Recommend the latest Comic or TPB you have read - Page 34

risingstar · 05-03-2016, 10:56 AM

The Boys - TPB Volumes 1-5 - written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Darick Robertson, with assist by John McRea. This collects issues 1-30 and issues 1-6 of the Herogasm mini series.

When I heard that Seth Rogen was shopping Garth Ennis’ "The Boys" (from Dynamite Entertainment) around as a TV Series, I thought I'd take a look and see what the hubbub was all about. My local library had the first 5 volumes so I loaned them out. This was a blind read as I had not heard of the title since reading about the shopped-around TV series a couple of months ago.

All this to say... BratPack did it first. Astro City did it so much better. Unfortunately, The Boys came off like a self-indulgent adolescent rape-fantasy porn fest with superheroes in it. The fact that this series lasted over 70+ issues and was a NY-Times bestseller served as yet another bewildering and sad reminder that my preferred storytelling style has all but become a thing of the past. As far as I was concerned, this was sheer gutter trash comics. Not for the faint of heart.

1/10

protector2814 · 05-03-2016, 12:13 PM

Never thought I'd see a Brat-Pack reference, ever ... but you're right, they did do this 1st. I read The Boys for maybe its 1st 12-14 issues before finally dropping it for many of the reasons you brought up. Shock for shock's sake, which I found incredibly boring after a year. It was fun at 1st, & like most of Ennis' work, I hooked almost immediately. But like some of Ennis' stuff, he just spews a little too much on the page sometimes. He's still one of my, if not my favorite writers working today, but The Boys just burnt out for me. Too much.

risingstar · 05-05-2016, 04:43 PM

Jessica Jones - Alias Volume 3 - written by Brian Bendis and drawn by Michael Gaydos.
Collects issues 10, 16-21

Another stellar run of books by Bendis. Goodness, when he is in his element, it's like a fine wine and excellent conversation.

8.5/10

protector2814 · 06-05-2016, 03:41 PM

I picked up the Simon & Kirby Horror Library from Titan books for 20% off on Free-Comic-Book-Day & cracked it last night. "Fantastic" is the word I'd use in describing it. Unlike the EC Horror stuff of the same era, Kirby & Simon took a more psychological slant & less of a blood & guts & gore & monster approach. Their partnership writing for books like Black Magic & Strange World Of Your Dreams resulted in more Twilight Zone type stories than (the great) stuff over at EC. Less extreme yet more thought provoking. You can really see the Sandman & Captain America style in their Horror, but it's completely different because of the horror. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of werewolves, ghouls, vampires, etc ... in this collection, only served along with stories on what a person actually sees the moment of death, what happens to clame-jumpers down in the mines, etc...
A great edition to my collection of the oled Horror comics. I recommend this book -

protector2814 · 06-28-2016, 09:31 AM

Just finished Jim Starlin's Dreadstar, The Beginning collection, collecting the original Epic Illustrated origin & beginning of the character. It's "cosmic" alright, no doubt about it, but it's also very & oddly dated for me. I'd forgotten how forced some of Epic's more edgy works could feel & Dreadstar seems edgy & pushy, almost over the top at times. The story should have been reigned in a bit. THere's a cosmic character named Aknaton whom kinda created Dreadstar, who's just all over the map with his powers, look, & knowledge; boringly so. He basically can fix anything. Dreadstar himself is weird & out of place as a character. Part killer, part experienced fighter, yet under the arm of Aknaton, he becomes this galaxy hero who never earns that title for me. Also, his design is just kind of boring; dark blue skin-tight costume w/ hood. He's semi balding w/ a goatee. The art is amazinig & the book reminds me so much of The Marvel Preview' Star Lord book published a little before. The Star Lord stuff was tighter. Dreadstar was fun, but I doubt I'll read it again.

MrJones · 06-28-2016, 10:30 AM

Just finished the Trial of Capt America Omni. Truth be told this was the first Captain America comic(s) I have read. If I ever read anything before involving him it would be an Avengers comic but never "his" stories. Anyways, while the person at the comic store said it's not as good as Brubaker's previous work, I really enjoyed this book. While I still prefer cosmic stories, I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout. I have found that in most Omni's or TPB there are at least a handful of issues where I don't like the art direction but I don't think there was in this one. I'd give it an 8/10. But that is mostly because I just don't have a fond connection to the character, if you are a Cap fan I would recommend.

risingstar · 06-30-2016, 03:49 PM

Astonishing Spiderman and Wolverine - written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Adam Kubert.
Collects issues 1-6.

Not recommended. If not for the decent artwork, I would have given this an even lower rating. I can't remember a writer being as hit or miss as Jason Aaron. This was an abysmal read.

2/10

Peter-Vell · 07-04-2016, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penoy

Yeah, I agree with the general opinion that he shines when doing solo, street level stuff. Daredevil, Alias and Moon Knight etc.. Big teams not quite.

I quite enjoyed the exchanges between Scott Lang and Jessica Jones.

I couldn't have said it better!

As long as Bendis focusses on one single character, and as long as it isn't a powerhouse, he is a fantastic writer...
But stuff like the Avengers and his version of the Guardians of the Galaxy really really sucks to me...
He basically ruined the Avengers for me, my favorite title ever, with stuff like adding the likes of Wolverine, Spider-man and Luke Cage to it. Wolverine he put in just because he was populair at the time, and he thought it would attract new readers...(probably Spidey too.)
Prior to this, I actually liked Luke Cage & Wolverine. Now I really really don't...
And the Guardians felt all wrong to me: I almost got the sense that, because DnA made the title great, he wanted to do his own take on it, ride on their coattails, and give it his personal twist, by putting Iron Man in it, who was super-populair at the time...

No, to me, Bendis should stick to solo superheroes.
There he shines...

Bmutha · 07-07-2016, 02:25 PM

Still early on in these series, but I've enjoyed International Iron Man and the new Moon Knight series so far.

OrangeCrush · 07-15-2016, 01:11 PM

Just spent a few hours last night reading the Hardcover version of Watchmen that I received when I purchased the Blu Ray ultimate collectors edition during Amazons Prime sale. It was only $25 and that was just too good of a deal for me to pass that up. Have always wanted Watchmen in a hardcover version. The 4 disc Blu Ray edition was just a bonus. Its actually been around 5-6 years since I last read Watchmen and it is still an absolutely brilliant graphic novel. Enjoyed it immensely! Now I would love to see them to an art edition with just the black and white panels.