What comic are you reading at the moment.

galactus

Exiles Vol 4.
One of the story arcs ("With this Iron Fist") features Tony ("Iron Man") Stark who has become an evil World President after defeating Dr. Doom.

The Inhumans are in there (Stark wants their DNA). Also Wonder Man has (not so accidendtly) been given a massive dose of gamma radiation and has to resort Zen meditation or else...


Conan #16
Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord are GODS! I've been reading Conan since the oceans drank Atlantis but this is up there with the best of them (ie Roy Thomas & John Buscema).

spooydermot

This thursdays splurge:

Klarion the Witchboy issue 2

Truly enjoyed this one, Klarion and Shining Knight seem to be the glue holding the 7 Soldiers story togeather, Guardian and Zatanna are generally OK, but the real guts of the sheeda story (so far) seem to be with Klarion and Shining Knight. There are a couple of nice link ins with the Guardian story here, and Klarion as a character is nicely quirky.
It's issues like this that have me looking foward to the rest of the story.


Toxin #1

picked this one up cause the front cover artwork was pretty cool (looks kinda 'swamp thing' like). I only know the basics of the whole 'Venom' story line...symbiot etc. But Toxin is a nice spin, a symbiot who does good under the influence of an ex-cop (pat mulligan). Decent enough artwork and the Toxin character itself is pretty cool looking. I'm not so sure about the internal dialog between Toxin and his host, I guess its necessary, but I wouldn't like to see it become the kind of belly button pondering "will i? - Won't I? - Can I go on?" that I have come to associate with Spiderman.


Ultimate Tales: Spiderman 1-2
I picked up this double issue just to see how the Ultimate Spiderman series started off. There are a couple of nice touches, it's a slow burner, the powers don't really emerge until the end of the second issue, I never knew how Peters parents died before, its mentioned in this issue.
There are a few interesting bits, Norman Osborn being more involved with the radioactive/genetically modified spider than in the other spiderman series.
But at the end of the day the 'how peter became spiderman' story is something that we get a flash back to in every other issue of spiderman, so its hardly a huge revolution. But then the Ultimate Series is generally catered more towards people who want to pick up the comic after seeing the movie, and and have to wade through a couple of decades of back story.

House of M #1

Again, bought this out of curiosity, there is no way I am buying all the connecting parts of House of M, it occured to me recently that I'd really just like to read good self contained storys without having to figure out how is a member of the Avengers and who is a member of .....i dunno the SuperHero SoftBall team. That said the opening sequence with the babies is quite striking and sets the scene well.
Almost worth buying for Wolverine referrning to Professor X as 'chuck' (im not sure if he does this a lot in the other x-men comics)

There is a scene here where we see spiderman with the X-Men and it reminded me of seeing a cartoon in my youth where Spiderman was not allowed to join the X-Men cause he was not born a mutant...i always felt bad for spiderman over that........err..despite the fact that he is of course a fictional comic book character.

All in all I'm sure 'house of M' is going to be a good series for anyone well verses in the Marvel universe and the comic itself is a fairly good read, but I'm just not sure about the whole backing every superhero we've got into the one book and hoping for the best (DC of course are also doing this at the moment)

I'm sure anyone who is big into Marvel already has this, but i saw it on their wed site and thought i'd post a link to it:House of M comic checklist

hmm...a lot of issue 1's this week, I don't normally buy issue 1's for the sake of them, but there you go, thats just how it went.


Back issues:

Transfomers UK #100
Saw this and just had to pick it up for old times sake! I had this issue when I was a kid, i remember the wrap around cover and the 100th issue competition inside...fantastic!
Be interesting to see IDWs take on the Transformers franchise when they release their issue 0 in october.....'Crisis on Infinate Cybertrons' anyone?

Alias #1
Picked this up cause I've heard good things about Bendis (also some not so good things) , not mad about the artwork to be honest. Can anyone tell me, what issue is Alias up to at the moment? and is it worth me catching up?Having difficult telling from this issue.

Fysh wrote:

Incidentally, spookydermot - I spent about half an hour rooting through the back issues in Other Realms yesterday, and sadly it looks like no Atomika #1 for you. Maybe you could try somewhere like milehighcomics.com, or wait to see if it comes out as a TPB.

Thanks for checking Fysh! I truly appreciate it! There are a few good comic stores on e-bay that I can pick it up on. I have the other issues of atomica, but haven't read them yet, I'm sure I'll pick up #1 soon, thanks for checking!

A O Malley

spooydermot wrote:

Alias #1
Picked this up cause I've heard good things about Bendis (also some not so good things) , not mad about the artwork to be honest. Can anyone tell me, what issue is Alias up to at the moment? and is it worth me catching up?Having difficult telling from this issue.

Alias finished at 28, it is now The Pulse. Just bought all the back issues but haven’t read them yet.

baldi1212

currently reading the omac project, ultimates, ultimate spiderman, green arrow, daredevil, batman/detective and gotham, gotham central, captain america. Favourite at the mo is daredevil

galactus

Red Son

What if Superman had landed in the Soviet Union instead of the US and grown up a communist?

Apparently this is an "Elseworlds story"...DCs version of Marvel's "What If?" ...which I always loved but found impossible to find.

Supes has a hammer and sickle instead of the usua "S" chest logo!

Artwork is a bit ropey in parts but well worth a read - even if the writer didn't get as much milage out of the story as he should have (my 2c).

spooydermot

Supreme Power #17


mostly a slow burner, a snippet more information about the Amazon womans real form (as well as that of the entity living in the crystal on the back of Spectrums hand)

This issue also devotes a bit more time to the Sprectrum/Kingsley relationship, but doesn't move that particular plot element as far foward as it needs to be at this stage.


Strange Girl #1

Pretty cool idea for a story. As was stated by Fysh before hand, its set 10 years after the Rapture, the story of those who are left on earth.
Theres a definite Tank Girl vibe here, mostly due to the artwork, as well as a bit of Terry Pratchett (small fat demons sitting in a bar drinking) . On the whole, I would have liked to see less cartoony artwork, it could have made it darker whilst keeping the humour, but all in all, I'm looking foward to how this one pans out. Theres a few concept sketches and a note about where the idea came from at the back of the book.

House of M #2

Interesting enough issue, especially the 'new careers' of some of the x-men, and Dr.Strange as a practising psychologist.
The final page is a nice TV style 'to be continued' cliff hanger.

That said despite the grandeur that Marvel are attaching to 'House of M', it does come across as a bit of a glorified 'What If' series spread across the Marvel universe, ditto for Spiderman House of M #1 which I also picked up.

Dream Police #1

Cops who patrol dreams,thats basically the gist of it....
very good dry humour, Dragnet style (VERY dragnet style, the guys name is Thursday for cryin' out loud) .Nice artwork, front cover looks great. I guess it was the fact that its written by Strazinsky that brought it to my attention. its a good concept all right, but I'm wondering will it prove itself as an interesting way to tell stories or will the idea get old very quickly, in anycase, for the moment this is a one-shot issue, but its been hinted that there may be more in the future. At first glance the idea of using dreams as the backdrop for a comic seems to offer limitless opportunites for different stories, but its the kind of idea that might wear thin, but that said its only the first issue, it read well and we haven't yet been given any idea of how the dream universe works, are the Dream Police real people who are dreaming (like the dreamers) or are they like some of the creatures that live in the dream world. In any case a good start.

Toxin #2
Toxin #3
Half heartadly bought these 2, theres a few interesting elements in here which redeem the series, like the point that the Symbiot makes to Mulligan (the Symbiot host): the fact that mulligan cannot be there to raise is own son, but in a sense is rasing the Symbiot (who is a child).

The idea of troubled teens runnning away from adults and forming a gang serving a master has been done to death in comics, and its done again here.

What is interesting though is Mulligan trying to teach the symbiot values ,the differences between right and wrong and why stealing is wrong, to which the symbiot asks if it was OK for the white man to steal america from the indians, when he's told that it happened along time ago the response is something along the lines of : 'so its not a crime as long as you don't get caught immediatly?'

simu

32 Stories - The complete Optic Nerve mini-comics by Adrian Tomine. Have not read yet but should be good.

fun bus

Sin city-the hard goodbye. ya just gotta love marv. just finished the first copy of fables i ever read- absolutely LOVED it!

Epitaph

fun bus wrote:

just finished the first copy of fables i ever read- absolutely LOVED it!

Read two volumes over the weekend, think it was 4 and 5. Only leafed through a single issue before, and I must say I thought both stories were outstanding, especially "The Last Castle". Fairly easy to get into as well, I thought.

Fysh

simu wrote:

32 Stories - The complete Optic Nerve mini-comics by Adrian Tomine. Have not read yet but should be good.

Ooh, that sounds good - is it one big book or several volumes? I really have to get more of Tomine's stuff...

Lately, I am been reading:

Klarion The Witch Boy #2 - Not a bad issue, really, but somehow it feels a little hollow. Some nice touches (eg the Leviathan children) and it's still the strongest 7 Soldiers series so far for me, but I can't get rid of the itchy feeling that it's a placeholder issue more than anything else. Mind you, the artwork is still grabbing my eyeballs and yanking them out of my head, so I won't complain too much.

Mnevore #3 - As the different threads start to come together, I still can't tell whether this is bland or just a slow-burner. I shouldn't be wondering whether to carry on when I'm at the half-way point in the series, but on the other hand the concept won't get out of my brain because it is a very good one. Very likely I'll stick it to the end, but I hope it's worth it.

"Jimmy Corrigan : The Smartest Kid On Earth" by Chris Ware - I've already read it once, but got the chance to pick it up for £7, which was dead cheap. Certainly one of the best graphic novels I've ever read, and something I'm looking forward to reading again.

"Five is the perfect number" - another cheap purchase (£5), this is a nice self-contained story. It starts with a tale of mafia family loyalty, betrayal and revenge before becoming a story about hopes, dreams and the quest for personal redemption. The artwork is excellent, the murky world perfectly described by the wavering lines and 4-tone colour. Definitely worth a look.

I also wanted to pick up Little Star #3, but by the time I swung by Other Realms they seemed to be sold out. I have to get a box sorted out there, I'm sick of missing issues through not getting in first thing on a Thursday...

Khalim

This week I bought:

Planetary #23 - Percussion

I don't remember when the last issue came out...but the quality is still there.

Young Avengers #5

An entertaining read, so far has been better than my expectations (cheap cash-in on New Avengers)

Last week:
New Avengers #6

Art-wise, it still is mainstream comic pretty. Story-wise, it closes off the first story arc and clumsily tries to explain the reasons of one rather overexposed mutant inclusion into the team.

Week before that:
Fables #38
The thing i like about this series is the way they portray the fables and trying to recognize which fairytale they're from.

Anyway, back onto the issue - i liked the art and the story. The writer still manages to surprise me at every turn.

spooydermot

Last Thursdays pull

Shining Knight #3

Excellent artwork in this issue as it further pulls the various seven soldiers stories togeather, next month is unfortunatley the last issue, I only hope some of the new titles in the series are up to scratch with Shining Knight.



Iron ghost #1
fairly interesting story (should have picked up issue 2 while i was at it),set during WW2, hopefully it will stay grounded in 'reality' cause it's shaping up to be something that could be just a good story without the need for superpowers, kryptonite, ghosts, demons or any of the usual suspects


Planetary #23 - Percussion
picked this up on the basis of the first page, there was some very interesting artwork, for instance every item had a description attached to it, i.e a cup of coffee with an icon like thermometer floating beside it giving the temperature.

To be honest i hadn't seen the series before, but I thought i'd give it a look (can anyone tell me more about it? are there any tpbs?)



Sean of the Dead #1

Decent artwork, but I've never been a fan of comic adaptions of movies, they most have a habit of missing the point

.....mostly (*cartman*)

a lot of the good jokes are glossed over, but I soppose that theres only so much dialog that you can fit into a comic.



Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Frank Miller

A friend of mind in the office leant this to me and I couldn'nt put it down, absoloutely fantastic stuff, I know it was released in 1986 but I only got around to reading it now, well on par with Moores Watchmen story (I know they were both released in the same year, but there was something about the style that really made me think of Watchmen the whole way through, perhaps the whole 're-invention of a hero theme')

Draco

I've been a bit remiss of late posting here as I've no 'net connection at home 'cause of a move. Nothing from the last few weeks really springs to mind so I'll solider on with the current lot.

spooydermot wrote:

Planetary #23 - Percussion
picked this up on the basis of the first page, there was some very interesting artwork, for instance every item had a description attached to it, i.e a cup of coffee with an icon like thermometer floating beside it giving the temperature.

To be honest i hadn't seen the series before, but I thought i'd give it a look (can anyone tell me more about it? are there any tpbs?)

Yeah, there is - you can see them in this list. they'll bring you up to #18. There isn't many issues left in the run (about 4 according to Ellis). It felt like a bit of a filler issue to be honest which isn't help with the long wait between issues. You'd grow old waiting for some of Ellis' stuff.

Other bits and pieces I picked up this week:
Losers #25
Not impressed at all. The two little twists at the end were shameless. Could do better, Mr. Diggle.

THE AUTHORITY/LOBO: SPRING BREAK MASSACRE
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID
Absolute MUCK. There is nothing redeeming about this at all. Not the art, not the story, not the dialogue. I was terribly disappointed but on mature reflection maybe I shouldn't have been.
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID

City of Tomorrow #3
Meh. It's okay and it does seem to be going somewhere but I don't really feel myself warming to this at all. the fact that most of the villains are robots isn't really bringing anything new to the rather clichéd story.

Albion #1
This could end up being terribly good or terribly bad. The premise of English comic book writers having secretly using actual events for their stories intrigues me, but at the same time it could just descend into a pile of nostalgic ****. Still, the first issue has interested me enough in the concept for now.

Shining Knight #3
Better than the last issue anyway and I'll see this one through (unlike the Guardian). I'm still not sold on the whole concept but nit may pull together with later issues.

Shaun of the Dead #1
A rather hasty purchase this. I foolishly didn't flick through it first and kinda assumed it was stories around the film rather than an adaptation. I'll know better next time. I barely even glanced at once I got home.

Fysh

Dream Police #1

Picked this up on a whim and it was quite good fun. Sort of like a police procedural along the lines of CSI mixed in liberally with the dreamworld of the Sandman series. The only thing that grated was the constant weary "seen it all before attitude" of the central characters, since it's become such a cliché for police procedurals. Still, an intriguing new venture from Marvel that for me was unexpectedly good.

City Of Tomorrow #3

A somewhat meh follow-on, in that it progresses the story nicely enough but as Draco said, it's kind of hard to make yourself care. It seems to be Chaykin's prerogative to have series in which there are ideas I really dig, but which he then fails to explore enough to maintain my interest. Oh well. I'll leaf through #4 and decide whether to see it through. It is, at least, nicely illustrated.

Shining Knight #3

Quite a good follow-up to what felt like a weak second issue, since stuff actually happens. There's some exposition of history, and more importantly we finally get to see the Sheeda menace without going through veiled references. We're also given a hint as to what the die that Klarion or one of the Subway Pirates has picked up might actually be, and it seems to be quite important...

Albion #1

I don't know about anyone else, but I really enjoyed this. It was filled with enough silly little jokes to make me grin, and I like the idea of some sort of underground British superhero society enough to want this to be really good. That said, with Leah Moore scripting and her dad coming up with the premise, I'm not too worried about it.

Spaztic Colon #2

Now for the tasteless and un-pc humour. The second issue of what is possibly the best-titled comic I've seen, this was up to the first's standard. Artwork is ok, and a bit flaky in places - but this series isn't really about the visual flair, it's about the horribly mangled sense of humour that infects it like a cancer. Excellent stuff, as far as I'm concerned - although if you didn't find things like Johnny The Homicidal Maniac very funny, perhaps you should avoid it.

Elsinore #2

More of the story of Elsinore asylum; this issue we get to find out a bit more about the people housed in Elsinore as well as about the quest to find the Sinless Man. This is fairly grim and dark, and feels in tone like a cross between Se7en and Lars Von Trier's "The Kingdom" (and not that Stephen King crappy watered-down adaptation "Kingdom Hospital"). I think it's brilliant because it's nasty and visceral and combines horror with supernatural psychological elements, tying in conspiracy theories for good measure.

Solo #5 - Darwyn Cooke

Without a doubt the best Solo issue yet. I've never heard of this guy, but damn if this didn't feel like a complete piece of work instead of a portfolio. A clever little premise provides Darwyn with a way to tell several seemingly unconnected stories, each with their own artistic styles and quirks, in a way that feels expertly woven together. A far more cartoony style than other Solo-featured artists, this is why I've been following the series - I have a name to search for and a hunger for new reading matter in his style.

Sea Of Red #3

Continuing the unlikely genre-blending that has characterised this series, the crew hit boat troubles and are forced to escape to a nearby island where they meet a new and unexpected foe. Joel's desire to get good footage out of the conflict suggests that he really is willing to sacrifice every one of his companions along the way to making his film, but the others are fast tiring of his selfishness. This series seems to have momentarily lost direction, as the ending of #3 is a bit odd, but the visual style and storytelling style makes it more than worth following.

The Gloom #1

A pulp-pastiche of batman in particular, this opens with a wonderful riff on Batman's origin story. It goes on to develop into a lighthearted action romp set in the 1940's, in which The Gloom (cavalier vigilante armed with guns that shoot pure hellfire targeting only the guilty) fights crime in his city. He discovers that Nazi sympathisers are in his city attempting to gather followers in order to persuade the US Government to back down from joining the Allies in WWII, and must find a way to stop them and their leader, The Vermillion. It's very silly, but great fun. (This is being put out by the same guys publishing the new Mr T comic, which I feel compelled to buy purely because it's, well, Mr T and I'm an 80's child. It's on the same level as wanting the A-Team theme tune on your mobile phone.).

XIII #1

Heard about this through the game adaptation, I'm ashamed to say - but since Alias are now republishing it I figured I'd check out what the fuss was about. Nice crisp artwork, although it seems to lack flair at times (then again, it is a european comic from years ago, and would therefore have different stylistic concerns). The story is reminiscent of the Bourne Identity mixed with 100 Bullets, concerning a man who turns up almost dead on a beach, with only a tattoo on his neck and a key sewn into his shirt collar to remember his past by. He has been shot in the head and incurred an amnesia-like condition, and sets out to discover his past as unspecified enemies start trying to kill him for reasons unknown. Intriguing - I'll be buying the next couple of issues at least, just to see what the fuss is about.

Sin City : The Big Fat Kill

Yeah, I'm still on a high about the film. The film's version of this story isn't very far from the book at all, but it's still a joy to see Miller's beatifully-drawn and inked pages. Pulp noir with OTT violence, but then again pulled off with just the right style so that all you can do is sit and enjoy it while your jaw drops. The only complaint I had was that Miller drew out a certain revelation concerning Jackie-Boy's identity for about 5 or 6 pages, when it didn't feel like it really merited it. Then again, perhaps it's because I knew it was coming having seen the film. Worth a look if you enjoyed the film.

The Collected Brainstorm by Bryan Talbot

Latest random purchase from Cork's only headshop, this is a collection of 70's UK counterculture comics featuring such great stories as Chester Hackenbrush : Psychedelic Alchemist and his forays into inner space, Luther Arkwright's first adventure, and the Omega Report (a sci-fi b-movie story about aliens who try to conquer the earth through music). There's a lot of drug-use referenced in this, but it's extremely interesting not just from a historical perspective but also from a technical perspective - some of the shots and panel styles used by Talbot are extremely good for an underground comic. And the idea present behind Luther Arkwright is nothing short of brilliant. Well worth a look if you like traipsing about in the history of comics, and are willing to read something a bit different.

Manach

"300" by Frank Miller. Epic.

irishshogun

Y The last Man

All the males die,bar one, its a proper bitch fest afterwards, very funny at times, plays with all the sterotypes.

Cable

Frank Millers - 300 and Sin City

Marvels House of M

simu

I got the Robert Crumb Handbook for less than E10 in the Virgin Megastore sale! Quality stuff!

DoctorEdgeWild

Devlin Waugh - Swimming in blood (collected)


Just finished Y: The last man which is excellent.

and Walking Dead which is just amazing. Looking forward to alot more.

simu

I read the first Lenore book by Roman Dirge last night. It was truly excellent - very expressive artwork, cruelty and pathos together and very very funny. I had expected it to be very similar to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac which doesn't quite do it for me but in fact, it's far better.

spooydermot

iron ghost #2

interesting story but, we are no closer to getting at the killers real motivations (besides that he doesn't seem to care for nazis too much) gotta love that trench coat though!


the surrogates #1
actually got this last week, liked the pact especially that there were no ads in the comic at all, really gave it an immersive feel, even the ad on the back cover is part of the story line. the art style is fairly interesting, but gets a bit scrappy in places(but only a few).The storyline takes place in a society where people experience the outside world through robotic counterparts or surrogates.
In anycase looking foward to the next issue.
Theres an interesting interview with the writer here

strange girl #2

pretty good issue, but mostly seemed to be taken up with a chase scene. I'll be interested to see where this story goes its an interesting enough concept, but there was a bit of a filler element to this issue. As i said before it would have been interesting to see this story in a more dark and gritty style, but it works well as it is.

Khalim

House of M: Fantastic Four #1 of 3
to be honest, I just picked this up because Scott Eaton was drawing it, but I found the story pretty good.

This book is set in the House of M universe, and shows the Fearful Four which is led by Doom. I found that the story focuses on Doom and his perspective being a ruler of a country in a world ruled by mutants. There is barely any characterization for other members of the Fearful Four, but the plot is interesting enough. A gripe I have about the book is that the colours are a bit dark at place, which was probably intentional to show the bleakness of the world, but I just didn't take to it.

House of M #3 of 8 and House of M: Iron Man is out. I might just pick these up next week as it seems like the whole story is quite interesting.

Oh - and I also saw that the TPB for new Age of Apocalypse is out. I would like to advise people not to buy this as the quality is far inferior to the original story arc.

skapunkkeith

i just got the first ever sin city so im gonna start reading that, i just finished spiderman #3

aidan_walsh

I'm not long out of Batman: Gothic, and I'm nearly done with Alan Moore's From Hell.

DoctorEdgeWild

You won't regret putting the time in to read From Hell man! Absolute class.

skateing dragon

[Edited by Gambler]I have no life and all I want to do is insult other people online! Oh woe is me![/Edited by Gambler]

DoctorEdgeWild

He sure told us - I'm burning my comic collection.

Gambler

skateing dragon didn't your mother ever tell you? If you don't have anything nice to say..

skateing dragon

If i dont have anything nice to say...who cares say it anyway!

][cEMAN**

Who cares? Nobody here to the fact that you're banned.

Venom

Ultimate spiderman #80
Great issue with lots of jokey spidey lines from start to finish. While this ultimate title did drop in quality for a bit, its back up there now.

Astonishing Xmen #11
Prof X is one bad ass mofo. This is how to write the xmen and a comic like this makes up for all the crap readers have had to put up with over the years.

The Ultimates V2 #7
This issues feels like 2 issues of a normal comic due to how much is in it but the pace is non stop from start to finish. Majot bad **** for a certain character who just never seems to get a break no matter what Marvel universe their in !

Spiderman - House of M #2
Pretty good but more of a setting the scene gig.

House of M #3
Im really liking this cross over series so far. Just hope they dont **** it up at the end. Good issues with the return of a certain character

Fysh

Haven't written on here in a while, so here we go:

Ocean #6

At long last, the concluding issue. It's longer than the rest of them, but I can't quite decide on it. There's some damn fine action sequences in it, and the art is as strong as ever, but somehow it feels like we've been promised more than we get when it comes to the aliens. The ending is a bit cheesy, to boot. Still, it's Warren Ellis on form, so I won't complain too much.

Mnevore #4

Things finally start getting interesting. After being deceived by a supposed friend, Kaley starts to find people around her as confused about their past as she is, and the salesman's obsession with the mnevore takes a dark turn. I'll have a look at the next issue, but it's a shame there's only 2 issues left - there should have been more of these kind of developments earlier in the series.

Little Star #3

Picked this up a few weeks after it was out, and it didn't disappoint. I like the charmingly simple artwork and storyline - there's a bit of family history, thinking back to when Cassie was born, as well as a bit of a panic attack when she goes missing in local shops. I don't know whether this is ongoing, or whether it'll finish after a few more issues, but it's a nice change from most of my regular reading.

Desolation Jones #2

The story of Jones' quest to find the stolen Hitler porn continues. He gets to meet another of the LA spy outcasts and finds out a bit more about the likeliest suspects. The artwork continues to be excellent, and I'm enjoying the way Ellis has set himself up with a way of writing about screwed-up characters. Jones has more than a little in common with Spider Jerusalem, which in my book is no bad thing. I've no idea where this is going to in the next four issues (which will wrap up the first story arc) but I'm looking forward to it anyway.

Army Of Darkness : Shop 'Till You Drop Dead #4

A somewhat lukewarm conclusion to the story - Ash somehow defeats the digital deaduns and makes his escape, returning as promised to the scientist's lab. It's fun, and it feels appropriate to the movie, but somehow the ending is a bit blah. I'm still not decided whether I'll check out the ongoing series when it comes out (Army of Darkness vs Reanimator), but I'll probably at least glance at the first issue...

Matador #3

A rather meh followup, unfortunately. Isabel scores with the guy she fancies, and feels empty for it. Then she has her disciplinary hearing, where it becomes apparent that the police know more than they're letting on about the Matador. A carbomb attempt on Isabel's life goes wrong and kills someone unexpected, while she gets kidnapped by the Matador...

Deal With The Devil #2 & 3

I've already read these when it was serialised in the now-dead Comic Book Digest, but the colouring work really adds depth and darkness to the series. Worth a look; an interesting twist on the "retired cop trying to tie up the one loose end" theme in crime fiction.

Bone rest #1

The cover caught my eye first, because the main character's look immediately appealed to me. Happily, this also turned out to be a damn fine start to what I hope is an ongoing original horror series. We start with a nameless character being dragged back into the world from some sort of afterlife, where no sooner does he appear than a magical creature, having possessed a usable body through a magical book, goes on the rampage to "set blood free". The two clash, and we start to learn a little bit about Adam Boon (Bone to his friends). Definitely one that I'll be keeping an eye open for.

Sin City : That Yellow Bastard

The last trade involving material from the film for me. As ever, the artwork is fantastic, and the story is strong. But there's a tiny problem which I noticed with The Big Fat Kill too - having seen the film, there's not a great deal other than the artwork to really engage me here. I already know, in quite a lot of detail, what's going to happen. Still, it's an enjoyable pastiche of pulp detective fiction. I'm looking forward to the other 3 trades, since I have no idea what their stories are about.

Flight Volume 1

A few months after picking up Volume 2, I found Volume 1 on a shelf in Other Realms. The material here is just as strong as it was in Volume 2, although there is much less of it (I'm guessing it's about 150 pages or so). 25 stories from a variety of writers, all independent but with some sort of adventure-type premise and a connection, however vague, to flying. If Volume 2 hadn't impressed me so much, this would be a contender for favourite purchase of the year. But that's still high praise, and I would say that this is definitely worth checking out. And the coolest thing is that as far as I can tell, it's all-ages too - it's not often all-ages books will engross me as much as this did.

Venom

Hellboy - The Island #2

Talk about an origin story The usual mix of over the top action, killer one liners and excellent plot fans of Hellboy have come to expect. This is a must buy comic.

carbonkid

Started reading lone wolf and cub. Very large body count which is always good in your samurai comic :P funny enough though you read it left to right when anime comics are usually the other way round, specially made for the american market i bet!

spooydermot

1602 - the new world #1
interesting concept, what if the superheroes/mutants we know started appearing in 1602.
I think these events are a knock on event from some other story but I havent read it.



Serenity #2
not as good as the first issue (which was fantastic and did a great job of keeping the characters intact from the Firefly TV series) but still worthwhile, I'm wondering how the story will be contained
in 3 issues, which seems a little short, i'd hate to see the ending rushed, when it could have been stretched to 4 - 5 issues


New X-men : imperial
a decent enough fllow up to 'e is for extinction' but to be honest I'm not into the whole "I am zorknak leader of the imperial guard of planet ZZZ 9" type of alien that Morrison seems to indulge in here, and I found this kind of speech getting very tired and silly very quickly.
Emma Frosts character however is fantastic, very funny stuff.

at one point,on of the character is surrounded by some kind of mental energy thingy that bears a remarkable similarity (both visually and behaviour-wise) to the Sheeda Mood 7 Mind Destroyer that Grant featured in 7 Soldiers: Shining Knight.


Ultimate IronMan #3
The wait inbetween issues is a bit of a pain (not as bad as Supreme Powers....yet) . I have to say though, one thing that does stand out in this series is the cover art, all the covers so far have been pretty cool, but for me there is nothing much that stands out about this issue, feels like a bit of a filler.

House of M: Iron Man #2
Pretty interesting stuff, especially the last couple of pages, looking foward to seeing how this end, especially in relation to the main House of M story line.

Fysh

Having not posted on here in a dog's age, I figured it's time to have a brief run-down on recent reading. I haven't made a long list of them, and I don't have hours to spend looking them up online, so:

Sin City - Family Values : A differently structured Sin City story, this is a nifty revenge tale combining Dwight McCarthy's character with Miho's deadliness. The story isn't exactly the most complex one ever told, but then again it doesn't really matter. It's good stuff with decent set pieces and more of Miller's fantastic silhouette artwork.

Sin City - Booze Broads & Bullets: A nice change to the rest of the books, this is a collection of short stories set in Sin City. Featuring the last Dwight McCarthy story, it's a worthwhile read. I have to pick up Hell & Back sometime soon...

The conclusion of MegaCity 909 was good albeit weird - apparently there will be at least one follow-up series, which I'll take a look at.

The conclusion to City Of Tomorrow was quite strong, considering. It's done what seems typical of Chaykin by setting up an initial premise that seems good in one way, then going off in another direction, but this at least felt like there was more development in it than Bite Club.

Still waiting on the conclusion to Mnevore.

I've picked up 1602 : A New World issues 1 & 2. They're passable, but nowhere near as good or as involving as the original 1602 was - however, issue 3 sees the introduction of the 17th century Iron Man, so I'll probably pick it up.

The Seven Soldiers storylines are starting to come together. The closing issues of Shining Knight and Guardian were good and set the scene for the bookend issue, and I re-read all the issues so far in one go on the weekend - there's loads of little nods between the different series so far which really add to the sense of a greater story being told.

The most recent issue of Solo was interesting - Jordi Bernet, a spanish artist whose work I've seen for years in the strip "Clara De Noche" (also known as "Betty by the hour" in english; the ongoing story about a hooker and her life). As usual an interesting look at a different style of artwork and visual presentation.

Y The Last Man : Ring Of Truth was a damn fine read, whose only fault is that it makes me want to read lots more of the story. The reason behind Yorick's survival is interesting, and the development of Hero's character is very good, given that so far she was basically a Fearsome Baddie.

Gave in and picked up the first Planetary trade and really enjoyed it; in a similar vein to Global Frequency (which started afterwards but I read first) it's, as far as I'm concerned, superheroes done the only way they can be made interesting. Great stuff. I'm now waiting for Other Realms to get the rest of the books in, and debating buying the bloody things online.

There was a long-awaited follow-up to "It was a dark and stormy night", an SLG comic about Little Gloomy, but to be honest it was pretty rubbish since it's trying to target Disney fans. Not worth the hassle.

Atomika #4 is good, probably the most interesting issue of the lot since it sees Atomika confronting the spirit of the russian dissidents, which will not die as it can regenerate itself in the boggy swamp the dissidents are forced to live in.

There's far more to add to this list but I'm at work and can barely remember all the stuff I've bought. More to come later, if I can be bothered.

So what's everyone else been reading?

Moogle

House of M

I'm really enjoying this storyline. I was a bit worried that the people writing the minis wouldn't not stand up against Bendis main arc but I really enjoyed FF: House of M. I just wish that they had made "The It" Reed Richards as I think it would have made sense as Reed has always wished that the Thing's accident had happened to him. I also enjoyed the Pulse tie-in.

Infinite Crisis Minis

I'm really enjoying Day of Vengeance. I'm a big fan of Willingham's Fables and this series is just as cool. My other choice would be Villain's United. These villain group mini series don't always work (see Identity Disc) but Gail Simone has done a great job with a group of guys I don't really know much about (just got into DC recently).

Seven Soldiers

I'm quite a fan of Grant Morrison and thought I'd take a look especially when I heard he was using Zatanna (who I don't think has been used enough, well up to Identity Crisis). With four of the series nearly done, you start to see the tie ins but you don't necessarily HAVE to collect all the series to enjoy the story. The final three series start soon.

I just hope all the endings live up to the story so far.

Freakshow

And just to show I'm not all about the Big Two, I also read an Irish comic named Freakshow. Its about a bunch of detectives who solve cases that usually involve crazed villains (a bit like Scooby Doo but with real villains and swear words and a good plot... so not really like Scooby Doo)

Spideyman

Reading a lot of stuff, mainly Marvel such as:
Ultimate Universe
Spider-Man has picked up with this Warriors story, I'm liking all the "Ultimised" characters especially Moon Knight who is a new favourite of mine.
X-Men has been pretty consistent in it's standerd but it's lulling a tad now mainly, I think, because it's (SPOILER: ) just setting up Magneto's release so Bryan Singer can use him in the next arc
Fantastic Four has been excellent but I wasn't too gone on that last 2-parter and I'm looking forward to the Annual tomorrow.
Ultimates2 is good but I'm kinda losing interest in it, probably due to it taking so damn long to come out but it's also due tomorrow also and promises to reveal the "mysterious traitor"
Ultimate Secret (The Ultimate Galactus Trilogy) is taking way too long but I like the new captain Marvel
Spider-Man
Amazing Spidey is still going strong but I'm not too gone on Deodato's art and want Romita Jr. back.
The latest Marvel Knights arc was nothing special but I'm looking forward to this "The Other" crossover since I get all the titles anyway.
Both Toxin and Breakout were alright but a bit too forgetable
New Avengers/The Sentry
New Avengers very good and I can't wait to see the new Sentry series; if you can't understand why read the graphic novel of his mini series and it's tie-in's which is easily one of the best graphics I have read.
House Of M
The mini series itself is very good and the main tie-in's are decent (except Mutopia X). Out of the regular universe tie-in's Black Panther #7 was the best by far but sold out really quickly so no one else I know read it

Thanks for listening (though I can't blame you if you just scrolled on by)

spooydermot

been meaning to post to this thread for ages...fair play Fysh for breathing a bit of life back into it

I've been reading a heap over the past few weeks, but these are ones that spring to mind:


ghost rider #1

fantastic artwork in this issue from cover to cover. Gareth Ennis's story line shapes up well from the get go, some aspects of the story will be familiar ground to Preacher readers.
I'm looking foward to the next issue and hoping that the standard keeps to this level...


Batman:Journey into Knight

A decent enough book, but at the same time with the superior 'All Star' Batman series just started it's run I'm left wondering why we need this?


All Star Batman 1 - 2

Theres an element of Sin City getting transplanted to Gotham City here with Frank Miller writing, the beginnings of the relationship between Batman and Robin is interesting, as is the playing on Batmans psychotic nature as he evades the police.


Shining Knight #4

A great series, not wholly satisfied with the ending (which isn't really the end), but thats more to do with the fact tht I have to wait about 6 months to see what 'erally' happens, looking foward to the 7 Soldiers Special next year as well as the rest of the 7 Soldiers series.


House of M
I'm not quite sure what issue of this we're upto at the moment, but it hasn't dissappointed so far...hopefully the follow upseries 'decimation' will be of the same quality
-does anyone know if the captain america issue of HOM is out yet?

Chucky

Jhonen Vasquez's B.A.C. (Bad Art Collection)

Moogle

spooydermot wrote:

been meaning to post to this thread for ages...fair play Fysh for breathing a bit of life back into it

I've been reading a heap over the past few weeks, but these are ones that spring to mind:


ghost rider #1

fantastic artwork in this issue from cover to cover. Gareth Ennis's story line shapes up well from the get go, some aspects of the story will be familiar ground to Preacher readers.
I'm looking foward to the next issue and hoping that the standard keeps to this level...


Batman:Journey into Knight

A decent enough book, but at the same time with the superior 'All Star' Batman series just started it's run I'm left wondering why we need this?


All Star Batman 1 - 2

Theres an element of Sin City getting transplanted to Gotham City here with Frank Miller writing, the beginnings of the relationship between Batman and Robin is interesting, as is the playing on Batmans psychotic nature as he evades the police.


Shining Knight #4

A great series, not wholly satisfied with the ending (which isn't really the end), but thats more to do with the fact tht I have to wait about 6 months to see what 'erally' happens, looking foward to the 7 Soldiers Special next year as well as the rest of the 7 Soldiers series.


House of M
I'm not quite sure what issue of this we're upto at the moment, but it hasn't dissappointed so far...hopefully the follow upseries 'decimation' will be of the same quality
-does anyone know if the captain america issue of HOM is out yet?

Captain America is out this week.

Spideyman

Here we go again:
New Avengers #10
Very nice ending to this arc I think. The whole tower thing at the end you probably won't have a clue about unless you've read the original Sentry series.
Ultimates2 #8
Good issue but frankly I can't wait for this whole thing to be wrapped up because as I've said before it's taking way too long.
Wolverine #32
Pretty cool story and I like the art (and the black & white varient). Looking forward to his House of M run over the next 3 issues. Also read through the whole Enemy Of The State/ Agent Of SHIELD arcs this week as I got some back issues of the parts I was missing. It's excellent and a absolutly love Romita Jr.'s art. Spider-Man needs him.
Ultimate Fantastic Four #23 / Annual
Didn't think there was anything too special about either of these. Still good though.
Captain America #10 (House of M)
Nice bit of House of M history in this one also feels like a "What If" story, though I suppose this whole crossover kind of is.
1602: New World
Has picked up with this issue and it's take on Iron Man, I was starting to question wether it was still worth reading as I can see a lot of other people were.

Just checked this week's shipping list and (if it's to be trusted) there's an absolute load of cool titles in (I'm going to be broke). My hopes are pinned on:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #524
CABLE DEADPOOL #20
DEFENDERS #3 (OF 5)
NEW AVENGERS #11
NEW WARRIORS #4 (OF 6)
SENTRY #1 (OF 8)
SPIDER-MAN HOUSE OF M #4 (OF 5)
ULTIMATE IRON MAN #4 (OF 5)
ULTIMATE SECRET #3 (OF 4)
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #83
WOLVERINE #33
YOUNG AVENGERS #7
PVP #19

My recomendations, take 'em or leave 'em

spooydermot

Captain America is out this week.

Thanks Moogle


house of M: Captain America #10

I'm not a captain america fan by any means but really enjoyed this, I picked it up becasuse I thought it would be interesting to see the 'history' behind the House of M reality, and it does give a pretty good run down.

[Spolier] nice touch with the McCarthy Mutant activites hearings[\Spoiler]

The last panel gives a nice nod to the main house of M storyline


Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1
It's hard to tell this from the first issue, as it is with most of the seven soldiers series, there are no direct references to the sheeda to be found here yet.
Hopefully this part of Seven Soldiers will take shape quicker than 'the guardian', which to my mind left it until the last issue to become really interesting.

Supergirl #2

I picked up the first issue out of interest and it was intersting enough, but from this issue I don't think I'll pick it up again, it looks like its shaping up to be "this month supergirl meets (insert crime fighting group here)"



Supreme Power:Hyperion #1


This series takes over from Supreme Power (along with NightHawk) , it meanders a bit and by the end seems to have become something like X-men vs Hyperion. In fact there are elements in the story that move it closer and closer to the realms of 'rising stars' which is ground that has been tredded before.

Fysh

Relatively slim pickings this week:

Bone Rest #3 : Continuing the Opificium Dei storyline, the mysterious Black Man brings a plage of rats to the city to aid him in his quest to redeem humanity of their sins. So far this is a damn fine and interestingly different horror comic. Definitely worth a look if you like things like Hellblazer.

Matador #5 : This series is starting to bore me, to be honest. The closing issue promises to reveal the secrets of the Matador, but since he's been second fiddle to the corruption story that Isabel finds herself in the middle of, it doesn't make much of a difference. Not worth picking up, overall.

1602 : A New World #3 : As Spideyman mentions, this picks up a bit with the old version of Iron Man putting in an appearance. However, this is marred for me by the clichéd version of J Jonah Jameson whose only mission in life, it seems, is to bitch at Parquah. The tone of the conversation between Parquah and Banner marrs what should have been an interesting conversation (are their "Witchbreed" powers a gift from God that they might redeem themselves with, or the external signs of their innate evil?), and frankly, as has been pointed out by others, this series isn't a patch on the original Gaiman-penned series.

Desolation Jones #3 : Further into Jones's search for the stolen Hitler Porn, Warren Ellis takes us into the LA porn industry. The writing is very Ellis, the artwork complimenting it magnificently. If you don't like Ellis's work, this probably won't convert you. If you do, however, it's another damn fine fix.

Mister Miracle #1 : The 5th series in Morrison's "Seven Soldiers Of Victory" storyline, I've been looking forward to this since I noticed the plug for it in one of the Zatanna issues. Mister Miracle starts off with the title character plummeting into a black hole and having a vision/spirit encounter. We later discover he is jaded and tired of living life always seeking new thrills; he latches onto this vision as a way of giving his life meaning, but seems to be losing the plot. There's an interesting discussion about the nature of good and evil and mankind's struggle with them, but outside of the greater context of the Seven Soldiers, this is a weak first issue. Should get better next issue, as the closing pages promise, but still...

Spideyman

I think this has been the single biggest overload of comics for me in a single week ever. Alot of good stuff though so I can't complain. Where to start...
The Sentry #1
Worth waiting for, Jenkins is an excellent writer and Jomita Jr. an equally excellent artist. It seems to follow the thread of the original series with a narration from inside the Sentry's head as he thinks about exactly what he is and what he does. For all you "it's a Superman knockoff" naysayers, Jenkins said that he created the character based on what he'd like to do with Superman but knew he would not be allowed to alter the character so radically (ie. make him more human). Anyway I already see key differences between the two especially highlighted in the last panel.
New Avengers #11
We finally get to see the Ronin character and

there are hints being dropped that coincide with speculation that he may be Daredevil, thoughts anyone?

Good issue but I really feel that Bendis is really misusing Spider-Man, he comes across as very Jewish. Nothing against Jews here but thats not Spider-Man. "Oy, again with the..." He's also protrayed in fights as being pretty weak, He's stronger than Cage, Cap and Spider-Woman for crying out loud.
Amazing Spider-Man #524
Rounds off this story nicely and sets up for the 12 issue "The Other" crossover. I've read alot of speculation about this one and am hoping for the best. Some great interaction between Peter and Tony Stark here.
Young Avengers #7
A very good comic, everone I know has been suprised and impressed (and in one case seduced) by the quality of this title. First part of what looks to be an interesting 2-parter with some superb art from this Andrea DiVito person, who I was disapointed to learn is only doing the two issues.
The Defenders #3/New Warriors #4
Two very entertaining titles reviving classic B-list teams, both continue to deliver the laughs. The Defenders more so as

The Hulk gets some and doesn't have the "staying power"

House of M
Three titles here, Wolverine looking good with us learning some back story and a decent twist, Spider-Man is alright but doesn't seem to really be going anywhere, New X-Men nothing to recommend it at all really unless you're a fan of it pre-House of M
Ultimate Universe; Ultimate Spider-Man #83
I really like this arc and where it's heading, especially after a few disappointing turns in previous stories. Some more Peter & MJ break-up whiney-ness, some more Black Cat being sexy-ness and a bit of

Moon Knight talking to himselves...-ness (yes I said selves)

Ultimate Secret #3
About damn time but possibly the most all out entertaining title this week (and that's saying a lot). Some minor flaws can be found though as the previously eloquent Thor is reduced to stereotypical Viking speak (but worth it for the giggles), Iron Man seems to have trouble charming Sue Storm in the slightest even though he's a "playboy billionaire" and is engaged to the execeedingly hot Black Widow (I'm not suggesting that she should go weak at the knees but he comes across as being utterly hopeless), Oh and we once again see a white version of Ultimate Hawkeye, even though he's black on the cover.
Ultimate Iron Man #4
This title is so-so, I just hope they manage to keep up regular shipping dates to keep the story flowing.
Revelations #2
I like this one a lot, some great conversations throughout and it also comes courtesy of one of my favourite artists; Humberto Ramos, who along with Jenkins forms one of my favourite pairings, their Spider-Man arcs are unmissable.
PVP #19
A very funny web strip available in regular comic form, this issue is a perfect example of it in it's prime.

That's it finally, thanks for listening.. reading, whatever.

koneko

Remains (Steve Niles, Kieron Dwyer)
Serenity #2 and Serenity #3

I wanted to get Walking Dead but I couldn't get the one I wanted, so I ended up getting Remains instead. There's something haunting about the style, but it's too early to tell if it's actually any good.

Moogle

These are my top three for this week:

New Avengers #11:
Intoduces Ronin. Marvel have released a quick description of issue #13 in Marvel Previews and it states the Ronin character is NOT who you think it is Spideyman! I'm really enjoying this series. wasn't sure about the whole big guns team.

Young Avengers #7:
Its the Young Avengers vs. their parents. This is top too. I thought it was going to be some crappy comic selling itself solely on its connection to Avengers methos but Heinberg writes some good stuff!! Good character based stories.

Daredevil #77:
Matt's ex-wife, Black Widow and Elektra all turn up to help him now that the Kingpin is back to mess with him. The final arc for this creative team which in my opinion is the best since Frank Miller.

Also liked JLA, Omac and Defenders (funny stuff!)

direbadger

The last new comic I got into was The Goon by Eric Powell, which I can't recommend enough. It's hilarious and irreverent and it even appeals to people who don't normally read comics, to which my non-nerd boyfriend will attest.

At the moment I'm reading a silly little girls comic called W.I.T.C.H. It's by Disney which I know is sooo un-rock'nroll but I couldn't resist the cutesy manga artwork. I quite enjoy a bit of light stuff with pretty artwork from time to time.

spooydermot

Batman: Journey into Knight #2

Interesting enough stuff, the interaction between Gordon and Batman is quite well done, nice take on the misconceptions that Bruce Wayne has about his reationship with his parents. The main story however is moving a bit too slow.

Spider-Man: House of M #4
The cliff hanger at the end of the last issue was seriously clever,

but dissappoints, they could have done somevery cool stuff here with spidey/green goblin, but this issue copped out instead ah well

Ultimate IronMan #4

The long wait inbetween issues is wearing the story thin, the whole thing in the Stark school for gifted children (or whatever its called) is a bit dull too, but given that the first 3 issues were fairly good, I'm willing to weather it a bit further


New X-Men col 5: Assault on Weapon plus

The whole story line with Beaky and Angel doesn't really hold my interest as much as the mystery behind who shot emma frost, the Wolverine/Cyclops weapon plus story steals the show and ends the book on a nice cliffhanger, and gives us a nice bit of info about the first weapn X subject (probabl most other X-men readers knew it, but i didn't )

Spideyman

Moogle wrote:

the Ronin character is NOT who you think it is Spideyman!

Hey! I said thats what they're hinting and let's face it that is almost confirmation that it isn't him. I'm avoiding reading the previews with their "after what has happened in a comic you haven't read yet" approach but a friend has a theory that it's (possible

Shang Chi

) Don't really think so myself.