Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 09:06:28 AM

Login with username, password and session length

The All New Comics Thread 2017+ Edition

Started by Small Man Big Horse, October 13, 2017, 05:58:40 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Artie Fufkin

I'm currently on vol 5 of Vaughan's Saga. it is so FUCKIN awesome. Every issue there's some random weird happening. Brilliant stuff.

Edit - I wish I would stop using the word 'awesome' so frequently.

chveik

Quote from: Artie Fufkin on July 20, 2018, 03:35:13 PM
I'm currently on vol 5 of Vaughan's Saga. it is so FUCKIN awesome. Every issue there's some random weird happening. Brilliant stuff.

Agreed. I just read a webcomic called Privated Eye that Vaughan did some time ago, it's really good too.

magval

Dragging this old post up because it's brilliant, and the book it refers to is on sale again and is every bit the trip goutpony says. Probably not best to read it just before bedtime, some of those images are extremely unpleasant in not-immediately obvious ways.

Quote from: gout_pony on April 08, 2018, 12:46:25 PM
There's a big Fantagraphics sale on at Comixology at the moment:
https://www.comixology.co.uk/Fantagraphics-Sale/page/3492?tid=B140912003_Fantagraphics_Fantagraphics_Linewi

Simon Hanselmann's charmingly debauched melancholia and Los Bros Love and Rockets comics for lower prices than they deserve!

Both have really helped me get through bad patches of mental health for very different reasons. Megg and Mogg is comforting in the way that Always Sunny is comforting - if such wretches are human, you must be human too. Love and Rockets is like being given a great extended family of cool fuck-ups and Almodovar-style mothers. Basically, all the appeal of a soap (watching characters age in real-time over 30 years of comics) but impeccably written and drawn and at least one character courtesy of each brother who you'll fall in with [for me it's Maggie in Jaime's and Venus in Gilbert's - partly cause the latter is basically my sister].

I already owned all of that so instead I made the most exciting digital purchase I've made this year - Al Columbia's Pim and Francie. I'd wanted to get hold of the hardcover collection for years but it was always so exorbitantly expensive and I never ever thought that somewhere along the way Fantagraphics might provide a scan... and I actually think a pdf. file might be the best way to read it.

Pim and Francie is like if a Walt Disney employee circa. 1929 lost their mind, became a reclusive serial killer and kept a scrapbook. Pim and Francie is that scrapbook. Or else, if Necronomicon was written in Who Framed Roger Rabbit's Toontown.

I think at first appearance it might seem like Columbia just uses basic shock tactics - combining the innocent look of old Disney with fucked up shit - but I think he's just as good (if not better) than celebrated artists like Paul McCarthy at dredging up the most infantile psychosexual horror... in many ways similar to David Lynch's visual art, but Columbia's has none of Lynch's painterly primitivism - he has serious drawing chops.

However, he also is notorious for sabotaging his own output, ripping up half-completed drawings or destroying commissioned work. As such, Pim and Francie is feat of salvage. You get traces of narrative, but the whole thing feels as though it is falling apart as the seams while you read it. I actually found the experience of reading it through very late last night while slightly feverish provided the experience I had hoped to get out of reading House of Leaves, but didn't.

This is where it being a .pdf file comes in helpful. Sometimes I was zooming right in to examine the half-erased residue of background details Columbia clearly got dissatisfied with, getting lost among the textures of paint and tippex. Other times I was turning the monitor sideways (I probably should have just rotated the file) to read scribbled notes in the margins; suddenly noticing a couple of tiny spots of blood on the page or a concerning stain on a piece taped back together after having been ripped apart in frustration or anger.

Other times I was having to zoom right out to see a whole panorama and understand that what I had thought was just a single image was actually part of a whole longer comics chain.

In short, you have to read it under the right conditions, letting yourself take the imaginative leap into engaging with the work on an intuitive, sensory level. It's kind of like Twin Peaks: The Return that way.

Anyway, if you like horror and 1920s-1930s animation it is recommended in the strongest possible terms...
https://www.comixology.co.uk/Pim-Francie-The-Golden-Bear-Days/digital-comic/413605





garbed_attic

Quote from: magval on July 21, 2018, 11:23:05 AM
Dragging this old post up because it's brilliant, and the book it refers to is on sale again and is every bit the trip goutpony says. Probably not best to read it just before bedtime, some of those images are extremely unpleasant in not-immediately obvious ways.

Thank you! Very kind of you! Yeh - it really draws out a primal wrongness in such a way I've only seen in glimpses in other works of horror.

Small Man Big Horse

Sex Criminals 14 - 17 - I really liked this initially but I'm finding it a bit of a struggle now. Jon is such an incredibly unlikeable character that it's hard to root for them as a couple, and there's something about the writing that feels smug, like they think they're doing something so unique and special which I don't think is the case any longer. Which is a shame as it had a lot of potential at first, but now I don't know if I'm going to bother reading it in the future.

garbed_attic

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on July 22, 2018, 01:53:42 AM
Sex Criminals 14 - 17 - I really liked this initially but I'm finding it a bit of a struggle now. Jon is such an incredibly unlikeable character that it's hard to root for them as a couple, and there's something about the writing that feels smug, like they think they're doing something so unique and special which I don't think is the case any longer. Which is a shame as it had a lot of potential at first, but now I don't know if I'm going to bother reading it in the future.

I haven't read it but long been intrigued. What makes him so unlikable? How transgressive is the comic generally?

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: gout_pony on July 22, 2018, 12:40:43 PM
I haven't read it but long been intrigued. What makes him so unlikable? How transgressive is the comic generally?

He's just ridiculously insecure, but also constantly lies to his girlfriend and does incredibly stupid (and dangerous) things despite her begging him not to. As for being transgressive, it breaks the fourth wall every so often (one moment sees the writer putting himself in to the comic and arguing with the artist as he doesn't know how to write a certain scene), and the sex stuff has a feeling of "Wow, aren't we amazing to discuss sex so frankly" but it just gets a bit boring after a while.

BritishHobo

All three library editions of Buffy season 10 have been announced as coming out this year, but no mention of Angel and Faith. Hope that's not being abandoned.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: BritishHobo on July 22, 2018, 05:56:33 PM
All three library editions of Buffy season 10 have been announced as coming out this year, but no mention of Angel and Faith. Hope that's not being abandoned.

I'm a bit behind on the Angel side of things but I noticed that Faith's name has been dropped from the comic now and it's gone back to being just called Angel.

BritishHobo

That'll add to the confusion since they published all the After The Fall stuff recently in two volumes as Season Six.

How was season ten? Is there much value in reading both alongside each other or should I just get the Buffy season and hang fire on A&F?

I may just stop faffing about and start following the paperback editions, catch up quicker.

Gulftastic

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on July 22, 2018, 06:05:40 PM
I'm a bit behind on the Angel side of things but I noticed that Faith's name has been dropped from the comic now and it's gone back to being just called Angel.

Yes, to it's detriment, I feel. The last run teamed Angel with a Illyria. It was an OK romp.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: BritishHobo on July 22, 2018, 06:33:10 PM
That'll add to the confusion since they published all the After The Fall stuff recently in two volumes as Season Six.

How was season ten? Is there much value in reading both alongside each other or should I just get the Buffy season and hang fire on A&F?

I may just stop faffing about and start following the paperback editions, catch up quicker.

Season 10 of Buffy was okay but the art was fairly weak, and if I'd paid to read it I'd probably be a lot more critical of it.

ads82

I picked up the first volume of Nextwave: agents of H.A.T.E by Warren Ellis for a couple of quid at my local charity shop. Has anyone read it before?

kidsick5000

Quote from: ads82 on July 23, 2018, 08:01:09 AM
I picked up the first volume of Nextwave: agents of H.A.T.E by Warren Ellis for a couple of quid at my local charity shop. Has anyone read it before?

Absolutely. Get the second volume too.
It's a glorious book that did not get enough love at the time - certainly not enough sales.
The art by Stuart Immonen is awesome too. The right balance of detail and cartoon.
They did want to continue the story but they couldn't afford an Ellis/Immonen team-up. Not for the units it was shifting (or something like that).

It's what all comic books should be - well-made fun

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Artie Fufkin on July 20, 2018, 03:35:13 PM
I'm currently on vol 5 of Vaughan's Saga. it is so FUCKIN awesome. Every issue there's some random weird happening. Brilliant stuff.

This issue; a dragon sucking itself off! Bingo!!

Small Man Big Horse

Descender 32 - The final issue, and for a long old time it looked like it was going to be one of the bleakest endings to a series that I'd ever read, and I wasn't particularly enjoying it to be honest. But then Lemire turned it around with the final couple of pages, and I can't wait for when Ascender debuts now!

Small Man Big Horse

Immortal Hulk 1 - 3 - I'm not much of a Marvel fan (outside of the films, at least) but I'd heard good things about it and it is indeed rather fun stuff. The third issue has a Rashomon structure to it, with four different art styles, which made for a decent read, and I like what they're doing with the Hulk and Banner in general.

Small Man Big Horse

The Walking Dead 182 - Sigh. Why do I do this to myself? I haven't enjoyed the comic for about 80 issues, indeed it was the death of Glenn that fucked me off no end, and yet for some masochistic reason I keep reading it. So what does Kirkman have to offer us this time around?

Vegetable (or fruit?) criticism!



Potato love!



Warm welcomes!



Table tennis!



The abject horror of the new world!



Cunt! Carl as a blacksmith!



Okay, that was slightly disingenuous but it really is a tepid, tedious read with no excitement or anything of interest happening at all (bar the tomato chat, admittedly) and if I paid money to read such nonsense I'd be so furious I'd probably gouge my eyes out and then send them to Kirkman in the post so he'd know the misery he'd caused.

Also, I just discovered that this exists:



When Kirkman mentioned it in the letters column I genuinely thought he was taking the piss, but no, no, somehow this atrocity exists.

kidsick5000

It's a struggle. You don't know if you're just going to get an issue of primitive domestic calm with a sudden brief cliffhanger.
The Whisperers was briefly interesting but I feel this needs a boost via time jump to elevate it being a story about a farming community.
It feels like this current story is close to having been told.

BeardFaceMan

The Quotable Negan, thats actaully a thing? He has by far the worst dialogue of any character I've ever read in a comic,  a 15 year old boys idea of edgy and cool dialogue. I had to stop reading, its turned into a daytime soap opera, boring dialogue and plot lines and all. I feel like its been too shit for too long now for it to be turned around and become great again, I'm not sure Kirkman is a capable enough writer to do that anymore. Didn't Kirkman say he has an ending to the story? Seems silly to string it out past 200 issues now, just get on with it mate. Is he writing anything else at the moment or is this his cash cow hes going to keep milking?

kidsick5000

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on August 08, 2018, 04:58:47 PM
a 15 year old boys idea of edgy and cool dialogue.
Ta-daaaaa! There's your demographic, plus the perfect stocking-filler for any passing relative of a  TWD fan

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on August 08, 2018, 04:58:47 PM
The Quotable Negan, thats actaully a thing? He has by far the worst dialogue of any character I've ever read in a comic,  a 15 year old boys idea of edgy and cool dialogue. I had to stop reading, its turned into a daytime soap opera, boring dialogue and plot lines and all. I feel like its been too shit for too long now for it to be turned around and become great again, I'm not sure Kirkman is a capable enough writer to do that anymore. Didn't Kirkman say he has an ending to the story? Seems silly to string it out past 200 issues now, just get on with it mate. Is he writing anything else at the moment or is this his cash cow hes going to keep milking?

In the letters page he threatens talks about it going on for a long while yet, and I know a while back it was hinted that it would be around 300 issues. Fuck knows what he'll fill them with, but given that he's no problem with repeating himself I imagine it'll be more human vs human nonsense.

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on August 08, 2018, 05:54:27 PM
In the letters page he threatens talks about it going on for a long while yet, and I know a while back it was hinted that it would be around 300 issues. Fuck knows what he'll fill them with, but given that he's no problem with repeating himself I imagine it'll be more human vs human nonsense.

300? Oh Jesus Christ. Have there been many series that have gone 300 issues with a single writer? He ran out of ideas ages ago, I dread to think what it will look like in 5 years time, never mind another 100-odd issues.

Phil_A

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on August 08, 2018, 09:48:30 PM
300? Oh Jesus Christ. Have there been many series that have gone 300 issues with a single writer? He ran out of ideas ages ago, I dread to think what it will look like in 5 years time, never mind another 100-odd issues.

Cerebus The Aardvark famously, although it's author had basically lost his mind by the time he finished. And it took him around three decades to be done.

Small Man Big Horse

Doctor Who - The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor issue 1 - Tenuously linked to the 13th Doctor, but this is actually two 10th Doctor stories. The first is by James Peaty and it's fucking awful, as the Doctor jokes about someone having died which was actually his fault, and doesn't seem to give a toss when a bunch of other folk die too. Easily the worst Who comic I've ever read. The second story is only four pages long but it's by Jody Houser, of my beloved Faith fame, and a lot lot better, which bodes well as she's due to write the 13th Doctor series when it launches.

Doctor Who - The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor issue 2 - Two more stories, both featuring the 11th Doctor. Once again James Peaty handles the main story, which sees the Doctor in 19th century San Francisco which is oddly populated by a bunch of robots all wandering around in plain sight. It's not as horrible as the first issue but it's a by the numbers alien invasion where the Doctor solves everything using the sonic. Blah. The back up story (again by Jody Houser) is lovely stuff, but four pages again, so over in a flash.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on August 09, 2018, 03:09:25 AM
Doctor Who - The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor issue 1 - Tenuously linked to the 13th Doctor, but this is actually two 10th Doctor stories. The first is by James Peaty and it's fucking awful, as the Doctor jokes about someone having died which was actually his fault, and doesn't seem to give a toss when a bunch of other folk die too. Easily the worst Who comic I've ever read. The second story is only four pages long but it's by Jody Houser, of my beloved Faith fame, and a lot lot better, which bodes well as she's due to write the 13th Doctor series when it launches.

Going by the preview of that 10th Doctor comic, is this where he's started his Time Harem?

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on August 09, 2018, 08:29:40 AM
Going by the preview of that 10th Doctor comic, is this where he's started his Time Harem?

It does look like it but there's no actual fucking in the issue.

Judge Dredd Year One  - Written by 2000AD editor Matt Smith, this is set in 2080 and sees Dredd dealing with various criminals who all of a sudden have telekinetic powers. It's ultra violent stuff but lacks a sense of humour, and worst of all Dredd is a fairly bland character in this.

madhair60

I just read Paying For It by Chester Brown, please recommend other comics in this vein, thanks

DocDaneeka

If you mean slightly bleak confessional comics by gross guys you would probably like friend of Chester Brown, Joe Matt. I don't think he is doing much any more but you should be able get a hold of his autobiographical comic Peep Show.

I Never Liked You about Chester's childhood is pretty good too.

Maybeee My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf another bleak black & white recent classic.