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Old 07-21-09, 02:36 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Green Lantern First Flight really, really sucked. This movie somehow sucked harder than Mystery of the Batwoman. That was just boring. This movie was just bad. For the purposes of this review, i'll ignore the comic continuity and just accept what's established in this movie.

Spoiler:
I like a movie that focuses on one character, but apparently all we need to know about Hal Jordan is that he's a test pilot, and he's a daredevil. That's all we learn about him before he becomes a Green Lantern. In fact, that's all we ever learn about him throughout this movie. And people wonder why this guy was killed off.

So he gets the Green lantern ring, and right away all anyone wants to do is take it away from him. So how the hell did he end up with it in the first place? does the ring automatically get passed along to the next worthy successor, like in the comics, or does it just go back to the guardians? does the dying predecessor just pick someone at random? doesn't that seem a little foolish since every time one of these guys dies, they green lanterns have to show up and make sure they didn't just hand an incredibly powerful weapon to a total psycho?

So they have the obligatory "heroes get into a huge fight for no reason and it ends for no reason". They drag him back to Oa where the Guardians continue to grill him, telling him that they regularly give people rings that they only intend to take away because they don't think they're fit to wield it. Right.

Then the Guardians talk about how humans would naturally be unfit to wield the ring, even though everyone else in the corps are aliens that act like humans anyway. Wow, it's no wonder all these guys got killed off...

So it turns out Sinestro is a traitor, and with a name like that, you'd never guess. They could have easily changed the name of his character so he didn't sound like such a douche. He strikes a deal with the Weaponers of Qward, whom we never really learn much about. But judging by how they talk, they must be evil. Then he gets a giant blimp that lets him rob the powers of the Green Lanterns.

If there's one good thing to come out of this movie, at least Sinestro was fleshed out a little bit better than most villains are. His motivations aren't pure evil or destruction for the sake of destruction. In fact, it's the exact opposite: he wants absolute control of the universe, one free of chaos and destruction. He mocks the Guardians for their misuse of their power, denigrating the role of the Green Lanterns.

Okay, so his plan to take over involves robbing the Green Lanterns of their power. And considering how they fight (standing there firing energy bolts at him, or coming up behind him and TRYING TO PUNCH HIM), they really deserve to lose. So the Lanterns and the Guardians accede to Sinestro, which basically really amounts to nothing, and didn't matter anyway because he defeated them. And considering how badly they fought when they had the rings on, without them it would be a futile battle.

Then Hal absorbs all the energy in the power battery... because... because can. You know, if Sinestro wanted all the power of the Green Lanterns for himself, why the hell didn't he just do this? why did he have to concoct this intricate plot when he could have just waltzed into the power battery and stolen all the energy? oh well. I guess if this thing was going to make sense, it wouldn't be a movie.

But that's not the worst part. There's just no substance to this movie. Anyone who hasn't read the comics wouldn't care about these characters, because they're all so two-dimensional. There's nothing much here for a comic audience either, since it's just a retread of stuff that happened in the comics. I can't even say it's a movie for kids, because some parts aren't really appropriate for younger audiences.

All in all... this movie sucked. It reminds me why comic movies have such a hard time getting off the ground. They start with a fanboy script and end up with a vehicle to sell toys, comics, games, and more tie-ins.
Old 07-22-09, 01:44 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by Superboy
I hope you haven't kept up to date on the plot.
Just reading the Ultimate Collections. Now I'm worried...
Old 07-22-09, 04:17 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by davidh777
Just reading the Ultimate Collections. Now I'm worried...
Just because there are so many twists and turns, reading ahead can really ruin the current issues. I suggest you don't even look at the upcoming covers.

I dropped the book for a while but picked it up again just recently. It just felt too much like a mary-sue story.
Old 07-23-09, 01:34 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by Superboy
I dropped the book for a while but picked it up again just recently. It just felt too much like a mary-sue story.
How do you mean? Robert Kirman was writing himself as Invincible, or something else? I have the first two Ultimate Collections, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to read them yet. I read the first 15 issues or so of the series, way back when, and really enjoyed it -- but I think I might be done with the story.
Old 07-23-09, 11:51 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by Superboy
Just because there are so many twists and turns, reading ahead can really ruin the current issues. I suggest you don't even look at the upcoming covers.

I dropped the book for a while but picked it up again just recently. It just felt too much like a mary-sue story.
Thanks for the warning
Old 07-28-09, 08:01 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

the X-men Inferno HC actually shipped from Amazon today...i think it was scheduled for April...
Old 07-29-09, 05:23 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by boredsilly
How do you mean? Robert Kirman was writing himself as Invincible, or something else? I have the first two Ultimate Collections, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to read them yet. I read the first 15 issues or so of the series, way back when, and really enjoyed it -- but I think I might be done with the story.
He was writing himself as Invincible, and he became this flat, unbelievable character. The series just became really dull, and almost nothing happened.

I had the same feelings about The Walking Dead. NOTHING HAPPENED FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS!!!!
Old 07-29-09, 05:32 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Alright people, why didn't anyone tell me how awesome Astro City is? I read Life in the Big City and thought that was ok, but Confessor's Story was really good. It's crazy how that one trade pretty much did two recent Marvel events justice in just 6 or 7 issues. I'm reading Tarnished Angel right now, and I'm loving it. It's got this Watchmen undertone to it, but it isn't just derivative of that story, Tarnished Angel just echoes similar themes.

I always thought Kurt Busiek was just a solid writer based on his mainstream stuff, but Astro City shows that he's actually pretty good to great.
Old 07-29-09, 05:41 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by Superboy
He was writing himself as Invincible, and he became this flat, unbelievable character. The series just became really dull, and almost nothing happened.

I had the same feelings about The Walking Dead. NOTHING HAPPENED FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS!!!!
Ah ok. Invincible is something I see a lot of people praise, so I may revisit it someday, but the fact that it's an ongoing title turns me off a bit. It's weird, but I don't mind that mainstream books go on forever, but I like it when I know independent books have an ending. That isn't fair, but it's just how I like it.

I disagree with you that nothing happened in Walking Dead for 3 years. That book is all about the personal human drama these survivors face, and while the setting might have stayed the same, there was plenty of stuff happening. If you think nothing was happening, maybe Walking Dead just isn't the book for you? I will agree that the title seemed to stall a bit, but only for a bit. I've switched to reading it in trade so I won't notice that so much anymore.
Old 07-29-09, 12:27 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by boredsilly
Alright people, why didn't anyone tell me how awesome Astro City is? I read Life in the Big City and thought that was ok, but Confessor's Story was really good. It's crazy how that one trade pretty much did two recent Marvel events justice in just 6 or 7 issues. I'm reading Tarnished Angel right now, and I'm loving it. It's got this Watchmen undertone to it, but it isn't just derivative of that story, Tarnished Angel just echoes similar themes.

I always thought Kurt Busiek was just a solid writer based on his mainstream stuff, but Astro City shows that he's actually pretty good to great.
Astro City's awesome, but I think there was a huge gap in the publishing schedule, and now I just wait for the HCs to come out (and it's a long wait). Is it coming out regularly again? The other one I'm still waiting to come out is Planetary...

I find Invincible and Walking Dead much more palatable in the large collections, when you can read a bunch at once. The Walking Dead collections don't even have covers between the issues to let you know when one stops and the other starts (all the covers are in the back) which is actually pretty effective. The problem with the big collections is that it takes a year for each one to come out, but I happily re-read the ones I have before the next one is out.

Just finished reading the Immortal Iron Fist Omnibus, and it was as great as people had said on this board. So does the same creative team continue with the book (meaning will there be a second omnibus of similar quality down the road)?
Old 07-30-09, 03:12 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

I'm not a big comic reader. I've read some Alan Moore, about 30+ issues of Preacher and a few others, before this summer. Since then I've been reading a lot more and have read probably more than the rest of my life combined.

I'm about 60 issues into 100 Bullets (trade 8). The first dozen+ issues were great and even though it's seems a little bogged down at times since then, it's still very enjoyable.

I've read all the Scott Pilgrim that's out. This is probably my favorite comic. In fact, it's the only one I started re-reading almost as soon as I finished the last one. For some reason I went in thinking the series was complete, so it was a bitters sweet moment to realize that another book is coming but not for a year.

I read the first five trades of Walking Dead and then gave up on it. I really liked the premise of this, but was never really satisfied with the execution. For me the draw was the realistic post-apocalyptic survival aspect, but I can see how that doesn't exactly translate into action all the time. So at times I found it a little soap opera-ish, but the jump the shark moment was the introduction of the Governor. He was way over the top.
Old 07-30-09, 09:00 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Woot. I just found this in a used book store. I have no idea how many times I checked this out of the library when I was a kid.



http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress...-reprint-book/
Old 07-31-09, 02:26 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by boredsilly
Ah ok. Invincible is something I see a lot of people praise, so I may revisit it someday, but the fact that it's an ongoing title turns me off a bit. It's weird, but I don't mind that mainstream books go on forever, but I like it when I know independent books have an ending. That isn't fair, but it's just how I like it.

I disagree with you that nothing happened in Walking Dead for 3 years. That book is all about the personal human drama these survivors face, and while the setting might have stayed the same, there was plenty of stuff happening. If you think nothing was happening, maybe Walking Dead just isn't the book for you? I will agree that the title seemed to stall a bit, but only for a bit. I've switched to reading it in trade so I won't notice that so much anymore.
I felt like he saturated the book with so many useless, boring characters that were just waiting to be cannon fodder. I did not find any of their interactions or deaths interesting. Early on, that formula worked, but he should have either 1. kept them alive or 2. kept the group to a minimum.

I have to agree about the governor too. That was totally unbelievable. The book just became totally sadistic for its own sake.
Old 08-02-09, 09:59 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

I've heard a lot of good things about the Sinestro Corps War. Can I pick up those 3 trades and enjoy them without reading the prior Green Lantern collections?
Old 08-02-09, 11:49 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by davidh777
Woot. I just found this in a used book store. I have no idea how many times I checked this out of the library when I was a kid.



http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress...-reprint-book/
That's a great one. My uncle had that one and the Superman one when I was growing up and I borrowed both about a jillion times. I found used copies of both a few years ago. Love them.
Old 08-03-09, 03:14 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by JasonF
That's a great one. My uncle had that one and the Superman one when I was growing up and I borrowed both about a jillion times. I found used copies of both a few years ago. Love them.
Yeah, I liked the Superman one too but not as much
Old 08-03-09, 04:03 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Went tot the LCBS today and picked up the first 2 issues of Flash...they were enjoyable, but I have never been more than a casual fan of the Flash, so the Speedforce stuff is a little complicated and lost on me...I'm gonna check out wikipedia later...

Also have been reading the first Captain America Omni...I started reading monthlies around the time of Civil War, so I kinda know how all of this turns out, but it has been really good so far...
Old 08-04-09, 06:41 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by JasonF
That's a great one. My uncle had that one and the Superman one when I was growing up and I borrowed both about a jillion times. I found used copies of both a few years ago. Love them.
I've got the Superman and Batman and have been looking for the Shazam volume. Great books.

Speaking of Shazam, I just learned yesterday that DC will be releasing the DC Classics Library: Shazam! Monster Society of Evil hardcover in February 2010. I've been tracking down this book for 20 years but either the price was outrageous or the condition was poor. Now I'll finally get it. Can't wait! http://www.marvelfamily.com/Comics/s...LSMSOE&issue=1

Last edited by ytrez; 08-04-09 at 06:48 AM.
Old 08-04-09, 09:28 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by ytrez
I've got the Superman and Batman and have been looking for the Shazam volume. Great books.

Speaking of Shazam, I just learned yesterday that DC will be releasing the DC Classics Library: Shazam! Monster Society of Evil hardcover in February 2010. I've been tracking down this book for 20 years but either the price was outrageous or the condition was poor. Now I'll finally get it. Can't wait! http://www.marvelfamily.com/Comics/s...LSMSOE&issue=1
Cool! I bought a copy more than a decade ago for an outrageous price. It's a fun story.
Old 08-04-09, 02:41 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

I just read the Shazam Showcase Presents and was surprised by how many of those stories I remember. A good read in its own silly way.
Old 08-05-09, 01:21 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Originally Posted by dadaluholla
I've heard a lot of good things about the Sinestro Corps War. Can I pick up those 3 trades and enjoy them without reading the prior Green Lantern collections?
I think you can. The story stands on its on well enough. I didn't love it like everyone else seems to, but it's a solid story.

I'll tell you what I read recently and did love --

Old 08-05-09, 07:40 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Previews says the Shazam! Monster Society of Evil book is being released in December while some sites say February. I'm hoping for December.

I can't wait. These stories are infinitely better than anything in the Showcase presents volume. I hope this is a hit and leads to more reprints of Fawcett Marvel/Marvel Family stories.
Old 08-08-09, 01:14 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

Ok, it's not just my imagination that Marvel trades and Premiere HCs are shrinking:

Runaways Dead End Kids Premiere HC, collects Runaways 25-30, 19.99, 152 pages
Runaways: Dead Wrong Premiere HC, collects issues 1-6, 19.99, 136 pages
Runaways Rock Zombies Premiere HC, collects issues 7-10, 19.99, 112 pages

That last one is ridiculous... issue 10 may be oversized (it contained two stories), but 4 issues retailing for 20 bucks is too much. I'm also a little miffed that at the same time they're releasing the newer Runaways HCs, they are also re-releasing the original series, and already twice I've ordered the originals by mistake.
Old 08-08-09, 03:14 PM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

fujishig,

you're not imagining things. marvel's page count v. price has been dropping fast for quite some time. i used to be all over their oversized hardcovers, but now they seem to be focusing more on smaller volumes at a higher price point. that's a big reason why i don't buy very much from marvel anymore.
Old 08-11-09, 11:27 AM
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Re: June/July/August General Comic Discussion (Summer Fun Edition)

I've had a bit of a lull in my reading. I've slowed on my 100 Bullets reading, haven't read many single issues, and haven't touched trades. I have Asterios and The Nobody to read, so that should be good.


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