Still recovering fro last week, so I'm glad this was a pretty light one.

Ultimate Spider-Man #20 - Is this book actually ahead of schedule??? There seems to be a new issue every 2-3 weeks.

Powers #18

Stray Bullets #24 My God! It's actually out on time!

Hawkman #1 - Two of my favorite writers (Geoff Johns and James Robinson) team up with a promising artist (Rags Morales) and a fine inker (Michael Bair) for the monthly return of one of my favorite characters. This title makes me feel like the ultimate fanboy. I actually let out a little excited gasp when I saw it on the shelf. It may be hard to live up to the hype, but they've definitely got enough talent on board to make this a good book.

Question Of The Week (Yep, it's back again.):

Here's a simple one that we haven't done yet. We've been through favorite heroes, favorite books, favorite writers and artists....Now it's time for favorite comic book villains!

My answers later.

We have been through favorite heroes/books/writers/artists? I don't ever remember answering any of those?

Anyway, decent week for me. Only read one book so far but I picked up. . .

Strange Killings #1 - Warren Ellis just makes me realize why I love comics. Like many believe there several incarnations of Alan Moore, there are 2 versions of Ellis. His brilliance on Planetary/Authority & such books & then there is sinister, perverted, very dark & horrific Avatar press Ellis. This book is the latter in all his evil glory. The premise alone is one I find quite interesting, William Gravel is a former S.A.S. agent now assigned to handle the truly disturbing events that take place that the S.A.S. could never let the public know about. This issue sucked me immediately sucked me in to the world of William Gravel with an ending that makes me shudder, yet cannot wait to find out who or what this man in the prison is.

Doom Patrol #6 - I say it every month, one of the best new titles to come out in years.

Alias #7 - I'm still enjoying this book as much as ever.

Uncanny X-men #404 - After reading probably thousands of comics over more than 15 years, I can now say a own the comic with the worst cover ever illustrated. Why on earth, on the best selling comic over the past decade can Marvel not get a top notch artist on this book?

Superman #180 - NOOOOOO!!! Liefeld. . . . I mean Churchill. I loathe this man's art, & I buy this book almost purely for McGuiness who seems to be getting more & more like Quitely, drawing an issue, then taking the next several off.

Powers #18 - Another book I enjoy as much as ever, & I'm looking forward to reading this almost all action issue for a change of pace.

G.I. Joe #4 - I know it's corny, Joe was by far my favorite toy growing up & what I had the most of & my all-time favorite cartoon as a kid, so I've really had fun reading this new mini-series.

Batgirl #26

Picked up some older stuff also:

Batman #600 - Everyone is talking about this at my store & DC went to a 2nd printing 2 hours after it was released. I'm not nor have I ever been a Batman fan, have not read any of this crossover(except for BoP & Batgirl only b/c I regularly get them), but I had to see what the hype was about. :eek :ee: Holy ***** this comic blew me away. Much like Action Comics #775 last year, where I'm not a Supes fan, this was one of the greatest single issues of a superhero comic I ever read, & possibly ever written. This is a mighty bold move by DC & I have no clue where they are going with this but it is truly a monumental move. This book will surely keep on creating hype & I think it actually may deserve it.

Rising Stars: Born in Fire TPB - I've only read Midnight Nation by JMS & I find it rather boring, so I've heard nothing but good things about this book so I figured I'd give the trade a shot. I haven't read it yet but I have no clue what it's about or expectations so hopefully I'll be surprised.

Answer of the week:

For me, unlike superheroes non really jump out as my favorite b/c to me they have to be done right. My favorite superheroes no matter how they are handled I'm still interested & enjoy them. But amongst my favorite are:

Magneto - Uncanny is my all-time favorite comic & the book that really got me into comics so if I had to choose just one its him. The best villains are complex & Magneto always walks a fine line between good & evil. A very enigmatic character who is really just too powerful so it takes a great writer to handle him correctly.

Thanos - He is the ultimate purely evil villain that just embodies every villain stereotype. He's just a fun villain & any time he pops up I usually enjoy the read.

Lex Luthor - Again when done right he is IMO the greatest villain in all of comics.

I feel like I'm missing one, but I can't think of it right now.

I'm pretty sure that we've been through all of those, haven't we? If not, I guess I won't have to put much thought into next week's "Question Of The Week".


Well, I'm not sure that I can bring myself to buy it, so could you post the big developments...using spoiler tags, of course.

By the way everyone, Geoff Johns first Flash story arc was supposed to be released as a TPB this week, but I haven't seen it. Even though I already have the single issues, I will not hesitate to pick it up. I give it my highest possible recommendation. Try to catch up on the story and pick up the next issue of what is, in my opinion, the best superhero book being published these days. Things have been building up to this for a long time, and I'm sure it won't disappoint. Check out the interview with Geoff Johns and artist Scott Kollins in the latest issue of Comic Shop News. There's even a couple of advance pages!

jim

If only my comic shop got CSN....<sigh>...

I picked up USPM #20, GI Joe #4, Savage Dragon #94, and Tangled Web #11 (from last week)...I haven't read 'em yet though.

For the question of the week, my favorite villian is Dr. Doom...though I'm not a Fantastic Four fan at all. I started collecting comics with Amaz. Spider-Man #359 and I gradually worked backwards to the wonder that was Amaz Spider-Man #350 (and later #349) - Spider-Man vs. Dr. Doom. Magneto (during the Jim Lee years) and Venom (until after Lethal Protector) also rank highly.

I actually picked up some single issues this week, based on a few "best of 2001" lists. (Is it too late to be discussing these things in mid-March?) The following list comprises some of my favorites:

Superboy #85

Joe Kelly did a good job handling two characters that could have worked disasterously together. I admit a soft spot for the Superboy character, I thought he was one of the high points in the Return of Superman story.

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #11

Don't ask - I liked it. Hated issue #9, which was another that came highly recommended, so I can't even tell if there's a pattern. Bendis does an amazing job changing his writing style from arc to arc in this series. I'm still hoping they keep cross-overs the hell out of the main Ultimate titles.

Defenders #6

The narration by Hulk really got me here. Yeah, I'm that stupid.

Flash #178

Ok, I didn't enjoy Iron Heights, but this one was interesting. As a side note (not a criticism), I didn't realize how violent comics had become. Apparently the only thing that qualifies for a parental advisory is vulgarity or nudity.

I couldn't find Action Comics #775 anywhere, so I'll have to wait for a collection to be released. Two other great issues from last year Ultimate Spider-Man #13 and Tangled Web #4 I read in collections, but don't want to pass up the opportunity to mention them here.

So, yeah, even when I review monthly issues, I don't quite fit in to the weekly thread. Ah, well...

Just picked up Cowboy Bebop #2.

Tuan Jim

Did that come out this week or last? I ask because I didn't see it this week and I didn't go last week....<sigh>

Best villain: Have to say, Dr. Doom is the best villain of all time. There's so many levels to his character and while I've seen some downright terrible Joker stories and Luthor stories and Magneto stories, I've noticed it's a lot harder to do a rotten Dr. Doom story. There's lots of MEDIOCRE stories with Doom out there but pound-for-pound I'd say he's comics' best villians.

One of my personal favorites, though, for some reason has always been Mysterio. I love all the classic Lee/Ditko Spidey villians and Mysterio's fishbowl spooky head always creeped me out. It's a shame he isn't in better stories though, most of his in the past decade have reeked. One of my favorite cliffhangers of all time was the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #199 one – anyone else fondly recall that? (Yeah, I know that came out around 1980 and half the people on this board probably weren't even born then – ah well)To quote the comic book guy, "Best Cliffhanger Ever!"

It's not a miniseries, it's ongoing.

-Brian

Actually it was solicited as a mini-series & is returning as an ongoing monthly since issue #5 has nothing to do with these 4 issues. The book was originally suppose to just be a 4 issue mini-series followed up by a bunch of one-shots but do to the enormous success it is the catalyst of a now ongoing series, plus the return of the Transformers, Micronauts, & although a different company probably the Ninja Turtles also.

Gamblor - Now I am the first to hate gimmicks but this was handled so well & what I like is that many of the bat books have actually been building up to this moment for the past couple of years.

Liquid Death - Bebop #2 came out last week.

Al - If you looking for some of the best issues of the last year, if you haven't already, you should really pick up the New X-men : E is for extintion trade.

A very slow week for me. In fact I picked up the Good Intentions TP because I'ld heard good things. The problem is that I didn't quite understand what the hell was going on. Anyone here know?

My two cents about Batman 600,

Good Intentions is the new Hellblazer TPB? If so, I have no idea, I was fairly lost near the end of the prison story arc (Hard Time, I think). Gamblor/Sessa cleared some of it up though

[QUOTE]Originally posted by madcougar
[B]A very slow week for me. In fact I picked up the Good Intentions TP because I'ld heard good things. The problem is that I didn't quite understand what the hell was going on. Anyone here know?

QUOTE]

Yeah I was confused about the whole backstory also, but I still enjoyed it. Liquid posted that I cleared up some of his confusion about the Hard Times story, but it wasn't me, Good Intentions was the first Hellblazer story I have ever read aside from a single issue. I wan't to try to get into Hellblazer but none of my friends read it so I don't know what trade is the one that will win me over. I'm going to try to find Hard times next or maybe the first Ennis trade.

Sorry, it was Sierra Disc I think... I'm easily confused by "S" names

Strangers in Paradise: I Dream of You

I started with the second volume in this series on the recommendation of many online reviews. Still, this story failed to connect for me. This is a character driven book, but I found myself not relating to the protagonists in a meaningful way. To exacerbate this problem, the antagonists were often less believable than your average super villian. Although I recognize that this is a very popular series, I have to give it a black ball.

The Waiting Place

This book often crosses the line from ordinary high school drama to Dawson's Creek level melodrama. I felt that the characters are well handled here, however, and I wound up enjoying this book despite the stigma attached to that. Yes, it's a soap opera, but it is an enjoyable read.

100 Bullets: Hang Up on the Hang Low

I still feel the first volume was particularly weak, and recommend people skip it to start with Split Second Chance. Azzerello continues to entertain, if not dazzle. This qualified as my favorite of the week and has me looking forward to the fourth book.

I picked up X-Men: E is for Extinction and will post my thoughts in the next thread. I'm not typically an X-Men fan, but I have been keeping up on the Ultimate X-Men series, via the Marvel web page. That series started off fairly strong, but the last few issues have been declining in quality. (Fortunately, they may have bottomed out with the Gambit story - I've heard the following issue is supposed to be pretty good.)

Favorite Villains....

Johnny (from "Miracleman") - I'm reluctant to say anything because I don't want to give anything away. One of the darkest and most tragic of comicbook villains, his transformation is one of my favorite comic moments.

The Corinthian ("Sandman") - The granddaddy of all serial killers.

Spanish Scott and Monster ("Stray Bullets") - The most violent and twisted characters in a book full of violent and twisted characters.

The Mist (Both versions from James Robinson's "Starman") - The geriatric alzheimer's-stricken original and the new version makes great foes for both Ted and Jack Knight. (I would also add The Shade from "Starman" to this list, but he's really neither villain nor hero in this series.)

Solomon Grundy - "Life is boring when you no can die."

I guess I should point out that I will be leaving internet-land for an extended time very soon. Thursday will be my last day of posting, and, thus, my last "This Week's Comics" thread. Perhaps someone else would like to start these threads every Thursday.

jim

Come back when you can - we'll miss ya Jim!

If no one starts the thread, I'll try to keep it going when I can

Sorry to here that Gamblor, don't know if this thread can survive without you. Hope you come back to start it once again.

Bummer, I have appreciated these threads. I'd try to do it myself but I only get my comics once-a-month from Westfield so I'm not really onto the weekly releases, but I do like taking part in the threads. Kudos for doing them as long as you have!