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, 05:57:48 PM

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

Mister Six

I'm sure I would have understood the plots, I just think a lot of the references, philosophical aspects and so on would be lost on me.

I did have a crack at Delano's Animal Man earlier this year (it was the cover with the big angler fish floating over a town that entranced me) but sadly, yes, it wasn't much cop. Felt like his "meat is murder" two-part Hellblazer story stretched to breaking point over several years. And hearing Buddy whine about the environment got a bit oppressive in short order too, especially given the shitfuckery that is climate change at present.

Some really stunning Steve Pugh artwork, though, especially in the opening story. I meant to make a thread about "Your favourite/the most dazzling comic book pages and panels" but never got around to it. I will eventually, though. Probably.


Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Mister Six on May 02, 2019, 03:55:01 AM
I'm sure I would have understood the plots, I just think a lot of the references, philosophical aspects and so on would be lost on me.

I did have a crack at Delano's Animal Man earlier this year (it was the cover with the big angler fish floating over a town that entranced me) but sadly, yes, it wasn't much cop. Felt like his "meat is murder" two-part Hellblazer story stretched to breaking point over several years. And hearing Buddy whine about the environment got a bit oppressive in short order too, especially given the shitfuckery that is climate change at present.

That's how I felt, it lost all subtlety and smashed the message home far too hard each time, which was a shame as I liked the characters. Well, bar Cliff, he was of course terrible.

QuoteSome really stunning Steve Pugh artwork, though, especially in the opening story. I meant to make a thread about "Your favourite/the most dazzling comic book pages and panels" but never got around to it. I will eventually, though. Probably.

That sounds like a great idea to me, I've a few examples over the years as I've taken a screengrab of pages I've loved, one of which also happens to be from Steve Pugh's work on Animal Man, though it was the Lemire run rather than Delano's.

DCeased 1 - DC's take on Marvel Zombies where thanks to a virus transmitted via social media (yeah, I know) six hundred million people turn feral and start eating each other. Will anyone survive? Will anyone care as it one of those Elseworlds stories? I dunno but it was throwaway fun and worth reading for free I guess.

Angel 1 - Also rebooted and tying in with the new Buffy series, I'm fond of the latter but I'm not sure if this is going to work so well if only because Angel's such a whiny and moody emo sod in it. I'll stick with it for a couple of issues but I'd be surprised if it ever becomes anything I love.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 02, 2019, 02:14:43 PM
DCeased 1 - DC's take on Marvel Zombies where thanks to a virus transmitted via social media (yeah, I know) six hundred million people turn feral and start eating each other. Will anyone survive? Will anyone care as it one of those Elseworlds stories? I dunno but it was throwaway fun and worth reading for free I guess.

Well, I guess it's 14 years since Marvel Zombies started

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 02, 2019, 02:14:43 PM
where thanks to a virus transmitted via social media

Oh FFS


Mister Six

After years of waiting, I finally read Grant Morrison's The Mystery Play! And it's, er, okayish? He seems to be going for the fragmented, eerie storytelling style that he used in his two Hellblazer issues, but Jon J Muth's painted artwork - which goes heavy on the photo referencing - is too stilted to carry weight. If only he'd been able to drag in David Lloyd, whom he had on his Hellblazer arc. The story itself is also rather simplistic despite the portentious tone and a curious ending.

That came in a collected double-bill with Sebastian O, a three-part Vertigo miniseries from the 1990s that's essentially "What if Oscar Wilde was a sociopathic super-spy in a steampunk Victorian London?" Sadly, it's not nearly as interesting as that makes it sound. It doesn't really do much of interest with its central conceit, and Sebastian is a deeply unlikeable cunt. There's a sort-of twist at the end that doesn't really go anywhere, and it feels a bit like a fleeting fancy that Morrison was never really committed to. Lovely pastel colours on Steve Yeowell's art though.

To reassure myself that Morrison is still great, I re-read All-Star Superman, and thankfully it's still glorious - the perfect encapsulation of everything wonderful about Superman, and a great antidote to Zack Snyder's abominations. The issue "Neverending", in which Superman wraps up his unfinished business before he dies, brought tears to my eyes, although it wasn't the much-shared suicidal goth page, but the bit where Superman releases his nano-pals to fix the kids in a cancer ward. Wonderful, life-affirming stuff. And Frank Quitely's art! Yowza!

kidsick5000

All-Star Superman is close to perfect. It is a perfect mix of accessible yet smart writing and the art is beautiful and smart too. It's a book where you see instantly that they just get it. Quietly's slumping Clark Kent is so damn good.

DC does keep on having these high watermarks seemingly despite itself. They're never part of the regular series, it feels. Mister Miracle is on the outside edges where it can't affect anything.

I tried DCeased. Yeah. Zombie outbreak that can be transmitted physically or through screens (someone watched BirdBox then). It's a zombie tale, just that unlike Marvel Zombies, as ever DC will have zero sense of humour. It's no wonder Zack Snyder got that gig. Anyway, the bit that irked me was having the heroes upset that Batman tracks their whereabouts. Yeah. That. Still.

Mister Six

Quote from: kidsick5000 on May 05, 2019, 01:53:20 PM
DC does keep on having these high watermarks seemingly despite itself. They're never part of the regular series, it feels. Mister Miracle is on the outside edges where it can't affect anything.

You're saying Mister Miracle is good? Is it a current ongoing?

Not arsed about zombies. Especially humourless DC ones. I have enormous affection for the DCU, but lordy, their editorial decisions can be appalling. How's Vertigo these days? Did they relent on the "no creator-owned" rule after Karen Berger quit?

kidsick5000

Quote from: Mister Six on May 05, 2019, 03:06:41 PM
You're saying Mister Miracle is good? Is it a current ongoing?

Mini-series recently compiled. A lot of it hinges on Mitch Gerard's art. But it is up for Eisner's and other awards.

Quote from: Mister Six on May 05, 2019, 03:06:41 PM
Not arsed about zombies. Especially humourless DC ones. I have enormous affection for the DCU, but lordy, their editorial decisions can be appalling. How's Vertigo these days? Did they relent on the "no creator-owned" rule after Karen Berger quit?

I've tried some of the Vertigo stuff, but none of it has that spark the classic era had. Or at least that's how I feels to me.
The Milk Wars looked fun - had a nostalgia for that early 90s psychedelia -  but was so oblique it was winking at itself. It has no access point

Mister Six

I'm going to move on to Gerard Way's Doom Patrol when I'm done with Morrison and Pollack. And maybe the series that came out in the 2000s. I'll probably check out Milk Wars at that point too.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Mister Six on May 05, 2019, 06:10:18 PM
I'm going to move on to Gerard Way's Doom Patrol when I'm done with Morrison and Pollack. And maybe the series that came out in the 2000s. I'll probably check out Milk Wars at that point too.

I may give Milk Wars another go too. Make sure I wasn't too hasty to dismiss it

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Mister Six on May 01, 2019, 05:12:43 PM

Well worth reading sooner rather than later. You can really feel Morrison getting into the swing of things and letting loose.

Halfway through vol 2 of Doom Patrol. It's crazy eight bonkers, so it is. Loving it! The Fog is brilliant!

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on May 05, 2019, 05:58:16 PM
Mini-series recently compiled. A lot of it hinges on Mitch Gerard's art. But it is up for Eisner's and other awards.

I loved the mini-series all the way through until the final issue, where I was pretty disappointed by how everything was wrapped up. YMMV though of course, and many seem satisfied.

Mister Six

Quote from: Artie Fufkin on May 06, 2019, 12:11:11 PM
Halfway through vol 2 of Doom Patrol. It's crazy eight bonkers, so it is. Loving it! The Fog is brilliant!

Hooray! And it only gets better from there. You're reading The Painting That Ate Paris trade, right? FYI, they've recollected Morrison's Doom Patrol in three bumper volumes, on nice paper - book 1 includes The Painting That Ate Paris and I think some of the issues after it. I just read book two, which contains the middle third of Morrison's run, and it is ten times as brilliant and crazy as the painting.

BritishHobo

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 02, 2019, 02:14:43 PMAngel 1 - Also rebooted and tying in with the new Buffy series, I'm fond of the latter but I'm not sure if this is going to work so well if only because Angel's such a whiny and moody emo sod in it. I'll stick with it for a couple of issues but I'd be surprised if it ever becomes anything I love.

Is this that total reboot thing, retelling the show? How is that going? I'm still unsure why they're doing it.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: BritishHobo on May 06, 2019, 05:49:36 PM
Is this that total reboot thing, retelling the show? How is that going? I'm still unsure why they're doing it.

Yeah, that's the one, where it's very similar except it's set in 2019 and modernised a fair bit, so Willow's out and proud, Buffy's mum has a boyfriend, Xander's even more of a screw up than he was in the series, etc. I had my doubts about it but it's actually quite fun, they've changed enough (Drusilla is the initial big bad for instance, and far more sane than she was in the series) that it's worth reading, partially as it's quite funny too. Angel is morose and moany though, so I don't think I'm going to bother with his series unless it picks up a lot soon.

BritishHobo

Ah, I didn't realise it was modern day. That does sound like an interesting twist, and to be honest fairly welcome after how messy and convoluted things had become in the main comics storyline. I like the idea of getting back to the core of the characters. Might give this a go. I'll hold out hope for Angel as he is my favourite character - though that's down to his development in his own show, not the early emo years where he lurked in Sunnydale like a sad stalker.

Mister Six

Angel got tons better when they realised that David Boreanaz is much better at comedy than brooding, and leaned into that.

Small Man Big Horse

You get to see the thirteenth doctor naked on the cover for issue 7.



Got to say they're some sexy old bones too, especially her rib cage.

The issue itself is fun, still let down by Ryan and Yaz being rubbish but otherwise it's a nice, low key but enjoyable story.

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Mister Six on May 06, 2019, 02:20:13 PM
Hooray! And it only gets better from there. You're reading The Painting That Ate Paris trade, right? FYI, they've recollected Morrison's Doom Patrol in three bumper volumes, on nice paper - book 1 includes The Painting That Ate Paris and I think some of the issues after it. I just read book two, which contains the middle third of Morrison's run, and it is ten times as brilliant and crazy as the painting.
Yes, correct. Unfortunately, due to lack of space, I have to get my comics in a digital stylee nowadays.

Mister Six

I've been getting mine from the library for the same reason. Much prefer physical comics (albeit dog-eared ones) to digital.

Glebe

Just read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest #5. Typically weird and wacky goings on... things are definitely coming to a head!

Small Man Big Horse

I discovered this blog last night - https://britishcomics.wordpress.com - which has a sod load of comics scans including the Eagle photostrip era which I'm somewhat overjoyed by, as I've been looking for the second and third Doomlord photo stories for years and years now. But there's an enormous amount of other gems too (2000AD, Oink, The Beano, Doctor Who Weekly, Look-In, Warrior) so if you're a fan of eighties (and sometimes earlier) UK comics it's definitely worth checking out.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 14, 2019, 11:18:14 AM
I discovered this blog last night - https://britishcomics.wordpress.com - which has a sod load of comics scans including the Eagle photostrip era which I'm somewhat overjoyed by, as I've been looking for the second and third Doomlord photo stories for years and years now. But there's an enormous amount of other gems too (2000AD, Oink, The Beano, Doctor Who Weekly, Look-In, Warrior) so if you're a fan of eighties (and sometimes earlier) UK comics it's definitely worth checking out.

It's a wonderful site. Grabbed a bunch of old Beezers, Toppers, Busters etc.
Shocked by how many Irish jokes there were in kids comics back in the day.

Great to explore the days of pocket money comics

Glebe

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 14, 2019, 11:18:14 AMI discovered this blog last night - https://britishcomics.wordpress.com - which has a sod load of comics scans including the Eagle photostrip era which I'm somewhat overjoyed by, as I've been looking for the second and third Doomlord photo stories for years and years now. But there's an enormous amount of other gems too (2000AD, Oink, The Beano, Doctor Who Weekly, Look-In, Warrior) so if you're a fan of eighties (and sometimes earlier) UK comics it's definitely worth checking out.

Fair do's SMBH, another great link!

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Glebe on May 14, 2019, 04:02:06 PM
Fair do's SMBH, another great link!

I just keep on finding gem and gem on it, I so wish I'd found it years ago, and right now I'm downloading the first 50 odd issues of Viz!

Glebe

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 14, 2019, 07:30:18 PMI just keep on finding gem and gem on it, I so wish I'd found it years ago, and right now I'm downloading the first 50 odd issues of Viz!

It's of particular interest to me right now, since the latest run of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen takes particular inspiration from the classic comics era.

Phil_A

Ah I stumbled on that blog a couple of weeks ago, it's great. I managed to finally assemble a good quality set of scans of the Moore & Davies Captain Britain run.

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 14, 2019, 11:18:14 AM
I discovered this blog last night - https://britishcomics.wordpress.com

Awww, man! This is awesome. Thanks, SMBH. I've been dabbling with buying copies of Krazy & Cheeky Comic for ages. Also the Marvel Team-Up section took me right back to being about 12 / 13 years old. I was obsessed with that comic.

madhair60

Proves what I've always known. Buster, in its dying years, was a visual feast.

kidsick5000

Quote from: madhair60 on May 16, 2019, 12:12:24 PM
Proves what I've always known. Buster, in its dying years, was a visual feast.

Genuinely or ironically?