Timber

I actually thing Capullo's best work was his early stuff. This and X-Force (which to me was his prime) were his best work. I think when he turned himself into a McFarlane clone he was good but not on the same level as the simplicity of his X-Force stuff.

rocket1312

Oh you don't have to sell me on Capullo X-Force. I LOVE Capullo X-Force. I even own an original page from X-Force #16 that is the crown jewel of my meager original art collection. That said, I don't think he was close to reaching his peak at that point. He was improving month to month, but didn't yet have the sort of consistency that is typical of a top artist. Looking through those old X-Force issues it's easy to find all sorts of wonky stuff.

fujishig

? Capullo did a lengthy run in Quasar, didn't he draw all the issues included in Galactic Storm? I just remember really liking his linework and relative "cleanness" of his style on Quasar. He changed his style a bit for X-Force, but I still liked it, but then I thought his Spawn run was just too cluttered, almost opposite of his Quasar style. I mean it was still really good, but not what I liked about his earlier run, plus he was replacing a legend.

I liked Jeff Johnson for similar reasons, he had a simpler, almost animated style with a lot of fluid movements and expressive faces. I thought both stood out in that era of Marvel artists. But again, a lot of that perhaps has to do with inkers.

I remember, for instance, being so excited about John Byrne on Wonder Woman. He inked himself, and I thought it was... sub par compared to his previous works. It may just be my tastes changed or time crunch, but I thought Terry Austin really complemented him well in that Uncanny run and the Superman run.

davidh777

I love Bolton but have been confused by the Classic release. So it's all backup stories that were new at the time, accompanying reprints?

fujishig

When they were reprinting Uncanny in the "Classic X-men" series, Claremont wrote a bunch of backups, plus extra pages (and edits) to help connect the story. Since the extra pages and edits wouldn't make much sense outside of the original reprints, I guess this is only the backups. Me, I just liked the reprints because of the Art Adams covers.

rocket1312

Quasar #'s 32-34 were part of Operation: Galactic Storm, but Capullo only did the art for #32. I've never read more than 2 or 3 issues of his Spawn, but wasn't McFarlane inking him in the beginning? I have to imagine they did everything they could to keep the book's visual style consistent. I felt like the storytelling of Capullo's recent Batman stuff was a little too chaotic at times, but that the figure work is far superior to his early 90's Marvel work.

As for Austin, he's awesome. So clean and fluid. I've seen Byrne mention before that when people claim that they're big fans of his work, but turn around and say like his older art better, what they really mean is that they are fans of Byrne/Austin. Incidentally, Austin inked Jeff Johnson on early issues of Wonder Man (and I think did covers for most of the run) and looking through some those now, imo, the Austin inked issues are far superior to what came after.

rocket1312

Over at the Marvel Masterworks forum, Jeph York, who edited the Classic X-Men omnibus, posted the following rundown of the book's contents/layout:

slop101

No, I believe it's all the issues (the credits include Cockrum & Byrne) and it goes up to Classic #44, which is X-Men #138, the issue after the Phoenix Saga, where Cyclops leaves the team. It's over 1,000 pages, so it can't be just the backup stories.

*edit - I take that back, I guess it is just the backup stories and extra pages. Does't seem like that would be enough to fill over one thousand pages though.

This if from the editor of the book as to how the material's presented:

fujishig

Wow, that's a book that seems lovingly put together, though it still seems like it would be difficult to read unless you are really familiar with the run. But Art Adams covers and original art? Ugh, like I need another 1000 page hardcover.

rocket1312

Yeah, it's clearly meant to act as a supplement to the already existing hardcovers. For what it's worth, that's exactly how I had hoped they would handle it, but at the same time I get the appeal of straight Classic X-Men reprints, especially if that's how you originally read those stories.

davidh777

I agree with slop that it seems odd that it's a thousand pages and with fuji that it sounds like a PITA to read.

rocket1312

Just doing some quick math here:

110 new front covers
110 original front covers
44 frontispieces
36 back covers
43 back-up stories x 12 pages (back-up lengths varied, but most are 12)
= 516

That comes out to 816 pages. Add in all of the new and edited interior pages (with comparisons), as well as pin-ups and other extras, and it's easy to see how you can get to 1000.

rocket1312

Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 1
(WORLD'S FINEST COMICS 175-176, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 79-85)

Pre-Crisis DC is a huge blindspot for me. I've read very little. I've always wanted to read the classic 70's Batman stories in particular, but DC's collected edition methodology is somewhat lacking to say the least (they seem to be doing better lately). Even though I picked up digital copies of these Neal Adams books for cheap some time ago, I've avoided reading them due to DC allowing Adams to go all Lucas on the art. Let's just say that I hate the revised colors/art and leave it at that. One note though, only certain issues are re-colored. Some retain their original coloring, but often times the reproduction on those is horrible. I don't know if that's the case with the physical book or if it's just a Comixology thing. The book also contains all of Adams's cover work from the time period, but there's at least one instance where he did not do the cover for one of the included issues, so they just omit that cover and go straight to the story. Oh DC, why is it so difficult for you sometimes? This isn't rocket science.

As for the actual comics, my first reaction is that writer Bob Haney is a crazy person. Being a Marvel guy through and through, it took me a while to get in sync with the style, but once I did, I was able to recognize it for the fun that it is. My understanding (again, not a DC guy) is BatB was kind of the nutty step sibling of the Bat books and that Haney was more or less allowed to do whatever he wanted. It works in the sense that the stories are all self contained and there's no need to worry about continuity or anything. They're just fun. On the other hand, these stories are insane? On more than a couple of occasions reading this, I said to myself "wait, what?" and had to go back a couple of pages and re-read stuff. The time Flash runs into outer space and into the sun in order to destroy a magical totem is one example. And it's not just the stories themselves. The rhythm of the storytelling is really odd at times. Again, maybe I'm just so used to the Marvel style that I just need to get used to it. I don't know.

All in all I enjoyed this first volume for what it is. Adams work is still a little rough around the edges at this point (I don't know if I like Adams inking himself), but it's hard to say with the revisions. I did see that the Brave and the Bold Omnibus that came out this past year includes the original, unmolested art work. I don't think I enjoyed this enough to buy that book, but I'd be happy to pick up the digital trade if they make that available. Now DC just needs to get to work on collecting the two main Bat-books from the 70's the right way.

Timber

I'm not sure but from what I remember Capullo and McFarlane were credited with "art" credits when Capullo first came over. It wasn't until much later (Spawn 50 maybe) when Capullo got full penciling credit. I could be wrong on my timeline recollection though.

rocket1312

Thunderbolts Classic Vol. 1
(Thunderbolts 1-5,-1, Annual '97, Incredible Hulk 449, Tales of the Marvel Universe 1, Spider-Man Team-Up 7)

This book has to be the best thing to come out of the whole Onslaught fiasco, right? Talk about being given lemons and making lemonade. Even being familiar with the history and the premise of Thunderbolts before diving in didn't diminish this at all for me. I question how long the concept can sustain itself before everything crumbles, but so far, so good.

Spiderbite

Batman: Hush

Loved the artwork but wasn't really impressed with the story.

fujishig

Yeah, that's the general consensus. It was such a novelty to see Jim Lee not only draw a book (kind of) monthly, but to have him draw Batman, but that's kind of passe now.

re: Thunderbolts. I liked it when it originally came out, though I think Wizard spoiled it for me (not sure if this also includes the Hulk issue where they debuted). Still, I love superhero teams. But a few years ago I went back and re-read it, and just couldn't get into it, I think I stopped around where they crossed over with the Busiek Avengers. There are some fantastic runs with the characters, though I wish Songbird would have stayed on the trajectory that Avengers Forever had her on.

PhantomStranger

It's a good read from that era.

rocket1312

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 17: Desperate Measures
(Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #66-70)

This book just keeps plugging along. It's easy to kind of take it for granted, and it's not like it's doing anything revolutionary, but month after month it continues to be a solid read. This particular arc focuses on shadowy forces within the government's beginning to take an interest in mutant affairs. It is kind of funny in retrospect that until now, with a couple of exceptions, the Turtles and their various allies and adversaries have sort of stayed below the radar of the authorities.

If you haven't read any of this series, then it'd be silly to start here. However, if you have any interest in TMNT, I heartily recommend diving in.

rocket1312

S.H.I.E.L.D. By Steranko: The Complete Collection
(Strange Tales 151-168, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1-3, 5)

Jim Steranko's a legend and that legendary status is more or less based on the contents of this book. He did a handful of other things, but for the most part, this is it. Considering how revered he is, I knew this book had to be something special. The stories are fun and almost all action, but not all that different from what came before. The real difference is in the visuals. Steranko was clearly influenced by Kirby in the dynamism of the action and the detail of all the crazy tech. His layouts and design sense, however, are on a different level altogether. The use of color, in particular, is revelatory. (Steranko colored the book himself.) I were ever to hang a print of a comic book page on my wall as decoration, a Steranko SHIELD page woud definitely be one of my first choices.

As his style develops over the course of the book, the visuals do begin to overwhelm the storytelling a bit. Nick Fury #3, the next to last issue in the book, ends with a lengthy block of text seemingly because Steranko ran out of pages. It does the story no favors that it is a lame retread of the Sherlock Holmes classic "The Hound of the Baskervilles," an odd fit for Nick Fury to be sure. Nick Fury #5 also ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger. I know the story doesn't end there just because Steranko left the book, but it feels like a bit of a letdown. All in all though, this lived up to the hype. It's a classic for a reason.

slop101

Late to the party, but I've been reading through Walter Simonson's Orion Omnibus.




Besides being a ton of fun, the art is exactly what it should be, with Simonson acknowledging Kirby in almost every panel. It's worth getting for the re-coloring alone, which makes the art pop even more so. I wish every Omnibus that collected floppies that were initially printed on newsprint would get this treatment, as the paper really changes the look of the colors, and the older material needs to be readjusted with the new brighter paper taken into account.

rocket1312

Some reading I did over the holidays:



Batman: Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 2 & 3

Volume 1 was filled with fun Bob Haney Brave and the Bold stuff, but it's these two volumes that people think of when they think of Adams Batman. Volume 2 contains most of the Man-Bat issues, and is surprisingly horror-centric even beyond those particular issues. Was this a Denny O'Neil thing, or just a 70's thing? Volume 3 has some horror stuff as well, but the meat of it is are the Ra's al Ghul stories, not to mention the classic "Joker's Five Way Revenge." It feels like almost all of these O'Neil/Adams stories were adapted for the 90's animated show, and the ones that weren't probably could/should have been. Gripes about the revised art aside, this stuff is essential.



Batman and Son

This is the first volume of Grant Morrison's Batman run and I'm not a Morrison devotee or anything, but this was a ton of fun. I was skeptical of Damian when he first hit the scene a decade ago (I think the last monthly Batman book I bought off the stands was Morrison's 2nd or 3rd issue), but reading through these stories now, I see why he's so popular with some people. I enjoyed the second half with the Club of Heroes as well, and I thought this was a perfect example of Morrison referencing old continuity (more on that below) without making it impenetrable.



The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul

I was told this only partially Morrison written crossover was skippable in the grand sceme of things, and after reading it I can confirm that it is in fact totally skippable. It's not horrible or anything, but it's the classic crossover where the story probably could have been told in half the number of issues and really the only thing that matters in the long run is that Damian is freaked out by Ra's and decides to go live with Batman.



Batman R.I.P.

This is where things kind of start to go off the rails if you're not really buying into what Morrison's doing. Thankfully, I read the "Black Case Book," which was a collection of Silver Age Batman stories that were referenced throughout his run, before hand. I also had a general understanding that Morrison was trying to write a Batman story under the assumption that every Batman story ever written, including the goofy silver age stuff, was in continuity. That helped a lot. I think if I had read this as it was published back in 2007-2008 without that background, I would have been completely lost. As it stands, I enjoyed this, but not as much as Batman and Son. The fact that the ending is completely undercut by Final Crisis makes it a little less fulfilling. Speaking of Final Crisis...



Final Crisis

So yeah, this was a tough one. I'm by no means a DC expert, but I have read Morrison's JLA and Seven Soldiers, and the time period leading up to this (Infinite Crisis/One Year Later/52) is far and away the period of DC I'm most familiar with. Even with that, there's no way I could have gotten through this without online annotations. My knowledge of DC history (especially Fourth World) is just not up to snuff. By the time I got two thirds of the way through it (Specifically, once I got through Superman: Beyond. Still not sure what to make of that section.), it started to come together for me and I really began enjoying it. However, I can't help but feel like this is the wrong approach to take with mainstream superhero event comics. The sort of navel gazing Morrison is doing here can be a lot of fun if you're willing to put in the work, but I don't see how this sort of thing helps grow new reader interest. I don't want to make it sound like I'm in favor of dumbing down comics, but at times it feels like Morrison is being purposefully obtuse. Morrison himself has demonstrated many times over that he's capable of writing smart and accessible comics. All that said, I did kind of enjoy this on balance and think it will improve on re-read. I remember all of the uproar at the time surrounding Batman's "death" and the fact that he used a gun (gasp!), but I didn't find it to be terribly controversial. If anything, I thought the confusion regarding the ending to R.I.P. and how it fit with Final Crisis was the far bigger annoyance. The fact that Morrison wrote both and couldn't make the pieces fit is extra weird.


Time and the Batman

This is a bit of a mishmash volume. First up is the big milestone #700. It's a fun little story showing a case which spans multiple generation of Batmen. It's a standalone that I don't think meant anything in the grand scheme of Morrison's run, but it's fine for what it is. The next two issues are billed as R.I.P. "missing chapters" and fill in the gaps between R.I.P. and Final Crisis. These were enjoyable, and they nicely summarize the events of R.I.P. and Final Crisis in a far more coherent manner than the the actual stories in question, but it still seems odd to me that there was such a disconnect between those two events that two years down the road these issues were needed to fill in the story. The last issue in the collection is a Fabian Nicieza written story with Dick and Damian as Batman and Robin. It's fine, but I'm not sure why it's here other than that it needed to be collected somewhere.

fujishig

Yeah, Morrison's Batman and Final Crisis were both pretty impenetrable to general audiences and even to hardcore audiences. I still don't fully understand why RIP and Final Crisis diverge so much. To add to the confusion you have books like Countdown to Final Crisis and Death of the New Gods which basically directly contradict what happens in Final Crisis. What a mess.

I'm also still not sure how the original Legion of Super Heroes came back, how or why they diverged from the Giffen/Bierbaum stories, and what in the world was going on in Superman Beyond (and even though SB is confusing, Final Crisis is even more confusing not having read it).

I feel like Batman's the one that kind of needed the reset and he's the only one that didn't officially get it when New 52 rolled around, though I understand the sales aspect of it.

PhantomStranger

Maybe the confusion is intended as Morrison's meta-statement that there is no definite DC continuity and pick whatever you prefer. Morrison is obsessed with making meta-statements in his comics. Sometimes he makes it overt, but occasionally he goes wild.

stingo

The Darkseid War Part I, Special and Part II