Gamblor187

Okay, I got my books a day early this week. I usually start this thread every Thursday, but I'm going out of town and wont be back until Monday evening. So, here's what I got:

Powers #14

Transmetropolotan #50 - It's the 50th issue. Couldn't the have celebrated by making it a double-sized issue? 22 pages of this book just isn't enough.

Fury #2 - I'm not sure where this series will go, but I did like the first issue (even though I usually hate Garth Ennis). Plus, it's worth it for Darick Robertson's art.

Felon #1 - I haven't read anything by Greg Rucka yet (although I did get the TPB of "Whiteout" in the mail yesterday). I figure I'll give this a try right away rather than waiting a couple months and trying to track down back issues.

I also picked up all 3 Planetary figures.

Question of the Week:

A release date will be set soon for the first installment of Frank Miller's sequel to "The Dark Knight Returns". This is easily one of the most highly-anticipated books in years....but is it a good idea? Are you glad to see Miller revisiting his influential Batman story or do you think he should leave his classic work alone?


Like some others that posted a few weeks ago, I find "The Dark Knight Returns" to be overrated. It's a good book and its importance to the medium cannot be denied, but in terms of quality, it wouldn't even crack my top 10.
To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical about this sequel. Miller isn't very consistent, in my opinion and hasn't put out a good book in a long time. (Again, that's just my opinion.) At the same time, his best work has been with Batman (and Daredevil), so this could be a return to form. I doubt that the book will be able to live up to the hype and high expectations, but, let's face it, regardless of any concerns we may have, almost everyone of us is going to pick this up, aren't we? At the very least, I'll give the first issue a shot.

jim

Sessa17

Gamblor I think you should post this thread on Wed. anyway since that is when books come out, (plus after Wed. I'm usually not at my computer to post till the weekend). Anyway an extremely light week for me book wise. I haven't read anything yet but I got. . .

Felon #1 - Greg Rucka is hands down the most underrated writer in comics today. I've been a fan of his books before he started in comics & although I generally hate female leads in comics he writes the best women in all of comics(read Queen & Country for proof).

Superman #175 - I am not a Superman fan & I hate the fact that they are bringing Doomsday(a horrible character) back again plus I hate that this is part of yet another D.C crossover. However I love Loeb/McGuinness's run on this book & I'll conitnue to get this title while they are on it.

U.S. War Machine #5 - I write every week how great this book is & it keeps getting better. For $1.50 you can't go wrong & Marvel hasn't offically announced it yet but at last week's retailers rally the editor of War Machine Brian smith told me this will become an ongoing monthly.

Powers #14 - Such a damn good book. Bendis's other 100 titles he currently is writing are just watered down compared to hiw work on this book.

X-treme X-men #6 - One of my absolute favorite books right now. Lorroca's art is just awesome.

Answer of the week. . .

Honestly, I know I am in the minority but I could care less about this book. I'm one of the one's that feels DKR is grossly overrated as well as Frank Miller in general (outside his work on Daredevil which is one of my all-time creator runs). Also I'm not a big Batman fan & with the price of each issue being $7.95 (granted I barely pay for my comics) I doubt I'll even get it. Classics should remain classics, keep moving forward creatively (even more so for works I actual like) than try to profit on what made them famous or go back to any old ideas.

Gamblor187

Well, I usually start this thread on Thursday for two reasons:

1.) It gives more people time to pick up their books and maybe even read them. I'd like to see more reviews on the books everyone is reading rather than just lists. (Of course, I'm guilty of just posting lists as well.)

2.) Today was a rare exception. I get paid on Thursdays, so I usually don't get my books until that afternoon. And I usually have no idea what's coming out (or what I'm going to pick up) until I get to the shop.

I'd like to hear from others. Should this thread start on Wednesdays or stay or Thursdays? We still seem to be getting a decent response starting the threads on Thursdays, but since books are officially released on Wednesday, I guess that would make more sense to some.
If people would rather see this thread started on Wednesdays, then someone else will probably have to start them since I won't have my books then.

jim

Sessa17

O.k. I changed my mind. Your right, lists are boring, that's why I usually write a little blurb after what book I picked up even though I didn't read them yet. I usually don't get to read my books till the weekend or later(I still haven't read Origin #2 & a few others from last week). And I like seeing what other people think is good also. Stick w/ your routine plus the question of the week is a good idea


[GRATUITOUS PLUG]If any comic fans are interested I just put up on ebay the full run, every single issue ofOur Worlds At War. Also put up the first run of the first Tellos series with some rare variant covers[/b] & also put up the very rare NUDE misprint of Electra #3 where she gets nekkid on 3 pages[/GRATUITOUS PLUG]

MrN

I pickup comics on wednesday but don't read most of them for a few days. So, I will post my reviews later in the week...

As for 'Dark Knight Returns' - I don't see how the quality of a sequel affects one's enjoyment or lack thereof of the original.
Of course this is not just for the case of DKR. Superman 3 and 4 were really really bad movies but does that diminish the quality of 1 and 2? Of course not. Likewise, nothing Miller does now can change his classic.

So, if you like DKR, you should check out 'DK Strikes Again' (Comes out Dec. 5)
I personally don't think it'll match the original so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who didn't like the original, unless you want to see some of the other DC characters in this 'universe'.

Liquid Death

Elektra naked? And those eBay prices are sure inflated (it doesn't sound like much).

Anyhow, I have yet to pick up my comics this week (I ordered most of them online), so I'll weigh in with my $.02 at that time.

I just finished Goldfish (Bendis) which I *really* enjoyed - I steamrolled through it in only a few hours. I also finished Torso last week, which is another terrific Bendis series. I really liked how it was based on actual events and researched (very interesting). Now I just have to read Jinx, but the daunting size of the TPB is scaring me

I also just read Daredevil #20-#24 (#25 is ordered) straight through, and while the series drags in some places, I didn't think it was too bad at all. I'm def. looking forward to reading the conclusion.

We also had a comic con here last weekend (um..in the reception room of the Holiday Inn, so it wasn't very big - no one carried independents either, so there went my hopes of Generic Comic Book #3), and I picked up Scion 1, 2, 4, & 5 for less than $10 - I look forward to reading the others, as its a great series (so is Sojourn, btw).

Hmm. I think thats about it. As for DKR, I'll be in line that Wednesday anxiously awaiting the book. I LOVED DKR and I've bought the TPB twice (the original and the 10th anniversary). I like most everything Frank Miller has done... I don't think DKR2 will be *as good* as DKR, but hey, I'm fairly confident that it will be better than most of the other stuff on the rack.

Liquid Death

Managed to pick up a few books today:

Last Shot #2 - If you're a fan of anime, then by all means, give the book a try. Its about a bounty hunter named Revolver who, against his will (thus far), is taking a bounty across country. The art is *really* nice, but some stuff (such as Revolver giving his cloak to the girl coz she's cold) is obscured or easily missed.

Felon #1 - Terrific! After 5 years in jail, the newly freed felon attempts to recover her share of the score and get revenge on the person(s) who set her up. Greg Rucka does it again I have yet to read Whiteout, but I love Queen and Country (also recommended!)

Danger Girl: Kamizake <sp> #2 - The book's pacing is lighting fast and I think it would've been better had it been 3 issues long instead of 2. And there's only two Danger Girls in the book (Abbey and Syndey). But other than that, I really enjoyed it.

Sessa17

Believe me it's not much & yes the prices are extremely inflated, I just sold one copy for $58 dollars & I have 5 more of which I got for free.

Anyway, I finally got a chance to read my book for the week & here is what I thought. . .


Felon #1 - Well I am a huge Greg Rucka fan & for anyone new to his work do not use this as a judge of what he can do (definitely check out Queen & Country for that). While this is not a bad read for me it was not an enjoyable one. First off I generally hate female lead characters but Rucka has always been able to create interesting ones. My problem w/ this book is the female lead is not a very likeable character & she just has too much confidence for someone fresh out of prison. The art also did not do much for me, it seemed like a less detailed Gary Frank.

Superman #175 - I pretty much get this book just b/c of Mcguiness's pencils & they did not dissapoint in this issue. The story however was just horrendous & although I doubt it, if the writer's of Superman have any sense they will never use Doomsday again.

U.S. Warmachine #5 - (BOOK OF THE WEEK!) The amazing part of this series is that with each issue you actually see Austin develop as a story teller. Although I still don't care for the art this was one of the best comics I have read all year. this is the first issue wear Austin really puts a lot of humor in the book & it works out perfectly with the serious subject matters. Anyone who hasn't been picking up this book(& it can't be for a lack of money) should really pick up the trade that comes out a week after the last issue.

Powers #14 - I am a huge fan of this book & partly because every sinlge issue is amazing & does not let down. That is untill this issue. My main problem with #14 is that Bendis is making Deena Pilgrim an extremely annoying character. She is utterly useless in this issue other than to provide the comic relief. She does absolutely know detective work & every word out of her mouth is a one-liner. Also this is the first story that I felt had a very anti-climatic ending that I actually predicted. I really hope this is just a one issue dissapointment & that Bendis is not spreading himself to thin by writing 137 different montlies.

Liquid Death

I thought I read that US War Machine was going to be ongoing? Or is it still a 12 issue limited series? I really didn't like the first issue at all, but I might give the others a try at some point.

Sessa17

Marvel hasn't officially announced that War Machine will be a new monthly but while I was talking to the editor of the book Brian Smith at the Marvel Retailers RAlly in N.YC he told me that b/c of it's success they will make a monthly out of it. I also did not like the first issue especially the art but like I said, more than any other book out there right now you can really see from issue to issue Austin's story telling expand & become more focused. The book dealsw/ some very serious ratial issues & can be violent however last issue focusing on the training of a bunch of rookies in learning the War Machine armor was very funny. This is one of the best reads out there & the best part is that you only have to wait 1 week for the next issue not to mention it's only $1.50

MrN

Ok, now that I read a few of the books, some reviews....

Felon #1 - Interesting first issue. I don't if I should complain or be glad that so much story was covered already. Is this supposed to be a 3 issue mini?
Fury # 2 - Not as 'shocking' as the first one, but the main story is starting to emerge. I'll keep buying just because I like Ennis and Robertson.
Punisher - Decent. I like Ennis' first run on Punisher better. This one seems too much of a rethread. Wonder who the big mystery bad guy is?

A little aside here - I think marvel needs to space out their titles a little better. Last week they had like 1/2 their X-titles come out and this week both the Ennis books.

Anyway, now I'm starting to re-read my From Hell issues before the movie comes out.

Gamblor187

A few comments on the books I picked up....

Fury #2 - Ennis still tries to hard to shock, but at least it's not at the the expense of telling a story here. Nothing great (except for Robertson's art), but an entertaining read.

Felon #1 - I don't know what to think yet. It didn't do much for me, but it was only one issue. I think it'll take a few to really get going. I'll agree with Sessa17 that the artwork did seem like a less detailed Gary Frank. The art during the confrontation between Cassiday and Coop was especially poor. I had to go over it a few times before I fully understood what was going on.

Powers #14 - I feel pretty much the same way Sessa17 does. Anticlimactic and far too jokey.

Transmetropolitan #50 - Do not offend the chair leg of truth. It is wise and terrible.

I have also started reading "Safe Area Gorazde" by Joe Sacco and "David Boring" by Daniel Clowes, and I'm loving both of them. I also picked up both "Whiteout" TPBs but haven't started then yet.