What comic are you reading at the moment.

flyingoutside

spooydermot wrote: »

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?

i heard he's planning to go for five years trying to remember where i saw it

Nebur

Nothing new, Hellblazer: Stations of the Cross and also Marvel Zombies.

MadamMe

Naruto - by recommendation!

Delirium

Birds of prey - dead of winter.
Have enjoyed the series so far and really like the artwork.

Also, picked up the graphic novel version of Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Have enjoyed anything I've picked up by Gaiman so am looking forward to this.

Jonesy3110

Invincible Iron Man
Secret Invasion
Ms. Marvel
New Avengers
Mighty Avengers
Avengers: the initiative
Iron Man: Director of Shield
Avengers Invaders
Iron Man: Legacy of Doom
Skaar: son of hulk
Marvel adventures: Iron Man
The Order

And I've also been trying to branch out a little so I'm reading Batman: Hush and I'm right now looking up at my boyfriends comics and thinking maybe I should start reading some Walking Dead and Jonah Hex.

Saruwatari

The Sandman : Preludes and Nocturnes
I'm five issues into this, and I'm a little confused. I didn't know it was actually set within the DC universe, and I'm not too accquainted with it, so am I missing out on things? Like the JLA, Arkham Asylum, and John Constantine references. I feel like I'm reading something different from what I originally heard of it...
And what's with the art changing between two different guys from time to time?
Sandman Mystery Theatre : Sleep of Reason
I'm only two issues into this so far, and I can't say I'm expecting a masterpiece, but I do crave gasmasks, fedoras and trenchcoats so much.
Batman : The Killing Joke
Yeah, a little late to be joining in on this, but I've read a small bit so far, and I must say that Brian Bolland is one of the most gifted artists I've ever seen in comics.
B.P.R.D : The Ectoplasmic Man
Can't say I've read too much of the B.P.R.D, I was always mroe into Hellboy. But I thought I might as wel learn a bit more about the awesome Johann Kraus before going to see the film (August 22nd!). Art was OK, obviously some Mignola-ish influence. Perhaps the ending was a little to abrupt.

Fysh

Saruwatari wrote: »

The Sandman : Preludes and Nocturnes
I'm five issues into this, and I'm a little confused. I didn't know it was actually set within the DC universe, and I'm not too accquainted with it, so am I missing out on things? Like the JLA, Arkham Asylum, and John Constantine references. I feel like I'm reading something different from what I originally heard of it...
And what's with the art changing between two different guys from time to time?

That's only really a problem with the first trade - while the entire series was pretty much set up to let Gaiman play with all the toys in the DC sandbox, so to speak, after about 7 or 8 issues he starts to move away from the more overtly referential stuff and into a more comfortable rhythm where you don't actually need to know what's being alluded to in order to enjoy the comic.

As for the art, I'm pretty sure there was no set artist for the whole series.

Saruwatari wrote: »

Batman : The Killing Joke
Yeah, a little late to be joining in on this, but I've read a small bit so far, and I must say that Brian Bolland is one of the most gifted artists I've ever seen in comics.

Out of curiosity, did you pick up the recoloured version or the original included in Alan Moore's DC Universe Stories? It's a really great comic, which is why it's so weird to have read that Bolland wasn't all that happy with it in the end. I loved it though, it's an almost perfect example of hero/villain conflict being explored at a level beyond simple punch-ups.

Delirium

Marvels Secret Wars.

Read part of the series as a kid and always wanted to read the whole series. Finally got the book. Interesting introduction to book. The whole series came about as a marketing device for action figures. Also it introduced the start of something that would have long-reaching effects on Spiderman.

Saruwatari

Fysh wrote: »

Out of curiosity, did you pick up the recoloured version or the original included in Alan Moore's DC Universe Stories? It's a really great comic, which is why it's so weird to have read that Bolland wasn't all that happy with it in the end. I loved it though, it's an almost perfect example of hero/villain conflict being explored at a level beyond simple punch-ups.

Re-coloured, I seen some pages of the original online, and IMO Bolland has definetely done a better job. Though in all fairness, the original colouring wasn't desperate either...

Fysh

Yeah, I find it similar to Watchmen and Sandman in that regard - the recoloured versions are clearly better, but at the same time it's not like the originals were terrible.

shenanigans1982

Monthly:

Both Avengers Titles
X-men Titles
Spider-man
New Iron man title...mainly picked it up because Larocca was on art but I am really enjoying it.
Tried New Exiles but Claremont is really hard to read.
Kick Ass
Ultimates
Was also convinced to try Final Crisis but just can't get my head around it....seems to be the same with any of Morrisons work.

Graphic Novels:

100 Bullets
Powers
The Long Halloween
Y the last man.

MarkHall

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Monthly:

Tried New Exiles but Claremont is really hard to read.

QFT!
It's like he took all the Fun from the book.

Picked up trades of Ironman and am working my way through the Extermist at the moment.
That and the nice litte Marvel Zombies Vs Army of Darkness HC. Layman had some great fun with this book. I loved Zombie Howard the Duck and the nextwave Cameos.

Fysh

I'm currently reading the Hellblazer : Fear Machine TPB and it's as good as I remembered it being. Also have Fat Chunk and a couple of small press things to read, and probably a bunch of reading from the last month to post up.

Fysh

A relatively light load for me this week - the last TPB of American Virgin which was fantastic as ever (although the ending was a bit sudden, understandably). Sadly, the intended longer-term direction of the series becomes clearer here, but anyway. Short-lived though it was, I really enjoyed the series and frankly, after the disappointing nonsense that Y: The Last Man ended with I'm almost happier to see the series at least end on a strong (if unexpected) note rather than just peter out into irrelevance.

Also picked up Invincible Iron Man #3, which has greatness in it, particularly the history of Ezekiel Stane. The artwork in this is already good but it was particularly lush in that flashback sequence. I may well still drop this after the first story arc is finished, but it's good reading so far.

The week's surprise quality came from Hellblazer presents Chas: The Knowledge #1. I'll be honest, I like Hellblazer but most of the spin-off minis have been tat of the highest order. This, on the other hand, looks good. Having lost interest in the title after Denise Mina's run, this looks like it might be worth a read - sure, Constantine's brief appearance is basically John-by-numbers but then again that's pretty much what the character's reduced to by now. Whereas Chas is a mostly under-used character (with the exception of The Gift and, to an extent, All His Engines) so this is a nice chance for someone to do something interesting with him.

Also on the Hellblazer front - yay, there's a Jamie Delano/Jock 20th Anniversary OGN due out sometime before the end of the year, as well as a Family Man TPB. Joy!

TerrorFirmer

Black Gas
Starship Troopers: Insect Touch
Punisher volume 1 through 6 and Punisher Born
Wanted

Punisher Max Vols 1-4
Wanted
Serenity: Better Days
Cable
The Goon Vols 0-4

Fysh

Even lighter than last week for me this time around, I only picked up two single issues today.

Omega the Unknown #10 I skim-read and was perplexed by, although in a very good way. The cover alone is almost worth the price of it (as are all the covers for the whole series) and I'll probably read the whole series over from scratch at the weekend.

Also picked up Hellblazer #246, the conclusion of Jason Aaron's 2-parter. It's quite nice, harking back to the very early days of the series in an almost continuity-pornish sort of way while also evoking the atmosphere of Grant Morrison's 2 parter from way back when. The problem is that although this is a fine story, and the stories Andy Diggle has been telling since he took over the series are also fine, with 200+ issues of history, there's a nagging feeling that it's all been done before. Especially when Diggle has come up with a cute contrivance that effectively undoes the character arc that Carey's entire run was based on. Oh well.

Delirium

Fysh wrote: »

Even lighter than last week for me this time around, I only picked up two single issues today.

Omega the Unknown #10 I skim-read and was perplexed by, although in a very good way. The cover alone is almost worth the price of it (as are all the covers for the whole series) and I'll probably read the whole series over from scratch at the weekend.

Also picked up Hellblazer #246, the conclusion of Jason Aaron's 2-parter. It's quite nice, harking back to the very early days of the series in an almost continuity-pornish sort of way while also evoking the atmosphere of Grant Morrison's 2 parter from way back when. The problem is that although this is a fine story, and the stories Andy Diggle has been telling since he took over the series are also fine, with 200+ issues of history, there's a nagging feeling that it's all been done before. Especially when Diggle has come up with a cute contrivance that effectively undoes the character arc that Carey's entire run was based on. Oh well.

Just wondering if the Omega the Unknown has anything to do with the series from the 70s. I only ask because I read a lot of that series from my uncles collection as a kid.

Fysh

It's a reimagining of sorts, based on the original 70's series. The writer, Jonathan Lethem, discussed his plans with Steve Gerber who said that Lethem's planned storyline broadly matched Gerber's intent with the original series. I haven't read the original series so I can't compare it to that, but I can say that the new Omega The Unknown has been really good and is definitely worth taking a look at.

Delirium

Fysh wrote: »

It's a reimagining of sorts, based on the original 70's series. The writer, Jonathan Lethem, discussed his plans with Steve Gerber who said that Lethem's planned storyline broadly matched Gerber's intent with the original series. I haven't read the original series so I can't compare it to that, but I can say that the new Omega The Unknown has been really good and is definitely worth taking a look at.

Thanks Fysh. Will try and pick it up. Really interested to see what way they went with their version of Omega.

markw999

I'm re-reading

Fun Home - Alison Bechdel
It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken - Seth

dr_tran

Picked up The Starman Omnibus Vol 1 and Batman - The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul yesterday. I also have a good bit of the Cpatain America Omnibus to get through and I'm rereading Adrain Tomine's Optic Nerve and Daniel Clowes Eightball at the minute.

MarkHall

Got the last of Y the last man books. Felt a little Empty. The final part was a great finish it's just he bits before that felt a little I don't want to say wrong. But it left me with a huh! feeling.

Fysh

MarkHall wrote: »

Got the last of Y the last man books. Felt a little Empty. The final part was a great finish it's just he bits before that felt a little I don't want to say wrong. But it left me with a huh! feeling.

Yeah, the closing issue was a very nice epilogue but the final story arc was a bit crap and by-the-numbers for my liking. Apart from anything else it's cemented my suspicion that

Vaughan is quite happy to resort to the "killing central character = drama" trope, which frankly puts me off checking out anything else he works on. Oh, and the "revelation" about Alter was possibly the stupidest thing in the entire series, even more so than the morphic-resonance-as-explanation bit

. It's a shame that he put such a weak ending on what was a brilliant series, but there you go...

Fysh

Just back from today's comic run and it's better than last week - Dead Space #5, Liberty Comics One-shot, and best of all Black Summer #7. I couldn't wait and read BS7 on the way back to work, and it's bloody good - there was something of a lull in the political aspect of the series after about the second issue, where the characterisation seemed to take a back seat compared to the action. That's firmly resolved here, with a conclusion that brings to the forefront all the ideas Ellis wanted to bring to bear. I'll be picking up the TPB in a couple of months, but before then I'll be re-reading the whole story in one go.

Delirium

Re-reading the original Omega series so it will be fresh in my mind when I get to the new Omega series.

Picked up The Umbrella Academy since I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Also got the first volume of the new Marvel Universe series. The last time I read the Marvel Universe it was contained in 1 book, the new one is going to be 12 books.:eek:

Maeve C

Anything by Paul Grist; started on Jack Staff, then read some of the Kane series.

Constantly reading and re-reading Powers. They're hard to beat. Deena Pilgrim is one of the best characters in comics right now.

Re-reading Palestine by Joe Sacco and just read 'The Fixer' recently. Amazing comic reportage books.

They're the main ones. There's always a couple beside the bed in case of emergency.

maeve

shenanigans1982

Maeve C wrote: »

Constantly reading and re-reading Powers. They're hard to beat. Deena Pilgrim is one of the best characters in comics right now.

Just finished the first volume of Powers and didn't get all the hype. While the introdution to Walker was pretty good it all seemed to go downhill from there and descended into the usual conviniently wrapped up standard Bendis stuff. Maybe it picks up as it goes along?

Maeve C

I think it's worth reading more of the Powers; the characters really develop and the humour gets darker as it goes on. I have to say, having loved Powers, I bought a couple of Bendis' earlier books (Goldfish and I think the second was Jinx). I thought they were ****. And began to wonder if someone was ghost writing Powers for him. So if you liked the early ones, you might not like Powers. I think they're worth the investment of a few more books though.

maeve

ztoical

Been picking up a bunch of interesting stuff recently but been to lazy to do write anything. Had to write about two books I picked up yesterday thou Flight 5 and Comic Book Tattoo.

First up Flight 5 - great print job as always with a wonderful selection of artists. Haven't read the whole thing yet I was cheeky and jumped to my friends stories first. Overall this issue is at the same hight level as the others production wise but its now at a point where I have to ask where do they go from here? There's nothing wrong per say with this issue or any of the other ones and it feels wrong to say anything negative about a book with such a high quality level to it but they are all becoming kinda of one big blurr in my head. I feel as an anthology it needs more direction then O look some really great artists draw great things - that worked well for the first one as it was new and different but what now? The whole big thing about flight was that it picked up by random house, big proper book publisher who put it in all the bookstores, thus by passing the whole direct market, and getting attention from non comic people [and along with the Mome anthology really kicked started this whole recent wave of art anthologies] but if its big thing is appealing to non comic people or semi comic people I cann't see it lasting much longer in its current state as it really feels sometimes like why spend $25 five times when you can just pick up one. One thing I like is Micharl Gagne's story is on going and is the first story in each flight [to be continues are usually big no no's in anthologies] Its nice but its back to the non comic people - are they really going to buy all the books just for the one on going one? If your a fan of flight or any of the artists in 5 then you'll prob have this already or on order or if you've never read a flight its worth checking out.

And then we have another anthology collection Comic Book Tattoo - 480 pages of comics based on songs by Tori Amos. First off I have to say this book weighs...alot. Seriously its twice the size of flight and twice as thick. Handing it to the girl at the till to pay she nearly dropped it due to the weight, and she couldn't believe it was only $25 for so much book. The print job on this is amazing - the cover which has been splash all over the net due to SDCC last weekend, is just fantastic - what you can't see in the pictures is the embossing and clear gloss ink used on it - really quality stuff. As I only picked it up yesterday I haven't even managed to flick through all the pages let alone read all of it. I can say first impression is that its a very mixed bag - I'm surprised at the massive variety of styles - some are not my cup of tea at all but isn't that kinda of the point of an anthology? - you don't like that story but you like the other one - Can't really say much story wise on the whole Amos songs aspect, I actually only know 2 tori amos songs. The lyrics to the song are printed before each comic so you can get an idea. Eric Cante's story is the only I've read properly as the art really jumped out at me while flicking past - big fan of his work after his recent Iron Man limited series. While I think Tori Amos is one of the artists your either into or not, its def a well produced book and gets you wondering what other song writers out there would it be interesting to see something like this from?*

My only nit pick about the book [other then hurting my arm carrying it home] is that some people have really gone all out and do a good chunk fo pages while others have only done a couple. I'm not sure how it worked, if the editor gave a mini page number or let people work it out themselves but it does up set the flow of reading a little. Its one of the things i like about the flight books, the artists are expected to do at least 10 pages for their stories - it means you have time to get into a story, enjoy before the everything switches to the next style but anthologies that have short stories you find yourself not getting into the short stories as no sooner have you started your changing to a totally different artists/writer and it can be a tiny bit jarring. Having said that its 480 pages so there is alot of art styles in there, its going to be a bit all over the place no matter what.

*Possible idea for a future comic challenge maybe fysh?