Last Couple Weeks of Comics

Comics from the past couple of weeks.

Scalped Vol. 2 Casino Boogie - This started bad and ended good. The cool part about this was how it retold the same day from so many characters points of view. It also made me realize that I don't like the protagonist.
Faker - Pretty random and pretty good. Very dark and cynical.
Powers Annual #1 - I needed my Power's fix and took it. This series also seems to be behind in TPBs, much like Invincible.
Secret Invasion #1 - Not sure why I'm reading this, but I want it to be good. Of course iFanboy spoiled it in a mini so I didn't get too much extra from reading it.
Un-Men Vol. 1 Get Your Freak On - This was fun and dark. I don't know anything about the Swamp Thing background of these characters and this story was so so. I'm not sure if I'll check out the next one.
Palestine - Need to read this. I enjoyed his book about the Balkan war so much I really wanted to check this out.
Serenity #2 - I really really really don't know what this isn't an ongoing series. You can tell there are so many stories still to be told. It isn't boring or lame like the Buffy and Angel series' and t works in comic book form.
Dead Space #2 - The first issue was good, decent story, good art, and a reasonable universe, this one was pretty bland. Oh well.

Arab in America - I finally got around to reading this. I wanted to like this, I wanted to be interested by it, and I wanted to learn something. I was disappointed and felt like all I read was someone rant about how they like no one and everyone is wrong.

Walking Dead

I just loaned Walking Dead to another zombie fan. So I reread them all. So good. So many things I missed the first time. The introduction in the first volume by Kirkman is rather reveling having read the series up too book seven. It's also so sad reading it knowing a spoiler form the current issues that the group of 13 go down to 5. I also counted all the heads in the force and it looks like there are 40, ie the entire town. I can't wait until volume 8 comes out in the next month or so.

On a related note I'm still waiting for the next Invincible TPB which seem to be behind schedule by a bit.

Comics on Computers

I like online comics. Easy to read, they fit the screen, etc. I can't stand comic books that are on computers. I have to scroll every which way, zoom in to read, they don't fit the screen, and some idiots also expect you to read both pages at once like a physical book. They are designed for a vertical paper world and computer screens are horizontal. The experience isn't there for me.

Which frustrates me. I wouldn't mind Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited or the Heroes graphic novel except for trying to read them, and well, you have to read a comic book to enjoy them.

These two comics are by the same creative team.

First Moon - Read this first and started off being annoyed by the dialogue, then was confused by the modern story, but the historical fiction story was decent. Also the artist needs to learn that whitespace is since his drawings have five billion black lines going everywhere right next to each other, way too busy. I think my favorite part was the short essay at the end covering the history.

Continuity - Much better read and art. I think he was trying to make a point about the meaning of live through dreams, but I totally missed it. It was weird that this women had bad things happen and decides never to sleep/dream instead of realizing that dreams are random with the potential for both good and bad things happen in them. She dreams a police state because she's upset and fixates on that instead of thinking calm down and dream something happy. I guess characters are more interesting if they have flaws and make mistakes so they have something to redeem themselves against. Well there is the whole heros quest where bad things happen and the hero has to persevere, but flaws seem to be the current direction of pop culture.

Comics

Mighty Avengers: Ultron Initiative (vol. 1) - I didn't like the start, it was a little too jumpy, but the story was better as it went. The character thought balloons of people trash talking each other were nice and fun.

New Avengers: The Trust (vol. 7) - This seemed to be all over the place. The story is getting so complex. No one trusts each other, they're on the run, stories go in and out of other comic book series (Doctor Dooms Venom accident) and there is the new villian the hood and Dr. Strange and a mental or meta-physical breakdown as he tries to do too much and gets into trouble and he retreats instead of saying, "I have to do this" which would have been more heroic. Also Cage is acting like the biggest jerk.

Angel #5 - Still can't read this until I get #3 which I need a second printing of.

Speaking of second printings I would n0t mind there being ones for Fear Agent and Scalped. I'm sure there are some other our of print comics I wouldn't mind reading like TMNT.

I really liked and enjoyed Safe Area Gorazde. The characters were intersting the history was great and I learned so many new things. Such a happy (well sad) great read. I didn't know know anything about the war other then it happened and lots of people were slaughtered. I'm most annoyed/frustrated/amazed by the suggestion that the UN would says, lets disarm, only one side would do it and the UN would say too bad when the armed side started killing the unarmed side. I want to read more by Joe Sacco.

Missed Comics

I missed a couple comics that I've read and not talked about.

Planet Hulk - Read most of this while waiting at jury duty to not be needed. It was good. My main issue was how Hulk always wanted to fight, but then told the bug not to a lot and the other guy was like, yep, Hulks right. I did like the theme of the Hulk generally being good and people always getting mad at him for no reason.

The Escapist was a good read.
Silver Surfer Requiem annoyed me and I don't recall why. Probably because it was all, he's so great and this is so sad.
Animal Man was disjointed, every issue jumped and I felt like things were missing. It sounds like the part I care about it several trades in which is the exploration of the character knowing they are a character.
Cup Noodle rocked. The story was so crazy, what they did and and had to figure out. It was also nice to know the place where the noodles took off because I've been there. I however didn't want to know that ramen noodles are fried, of the fat.
Be a Man and Every Girl is The End the World For Me were both fun light reads. I think I've read Unlikely which I was lukewarm on at the time. I also recently read the Incredible Change-Bots by him which was page after page of silliness.
The Exterminators Vol. 3: Lies of Our Fathers - Still don't like it as much as the first one.
New Avengers: Illuminati - This was a nice read setting up the Skrull invasion that seems to be happening. It feels like a little much and off since there is also this Civil War thing that just happened.

I'm still waiting on Angel #3 to be reprinted so I can get a copy since I missed it. I have #4 and #5 can out today. Must not read until I have #3.

Hopefully that is everything I've missed.

Finally Maybe Keeping Up

Star Wars Dark times was a disappointment. The reviewer said they really liked it, it was dark, depressing, and a good story. I feel none of the above. I was expecting darker, but I guess the Star Wars universe can only be so much since it is such an institution.

DMZ seems to be getting worse. I liked the first one as we explored the city and discovered this dark view of a second US civil war. With each TPB I like it less and less. It is these stories about how f#(%ed up war is and how everyone is trying to win and we have our trusty accidental hero trying to do right by the people of New York. However I feel ike he's doing more showing and things are just implacable like Liberty News still talking to him and him still talking to them. And New York and its people are supposed to be this character, but it doesn't work for me. Plus the stories tell more then show.

Comics

I really liked Serenity. The story was good and the pacing was nice. So sad that it is only three issues. I wish they were doing more since there are so many stories they never told, compared to Angle and Buffy.

Northwest Passage was a good story too.

I also picked by DMZ volume 4, Star Wars Dark Times and the comic book club comics.

A while back I read Hazed. I felt dirty reading it, the story was really bad, things weren't clear, and the pacing was bad.

Comics

I'm excited about the Senerity comic which came out yesterday. I will pick it up tonight when I get comic book club comics.

Wasteland I like more then I should since it's not that good. Things are confusing and people are introduced in weird ways and time and sometimes characters look the same.
I enjoyed Lost at Sea, Grey Horses, and Paul Goes Fishing. My fiancee really liked Paul Goes Fishing which was good and also very sad. Time was a little off since things started slow and then at the end of the book everything goes very fast.
Jobnik was amateur self indulgent work. I'd like to know where the story goes since it is autobiographical.
Capote in Kansas was more light hearted then the movie a couple years back and didn't seem to delve into anything.
Age of Bronze was interesting. The story was very comprehensive. The art worked most of the time, but there were a couple times where closeups were done and the art was like learn to draw books. It just doesn't work.

I've picked up the most recent Ultimate SpiderMan TPB. The new artist is fine, it was a little weird to read since I was so used to this entire story being one artist and now there was a new one. Also the jump in stories from the last trade to this one was jarring. I still enjoyed it. Off camera Nick Fury stopped running SHIELD. Not sure if this story will remain off camera or be covered in some other comic or I just missed it, but I thought I was reading all the Ultimate titles.

The most recent Buffy is getting rave reviews from everyone and I just don't see it. I really don't see if for the entire storyline. Maybe I need to go back and read things as if they are tpb and things will fit better, but so far I've been unimpressed. The issues with this comic begin with Buffy being in bed with a women, but she doesn't want to label it, and of course everyone walks in on her, plus there were some wolf vampires that raid the place. I think my reoccurring complaint is the pacing of Buffy stories in comic form just doesn't work.

Another Mouse Guard came out. Again, not much is happening in these.

The comic book club comics are Safe Area Gorazde and Last Day in Vietnam.

Comic Book Haul

The ones I got:

• Wasteland: Cities in Dust
• Northwest Passage
• Lost at Sea
• Arab in America
• Jobnik #1
• Wasteland: Shades of God - I read the first one, liked it so I picked this up too.
• Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
• Dead Space #1
• Capote In Kansas
• Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships

Fiancee:

• Paul goes Fishing
• Continuity
• First Moon
• Grey Horses

Two women I went to the con with said to me, where are the indie books. Hint Hint Hint! One also noted the lack of women as special guests which another friend jumped on before the show. Hint hint hint!!!

Also donated blood, went to the Comic Legal Defense Fund after party, all there of Isotope's events (iFanboy was co-sponsoring two of these), and picked up the pint glass made of the Darwyn Cooke after New Fontier movie on Saturday.

Fell and Stuff

I picked up a copy of Fell Feral City to have Ben Templesmith sign tonight and proceeded to read it. I was amazed at how good it was. I might need to read it again to make sure my brain was processing correctly and it wasn't an illusion.

I did notice something about the way Warren Ellis writes. He likes to have characters talk, and by talk I mean tell everyone how it is showing how cool they are and how everyone else is wrong. Of course someone usually smacks them down for some reason, but boy do people like to monologue or show how smart they are in his comics.

Last night Darwyn Cooke signed two of my books. He seemed very social and cool, joking around and talking with everyone. Watching him draw a Batman sketch for someone else was very cool. He drew the Spirit for me (which I didn't ask for he just did) and joked that it always rains on the poor guy while adding rain to the sketch. When I asked him to make one of the signatures out to my fiancee and I he drew a heart around our names.

WonderCon

I'm so far behind on covering what I've been reading. For example I just finished The Boys volume 2, I've been rereading Invincible volumes 7 and 8, the comic book club is reading The Salon and The Blot and I'm still waiting for my copy of The Blot to arrive.

And WonderCon is this weekend and there are Isotope and iFanboy events to accompany the convention. Speaking up which I should go pick up my three day pass NOW!

Still Behind

I borrowed comics from a friend and read most of Messiah Complex and Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run. I was also loaned Children of the Atom which I haven't read yet. I've mostly been reading trades. Reading the Astonishing issues was cool because I was able to enjoy the ads. It was an anthropological snapshot of games and movies. Both of the stories I read were interesting. Comparing where Emma Frost was when she first met the group and now was interesting. I like how the Astonishing story is pretty much about Kitty.

I picked up comics last week Bone Vol: 7 Ghost Circles and something else that apparently wasn't that memorable. Nothing much happened in the Bone comic, they all just traveled and talked about nothing.

Last week I also got Ultimate X-Men Vol. 17 Sentinels and Ultimate Fantastic 4 Vol. 9 Silver Surfer. I read X-Men first and I'm so so on the whole direction of this comic and where it is going. The Silver Surfer story seemed all over the place.

Last night I picked up X-Men First Class Vol. 1 Tomorrow's Brightest, Silver Surfer: Requiem, and Animal Man Book 1 Animal Man. I only just started reading First Class and I feel like I'm reading X-Men version 3, with Ultimates being version 2.

From before, I finished Longbow Hunters and thought it was so so. Maybe I don't have enough comparison with the era it came out in, but it just didn't seem that solid on the story. The art was good.

Behind

I'm so far behind on all the comics I've been reading. I finally finished The Best American Comics 2007 and of all the things I've read The Surrogates was probably the best.

So this weeks purchases:
- Buffy #10 - It was a one shot which was nice, the story was sort of all over, but I liked it.
- Green Arrow The Longbow Hunters - Haven't read it yet.
- Powers Vol 11: Secret Identity - I liked this more then the last one, but I still feel like the stories in a rut. Wow, another bunch of deaths. I mean they are detectives so it makes sense, but at this point things seem recitative.
- The Escapists - Waiting to see if the comic book club picks this book.