What comic are you reading at the moment.

FUGGER

"Swamp Thing volume 3: The Curse - despite enjoying everything I've read by Alan Moore I've never gotten around to reading Swamp Thing before, and it's mostly because the artwork of the time puts me off quite a bit. It's not that it's bad, but the printing standards and paper used are evidently inferior compared to what I've gotten very used to with modern comics. I figured if any part of it was going to hold my interest, it'd be the volume introducing StingJohn Constantine. The ideas in this are creepy, as they'd want to be for a fantasy horror series. There's a good development of tension with allusions to some sort of growing threat (which seems to be linked to the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which I haven't read but know some little bit about) and which culminates with the deaths of all those friends who become the first set of ghosts to haunt Constantine, I think.

All of that said, I enjoyed this but I don't know if I'd bother with the rest of Moore's work on the series. It's well-written, sure, but it doesn't really grab me and the artwork puts me off too much (Weirdly enough, the artwork puts me off more than the artwork from much older comics like Little Nemo or Krazy Kat)."

I'd persevere with Swamp Thing if I was you. I think it's Moore's best work myself, that and From Hell. Granted, I read them years and years ago but don't recall any Crisis cross-over madness in it just loads of interesting themes and good stories well told. Little Nemo is bleedin' great too.

Incidentally, I'm reading Twisted Sisters volume two and some Moomins comics. The former is pretty interesting, the latter is genius.

Spastafarian

Swamp Thing is definately Alan Moore's best stuff. You should read it from the start though.

RAMAN

Picked up Bryan Talbot's The Adventures of Luther Arkwright over the weekend. This is one hell of a read and only cost a mere 9.95.

Fysh

RAMAN wrote: »

Picked up Bryan Talbot's The Adventures of Luther Arkwright over the weekend. This is one hell of a read and only cost a mere 9.95.

I must get around to checking this out, I've read a couple of Talbot's other works (Brainstorm & Tale Of One Bad Rat) and am currently getting into Alice In Sunderland at long last - so far I've enjoyed all of it, so the Luther Arkwright should be right up my alley.

Red Tempest

Is anyone here a fan of comic creator Jhonen Vasquez of 'Invader Zim' fame? I'm reading Squee at the moment, which is a spin-off novel of the classic Johnny The Homocidal Maniac strips. Both are an absolute must-read for anyone who has a....ahem, slightly warped sense of humour. Johnny even writes his own comic, called Happy Noodle Boy!

You just have to read, its laugh out loud stuff and the artworks uber too, entirely monochrome but really effective (note how I've refrained from using the acronym, I can't look at LOL in another text or email today I swear...).

ztoical

X-factor 45 - ok I'm reading alot more then one book but this is the only one that I wanted to write about. Massive spoiler for the last page -

rictor and shatterstar kiss........awwwwww it's about time

I've been expecting this since X-fore before AOA. I'm having a very sappy fangirl moment but seriously bout freaking time. Haven't had alot of positive comments about Marvel for the last few years but they get major points for letting Peter David do this.

Handsome Bob

Reading Brubaker's Captain America right now.

Crowcifer

Crying Freeman by Kazuo Koike.

Enjoying it a lot, but I don't think it's as enjoyable as Koike's Lone Wolf and Cub.

Mal-Adjusted

Just finished Sin City: Hell and Back, now I can't decide between "Classic X-men" or my new "Beast Wars" omnibus!

Fysh

I've just picked up a rather larger stash than usual and read No Hero #6 on my way back to work. Considering my reservations about the series around issue #3 (the one, I think, with 5 double-page spreads) this issue really cemented the deal in terms of taking the plot somewhere interesting.

Thinking back to Black Summer and what's been published so far of No Hero (not to mention Christos Gage's Absolution, of which I have only read previews) it seems like Avatar are keen to release superhero comics with similar character types to those used by Marvel & DC, but with a much more grounded sensibility and without the constraints involved in trying to create perpetually-ongoing franchises out of them.

Mal-Adjusted

hey all...this may be a shot in the dark here, but a friend was asking me about "Wearwolf by Night" and "Moon Knight" It perked my intorests as I haven't ever read them, so what's the general feeling? are they any good? dark/Gothic? What other comics would they be most similat to?
Thanks

chin_grin

Just finished reading

The Punisher MAX series 1-10, written by Garth Ennis. Was enjoyable and a nice and gory take on the protagonist, but felt it wane towards the end.

And....

Zombies vs Robots (vs Amazons) I only bought this because Ashley Wood did the artwork (Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid). The story is a load of w@nk. But the art is amazing!

I'm 1/3rd of the way through Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and also finished the First Invisibles (going on to the second...amazing series...original Matrix storyline....it's real messed up!)

shenanigans1982

Just finished Superman: Red Son

Shame Millar writes most of his comic stuf with movies in mind nowadays. This is a good story and shows what he can do...nice twist in it too.

Fysh

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Just finished Superman: Red Son

Shame Millar writes most of his comic stuf with movies in mind nowadays. This is a good story and shows what he can do...nice twist in it too.

Isn't it just? Based on the likes of Red Son and to a lesser extent Chosen, I'd be very interested to see what he'd do if he committed to a proper longform series (to date the longest he's stuck on one comic is the 26 issues of The Ultimates, and even then that was reinventing someone else's characters rather than creating from whole cloth). Now, it might turn out to be a load of awful crap with rubbish passing itself off as character work and random fanwank scences, but I'd still be curious about it. I had hoped that Kick-ass might turn out to be that work, but instead it's a load of derivative muck that doesn't know if it's laughing at itself or taking itself totally seriously...

shenanigans1982

Fysh wrote: »

Isn't it just? Based on the likes of Red Son and to a lesser extent Chosen, I'd be very interested to see what he'd do if he committed to a proper longform series (to date the longest he's stuck on one comic is the 26 issues of The Ultimates, and even then that was reinventing someone else's characters rather than creating from whole cloth).

Thats a whole other issue.;)

It really bugs me that the average time a lot of creators seem to stay on a book is 12 issues. That leads to the constant reboots and retcons and waters down the series as a whole.

Also I think he did 30+ issues of Ultimate X-men.

Fysh

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Also I think he did 30+ issues of Ultimate X-men.

Hmm, I've never bothered checking out Ultimate X-Men. Like Ultimate Spider-Man, I understand the intention, but I don't really see the point. Ultimates & Ultimates 2 I liked for having a defined storyline, but the perpetually-ongoing stuff just isn't my thing.

That being said, I might check out Millar's contribution to Ult. X-men, just to see what he did with it...

cat_rant

Just finished Wonder Woman " The Circle" really enjoyed it. Slowly but surely collecting all the newest WW graphic novels.

Fysh

Singles

200AD Prog. 1643 - Picked this up because I saw Bob Byrne had a Twisted Tale in it. As usual it was great stuff, and a good enough reason to pick up the issue. Didn't bother reading any of the other features as they all seemed to be part 5 of Judge Dredd Goes For A Dump or something along those lines.

Atomika #8 & 9 - It's been years since this was coming out, and in the intervening time I've picked up the first TPB. It's great to be reading this again, because it's not a massively complex story but it's very well geared towards lush, sprawling artwork.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape #3 - This issue continues to maintain quality, introducing a bizarre gameshow element which determines the fate of the inmates in Electric City. I've seen some complaints from rabid DC fanboys about how they don't understand what's going on yet, but the deliberate retention of information has been the strength of this series so far.

The Great Unknown #2 - This comic manages to feel very dense, as though it's giving you more than 22 pages per issue. The ideas come thick and fast, interspersed with flashbacks that flesh out our far-from-a-hero's background. If only more comics were as densely packed with interesting ideas as this...

No Hero #6 - Yeeeeeesh. I've already commented on this, but dang if Ellis hasn't managed to rival Garth Ennis' taste for gruesome violence in this issue. Given the allusions to Josh's background in this, the final issue should be quite the interesting read...

Phonogram: The Singles Club #3 - More joy distilled into pure comics form. The main feature is as good as ever, but this issue is worth reading purely for the four-page spoof/summary of Phonogram: Rue Britannia, featuring such lines as "cursing him to defend a world that doesn't understand his record collection" and featuring Kid-With-Knives wielding a machine gun of almost Liefeldian proportions.

Red Mass for Mars - Another comic that hasn't been seen with a while. To be honest I need to re-read the first two issues, because I only realised half-way through this issue that the numerical descriptors used in the location boxes are statements of the year, not labels identifying parallel worlds. (This could be me, but Hickman is usually very good at delivering information without making it feel like exposition so this caught me by surprise). Like Ellis' Avatar work with Black Summer and No Hero, this seems to be Hickman exploring "real-world superheroes"; in this case, how a Superman character would actually behave if he was stuck on Earth long-term. The last issue should be interesting, although I have no idea how it's going to play out.

Strange Adventures of H P Lovecraft #3 - This pulp horror keeps up the pace, as the authorities chase down Lovecraft as a suspected murderer while he tries to fight off sleep, hoping that if he refrains from dreaming, the monsters will remain at bay. As a Lovecraft fan, this is much more interesting than all those interminable Cthulhu comics. I particularly liked the surreal sequence where Lovecraft is drugged. Can't wait to get the final issue.

Wednesday Comics #1 & #2 - I've been looking forward to this since it was announced because I'm a sucker for large format comics (the kind of stuff that Dresden Codak or Nobody Scores! do) and I really enjoyed Solo. I've found enough to enjoy in this so far, with some lovely artwork in some of the strips, and Wonder Woman being the standout in terms of really using the space. Green Lantern, The Flash, and Kamandi are other good strips, but on the other hand the unimaginative use of space and page size in the Sgt. Rock strip or the horribly Silver-Age-nostalgic writing on Metamorpho are a bit of a let down. So far I'm enjoying the experiment, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.


Trades

Dragon Ball Volume 8 - Goku finds himself confronted by Tao Paipai, the world's most fearsome contract killer. As he struggles to figure out a way to win the fight, he learns of the Karin Tower and its promise of increased strength for anyone who can reach its summit.

100 Bullets Volume 13: Wilt - I've been waiting for this for quite some time, so I read it with some trepidation. I was in two minds about whether to just dive in or go back to the start and read the whole series again; I decided I'd read it as is and then re-read the whole series to more fully appreciate it. As it stands, though, it's a fantastic and epic-feeling closing arc for one of the best long-form crime comics ever written. I don't really want to say anything that might spoil the story itself, but I'm glad that this final volume kept the high standard that the series has maintained since that first issue with Dizzy Cordova meeting Agent Graves for the first time.

Outlaw Territory - This is one of those Image anthologies that's really good but doesn't get much publicity. I only heard about it through someone pimping it on another message board, and figured I'd take a gamble on it because it's been ages since I read any Western stories. I'm glad I did - it's a really good anthology, with some great and diverse artwork and a lot of good strong stories. A couple of the stories were a bit over-wrought and trying too hard to shock you with twist endings, but for the most part this felt like it was made by a bunch of people who had ideas for stories that wouldn't work in any other genre and decided to go for it rather than crowbar those stories into a superhero template.

I'm in the process of working through Alice In Sunderland at the moment as well, but that book is approximately as dense as a black hole so it's taking time. I've also got a sizeable "to read" pile (despite my best efforts to reduce this), and a bunch of small press stuff to write up from recent months, so I'll likely be posting again in the next day or two.

shenanigans1982

Fysh wrote: »

100 Bullets Volume 13: Wilt - I've been waiting for this for quite some time, so I read it with some trepidation. I was in two minds about whether to just dive in or go back to the start and read the whole series again; I decided I'd read it as is and then re-read the whole series to more fully appreciate it. As it stands, though, it's a fantastic and epic-feeling closing arc for one of the best long-form crime comics ever written. I don't really want to say anything that might spoil the story itself, but I'm glad that this final volume kept the high standard that the series has maintained since that first issue with Dizzy Cordova meeting Agent Graves for the first time.

Sh*t I cannot believe this slipped my mind:eek: and Forbidden planet won't open for another nine hours, like Fysh I will enjoy Vol 13 and probably shed a few tears at the end of what I consider to be the best comic series ever, before diving headfirst back into the very begining.

Just Finished Fantastic Four: Worlds greatest part 1.

Another Mark Millar book ( dunno how I ended up with all these), anyway Millar does a good job of instantly getting you involved in the FF's world and gives a good voice to the characters and some good initial concepts involving Reed's ex and a

replacment earth created due to irreversible damage to the existing one

soon give way to the the old reliable characters and a twist so telegraphed it couldn't be further from Superman: Red Son.

Nedermeyer

just finished reading Lucifer Vol 4 : the Divine Comedy.

Next purchases are to be Vol5 & 6 of the lucifer books and Volume 1 of the sandman ( the big leather bound ones )

Speaking of which, does anyone know of any comic book libraries in dublin ?

I do love comics, but they can be hard on the pocket !

Crowcifer

Just started Top 10 by Alan Moore yesterday, hope it lives up to it's rep.

Prior to that I fairly burst through the following:

Kabuki: Circle of Blood
Kabuki: Masks of the Noh
Battle Royale Vols 1 - 9 (Need to get the rest, EXCELLENT series)
Conan 'The Frost Giant's Daughter and Other Stories
Kwaidan

ztoical

Nedermeyer wrote: »

Speaking of which, does anyone know of any comic book libraries in dublin ?

The only thing close to a comic library is the French Library in Dublin but a fair few of the regular libraries now have good selections. There was a big thread on it recently here.

Mal-Adjusted

I'm reading the "Classic Transformers vol 4" that i got yesterday and loving it! great storeytelling. it's an IDW reprint of the old Marvel series, 15 issues, paperback.

Jonjo6

The walking dead...Everyone should put their eyes to it,its fantastic altho the artwork in the 1st 12 issues is better than the rest...
Preacher is probably my fave so far,
read Y:the last man,ept me interested through the whole thing.then the end stank!!

Kold

Also reading the Walking Dead right now. Read Black Hole, Palestine and Sentences in recent weeks.

Jonjo6

how far into it are ya,I've read up to 60 but I bought all the hardbacks so ill start again as soon as the 1st one arrives...damn slow ebay...never read any of them ones ya mentioned!!Maybe ill check em out

2040

Fysh wrote: »

100 Bullets Volume 13: Wilt - I've been waiting for this for quite some time, so I read it with some trepidation. I was in two minds about whether to just dive in or go back to the start and read the whole series again; I decided I'd read it as is and then re-read the whole series to more fully appreciate it. As it stands, though, it's a fantastic and epic-feeling closing arc for one of the best long-form crime comics ever written. I don't really want to say anything that might spoil the story itself, but I'm glad that this final volume kept the high standard that the series has maintained since that first issue with Dizzy Cordova meeting Agent Graves for the first time.

Is this out? Amazon says it's not out until late next month. Other Realms in Cork said the same.

I just finished the twelfth one and i found i had forgotten what was going on since i left a big gap between volumes. It's annoying because i was really into it at one stage. Really looking forward to wilt.

MikeC101

Had a marathon re-read session of stuff.

Read the entire Lucifer series (including the Morningstar Option and Seasons of Mist), finished at about 5am, slightly fuzzy headed and a bit unsure what was real and what wasn't.

Laid into Y the Last Man this morning and got through the whole series.

Planning an assault on Sandman tonight. Either that or begin Hellblazer all over again. Or maybe Preacher.

There are some good things about being unemployed I suppose

Kold

Jonjo6 wrote: »

how far into it are ya,I've read up to 60 but I bought all the hardbacks so ill start again as soon as the 1st one arrives...damn slow ebay...never read any of them ones ya mentioned!!Maybe ill check em out

Just finished book 9 of the books anyway

They're about to set off for Washington, do you reckon Lori/Judith could still be alive? We saw a shot sure but I'm not convinced.

shenanigans1982

2040 wrote: »

Is this out? Amazon says it's not out until late next month. Other Realms in Cork said the same.

I just finished the twelfth one and i found i had forgotten what was going on since i left a big gap between volumes. It's annoying because i was really into it at one stage. Really looking forward to wilt.

I had a hard time getting it but managed to get it in Chapters...which aint much use to you in Cork but it is available, literally just finished it now and it really is amazing and far from a let down ending that too many series seem to suffer from after such promise.