What's the last TPB/collection you read?
#52
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Finished:
Liked both of these quite a bit, especially Matt Fraction's work on the latter. I've been on a big Iron Man kick lately, so it's cool reading these books and seeing all the different elements that popped up in the films. I just ordered the next couple books in the series.
Liked both of these quite a bit, especially Matt Fraction's work on the latter. I've been on a big Iron Man kick lately, so it's cool reading these books and seeing all the different elements that popped up in the films. I just ordered the next couple books in the series.
#54
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shade-Jame...robinson+shade
#55
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I finally read all of my Y the Last Man deluxe hardcovers.
Not embarrassed to say I was pretty much sobbing after the last issue.
Not embarrassed to say I was pretty much sobbing after the last issue.
#57
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Finished:
This was not good. I re-read Kingdom Come recently and found that it held up pretty well. This felt like a chore though. Overly long and convoluted. One thing that really bugs me, in comics and in film, is when writers confuse plotting with storytelling. This is just a series of plot points which never really add up to anything. It's got an interesting premise, and there are some cool ideas scattered throughout, but most of it feels half-baked and unfinished. The last three chapters are just one confusing fight scene. The panels are too cluttered and too reliant on captions. None of the characters have any personality and it's sometimes difficult to tell who is narrating. Plus, at the end, Green Lantern basically uses his power ring to "fix" everything.
This was not good. I re-read Kingdom Come recently and found that it held up pretty well. This felt like a chore though. Overly long and convoluted. One thing that really bugs me, in comics and in film, is when writers confuse plotting with storytelling. This is just a series of plot points which never really add up to anything. It's got an interesting premise, and there are some cool ideas scattered throughout, but most of it feels half-baked and unfinished. The last three chapters are just one confusing fight scene. The panels are too cluttered and too reliant on captions. None of the characters have any personality and it's sometimes difficult to tell who is narrating. Plus, at the end, Green Lantern basically uses his power ring to "fix" everything.
#58
#59
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Finished:
This was not good. I re-read Kingdom Come recently and found that it held up pretty well. This felt like a chore though. Overly long and convoluted. One thing that really bugs me, in comics and in film, is when writers confuse plotting with storytelling. This is just a series of plot points which never really add up to anything. It's got an interesting premise, and there are some cool ideas scattered throughout, but most of it feels half-baked and unfinished. The last three chapters are just one confusing fight scene. The panels are too cluttered and too reliant on captions. None of the characters have any personality and it's sometimes difficult to tell who is narrating. Plus, at the end, Green Lantern basically uses his power ring to "fix" everything.
This was not good. I re-read Kingdom Come recently and found that it held up pretty well. This felt like a chore though. Overly long and convoluted. One thing that really bugs me, in comics and in film, is when writers confuse plotting with storytelling. This is just a series of plot points which never really add up to anything. It's got an interesting premise, and there are some cool ideas scattered throughout, but most of it feels half-baked and unfinished. The last three chapters are just one confusing fight scene. The panels are too cluttered and too reliant on captions. None of the characters have any personality and it's sometimes difficult to tell who is narrating. Plus, at the end, Green Lantern basically uses his power ring to "fix" everything.
#60
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Funny, among the other titles I've posted in this thread, I also got this one from the library and started it but had to return it because someone else had requested it (so no renewal). Sounds like I'm not missing much, and maybe I should instead go back to trying to finish Kingdom Come, which I've started twice already.
#61
DVD Talk Hero
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Funny, among the other titles I've posted in this thread, I also got this one from the library and started it but had to return it because someone else had requested it (so no renewal). Sounds like I'm not missing much, and maybe I should instead go back to trying to finish Kingdom Come, which I've started twice already.
#63
#64
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I'm about halfway through RASL (and loving it!) and I just found out that Jeff Smith is coming to my LCS in early October. Whoot! I'm going to have him sign my copy of Bone (I've got the ginormous black and white collection of the whole series).
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Finished:
I'm working my way through Matt Fraction's Iron Man run and from what I read, this crossover was supposed to be a major turning point in the upcoming books, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I have a life-long love/hate relationship with crossover books. On one hand, it's fun to see a huge story involving a mega-gangbang of superheroes and villains. On the other hand, they're almost always disappointing, and this is really no exception. The story centers around a Skrull invasion of Earth and I'm just really burned out on alien invasions, both in comics and in film. The only thing more overdone is the zombie apocalypse, which also needs to be put to rest. There's some fun stuff happening throughout the book, and I've enjoyed Bendis's work on other books, particularly the first volume of Powers, which I read recently. But the artwork is kind of shoddy, and I often had no idea what was happening. There's this one sequence that is so hilariously stupid; it's a two or three page fight scene that consists of sound effects and characters grunting at each other, and the art is so vague and crude looking that...well, let me just copy it word-for-word.
It goes:
SHPUNK FUNK SHPUNK FUNK
BOOM SABOOM FABOOM BOOM
"RRA! DAMN!"
"NO..."
FUMP
"HUURRAGGHH!"
"AAGGH!"
BOOMBOOMBOOM
"THEN THIS IS HOW IT MUST BE."
"HE LOVES US. HE LOVES US ALL."
TEK
"AGH!"
"I--I NEED A LITTLE--"
FABOOM
"AAAGGHHH!"
And there's just pages and pages of that type of thing. Without wikipedia's help, I would have had no idea what was even happening. The story ends with
Which...I don't know, I never get that fanboy boner that comic fans get when a major character dies, so I found the whole thing depressing.
And then
That bit was actually pretty cool. I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in Iron Man. I just wish I didn't have to read a mediocre cross-over to get the full story.
I'm working my way through Matt Fraction's Iron Man run and from what I read, this crossover was supposed to be a major turning point in the upcoming books, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I have a life-long love/hate relationship with crossover books. On one hand, it's fun to see a huge story involving a mega-gangbang of superheroes and villains. On the other hand, they're almost always disappointing, and this is really no exception. The story centers around a Skrull invasion of Earth and I'm just really burned out on alien invasions, both in comics and in film. The only thing more overdone is the zombie apocalypse, which also needs to be put to rest. There's some fun stuff happening throughout the book, and I've enjoyed Bendis's work on other books, particularly the first volume of Powers, which I read recently. But the artwork is kind of shoddy, and I often had no idea what was happening. There's this one sequence that is so hilariously stupid; it's a two or three page fight scene that consists of sound effects and characters grunting at each other, and the art is so vague and crude looking that...well, let me just copy it word-for-word.
It goes:
SHPUNK FUNK SHPUNK FUNK
BOOM SABOOM FABOOM BOOM
"RRA! DAMN!"
"NO..."
FUMP
"HUURRAGGHH!"
"AAGGH!"
BOOMBOOMBOOM
"THEN THIS IS HOW IT MUST BE."
"HE LOVES US. HE LOVES US ALL."
TEK
"AGH!"
"I--I NEED A LITTLE--"
FABOOM
"AAAGGHHH!"
And there's just pages and pages of that type of thing. Without wikipedia's help, I would have had no idea what was even happening. The story ends with
Spoiler:
And then
Spoiler:
#66
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Thread Starter
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I'm alternating my DC Continuity Quest with some new 52 stuff; currently enjoying the first volume of I, Vampire.
I just ordered one of those from Gohastings thanks to someone posting a discount code and costing me a hundred bucks!
I'm ashamed to say that I bought the Bone single issues early on, fell in love with the series, but haven't read past issue 15 or so. I own the ginormous book as well, still in the plastic Westfield Comics shipped it in. I'd definitely be interested in meeting him and getting that book signed someday.
Trevor, I don't know when your Bronze Age quest will get to Marvel, but I couldn't resist these three Marvel Firsts: 1970s volumes. They pull out some really obscure stuff, and sometimes it just whets the appetite for more, but it's pretty fun. Quality printing too, though it makes the thought of continuing a series in Essentials format a bit less appealing.
I passed on the 1960s volume figuring I'd have a lot of that in other formats, and I see they're continuing with WWII and the '80s.
I passed on the 1960s volume figuring I'd have a lot of that in other formats, and I see they're continuing with WWII and the '80s.
I'm ashamed to say that I bought the Bone single issues early on, fell in love with the series, but haven't read past issue 15 or so. I own the ginormous book as well, still in the plastic Westfield Comics shipped it in. I'd definitely be interested in meeting him and getting that book signed someday.
#67
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I picked this up at the library with no idea of what continuity it was, but Paul Levitz wrote it, and the art looked pretty good (Giffen did part of one issue), and it's the Legion, so what the heck, right?
While I'm a big fan of the original Legion run, I'm pretty lost when it comes to all the reboots so I go into almost every new collection not knowing what to expect. As long as the central characters are familiar, I can figure out the rest. Pretty much the case here, as some of the people were completely new to me ("Earth-Man"???). But the stories were pretty interesting and somewhat self-contained, and had some intriguing concepts (new Green Lantern). Worth what I paid for it.
#68
DVD Talk Hero
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
DC seems absolutely lost in how to handle the Legion. Being set in the far future, they really can't tie the book to Superman anymore in modern continuity and there are few other ways to tie them to the rest of the DC line. Probably their most mismanaged book over the past twenty-five years.
#69
DVD Talk Legend
#70
Suspended
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I picked this up at the library with no idea of what continuity it was, but Paul Levitz wrote it, and the art looked pretty good (Giffen did part of one issue), and it's the Legion, so what the heck, right?
While I'm a big fan of the original Legion run, I'm pretty lost when it comes to all the reboots so I go into almost every new collection not knowing what to expect. As long as the central characters are familiar, I can figure out the rest. Pretty much the case here, as some of the people were completely new to me ("Earth-Man"???). But the stories were pretty interesting and somewhat self-contained, and had some intriguing concepts (new Green Lantern). Worth what I paid for it.
From there, you have Legion of Three Worlds, which was an Infinite Crisis tie-in and reconciled that version of the Legion, the post-Zero Hour Legion, and the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson version. At the end of the story, we're left with what is basically the pre-Five Years Later continuity, with some minor tweaks.
The book you read picks up right there, with Paul Levitz coming back to the Legion for the first time since 1989 and basically starting continuity right where he left off in 1989 (plus the two story arcs I described above).
That continuity continues on until the New 52 and is one of the better runs in the Legion's history, IMO. After New 52, the continuity doesn't change, but for whatever reason, the quality of the book dropped (again IMO). The book continued until this month (I think), and has now been cancelled.
#71
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Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank did a storyline in Superman called Superman and the Legion of Superheroes that picks up a continuity that is more or less continuing on from right before the Giffen/Bierbaum "Five Years Later" run. That arc introduced Earth Man.
From there, you have Legion of Three Worlds, which was an Infinite Crisis tie-in and reconciled that version of the Legion, the post-Zero Hour Legion, and the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson version. At the end of the story, we're left with what is basically the pre-Five Years Later continuity, with some minor tweaks.
The book you read picks up right there, with Paul Levitz coming back to the Legion for the first time since 1989 and basically starting continuity right where he left off in 1989 (plus the two story arcs I described above).
That continuity continues on until the New 52 and is one of the better runs in the Legion's history, IMO. After New 52, the continuity doesn't change, but for whatever reason, the quality of the book dropped (again IMO). The book continued until this month (I think), and has now been cancelled.
From there, you have Legion of Three Worlds, which was an Infinite Crisis tie-in and reconciled that version of the Legion, the post-Zero Hour Legion, and the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson version. At the end of the story, we're left with what is basically the pre-Five Years Later continuity, with some minor tweaks.
The book you read picks up right there, with Paul Levitz coming back to the Legion for the first time since 1989 and basically starting continuity right where he left off in 1989 (plus the two story arcs I described above).
That continuity continues on until the New 52 and is one of the better runs in the Legion's history, IMO. After New 52, the continuity doesn't change, but for whatever reason, the quality of the book dropped (again IMO). The book continued until this month (I think), and has now been cancelled.
Funny thing is, I have a number of TPBs from this era, INCLUDING the Superman volume and a number of the Supergirls. At one point I tried to sequence these and read them in order, but the project fell through, and I still have absolutely no sense of this continuity. I guess I should take another shot at it.
In related news, I see they're releasing the newer Great Darkness volume in PB. I love my HC but this would be an excellent buy for people who don't have that.
#72
Suspended
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I was hoping you'd weigh in with your knowledge of Legion lore.
Funny thing is, I have a number of TPBs from this era, INCLUDING the Superman volume and a number of the Supergirls. At one point I tried to sequence these and read them in order, but the project fell through, and I still have absolutely no sense of this continuity. I guess I should take another shot at it.
In related news, I see they're releasing the newer Great Darkness volume in PB. I love my HC but this would be an excellent buy for people who don't have that.
Funny thing is, I have a number of TPBs from this era, INCLUDING the Superman volume and a number of the Supergirls. At one point I tried to sequence these and read them in order, but the project fell through, and I still have absolutely no sense of this continuity. I guess I should take another shot at it.
In related news, I see they're releasing the newer Great Darkness volume in PB. I love my HC but this would be an excellent buy for people who don't have that.
And yeah, Great Darkness is probably one of the great comics of the 80s. Highly, highly recommended to anyone who hasn't read it.
#73
DVD Talk Hero
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
Sad that there's no Legion monthly anymore... that title has been through so many creative and continuity changes, but I agree that it lost steam after the new 52 started (and they split the team). Heck, I thought it lost some steam before that, but I'm a huge fan of the Five Years Later run (even though there's no way they could continue with that), and wasn't a big fan of some of the changes, especially Shady's decision.
#74
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Thread Starter
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I got into Legion briefly in the late 70s (?) and really enjoyed it; but the huge history and my completest OCD made me quit before I really started.
If DC was going to allow multiple or different continuities than this new 52, Legion seems like the perfect book to try it.
If DC was going to allow multiple or different continuities than this new 52, Legion seems like the perfect book to try it.
#75
DVD Talk Hero
Re: What's the last TPB/Graphic Novel you read?
I lost interest in the Legion when they removed Superboy from it. The first comic book I ever read as a kid was a Legion issue from the late 1970s.