What comics are your reading this month? (April '07)
 

New month new thread. I stopped by the funny book store after work & had this nice pile waiting for me today. Haven't had a chance to read much of anything yet. . . .

52 Week #48

Detective Comics #831

Jack Of Fables #9

Jonah Hex #18 - Gonna miss Noto's art on this.

Justice League Of America #7

American Virgin #13 - Almost was going to drop this series, but the last few issues have really picked up & the last page on this one was one of the biggest WTF moments I've seen in a while.

Midnighter #6

Nightwing #131

Scalped #4 - Quickly becoming one of my favorite comics. All issues are easily available, support this book. Don't wait for the trade.

Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #28

Supergirl #16

Superman Batman #33

Superman #661

Welcome To Tranquility #5

Batman Black & White Series Original Mini Statue By Matt Wagner - Best line of statues EVER! Wagner draws maybe my favorite Batman ever, this is such a sweet statue. But I'm pissed they raised the price on these things. There is no reason for it.

Annihilation Heralds Of Galactus #2 Silver Surfer Firelord - Can't get enough of this epic. I cannot wait for the sequel.

Fallen Son Death Of Captain America

Immortal Iron Fist #4 - Really, really diggin' this series. Also surprised by how good the art has been.

Incredible Hulk #105 - Brings a tear to the eye knowing this is the last issue of Planet Hulk.

Irredeemable Ant-Man #7 - Really hope the Mighty Avengers tie-in boosts sales a bit. This book is so damn good it is such a shame this is literally Marvel's lowest selling comic. Yet, that doesn't surprise me at all. This is the ultimate example of how waiting for a trade, just to save a few measly $s will kill a quality comic.

Ms Marvel #14

Runaways #25 - Man, the art was such a HUGE reason why this book was so great & unique. The new artist is so bland. As for the story, equally as bland, actualy bordering on just plain bad.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #2 - First thing I read. The art blows beyond beliefe, but I'm enjoying the story more than I thought.

Savage Tales #1 - The last thing I need is a $5 do add to my pull list, but I've always had a soft spot for old-school magazine-style anthologies. And damn if thay Suydam cover is F'm amazing.

And believe it or not, I actually showed a great deal of restraint today not buying the Absolute Long Halloween, especially once I had it handed to my b/c it looks so F'n amazing & I have ever single Absolute put out so far. But actually I never really liked the series that much. The art is amazing so I may still pick it up one day, but it's not a series I can see myself re-reading & I actually do read all of my Absolutes.

I already droped that title at #10 can you tell me what happened? In spoilers of course. :)

:up: Loving this book also.

I'm about a third of the way into Alice in Sunderland and it is sooooooooo good.

I also picked up book one of The Secret History which I found to be pretty entertaining. It's a French Comic that has just been translated into English, with art by Igor Kordey. Cool stuff.

Right now:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

My haul the past 2 weeks:

Wonder Woman #6 - This issue marks the first part of Jodi Picoult's run as writer, and it really shows. The story isn't bad, it's just that it seems like we're back at the beginning again. Diana isn't Wonder Woman, Agent Prince has been assigned to bring in Wonder Woman, and Circe is the villainess in all this. Didn't we just see all of that in Heinberg's run? I don't blame Jodi for this as much as I do the editorial staff at DC. They clearly lost control of the Heinberg situation and brought in Jodi to try and stop the bleeding. That being said, it's not a bad issue. Drew Johnson's artwork is solid and there are some decent ideas throughout. I am looking forward to Amazons Attack, so I will continue to read the book.

Action Comics #847 I wasn't expecting much here seeing as this was a fill-in issue, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The artwork was surprisingly good - very much reminiscient of Tony Harris' work on Ex Machina. The story was also pretty good - it's a standalone, but it also ties briefly into what was happening with Johns's and Donner's run when we left off.

Superman Confidential #4 Another solid issue from Cooke and Sale. Good old-fashioned fun Supes comics. I'm on board as long as Cooke and Sale are.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #2 Awesome, awesome issue. I loved finally seeing some of the Scoobies and the cliffhanger ending is just great. The artwork leaves a lot to be desired, but I don't care as long as the story is this damn good.

JLA #7

Dark Tower #3 I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but the artwork in this is just the best stuff being done today. This book carries my highest recommendation.

Omega Flight #1 I picked this up with a lot of trepidation that was founded upon reading the issue. It's a 5 issue limited series so I expected a nice paced team book, but what I got was yet another typical first issue team book. Members being selected, minimal interaction between 2 of the members(and 3 of them don't even make an appearance!). I will give this book one more issue and if it doesn't improve then consider it dropped.

Yes! A non-spandex book. Yeee haw.


What about Elk's Run? You should all run out and get this book. And not just because my name is listed on the last page...it's a great read.

Fortunately that was already in my bin waiting for me. Elk's Run is being highly recommended at the shop I frequent.

Actually, I have never read any Los Bros Hernandez stuff and have been meaning to do so for about 15 years now. Where would people suggest I start? Heartbreak Soup? Maggie the Mechanic? Somewhere else entirely?

You, my friend, are what many would call, The Man. :up:

Well, there's always the good idea of starting from the beginning and just reading them in chronological order. But with these new "character arc" style of books out, you might want to just try one out and see what you think. If you dig it, dive in from the beginning.

Oh, sure. Get all excited over Love & Rockets, but ignore my glowing recommendation for Alice in Sunderland. :p

Alice in Sunderland is Bryan Talbot's latest graphic novel, published in the U.S. by Dark Horse and in the U.K. by Jonathan Cape. Sunderland is a port city in Northeastern England, and through a combination of original artwork, photographs, existing drawings, maps, paintings, and just about everything else, Talbot examines the history of the area, in particular its cultural history, and especially its connection to Lewis Carroll. The book is a stream of consciousness ride through art, literature, culture, and history that seamlessly jumps from the Jabberwocky to the Bayeaux Tapestry to British comedian Sid James to the Roman Empire to Coleridge to the Venerable Bede to coal miners and back to Lewis Carroll -- always back to Lewis Carroll.

The book is absolutley fascinating. Each page is deep, and you could spend hours just immersing yourself in the illustrations. But the narrative moves along so compellingly that you don't (at least, not on a first read-through) because you are too anxious to see where Talbot will take you next on your journey through his mind.

Ultimately -- and I say this with reservation because I've still got about 50 pages to go in the book -- Alice in Sunderland is the story of human creativity, as filtered through the prism of a particular English city. It is gorgeous, it is lush, it is compelling. The book is highly recommended, and on a scale of 1 through 10, I give it 23 stars.

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/12/12491.jpg

Sounds good. My understanding -- someone correct me if I'm wrong -- is that the Jaime stuff is separate from the Gilbert stuff. So this means that there are really two "beginings" -- one group of stories that starts with Heartbreak Soup and goes from there, and another group of stories that starts with Maggie the Mechanic.

What the heck. I'll probably buy both and pick up the second volume of either or both if I like them.

JLA #7 pulled me back in. It's almost too cheesy in how nostalgic the book is, but I don't know - it worked for me. Which is a good thing considering the upcoming cross over between JLA and JSA. I like Meltzer, and I'm coming around on the team, but I'm still not crazy about him being the one to set up the new status for the JLA when he's gone in 12 issues. Unless he's working closely with the guy or gal who is going to follow him up. Not to say he's ruining the JLA or anything. He's put enough pieces in play to make it work, I'm just never going to be a fan of a relaunch being done by a writer who isn't going to stick around for long.

Incredible Hulk 105 wasn't really that strong this week. The issue was fine, but Planet Hulk was already essentially over and this ish worked more as a prologue to WWH. Those last few pages though...it's like I could hear the war drums beating in my head. I am pumped to see Hulk smash some heads.

I've been rereading Brubaker's run on Captain America and it is just insane how tight this series is. If and when they get around to a Cap movie I wish they could just do this. Maybe as the 2nd and 3rd in a trilogy, to set up the Bucky stuff.

I'm also reading my very first manga. It's a bit of a cheat as it is based off of an anime I already love, R.O.D. The TV. The manga is Read or Dream and it's a really sweet/adorable read. It's nothing earth shattering, but it's a nice collection of one and done stories. I like it, but I think a lot of that is coming from me being familiar with this world already and these stories just expanding that which I already like a bit more.

Dang, I think you sold me

Did it pick up after the first book? I wasn't too impressed with it and only ever bought issue #1.

"a" non-spandex book? -confused- I posted 5 I picked up this week alone & they get no discussion or praise, just people saying how they gave up on 2 of them.

Maybe you have to post pictures?

Oh, hi Sessa, when did you get here?

:lol:

Sorry man, I have selective reading sometimes when I'm at work. I just read the most recent post and went from there. You know you have great taste. :up:

Mechanics is separate from Heartbreak Soup. I love both of them but here's a brief and intentionally vague summary of both (don't want to spoil anything for you).

Mechanics focuses on Maggie & her friends in an odd futuristic yet not universe (there's rockets, flying cars, and dinosaurs).

Heartbreak focuses on the Mexican town of Palomar and the trials and tribulations of its inhabitants.

The thing that's great about both of the series is that the Gilbert & Jaime created characters that you really care about. I lean slightly towards HBS but love both series.

I don't have a problem with the art most of the time, but some of the characters are unrecognizable. If not for the pop culture-centric rant, I'd have no idea that that was Andrew, and I didn't realize that was supposed to be Amy for a couple of panels.

Surprisingly, even though I was at the local comic store within an hour and a half of opening on Wednesday, the second issue of Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness had already sold out. I had to make a trip to another store to find it. A better read than the first now that the story's set up, freeing it up to just throw in a bunch of gags and gut-munching jokes. Um, heckuva cliffhanger too.

LSH is always reliable, even if it's one of the less addictive comics I'm reading at the moment. Kind of a drag that the Waid/Kitson run is quickly coming to an end.

I didn't even bother to pick this book up in the first place. I hated Identity Crisis (for a huge list of reasons, many of which had nothing to do with rewriting history), and I hate Brad Meltzer's holier-than-thou writing style. That and he doesn't plan to stay long. I mean I liked the last run of the JLA until the end of Kelly's run. After that it felt like an extremely weak, misdirected book.

I thought this issue really really sucked. I loved the story so far. It reminded me of a lot of old Jack Kirby/Walt Simonson stories. Here is where the plot takes a huge misstep and decides to just wrap it all up in a matter of pages. If anything, WWH is just going to be a disaster. The thing that made Planet Hulk great is that it shielded itself from the rest of the stupidity of the Marvel Universe.

I'm just glad he hasn't done any "OMG MY PATRIOTISM IS UNFOUNDED" stories yet. *crosses fingers*

isn't it Read or Die?

No feedback on Scalped? I was genuinely curious to see if fans of it saw an increase in quality from the first issue onwards.

My only purchase last week was Jack of Fables #9. I'm really enjoying this series. Other than that and The Walking Dead (and the soon-to-return The Boys), there's not much on my radar right now.

How do you mean exactly? That it just comes across too self important?

I think I got bored around Kelley's run, but Morrison to Waid's JLA was a rocking good time. The only thing that hurt that book for me was the wishy washy art. Morrison's JLA was near perfect in what I want from that book, but I'll take the "drama" that Meltzer is serving up for now.


You think it's going to suck? I don't know, if they go in doing what I hope they're going to do, the main story should be entertaining at least. I sure hope it is. I don't get how they can have so many tie ins on what appears to be a pretty straight forward story, but I'm never much for those anyway. JRJR drawing Hulk vs Black Bolt? Yeah, sign me up. -wink-


Nope. The manga dealing with the paper sisters is called Read or Dream. The manga dealing with Yomiko "The Paper" Readman is Read or Die. The show with the sisters is ROD the TV and the original movie with The Paper is Read or Die, but goes by ROD. That's my understanding.

Allstar Supes #7 this week! It feels like it's been ages, but one of the few books that is definitely worth the wait. I see a HC is coming out, which seems odd. A lot of us are HC suckers around here, but I don't like HC's coming out with 6 issues to a 12 issue story. Well I guess I don't not like it, I just don't see the point in buying them. Plus who doesn't think ASS is going to be fast tracked into an absolute? Yeah, I can wait.

Got my monthly shipment and started reading:

52 weeks 44-47: Lots of stuff happens, so I can't complain about that. I still think this book would be excruciating if I read it week to week, and now I'm afraid that I'll miss out on a chunk of the story because I didn't order the World War books. Speaking of which, how was the Fate stuff last month? Anything happen?

Buffy: Got this because it was discounted and hyped, but I really won't get around to reading it until after I watch all the seasons, and I'm still on season 1. So I guess I'm waiting for the trade for this one.

Chinese Hero vol. 1: tales of the blood sword: What can I say, I loved this book when the now defunct Jademan published it back in the late 80's early 90's. Disappointing but understandable that they didn't start from the very beginning. I love Kung Fu comics, and wish they would keep on releasing Storm Riders...

Empowered GN: Eh, I like Adam Warren, though I won't get to this soon

Ex Machina v. 5: I don't think I even read volumes 3-4 yet. Have to dig them up.

Fables v. 4: I've decided to start some series that I've always wanted to read but never found the time for, so I'm getting a Fables volume a month. After that, I think I'm going with the rest of Promethea.

Justice League of America 6: Gruesome issue, but without re-reading the whole thing in one sitting, I'm still kinda confused what the purpose of this whole arc was.

Justice Society of America 4:

Spider Man Loves Mary Jane vol 1 HC: I like manga, I like Spidey, and this book comes highly recommended

Supergirl 15: yeah, I'm still getting this, mainly because I'm hoping the next writer will have something decent. It still feels like they're condensing the story into less issues to finish Loeb's run. This whole Apokolips plot, is that something they've mentioned in other books, or will that be revealed in Countdown?

Teen Titans 44

Wonder Woman 5, 6: need to dig up the other four issues so I can remember what was goingon

And got the following because they were heavily discounted and I'll try anything for under a buck:

After the Cape 1
Grifter Midnighter 1
Mighty Avengers 1

Yeah, I think that trade a month routine is the way to go. There are so many series I've yet to read that I haven't gotten to. I need to make a list and just work my way down.