I Read Comic Books discussion
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What are you reading right now?
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What are you reading right now? (February 2023)
I finished the last volume in the Manifest Destiny (Dingess & Roberts) series! The reimaging of the Lewis and Clark expedition drew to a close as history, colonization and government conspiracies were shaken up together into a unique tale about the Corps of Discovery- taking ten years from the first issue to the last, despite the real expedition only taking two and a half years. I struggled with this series at first, as I found the historical inaccuracies troubling, but the art is what truly carried me through. This was an intriguing series, and I am so glad it made it to the finish line.It seems as Goodreads librarians forgot about the series (since it was delayed several times) and I don't see volume eight listed.
Mod
- Mike: Spy Superb #1, Jiangshi X chapter 1
- Paul: Madman Vol. 1: The Oddity Odyssey, The Human Target #11
- Ari: The Night Eaters, Vol. 1: She Eats the Night
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.com/episodes/epis...
Check out Ari's website at http://www.arigross.ca/ and the Kickstarter for his Star Trek-inspired comic Awakening at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
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Re: Ed (from the January thread): I have volume 3 of Lore Olympus and I somehow haven't read it yet! Every volume I finish makes me consider reading the rest online immediately, but then when I get a new print volume it sits around for a bit before I get to it. I've noticed some typos myself and don't have an answer for them. I'm fairly certain some things get changed for the print edition, so it seems like typos would be included in that.
Re: Chad (from the January thread): I've added The Kármán Line to my to-read list. It sounds intriguing in concept! I've had Nice House on the Lake on my list for a while... I need to read more comics...
Re: Nancy: I had read Manifest Destiny myself! I remember enjoying the combination of historical and fantasy, but some of the secondary characters were really unpleasant.
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Over My Dead Body★★★★★This is a supernatural autumn young adult story that would have been perfect for what I had been looking to read in October. It has some clear references to Harry Potter, and not just because it's set at a magic school. The art is stunning, particularly the way the artist handles lighting. The mystery is intriguing and the kids actually ask an adult for help frequently, which was refreshing.
Tales of Carnival Row★★★★★I'm probably biased about this book, since I love the Carnival Row show. If you haven't seen the show, the stories in this book probably won't matter to you. As a fan, I loved spending extra time with the characters and filling in some of their backstory. The release of this book was really well timed, since season 2 of the show goes up in a few weeks. I am obsessed with the art on the cover and I really wish I could find a print of it.
Just finished The Boys and the The Boys: Dear Becky (1-6, all I had from Humble Bundle) and started a reread of Savage Dragon. So far on I'm the second Savage Dragon Archives, but got a whole bunch of single issues from Humble Bundle.I'm going to start a Loveless reread, too, but mostly do American comics.
Batman Eternal, Volume 2 ★★★★
I waited too long to return to this series and forgot a bunch of stuff. It's much better than the first. Also, I forgot Red Hood's mask has a mouth during this period.
Haunt, Volume 2 ★★★
Same as the first one, but Ryan Ottley is gone now. I'll miss his expressions, but the limited colors looks better with Capullo's artwork.
Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 14
I haven't finished this yet. The mutant massacre is shocking and pushes the x-men to dark places. Psylocke joins the team after 2 crossovers with the New Mutants where they fight Mojo.
★★★★The New Mutants Classic, Vol. 6
Doug & Warlock have good moments during the crossovers with the X-Men. The Larry Bodine story was very sad and I'm shocked they got away with that in something for kids.
One Piece, Volume 60: My Little Brother ★★★
I was bored watching this in the anime, but this was paced better. Still one of the weaker arcs to me.
Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 31★★★★★
We meet Gon's dad. Zoldyck family drama. Pariston is immediately so hateable and such a good villain.
Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Book One★★★★
I saw this on Hoopla and usually they don't have compilations. This is one's 3 books in one, Rebirth, Recharged and No Fear.
Rebirth is great. Hal Jordan is back, but that might not be the best idea. Every moment with Parallax look terrifying and beautiful. All 4 Lanterns get their chance to stand out.
Recharge is about Guy and Kyle aiding with the reconstruction of the Lantern Core. It's good, but not as good as rebirth. There's these motifs that was continued from Rebirth where Lanterns have distinct quicks. Guy's always leaking extra energy b/c he has so much willpower. Kyle's constructs start with sketches.
No Fear is about Hal readjusting to life on Earth. It's extremely Top Gun and I don't like that movie. One of my least favorite tropes is military man is the renegade that breaks all the rules and would be endangering everyone in real life. However, it manages to pull everything into a nice thematic bow by the end that resonated with me.
I'm reading these books;
1.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1
2.)Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans
3.)Lady Killer, Volume 1
1.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1
2.)Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans
3.)Lady Killer, Volume 1
Small trip to the LCS yesterday, Only spent 10 bucks.X-Force #37
Legion of X #10
Blood Tree #1 <-- Peter Tomasi's new Image book. I dig this guy's stuff. Can't wait to check it out. It's on the Mad Ghost subprint too although I don't know if that means it ties into the Geoff Johns's books or not.
I spent fifteen but I got the new x-force, moon knight, and scarlet witch from marvel and legends of Gotham one-shot from dc but… we’re sick so gonna nap now instead of reading…
İlkay wrote: "I'm reading these books;1.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1
2.)Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans
3.)Lady Killer, Volume 1"
I really want to reread the dark knight returns but I want to find my French version…
Grimlock wrote: "İlkay wrote: "I'm reading these books;
1.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1
2.)Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans
3.)Lady Killer, Volume 1"
I re..."
I finished it and it was a very dark book :) but I loved it.
1.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1
2.)Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans
3.)Lady Killer, Volume 1"
I re..."
I finished it and it was a very dark book :) but I loved it.
İlkay wrote: "Grimlock wrote: "İlkay wrote: "I'm reading these books;1.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1
2.)Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans
3.)[book:Lady Killer, Volume 1..."
It is dark, but that’s okay sometimes, other times I like something lighter…
Nancy wrote: "... I don't see volume eight listed ..."I've added volume 8 to the series page.
Took out Hack/Slash Omnibuses 3 and 4 from the library - so gonna read 1 and 2 humble bundle along with Savage Dragon.
Ed wrote: "Nancy wrote: "... I don't see volume eight listed ..."I've added volume 8 to the series page."
Thank you so much, Ed!!! I am a completist, so it bothered me that it wasn't there ;)
Last week's adventures in comics.Midnight Suns★★★
Zoe Labeau from Strange Academy has a vision where her zombie self destroys the world. However the vision is shared with all magic users. Enter Wolverine, Magik, Blade, Nico from Runaways, and the Spirit Rider to the rescue, I guess. It's a random team with nothing to do with the 90's comic or the recent video game.
X-Men Red, Vol. 1★★★★★
This is the best X-Men comic going these days. It's got a tighter focus on a smaller group of characters, Storm, Magneto, Sunspot, Brande and the Arakko mutants. It's really a continuation of the best parts of Ewing's SWORD.
Immortal X-Men, Vol. 1★★★
Keiron Gillen returns to the X-Men. His Immortal X-Men is a bunch of one and done issues focusing on a a single character. It's all fine but feels disjointed.
Everything is Fine Volume One★★★
A strange story where everyone wears giant cat heads but are otherwise human. They live in a Stepford Wives type setting where on the surface everything looks great but you can see things beginning to crack for some of the people.
Global: One fragile world. An epic fight for survival.★★★★
A fictional account of two kids dealing with real world climate issues that are beginning to affect us now.
Madman Library Edition Volume 4★★★★
I found this volume a little more serious than normal throughout this volume and less fun than the previous Madman collections.
The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 2★★★
This went kind of how I thought it would go, other than leaving it open for more. The story still just moves way too slowly for me. There are way too many characters and, consequently, I don't care about any of them. This feels like a really drawn out version of an episode of Black Mirror and honestly probably would have worked better as a TV show than a comic.
DC vs. Vampires Vol. 2★★★
Volume 1 had a big reveal that was cool. Now the few remaining heroes are just trying to survive now that the vampires have won.
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War★★
An unnecessary side quest of a title. Another group of survivors runs around on a Earth controlled by vampires. The art is all black and white while the only color is red.
The Jurassic League★
This was just as dumb as I expected it to be when I saw the first issue on my LCS's new comics shelf. Just because DC has an infinite amount of dimensions now doesn't mean they need to explore each one. Daniel Warren Johnson lends his name for a writing credit (probably to get it made) but I have a feeling this was Juan Gideon's baby all the way.
The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1★★★
This doesn't really add anything to the original story. I'd suggest you just go back and read that instead. It does have stories by each of the creative teams working on the Superman books back then.
Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death★★
Poison Ivy attempts to go straight as a scientist. Apparently it was working too until someone started murdering her colleagues. I'm not getting why it was working though because she consistently reverts back to attempting to kill anyone who steps in her way. The writing is very uneven.
Aquaman: Andromeda★★★
To be honest, this feels like an original story and Aquaman and Black Manta were inserted later to make it part of the DC universe. It starts off with your typical under the water horror movie vibes. A spaceship has crash landed deep underwater where only an experimental sub can get to it. The crew find it and goes aboard to check it out where they unleash something that should have remained locked up.
Rogues★★★★
The Rogues are living the good life. Then we flash forward ten years . All of the Rogues are washed up and out of the life with dead-end jobs, most of them on parole. Captain Cold decides to get everyone back together for one last job, steal a bunch of gold from Gorilla City.
Poison Ivy, Vol. 1: The Virtuous Cycle★★★
This spins out of Fear State. Poison Ivy went through some trauma after being split apart and given some heavy duty powers. She blames Harley for having them taken away. Now she's ticked off and decided humans are going to kill off the planet if she doesn't kill them first. She heads out on a cross-country tour spreading spores that will kill everyone.
DC: Mech★★
An Elseworlds series where a giant parademon killed off half of the JSA after WWII and all of the Justice League decided to pilot giant mechs instead while waiting for Darkseid to come to Earth.
DC Power: A Celebration (2023) #1★★★★
A pretty good anthology featuring a lot of DC's black characters.
DC's Harley Quinn Romances (2023) #1★★
Yeah, we're back to these being tryout stories for new authors and artists. These stories set around Valentine's Day were all very bland and uninteresting.
Sword of Azrael★★
DC has harmed this character irrevocably by trying to change what he is so many times. Like in that Justice League Odyssey series where he gained powers in space. Now they want to revert back to the 90's Azrael but then insert some nonsense with motherboxes. Let's just stick with a straight forward Azrael from the 90's, he was brainwashed by the order of St. Dumas and trying to overcome his programming.
X-Force, Vol. 5★★
Two uninspired stories from Percy. I think it's about time for him to go.
Knights of X★★
Basically Excalibur Vol. 5 whether you like this or not will probably rest of what you thought of Excalibur.
I'm reading;
1.) Batman, Volume 5: Zero Year – Dark City
2.)Lady Killer, Volume 2
ps: Lady Killer 2 is more attractive than vol 1 for now.
1.) Batman, Volume 5: Zero Year – Dark City
2.)Lady Killer, Volume 2
ps: Lady Killer 2 is more attractive than vol 1 for now.
Currently readingResurrection Man Vol. 1
I'm reading an issue at a time, because I really like the new 52 run of this series, but I didn't really enjoy the first two issue of this, so it might take me a couple of months to finish this- I'm a completist to the death.
Batman Black and White, Vol. 1
same with this one. it has it's highlights but pretty average.
Stormwatch Vol. 2: Enemies of Earth
Never read any wildstorm comics before but I really liked the first volume, hoping it stays that way till the end.
Ruta S. wrote: "Currently readingResurrection Man Vol. 1
I'm reading an issue at a time, because I really like the new 52 run of this series, but I didn't really enjoy the first two issue of this..."
I thought the original Resurrection Man series was better. It's probably on DC Infinite. It takes place before the New 52 rebooted everything.
The Stormwatch comics you are reading are just part of the regular DC universe once you hit the New 52. All the Wildstorm characters were merged into the regular DC universe and then mostly forgotten about after a couple of years. You need to go back to the original series from the 90's to read it when it was part of Wildstorm. That comic wasn't very good when it started, then turned to hot garbage not even worth the quarter bin, then became fantastic when Warren Ellis took over. You can read just the Warren Ellis stuff and be fine. It eventually transforms into the Authority which was groundbreaking when it came out. The DC version of Stormwatch is just a shell of that.
Mod
- Mike: Where Monsters Lie #1, Stillwater, Vol. 2: Always Loyal
- Brian: Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse (2022) #1
- Kate: Feelings: A Story in Seasons
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at
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Re: İlkay: I really liked Lady Killer vol. 1! I need to continue with the series.
Re: Chad: Global was written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin!! Donkin has worked some great novel-to-comic adaptations and I've really liked his work. I'll have to check this one out.
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Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan FantasyI'm hoping to finish this anthology tonight. All the stories are short, with black-and-white art. The cover is beautiful, as is the art in many of the stories.
Happy Cafe, Volume 5 ★★★★I somehow read all the comics in my library pile! Before my holds for the Reading Challenge arrive I'm hoping to get through some books I already own, and this was the first one. This series is out of print and was tricky to get ahold of, but I'm glad I managed it. It's a quaint series about an unusually strong girl working at a bakery who makes a lot of friends who all visit the bakery to see her.
Today's trip to the LCS.X-Men Legends #6
Storm and the Brotherhood of Mutants #1
Batman and the Joker #4
Bishop: War College #1
kaitlphere wrote: Re: Chad: Global was written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin!! Donkin has worked some great novel-to-comic adaptations and I've really liked his work. I'll have to check this one out."This was an advance copy. I think it comes out in April if I remember correctly.
Bitter Root, Vol. 1: Family Business ★★★
It's not doing anything new, but I'm enjoying it. Black family of monster hunters in 1920s.
Batman and Robin, Volume 4: Requiem for Damian ★★★★
I like this more personal side story. The Bat family try to save Bruce as he (view spoiler)
The Death Hunters★★
Jason Aaron has 5 different plots going on and manages to write a book where nothing happens.
Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1: Rainbow Sprinkles ★★★
Anthology horror. The first 2 stories are alright. The latter 2 did get under my skin and have frightening imagery.
Haunt, Volume 3 ★★
In at least 2 interviews, Robert Kirkman has talked about getting bored with plotlines. That's this whole book.
Public Domain, Volume One: Past Mistakes ★★★★
The Syd Dallas, co-creator of the character, the Domain, tries to get the rights to his character back. The dialogue is snappy, it has some heart, but both the sons are hard to like. Lastly, it bashes the reader over the head with how comic books are not respected. Like too often. I'm looking forward to the next volume when it comes out.
kaitlphere wrote: "Here's what the IRCB folks read this week for Episode 359 | These Legos Are 18+
- Mike: Where Monsters Lie #1, Stillwater, Vol. 2: Always Loyal
- Brian: [book:Spide..."
If you liked Lady Killer vol1, you can also like vol2 :) Just finished and liked it.
- Mike: Where Monsters Lie #1, Stillwater, Vol. 2: Always Loyal
- Brian: [book:Spide..."
If you liked Lady Killer vol1, you can also like vol2 :) Just finished and liked it.
Max wrote: "Bitter Root, Vol. 1: Family Business ★★★
It's not doing anything new, but I'm enjoying it. Black family of monster hunters ..."
I own ice cream man and want to get to it soon.
I recently read Paris, a nicely romantic book that could have delivered more. Kept losing momentum due to more French dialogue than I was prepared for, wish I had known there was a translation reference at the end.If you are looking for a truly romantic read, I highly recommend Always Never.
Last week's adventures in comics. New Mutants by Danny Lore, Vol. 1 ★★
I really hope this isn't called New Mutants by Danny Lore because he only wrote the first issue. This thing was all over the place and filled with poor art and stories. Hopefully the upcoming reboot will do this book good.
The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) ★★
Hmm, I'm not really sure who this was even for. It's a gathering of a bunch of the Charlton heroes for a mission to save the Earth from demons. It's clearly set in the DC universe of its day (Grant Morrison's Justice League appears) but it feels like the characters were just being introduced even though DC had already introduced most of them back in the 80's.
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series, Vol. 1: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour ★★★★
This takes place between seasons 2 and 3 of the Harley Quinn animated series and spoils a lot of things if you haven't watched it. If you plan on watching it (You should. It's great!) then you should do that first. The show is full of cursing and sexual innuendo and so is the comic.
Wolverine, Vol. 4 ★★★
The Deadpool story is definitely the better of the two presented here. Percy writes Deadpool properly. Not too goofy but funny while Wolverine remains surly.
Under Kingdom ★★
The art in this was really rough. like couldn't tell what was happening at times rough. It's about a teenager who finds out his mother looked after all the monsters in the Under Kingdom after she goes missing.
Marauders, Vol. 1 ★
Steve Orlando continues to confirm my belief that he's a terrible writer. Kate Pryde and Bishop put together a new team of Marauders that now has a spaceship and heads to Shi'ar to investigate this 2 billion year old mystery box with Kate's handwriting in it. The team has zero personality nor is there any reason for any of them to be on the team.
Let Them Live – Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #1 ★★★★
I thought this was a really neat idea, for DC to publish these stories that were previously shelved all introduced by Ambush Bug. I do wish Ambush Bug would explain why it was shelved, whether it was from cancellation or something else. This is a Suicide Squad story from a few volumes ago by Jim Zub and Tradd Moore.
Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #2 ★★★★
Nightwing jumps off a platform 30,000 feet in the air and has to stop a bomb from hitting the ground and exploding. I love how he talks to different members of the Bat family while falling and trying to stop the bomb.
Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #3 ★★
The first dud in this series. Batman is investigating murders in some strange ancient library in Gotham. The writing was so labyrinthine that I gave up on following it.
Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #4 ★★★
A story about the current Kid Flash, Wallace West, saving the kids at his school. Great Bryan Hitch art.
Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #5 ★★★
The Clock King throws Green Arrow in some kind of alternate Star City that is cold with no population other than a dog. Jorge Fornes's art is good.
Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #6 ★★★
Crush and Red Arrow from the Teen Titans get de-aged to kids in an amusement park. All of these comics had surprising A-list talent on writing and art. I expected tryout type creators like DC's quarterly comics.
New Talent Showcase (2016) #1 ★★★★
Most of these were quite good little story nuggets. Most of them lead into larger stories that never ended up happening, but these 8 pages stories were solid lead ins to stories I would read if they existed. There's some good artists involved too.
New Talent Showcase 2017 #1 ★★★
Apparently DC used to do a new writer workshop and then released the short stories as part of an anthology that I found on DC Infinite. I didn't know most of the writers (other than Scott Snyder who led the workshop) but I did recognize a lot of the artists. Surprisingly good stuff.
Wildstorm 30th Anniversary Special (2022) #1 ★★★
Twelve stories celebrating the anniversary of Wildstorm. Some big time creators like Jim Lee returned for this special. Some stories look back at their time at Image. The last few are another attempt to reintegrate some of the characters into the DC universe again which is apparently happening now with characters (besides Grifter who was introduced in Gotham during Future State.)
Superman: Action Comics, Vol. 3: Warworld Revolution ★★★★
Superman without his powers inspires the slaves of Warworld to revolt. Phillip Kennedy Johnson's start on Superman has been excellent.
X-Men Legends ★★★
Three decent stories even if they don't always answer questions that were unanswered. I do like that Marvel brought back the original creators to tell these stories.
Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story ★★★
A story about a Korean girl who was adopted by loving white parents and grew up in a small town in Maryland in the 90's and 00's. She and her sister never met their real parents and she also grew up to be trans as well. It's an often heartbreaking story filled with bigotry and racism that was systematically ignored. It focuses on how she grew up in an almost all-white rural setting covering pre-school through high school. It's an engrossing read. It's just too long at 276 pages.
X-Men Red, Vol. 2 ★★★★★
This book remains at the top of the X-Books. First up are some big changes on Arakko due to Judgement Day. It's followed up with the return of Emperor Vulcan and he's pissed.
The Flash 17: Eclipse ★★★★
It seems like Jeremy Adams is a keeper. I'm really happy that The Flash has gotten really good again. Wally West is back in the Flash saddle. Along for the ride is Linda and the kids. It's so good to have everyone back.
Wynd Vol. 3: The Throne in the Sky ★★★★
This series continues to shine with the humans, faeries, and vampyres appearing to be headed to war.
DC's Saved by the Belle Reve (2022) #1 (DC Holiday Special) ★★★
Another 80-page giant from DC. This one with a "Back to School" theme. Some people are going to be really excited about a new Gotham Academy story by the regular creative team.
Wolf Moon ★★★
Even though Bunn says he is trying to do something different with this werewolf story, it felt uninspired. Most of the story is visceral kill after kill while the subplots like that this is actually a skinwalker that jumps from person to person each month is underdeveloped.
I just finished irredeemable and it was so good!
I'm reading 3 new series during this week;
1.) Batman Vol.1: The Court of Owls
2.) Scalped, Vol. 1: Indian Country (I'm very curious)
3.) 100 Bullets, Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call (Huge fan of Azzarello)
1.) Batman Vol.1: The Court of Owls
2.) Scalped, Vol. 1: Indian Country (I'm very curious)
3.) 100 Bullets, Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call (Huge fan of Azzarello)
Mod
- Mike: Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 7: Gen's Story, Batman - One Bad Day: The Riddler
- Paul: Best of 2000 AD Volume 2: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic
- Zach: Dark Web (2022) #1, Worlds Away
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.com/episodes/this...
Zach McCrary is a host of the podcasts "Comics and Beer" and "The Comics that We Love." He's on TikTok at http://www.tiktok.com/@thecomicsthatw... and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/@thecomicsth.... His comic pick World's Away will be a Kickstarter project soon at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
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Re: Paul: Always Never looks adorable! I will have to check that one out.
Re: Chad: I loved Wynd vols. 1 and 2! I somehow miss the release dates for the volumes of this series. Thanks for the heads up!
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A Silent Voice, Vol. 1 ★★★★I'm trying to make my way through multiple series of manga that I own all of and haven't finished yet. I re-read volumes 1 and 2 of The Silent Voice and then read volume 3. This series starts rough, with a backstory about bullying. Volumes 2 and 3 deal with redemption and friendship. There is one character introduced in volume 2 who is overly involved with the other characters, which held me back from giving those volumes 5 stars.
kaitlphere wrote: "Re: Chad: I loved Wynd vols. 1 and 2! I somehow miss the release dates for the volumes of this series. Thanks for the heads up!."Volume 3 isn't out until August. The single issues are already out though and on Hoopla so that's how I read it.
This week's trip to the LCS.House of Slaughter #12
Image #10
Marauders #11
Nightcrawlers #1
Parker Girls #5
Wolverine #30
X-Men #19
Night Club #3
X-Treme X-Men #3
I just read The Night Eaters, Vol. 1 by Marjorie M. Liu. It is a sweet tale about family love, as evidenced by these quotes: "Mom summoned demons to teach us a lesson." and "Daddy, are you trying to kill us?"I like this much more than her Monstress. While the art in Monstress is prettier (by the same artist Sana Takeda), the story in this one is less confusing.
I also read Not All Robots, another funny/depressing satire from Mark Russell. I'll give almost any of his books a try. I'm rarely disappointed.
So there is a Zyklon B joke in the series I'm reading, and uh, I'm not okay with it. I read the extras in Savage Dragon 200 and I feel sick now. The rest of the series is... not like this.
Green Lantern Corps, Volume 1: To Be a Lantern ★★★
The side lanterns get some spotlight. Guy Gardner tries to go on vacation. It's fun. Unfortunately, there's a handful of sleazy panels that I didn't need.
Haunt, Volume 4 ★
Awful. The entire supporting cast is discarded. The ghost brother is an asshole, constantly negging his brother. Frustrating to read. I love Nathan Fox's artwork, but some panels I couldn't understand what was happening.
Batman and Robin, Volume 4: Requiem for Damian ★★★
I've never seen any Two-Face stories that are not his origin story again. There are flashbacks to the origin, but we do get current day events too. Additionally, we get another Erin McKillen, leader of the irish mob, murderer of Gilda Dent and Bruce's old classmate. She's a fun character. It's a good book, but not a must read.
One Piece, Volume 62: Adventure on Fish-Man Island
Fish-Man Island is one of the weakest arcs of the series. I hated it in the anime, but reading it is a lot better. The undersea setting lets Oda go nuts on the backgrounds and character designs.
Ice Cream Man, Volume 2: Strange Neapolitan ★★★★
None of the stories feel like each other, which is what makes Ice Cream Man work so well. Issue 6 Neapolitan, is one of the best single issues I've ever read.
Family of Origin ★★★
Shang-Chi's grandfather comes to kill him. I liked this a lot more than the previous 2 Shang-Chi books.
Radiant Red, Vol. 1: Crime and Punishment ★★★
If I got superpowers, I probably would also get roped into crime. The hands in this one are drawn weird.
Last week's adventures in comics. There was a lot last week.National Comics: Rose and Thorn #1 ★★★
These are some of the only New 52 DC era comics to not be collected in a trade. They are 4 one-shots reinventing old characters. Tom Taylor reimagines DC's Rose/Thorn as a teenager with another personality.
National Comics: Eternity #1 ★★★
Jeff Lemire turns Kid Eternity into a coroner who can talk to dead people for a day in order to solve their murders.
National Comics: Looker #1 ★★
Ian Edgington turns Looker from the Outsiders into a supermodel who becomes a vampire. Vapid.
National Comics: Madame X #1 ★★★
A reimagined Madame Xanadu as a fortune teller solving crimes in New Orleans.
The Fiction ★
Wow, one of the most generic escape into a childhood fantasy stories I've read. Even David Rubin's inventive art can't save this turkey.
Feeding Ground ★
This had a lot of squandered potential. It's about a man working as a coyote transporting illegal aliens into the U.S. Somehow there are also werewolves involved but they can speak English while transformed and look kind of apelike. There's also a family that has to skip town while their little girl is turning into a werewolf. There's also some rich guy who I think is turning people into werewolves. The storytelling is terrible. I couldn't follow it well at all.
Task Force Z Vol. 2 ★★★★
I liked the 2nd half of this series better than the first half. Once the villain is revealed the series gets even better. This series shouldn't work at all. A zombie Suicide Squad full of Batman villains led by Red Hood with Two-Face in the Amanda Waller role? This way lies madness. Some of the double and triple crosses can be hard to keep straight sometimes. Still, I think this is the best thing Matthew Rosenberg has written in a while.
Once and Future, Vol. 5: The Wasteland ★★★★
All of England is trapped in Otherworld now that the Prime Minister announced the truth that myths like King Arthur are real on TV. Robin Hood gets involved too. And there's still the Green Knight to deal with at the end of the year. Through the course of the rest of the year, Rose, Brigitte and Duncan come up with a plan to save everyone while battling nonstop. Dan Mora continues to deliver eye-popping artwork while Tamra Bonvillain makes every page ooze with color.
Fiction Squad ★★
This book is going to draw a lot of comparisons to Fables and rightly so.This is a world where all of the nursery rhymes are mixed together and our main character is a noirish police detective trying to find out who pushed Humpty Dumpty off his wall. It quickly turns into a story of trying to keep the two big factions (witches and queens) from starting a gang war while trying to determine who is behind it all. Trust Me. Just go read Fables instead.
The Foundation Deluxe Edition ★★★
A secret organization tries to stop Nostradamus's predictions from occurring. The main character is an agent looking to get out after having to kill some people for the "greater good".
Shadow Service Vol. 3: Death To Spies ★★★★
The start of a new arc. Someone is killing supernatural spies around the world using local legends to do their dirty work. I'm still really digging this series about MI666 and can't wait for it to return again.
Godzilla Rivals: Round One ★★★
IDW keeps pushing these Godzilla series out without adding much to them. This one is Godzilla fighting different monsters in the background of each issue from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Time Warp #1 ★★★★
These Vertigo tales revolving around time travel were pretty damn good. It also has Damon Lindelof and Gail Simone's first Vertigo stories.
Giant Monster ★★★
Reads like a 50's monster movie. An astronaut gets taken over by some kind of alien that turns him into a giant monster that starts killing everyone.
We Only Find Them When They're Dead Vol. 3 ★★
I found this story too obtuse with way too many timelines to track and keep in my head. Maybe it'll read better if read straight through to better keep everything straight. Ewing's first creator owned book in a long time was a letdown for me. His Marvel work has been far superior.
Bonding: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites ★★
Hmm, a story of two people dating in a world that's been taken over by aliens. Everyone is forced to bond with a big slug that hangs from their chest. Other than that, Earth is pretty much the same.
Curb Stomp ★★★
A 5 member girl gang is set upon by another gang so the mayor can win an election. This felt kind of unrealistic with the gang being so small, but it was cool to see an all-girl center stage.
Dead Letters Vol. 1 ★★
A detective wakes up in Purgatory. It looks just like New York. Three different factions want him dead but every time someone catches him he's able to convince them he's on their side even though he's not a con man or smooth talker.
Dead Letters Vol. 2 ★★
The murky art makes this story really difficult to follow. It's almost like reading prose because the art is so terrible in places that I have no idea visually what is happening. Sam is now working for God and sent after a nihilistic cult in the outskirts of town.
Dead Letters Vol. 3 ★★★
I only kept reading until the end because I had already checked out the entire series from Hoopla on the last day of January.
Cyborg 009 ★★★
Cyborg 009 is a reboot of an old Manga. It's about Joe, Cyborg 009, who wakes up and finds out he's the 9th cyborg created to take over the world. All of the cyborgs have different powers (which logistically makes little sense) and look completely different but all wear the same uniform (including a baby). They all revolt against the guy in charge and try to stop him from taking over.
Burning Fields ★★★
A solid story about a disgraced investigator that goes back to Iraq when people go missing and are found in ritualistic murders. I was a bit disappointed in the supernatural angle the story took in the second half because I was already really enjoying it.
Deep State, Vol. 1 ★★★
There's not much original here but at least it's done pretty well. Think the X-Files if they were working to keep conspiracies hidden instead of exposing them.
Deep State, Vol. 2 ★★
The series falls off the cliff right as it ends. The plot is so complicated that it's really difficult to follow what actually happened. It's like peeling the layers of an onion while blindfolded.
Dominion Vol. 1: The Resurrection of Jason Ash ★★★
A cop gets involved in some kind of battle between good and evil between angels and demons while investigating the abduction of a little girl. It's still unclear at this point exactly what is going on after this first bande dessinée.
Dominion Vol. 2: The Sandman ★★
This middle volume wasn't all that great. If anything it made the story more muddled.
Dominion Vol. 3: The Fist of God ★
This is a series that just got worse and worse with each volume. It started off with promise, with a battle between rival factions of angels and a cop stuck in the middle. I couldn't even explain the 3rd volume that had some prisoner killing angels and stuff.
The New Champion of Shazam! ★★★★
This was fun. Mary Marvel takes over as the new Shazam now that Billy is stuck at the Rock of Eternity. She goes off to college when her foster parents go missing. Doc Shaner makes this book look terrific.
DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1 ★★★★
An anthology issue of DC's heroes of Asian ancestry. Most of the stories are good stuff. It also contains the first Monkey Prince story.
Death Valley ★★
A generic zombie comic based on the plot of Night of the Comet from the 1980's. It's about a group of dumb high school kids who are the last humans in Los Angeles after everyone else is changed into zombies.
Predator by Ed Brisson Vol. 1: Day of the Hunter ★★★
Marvel takes the Predator series 50 or so years into the future. One where humanity is out exploring the galaxy. That seems ambitious for a humanity that barely leaves the planet these days. Theta is a woman hunting Predators for killing her parents as a child.
Batman/Superman: World's Finest Vol. 1 ★★★★
This story takes place in the past when Dick Grayson was still Robin. Superman and Batman cross paths when Poison Ivy and Metallo team-up, which leads into appearances by the Doom Patrol and most of the early Justice League members. Then there's Dan Mora's art. It's just terrific. He's one of the most talented artists working in comics today.
Monkey Prince ★★★
A solid retelling of Journey to the West as part of the DC universe. Our young hero is anxiety ridden and when it gets out of control he loses his powers and reverts back to human. These first 6 issues don't go a lot into the Monkey Prince's backstory. He knows he's adopted and eventually finds out his parents work as henchman for various DC villains which is a fun twist.
Ed wrote: "I just read The Night Eaters, Vol. 1 by Marjorie M. Liu. It is a sweet tale about family love, as evidenced by these quotes: "Mom summoned demons to teach us a lesson..."I loved the satire & snark found in Not All Robots. Afterward, I read Russell's earlier Flintstones but preferred the robot graphic novel.
Flinstones wasn't my favorite. The satire was too easy. Same for Billionaire Island.I like his take on "Wonder Twins", "Red Sonja", and "Snagglepuss". (Note that I'm not a regular reader of superheroes. But I make an exception for Mark Russell.)
Today's trip to the LCS was a big one.Batman One Bad Day: Clayface
Superman Space Age #3
World's Finest #12
Immoral X-Men #1
Junkyard Joe #5
Nightwing #101
Savage Avengers #10
Something Is Killing the Children #29
Strange Academy Finals #4
Thor #31
Blue Book #1 <-- New James Tynion and Michael Oeming series about alien abductions from Dark Horse
Snow White Zombie Apocalypse #1 <-- I've been buying this just to support the ridiculousness of the premise.
Nancy wrote: " loved the satire & snark found in Not All Robots. Afterward, I read Russell's earlier Flintstones but preferred the robot graphic novel."Be careful of how much Mark Russell you read. He's done the same thing with his satire for awhile now that it's lost some of his appeal for me. The last issue of his Superman: Space Age just came out today. It's with Mike Allred so I'd be surprised if it's satire but I'll find out this week when I check out all 3 issues. I did really like all of his early stuff though like Snagglepuss, Flintstones, etc.
Mod
- Mike: Motor Girl #1 through #5, Nightcrawlers (2023) #1
- Tia: Golden Rage #3 through #5
- René: Old Boy, Vol. 1, The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.com/episodes/epis...
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I'm still making my way through the manga series Happy Cafe and A Silent Voice. A Silent Voice would be incredible except that around vol. 3 a character is introduced who is overly interested in everything the protagonist does and I find him really annoying.
I got a number of holds out of the library recently for the reading challenge, so I can get started on that soon!
Picked up the new nightwing and saga today.
What I've read so far this month, comic book wise :
(and I just started Aya de Yopougon - L'Intégrale 1 (Tomes 1 à 3), which so far is pretty good.
The highlights of the list were El viaje (sadly only available in spanish but if you do read spanish, go for it it's excellent), The Magic Fish and Goldorak (Only available in french for now, and I blame nostalgia for liking it so much. It's a direct sequel to the old Grendizer anime made by a group of french authors who grew up watching the cartoon in direct collaboration with the original creator.)
Last week's adventures in comics.House of Slaughter, Vol. 2: Scarlet ★★
A maybe autistic member of the House of Slaughter sits on a boat for five issues and talks to his familiar. It's incredibly boring and pointless.
New Talent Showcase 2018 #1 ★★★
While I found this to to be the weakest of the 3 New Talent Showcases I found on DC Infinite, there's still some solid stuff to be found by creators I recognize now.
Batman: Killing Time ★★★
The Riddler and Catwoman pull off a heist that goes wrong. Batman and half his Rogues get in on the action to find the Macguffin in question. There's a ton of action and David Marquez makes every panel look gorgeous. The extremely nonlinear storytelling kept pulling me out of the story though. By the end, you'll get why it was done, but it still lessened my enjoyment of the comic.
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons ★★★★★
This was terrific. It's the origin of the Amazons through the eyes of the Greek Gods.
Sandman Presents Nightmare Country Vol. 1 ★★
At this point, this was all just prologue and setup. Some people see the Corinthian and some other fat Smiling Man with mouths for eyes. Mr. Agony and Mr Ecstasy are going around killing these people.
The Human Target: Volume 1 ★★★★★
The Human Target gets a D.O.A. style makeover. If you're not sure, this is a Black Label book even though for some reason the curse words are still bleeped out. Christopher Chance is a master of disguise. When someone is out to kill you, Chance can be hired to impersonate you and draw the killer out. The twist here is that while impersonating Lex Luthor, Chance is poisoned and will die in 12 days, giving him just enough time to track down his own killer, ala D.O.A. Signs point to a member of the old Justice League International as the killer. I think this is the best thing Tom King has written in a while.
DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover ★★
This was a snoozefest. It just didn't make my skin crawl like the movies do. Instead I was just bored and waiting for it to be over. Gary Brown's art was kind of fugly too. The story is formulaic and short so they had all of these backup stories so they could make it 5 issues. The best part was Dave Johnson's retro ads for cursed objects.
Batman: Red Hood - The Lost Days ★★★★
Do you ever wonder how Jason Todd returned from the dead after being bludgeoned to death with a crowbar by the Joker? And how he then became way more interesting as the Red Hood? This is that story.
Fire Power by Kirkman & Samnee, Volume 4 ★★★★
Just when it looks like everything will go back to normal, the Serpents Omen rears its head. They have this whole Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe as they take over people with each bite.
Fire Power by Kirkman & Samnee, Volume 5 ★★★★
Our family now has to fight a freaking dragon that takes over Hong Kong. This gets really epic with this huge massive dragon and these terrific battle scenes.
Multiversity: Teen Justice ★★
Just gender-swapping out the characters on Earth 11 isn't enough for a series. Plus Wonder Woman just revisited this same dimension last year and it wasn't any more interesting then.
Black Adam: The Justice Society Files ★★★
Actually better than I expected for what are typically crappy comics to "lead-in" to a movie.
Duo ★★★
Part of the Milestone universe even though it doesn't take place in Dakota City like the rest of the books. It's about two Asian scientists engaged to one another. Someone sabotages their work with nanobots causing the two of them to share a body but gain incredible powers. This is also the only new comic from the Milestone relaunch.
Book of Shadows ★★
Valiant's poor attempt to put a supernatural team together. This was bunk.
Hardware: Season One ★★★
This was fine. It's pretty much a rehash of the original Hardware series from the 90's with Hardware getting blamed for the mistakes of Alva, the founder of the company. Denys Cowan, penciller of the original series returns for this miniseries. His action sequences in this are difficult to follow. I'm not sure what happened to his penciling skills these days but it wasn't great.
Evilblacksheep wrote: "What I've read so far this month, comic book wise : [bookcover:Gisèle Halimi: Une jeuness..."Oh, snap, I keep almost picking up Goldorak in Canada, and I just wasn't sure if it was good or not. I didn't watch the anime, so I'd have no nostalgia factor, but was it solid enough for someone who didn't, or would I be able to understand it? I'll probably be by Imaginaire next month and I'm looking to pick up some more: I have a bunch of Batman, some Marvel and a lot of original French stuff from my previous trips.
My mom's French, so I learned French and English as a kid, I can read it just fine, I just am not sure what's good sometimes?
ETA: I do like robots and mechas, and I'm always looking for suggestions of original French BDs, so anything is welcome.
Grimlock wrote: "Oh, snap, I keep almost picking up Goldorak in Canada, and I just wasn't sure if it was good or not. I didn't watch the anime, so I'd have no nostalgia factor, but was it solid enough for someone who didn't, or would I be able to understand it?"What a crazy random happenstance! (But it makes me happy to rec something that is not available in english)
Mhhh let's face it, I hadn't seen the anime since the 80s so it's not like I remembered a lot about it except the characters, and the very basic plot. I'd say it's still very readable, you'll probably miss some of the references for sure but then again the story is solid on its own I think. I don't even like mechas as a general thing and I still put it a 5, so if you like mechas you should enjoy it. (maybe read a quick summary of the anime, but something really simple, no need to go into details. ie who's who and the parties involved in the conflict).
My mom's French, so I learned French and English as a kid, I can read it just fine, I just am not sure what's good sometimes?
If you are in doubt about stuff, check the bdgest website. They usually have good reviews or at least user ratings to make yourself an idea. And feel free to hit me up if you need specific recs, I just can't help much with robots/mechs aside from Goldorak ;)
Evilblacksheep wrote: "Grimlock wrote: "Oh, snap, I keep almost picking up Goldorak in Canada, and I just wasn't sure if it was good or not. I didn't watch the anime, so I'd have no nostalgia factor, but was it solid eno..."Fair. I also love horror, and romance now I guess? As well as, obviously superhero stuff. So gonna check out your reviews now.
Thanks so much: I’ll check out the website and friend you, if that’s okay: looks like your feed will be recs/learning what to avoid for us.
ETA: J’adore Marseilles, Mai’s ma mere est du Grenoble et j’connait Grenoble plus bein. Excuse the errors: writing in French is my weakest point! Do you shop at Fnac? I miss Fnac, and one cashier was being kinda snotty to me one time there because of my accent until she had to age check something and I pulled my French passport and she lit up like I knew her, and I felt more French then than before or since 😂
Grimlock wrote: "Fair. I also love horror, and romance now I guess? As well as, obviously superhero stuff. So gonna check out your reviews now."Feel free to check out my comic book shelf (and ask if you have any questions). I don't have everything logged in there but the most recent stuff are. I don't read much romance so don't mind my opinion on those (for example a lot of people seem to have loved Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me and I just gave it a 3. I love horror though (even if the most recent stuff I read in that category was a manga). I read a lot of slice of life ones. If you like it I can recommend checking out the first volume of Boulet's Notes Born to Be a Larve. I find the whole series really funny. I also loved The Adoption series (used to be a diptych but now they made a 3rd one with different protagonists and the conclusion of that one will be coming out in spring). It is not funny but it's really good.
As for your written french, don't worry about it, it's good enough that I got everything you wanted to say ;) I do go to the FNAC on occasions (they're convenient if anything else) but since I also have a local comicbook shop where the owner is super nice I tend to go there more for those.
Are you on the IRCB discord btw ? (I wondered if you were on there with a different nickname)
Evilblacksheep wrote: "Grimlock wrote: "Fair. I also love horror, and romance now I guess? As well as, obviously superhero stuff. So gonna check out your reviews now."Feel free to check out my comic book shelf (and ask..."
I have trouble on Discord, so no?
I just don't check it a lot. Makes sense: since I only ever visit France, I don't have a local shop - and I haven't been there in a while - but I do love FNAC for French novels as well as comics.
I'll check out the comic book shelf and those books you mentioned, I'm just busy tomorrow. I'm going to the store to pick up new books, but also the yarn store where I have, regrettably befriended every single employee and they have such good yarn and now I want it all... lol, it was a mistake but the best mistake I've made so far.
Grimlock wrote: "Makes sense: since I only ever visit France, I don't have a local shop - and I haven't been there in a while - but I do love FNAC for French novels as well as comics. "Understandable, I go to the FNAC the most... when i'm in spain. When you don't have a local shop it's the most convenient to find books and comics. :D
Hope you find something nice on your trip to the bookstore (and the yarn store. I feel you I have an art supplies addiction...)
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I Read Comic Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Adoption (other topics)Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (other topics)
Born to Be a Larve (other topics)
Paper Planes (other topics)
Nuclear Winter Vol. 1 (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Marjorie M. Liu (other topics)Marjorie M. Liu (other topics)
Mark Russell (other topics)
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