yeah those marvel cd-roms are tempting but without a laptop I feel like they would be a pain in the ass to read…I def dont want to read a comic sitting at my computer
I’ve been thinking about picking that up. I’ve got all the Lee/Ditko, Lee/Romita comics via Essential Spider-Man but I sure wouldn’t mind having some color versions of those babies. Maybe I should just pick up Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, even though I think $99 is super steep. BTW, sano, how do the comics read on that DVD? Can you zoom in on certain panels?
Oh and were all in agreement that John Byrne is a fag?
I am going to assume I speak for everybody when I say he sucks. His art sucks. His “pissing all over everything that is good and true about the characters” sucks. His attitude in general sucks.
I was recently contemplating All Star Superman, which is possibly my favorite treatment of Superman from within my lifetime (with the exception of the superb “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?”). I realized that it is almost the exact opposite of Byrne’s version of the character. Unlike Byrne, Grant Morrison gets it. He has the ability to understand what makes a classic character, and he applies it perfectly.
There should be a thread full of nothing but me bagging on the post-Crisis Superman. John Byrne made him too human. John Byrne hates Krypton. John Byrne turned Luthor into Gordon Gekko. Byrne kills babies. Byrne rapes nuns. Byrne. BYRNE!!!
Yeah you can zoom in on the pages and stuff, looks great. I’ve been reading them at about 150% percent so with issue 400 most of the panels fit the screen or close to it, and then you just scroll around the 2 page spread like reading a net comic or a scanlation. Course the Lee/Ditko stuff the panels are a lot smaller as I’m sure you’re aware. You can print out any of the pages you want to really easy also, take a comic with you on the go heh! I would say the most annoying thing is that there is a Marvel 2006 logo on just every page, I suppose that’s for legal reasons of some kind. But it’s not really big and they put it in spots that don’t block anything major that’s going on in the storyline so no real big. 
This interview was done around the time that Byrne “relaunched” Doom Patrol. It sucked pretty hard.
Stuff I’ve read lately:
Batman: Detective - I read the issues as they were comin’ out, but it’s nice to have 'em all in a TPB. All of the Dini stuff, of course, is awesome. Even the crappy Joe Benitez art in that Poison Ivy issue wasn’t enough to mar Dini’s clever storytelling. But I found that Royal McGraw’s Doctor Phosphorous issue wasn’t so great on second reading. I wish they had skipped that and just made this a straight Dini collection.
Crossing Midnight - I mentioned this in the Favorite Writers thread, but I gotta namecheck it again because it’s too great. It’s a new spin on Japanese folklore with a tinge of the fantasy horror genre. The main characters are a set a brother/sister twins and Carey used a really interesting approach because their immediate families actually play a significant role in the story. The dialog’s real sharp and I got to dig the little throwaway references to Gundam and Macross. Jim Fern’s artwork here blows away anything I’ve ever seen him draw on FAAAABLES!!1. This book gets my highest recommendation. It’s shaping up to be another Vertigo classic.
Re-Gifters - I really dig this OGN from Carey. I have no idea how the Minx line is performing saleswise, but creatively this book hits all the marks. I mean Minx is targeted for young women but this is just flat out great comics right here. I kind of feel like DC’s cheating themselves by marketing a great book like this under their teen girls’ line. But I don’t know, maybe it’s working. All I know is that this is good.
Good As Lily - This is another Minx book. Derek Kirk Kim wrote it, and I’m a fan of his work. This one is basically a straight fiction piece about an 18 year old girl meeting versions of herself at ages 6, 29, and 70. The writing is just awesome. It’s the sort of compelling read that I wish more comics were like. I mean you just lose track of time reading a great comic like this. Love it, baby.
Scalped: Indian Country - The writer of this one, Jason Aaron, wrote The Other Side (also for Vertigo) and that’s pretty much an instant classic. So I gave his new series a chance. It’s quite good. It’s sort of this hardboiled crime story on a Native American reservation… Maybe a cross between 100 Bullets and Sherman Alexie. The art is by some dude I never heard of before, and the first couple of issues are serviceable; there were some parts where the art kind of obscured what was happening but I can see a clear improvement. So far this series seems like it’s going to be kind of a dense story, similar to Azzarello’s Vertigo books.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic volumes 1 and 2 - This was about average for a Star Wars comic I suppose. Maybe a little bit above average. So it’s really nothing special unless you’re a diehard SW fanatic. I really like the videogames that inspired this series, so I was bit letdown that the story doesn’t really seem to have much to do with the games. We just get a pretty generic Jedi on the run type of story. What bugs me is that the plot tends to move along because characters act stupid. It should be that we get to see characters reacting to the situations they encounter, but nope. It’s a pretty boring way to tell a story.
Supreme Power: Hyperion - I dig Supreme Power but I haven’t read the Squadron Supreme stuff yet. I liked the Hyperion TPB. It wasn’t as great as the old series but it satisfied me. Hyperion was waaaaaay better than the Doctor Spectrum mini. I couldn’t even finish Doc Spectrum. That one was garbage.
Supreme Power: Hyperion Vs. Nighthawk - I was kinda wary about this one seeing as how JMS didn’t write it, but Marc Guggenheim didn’t let me down. He used Darfur as a major part of the story, but it wasn’t too awkward. Sometimes I think it is awkward when writers try to use a pretty serious real-world issue in a superhero comic. Maybe this was a little bit awkward but at least what made up for it is that you could tell that Guggenheim’s heart was in the right place. It wasn’t like he was making a mockery of Darfur. Paul Gulacy drew this one and I don’t enjoy his art, though. I guess some people do, but I don’t. Nonetheless, his art didn’t taint this book to me.
Could only find an tpb of the first and a hardcover of the second volume but i dont mind, i want to own this.
EDIT: Lol i almost bought the devil dinosaur omnibus
Nice round-up zephy. I haven’t cracked any of the Supreme Power stuff. The first OHC looked tempting at one point but seeing them turn it from a MAX to a knights title made my enthusiasm fizzle. I need to read more Mike Carey stuff too.
What did you think of JMS’s Midnight Nation? (I think that’s what it’s called). I liked the contemplatitive tone and Pilgrim’s Progress-y feel (Bible geek note: Marvel put out a really cool Pilgrim’s Progress graphic novel back in the day…look it up)
This weekend I re-read a few things: Batman: City of Crime which just keeps getting more and more awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever read a bat book that can tonally match up to this. It is one of the darkest stories Bats has been involved in without resorting to gore or torture or other cheap thrills. It doesnt throw a new super villain at you every issue like some “respected” arcs but rather introduces a new very cool antagonist that leads to some really visually (and thematically) stunning moments. The second half of this book also showcases Bruce Wayne actually being a detective (and not just by studying something in a microscope in the batcave) which is sorely lacking from many of his comics. The only thing that would have made this book better is if Lapham would have had time to do the pencils too.
Teen Titans: Around the World - OYL Titans is not so hot. Maybe Johns was on burn-out but I just wasn’t really digging most of this. Ravager is cool out of costume but her jr. deathstroke thing is dumb. Also felt like Wonder Girl wasn’t used that well and all of the OYL/52 stuff felt really awkward. The first arc even felt like more of a Doom Patrol launch than a Titans story.
The Boys vol. 1 - Maybe I didn’t like the titans so much because I read it right after re-reading The Boys so all I could think about when reading the Titans were TEENAGE KIX with Gar as Dog Knott. This series rules so freaking hard. The plotting is very well paced I think and Ennis does a really good job of ending each issue on a non-obvious story beat. I really don’t see why critics seem regard Butcher as a villain or bad guy…it seems like a knee-jerk thing that is not supported by the actual comics
You know what, I haven’t actually read JMS’ Midnight Nation. I’ve only read the first two or three volumes of Rising Stars. Midnight Nation is one of those things that I’m always trying to convince one of my buddies to buy, but maybe one of these days I’ll just man up and get it myself 'cause it does look good.
I read the first four or five issues of City of Crime as it was being serialized but just lost interest. Something about Lapham’s writing style in those issues was not what I expected because he seemed to use an excessive amount of narrative captions. The TPB is thick and sexy and I really dig Stray Bullets so I’ll try to read it all at some point. Did you end up getting Silverfish? Also, is there a TPB of Murder Me Dead? I can’t ever find it.
there is a hardcover of murder me dead so there should be a tpb too. There are a lot of blocks in City of Crime but to think of them as narrative blocks I think is a mistake, at least in the traditional sense
I have two more chapters to go and I’ll be finished with The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. This is a really good TPB that I’d heard about from sano that I picked up last year. Don Rosa is an excellent writer and I love his artwork. I wouldn’t mind reading the original Carl Barks stories but they are just too freaking expensive!
Watchmen will be my first time being exposed to Alan Moore’s work. I saw V for Vendetta and wondered if I should check it out as well.
All-Star Superman. I saw that TPB a few weeks ago. Looked like some good stuff. I’ll probably pick it up someday.
Watchmen will blow you away. V For Vendetta is also excellent, and far better than the film of the same name.
You need to read this book. It is the best modern Superman comic I’ve ever read.
Once again it is backed up in my mind to never trust the reviews of a monthlies reader. As has happened over and over again (Bendis Daredevil, Lapham Batman, Meltzer JLA, etc) when the weekly reviewer cries fowl, you know its going to end up being a great read in the trades. This time it is X-Men: Deadly Genesis, which I finally just read, and I thought it was pretty damn awesome. In fact, I have to say it is the first post-Morrison X-Men I have liked at all and that didn’t feel like a revision or betrayal of what Morrison had done. I really like how dark the book is and how everything is just presented to you at face value without feeling the need to over-explain. That reminded me of how I read X-Men when I was a kid, just post-siege perilous when I would never be able to fully grasp exactly all wtf was going on in the book at any given point. I don’t know where Rachel Summers popped up from nor where other members of the x-men are or what Havoc has been doing but it all feels right.
I already knew most of the reveals before reading the story and I really like Vulcan so far. Finally a Summers brother with my name who has the flaws of Alex without the complex (and who isn’t blonde). I am intrigued on what will become of Darwin but considering the next trade is already out I won’t have to wait long.
I haven’t read those early Uncanny issues, but what is up with Krakoa? Was it really that powerful? It felt like I was missing something. It sure seemed to ggpo the x-men. Did the new team end up beating it? did it ever resurface in x-men lore? Seems pretty strange.
The only thing I didn’t particularly like was Wolverine. I can’t stand his Astonishing costume design that is present here and I felt he was a bit under-written for the most part, especially when next to Morrison’s take.
All in all a good show though…maybe I will have to give more Bru a try…
Picked up Freshmen Volume 1.
Pretty good Trade. Definitely recommend it. Very funny and affable characters as well.
Damn, did P. Giddy (or is it P. Gabby now?) just say something positive in favor of the Bru? Holy crap. Are my internets broken or something? That whole post must’ve been a giant typo, right?
Anyway, if you enjoyed Deadly Genesis, then you should definitely spring for the Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire HC. Not only does it continue the plot, but I actually think it’s better composed than the miniseries.
One thing I didn’t like about Deadly Genesis was the inconsistent art. Hairsine penciled the first couple but I guess he couldn’t keep pace and they had to get the inker to finish it all. Some of the pages, especially in the middle of the book, look kind of rushed to me. Pete Woods’ art is very sweet, but I guess he could only manage those backup tales in between his Catwoman issues at the time.
Krakoa was in Giant Size X-Men #1. The plot of that was pretty accurately summarized in Deadly Genesis (other than the stuff about Moira’s students forming the interim X-Men). I used to have a reprint of that comic when I was a kid and I read it a bunch of times. Krakoa pretty much was taken down once the Storm/Logan/Nightcrawler/Colossus/Banshee/Sunfire/Thunderbird team managed to free the original X-Men. I don’t think it ever came back after that story.
Stuff I’ve read lately:
Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story - I am really into Harvey Pekar comics. This one had “American Splendor” on the cover but it’s a biographical story about some other guy who isn’t Pekar. It’s hard to explain how this book works because it’s basically just Pekar writing in the voice of Michael Malice and retelling his life story. But Pekar’s just such an engaging writer that it’s just a fascinating narrative. Easy to digest, but plenty to think about. Michael Malice is this super egotistical and self-righteous person, and he’s always getting into conflicts with authority figures. What makes this book a great read is that even though the protagonist is not entirely likeable, the people he often opposes are exactly the kind of people you’d like to see get dominated. Pekar does a great job creating this sense of ambivalence toward the main character.
Green Lantern: A New Dawn - I borrowed this from a friend. I think in the DC thread the other week, we were talking about Kyle and Hal and GLs so I felt like rereading this. I knew it wasn’t that great, but after rereading this for the first time in years, I was surprised at how bad it truly is. The writing is completely underwhelming. It doesn’t even compare to what Ron Marz was doing in Silver Surfer around the same time. At least Silver Surfer was entertaining. This was just pure exposition. All surface, no feeling.
GL: Rebirth - Borrowed this one to reread for the same reason. I still think this is a great story, especially in HC. I remember reading the issues as they were coming out and just dying to know what was gonna happen next. Collected, the story flows better than I expected, although I think the surprise factor from a first-time read just can’t be replicated. That whole anticipation aspect was key in my enjoyment of it the first time around. What I like about this is how Johns builds a new mythology for the Green Lantern without just ignoring and trashing everything that came before. Not only that, but he gave most of the significant GLs (Kyle, John, Kilowog, Guy) some cool moments. And the artwork was just intense.
Fanboy - By Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones, this is a little-known DC miniseries from earlier this decade. (Or perhaps it was late last decade. I forget.) This was quite entertaining. Evanier was like the Paul Dini of his generation- writing for TV and cartoons and kicking ass in comics all around. Fanboy, as you may surmise, is a lighthearted spoof of comics culture. There’s also lots of guest art sequences drawn by genuine legends… People like Neal Adams, Gil Kane, and Marie Severin. Really cool comic and great sense of humor.
Groo: Library - After reading Fanboy, I felt like checking out more Aragones/Evanier stuff, so I borrowed a couple random Groo books from a buddy. This one in particular didn’t seem as funny overall as Fanboy, although the cartooning and storytelling are topnotch. The stories in this one focused on Groo’s dog, but I thought it was still completely accessible for a new reader, as this is the first time I can remember reading a Groo comic.
Has anybody read It’s A Bird… by Steven Seagle?
It’s a very offbeat use of the Superman property, and I found it to be a very involving drama for the most part. I was kind of frustrated by the end, because it seemed like the big revelatory moment that the story so carefully builds up to ends up feeling rushed and unconvincing.
Good book, particularly for right-brained folks who will particularly identify with the story. Just temper your expectations for the payoff.
Steve Seagle wrote my favorite Grendel Tales - “Devil in our Midst”
I didn’t notice the inconsistant art in DG…is it possible they spruced it up for the trade?
What issues does A New Dawn cover? You better not be hating on the Marz.
Man, It’s A Bird… was my favorite Superman story ever. Maybe it still is, but I’d have to think about it. But it is still one of my personal favorite comics in general. I just love that book to death. Because of It’s A Bird… and Sandman Mystery Theatre, Steven T. Seagle earns a lifetime of diplomatic immunity from me. I will never bash on him or his work.
And I also read his Grendel Tales: Four Devils, One Hell and I really dug it. That was a great story. I think that might’ve actually been the first Grendel thing I ever read. And even though at that point I had very little idea how Grendel’s world worked, it got me motivated to find out more.
But I got the first volume of American Virgin when it came out and it wasn’t as great as I was hoping from Seagle. Maybe it’s just my personal bias, but it just kind of bugs me when a writer who isn’t a Christian tries to write a story from the perspective of a really devoted Christian. The main character and some of the first arc’s ideas just didn’t ring true to me. But whatever.
I also have the DG TPB. I’m looking specifically at the first few pages of issue 3. I don’t know. It’s obviously just my opinion, but that issue’s art just doesn’t look as good as issue 1 to me. And a few pages after that, when we see Havok in the mansion and Beast and Emma encountering the feds, the expressions of the people don’t look as good as the earlier scenes in the TPB. I mean it’s not enough to detract from the experience overall, but it was just something I noticed. (Stupid Marvel. They need to put page numbers in their books.)
I think what made me take notice was the fact that Hairsine wasn’t credited as penciller for all the issues. At some point, he only did “breakdowns” and Hanna did “finishes.” It’s probably purely psychological.
A New Dawn collected 51-56. It was the first Kyle arc.
And I would never hate on the Marz. His Silver Surfer is too near and dear to my heart for me to hate on him. The Marz would deserve his very own SRK Church and Official Thread if he ever wrote anything good. P. Gabby can be pope.
any thoughts on the big Tellos hardcover that was released a week or so ago? Is it good? What issues does it collect? Is Tellos a complete story or did Weiringo’s death screw it up?
I really don’t know. Never read it. The art is nice but I don’t know about the writer, Todd Dezago. You ever read his work?
I have the first issue and browse through the other couple of issues.
I don’t think the story really completed and much happened.
Either that or I am completely wrong.
WHY AREN’T YOU GUYS READING SCOTT PILGRIM OR PAUL POPE. Does it have to be in a god damned hardcover for you to read anything Gabey Mc Gorath?
Krakoa was a giant island monster, basically a tiny version of ego the living planet. Deadly Genesis is a really great story. The part where Xavier made it sound like Krakoa was talking is hardcore deviant. I read that and was like “damn Xavier, you are just like Mags” which I think Moriaea or however you spell her name said about 3 panels later.