What comics are you reading this November?
 

This week:

JSA #10

This has been DC's consistently best superhero book. Not a single trade isn't worth picking up, and the storytelling never got spotty. Nothing less than brilliant.

Which made this issue a really tenuous read for me. I wasn't that big on Infinite Crisis; seeing Kal-L in the first issue really got me pumping but the whole thing reeked of being rushed and cobbled together. I loved Kingdom Come - the meta-comic factor worked wonderfully. So I felt every page turn was just going to bring disappointment. What I loved about this story though, was that it really got to the core of the KC Superman. He's not any less idealistic; it's just that the world he lives in is no longer ideal. He's more powerful than Earth-1 Superman, but he's more vulnerable. He's faster than a speeding bullet but his past is chasing him down constantly.

I loved this issue.

I picked up the following this week:

Action Comics #858 - Absolutely loved it. The art is great and I can't wait to see where this goes.
Annihilation Conquest Quasar #4
Batman #670 - Interesting start to this crossover. I've loved the whole Damian arc and I'm looking forward to more.
Daredevil Annual #1
Dynamo 5 #8
Justice Society Of America #10 - Interesting start, but I was expecting a bit more. We didn't really get a lot of story here, I felt.
Trials Of SHAZAM #9 - Another fun issue. I just wish this series would finish already.
Ultimate Power #8
X-Men Messiah CompleX One Shot

I disagree. I found the Lightning Sage to be awful. Granted, a lot of that could be my complete lack of knowledge of the Legion, but that doesn't change the fact that I completely tuned out during that whole story. Outside of that though, you're right, JSA has been awesome. I too was a bit nervous to see how Johns could make this work, but he has so far. I think what is most telling is that the Kingdom Come Superman came off cooler and more interesting in one single issue than Superman proper. I think it is the gray temples. -wink-

I also read Gotham Underground on a whim and was surprised how much I enjoyed the issue. I LOVE Batman and that section of the DC universe, but most of that love has come from the cartoon and not the comics, so I don't really bother to read too much Batman stuff. However, this issue was hitting all the right notes. It had a good number of the rogues, most of the Bat Family, some crime bosses...it was like a survey of Gotham. In an odd way, it's kind of like the 52 of the Batverse, in that there are a bunch of different plotlines going on and you aren't really sure how they all intersect just yet. Oh, and it has Matches Malone in it, and who doesn't love him?

I also thought that last storyarc about the gentleman ghost or whatever of the previous JSA volume was entirely skippable. But you're right, it's been an overall incredible book to read.

I just read Proof #1 which looks like it will be a pretty promising new series from Image. Plus, it's really worth supporting, the creators put soooo much extra content into the first issue, I love comics that take me more than 5 minutes to read. Check it out for anyone who is a fan of X-files, BPRD, or just good quality comics.

http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics...of01_cover.jpg

On its own, this issue was enjoyable - but overall I'm becoming more and more confused about where Superman is. Within the DC universe or multiverse or crisis-on-infiniteverse there's no longer any firm basis as to which "version" of the character I'm reading about. For example, the start of this issue seemed like it was taken straight out of the original movie, which is based on the pre-crisis Superman, with Clark being all wimpy - it goes on with pre-crisis Legion characters, then jumps into the current (I think!) iteration of the Legion. The last few issues of Action dealt with Bizarro, but not the post-crisis Bizarro - more like the pre-crisis version, along with all the pre-crisis Bizarro silliness (and I actually enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd parts of it - maybe the 1st part just confused me again). Recently in Superman, he stated that he had not killed - confirmed by Lois - but he has in the post-crisis world! Ever since the recent collapse of the DC Multiverse (which apparently didn't happen anyway) I've had a hard time trying to keep Superman rooted in one reality. Maybe this is what DC is planning and all will fall into place at the end of Countdown - but I doubt it.

Holy crap, but can't Marvel do anything without it being another event that will change mutantkind forever again? With my recent trimming of titles, this could be "event" that gets me to drop all X-titles (except X-Factor - I'm lovin' that one).

What?! How the Hell did I miss this? :grunt:

I can agree with you in that things are a little funky for DC at the moment. The analogy I've given is that DC was carrying all of their stories in a big pile of papers and walking with them. Then 52 ended and someone tripped the guy walking with the pile. The papers went everywhere and now they're scrambling to put them back together. Countdown was horrible. I only read about 10 issues before dropping it and I've dropped a lot of other DC books. The Sinestro Corps War has been great though. I've loved that.

And I agree with you about the X-Men thing. I've liked the X books (except for New X-Men. I just don't care to read that one) for awhile now and they've been pretty good, especially X-Factor. I've liked the fact that they were separate and most of all, that Wolverine wasn't on EVERY team. Bringing them together again seems like a waste to me. The Endangered Species storyline was horrendous and a huge waste of time.

Gary Frank and whatever inker he was paired with have resulted in a pretty similar style over the last few years. I think this inker overshadowed him a bit in Action and it's not at all what I was hoping for. Still enjoyed the issue though.

I agree that this could go on to be something special. I'm not one who gets all into the extra content of comics (as much as I enjoy walking dead, the letter pages do nothing for me), but the stuff in this issue is really cool. Granted it was the first issue so the team had a lot to say, but I'm curious to see what they do with the back section of the book in the coming issues.

I am a sucker for the idea cryptozoology. I don't actually believe these things exists, but I like to think they do. It's fun. So this book is right up my alley. One issue in and I already like the bigfoot Proof. He's kind of the yin to hellboys yang. And the little cryptoid facts were great fun too. I'm on board.

That's what I was going to say, too. It was the only weak part of an otherwise impressive run on one of DC's best books.

This week:

Y: The Last Man #49.

This series just never runs out of surprises.

John Stewart is filling in for Hal in the JL right? I just noticed I've been seeing John more and I started wonder. Don't get me wrong, it's cool to see John and Black Lightning bringin' the Funk so I'm not complainin'. A couple issues ago John was making fun of BL for cutting off his afro. :lol:

EDIT: Ok, I think I remember Hal asking John to fill in for him in one of those GA/BC Wedding special issues....

I have been reading the Countdown weekly series all together and this series is downright horrible. I can safely say this is going to be my LAST weekly series from DC, when this one is done I am going to group them together with 52 and unload them on Ebay, probably for next to nothing. What a waste of money comic books have been lately.

I'm reading The Complete Bite Club and find it just okay. I just finished the first half of the book and was disappointed by the ending.

I didn't like 52 or Countdown. 52 was a book of some quality that just didn't fit my needs, but Countdown just seems to be a trainwreck. I have seen barely any positive feedback for the book. However, if the next weekly series (and there will be another) is good, I will gladly read it.

I've been reading the 52 trades and I'm enjoying them. I have heard that pretty much everyone except Dan DiDio dislikes Countdown.

Anyone pick up the Black Dossier today?

I keep meaning to, but I just haven't gotten around to reading LoEG yet. One of these days, I'm definitely going to take the plunge. Just another in a long list of titles on my "to read" wish list.

Did anyone here read the Luna Bros. Girls series? They have a new complete HC volume out and I'm thinking about getting it. Is it worth it?

It is sooooo amazing, you should really bump it to the top of your "to read" list. The amount of references & knowledge that Moore puts into the book, is unlike anything that has ever even been attempted before.

The Hardcover is one of the best looking over-sized hardcovers I've ever seen. Just the looks of it made me almost buy it yesterday when I went to pick up my books. However I really didn't like Girls that much. I stopped reading it about half-way through. It starts off pretty good, but went in a really bizarre & boring direction.

However, I've read the first two issues of their new series The Sword & really diggin' it so far. I would suggest picking that up instead.

I may have given up the floppies, but I sure as shit bought that - it just looks like a big book of Win. But it's been so long since the last League book, that I need to go back and skim the previous books before I dive into this one - now if I could only find them...

I was planning on picking up Black Dossier, but Moore has said in interviews that the Absolute edition is coming next year, with a vinyl record (!) that was supposed to be included in the regular edition along with the other "bonuses" (Tijuana bible and 3-D). So I'm going to wait for that. At this point, what's a few more months?

A vinyl record? How many here still have a turntable?

It came with my DBCS shipment this week. It's been a loooong wait.

I do! It's a 20+ year old so-so linear tracking turntable.

The Tijuana Bible and the 3-D sections are in there. Jess Nevins says that as far as he knows, the album is the only thing missing, though they'll almost certainly add other things (scripts, sketches, etc.) to the Absolute.

I would probably pick up an absolute LoEG that includes all the ABC LoEG stuff, since I only have the two minis in individual issues. But I just don't think I can justify buying three Absolutes.

Anyone read the new Batman And The Outsiders #1 that came out Wednesday? I am a pretty faithful Batman reader but not the Outsiders. I have to say it was pretty darn good! Not sure if I want to add it to my monthly pull list since I am trying to cut down on comics, I am getting ready for the next price hike which I have a feeling will be very soon, probably by the new year. Anyone want to guess what the books will go up to? My guess is going to be $3.25 per book.

Damn, didn't know that the vinyl for Black Dossier is going to be dropped from regular edition. Didn't even know about an Absolute, considering it's not even out, but I'll wait for that.

I've been reading Y The Last Man, Ex Machina, Fables and Walking Dead, my four top titles. I'm saving all my Buffy issues for when I actually am able to understand them, haven't really seen the show. Have the last few issues of Jack of Fables but haven't got around to reading yet.

I ordered the following off of Amazon:

Invicible Hardcover Vol 3
Tintin and the Alph-Art
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
Tintin The Complete Companion
PBF Collection

I'm glad to complete the Tintin collection with those two titles..and hope to gain more insight into them via the Companion.

Finally read the Ellis/Larocca New Universal HC (collecting the first 6 issues). Is this going to be continued? I liked it, though I barely recognized Larocca's art and I have no idea why they decided to drudge up all of these concepts from the New Universe instead of starting a whole new series. Between this and Supreme Power, what's next? 2099 universe redone by Alan Moore?

Another Tintin fan! :banana: I picked up "Soviets" a few years ago - outside of the novelty of it being the first adventure, I found it almost tedious to get through. Alph-Art (unless something new is out I don't know about) is the incomplete layouts and sketches - fun to see, and sad that it doesn't end. Earlier this year I ended up rereading all the books again - they hold up very well and I think I enjoyed them more this time around. The "Companion" is nice to go to after reading each book.

World of Warcraft #1 :)

Black Canary and Green Arrow...Wow. I didn't see that coming. I mean I did, when "GA" attacked BC on their wedding night but well, you know what I mean...


Also,

Outsiders was the only Judd Winick book I could stand. The new direction is great though. I loved the cover.

I liked the endangered species x-event since Beast's one of my favorite characters.

I only got Astonishing X-Men and Uncanny X-Men so far this month. I'll get X-Factor and maybe New X-Men another time.

Here's an interview with Alan Moore discussing the delays of The Black Dossier and the next LoEG series.

http://www.mania.com/56564.html

I was reluctant to try the this new series of Thor. The only Thor I've read was the Ragnorok story by Oeming (which I LOVED), but I just was cautious of trying another JMS book. I gave the first four issues a read and hot damn if this book isn't excellent. The art, the tone, the characters are all satisfying.

I really enjoy this methodic and stoic Thor JMS is writing. His showdown with Iron Man was the shit. So badass. And Coipel on the art is just amazing. I love how he isn't drawing Thor to be the typical Fabio-esque male model, but has given him really strong features. He seems like a God, which I didn't always feel when I came across Thor in Avengers books.

So, my (semi) local Comic Book Emporium mentioned that new books will be out on Thursday this week for some reason associated with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving hasn't interfered with shipments in the past, and they didn't really have an explanation, but I thought I'd mention it for those of you who make the weekly trek - check first so you don't waste a trip.

Really? That's weird because my LCBS was open on Thanksgiving and since I had time I checked in thinking the books might be delayed due to the holiday. Sure enough they were there on Thanksgiving day.

So your guys are saying that this week is delayed due to last week's Holiday?

<b>EDIT:</b> I just checked this week's, weekly order list e-mail and it says books are shipping on 11/29/07 this week. Oh well...I still think it's odd.

I've been very spotty with my comic purchasing... without enough time to go to the store, I've been downloading the books I have on my pull list and reading them (still going to buy them at the shop). I recently noticed, though, that I haven't seen any of the Spider titles in my downloads for a month or so... the last one I read was Pete going to Dr. Strange for help. Have any more books come out since then?

Also, have they ever gotten around to finishing World War Hulk?

Yeah I think WWH is finished now (at least the mini series), but I haven't been in to the shop to pick up the final issues yet. I read there is some sort of "WWH Aftersmash" special coming out, which I won't be buying.

I have been reading Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 1. I hadn't read a lot of these early stories, and they are kinda strange. Like in the one I read last night, Ghost Rider was fighting Satan, but then Jesus showed up to help out at the end. I was not expecting that.

Yeah, who the fuck could guess this? I thought it was be average at best, but it was a really tight first issues. I think this would be heightened if it happened at a time when Batman also wasn't in the JLA (like if this series spun out of Tower of Babel or something), but just taking it for what it is I have to say I really enjoyed it. I'm on board.

I am a little confused as to whether Bats is going to ever go out in the field, or if he is just like the general giving these heroes direction?

That would have been the 70's, right? Man, things were so different back then.