Comic books and Manga Thread

[Mad Dog]

If anyone here is interested. Walmart has started selling 100 page giants from DC for $5. You get one new story and 3 reprints.

[SomethingSavage]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 7:32 PM, Mad Dog said:

If anyone here is interested. Walmart has started selling 100 page giants from DC for $5. You get one new story and 3 reprints.

What's worth reading from modern DC? From a distance, their continuity looks like such a mess - I just wouldn't know where to start to get back into their books. Any quality runs from the New 52 besides Snyder & company on Batman's books? What's good since Rebirth?

In the meantime, I've just devoured Superior Iron Man. I won't even lie. The familiar sounding title combined with the fact that it's a brief, finite run is what convinced me to give it a shot in the first place.

And it's such a FUN little series. The whole thing's a quick, easy read. And condescending dick Tony Stark is such a fucking blast as a character. This is essentially just Downey Jr.'s cinematic Iron Man unchained & unfiltered, without a shred of heroism left in his body. It's fantastic.

There are some really clever ideas at work here, too. The Extremis app is ingenius and feels like something ripped out of an episode of Black Mirror. And bonus points for the way it allows shallow Tony Stark to shine. The theme of skin-deep beauty and our society's obsession with it is something that could get real heavy real quick, but they keep things light enough to keep in line with the overall tone of the story.

Teen Abomination is one wacky addition to the mix, but I dig it. I think they were hoping he would catch on & stick around for later stuff, but he was fun enough as a minor bit player in this deal. Served his purpose, and sometimes that's all you need.

Daredevil's involvement was awesome on every level though. The exchange with Stark about Tony playing god was incrrrredible, ESPECIALLY the closeup panel.

Stark: "I'm not playing god. No. All this time, I've been playing human."

The look in Stark's eyes at that moment? CHILLING. Loved it.

And there's also some stuff between Pepper and Tony that I enjoyed. Potts tries and tries to revert Tony back to his normal self, but Stark forever stays one step ahead of her. Dude's just too damn smart. And there's this scene where she's so beaten down and exhausted with it all. But she refuses to quit, and it serves as such a strong reminder of what she can be in the Iron Man mythos.

It's a real shame this story never received any real resolution or proper payoff. Instead, the whole "bad personality" Tony is just returned to normal with no explanation in canon, and it's simply not mentioned moving forward.

But that's okay. As it is? This is still a really fun, self-contained story. It won't eat up too much of your time. But it offers an alternate look at a more abusive, increasingly self-aware, wealth-obsessed genius Tony Stark. It's a freeing, rewarding reading experience to get this version of a villainous Iron Man (and what he could be capable of) without too many hang-ups or restrictions. So it can practically be viewed as an Elsewords style tale as a result of its treatment in retrospect, but it's very much worth checking out. Doesn't demand a lengthy commitment from the reader, and it delivers a metric ton of fun. That's a win/win in my book.

[Mad Dog]

Tom King's Mister Miracle is really good. Grant Morrison is starting a run on Green Lantern in November. Most of the Rebirth has been good but not amazing. The Metal crossover is worth reading, especially the one shots with the different versions of Batman.

[WingedEagle]

Let's say I haven't read a comic in 20 years and wanted to jump into something fun from books I read as a kid.  Batman, X-Men, some Image & Valiant titles I don't remember offhand.  Any recs?

[Mad Dog]

21 hours ago, WingedEagle said:

Let's say I haven't read a comic in 20 years and wanted to jump into something fun from books I read as a kid.  Batman, X-Men, some Image & Valiant titles I don't remember offhand.  Any recs?

I recommend going digital because it's cheaper if you wait for sales. Marvel Unlimited is $70 a year and you can read tens of thousands of comics. If you're willing to wait for sales you can grab stuff for really cheap. But here is a list of my recommendations:

 

Image:

Invincible

Walking Dead

 

DC:

Mister Miracle by Tom King (12 issue mini-series that came out last year and just ended).

Green Lantern Rebirth and Green Lantern Corp Rebirth (plus the series that follows in the mid 2000s. Geoff Johns wrote Green Lantern. You'll also want any side things to the Sinestro Corp War and Blackest Night crossovers). Want something shorter? Grant Morrison is starting a Green Lantern book in November.

Batman and Detective Comics - lot of good stuff here. I recommend Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison, this has Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin, good series and short. I also recommend picking up Batman and Detective Comics with Rebirth and going forward. If you're interested, you can grab both of the first trades for $5.99 on Comixology right now.

Teen Titans by Geoff Johns. Really good book that ran through the 2000s. 

More Geoff Johns goodness with JSA and Justice Society of America. Good books especially if you were an Earth 2 fan.

 

Marvel:

Civil War crossover. This happened around 2006. Very important book that defines the Marvel Universe for the next decade.

Superior Spider-Man. Doctor Octopus takes over Peter Parker's body and it's a really good series. About 31 issues.

Daredevil. This book starts in 1998 with Kevin Smith writing. You can just go forward with it and it's good for a really long time.

Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron. 

Ultimate Spider-Man by Bendis.

New Avengers by Bendis.

Captain America by Ed Brubaker.

Iron Man Extremis. This is by Warren Ellis and 6ish issues I believe.

 

Valiant:

Lucky for you this line just restarted with a new company about 7 years ago. Lot of good stuff here. The X-O Manowar book has been good from the start. Harbinger was really good as was the first Archer and Armstrong series. You could probably just look up a reading list, there's one on Reddit and go with the characters you know.

[WingedEagle]

Thanks!  On Civil War, it looks like there's a trade paperback collecting all of these under the Civil War banner, but another site made it sound like you need to read a bunch of issues under other titles.  What's necessary?

I'll look into what's available on the others online, but my gut is that I'm old school and want to hold it in my hands rather than on the computer.  We'll see if that changes.

[Mad Dog]

You can probably get by with Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America tie ins. There's also a Captain America & Iron Man one shot that is fairly essential but I can't remember the name of it. You can branch out to other books if you want to follow that character more.

Forgot to mention Planet Hulk and Annihilation and Annihilation Conquest for good storylines to get into for Marvel. The Annihilation books are cosmic Marvel stuff. Planet Hulk is what the recent Thor movie was based on.

[SomethingSavage]

I can't wait to dive deeper into the newer Batman stuff post-Morrison and Damian Wayne. I've heard good things. But, for now, I'm going to stick with Marvel exclusively. There's sooo much I want to catch up on, but that's a welcomed burden. Because I'm having a blast getting back into the thick of things right now. It's like being a kid again, as corny as that sounds. I've just got this ravenous appetite for comics again, and it seemed to spring up overnight - sometime between this thread popping up and one conversation with a friend.

I'm still going through Slott's Spider-Man run. And, while it's still enjoyable enough, things have definitely degraded a bit. To be fair, that was bound to happen after the HUGE Superior story arc. That certainly feels like a case of Slott firing his best shot and not having the strongest followup afterwards.

Like I said though, I still dig the characterizations. And major kudos to Slott (and Marvel management) for knowing when to wrap up the Superior story without needlessly overextending it or anything. This way, the story arc felt progressive and significant from beginning to end. It remained entertaining and engaging throughout. And it ended at the right time - before the novelty wore off.

As far as the new stuff goes, it's a bit of a mixed bag. There's good, and there's some bad. The banter and the dialogue is still fun and spirited. Slott forever has a firm grasp on that stuff. But I don't know that we needed Peter Parker to turn into Tony Stark or whatever. I mean, Parker Industries was a cool concept as part of the Superior saga. It made sense to have Ock introduce the idea that Peter COULD be a successful scientist and billionaire CEO, but come on. He never actually SHOULD be - at least not for any sustained period of time.

That's part of the package deal. It's part of the appeal. The eternal, everlasting tragedy of Peter Parker is that he is capable and deserving of this rich, successful life. But he's committed and dedicated to this duty - to saving the world - and so he'll never be afforded the time or the chance to live out those luxuries. Them's the pillars of the house he's built.

I've mentioned before how I like my Spider-Man to remain grounded and localized. And sure. There are exceptions to that rule. But globe-trotting, Spider Mobile wheeling & dealing secret spy Spider-Man isn't exactly what I wanted after that excellent Superior story.

Mockingbird is a weird but unique choice for a partner/potential new love interest, so I won't be TOO critical of that. But Black Cat and Electro never exactly rocked my socks as the next big bads.

The tension with Tony Stark is a neat new wrinkle, enhanced by the Parker Industries development and Peter's newfound success. This idea of a PROFESSIONAL grudge between Peter and Tony is cool enough, but I love that it's then compounded by a layer of PERSONAL beef once Mary Jane accepts a job offer from Stark. I'm always on board for stuff like this - building bridges between Marvel's many characters and the casts in their books. It's creative cross-pollination.

To his credit, Slott spent time and effort to build to his next big story. I suppose the Clone Conspiracy was intended to be that next smash hit, but I don't know. It never felt like it was in the same league as Superior Spider-Man to me.

Slott did well in building suspense and slowly rolling out the idea bit by bit for awhile. I'll give him that. But the execution ultimately fell flat for me. I can appreciate the upgraded appearance and the Egyptian motif for the new Jackal, but some of the other stuff was just shallow and unfinished as a concept. Whereas Superior took its time and explored Doc Ock thoroughly, the Clone Conspiracy seemed like it was served up uncooked.

I still don't understand what Ben Reilly hoped to accomplish. The threat of cloning Uncle Ben is something that should obviously cause great concern, but it was swept aside so quickly that it never got a chance to sink in or feel significant to his motivations.

Furthermore, the idea of Gwen's clone having her memories - just so she can say she remembers dying and DOESN'T blame Spidey for causing her neck to snap? Awful, horrible idea. I mean, I get what they were going for, but damn it. Spider-Man is built on grief and tragedy. Peter Parker is fueled everyday by his regret, his failures, and his overwhelming sense of GUILT. That's the entire origin. We never needed to hear Gwen forgive him anymore than we need to hear that from the mouth of Uncle Ben. It undermines the drive and the whole premise behind the power and responsibility motto.

It was just one of those facepalm moments where I had to wonder, "The fuck..?"

Again, I could see what Slott was going for. Dead No More (err, Clone Conspiracy) follows in the footsteps of his other high concept, big cinematic story arcs. There are separate acts and a huge climactic battle at the end. There's some feel-good stuff to wrap things up, and they're normally warranted and well-earned. But I could've done without that heavy-handed Gwen bit there.

Oh. But there was one genuinely GLORIOUS fist-pump moment of redemption in the Clone Conspiracy. Whenever Doc Ock realizes the Jackal is going to harm Anna Maria? Ol' Otto deciding he's had enough of that shit and saying he'd die a thousand times before he let her get hurt? Fuccckkk. Powerful, perfect moment right there.

I've pumped the brakes more & more on my Spidey reading though. I'll stick with it, but I've been checking out other stuff also. I stopped reading comics almost entirely (aside from some Spidey and Batman here & there) around the time of Civil War, so I've got A LOT of ground to cover. I'm hopping around, taking suggestions from a few friends on what I may like, what's essential, what creative teams and their runs are worthwhile, etc.

So far, I've dabbled in Bendis' Gaurdians of the Galaxy. My curiosity kind of led me there, since I'm a HAYOOOJ fan of the films, and I wanted to see what influenced them. The book is all Bendis from the very beginning. I love what he did with Groot and Rocket, and it's easy to understand why they were practically copied & lifted to the big screen intact.

Star Lord's origin is different, but I can appreciate both versions for what they are. I honestly prefer the approach the movies took, with Ego as the absent father and Quill being abducted from Earth.

However, I really dig something about the comics origin too. The idea of Quill finding the cosmic gun his dad left in the house was a cool touch, plus the violent death of his mother meant he'd hold a natural grudge against his old man when they ultimately meet one day.

Thor's banter with the team was fucking fantastic in the Infinity War flick, but Iron Man linking up with the Guardians in the books was something I didn't expect to enjoy so much. It seems like an odd fit on the surface, but it's actually surprisingly fun. Seeing Stark, the genius and master mechanic, being out of his element and unaware of how all this alien tech works is enjoyable. And it's made even better by the fact that a fucking raccoon CAN operate all these gadgets AND explain how they work.

The Gamora/Tony chemistry is good stuff early on, too. But then there's a bunch of characters being rotated in & out of the series, on & off the team, and things kind of lose their way. Bendis is a guy that has more positive attributes than negatives, for sure. But he has a habit of leaning on convenient explanations or outs for his ideas. And that's bothersome at times, too.

So yeah. Like Fraction's Iron Man, Bendis' Guardians is another book I will probably drop at some point soon, because it's just not sustaining my interest the way it did before. But I'm still glad I scoped it out and gave it a shot, especially for the handling of those early issues.

Wolverine Origins is wonderful. That is all.

Well, I will say I always try to do a quick scan to see what the general consensus is for some of these older stories. And I've come to the conclusion that almost everything is going to be presented as "divisive" to varying degrees. You can't satisfy everyone in every way every time. Fandom is fickle and funny that way.

But? When it comes to Wolverine Origins? Fuck that noise. I mean, nah. I don't care if Daniel Way toyed and tinkered with some of the minor continuity stuff. He doesn't alter anything major or fundamental to the foundation of the character. He just lays out this long, expansive tale of Logan regaining his memories and going on a hunt for answers and - more importantly - peace of mind.

Underneath it all, Logan's story is a tragedy - in which everyone he loves fades away. Either he leaves, or they leave. Or, in the case of the women he loves, they are murdered for his sins and his bad decisions. That's the real gut punch. Over and over again, Logan is remembering how many times he's fallen in love - with many different women, in many different countries - only to find them dead, for being associated with him. Seriously though...

What's not to love here? Wolverine is in peak form, operating as an ELITE assassin. There are cliffhangers, revelations, and surprises by the truckload. There are PLENTY of badass battles, including a crazy ultra VIOLENT scrap with Cap that you wouldn't see anywhere else.

Oh. And there's Steve Dillon's art. My god damn god, the art is terrific on this series. I've been on the Dillon bandwagon since I first found Preacher wayyyy back in the day. And, of course, I thought his run on Punisher was a picture perfect marriage of artist and material. But Christ. His work on Wolverine here is magnificent, too.

It's some gnarly, nasty stuff. He brings such brutality to a superhero book that it's almost startling to see in some panels. Wolverine gets gutted, has his throat slashed, and on & on. If a violent act can be imagined, then Dillon can seemingly visualize it and draw it into existence.

Not only that - but he captures the closeups really well, too. Whenever his Wolverine goes berserk, the rage and the barbaric nature is really rendered in his eyes & on his face. I'm also not sure if there's another artist out there who has ever mastered the PRECISE moment of shock & horror the way Dillon did either. It's tremendous, and it has to be seen to be truly appreciated.

So yeah. That's all I've got for now. I've started to check on a few other things, but I'm going to hold off until I've got a broader, more rounded experience before I drop any thoughts on those.

[G. Badger]

Has anyone else picked up The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling ? It is by Aubrey Sitterson & Chris Moreno. I just got it in the mail via Amazon. Haven't read it but, I thought this would be the best place to mention it to fellow wrestling-comic fans.

It's a 170+ pg graphic novel that seemingly covers all the major areas of wrestling (even if only briefly) like the UK, Lucha, Puro/Joshi, US Indies etc. plus the NWA, Sports Entertainment era to present. Just flipping through it, I'm really impressed.

 

[SomethingSavage]

My comic book consumption has slowed down drastically due to work and family priorities, but I'm still working my way through various Marvel story arcs I missed over the last 12 years or so.

Civil War was a weird one for me. I originally tried to ignore all the tie-ins and whatnot, and I was totally underwhelmed to be honest. It was only when I backtracked to the beginning and tried to follow EVERYTHING chronologically that the puzzle came together for me. And from there on? It made much more sense. The story itself felt more cohesive. The characters and their motivations seemed clearer. The whole picture just came into finer focus overall.

The Frontline stuff contained some of my favorite moments. I'm generally a fan of the quieter, slower, more reflective moments in between the big battles & stuff. So Frontline really helped to accentuate the main title in many aspects. It offered a unique perspective to see things from the reporters' level & follow along as they tried to cover the news - and eventually even unravel the mystery of the registration act itself.

At times, the tie-ins told better stories than the core book. I mean, the premise of Civil War absolutely works for me. The public losing faith in its masked protectors? I get that. Fearing superheroes' potential after all that death and destruction? Wanting a scapegoat for the lives of those children? It's a very raw, real, emotional issue. I just wish they would have made it MORE about the philosophical differences between Cap and Tony Stark.

To be fair, it started out that way. But things kind of got diluted as the story progressed. It eventually found its way back in time to wrap things up. Overall, it was a satisfying read. And I'm certainly glad I went back and gave all the sidebar stuff some proper time & attention.

In summary, Civil War started strong & finished strong. But - for a good chunk of the middle portion - I found myself much more interested in what the tie-ins were doing with the material. Wolverine was in total revenge mode, out for blood & uncovering this secret sleeper cell sent by Namor. Cable and Deadpool were out for answers. The Frontline stuff. All that kept me engaged and invested in the story more than Cyborg Clone Thor or whatever the fuck.

I also read Age of Ultron. I honestly don't know why. Ugh. This book. I never really "got" Ultron, even back at the peak of my fandom. He just never struck me as anything great. I dipped out for awhile when Busiek was writing Ultron Unlimited, so maybe there's secretly a gem of an Ultron story lurking out there that I'm unaware of. But this one is NOT that story.

Marvel is absolutely unafraid to show its love for dystopian alternate futures. Days of Future Past. Age of Apocalypse. Even Age of X. These stories NAILED it. Two are classics. The Legion story isn't nearly iconic, but at least it felt harmless and brief enough to be fun. It didn't feel like it overstayed its welcome or anything.

And let's face it. The best part of these future stories is the chance to see the different, aged versions of your favorite characters. All those stories gave you that. But the aged versions in Age of Ultron aren't even all that fun or different. I mean, the Black Widow look is unique, I guess. And Cap became... Uhh, Colonel America. And borrowed Nick Fury's eye patch. So there was that, I guess?

I don't know. The story starts out hot and had my interest. The heroes operating from hideouts, having to rescue a kidnapped, drugged Spidey? Humans being hunted by Ultron drones? Vision being manipulated and serving as the stand-in avatar for Ultron? I dug all that. I was on board.

But fuck. It all fell apart FAST after the time travel started. Wolverine asking his past self to kill him is a huge hole in logic that I can't comprehend. Would Logan's character really be so upset and so depressed by seeing his friends murdered that he would rather just die to forget it? Fuck nah. He'd be out for blood. He'd be on a murderous rampage. Not this sappy, suicidal stuff.

And the time-released virus idea read like such a contrived concept. I mean, it's comics. I get that we're always going to have an Ultimate Nullifier or whatever to bail us out in the end. But at least get imaginative or creative about it. Give us an artifact, an item, or a McGuffin that's halfway interesting. This time-released virus shit just came across as lazy and half-baked.

Since getting back on this big comics kick a few months ago, I don't think I've been so disappointed by any of the major story arcs I've read. And I've given most of them proper praise & glowing reviews. So I really don't feel too bad about shitting on this lame, nothing happening story.

[SomethingSavage]

Infinity was a banger of a story. Enjoyed the shit out of this one. Short, sweet, straightforward, and it packed a punch.

These cosmic level events and space opera stories can be very hit or miss with me, and Thanos himself isn't always given the greatest material - despite being an awesome presence with a neat motivation to fuel his quests and desires.

But this one works for me. Thanos is in full-on beast mode. Better yet, he's surrounded by a downright cool gang of henchmen here. The Black Order, who I totally missed out on & knew nothing about prior to this reading, is one badass crew. They're elite killers. They're essentially the Four Horsemen to his Apocalypse. Great visual designs for each one of 'em, too.

Oh. And the back story of how & why Thanos selected these individuals is pretty fucking cool, too. The idea that he summons them in their weakest & their most dire moments - when they literally reach the point of wishing for death - just works oh so well. It fits perfectly into Thanos' established obsession (and fascination) with death. I love it.

The general outline involves Thanos ordering his Black Order to go out & slaughter planets & entire species. They threaten with annihilation by force, but offer these victimized cultures a way out. Thanos requires a "tribute", which basically calls for each race to serve up the heads (literally, the decapitated HEADS) of all their children between a specific age.

Eventually, it's revealed that Thanos has been secretly hunting for his son. He is seeking to find his son and have him killed. We never really get a full, detailed explanation as to WHY - which diminishes the story just a bit for me. But that's something I may have missed in a companion book or a tie-in or something along the way. *shrugs* I don't know.

Doesn't matter. Everything else is a BLAST. The battle scenes are nuts. The scope is GIGANTIC. And a diligent, determined Thanos is something to truly behold. Dude's RELENTLESS. And powerful as fuck.

Thor gets some BIG heroic moments to shine here also. His battle cries offer up these awesome scenes that make you just want to pump your fist in the air. They're great. And his fight with Thanos - brief as can be - is king sized for the way it's handled.

I dug the way Black Bolt was depicted here as well. I've never been an Inhumans guy. I mean, Jenkins' depiction of them was okay back in the day, but I've never felt any need to seek them out or anything. With that being said, Black Bolt evacuating his people but remaining atop his throne to meet the impending threat from Thanos head-on? Fantastic. Loved it.

As always, I did a bit of digging to assemble some sort of frame work before diving into this story. And I guess this was the beginning of Marvel's push for the Inhumans to supplant the X-Men. So I can understand why it would rub some people the wrong way. But I've been so far removed from all that stuff, and so I could totally immerse myself in this story, in the stakes, and in the awesome scope of it all.

Good stuff. Hickman continues to deliver as a writer in my eyes. At this rate, I cannot wait to get around to his Secret Wars story at some point soon.

[Ricky Jackson]

RIP Stan 

[Mad Dog]

I read through most of 1960s Marvel about a decade ago now. It's hard to appreciate because his writing is so outdated but he wrote some amazing comics for the time. Amazing Spider-Man with him at the helm still holds up as a great comic book today.

[SomethingSavage]

There's a charm to his trippy, dated dialogue though. When the stories, the conflicts, or the characters aren't clicking. Yeah. It can seem rough. But on stuff like Spidey, Cap, the FF, and even Dr. Strange - it can be a LOT of fun.

Stan's writing & handling of these characters in their infancy was so innovative and imaginative in a culture and time that was starved for something like that. And, for awhile there, it seemed like he was never at a loss for ideas. Even if they weren't ALL slam dunks, Stan had way more hits than misses.

When you step back and look at his creativity combined with the sheer workload, it's downright AMAZING what he was able to do for the industry. Stan Lee was transformative.

[Ricky Jackson]

I fell in love with Silver Age Marvel through Lee-Ditko Spidey reprints from Marvel Tales in the 80s and it is really still my favorite era all these years later. Every time I lost interest in what was going on in comics I would go back to Lee-Ditko and Lee-Kirby and continue to dig deeper. So much great stuff 

[TheDuke]

I read some of the 60's Fantasic Four and X-Men that Lee wrote earlier this year, and it felt a lot better than a lot of other stuff going on in comics around that time.

I think Kelly you should bring back Imaginary Stories for a one time Stan Lee special. 

[SomethingSavage]

58 minutes ago, TheDuke said:

I read some of the 60's Fantasic Four and X-Men that Lee wrote earlier this year, and it felt a lot better than a lot of other stuff going on in comics around that time.

I think Kelly you should bring back Imaginary Stories for a one time Stan Lee special. 

What he said. Imaginary Stories was the bee's tits.

[Mad Dog]

10 hours ago, TheDuke said:

I read some of the 60's Fantasic Four and X-Men that Lee wrote earlier this year, and it felt a lot better than a lot of other stuff going on in comics around that time.

I think Kelly you should bring back Imaginary Stories for a one time Stan Lee special. 

His Spider-Man is ground breaking compared to superheroes of the time. And The Thing is really a remarkable character for the time. He's one of the most human characters you will find at the time.

[SomethingSavage]

Okay. So now I've read & re-read Original Sin, and I'm still not totally sure if I loved it or hated it.

It's a bizarre story, and I'm not entirely certain that they even accomplished what they set out to do in the end. It was difficult to decipher just what the hell was going on at first, but shit. There was also some seriously BONKERS shit in this one.

It was crazy, trippy, and outrageous at times. Plus it's a Whodunnit? style murder mystery at the heart of the matter. Oh. And you get an unusual batch of participants teaming up and working together in this thing. So yeah. There's an awful lot to like, even if the execution of the overall event is a bit jagged and jumbled.

Turning the Watcher's eyes into a new McGuffin artifact within the Marvel Universe is just plain cool. That's a creative, inventive idea. Plus they provide some super creepy visuals. And so I applaud Jason Aaron on that note. I mean, there's never really any reasonable explanation as to how they work like "information detonators" or whatever, but fuck it. This is comics. Accept the powers and move on.

Aaron also handles the character interactions very well. The banter between Dr. Strange and the Punisher is endlessly entertaining. And his depiction of Black Panther is top notch. The guy operates like a natural born leader - almost Cap like - which is what you want from a literal king.

There *is* a bit too much eye & sight wordplay. It gets a tad hokey at times. But hey. Low-hanging fruit, so what are you gonna do?

The tie-ins pretty much suck, too. The mystic spirit animal Spider-Man stuff is unfortunately channeled again, and we get the debut of Silk. She's a character Dan Slott would later use decently, but she's hardly some great creation or addition to the Spidey mythos. Her origin is lame, and really the only interesting thing about her is the unexplained physical chemistry/law of attraction that exists between her and Peter.

I could have done without the Hulk revelation, too. Did we really need to tie Tony Stark into Hulk's origin story? Trying to give Hulk his own Uncle Ben moment by having him ignore an e-mail was a paper thin premise. I guess they wanted to imply that Bruce Banner's ego and pride caused him to become the Hulk, but I don't know. It's some really weak sauce.

Dum Dum Dugan is dead? And the only version we've ever really seen in the Marvel Universe since WW2 has actually been a bunch of life model decoys all along?! What the what? Talk about a shitty, awful, unnecessary retcon.

Making Angela Thor's sister? Yawn. None of these revelations felt significant or even remotely permanent. Maybe I'm overlooking some far-reaching ramification that came out of this story, but I don't know. In that sense, this story failed to deliver. It COULD have served up some meaty, fascinating secrets about your favorite characters. But it seemed content to just kind of play around with smaller elements and origin tweaks. Felt like a waste.

The Orb is simultaneously a horrifying, grotesque character design AND eventually the comic relief in this story. In that way, he's a perfect representation of the tale itself. It's both good and bad in uniquely different ways. But yeah. Orb is the MODOK here, in that he starts off menacing and later becomes a punch line.

The portrayal of Nick Fury baffled me. And, even after two readings, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it all. I mean, the big reveal of him serving as this secret protector of the planet is pretty cool. And I'm willing to let them bend continuity a bit in order to establish that.

But this frail, older Fury is suddenly able to fend off all the Avengers? He's just a one-eyed guy in a suit, and he's thrashing Thor and company? Ehh. I don't know. I'm all for power upgrades - and even wholesale reinterpretations - but only if they're given thought and explanation. This was just sort of thrown out there.

And I assume Jason Aaron must be a big fan of the Superman/Batman battle from Dark Knight Returns, because he swiped a scene and applied it TWICE in this story. Fury kicks Cap's ass in space and says he wants Cap to always remember this moment - this image of Earth - because he murdered all those aliens to protect this planet.

Not too long later, Fury (somehow) holds his own against Thor and tells the Odinson how he wants Thor to always remember this moment - when he was felled not by a punch, but by a single whisper from Nick Fury. Ugh.

The first fight scene immediately made me think of grizzled old Bats choking Supes. The second scene just made me roll my eyes. That same speech used twice in the same story is some thick melodrama.

So what did we end up with? The Watcher was given an origin story & then killed off. Nick Fury transitioned into the new Watcher, chained to the moon to eternally watch over all things. And Bucky Barnes became the new Man on the Wall, effectively replacing Fury. Oh. And Thor cannot lift his hammer anymore.

Did any of these concepts stick? Are any of them still around? I guess I could do some more digging myself, but I figured I'd ask anyway.

But yeah. The main story itself is kind of fun. Actually, it's a lot of fun in places - flaws with Fury & all. Then, in other places, it's hard to follow and fairly awful. Just a strange story, truth be told.

But I will say I dug it much more the second time around. The reveals and the secrets still felt mostly inconsequential, which sadly makes the exercise seem like a waste. Still a fun enough story though, and there are some lingering questions that leave me wanting to follow up to see what happens next with several little threads.

[Mad Dog]

If you want a good street level book, try the Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. Good stuff, just look up a reading guide because you need to mix in a few one shots. 

[SomethingSavage]

I've just started scoping out the All New, All Different Power Man & Iron Fist, which is mostly buddy cop comedy stuff. But it's an absolute blast. Very light-hearted and heavy on the banter. Not normally my favorite approach or anything, but when done right? It's pure fun.

Don't know much at all about the creators, but the book reads like The Tick the animated series or even Larsen's Savage Dragon at times. Either way, it's breezy reading.

I'll have to give the Immortal Iron Fist a look soon. Appreciate the recommendation, man.

[SomethingSavage]

On ‎11‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 11:41 AM, Mad Dog said:

If you want a good street level book, try the Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. Good stuff, just look up a reading guide because you need to mix in a few one shots. 

Just finished this up. Thanks for the rec, man. I really dug it.

It's basically two main story arcs back-to-back, with some sidebar and subplot stuff going on. So it's a fairly quick read, and it's basically all good from start to finish.

The first arc was a great reintroduction to Iron Fist and his established Marvel history. I like what Fraction did here - giving actual reason for the upgrade to Rand's powers & skill level. Too often, you get guys leveled up with no actual explanation or effort. That's not the case here.

The idea of another Iron Fist existing out there and simultaneously drawing off the power source was neat. Nothing brilliant really, but it's clever enough. This same device would feel right at home in a GL or Speed Force story, for example.

Fraction also managed to take the Steel Serpent and make him an interesting character here. I honestly found Fraction's Iron Man to be overrated after hearing so much hype, but his work here really clicked for me.

The first arc set the stage, and the second story simply delivered hit after smash hit. The tournament is such a cool fucking concept. It's Mortal Kombat meets Bloodsport. It's Baki the Grappler brought to Marvel. And I loved every panel of it.

The characters introduced via the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven are diverse and fascinating in their own unique ways. Bizarre names, distinct character designs, you name it.

The actual battles are treated like true scenes out of your favorite kung-fu flicks, too. Voice balloons literally exhibit all the grunts, groans, and heavy breathing throughout these fights. It's something I never realized I wanted from Iron Fist until I got it here.

Oh. And all the signature "movez" names earn BIG bonus points with me, too.

Hammerfoot Thunder Strike!

Bastard's Black Bonecrusher!

Devil's Burning Backfist!

Steel Phoenix Stomp!

Whateverthefuck!

Alright. Some of these are exaggerated, but sue me. I'm going off memory here, and none of these sound too far off from the names they actually used. It's glorious. Fans of Street Fighter would eat this shit up.

I can appreciate it being a brief run with a proper ending, because that's what I'm aiming for at the moment. I'm just picking up these arcs, consuming them, and moving onto something else that sparks my interest. I have so much content and so many years to catch up on, and I'm relishing the wide selection.

With that being said, this run was good enough that I'm left wanting more. I understand the quality dropped off with the next creative team, so I'm just going to leave it alone and jump over onto something else.

My goal is to get through Secret Wars 2015 by year's end, but we'll see where all these little side project detours take me in the meantime.

[SomethingSavage]

I still need to explore the tie-ins & companion books, but the mainline Secret Wars 2015 story arc was magnificent. My god, y'all. I loved this one a lot. Like, alot a lot.

Hickman's Fantastic Four was a treasure, and this runs right alongside that for me. There's some wonderful world-building at work here. The scope is enormous. The fight scenes are downright cinematic. The revelations are gigantic. There's just so much to love here. You can truly immerse yourself in the story and this brand new world from start to finish.

Hickman is king of introducing creative new concepts that almost INSTANTLY have you biting & waiting to learn more about them. Every new idea or twist or turn he rolls out has this way of luring me in - hook, line, & sinker.

Battle World. Doomstadt. The Thor Corps as Doom's personal police force. Doctor Strange as "Sheriff" Strange and right hand of Doom. The continents divided up into separate kingdoms and territories, ruled over by various barons like Mr. Sinister, Apocalypse, and Madelyn Pryor. The Maestro and his horde of Worldbreaker Hulks. The towering, BURNING husk of Galactus operating as Franklin Richards' personal MegaZord. The Wasteland Beyond the Wall (what a wicked cool concept). And I could go on & on.

Point being? Each & every one of these things is a key new piece to the overall puzzle, and they're all so incredibly intriguing. Doom's new reality is this rich new world that something like Age of Ultron never even came close to realizing. It feels fully formed and actually lived-in by its residents.

I already knew I loved Hickman's depiction of the Fantastic Four before this, and the trend certainly continues here. His Reed Richards is right on point, and the family man shtick has never fit him better.

Hickman's portrayal of the Black Panther is awesome as well. Once again, T'Challa shines as a leader that operates & functions like a Captain America stand-in. And a suitable one at that. The panels in which he takes hold of the Infinity Gauntlet, delivers the passionate speech to the zombie army, and then rallies against Doom is simply spectacular.

Panther vs. Doom devolves into a literal fist fight between two kings, with their own ideals and philosophies spilling out, and it's essentially all this great big sacrifice - because T'Challa went into the fight, knowing for certain he would not win. Words cannot express how powerful a moment like that would play out on a TV show or the silver screen. Good stuff.

There are other enjoyable, wacky ideas at play as well. Doom convincing Johnny Storm to rise into the sky and literally BECOME THE SUN over Battle World? Come on! And Doom convincing Ben Grimm to literally become the wall to keep the zombies and androids locked out?! Insanity! These are the crazy, batshit nanners ideas you love in comic books! In the wrong hands, they're loony and absurd. But here? In Doom's fantasy world, where he had to craft cunning ways to keep the FF occupied & out of his hair? These things absolutely work.

To be fair, there *are* a couple of hokey, contrived moments in the story. But they're all relatively minor hiccups, to be honest. Some of the Valeria stuff feels excessive at times, but at least it all plays into the "family" theme in the end. And some of the Molecule Man involvement stretches credibility, but really. In a book this big and this cosmic in scope, that sort of stuff will always be a contributing factor. And it never reaches Bendis levels of sheer convenience or anything. So all's good.

I won't give TOO much more away in terms of details, but the conclusion is about as satisfying as you'd want it to be. I mean, yeah. There are some threads left dangling to keep readers enticed enough. But the final fight between Doom and Reed feels EPIC in its finality. And the split second where Doom seals his own fate is tremendous. Doom ultimately admits Reed is the better man, and the root of all this astro-turfing and world-shaping comes down to Doom's base jealousy... His unending envy of Reed Richards, the better man.

Boom. Mic drop moment right there. I ate that shit up. It's both beautiful & brilliant in its simplicity. And, above all else, it reaches right into the hearts of these characters.

So yeah. I've still got to branch out and look into some of the tie-ins & whatnot. But the main story itself is a big winner with me. Can't recommend it enough. Everything is just so damn enjoyable - the quiet character moments, the HUGE battles, the surprise pop up reveals, and on & on. Hickman continues to impress.

[SomethingSavage]

Rick Remender's run on Captain America is this big, bold, adventurous, ambitious story arc.

It almost operates like a Superman book. The idea of Cap and what he represents - a symbol of heroism and justice - is this larger than life, prevailing theme. And I really appreciate that.

Right away, Cap's foes and battles are given new life and greater scope. Arnim Zola and his Dimension Z serve as a ripe new world for Cap to explore and inhabit. It provides a clean break away from the usual and the norm in Cap's corner of the main 616 Marvel Universe, which comes like a welcome change of pace.

Plus, it's always cool to imagine this is just Cap fending off Krang in Dimension X. But maybe that's just me.

In all honesty, I dig the weight and the gravity given to Zola's world here. He's basically so sick & tired of actual existence on Earth that he's effectively established his own reality in Dimension Z. Here, he has engineered his own "family" and followers. It's hardly an all-original concept or anything, but it works and sets the wheels in motion for everything that follows.

The novelty of seeing Cap displaced in another dimension affords the readers the chance to sit in on some neat world-building, but I also like the simplicity in Remender's approach to hitting the reset button on Cap's classic "man out of time" theme. That is essentially the goal with this storyline in the first place.

Cap lives out a lifetime - experiencing every day in full. He experiences. He learns. He grows. And, in that time, he takes care of one of Zola's creations and basically raises the boy as his son. He adopts the child as his own - teaches him to hunt, to defend himself, and to uphold certain values in life. It's hardly ideal, but Cap carves out a wonderful slice of life for himself in Dimension Z.

But then, it's all so tragically ripped away from him. I won't delve into every single detail, but Cap is separated from his son. Steve Rogers has lived this full life in another dimension, while his friends & "family" back home have only aged 15 minutes. And so he's (once again) left feeling cold, empty, and alone - once again a man out of his own time.

There's a particularly powerful little exchange between Cap and Sam Wilson, wherein Cap confesses his heartbreak and grief over losing his surrogate son and just feeling like he doesn't belong at home in this world anymore. It's wrenching and gripping and simultaneously so engaging to see Cap seem so vulnerable in such emotional fashion.

Not everything is a homerun. The Iron Nail is a bit of a misfire in execution, although I admire the actual idea in theory. His idea of enslaving the rich and physically laboring them to death is actually very cool (and perfectly on point for a politically-inspired hero like Cap). So I can overlook some of the artistic flaws in the character design in order to appreciate the bigger beats of the story there.

I've been busy reading, so I admittedly haven't done much digging to find out the details about the mantle temporarily going to The Falcon. I always assumed it was just another editorial edict from Marvel at the same time they were making Iron Man a teenage black girl, The Hulk became an Asian guy, and on & on & on. It was the diversity drive, right? Apologies if that timing doesn't line up, but that's just me guessing.

Besides, I really don't have an issue with temporarily sidelining Cap and giving Sam Wilson the green light to go with the gig for awhile. It's a refreshing breather that lets Cap basically become weathered old man Bruce Wayne from Batman Beyond. He basically becomes modern day Clint Eastwood.

It's great. And it allows for the stories to focus a bit more on Steve Rogers as a strategist and a true blue, time-tested, battle-scarred commander. Grumpy Gran Torino Cap is A-okay in my book, as he really gets to flex his wisdom & experience for awhile there.

Oh. And Mindbubble. My god. Doctor Mindbubble is one tremendously TRIPPY villain. I loved him right away. He's got these warped, wicked, wacky psychedelic super powers. But at the end of the day? He's just a manipulative wimp & a smarmy little coward that can't handle the pressure of being punched in the fucking face. LOVE IT. He's just this groovy, funky, fantastic bad guy that I would love to see resurrected or used again in a major capacity somehow.

Mindbubble's origin story is outrageous, too - since it literally involves the mixing of LSD and the Super Soldier serum. The peak of his involvement comes when he traps Cap in a "For The Man Who Has Everything" dream state, which is obviously kind of a discount version of the iconic Superman story. But this also provides a neat snapshot into Steve Rogers' sheer willpower & really galvanizes his deepest desires at this particular point in time.

Anyway, yeah. There are some really enjoyable elements here, even if we are taken down a few roads that feel too familiar and seem to exist as retreaded terrain. Trust me. The overall direction is progressive and worth sticking around to see.

It all hangs together quite strongly in the end, and that's ultimately all I want out of my reading these days.

[SomethingSavage]

Civil War 2 was another weird one for me. Overall, it definitely underwhelmed. I'd put it a peg below Original Sin (which gets elevated by way of its sheer weirdness), and I guess I'd place it somewhere around the same level as Age of Ultron (which I really didn't dig at all).

Bendis is hit or miss with me a lot of times. That feels somewhat strange to say, since he was really hitting his stride around the time I dipped out of comics. He was one of my favorite "new" creators on the scene. The dude's got a knack for natural, organic dialogue. And his character development is on point at almost every turn.

But, when it comes to these larger than life story arcs (the sort Hickman thrives on, primarily), Bendis just feels out of his element. It's no wonder series (and characters) like Ultimate Spider-Man and the Jessica Jones/Luke Cage shipping are often cited among his strongest contributions to Marvel. It's not just that they were his early hits. It's also largely due to them being these slow-simmering, character-driven tales.

When it comes to these bigger team-oriented endeavors, you still get some of those key character highlights. But the moments are fewer, further in between, and harder to find. And they're never quite as sharp, because Bendis is busy trying to tell a story that feels larger in scope. But the payoff is never in proportion to all the table-setting he does in the first place, and so it all feels sort of unbalanced by the end.

One prime example is Bendis' tendency to write or create problems with built-in solutions. I realize that's practically an accepted device in comics, but it doesn't need to be so obvious or feel so contrived.

Ulysses is both the problem and the solution to said problem. He's the flashpoint and the extinguishing agent in this story. It's just lazy writing. It's way too convenient and flat for my tastes. And maybe it would be livened up if there were better beats in the story along the way, but there just aren't very many.

From that first panel of his initial appearance, Ulysses never feels like a fully developed, fleshed out person. He's introduced to be a catalyst, and that's fine. But there's never really anything compelling done with him. The guy just has visions, and some folks tend to believe him. For reasons.

Fair enough though. I can overlook that convenience for the sake of a good story. But it never quite gets over that hurdle.

Instead, we're teased with PLENTY of dangling carrots that are quickly snatched away just as fast as they're introduced. Nothing is ever really explored - not enough to give real weight to the conflict anyway.

It's unfortunate, too. Because there's actually a damn decent story waiting to be told underneath it all. The opposing ideals of prejudice versus actual justice - of assumption of guilt versus presumption of innocence - is actually a fascinating and fine setup for the story. But we're shortchanged on all that for the sake of superheroes fighting each other. Again. It's a real shame and a wasted opportunity.

In fact, the big philosophical split between Captain Marvel and Iron Man feels second rate to the Inhuman/X-Men war, which is elevated for me by the Magneto involvement and the progression of Cyclops as the jaded, bitter prodigal son of Xavier. I understand why a lot of fans hated that development, but I actually admire what they did with it and how it unfolded over a long period of time. If I were a Cyke fan boy, maybe I'd feel differently. But as it stands? I thought it made for a fine story - especially with the reveal of making him a martyr and an idea, making him very much the top student of Charles Xavier in the end after all.

So yeah. Don't get me wrong. The story has its merits & its shining moments. Hawkeye fulfilling his promise to Bruce Banner, the mutant mist crisis hanging overhead, and the basic bare bones structure of the Civil War 2 story are all quite solid. I guess I just ultimately didn't care for the way Bendis handled his end of things. It all felt very rushed and undercooked.

As always, I tried to do a little digging to see what preceded, followed, and led to this story arc at the time of its development. And apparently it was mostly a cash grab, intended to capitalize on the third Cap movie. And that makes total sense in hindsight.

I'm actually kind of glad I didn't know that going in though. I doubt I would've given it much of a chance or a fair shake. This way, even when I knew the story wasn't landing with me, I was able to seek out & find little gems that I did enjoy.

So yeah. Civil War 2 isn't exactly highly recommended reading by any means - and it doesn't compare to the first Civil War in any measurable manner - but it's fun enough. I don't feel like I wasted my time. There's some good dialogue and some thought-provoking debate along the way, as well as some pretty cool action to keep you engaged as a reader.

I'm currently right at the tail end of another major arc, which I can't wait to empty my thoughts about - even if it's just me talking to myself. It's an easy enough way to keep track of my reading.