Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

The Comicon Pulse put up a release today that said a new line of EC Archives is being released this fall (it's been known about for awhile but not the release date). I guess there's another expensive line I'll be trying to collect, since my EC collection is pretty spotty

Oh, and the forewords for the first two books (Weird Science and Shock Suspenstories) will be by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Fortunately, I haven't seen anything like that with the CW books yet. The only $15 books I've seen lately--and there were two this week that I know about--were the incentive variants. And when I say I've seen them, I mean that figuratively. My comic shop doesn't get them in. I ended up getting the UFF 30 variant cover for $9 on eBay. The value went down pretty quickly since the seller neglected to put any kind of protective cardboard in the envelope, and it was bent up. I wish Marvel would just put out both covers in roughly equal quantities.

Speaking of alt covers, I'll easily pass up the CW second-print covers. I thought I'd have to have the Spider-Man unmask alt cover, until I found out that it simply features the panel from inside the comic, reproduced on the cover. I can do without that. All of their CW reprints will use that technique, except She-Hulk 8 and Thunderbolts 103. They'll get new, original covers. I still won't buy them, though.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

I didn't meen it as a knock, I know I've paid some high prices before the proliferation of TPBs just to finish a story, and it always burned me. The whole multi cover, chromium cover stuff was pretty much lost on me Except:

that superman issue (might of been Man Of Steel, I'd have to look it up), that featured static clings of Lobo and Superman so you could design your own fight cover. That was pretty sweet.

As far as dark Knight Strikes Back : I loved it. I thought it was on par with DKR in many regards. The art was a little strange, but I dug that it was as much an un-romanticized Superman story as it was a Batman story. Lot's of neat stuff to about how the heroes have basically been held hostage, while commenting about the sexualization of our culture. Very different than DKR, but in a good way.

Frank Millers Spaw/Batman that he wrote with Todd McFarlane was pretty good too.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

I would probably bite on these if they are full color. I own most of the Annuals that they put out, but I'm missing both Weird Science and Weird Fantasy. The annuals were a good value, but they are a little cheap as far as the paper and that goes. Good for when they came out 10 years ago, but deffinately room for improvement.

Only issue with these EC volumes well be the $100 plus price tag they most likely well have. EC books are worth it though.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Yeah, I liked the plot in Dark Knight Returns about using the heroes, and it was a satire on the genre itself, with Miller even taking jabs at the "dark" trend in comics he helped create. Superman's characterization just seemed jarring to me though (however, it might have been the logical progression from DK2). That said, I loved what Miller did with Hal Jordan/GL in this. Like I said, disappointed isn't really the word. It was just so...different, I guess. I'll have to give it another read sometime soon.

I never was a big fan of variant covers in the sense that I felt like I had to have them all. I get mad when the cover I prefer is the rarer of the two. I like how Wolverine: Origins ships with a 50/50 split, so I can get the one I want.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

DKSA was a mess, not a good followup to DKR.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Pretty big week this week. I got all the Civil War titles, most of the Marvel Universe titles, and the Marvel western title. Justice League of America #0 was my only DC. Flash #2 came out, but I didn't really care for the premiere issue, so I think I'll drop it. Comics are too expensive to buy titles that have to grow on me.

I am glad that X-Factor is only tied into the Civil War with two issues. Last month's was the only Civil War tie-in I have not liked. I would think if you're hooking into the major crossover event, you'd try to put your best foot forward for new readers, but I didn't know what the hell was going on. I bought the follow-up in the interest of being complete, but I don't think I'll be continuing with the title. If it were more than two issues, I probably wouldn't even continue with the tie-ins.

An example in the other direction is Cable and Deadpool. I would never have picked up this book on its own, but it was pretty amusing.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Greg, I would suggest checking out the back-issues of X-Factor. It's one of the more intriguing X-titles out right now, in my opinion.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

I have actually collected the new X-Factor...but haven't read any of it. But I have fond memories of Peter David and X-Factor. Remember the one stand-alone issue he did with a mystery guest where he psychologically deconstructed the entire team...flawlessly??? But I'll give them a read soon.

I did see a 25 cent Dark Horse special with a lovely Mignola cover that I bought on a whim.

Shaolin Cowboy is incomprehensible, but there is real joy in Darrow's art. #6 hit this week.

I think next week starts Morrison's Batman

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

This month's was better than last's, but I'm not sure I'd invest in it. I don't know that I'm a big Peter David fan. I used to read his Hulk, and his Spider-Man: The Other issues were good, but I haven't really liked the second two arcs in Friendly Neighborhood.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

This week's haul:

Civil War - art so pretty, story was a bit on the fluffy side, but loved the final page.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters - lukewarm on this 8-issue miniseries, but liked the quick intro to the team members.

Supergirl and the Legion - felt like a Strangers in Paradise issue in tone, but in danger of showing little momentum in storylines.

JLA 0 - the menegerie of artists in this issue made for jarring page turns as the past history of the JLA through the decades gets some coverage in preparation for the new relaunch.

52 - Batwoman finally gets in on the action. Donny Troy's history lessons finally concludes. As a weekly, it's still okay, the writing/plotting isn't quite up to engrossing levels of a torrid page-turner yet.

Also picked up Runaways (will blow through the entire second volume soon), She-Hulk (also will be reading the second season in one or two chunks), and Superman/Batman (a few months behind for now).

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Yeah, X-Factor is way different now than it used to be, seeing as how it centers more around investigation rather than straight up action. I enjoy it, and the art is really good. It's good to have an X-Title that doesn't really revolve around the X-Men, too.

I haven't read anything I bought today, yet, but I'll be getting to it shortly. I'm mostly looking forward to Civil War: X-Men and Eternals.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

This month's She-Hulk was good and funny. It's nice to still have comics like this, but I'm sure it won't be around long. Isn't it perpetually in danger of being cancelled, like The Thing was? JLA, I didn't quite understand. I don't know much of anything about the DC Universe, so the chosen format was confusing. The last page of Civil War was great, though expected due to recent events in another Marvel book.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Speaking of Civil War...I did enjoy #3. McNiven's a fantastic artist, so he's the real draw. Some gorgeous panels in the book. I've made my CW beef elsewhere regarding the inadequacy of the comic book suspension of disbelief to handle the material, as well as the continued inability of the writers to not allow significant bias, but what I've heard (because I am not reading everything CW related...JUST the main title) has the potential to make the premise even cheaper.

CW speculation based on existing evidence...BIG RANT!!!

Warning Spoiler! Click to show

But enough on that. Pretty art.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

There was a sequence in the second Wolverine tie-in that seems to lend support to that. I'm probably going to wind up regretting following the series. Sounds like it'll put the lie to Millar's proclamation that the series would be fair to every side of the debate.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Heh. We're talking about a guy whose idea of being fair to right-wingers is citing his Captain America line: "Surrender?! You think this 'A' stands for France?!"

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Any Marvel series with Wolverine and Captain America on the same side is NOT fair. One is their most popular character and the other is their Superman/Batman/Moral Proxy. I am enjoying the comic for the eye candy, but it's contortions of major characters (Reed Richards, etc) and their relationships in order to create their desired situation is, well, ridiculously biased. I'm sure it'll be quite fair in Millar's eyes, because he's proxying real world events (or his version of them) using SUPERHEROS, which don't represent real world realities. Trust me...I can go on and on and on and on But I won't. The less Marvel pretends this story is fair and "relevant", the happier I'll be.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

all this Cival War talk is making me think I'm missing out on something special, and that maybe 52 is kind of crap for not sparking such debate.

Hopefully it all makes sense in the collected editions.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Minor Civil War 3 spoiler:


Warning Spoiler! Click to show

There was a poll on marvelcomics.com about whose reaction to Spider-Man's unmasking you were looking forward to the most. My choice wasn't listed, but I'm still hoping for a scene between Johnny and Peter. I have no idea why Peter never trusted him with his identity, but it's something worth exploring. I'd like to see Johnny be the only guy on Earth who hasn't seen the news footage so he can get the word directly from Peter. "Wait. You were the guy making time with Doris Evans!"

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Johnny found out a year or two ago in Spider-Man/Human Torch: I'm With Stupid (I think the subtitle was added for the collection). Great little mini-series, and I think the main reaction was that few people had realized that Johnny didn't know.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Dang, I missed that. I'll have to seek it out. For some reason, I didn't like the Spider-Man/Torch team-ups when I was a kid, but now I dig the heck out of them. Thanks for the heads-up.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Quotes from a Marvel Panel at SDCC:

"In regards to Amazing Spider-Man, Straczynski said that as the story progresses, Peter Parker will begin to seriously realize that he may have joined the wrong side."

"Asked why Ben Grimm is thinking leaving the U.S., JMS explained that while he's a patriot, he cannot support what his country is doing."

"All the Marvel characters," Quesada said, "Come from the real world. The whole of the Marvel Age of Marvel characters come from the Cold War, and involve people getting their powers from nuclear power and accidents." Quesada explained that while fans may think Civil War is hitting too close to a "realistic" nature now, the original Marvel heroes were all about people becoming heroes through government-sponsored programs - and those same powers and accidents were also responsible for creating horrific villains that can tear the country apart."

"...McCann noted, "If you think Iron Man is being a jerk right now, just wait..."

"...Guggenheim explained that Logan is focused on tracking down Nitro, who kicked off the whole mess, but will find that the conspiracy behind the explosion in Stamford is a little more complicated than he would have expected..."

Clearly, an unbiased look at the vices and virtues of superheroes above the law resisting a modicum of oversight. Superheroes, a genre I love, LOVE, LOVE, is all about moral people being above the law because they can be trusted. Injecting the law into it, especially in a willy-nilly effort to mirror (completely different) real world events, and then stacking the deck in such a manner is woeful, woeful storytelling. What I find amusing is that my position on such a topic, as would ANY SANE PERSON IN THE REAL WORLD, people with such powers would never be allowed to operate without government sanction or behind a mask. And I consider that a LEFTIST leaning of mine So to see people on that end of the spectrum embracing the "breaking the law is OK if I trust and agree with you" is rather shocking. But the comics aren't the real world, so they shouldn't look at that. Unless someone as talented as Busiek is writing it (as he touches on such things in Astro City). Millar and team don't have the finesse for such storytelling, as evidenced by the quotes above and the ham-handed characterization.


As an aside for why I am not getting much Marvel (though they have so much talent working there now):

"I don't think anybody will quite figure it out," Quesada said in regards to which side the Punisher will play in Civil War, noting that he enjoys the yin-yang aspect between the Punisher and Captain America, explaining that they're essentially the same type of man, but a product of two different times."

Geez, Quesada really has insight into his own characters I love Marvels' universe, but the EiC fundamentally misunderstands Captain America.

Nothing but rants today I'm very sorry. In a comic world, this would all be fine, but their constant allusions to how "real" and "ripped from the headlines" it all is makes me nauseous.

In other news, there will be a short Hellboy story in a DH monster anthology later this year by Mignola, so that's great news.

And at least Civil War turned me onto Steve McNiven. I'll continue to get it, if for no other reason than to rant to ya'll.

Enjoy,
Chuck

For those going to SDCC, I'm very jealous

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Ever since I saw McNiven's work on Meridian, I've been following his career. He did a nice run on Marvel Knights 4 too.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Is it just me, or is Iron Man becoming more and more like Batman leading up to IC? Increasingly paranoid, using his resources to effectively spy on his fellow heroes (talking about how the armor knows Cap's moves).

Of course, Cap had that device to take down Tony too, so...

Just throwing that out there.

Also, just a small rant...I really hate solicitations. I'm not saying the end of CW 3 was absolutely ruined, because I knew
Warning Spoiler! Click to show But still, the solicitations pretty much gave it away. I'm going to have to steer clear of them from now on. I almost feel addicted to them though.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

I notice that the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier has been solicited. Easily my most anticipated comic of the year. Looks like it's going to be quite a production

Only stories out of San Diego that have caught my eye so far are Frank Miller hiring on to direct a film adaptation of The Spirit (I would have prefered to see Brad Bird's version, but we'll see), Guillermo Del Toro developing Deadman for film, and Dark Horse confirming that they're going to be releasing more Robert E. Howard-based series...

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Black dossier is one I'm looking forward to as well. I was fearful it wouldn;t come to fuition seeing as Moore has pretty much shut down ABC comics. This and Lost Girls are my 2 most anticpated books this year, unless those EC Archives come out.

Frank Milller directing "The Spirit"?? It could be interesting, as Miller seemed to be close to Eisner, so it should be true to the books. My concern would be his ability to direct. I'd pressume that Rodriguez was more responsible for the "Sin City" movie, with Miller more of a check than actually all out directing.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

Are there in-print trades collecting the classic Mirage TMNT? The trailer for the new movie put me in the mood.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

News from Comicon San Diego:

Adam Hughes to write and drawn All-Star Wonder Woman.

I had heard rumblings about this, but didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't pan out. But still, let's hope he can keep to at least a bi-monthly schedule, or get plenty of headstart issues in the can before it gets solicited in Previews in 2007.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

It's been the big "waiting for the announcement" title for months now. We expected an ASWW, and we expected Hughes to draw it. But I am still excited for it.

Re: Comics: The Weekly Rundown (was Heroes Con 2006)

IMO, the most interesting announcement at San Diego was Oni saying they're in negotiations to adapt Stephen Colbert's Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Janssen Adventure