bishop2knight

Read the first arc of the Planet Hulk storyline last night. Eh, it's good, but I'm not sure it's as good as everyone says it is. The good thing is that it progressively got better with each "issue" so I'm hoping that continues.

Chew

I'm six issues in myself and I seriously have no idea what all the fuss was about.

bishop2knight

I've read the next arc now, and I'm liking the book. Not loving it. Not really liking it. But it's good. One problem I'm seeing is that the book keeps cutting away from all the good stuff. Pak continues to set something in motion then moving on to the next scene too quickly.

But all in all, so far enjoy, it's keeping me entertained.

Chew

Another board suggestion I picked up which I finished last night: Wasteland. Again, I don't understand the fuss. I couldn't tell you a single character's name or memorable situation from it.

Either I'm in one of my "everything sucks in general" swings again lately or it's just the fact stuff pales in comparision to Absolute Watchmen (which I'm also reading now.....for the 5-6th time).

bishop2knight

I thought Wasteland was decent. It felt like the first chapter of some huge epic. So I'll read part 2 and see how it all comes together.

Finished Planet Hulk last night. I thought the story was pretty good. The ending makes me want to go out and read WW Hulk, that's for sure. But I still contend that it's not as good as everyone says.

Bronkster

I enjoyed Planet Hulk, which I read as it came out. Possibly the hype creates expectations that are impossible to live up to, but I'm thinking that it seemed better than it was because everything else out at the same time was Civil War.

boredsilly

That happens. Sometimes your expectations fuck things up for you too, y'know? People saying this is the best thing since sliced bread and to read it now...then you get there and are let down.

Happens to me all the time.

bishop2knight

Yeah, expectations suck. Next time anyone here wants others to read a certain book, tell us it sucks.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good read. But there was just something...I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that it was the Hulk. I mean, picturing the Hulk doing some of the more human things he does, seemed out of place somehow. Too comic booky if you will.

fujishig

Can someone give me some background on what happened to the Hulk prior to Planet Hulk? I'm not talking about that whole Illuminati conspiracy, but I agree with bishop2knight that reading this kind of Hulk seems weird. Last time I read the Hulk was Peter David's run, and I know this isn't the super intelligent Pantheon Hulk, but it's not really dumb Hulk-smash either.

edited to add: Amazing how the only two main stories in the mainstream Marvel Universe that didn't seem to cross into Civil War (Planet Hulk and Annihilation) are fan favorites.

Sessa17

I'm definitely one of the ones that have been hyping the shit out of Planet Hulk, & I do think it deserves all the praise & succes it has had, but only if you put it into perspective. If you haven't been reading Hulk, or are not a big fan, then I guess I can see why you might think it's just a typical sci-fi story. But, I've been reading Hulk since I was a kid, & ever since Bruce Jones' extremely overrated run, this is a comic that has been sooooooo boring & repetitive. What makes PH so great is how refreshing it is for the series & character, just building an epic, pure Hulk story, not the never ending redundant Jekyl/Hide saga. And especially (at least for me), if you take into context, that this year long story was wonderfully removed from all the putrid & negative Civil War madness. I appreciate any time a creative team, clearly tries to put their stamp on an established characters mythos, it's the hardest thing in superhero comics to do & that is what Pak has done.

lukewarmwater

I picked up wasteland too. Heard good things from people and the concept sounded cool, but I thought it was horrible. Really cliche all the way through. The only new thing in the book was the concept.

A really cliche hero, characters acting dumb, dialogue that once again has no subtext and their whole "science fiction world" has so many scifi cliches in it.

It was like kevin costner waterworld / postman bad. And I also thought the art was kind of all over the place and was hard to tell what was happening at times.

I guess comic fans are so desprate for anything non superhero, they'll like something even if it's garbage.

Superboy

The thing is with a story like this, I sense MAJOR hesitation with the writer. You can tell he's setting things up so that when the big fat reset button hits, that it won't seem like such a goddamn let down. The great thing about Planet Hulk was the TENSION.

This is just turning into another succession of bigger and bigger explosions, continuity errors, and stupifying action.

fujishig

I'm confused, are you talking about Planet Hulk or World War Hulk?

lukewarmwater

Alright, it seems like every new comic I buy and take a chance on has dissapointed me. Wasteland, silverfish, world war hulk, kane, love and rockets, loveless, etc. So here are a bunch of comics I did actually like.

Extermiantors by Tony Moore and Simon Oliver. It's dirt cheap (9.99) and really awesome. Sort of like aracniphobia. It's a gross, fucked up story. Really loved it.


and you can download the first issue here:
http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=5618

Alan Moore's W.I.L.D.C.A.T.S. - Just awesome. Really cool and fun story. I wish all the other superhero titles were like this.



Also a new b.p.r.d. just started and as always is pretty good.

Sessa17

I F'n love Loveless, but most hate it. Silverish I was also very dissapointed in. I try to put myself in other's shoes, whenever they don't like something I dig, I can certainly understand why usually (my tastes are quite different than most). But I literally, cannot even imagine how someone could be dissapointed by Love & Rockets. It is the very definition of brilliant sequantial art at it's absolute highest form, the art, the panel structure, the characters, it is just pure genius. I think a lot of people read something like that now, for the first time, & they just compare it to everything out now, & it may seem redundant, but you have to take into account when it was released, just how innovative these comics were. Did you read from the beggining? With the first Palomar stories? I can see how it isn't one's taste, most don't care for "slice of life" comics, but dissapointing, it just boggles the mind.

Have you tried Stormwatch PHD? The 1st trade just came out, also $10 I believe, & it very much reminds me of Moore's Wildcats run. Fun, but very smart. And if you haven't read it already, I can't stress enough how mind-blowingly brilliant Brubaker's Sleeper is. The main bad guy is Tao from Moore's Wildcats run, & if since you read that, you will have a better appreciation for just how bad-ass he is in Sleeper.

bishop2knight

Just finished Gyakushu. Now that was a good read. I thought it got better as it went, with the ending totally making me jazzed for volume two.

fujishig

I had no idea Sleeper involved that character from Moore's WildC.A.T.S. run. Of course, I also had no idea that Stormwatch PHD was basically about a human component of Stormwatch. There is no "regular" Stormwatch book, right?

I liked the first trade of Stormwatch PHD enough to get subsequent volumes. It did seem like there were a few dangling ends that they left (what happened to the Vegas division?), but I liked the overall concept and the fact they're basically powerless and overmatched. It's also very brutal.

Also finished reading Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. The Battle for Bludhaven trade didn't make a whole lotta sense to me, but I liked this... the gorgeous art didn't hurt. I give props to the writer, it felt like a Morrison book, and seemed like a natural extension of the Seven Soldiers stuff. It also helps that I'm a huge fan of the Ray.

Superboy

My positive comments were about Planet Hulk, the negative ones were about WWH.

When people say "hey, this is a great story", what do they really mean anyway? that 10 years down the road, it'll still be readable, and still be a great book. There's a certain element of timelessness with Planet Hulk, although it's still firmly rooted in the time period. You know for sure this is a modern age story.

Anyway, World War Hulk is quickly becoming a dated, continuity filled mess.

Superboy

Love and Rockets is something that gets better as you read it. Very rare for a comic to become refined as it goes on; even a creator owned comic. I felt like the strongest stories in Strangers in Paradise were the early issues. Same goes for Starman, Preacher, Sandman, Sandman Mystery Theater, even Y: The Last Man. So I would say give it a chance!

It's funny how Sleeper is a great spin-off from WILDCats. There's nothing like something great birthing out of something shitty

Chew

I stopped about halfway through 52 and haven't read any of Countdown.

Needless to say, the first issue of Booster Gold had me rather confused for a while. But, the premise of the series sounds fun and Booster's request near the end of the issue is certainly something to look forward to. Loved the "coming up" page as well.

Jackskeleton

Booster Gold was an amazing book. I loved 52 and I pretty much hate Countdown but it was an amazing book for anyone to jump in on and I can't wait for the fan service tributes Johns has in store.

I mean, come on, who would hate that Booster Gold #0 will be the Zero Hour crossover issue. That in itself shows that Johns is going to have a ton of fun with this Worlds greatest hero no one realizes.

ytrez

I just finished the 2nd two Love & Rocket Books. Awesome stuff these. I echo Sessa's sentiments.

I also read Shazam & the Monster Society of Evil, which I rather enjoyed.

I'm now on volume 3 of the 15 Battle Royale books.

Rogue588

Man, if Peter David wrote more Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man issues like this latest one, his run might not've sucked..

Giantrobo

Damn, I was at a shop today and had this in my hand and I put it back down. I also skipped it on my pull list so I guess I'll have to reconsider. I've always liked BG but all that shit in 52, even with the way it worked out, really made me not like him.

Giantrobo

It's in my "to read" stack. I'm glad someone enjoyed it.