The Official Comic Book Thread for August!
 

Lots of great comic books coming out this month, both monthlies and graphic novels. But I thought I'd start off this thread with a cool little image from a guy named Ross....

http://www.dccomics.com/media/covers/4010_400x600.jpg

Anyone getting this book? Or better yet, anyone getting both covers?

Can't wait to check out Justice!

As to which cover, it entirely depends on which one they (DCBS) send me. :)

Actually, for me, it's issue #2 that really drew me in. The cover with the Riddler is amazing. Of course, I've been known to buy many comics for the covers alone. I do that often.

Wow -- I thought Justice wasn't starting until the fall. I'll definitely grab this.

Preordered Justice from DCBS as well - I'll have to try and find that Riddler cover for #2, I haven't seen it yet.

If that's not one wicked cool cover, I don't know what is. I mean, I'm buying it fo shizzle.

I haven't been to my comic shop in 3 weeks (soon to be 4). I just dread going anymore. I am thinking about dropping a few more titles from my pull list and only going every other month.

dadaluholla, what's so bad about your shop? is it the experience, or something else?

My shop is fine, and the guy who runs it is great...it's just every time I go and pick up my stuff I think "why am I paying all this money for this crap". And I do like the books I'm reading, I just really am losing that desire for comics that was there over the past years. So I probably will be dropping some more stuff, and just get the books that I can't do without like Punisher, Walking Dead, or Captain America....although with House of M popping it's ugly head into Cap, I hate to even buy that. But then THERE goes my run. And I'm such a completist. FEH!!!

And like Iron Man! I love Iron man as a character, I always have since I was a kid. I've got like near full runs of everything shellhead related... but when the book is only coming out 3 times a year, you start to get a little discouraged.

I hear ya, dadaluholla. I consider that the ebb and flow of being a collector and comic reader. Sometimes I think it's a waste of time and money. When I get like that, I just pull back a little. Maybe buy the books, but not read them for a few months. Just to back off. And then, out of no where, I'll read a really good story and I'll be drawn back into other comics too.

Sometimes it's discouraging, especially when you read a particular book for so long. It's hard to let go when it's too poorly done.

I'll start with a request [and a bigger look at the Justice cover ;)].

I've been waiting for my [occasionally] trusty comic shop owner to get me Wonder Woman 214, but he still hasn't done it. Don't know why.

Can someone help or point me in the right direction?

http://dccomics.com/media/covers/4317_400x600.jpg

Do you want WW#214 to fill in the gap in your collection or do you just want to read the story?

If you want to fill in the gaps, the only place I can find it among several sites is ebay. It's not going for a cheap price either.

If you just want the story, it's reprinted in the Prelude to Infinite Crisis tbp

http://www.midtowncomics.com/images/.../33523_ful.jpg

Yeah, I got that TPB.

Unfortunately, I need it to fill a gap. And, yeah, it's been that long that i've been waiting on him to get it..

Wow, what is it going for on the bay? I can't access it here at work.

Are all the Crisis tie in books selling well on ebay?

A NM auction with about 4 hours to go is up over $17 right now. There's also a Buy It Now for $19.95.

$20 for a book that just came out? Amazing. What's so special about it?


Anyone notice in Lying in the Gutter column that Rich claims GOTHAM CENTRAL will be called STREETS OF GOTHAM after issue 40? I hope that doesn't mean we'll have too many changes to the story.

I think its a Flash/WW IC tie-in book - its on Wizards "Hype" List.

As for Streets of Gotham, I'm thinking a creative team change - I thought that was rumored before?

As for the ebb and flow, I know all too well about that - I'll read a stack of comics about once a month and not really have any desire to any other time. A lot of that stems from the quality of the books going downhill on my pull list (a lot of Bendis titles - which individually, are ok - but read in a row can start to feel similiar, Amaz Spidey, Supreme Power). However, I cut a few titles and starting catching up on my Vertigo books and I think I'll keep collecting ;) Sometimes, you just have to read the <i>right</i> books - Fables, Y, 100 Bullets, back issues of Preacher & Transmet - those are amazing.

Hey James (and others)

I was catching up on the features I hadn't read on your site and was wondering if there was a plan for some sort of listing of "the best graphic novels you haven't read." (perhaps a party of five question even though those tend to be a bit more business related). To put it simply, with all these crossovers happening I have found the time to read a lot more graphic novels and I've pretty much cleaned out my cbs's recommendations at this point. It might be interesting to hear what some of the folks who have written for your site think are the best lesser known graphic novels (or trades).

Posted in the forum rather than via e-mail in case anyone wants to pipe in with their list.

Put it in this thread because the comics coming out in August are why I am reading more graphic novels.

Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I do have a Party of Five question waiting in the can about the best graphic novels, and we do have a new column starting shortly about classic must read graphic novels (but most of these will most likely be well known for this classic status).

I'll pass the idea around to my crew to see what we can come up with. I definitely like the idea of having a regular column about great books you've never read.

This may be a stupid question, but way back in the day I used to "subscribe" to a number of comics direct from Marvel/DC. At first it wasn't cool because the copies would come in brown paper FOLDED OVER, but then they started mailing them flat and I seem to remember it was a good deal.

Does no one do this anymore? Is it not even offered? Is it all pull lists and such now?

We had this discussion a few months ago. They still offer it, but I think few if any of us on this board actually use it. For one thing, to fit it in my mailbox, they'd have to fold it. Even if they didn't, unless they reinforced every issue, I'm sure it would come in much less than mint condition. You're stuck buying the series for the year, even if creators change all of a sudden. If you're not paying attention, you'll probably miss any comics that cross over with the series you collect.

If you don't like going to comic stores, there are a few mailorder companies that have you order a few months in advance, then ship your order to you as it comes in (monthly, weekly, whatever, depending on how much you want to pay for shipping). Discounts are usually in the 35% range or higher. The two most often mentioned here seem to be dcbservice and mailordercomics (the latter of which is what I use).

I started subscribing through Marvel a couple years ago when they had all of their subscriptions for half off. That was an especially good deal considering all their subscription prices were based on a 2.25 comic, but most of their comics are 2.99. They always have a special on their website, but the current deal isn't as good as it used to be.

One annoying thing is you can only subscribe to certain titles. The comics usually aren't in very good condition, but I don't care too much about that. One kind of cool thing is occasionally you'll get a comic early, but most of the time they come late. I don't think DC does subscriptions anymore.

Hmm... my graphic novel tastes tend to skew mainstream superheroes and manga. For mainstream superheroes, I think Marvel's doing a great job with their Visionaries line: Byrne's FF, Simonson's Thor, Miller's Daredevil, David's Hulk are all classics. I admit, I'm not as enamored with the ones that tend to skip around, and some of the stories are pretty basic (the Perez FF one not only skipped around to just the issues he did, but had some pretty bad stories). I'm not sure how they're doing in the market, but I hope they're doing well enough.

I don't hear all that much about ABC anymore, but I've been picking up Tom Strong lately (I love Sprouse), and catching up on Promethea. Top Ten was great.

In non superhero stuff, I still enjoy Usagi Yojimbo, even after all these years. Speaking of Sakai, I'd buy any new Groo collections they came out with...

So...i'll start. Small week [thank god]. Picked up [but haven't read]:

• Wildsiderz 1 - I'm thinking issue number 2 will be out sometime next year.
  
• Stupid Comics 3
  
• Detective Comics 809
  
• X-Men Unlimited 10
  
• Marvel Team-Up 11
  
• Justice 1 [Both gorgeous covers]
  
• Superman 220
  
• JSA 76
  
• Firestorm 16
  
• Marvel Adventures Spider-Man 6
  
• Ultimate Spider-Man 81
  
• Uncanny X-Men 463
  
• New Avengers 8

How is Firestorm lately? I dropped the title after the first five issues, but I've always liked the character and I like ChrisCross. How did that whole crossover with the original Firestorm work?

I just discovered this thread last month so thanks for the info. Right now I'm still sticking with the trades just because I don't trust my self-control and have cash-flow and storage-space issues.

I'm still reading it. :up: I like it.

At first Jason(FS's new host) couldn't become Firestorm unless he combined with another person. Ronnie, who was killed by The Shadow Thief in IDENTITY CRISIS had somehow come back and they shared Firestorm for a few issues. They could become The NEW Firstorm controlled by Jason with mental access to Ron, and they could switch to the OLD Firestorm with mental access to Jason. Firestorm had different abilites under each host. Jason could apparently do some new things that Ron had never been able to do. Ron was guiding Jason in his new Hero path.

Well around issues 11 - 13 a character called Cliff Carmicheal led an attack on FS with two other metahumans(DC superbeings) and by issue 13, Ron's spirit had begun to disappear and by the end Jason was on his own. Jason ended up going to Ron's parents to tell them what happened so they could have closure to Ron's death.

Now, out of respect for Ron, Jason has incorporated aspects of the original costume into his Firestorm persona( the flared shoulders, original colors, etc)and now it's easier to become FS and he doesn't have to combine with anyone to do it. But he's still learning about his new powers....

I hope that made sense. i'm kinda going off of memory.....

well i just got a big box of books from DCBS so here's what i have read so far:

Superman/Batman: Absolute Power-not too bad but not as good as the previous two.

Captain America-Winter Soldier-really good read. if they end up bringing you know who back i will be shocked but i can't imagine them really doing it. i think.

all star batman and robing #1-nice jim lee art with vicky vale but otherwise pretty blah. if i would've paid full price for this i would've been pissed. i will wait for the inevitable trade for the rest.

Y the Last Man vol. 5- once again, a great read. not as good as some of the previous ones, but still good. i am not sure if the supposed explanation for yorick surviving is true, but if it is it seems kinda lame.

i also haveThe Invinciblesto read too so that should be good.

I like it too. Somewhat.

Firestorm was one of the very first comics I started reading, so i'll always have a soft spot for Ronnie. When they brought him back after IC, I was hoping he'd be sticking around. As far as Jason's concerned, he's okay and reminds me a lot of Kyle Rayner.

Oh, and Chriscross hasn't been on the book for a couple of issues. Igle's art is similar and just as good, though.

Yeah, Firestorm has always been on of my faves too. Plus, Ron may be back but who knows. He did imply that his leaving Jason may not be the end...

I also hope things change for Jason in terms of him becoming more confident and more of a hero. I also hope that someone in the <b>JLA</b> will take him under their wing because they're very much aware of him and are currently "monitoring him" according to what Batman and Martin Manhunter told him early on.

"JUSTICE" #1 related...not sure if it's a spoiler but I wasn't sure so I did just in case.

Wait! Wait! Wait! You mean to tell me....

giantrobo: It's been revealed before, see here:

http://www.eskimo.com/~tegan/aqua/bios/manta.html

I always thought he just had an enormous Stewie-like head or something...

Hey! Quick question: Do you know who is taking over Wolverine after the current Millar/Romita run???

I'm thinking of dropping it. THANKS.

I forget...but two chimpanzees, a hippopotamus and an elephant could probably write a better story than this whole HYDRA mess [keep JRJR, though].

And 'robo, besides being a BROTHA, he likes thick women too! ;):p

Nobody picked up my buddy Alex Robinson's new book, Tricked?

Has it been released? I have had it on order with my local shop and they didn't have it when I stopped by today.

James I'm about to send you an email.

Been down the beach for the past couple of weeks, so I haven't read too much, but here is what I picked up this week.

First off the single best comic of 2005 came out & I haven't even seen a mention of it, which is very dissapointing.

Top Ten: The 49ers Original Hardcover Graphic Novel - An absolutely flawless, perfect comic, which believe me, is something I rarely say. Top Ten is my favorite thing Alan Moore ever did, & this prequel shows again, IMO how it just can't be argued that Moore is the greatest writer the industry has ever seen. Nobody can write a comic with the depth & layers Moore does, and put so much personality into each & every character. There is SO much going on in this book, it is lighthearted, yet complex, so much subtlety in the humor, a great mystery yet also a romance & like Top Ten you just care so much about every character because the dialogue is so amazing. And the art by Gene Ha is the exact same way, like Top Ten there is just so much going on in the art, you just won't see a better looking comic all year, it truly is a thing of beauty.

And the rest of my haul on a pretty light comic book week . . .

Serenity #2 - All 3 covers just to support anything Firefly.

Aquaman #33 - Yup, I am actually the only person in the world that reads this.

DC Special The Return Of Donna Troy #3 - Worth it just for the art.

Detective Comics #809 - War Games sucked in all kinds of ways. Pretty pissed that one of the best Batman stories in years is interupted for this.

Gotham Central #34 - Favorite DC comic.

JSA #76

Superman #220 - Lovin' the new creative teams.

Secret Files Batman Rogues Gallery Mr Freeze Action Figure - B/c I'm a big dork & love the way this Freeze figure looks.

Shaun Of The Dead #2

Artxilla Tasty Treats 2005 One Shot - I love art, & this has some kick ass sketches. Great book.

Marvel Team-Up #11

New Avengers #8

Uncanny X-Men #463 - I haven't been reading House of M b/c the first 2 issues sucked to much to stand anymore, so I'm pretty confused here. But Uncanny has been near unreadable for quite some time anyway.