The easiest answer is that I'm old school and prefer the format of the comic book. Comic books are what I collect so the convenience and price advantage of the omnibus format isn't as interesting to me. I enjoyed the hunt of tracking down each issue (even if I did have to resort to Ebay for the last few). Just a personal preference. And besides, trying to stuff those omnibuses in a bag'n'board is a bitch!

What day does the Witchblade cheapie TBP come out? Not a big Top Cow fan but worth a try for $4.95, and I'm not sure how much stock my LCS will have.

For those in the SoCal area that need a convention fix before San Diego, next Sunday is the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention at the Shrine. Information at their site here: http://comicbookscifi.com/

I'm gonna probably go just to wander around and see if I can pick up a few old Superman issues.

The shrine is a waste land that has pretty much blown for the last two years. The organizer is an ass hat who destroys any relationship he has with any guest with his inability to get a convention going correctly.

It's pretty much become a slightly bigger Frank & Sons. Then again, Frank & Sons is at least twice a week and has better deals to be had without the need of paying stupid cover charges.

The shrines move to bi monthly to "whenever we really want" was one problem. the other was that there was a time that any ticket got you the full works. But he burned so many bridges that he can't get ahold of much swag from the studios that they started charging a higher price for those items.

Hell, 90% of the dealers that do the shrine do Frank and sons every week.

Frank and sons?? Details, please?

edited to add: I just googled it. Interesting.. may have to drop by soon..

Comic Con and AX have been atrocious in the past year.

I must check out Frank and Sons...I only live 15 minutes away. It will probably replace my LCS and ebay for backissues.

Daredevil with Frank Miller! Nice!

Wow, some locals not familiar with Frank And Sons? It's pretty much a swap/flea market for collectibles ranging from hot wheels, sports stuff, comics and whatever else really. Focus for the "collecting" market.

It's open wednesdays and saturdays. former being afternoon and the latter being for the day. You get a lot of the same vendors you see at the shrine and it's free for all.

The weekly books are usually discounted by 30-50% off cover and there's a lot of folks with plenty of back issues for cheap prices. There's also a good couple of dealers there that own their own shops, but sell there to move more issues (thus getting a bigger diamond discount for their orders)

So yeah, if you're in so cal and into comics, you'll be foolish not to hit it up.

Hate to turn this into a hater thread, but...

Supergirl: This has got to be the single worst issue of any mainstream DC book to date. It should be used in the future as a teaching tool for future comic writers/artists as to how NOT to script a comic:

Show montage of random, totally irrelevant characters, including talking skeletons that serve no drive for the story whatsoever.

Cut to a scene in the middle of a conversation, where it has to be made obvious to the audience that we're looking at Superman and Lois Lane, as if there's anyone else in Metropolis worth telling a story about.

Then cut to a scene with Batman brooding, with pictures of the title character in the background, which show just how paranoid Batman is. Then zoom in on his brooding face. Because that's all Batman does. Brood.

Then have the titular character meet up with their closest iconic counterpart so they can have a pointless conversation where they skirt around questions and give each other vague non-answers, while glaring at each other. Apparently this is par for the course with current superhero books. Two characters show up, have a conversation that amounts to basically nothing other than to say that one character has some sort of dark idea floating around in their head, with no explanation why the answers cannot be given other than to have the other character conveniently disappear. He might show up later in the story and then our reluctant hero might want to confess all after he saves her ass.

Then, we have our standard superhero brawl fare, complete with brand new super villain, that demonstrates his power to the audience through an analogy, as if we didn't already notice how powerful he was when he flew out of nowhere and sucker punched Supergirl.

I warn you all from the future. Loeb's Hulk Red is even worse than Ultimates 3. I kid you not.



BE WARNED, this comic sucks.

I had to re-read the original Millar run on Ultimates to get the bad taste of Ultimates 3 out of my mouth.

Well if nothing else, I can look at the pretty pictures even if the story isn't up to par. Ed McG is one of the few artists I will follow regardless whether the story is good or not. I still wish he had pencil duties on WWH. Man, that would have rocked my socks off, boring story and all.

I didn't much like Ed McG's art in Red Hulk, it just looked flat to me.

Spider-man's Brand New Day seems to be selling pretty well, considering the reactions to OMD (not to mention, OMD didn't sell that well, not at my shop, anyways). Though I wish cancer upon Quesada, I'm happy for Dan Slott.

I actually enjoyed that issue of Amazing. I guess when life hands you lemons, someone out there can make lemonade.

The Goon eased my pain this week from reading so many crappy comics.

I think saying it was worse than Ultimates 3 is overstating things by a lot, but I will say this was a really bad first issue. This was all setup, setup, setup, with very little "meat" to the "story" of the issue. I thought the CSI esque scene with Samson and She-Hulk was cool, but that's about it. The last thing I want though is Ed McG on a talking heads issue.

Also, I don't know them from squat, but The Winter Guard sure as hell look cool (even with the obvious knockoffs).

Yeah, I have nothing against Mr. Slott thanks to She-Hulk.

And, I have to say...i'm not that big a fan of Winick's, but this week's Green Arrow/Black Canary was pretty good. Particularly his use of Superman.

This year I promised myself that I would try some more books not published by the big two (though, not including DC imprints - I'm not worried about where my money is going, just the type of stories, so Vertigo and Wildstorm in that regard might as well be "indy" to me). Only in trades though, because that's how I get down.

So I'm over at DCBS working my way through the trade paperback section and there is just SO MUCH SHIT out there, it's insane! I don't even know where to begin. For one, there are so many series that are acclaimed that I haven't read a single issue of yet (Hellboy, Astro City) and a bunch of things I've never heard of that I would like to try. I could easily spend (if I had it) a few thousand dollars buying books that I'm interested in, and still only crack the surface of books out there.

Knowing I can't read everything, I need to make some kind of game plan to tackle this. I don't want to spend more money on books that I can or want to read, less I end up like Sessa or the others here with wild unread piles, so what to do?
So many series and OGN's and mangas I want to try, so little time and money to dedicate to them. Harrumph.

I thought the CSI scene was ludicrous. A few footprints and a body and Samson can say "First the Hulk swung this kind of punch, then that kind of punch, then this?" It just seemed silly. And the tension between She-Hulk and Samson did not seem at all realistic. They did not seem to be treating each other like two colleagues who have a strong personal disagreement but are forced to work together. They acted like ... well, I don't even know. Two aliens who aren't sure how to interact with a strange life form or something.

And what the Hell is up with Spider-Man and Hulk both having big "debut" issues hit the same week ... and neither character really appearing in their own book?

Depends on what kind of books you like.

Sessa and I always go off on The Goon, which is one of the best Indy books out there. It's a nice mix of horror, neo-noir, classic noir, and comedy. It's current publishing schedule is pretty spotty but there's tons of trades out there.

I'm a sucker for noir comics so Criminal, Queen and Country, Catwoman, and Gotham Central are on that list. On that note, Gotham Central was probably one of the best Batman books EVER published.

It's sad but a lot of comics that I adore are totally out of print. If you can track down Miracleman by Alan Moore and Zenith by Grant Morrison I highly encourage you to do so. They're both incredibly worthwhile reads.

I just picked up the fourth Rex Mundi trade. When I picked up the third trade, I set it aside, intending to reread the first two trades, but I never got around to it. So not I'm reading all four trades -- half of which will be new to me. I'm halfway through the first trade and I had forgotten how much I really enjoy this series.

All of which is a long way of saying boredsilly should pick up Rex Mundi.

Also Preacher, if you haven't read that.

Read a couple books lately:

The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker. Absolutely loved this book. It's a much darker, more serious version of The Goon, but the art and story totally grabbed me by the balls. Great stuff.

Shortcomings. Didn't know what to expect of this at first, but it turned out to be a fantastic read. I laughed out loud in spots because I knew just how the main character felt when it comes to women. Not a superhero book, but you should all check it out just the same if you've ever had trouble dealing with women.


On a side note, boredsilly, I've got a copy of the first Rex Mundi trade if you want it. Just send me your address.

Just got back. Not impressed at all, although it was so dark I wouldn't know if there was anything to be impressed about or not. I hope they use the 8 bucks I paid for admission towards light bulbs.

Talked to my buddy about Frank and Sons so we will probably be checking it out in the near future.

Well, I am the guy to ask if you are looking for something other than "the big 2". It's why I barely post here anymore, it seems all the discussion is about movie-oriented superheroes or nothing else. Which is still good, I'm just glad there is comic book talk of any kind, but the main superhero books are mostly just boring me right now.

If you had to go out right now, & pick up some trades to try something new & be blown away, this is what you should be buying.

Queen & Country: The Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 - It's a masterpiece. There is nothing else like it being published & for around $10 you can read it from the beginning. Some of the most perfect sequential stories ever rendered.

Bone: The One Volume Edition - If one had access to every trade-collection ever published, & you could only choose one, this is the one I would tell you to choose. It's the epitome of all that is unique & wonderful about comics as an artform. You can read the complete saga in one collection & once you start, you will not be able to put the book down, I promise you. Every page of this comic is perfection.

We3 by Grant Morrison - The greatest artist in the medium IMO & his greatest work. It's horrifying & touching & is a perfect story in one trade.

Top Ten by Alan Moore - Literally, my all-time favorite comic by my all-time favorite author. Certainly everyone pretty much only knows Moore through Hollywood, but this is the work of his I recommend the most. Brilliant characters, hysterical, moving, brilliant & art that will blow your mind.

Black Hole by Charles Burns - Disturbing coming-of-age horror-drama. I love the book dearly.

Scalped Vol. 1 & 2 - This book just kicks-ass on so many levels. Brubaker's Criminal is another great crime series, but IMO this one is better.

Sleeper by Ed Brubaker - Still the best thing Bru has ever done. Comics don't get much better than this.

I can go on & on The Goon (my favorite comic being published right now), Fell, Usagi Yojimbo, Scott Pilgrim, Jonah Hex, Nightly News, Fables, anything by James Kochalka (seriously run out & try some American Elf), anything by Jason (who's new book comes out this week!), there really is a ton out there, but I spent over 10 years working & running a comic book store, & the books I've mentioned above never let people down.

Actually, it's pretty sweet (except for hearing my girl complain). While most have your problem, or have to go to a store or order on-line & wait to try something new, or can't decide what to buy. All I have to do is lean over my couch or go to my closet & I have literally hundreds of unread new-to-me books to choose from.

Man, I used to attend the Shrine Show religiously back in the 90's. I don't know what happened, but I just lost interest in it at some point. Then I would hear horrible things about it and how it's gone down and I realized I wasn't missing much.