The Sword and Laser discussion

New year, so how about a new thread? What comics, graphic novels, manga etc are you enjoying?

This is funny, if you don't mind everyone talking like Doctor Who.

I'm still working my way through



and Attack on Titan, Vol. 8

I also just bought

for myself for Christmas

Barnes and Noble does well when someone gives me a Barnes and Noble gift card since I always make many more purchases than what the card will cover! Today I purchased Manifest Destiny volume 1 (Lewis and Clark expedition) and Wayward Volumes 1 and 2 (girl with powers moves to Japan - I do not know more than this). I also bought the manga Neon Genesis Evangelion volume one to find out what all the hype is about.

I read Rat Queens volumes 1 and 2 recently and I am looking forward to volume 3! Volume 1 and the start of Volume 2 are great, the rest of Volume 2 was good but I was distracted by the change in the artwork. I plan to re-read both volumes to catch any details I missed in the first reading. I especially recommend Rat Queens for D&D players :) Love the Daves...

Minsta, I have to say I've never read the Evangelion manga, but I very much enjoyed the Anime. My understanding is unlike a lot of anime/manga where the anime is the adaptation, with Evangelion the manga, from the very beginning was the adaptation (even though the first few issues were released before the series started). So, I'm curious if you like it or not. Either way I'd recommend at least trying the first couple of episodes of the series, in my opinion there is a reason for the hype.

There are actually lots of manga based upon anime (and novels, video games, musical groups ... Japanese media is big into synergy), though they're usually rush jobs meant to hype an upcoming series. The NGE manga is notable for how long it ran (the final volume only came out last year) and the fact the writer was allowed creative freedom to change stuff around.

The gold standard, though, is Gundam: The Origin, written by one of the original creators of the series. It reboots the story with technology that doesn't look so outdated, jettisons a lot of stuff the studio forced into the show to make it more appealing to kiddies, and amps up the moral ambiguity.

Sort of slice of life hard sf manga...

John (Nevets) wrote: "Minsta, I have to say I've never read the Evangelion manga, but I very much enjoyed the Anime. My understanding is unlike a lot of anime/manga where the anime is the adaptation, with Evangelion the..."

To answer your question: yup, I really liked vol. 1 and will be buying more of this series in the future! I also plan to check out the anime sometime. It reminded me of Pacific Rim, which I really enjoyed watching for both the story and the mecha. As for the graphic novels I mentioned in my previous post:

I appreciated the Japanese folklore that is used in Wayward and I enjoyed the humor in volume 2 (volume 1 sets up the world and many but not all of the main characters). I will continue with this series.

I am not sure if Manifest Destiny is my thing - has anyone read this series and enjoyed it? Volume 1 did not leave me wanting more... none of the characters were appealing to me (but they are in the real life history that I have read).

Sean wrote: "The gold standard, though, is Gundam: The Origin, written by one of the original creators of the series. "

Thanks for the tip - I was a Gundam fan growing up, didn't know about Gundam: The Origin. Vol. 1 just came today. Nice quality hardback!

Just downloaded a bunch of comics from the Digital Comic Museum. Several issues of:

The Spirit, Will Eisner never fails to astound.
Pep Comics, early Archie, Li'l Jinx, Jughead
Jingle Jangel Comics, George Carlson who's genius is often overlooked.
The Adventures of Peter Wheat, Walt Kelly

About to start Wolverine: Old Man Logan.. A friend told me I needed this story in my life so I'm going to give it a shot.

Luke wrote: "About to start Wolverine: Old Man Logan.. A friend told me I needed this story in my life so I'm going to give it a shot."

It's good. Really freaky though. Let us know what you thought when you're done.

Minsta wrote: "I read Rat Queens volumes 1 and 2 recently and I am looking forward to volume 3! Volume 1 and the start of Volume 2 are great, the rest of Volume 2 was good but I was distracted by the change in the artwork. I plan to re-read both volumes to catch any details I missed in the first reading. I especially recommend Rat Queens for D&D players :) Love the Daves... "

I dig Rat Queens, too, more than I thought I would. I thought vol. 2 improved on the first one.

I asked Kurtis Wiebe when volume 3 comes out and he said March.

I just looked at all the collections I've bought or got for Xmas, and I sure have a huge number to read. I should gather them up into one imposing pile.

Luke wrote: "About to start Wolverine: Old Man Logan.. A friend told me I needed this story in my life so I'm going to give it a shot."

Like, really, REALLY good. And now Old Man Logan is interacting with the larger Marvel Universe. Seeing Old Man Logan and teen-aged Jean Grey in the same frame is going to be weird. If you enjoy it, I recommend checking out Wolverine: Old Man Logan: Warzones!, to see how he ends up in the Marvel U, post-Secret Wars.

I've been reading Wayward (https://www.comixology.com/Wayward/co...) and Monstress (https://www.comixology.com/Monstress/...). Wayward is 12 issues in, and has a "Buffy in Japan" kind of vibe. Monstress is only on issue #2, but the writing is awesome and the art is amazing. I don't really know how to describe it other than "epic," so I would suggest just trying issue #1.

I read the first couple of Wayward and thought it was okay. 3 stars, but not really compelling enough to continue.

I remember hearing about Monstress but didn't realize it had been released. Steampunk + kaiju? I'm intrigued!

Have started reading The Mice Templar by Bryan J. L . Glass and Michael Avon Oeming.

It's similar to MouseGuard, but it's more violent and bloody.

> more violent and bloody

SOLD! *opens comixology*

Luke wrote: "About to start Wolverine: Old Man Logan.. A friend told me I needed this story in my life so I'm going to give it a shot."

i thought it was awesome, World War Hulk level awesome

So far I've gotten through The Witcher: Volume 2 - Fox Children and am now reading Nova Vol. 6: Homecoming (Nova. Good stuff on both counts.

I'm not sure if I'm going to keep up with the Marvel titles at this point, though, since they're in the process of doing another massive reset. (Well, it happened a while ago in the comics, right? but I've been getting the collections.)

Joseph, if you can find a library with a good collection, just read the trades. My library has a good comics collection and I get the best of the storylines from there and avoid the dross. I have to wait a bit but really, there's no particular rush.

Joseph wrote: "now reading Nova Vol. 6: Homecoming."

I recently read that run of Nova as well. Loved Sam Alexander's Nova. Curious to see him interact with other Marvel characters in the new titles.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Joseph, if you can find a library with a good collection, just read the trades. My library has a good comics collection and I get the best of the storylines from there and avoid the dross."

This is exactly what I do. Don't mind waiting for the trades. I read 177 trades/omnibuses from my library last year.

Louie wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "Joseph, if you can find a library with a good collection, just read the trades. My library has a good comics collection and I get the best of the storylines from there and avoid the dross."

This is exactly what I do. Don't mind waiting for the trades. I read 177 trades/omnibuses from my library last year."

I do wait for trades. I should start getting them from the library instead of Amazon, if for no other reason than to keep my groaning bookshelves from crashing into the unit on the floor below me.

Yeah, I mostly read trades from the library too. I only buy hardcover collections of my favorites.

I am starting the year with a lot of Spider-Man, but not the one you might think. I've already finished a couple collections of Miguel O'Hara's exploits with Spider-Man 2099, Vol. 2, and Spider-Man 2099 Vol. 3: The Fall of the Hammer. Next, I am tackling Ultimate Spider-Man, with Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man Book 1, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man Book 2, and Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man Book 3. After all that web-slinging, I still have the massive The Goon Library Volume 1 to read, which I have been putting off for almost a month now. And, just yesterday I went to my library and picked up Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps, and Injection, Vol. 1. That should keep be busy for awhile.

So these are the physical graphic novels on my TBR pile. Plus a couple comics-related books. I have another 20-some in clouds somewhere.



Larger: http://i67.tinypic.com/5aorp2.jpg

Have you done Locke & Key before Trike?

I discovered my library has Freading available. Tons of Firefly, Hellboy and Conan the Barbarian for starters. SWEET.
http://www.freading.com/index

First time reading Eric Powell's The Goon, and I am glad I read it in this over-sized The Goon Library Volume 1 edition. Just look at this art. (Click for full size)

Reading some Smash Comics from the Digital Comics Museum. Great stories about Midnight, a Spirit send-off by Jack Cole. Then there are above-average stories about The Ray, Lady Luck and Jester. Bozo the robot is below-average, IMHO, and can be skipped over.

I just finished Low, Vol. 1: The Delirium of Hope and Low, Vol. 2: Before the Dawn Burns Us.

I'm... a little torn on them. On the one hand, I like the story (mankind at the end of the solar system's life, a mother trying to save her family and the rest of humanity), and the art is beautiful. On the other hand, the blindly optimistic main characters get really annoying really fast (especially when they get preachy), and while the art is beautiful... well, let's just say that I've seen a number of people comparing this to porn, and they aren't entirely off base. It's also pretty graphically violent.

Over-all, I enjoyed them, but they certainly had their flaws.

Rob wrote: "Have you done Locke & Key before Trike?"

I read the first one and really liked it, then there was a sale for the complete set. I just haven't gotten back to it yet. This year's the year for it!

I've had two good graphic novels so far this week, both 4-stars despite my quibbles.

Genius by Marc Bernardin, a non-superhero tale about a girl whose brilliance is channeled into taking over the gangs in her neighborhood with the goal of taking down the cops. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ms. Marvel Vol. 4, the next installment of the excellent series. Wilson makes the best of having her story forced to participate in the impending Secret Wars crossover. Man, I hate these "events" constantly interrupting decent storylines. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sky, I've been reading Low in issues, and really been enjoying it along with Remender's other Sci-FI. I dig "Black Science", but both the story and art in "Tokyo Ghost" are absolutely top rate. It's probably my favorite new comic of the year. Keep an eye out for it when it gets collected, I think you will like it as well.

John (Nevets) wrote: "Sky, I've been reading Low in issues, and really been enjoying it along with Remender's other Sci-FI. I dig "Black Science", but both the story and art in "Tokyo Ghost" are absolutely top rate. It'..."

Awesome - sticking it in evernote to check later, thanks for the tip!

Sky wrote: "Awesome - sticking it in evernote to check later, thanks for the tip!"

Oh yeah?! Well, maybe I'll keep an eye on those series as well! What do you think about that, Other Sky?!

And yeah, I've heard good things about Black Science, but I'll need to check out Tokyo Ghost when I get a chance.

I have also been loving both Low, and Black Science. And I am looking forward to reading Tokyo Ghost, Vol. 1: Atomic Garden, which, by the way, comes out on March 15.

Sky wrote: "Sky wrote: "Awesome - sticking it in evernote to check later, thanks for the tip!"

Oh yeah?! Well, maybe I'll keep an eye on those series as well! What do you think about that, Other Sky?!

And ye..."

Oh crap, that post was to the OTHER sky. *hangs head in shame*

well....well....well....I was born in '74 - how 'bout you, MAN! :P

LOL, Sorry folks, I didn't remember there were now two active "Sky's" on the forum, and I didn't notice the different avatars. I know "romantic" Sky and myself have shared recommendations in the past, and tend to like similar things. And my recommendation still stands.

Sky Corbelli, while I thought your original comment on Low, was from "romantic" Sky, I would also guess that if you liked the writing style you would enjoy the other series mentioned. Also, you can go back and see the origins of some of these ideas in Fear Agent, Volume 1: Re-Ignition it's less subtle then Rick Remender's current work, but it still is a great throwback to pulp sci-fi. Also, I just read your profile, and think I'll pick up a couple of your books, they sound interesting.

Sky wrote: "I was born in '74 - how 'bout you, MAN!"

Clearly, Goodreads join date is the only date that matters, so December 2011 is what you have to beat!

I also read Invincible: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 the other day. It was enjoyable, for a quick read. I think I have Powers, Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl? sitting at home too, if I can finish crafting this Sentinels of the Multiverse armor in a timely fashion...

John (Nevets) wrote: "LOL, Sorry folks, I didn't remember there were now two active "Sky's" on the forum, and I didn't notice the different avatars."

Yeah, you know a group has gotten too big if two Sky's show up in it... it doesn't help that we both seem to like the same kinds of books, live in the same place, do the same kind work, plan the same kinds of elaborate deathtraps, and invent the same kinds of time machines to preemptively one-up each other. Such is life in the world of internet doppelgangers, sadly.

If it makes you feel better Sky1, Sky2's elaborate deathtraps aren't nearly as good.

Rob wrote: "If it makes you feel better Sky1, Sky2's elaborate deathtraps aren't nearly as good."

Thanks....I do feel better...

Wait, you demoted him to Sky2 right?

Nope. You're still Sky2. Sky1 had dibs.

Oh thats right, he is Sky3 now:

"message by Rob:

That's it Sky1, we're demoting you to Sky3..."

Trike wrote: "Rob wrote: "Have you done Locke & Key before Trike?"

I read the first one and really liked it, then there was a sale for the complete set. I just haven't gotten back to it yet. This year's the yea..."

It is well worth reading. I would rate it as my favourite "completed" Graphic Novel series, just ahead of The Sandman & Y: The Last Man

and in my top 3 over all behind Saga and The Walking Dead

Sky wrote: "Oh thats right, he is Sky3 now:

"message by Rob:

That's it Sky1, we're demoting you to Sky3...""

if you kill him, then you can be Sky1 again...

The Skylander. There can be only one!

You could join forces and become the Skynet.