand, I did finally get to read the Umbrella Academy and it was worth waiting for. Lovely art and a very odd story with some great little details thrown in. I'm not too sure I'd want to read loads of stories about the team, but it worked quite nicely as a standalone story, plus the core villain's conceit was wonderfully demented.

spooydermot

Maybe I missed something but I thought the plague origin which you mention was discounted in the storyline? There seem to be a few different causes flying around , and that was my least favourite, I really can't stand fuzzy science and as far as plague causes, I'd rather either a completely fantastic one, which we were given with the

dreamtime

explanation or a more down to earth one like the

China Plot

as opposed to something in the middle.

I quite liked the conclusion to Alters subplot, and I guess I have to agree with you that there was a certain amount of sandwiching going on in there - maybe another two issues or so might have covered a lot of ground for us.


But Alter needed to be after something more than the security of Isreal, we know that she needs war (she manufactures several) and the idea of 'needing' to be killed by a male soldier is odd - but fits in with the flashbacks to her early days in the service.

Also the referenes back to Yoricks near death experience where his vision is explained - as well as the nightmares about Beth, worked well for me.

As much as I liked the jolt of the '60 years later' bit, I can't help but feeling there could have been a bit more in there to show us the progress that was made, and to explain why they all stayed in Paris.

I thought switching the narrative to an old Yorick, telling the story in flashback was a nice touch.

I really liked the last few silent pages.

ztoical

Fysh wrote: »

On the other hand, I did finally get to read the Umbrella Academy and it was worth waiting for. Lovely art and a very odd story with some great little details thrown in. I'm not too sure I'd want to read loads of stories about the team, but it worked quite nicely as a standalone story, plus the core villain's conceit was wonderfully demented.

I saw the trade at the weekend and was very tempted to pick it up even thou I already have all the issues - just thought they'd done a really good job with the design of the cover and print job on the trade.

Fysh

The cover is fantastic, a very simple design but very well executed. The TPB has the early promo stuff from free comic book day and the 2 page myspace strip as well, if you're looking for excuses to buy it