Ahhh...glad to see Marvel is trying to bring back the good 'ol Image production/shipping schedule..

Granted, Joey Q might have an excuse with "Father", but their big mega-event "Civil War"? Nah. Not only that, but there were two "crossovers" that I got which came out this week (New Avengers and Iron Man). It would be nice to know how those books fit in the continuity..

Also, I would appreciate it greatly if someone would translate the latest Astonishing X-Men for me.. For a second there, I thought Morrison was writing it again..

I loved that story btw. Save for the bit that had Iron Man and Cap, it read pretty much like a Sword and Sorcery book (something I usually don't care much for). Oeming is really turning into something special on the writing side of things.

About the only thing I clearly understood from it was that beer makes you all better.

Was that the Thor Disassembled thing?

I'm pretty sure it was but would have to dig the issues out to confirm. It was the end of the series, if that helps.

anyone buying these new ec archives sets?
i've been putting off buying the large black & white hardcover sets. but i'm not so sure i want to wait so long to get everything. tales from the crypt vol2 doesnt come out until next june. it may be cheaper for me to buy the large sets on ebay but while i like the B/W art, i think i would prefer the smaller colour reprints. anyone bought the weird science one? what dya reckon?

Squadron Supreme - nice knock-out, drag-out fight for the entire issue. Was pleasantly surprised to see Gary Frank doing the artwork, but I suspect it was his last issue on the title for now.

Astonishing X-Men - pretty twisted issue at times, and a bit confusing, more about the group of X-Men being confused mentally and being used as pawns.

52 Week 28 - so what does Red Tornado have to do with "52"? Hmm... The subplot with Animal Man, Starfire, Adam Strange and Lobo bouncing around the galaxy is leaving me cold.

Birds of Prey 100 - the team gets some new blood (love some of the "no way in hell am I'm accepting Oracle's invitation" scenes). Black Canary and Sin's story provided some character development for Dinah and her own relationship with her mother.

Civil War 5 - So were the delays worth it? Probably not for this setup issue for the home stretch. Spidey appears to have a change of heart, albeit maybe a little too late for undone the harm he's done to his loved ones quality of life (practically forcing them into a witness protection life of subterfuge and evasion).

Holdover from previous week:

Agents of Atlas 4 - I get this mainly because I know the writer, but I think my unfamiliarity is limiting my enjoyment of this miniseries, but it's not a bad read, just sometimes the storytelling/background goes too quick for this reader.

I think these archives look awesome. I've been spending way too much on HCs lately, though, so I'm holding off. Just so much to choose from these days, it's hard to decide sometimes.

Well, I finished THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN, and I must admit that I'm not a total convert yet. Close, perhaps, but not quite. The unfortunate thing is that the last couple of issues in the collection didn't really do much for me. The cat one, the Shakespeare, the shapeshifter. I understand that every series will have some down spots for particularl readers, but it's unfortunate that for me, the collection ended on a down note, so now I'll question whether or not I want to get the next $100 set.

At first, I liked the idea that there are a lot of single-story issues, but I think I would've rather seen a narrative running through them all to connect them a little better. After reading 20 issues, I don't feel that I'm any farther along in a story. I've been entertained, but I haven't felt like I'm going from A to B to C. All the stories that were linear were my favorites. Sure, I enjoyed some of the stand-alone issues, but when reading in a collection, they didn't do much for me.

Y'know, it's damn near heresy, but I didn't really care for the Shakespeare Sandman issue. I'm not really into Shakes, I like to see the plays performed but that is wear it ends, and I think a lot of the subtlties went over my head. Granted I've only read it once, so maybe upon a second reading I will like it better? It's funny because I went to see that played performed in high school (10 years ago) and the play had a real impact on me. Showing me the power of the theatre and shit.

I really like the stand alone ish where Morpheus meets up with that guy every 100 yrs though. That was cool.

I understand the feeling. I would guess that it's because, unlike pretty much any series before it, Sandman involved a writer that had a plan of where he wanted to begin and how he wanted to end. Everything in between is just leading up to the grand finale.

I think you'll get a better feeling of continuity as you progress, and see how Gaiman drops such seemingly insignificant happenings in one issue, only for you to find out they were harbingers of major events to come.


The Dolls House, as I said before, set up so many story arcs...

1. Barbie, a bit player in The Doll's House, becomes a central character in A Game Of You.

2. The story at the beginning of Doll's House (Nada's story, the woman Dream talked to when he went to hell to retrieve his helm) is a starting-off point for Season of Mists.

3. It introduces the plot point that Desire is eager to trick Dream into spilling "family blood" and to accept the consequences that go with it. This concept is further explored in the one-shot special "Orpheus," about the child of Dream and Caliope (the muse from one of the standalone issues) and in the story arc "Brief Lives," where Delirium persuades Dream to go on a quest to find Destruction, the 7th member of the endless. Destruction gave up his duties and abandoned his realm. Thus, since he was not killed, no new aspect of Destruction has come to take on his duties.

4. Lyta Hall & her child, which Dream says he has a claim to since it was born in The Dreaming, become a focal point for The Kindly Ones, the last major story arc.

Aw, I see. So this is just a giant tapestry that will become one giant story by the end of the series? I'm down with that.

Yep, that's pretty much it. The story goes that when DC asked Gaiman to do a series, he basically said there were a few conditions that had to be met for him to accept.

1. Total creative control. No being told that he has to do a crossover, etc.

2. The story ends when he says it does. He knew how he wanted to begin things, and he knew how the story would end. He had a good idea of how he would get from point A to point B, but didn't know how long it would take.

3. When the story was done, it was DONE. Neil would be done writing it, and DC would not bring in a new writer to continue the series (although he did agree to them doing one-shots about other characters from the series)

Well, then consider me on board for the next Absolute edition.

Which actually brings me to another question. How does everyone here decide what to buy? Sounds like a silly question, but with so many products these days, and with so many collections jumping in price, I'm interested in your thought process. I mean, there's monthlies and collections and hard covers and oversized hardcovers and cheap B&W reprints. I noticed that my roughly $100 budget each month is getting me fewer and fewer books, and if anyone has a strategy to maximize their purchases, please let me know.

I'm actually shocked anyone would spend $100/AbsSandman (sure, there are discounted sources, but it's still pricey) without never having read the series (plus they are available in TPB for the price of roughly 1.5 AbsSandman volumes.

I know I mention Mike Grell's Warlord in this thread about twice a year, but that would make a nice Absolute Edition.

Having read Birds of Prey 99 & 100, I'm ok with the changes so far. Final word will come once the new team is situated, but so far I'm digging things. And the backup story was great.

Now what I'm not digging is the art. There were a couple of panels where the girls looked like drag queens and that just doesn't work for me. It doesn't need to be a T&A book, but the art on the last couple of issues was pretty bad (save for the backup story - that guy was great, looked a lot like Terry Moore's art).

Makes me want to read some Manhunter.

I'd take any kind of collection for that. I love that series.

Don't underestimate the power of the recon. Or the Deus Ex Machina

Mike Grell's Warlord wins the "Why the Hell Isn't This In Print" Award (DC Edition). The Marvel winner is Satrlin's Warlock.

Manhunter is great! Everyone should read it!

We are talking about the Goodwin/Simonson stories from the 70s, right?

I think Civil War would be working out much better if they had a better sense of continuity. I'm really getting sick of things like this week's Amazing Spider-Man, which should have been out last week or the week before in terms of story.

Haven't posted my weekly haul for a while so since I have the day off, here is what I picked up today:

52 WEEK #29 - I know a lot of people have been complaining about 52 but aside from the shoddy art, I'm still diggin' the series. Yeah it's slow but so what it's a weekly comic. I think it's more for the hardcore DC fan than the average reader.

ACTION COMICS #845 - Donnner, Bizarro, that's enough for me.

BOYS #5 - Damn I love this book, this has become my new Planetary. Most of my comics just pile up until I have time to read them, but this has become my book that I just have to read the second I get it.

CASANOVA #6 - One of the many brilliant books I read & love every month that abslolutely nobody else seems to buy.

CONAN #34 - So behind on this books, but it's never bad.

DAREDEVIL #91 - Marve's best superhero comic since the best writer in comics took over.

DRAIN #1 - I'll give it a shot.

ELEPHANTMEN #0 - see Casanova.

GODLAND #14 - See Elephantmen. This one is actually like The Boys, I just love this book so much & nobody seems to read this. BUY THE TRADES PEOPLE, this is one of the most unique comics out there & such fun for a true comic fan. The best work of Joe Casey's underrated career.

HAWKGIRL #58

HEROES FOR HIRE #4 - I actually think this is a fun series. Doomed to an early cancellation though.

JACK OF FABLES #5 - Haven't read a single issue yet, but anything Fables is sure to be good.

JOHN WOOS SEVEN BROTHERS #2 - First issue was good enough for me to see where this is going.

JSA CLASSIFIED #19 - Woo Hoo, Rags Morales art.

NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS HC - Thought Morrison's run fell apart towards the end, but the Quietely issues alone were IMO the greatest X-men comics ever created.

NOBLE CAUSES #25 - Probably the best superhero team comic being published today & I think my sale is the only sale this comic has.

RUNAWAYS #22 - Well, actually this is probably the best team comic.

SAM NOIR SAMURAI DETECTIVE #3 - Look at the title. "Samurai Detective", am I the only one that is sold just on that concept.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL 1 TP - AWESOME!

STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #10 - Really diggin' this book. Very underrated series.

USAGI YOJIMBO #98 - How can anyone not read Usagi.

WALKING DEAD #32 - Same with this book.

WOLVERINE #48 - Man this book sucks right now. Maybe it's because I'm not reading Civil War. I can't stand Humberto Ramos' art.

WONDER WOMAN #3 - Haven't read 1 or 2 yet.

X-FACTOR #13

Y THE LAST MAN VOL 8 KIMONO DRAGONS TP - Can't wait to read this. This & 100 Bullets are the only comics I read in trade form.

Better late than never.