2012 General Comic Book Discussion Thread

[ivelostr2]

I've had some time over the weekend and i've been reading some of my unread pile...so I figured I'd start the thread for the new year.




Batman: the black mirror - I have been enjoying Snyder's new 52 Batman book and this showed up on my recommendations on Amazon a couple weeks ago...wow. I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down last night and then this morning.

Guardians of the Galaxy - I have been reading the 2008 series over the last month, since I went to a comic show in town and someone had the 1st 2 HCs for $5 each...then i went to a comic shop that had a ton of HCs for 60% off...I really liked the series. I don't know much about any of them, except what I read as a kid, the infinity gauntlet series and briefly the Warlock series...but I really enjoyed it. It was light and fun.

X-Force: Dark Angel Saga - I read the first HC of the series (the apocalypse solution) and it was okay...it didn’t make me want to read the next HC, but people had been talking about this arc, and then i saw the polybag blocking out the cover and people were talking about who was going to die, so I started looking for these issues...the LCS i usually go to had only 3 of the issues and one was a 2nd printing. My back up shop had no back issues at all. I checked the shop near where my mom runs a pizza shop and they had 2 of the issues i needed (that phone call was funny: "Mom, I'm going to ask you something that i never thought i would ask at the age of 34. Can you run over to the comic shop and pick me up a couple comics.") Then i drove about 10 miles out of the way to a shop i hadn't been to in a long time (the one with the 60% sale as it turned out) to get the last few issues. Over all, I'm not sure it was worth it...the ending was a little confusing I thought and the payoff was not worth it and then taken back immediately. It is ridiculous to think that Angel wiped out a town and started a new evolutionary environment and Cyclops' team never noticed...let alone the Avengers...I really liked the idea that Apocalypse was responsible to a higher power though and that Angel had to ascend to the position. maybe that has been used before but it was new to me. I also like the trip into the AoA universe and I hope Kurt will stick around for a while.

Batgirl #4 / Nightwing #4 - Still really good, the Bat Universe has been really good in the new 52, I know people would argue that it wasn't broken in the old 52, and I wouldn't dispute that, but it makes it hard not to buy the books every month.
I liked the ties between these books...I wonder if Gail Simone complaint about the use of Batgirl in Nightwing without being told had something to do with how opposite the interaction between the 2 was in each book.

Wolverine and the X-men - I have been really digging this book and I think this was the best of the series so far.

[fujishig]

I really liked Guardians of the Galaxy too (in fact, I liked most of the cosmic books post Annihilation). I was a big fan of the old Guardians of the Galaxy, and while this incarnation was nothing like it (at least in the beginning), I was also a big fan of the old Starlin Warlock series, Rocket Raccoon and Micronauts and such, and bringing all of these elements together in a fun book was pretty good. That said, I hated the first series of Annihilators, and with every other cosmic book petered out, I guess that's it for cosmic Marvel.

Missed my second monthly order in a row now, again by accident. Urgh. I read the first issue of both Wolverine and Cyclops branches of X-men and enjoyed them both, but I guess I'll wait for the trade for these now. Is Bachalo doing the series monthly now, or is he still going to rotate with Land and Dodson or whoever?

[LorenzoL]

I will like to give thanks to JasonF for the recommendation on Okko. I was able to get the 3 volumes fairly cheap on Amazon.ca and loved it. The art is beautiful and the storyline has a good blend of the samurai period mixed in with magic and mysticism. I believe that there's a fourth volume being released sometime this year...

I also started reading the Usagi Yojimbo series via the books (I bought the hard cover book collecting the first 7 volumes of the series) and it has become one of my favorite comic books of all time.

[davidh777]

I guess these are pretty much what they look like: Origin-story compilations? I do like how the branch out beyond the standard A-list superheroes, though.

With the debut of 1961's FANTASTIC FOUR #1, Marvel Comics reinvented the super-hero genre - and the hits just kept on coming! Compiled in one titanic tome: the famous first issues of dozens of your favorite super heroes and super-hero teams - including the Hulk, Dr. Strange, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Daredevil, the X-Men, the Avengers and the Defenders! And witness the unlikely solo breakouts of the Human Torch, Red Wolf, Dr. Doom, the Silver Surfer, the Black Widow and more! Collecting RAWHIDE KID (1955) #17; material from AMAZING ADVENTURES (1961) #1; FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #1; material from TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #27, #51 and #70; INCREDIBLE HULK (1962) #1; material from AMAZING FANTASY #15; material from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83; material from STRANGE TALES (1951) #101, #110 and #135; TWO-GUN KID #60; material from TALES OF SUSPENSE (1959) #39, #49 and #59; SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #1; AVENGERS (1963) #1; X-MEN (1963) #1; DAREDEVIL (1964) #1; GHOST RIDER (1967) #1; MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1967) #12 and #19-20, CAPTAIN SAVAGE #1; and material from SILVER SURFER (1968) #1.

When the swingin' seventies arrived, Marvel was there to welcome it with a host of new characters and titles! Assembled in one volume for the very first time are the fabulous first issues of dozens of Marvel's finest offerings from the seventies, including the likes of Dracula, Man-Thing, Luke Cage, and Tigra, not to mention such solo breakouts as the Black Widow and the Beast. Westerns, war, sci-fi, super heroes, monsters and mutants!

COLLECTING:

Amazing Adventures (1970) 1, 11, 18; Savage Tales (1971) 1 (C Story); Marvel Spotlight (1971) 1, 2 (A Story) 5; Marvel Feature (1971( 1 (A Story); Marvel Premiere 1 (A Story); Tomb of Dracula (1972) 1; Hero for Hire 1; Combat Kelly & the Deadly Dozen 1; Outlaw Kid (1970) (A Story); Gunhawks 1; The Cat 1; Shanna the She-Devil (1972) 1; Monster of Frankenstein 1.

Marvel's line of fantastic first appearances continues! Assembled in one volume are dozens of Marvel's finest offerings, with an extra emphasis on mutants and monsters! See for yourself how such '70s stalwarts as Brother Voodoo, Deathlok, Iron Fist, Man-Wolf, Howard the Duck and more began their merry march through the Marvel Universe! Also included are the first appearances of the All-New, All-Different X-Men and WWII's Invaders!

COLLECTING: TALES OF THE ZOMBIE 1 (A, B & F STORIES); VAMPIRE TALES 1 (A STORY), 2 (D STORY); SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS 5; STRANGE TALES 169, 174 (A STORY); MARVEL FEATURE 11; JUNGLE ACTION 6 (A STORY); MARVEL SPOTLIGHT 12; ASTONISHING TALES 21 (A STORY), 25; DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU 1 (B STORY); MARVEL PREMIERE 15; CREATURES ON THE LOOSE 30 (A STORY); HAUNT OF HORROR 2 (A STORY); WAR IS HELL 9; MONSTERS UNLEASHED 10 (C STORY); GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING 4 (B STORY); GIANT-SIZE INVADERS 1; GIANT-SIZE X-MEN1

Marvel's popular line of fantastic first appearances continues! The sensational seventies come to a phenomenal finish with this third volume that collects aliens, space gods, giants, dinosaurs and much more! Included here are the fabulous first issues of such seventies stalwarts as Skull the Slayer, Omega the Unknown, the Champions, the Eternals, Devil Dinosaur and more!

COLLECTING: Skull the Slayer 1; Champions 1; Marvel Presents 1, 3; Black Goliath 1; Marvel Preview 4; Omega the Unknown 1; Eterna ls 1; Nova 1; Ms. Marvel 1; Marvel Spotlight 32; What If ? 1; Marvel Premiere 35; Devil Dinosaur 1; Machine Man 1; Hulk Magazine 11; Savage She-Hulk 1

[boredsilly]

Originally Posted by ivelostr2

I've had some time over the weekend and i've been reading some of my unread pile...so I figured I'd start the thread for the new year.




Batman: the black mirror - I have been enjoying Snyder's new 52 Batman book and this showed up on my recommendations on Amazon a couple weeks ago...wow. I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down last night and then this morning.

Guardians of the Galaxy - I have been reading the 2008 series over the last month, since I went to a comic show in town and someone had the 1st 2 HCs for $5 each...then i went to a comic shop that had a ton of HCs for 60% off...I really liked the series. I don't know much about any of them, except what I read as a kid, the infinity gauntlet series and briefly the Warlock series...but I really enjoyed it. It was light and fun.

Batman: The Black Mirror is ridiculously good. The tension just build continuously for 12 issues. Just great stuff.

I've only read the first 6 issues of Guardians, but I liked that team quite a bit, and I've never had any exposure to those guys prior to reading the first trade. I need to read the rest of those issues sooner or later.

I got a tablet for Christmas, an Asus EEE Pad Transformer, and wow is reading comics on a tablet eye opening for me. I know most people still prefer to read comics via paper, but I'm to the point where I don't want to read a monthly comic or trade ever again! Seriously, the reading experience on a tablet is perfect for me. I might end up getting rid of my trades, and become a digital only reader.

[davidh777]

Originally Posted by davidh777

I guess these are pretty much what they look like: Origin-story compilations? I do like how the branch out beyond the standard A-list superheroes, though.



When the swingin' seventies arrived, Marvel was there to welcome it with a host of new characters and titles! Assembled in one volume for the very first time are the fabulous first issues of dozens of Marvel's finest offerings from the seventies, including the likes of Dracula, Man-Thing, Luke Cage, and Tigra, not to mention such solo breakouts as the Black Widow and the Beast. Westerns, war, sci-fi, super heroes, monsters and mutants!

COLLECTING:

Amazing Adventures (1970) 1, 11, 18; Savage Tales (1971) 1 (C Story); Marvel Spotlight (1971) 1, 2 (A Story) 5; Marvel Feature (1971( 1 (A Story); Marvel Premiere 1 (A Story); Tomb of Dracula (1972) 1; Hero for Hire 1; Combat Kelly & the Deadly Dozen 1; Outlaw Kid (1970) (A Story); Gunhawks 1; The Cat 1; Shanna the She-Devil (1972) 1; Monster of Frankenstein 1.

I did get the first volume of the '70s and like it. It's 400 pages in color and has a nice weight to it. I was familiar with the superhero stories--Black Widow, Defenders, the Cat--but there's a ton of other stuff I've never heard of like Westerns and horror.

[fujishig]

Since this thread gets so little traffic, maybe I should have put it in one of the other digital comics threads, but I didn't see a prominent general one.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/diam...er-110211.html

Diamond is planning to offer codes for digital downloads of comic books... with the catch being that they will be available only at comic stores. The opted in publishers will have titles available for 1.99, which is cheaper than a physical copy of the book, or if they buy a physical copy they can buy a code for that same book for 99c.

They are going through iverse, which is pretty much a competitor to Comixology (they have an iphone/ipad app) but without Marvel/DC, and not all iverse publishers are opted into this program. It's an interesting way for Diamond to keep a cut of the digital business and not tick off retailers, and I'm interested in seeing how well it works, even though I don't really see the point of buying a comic and getting a code for that same comic. DC released pretty comprehensive data around their digital sales recently (which unfortunately Comixology never does on its own), and I think the vast majority of those Justice League bundled codes were never redeemed... people bought them to collect them.

On a side note, I'm really enjoying Viz's Shonen Jump Alpha... 120+ pages per week.

[davidh777]

How can you only download it at the store?

[madcougar]

Originally Posted by ivelostr2

I've had some time over the weekend and i've been reading some of my unread pile...so I figured I'd start the thread for the new year.

Batman: the black mirror - I have been enjoying Snyder's new 52 Batman book and this showed up on my recommendations on Amazon a couple weeks ago...wow. I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down last night and then this morning.

This book must have sold pretty well because it was almost immediatly out of print. I ordered it a month ago and it just shipped yesterday from B&N. Can't wait to read it!

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by davidh777

How can you only download it at the store?

You download it online, but the cards with the download codes will only be sold at comic book stores.

[davidh777]

Originally Posted by fujishig

You download it online, but the cards with the download codes will only be sold at comic book stores.

Gotcha. I agree it's sketchy to want a digital version of the same book but I guess they're going off the Digital Copy model. Will be interesting to see which titles they get.

[kgrogers1979]

Whoa. Marvel is going to start reprinting the 90s Darkhawk series in tpbs.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marv...ns-120124.html

I always loved Darkhawk. He was one of the better things to come out of the 90s, and sadly he was forgotten about while crappy characters like Carnage became popular. If Marvel is going to be putting these in tpbs, I wonder if they have plans for a new Darkhawk Vol. 2? That would be awesome.

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by kgrogers1979

Whoa. Marvel is going to start reprinting the 90s Darkhawk series in tpbs.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marv...ns-120124.html

I always loved Darkhawk. He was one of the better things to come out of the 90s, and sadly he was forgotten about while crappy characters like Carnage became popular. If Marvel is going to be putting these in tpbs, I wonder if they have plans for a new Darkhawk Vol. 2? That would be awesome.

Read War of Kings. Darkhawk played a big part in that and had his own mini. He also appeared before that as a security guard in issues of Nova, but War of Kings is where they really reinvent him. Unfortunately, I think the cosmic Marvel stuff is on it's last legs, which is unfortunate, because ever since Annihilation I've enjoyed it.

[Imprint]

Did anybody else pick up Saga #1 this week? I'm still a new reader (just got on board with the DCn52), so I haven't read his other stuff. I'm not good at critiquing or reviewing, so I hope some of you guys will share your opinions. I really liked it. I must say that I was a bit surprised by the nudity/sex. I thought he did a good job setting up the characters and the universe in which they live. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes!

[JasonF]

Originally Posted by Imprint

Did anybody else pick up Saga #1 this week? I'm still a new reader (just got on board with the DCn52), so I haven't read his other stuff. I'm not good at critiquing or reviewing, so I hope some of you guys will share your opinions. I really liked it. I must say that I was a bit surprised by the nudity/sex. I thought he did a good job setting up the characters and the universe in which they live. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes!

I just picked it up today and thought it was really good. If BKV and Fiona Staples can keep up this level of quality, this is going to be one of the all time great books.

I also enjoyed Thief of Thieves and Hell Yeah. Neither was Saga good, but both were worth the money.

[fujishig]

Anybody read the new Prophet (yes, the same Prophet that Liefeld created)? I've heard good things about it.

[JasonF]

Originally Posted by fujishig

Anybody read the new Prophet (yes, the same Prophet that Liefeld created)? I've heard good things about it.

Not yet, but I've also heard good things about it.

[fujishig]

So the price of Marvel Hardcover collections (and their corresponding tpbs) have seem to skyrocket in the last few months.

I just got the Avengers:X-Sanction hardcover. It collects Avengers: X-Sanction #1-4. It retails for 24.99. The individual issues were priced at 3.99 a piece. Perhaps to make up for it, the thing looks to be oversized, making it look even thinner than it already is.

The new Wolverine and the X-Men HC collects the first four issues of that series... for 19.99. Now Amazon has these pretty deeply discounted (it's why I bought X-Sanction), but who's going to buy this at cover price?

[PhantomStranger]

Marvel stuff has a very high list price that appears to be misleading on some level. Marvel books can frequently be found at greater percentage discounts than DC. DC hardcovers typically never go below 40% off, while Marvel books can often be found for nearly 50% off. The DC tend to be a better value in page count per dollar, but the Marvel books are widely regarded as being better quality.

I think both companies are testing what they can get away with charging fans for their hardcovers. Some of the Absolute books from DC are way overpriced.

[fujishig]

I can see the quality difference in the omnibus formats; I much prefer Marvel omnibus over DC, and the DC ones actually seem overpriced (for instance, I stopped collecting the Johns' Flash ones because it's basically $75 bucks for 448 pages; compare that to the latest Brubaker Cap volume at $75 for 560 pages). The Marvel ones are sewn and the DC ones are glued, so that you can't even open it flat without fear of it coming undone. DC has said they've improved the process (i think the new TT: Judas Contract has the new and improved spine).

I don't see much quality difference in the smaller tpbs, or what Marvel calls their premiere hardcovers. And the DC ones seem a bit cheaper... the upcoming Justice League hardcover collects 6 issues of a 3.99 comic for a retail of 24.99.

The Absolutes are another thing entirely... Super oversized deluxe editions. While I agree that some are overpriced (I'm not rebuying John's GL in Absolute format), there are some like the main Sandman volumes, Planetary, etc. that I wouldn't give up.

[fujishig]

Comixology signs Valiant for digital distribution, which is cool, I guess, but they're going to get the old school Valiant backissues in the store! If they're reasonably priced, I'm probably in.

Should I start a separate digital distribution thread to hold the digital/comixology/waid talk separate from the printed talk, or does it not matter that much? I realize there's not a ton of traffic, especially in this thread, but just wondering.

[ytrez]

I can highly recommend My Friend Dahmer to anyone interested in comics beyond the cape & cowl variety. This is a first person account of Dahmer's youth from one of his school classmates. For anyone concerned that it might be too sympathetic to the killer, the author offers the following: "The premise of this book is that Dahmer was a tragic figure, but that only applies up until the moment he kills. After that horrible day in June 1978, the only tragedy is that Dahmer didn't have the courage to put a gun to his head and end it."

[Supermallet]

Originally Posted by fujishig

Comixology signs Valiant for digital distribution, which is cool, I guess, but they're going to get the old school Valiant backissues in the store! If they're reasonably priced, I'm probably in.

Should I start a separate digital distribution thread to hold the digital/comixology/waid talk separate from the printed talk, or does it not matter that much? I realize there's not a ton of traffic, especially in this thread, but just wondering.

I now rely solely on digital distribution, so I would appreciate a thread for it.

[fujishig]

Late to the outrage party as usual, but Nick Fury Jr.? Really? Ugh.

[Patman]

Originally Posted by fujishig

Late to the outrage party as usual, but Nick Fury Jr.? Really? Ugh.

Has someone shot out his left eye yet?