What comics/graphic novels are you reading? 2015

[Small Man Big Horse]

I normally lap up anything Ellis, but just not getting into this yet.

I read that about six months ago and found it a bit blah. I mean it's a lot better than a lot of comics out there but it didn't grab me in the way Ellis often does. Plus I've lost trust in the man as he seems to get bored of projects after a bit and either rushes an ending or doesn't bother at all, so I'll probably wait until it's all over and read it then.

If you liked that SMBH, deffo check out the main Star Wars title. I've been greatly enjoying that

I'm up to issue 19 now and have been enjoying this a lot, though it's starting to get to the point where so much has happened inbetween the events of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back that it seems all a bit too much, and that they'd have probably referenced at least some of their antics in Empire. And whilst I liked the first Kenobi flashback issue a lot the second was a bit misjudged, especially the bit where they showed a young Luke Skywalker as being almost as annoying as Anakin was when he was a kid.

[GeeWhiz]

I read that about six months ago and found it a bit blah. I mean it's a lot better than a lot of comics out there but it didn't grab me in the way Ellis often does. Plus I've lost trust in the man as he seems to get bored of projects after a bit and either rushes an ending or doesn't bother at all, so I'll probably wait until it's all over and read it then.

I quite liked the Quatermass-y vibes of the first volume, the mingling of English myth and science. I'm no Ellis fanboy but it struck me as one of his stronger efforts.

[Artie Fufkin]

Bought these the other day. Looking forward to devouring them.

[Gulftastic]

Next TPB of 'Saga' is out next week!

[Artie Fufkin]

A combination of the 3 Musketeers & Buck Rogers. Whatever the subject matter, Jason always turns stories out charming and poignant.

[Small Man Big Horse]

For any fans of Dave McKean who haven't seen it before, his collection of short films is up on myspleen, it's a free leech weekend too so won't affect ratios, etc.

Also thanks to myspleen I discovered this DC effort from the seventies recently:



It's really great stuff, silly but satisfying, with some lovely artwork from the likes of Sergio Aragones and Bernie Wrightson.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Just finished Nailbiter and have to say I was a bit disappointed. It was never the best of series but it was an enjoyable romp with likeable characters, even if the writer did seem a bit too much in love with the title character. But the final issue was a bit of a mess, with the big reveals turning out to be fairly predictable, and I hated

Spoiler alert

the cliffhanger

[close]

ending,

Spoiler alert

bringing Warren back to life completely unharmed after we'd seen him dive in to a pit of fire was too ridiculous even for a series like this.

[close]

I've also read Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' The Fade Out over the last couple of days, it's a noir-ish thriller set in Hollywood which had a great central mystery, and some really strong character work, but again the ending slightly disappointed. Not as much as Nailbiter by any means,

Spoiler alert

but it wasn't a particular surprise as to who the murderer was, and why, given how few suspects there were by the final couple of issues.

[close]

[Old Gold Tooth]

I've also read Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' The Fade Out over the last couple of days, it's a noir-ish thriller set in Hollywood which had a great central mystery, and some really strong character work, but again the ending slightly disappointed. Not as much as Nailbiter by any means,

Spoiler alert

but it wasn't a particular surprise as to who the murderer was, and why, given how few suspects there were by the final couple of issues.

[close]

I was saving this one until the deluxe collected edition which I picked up last month. Absolutely loved it. I know what you mean about the ending but I don't think

Spoiler alert

it was ever meant to be a shocking mystery reveal, it was more a character piece about a man's descent into personal hell. I'm glad they didn't do the common thing of making it a completely unrealistic murderer just to shock the audience.

[close]

[AliasTheCat]

Just finished Julia Gfrorer's Laid Waste, a short character piece set during the black death, and one that I'd recommend if you're into that sort of thing.

[Custard]

Started buying those nice "deluxe" Scalped collections, and its been a real joy to read it again.

Great premise, great characters, and bleak as fuck. It's a lovely thing

[Small Man Big Horse]

I was saving this one until the deluxe collected edition which I picked up last month. Absolutely loved it. I know what you mean about the ending but I don't think

Spoiler alert

it was ever meant to be a shocking mystery reveal, it was more a character piece about a man's descent into personal hell. I'm glad they didn't do the common thing of making it a completely unrealistic murderer just to shock the audience.

[close]

I agree with you about it not being a shocking reveal, but I wanted something slightly twistier, and the culprit less obvious, but like you say it's not that important when compared to the main story.

Recently I've read Bitch Planet 1 - 10 which is well written and stylistically impressive, but I don't think it's quite as groundbreaking as some have suggested. Plus the fact that it's taken so long to create 10 issues (the first was published in December 2014, whilst issue 10 only came out last month) frustrates as well, I think I'm going to wait for the whole thing to be completed before diving back in again.

Also: Citizen Jack - A six issue image series about an obnoxious cunt who with the help of a demon runs for president, and as with Donald Trump his stupidity and plain way of speaking appeals to the general public. Apparently they came up with the idea for the comic in 2014, long before Trump entered the race, but the series was published in 2015 / 2016 and clearly draws on real life events. It's a fairly heavy handed satire but it has it's moments, and I hope it returns for a sequel.

Doctor Who - The Eleventh Doctor Year Two - Admittedly a guilty pleasure and for the times I want something unchallenging and fun, but it's fairly decent stuff and the return of Sutekh was handled well.

The Walking Dead 167 - Due to a lack of spoiler tags I won't say too much but it was another death of a major character issue, and there were a couple of moments that impressed me, which is something Kirkman hasn't done for a long old time.

[Lazy Gondolier]

I enjoyed Citizen Jack, but found the ending quite abrupt. A sequel would certainly be welcome (and would almost write itself). Still not a patch on that one-shot Sam Humphries wrote about people falling in love with crystals and things.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I enjoyed Citizen Jack, but found the ending quite abrupt. A sequel would certainly be welcome (and would almost write itself). Still not a patch on that one-shot Sam Humphries wrote about people falling in love with crystals and things.

I've not read that but will definitely check it out. And I know what you mean about the last issue, the main story needed more time to breathe and I'm not all that fussed about the introduction of another demon and corrupt politician, especially if there isn't a sequel. I'm really not sure what's happening on that front either, I've read that the series is 'on hiatus' rather than cancelled but it's almost a year since the last issue now.

[Lazy Gondolier]

I'd be surprised if Citizen Jack ever returned, I'm just thankful it made it to the scheduled final issue. To be fair, Image can be relied on for that (I think).

By the way, the other Sam Humphries comic I referred to is "Our Love is Real".

[Old Gold Tooth]

I agree with you about it not being a shocking reveal, but I wanted something slightly twistier, and the culprit less obvious, but like you say it's not that important when compared to the main story.

Fair point, it's not quite the 'murder mystery' it sets up in the first issue is it? Glad you liked though. I love a good noir story.

Things I picked up this past month:
* Saga trade 7 and Deadly Class trade 5. Both continue to be absolute aces.
* Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson. Utterly charming space adventure aimed at younger readers but good for everyone.
* Sex Criminals trade 3. Thought the first two trades were decent but this one left a really sour taste in the mouth as they did a very shit bit of meta-writing that broke the fourth wall as a lazy way of getting around a narrative hurdle. Anyone else read this and know what I'm banging on about?

[Small Man Big Horse]

The people behind the Judge Minty fan film have just released a Strontium Dog one, which looks really impressive and is quite a lot of fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EZaO1HPF4 - I'm not 100% sure about the guy playing Johnny Alpha but the rest of the cast are great and the effects are pretty stunning.

[Lazy Gondolier]

I like this trailer for the forthcoming GN "Queen Street". I'll probably never get round to buying the book - there's simply too much good stuff coming out every month - but I do really like the art, shame there's no preview pages online.

https://vimeo.com/216762928

[kidsick5000]

I like this trailer for the forthcoming GN "Queen Street". I'll probably never get round to buying the book - there's simply too much good stuff coming out every month - but I do really like the art, shame there's no preview pages online.

https://vimeo.com/216762928

Looks fantastic.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Black Hammer - Jeff Lemire's latest series, this is about a bunch of superheroes who have been trapped in a mysterious small town for the past ten years ever since they saved the world from the Anti-God. I enjoyed it a fair deal, it's got a slight Alan Moore-ish feel to it but Lemire's characterisation is strong and the plot is advancing nicely so I'm definitely looking forward to the next issue.

Outcast - After deciding to ditch the tv series I read the completely run to date only to find out that they're now behind the show. There's quite a few differences as well, but in general I can't say I'm really that excited about the comic. It has the odd disturbing moment but by christ it's slow, and as always with Kirkman the dialogue's not exactly thrilling. Might be something I go back to once it's finally finished in several years time but only if the reviews are positive.

[Old Gold Tooth]

Outcast - After deciding to ditch the tv series I read the completely run to date only to find out that they're now behind the show. There's quite a few differences as well, but in general I can't say I'm really that excited about the comic. It has the odd disturbing moment but by christ it's slow, and as always with Kirkman the dialogue's not exactly thrilling. Might be something I go back to once it's finally finished in several years time but only if the reviews are positive.

I bought the first three trades of this as I'm a Kirkman fan and I was well on board for a decent  horror series but had to stop as the pace was so slow that it genuinely didn't feel like good value for money. I'm all for a deliberate pace when done right but this was like wading through tar, and the twists and turns weren't all that twisty or turny, especially if you have any knowledge of the genre. A shame as I was really excited when Image announced this.

A much more enjoyable horror series is Scott Snyder and Jock's Wytches, also released by Image. Very creepy and with believable and interesting characters. The series stopped for a while as they were just too busy to create it but the first trade tells a self-contained 5 issue arc and is really great. Would definitely recommend to all horror fans.

[kidsick5000]

Is anyone reading the Dark Knight III: The Master Race.

I can't tell fully from the Comixology preview, but has Frank Miller decided to dress the villains in Arabic costumes?

[Norton Canes]

It wouldn't surprise me, the daft racist.

[Spiteface]

Is anyone reading the Dark Knight III: The Master Race.

I can't tell fully from the Comixology preview, but has Frank Miller decided to dress the villains in Arabic costumes?

Not really. The villains, i.e. the "Master Race" in question, is a group of Kryptonians from the bottled city of Kandor restored to full-size.

It's honestly better than Frank Miller circa 2016/2017 has any business being, although he's claimed that it's mostly Brian Azzarello's doing. Things are left wide open for a 4th, which Miller wants to do solo.

[kidsick5000]

Things are left wide open for a 4th, which Miller wants to do solo.

I bet that's got a number of people at DC shifting uneasily in their seats in anticipation.

For those wondering, this is what I was referring to'

[Spiteface]

They also cut off Green Lantern's hand in one of the backups/mini comics, too. He's not really subtle.

That said, one of the talking heads in some issues is quite obviously Donald Trump, and he's not exactly portrayed flatteringly. From what I gather, Miller's not a Trump guy, which surprises me, in all honesty:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/a-rare-interview-frank-miller-871654

Politics has shaped Dark Knight and informed a lot of your work. Any thoughts about the presidential campaigns? Are you following them?
Only for humor's sake. It's a little early to take it seriously. I think it's going to be a great time to be a cartoonist. You can't come up with a greater buffoon than Donald Trump. The fact that he thinks he can be president of the United States is one the best jokes I've read in a long time. At least I hope.

Some have said you turned Batman into a fascist. Agree?
Anybody who thinks Batman was fascist should study their politics. The Dark Knight, if anything, would be a libertarian. The fascists tell people how to live. Batman just tells criminals to stop.

[Artie Fufkin]

Black Hammer - Jeff Lemire's latest series, this is about a bunch of superheroes who have been trapped in a mysterious small town for the past ten years ever since they saved the world from the Anti-God. I enjoyed it a fair deal, it's got a slight Alan Moore-ish feel to it but Lemire's characterisation is strong and the plot is advancing nicely so I'm definitely looking forward to the next issue.

Thank you for reminding me about this. Bought the 1st issue and loved it. Subsequently forgot all about it.
I'm just coming to the end of the Gotham Central series, which has been (mostly) awesome. Love that background shit.
I'm now thinking of starting Hellblazer from the very start. Am I an idiot to take this on ?

[Small Man Big Horse]

I'm now thinking of starting Hellblazer from the very start. Am I an idiot to take this on?

I don't think so, I read it all a few years back and enjoyed it greatly. There are times where it becomes a little weak, and certain writers didn't quite gel with me, but never to the point where I thought about stopping reading it. YMMV when it comes to Peter Milligan's final 50 issues as I know they pissed a lot of people off but personally I'm a big fan of his and liked them a lot, and thought he came up with a great ending to it all.

[Old Gold Tooth]

Garth Ennis' stint on Hellblazer, mostly paired with the excellent Steve Dillon, remains my absolute favourite run of any comic series ever. It's fucking brilliant.

And I too thought Milligan did admirably with the tail end of the series. Because it had been going 300 issues (and John had been through so much by that point) there was never going to be a satisfactory tying together of all the twisted decades-long plot strands and I'm glad they didn't really try. I'd rather have something interesting and ambiguous than perfunctory and box-ticking any day.

[Artie Fufkin]

I am SUPER excited re THIS :

http://batman-news.com/2017/06/23/batmanelmer-fudd-special-1-preview/



It looks down right amazing and creepy.

[Artie Fufkin]

I don't think so, I read it all a few years back and enjoyed it greatly. There are times where it becomes a little weak, and certain writers didn't quite gel with me, but never to the point where I thought about stopping reading it. YMMV when it comes to Peter Milligan's final 50 issues as I know they pissed a lot of people off but personally I'm a big fan of his and liked them a lot, and thought he came up with a great ending to it all.

I read the 1st issue over the weekend. So bloody good ! I've only ever read issue 27 before, which is supposed to be, like, the best Hellblazer comic, like, EVAHHHHH.