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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

Quote from: kidsick5000 on June 22, 2019, 10:13:44 PM
I've yet to read it. But I'm amazed that Frank Miller keeps getting DC gigs.
He's an early example for me of "Oh no, he actually meant it". One of those who lost it after 9/11, we should never forget Holy Terror, his pitch for Batman versus the terrorists.
Then there's the unfinished All-Star Batman and Robin

Did he never even finish that? Christ's sake.

Just finished Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys, ahead of its Amazon Prime debut. I remember dropping it around issue seven when it first came out, because it seemed to be witless WURR HE'S DOIN HER UP THE BUM!!! puerile shite rather than the Hitman-style irreverent fun I'd hoped for. And yep, those early issues are pretty bad. But it's turned out to be a reverse Preacher: whereas that comic had a storming beginning then sort of flailed about and lost its grip by the end, The Boys starts out weak and develops into a fantastic series with a perfect conclusion. The last 25-ish issues might be among my favourite Ennis stuff, actually.

The pitch is essentially "CIA hard bastards kick seven shades of shit out of self-absorbed superheroes", but it ends up being substantially deeper and more complex than that, with some fun alternate history stuff, a scathing indictment of corporate greed, some quality espionage fun and a couple of really fantastic plot developments towards the end. Oh, and Ennis's usual peerless character work, with some lovely little human moments in among the big whizz-bang explosions, severed heads and dismembered babies. Very surprised - and delighted - that I liked it as much as I did, but here we are.

Mister Six

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on June 05, 2019, 04:24:21 PM
I've just read it and thought it was shit too. I've no issue with Rick dying, indeed I'd have been pissed off if he hadn't after being shot in the chest in the previous issue, but everything that followed it was a big pile of tedious crap. Carl's confrontation with the killer was laughably bad and considering Kirkman just killed off the lead character it felt ridiculously hollow and dull, even the reveal of Rick as a zombie was poorly handled and rushed. I really think this might be it for me, I've been hate reading it for ages now and see no point in continuing as it's clearly going to get worse and worse.

I read this issue out of mild interest (I think I dropped WD after the Governor/Michonne torture-porn issue, whenever that was) and yeah I'm surprised at how shite it was. I mean, Rick's shot on one page, then on the next his killer has been caught. Then the killer's in jail and Carl has a bit of a rant at him. Feels like that was a couple of issues of tension and drama boiled down to a very perfunctory couple of scenes because... why? I suppose Kirkman's got some hard target he wants to hit, but god knows what it is, or why. I like that it didn't happen in some Big Important Anniversary Issue, though. Very random numbering.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on June 22, 2019, 09:10:00 AM
I know this is poor form, but I'm desperately looking for an old comic strip.
Does anyone know where you can download old issues of Deadline?

Issues 1-6, 10-11, 16-17 , 21 , 24, 60 are on the 32pages torrent site, do you know if it happens to be in any of them?

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on June 23, 2019, 03:48:55 AM
Issues 1-6, 10-11, 16-17 , 21 , 24, 60 are on the 32pages torrent site, do you know if it happens to be in any of them?

It's in the 'difficult' later run. Jonathan E's Pop Star related strips which are never catalogued as they were just strips at the bottom of the page.
An aside, Do check out Jonathan Edwards' art. He is a phenomenal illustrator with a stunning intricate style.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on June 23, 2019, 05:29:17 PM
It's in the 'difficult' later run. Jonathan E's Pop Star related strips which are never catalogued as they were just strips at the bottom of the page.
An aside, Do check out Jonathan Edwards' art. He is a phenomenal illustrator with a stunning intricate style.

Ah, they don't seem to be part of that pack, but I'll keep an eye out to see if any more are added.

Spiteface

Purely on a whim, decided to get book one of Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing off Comixology. Subsequently got Book two. Enjoying the change of pace from Batman/Walking Dead/Power Rangers, if I'm honest.

Also finally opened the 35th Anniversary Akira boxset (hardbacks of all 6 volumes and an artbook) I got for a good price off Amazon. The anime was a big deal for me after seeing it on BBC2 in the 90s, so I have finally taken the plunge on it, bloody heavy things to read. Early days so far.

magval

Those books are class, I never got the hardback set as the right-to-left puts me off, but it's a gorgeous box. Glad you're enjoying Swamp Thing too, great read.

I used to have that broadcast of Akira taped, but it's lost to time. It was interesting because it subtitled some of the place names (like the bar right at the start) that most of the subsequent VHS, DVD and BD releases didn't.

Imagine BBC showing Akira, now like.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on June 22, 2019, 10:13:44 PM
I've yet to read it. But I'm amazed that Frank Miller keeps getting DC gigs.
He's an early example for me of "Oh no, he actually meant it". One of those who lost it after 9/11, we should never forget Holy Terror, his pitch for Batman versus the terrorists.
Then there's the unfinished All-Star Batman and Robin

I've no idea why they work with him either, especially given how shitty his reputation is, but I guess his work still sells well despite being truly horrible.

Quote from: Mister Six on June 23, 2019, 03:36:02 AM
Did he never even finish that? Christ's sake.

Just finished Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys, ahead of its Amazon Prime debut. I remember dropping it around issue seven when it first came out, because it seemed to be witless WURR HE'S DOIN HER UP THE BUM!!! puerile shite rather than the Hitman-style irreverent fun I'd hoped for. And yep, those early issues are pretty bad. But it's turned out to be a reverse Preacher: whereas that comic had a storming beginning then sort of flailed about and lost its grip by the end, The Boys starts out weak and develops into a fantastic series with a perfect conclusion. The last 25-ish issues might be among my favourite Ennis stuff, actually.

The pitch is essentially "CIA hard bastards kick seven shades of shit out of self-absorbed superheroes", but it ends up being substantially deeper and more complex than that, with some fun alternate history stuff, a scathing indictment of corporate greed, some quality espionage fun and a couple of really fantastic plot developments towards the end. Oh, and Ennis's usual peerless character work, with some lovely little human moments in among the big whizz-bang explosions, severed heads and dismembered babies. Very surprised - and delighted - that I liked it as much as I did, but here we are.

I liked it as well, but like you struggled with the early issues and almost gave up on it, I'm glad I didn't though as it really did end in a fascinating manner and was a lot more than an attack on superhero popularity in the end.

Quote from: Mister Six on June 23, 2019, 03:40:49 AM
I read this issue out of mild interest (I think I dropped WD after the Governor/Michonne torture-porn issue, whenever that was) and yeah I'm surprised at how shite it was. I mean, Rick's shot on one page, then on the next his killer has been caught. Then the killer's in jail and Carl has a bit of a rant at him. Feels like that was a couple of issues of tension and drama boiled down to a very perfunctory couple of scenes because... why? I suppose Kirkman's got some hard target he wants to hit, but god knows what it is, or why. I like that it didn't happen in some Big Important Anniversary Issue, though. Very random numbering.

They did feature the shooting at the end of the previous issue but at that point it was vaguely plausible he could survive. I agree with you about how quickly everything was wrapped up being disappointing though, Kirkman could have created an interesting storyline as tensions grew in the city as everyone desperately tried to find out who killed Rick, but instead it was just a bland bit of storytelling that failed to capture the enormity of the event.

Edit: Just noticed this AV Club article about the best comics of 2019 so far - https://aux.avclub.com/the-best-comics-of-2019-so-far-1835734722 - I've only read a few but there does seem to be some great recommendations in it.

Finished the Jodorowsky/Moebius L'Incal, the final couple of dozen pages truly have some of the most breathtaking art I've ever seen

BRen

I used to collect and read comics a lot many years back, sort of went on the back-burner and forgot about them for ages but got back into them recently, I think the influx of comic book films actually soured me on them because I can't be arsed nor have any interest in any of the big Marvel and DC Universe type stuff.

On another note, shot in the dark here but has anyone got a copy spare (or one they want to sell) of Batman - Damned #1? Got the second and third installments but the first seems to be selling for silly money on eBay and the like at the moment.

samadriel

New Megg & Mogg book, "Bad Gateway" is out. I haven't read it yet, I'm way behind on Hanselmann's stuff, but Fantagraphics are selling it as being a "magnum opus".

chveik


Mister Six

Not something I've read, but possibly something I will read despite myself: The Walking Dead to end with issue 193.

Both explains the rush job of issue 192 and makes it even less explicable. Why not play that out a bit and end with a nice round 200? Why is this final issue coming as such a surprise in the solicitations?

Makes me wonder whether he's heard behind the scenes that the Walking Dead show is getting the chop, and is taking that as a cue to quit a comic he's just exhausted by. Total speculation, of course.

madhair60

It's ending there to tie up the Compendiums at the fourth volume I assume

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Mister Six on July 02, 2019, 03:45:04 PM
Not something I've read, but possibly something I will read despite myself: The Walking Dead to end with issue 193.

Both explains the rush job of issue 192 and makes it even less explicable. Why not play that out a bit and end with a nice round 200? Why is this final issue coming as such a surprise in the solicitations?

Makes me wonder whether he's heard behind the scenes that the Walking Dead show is getting the chop, and is taking that as a cue to quit a comic he's just exhausted by. Total speculation, of course.

That's really weird as he's spoken about wanting it to run for at least 300 issues in the recent past, sales are still fairly decent too, so I wonder if something else is going on behind the scenes.

kidsick5000

#525
And the award for most connotations and inferences in one statement goes to:

"I'm upset, too. I'm going to miss it as much as you will, if not more so. It breaks my heart that I had to end it. and we have to move on but I just love this world too much to stretch things out until it doesn't live up to what I want it to be," reads a purported partial statement from Kirkman.

"I hope you understand. I hope you. dear reader, know how much I appreciate the gift you have given me. I got to tell my story exactly how I wanted to, for 193 issues, and end it on my terms, with no interference at all along the way... at any point. That's such a rare thing, and it doesn't exist without the unyielding support this series got from readers like you. Thank you so much."

It sounds like trouble behind the scenes.

Mister Six

Weird. Will be interesting when this comes out. Since Image is a bit like a slightly more complex vanity press, it would be odd for them to get too hands-on with a comic like this, wouldn't it? Especially one that's been such a massive success.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Mister Six on July 03, 2019, 06:12:18 AM
Weird. Will be interesting when this comes out. Since Image is a bit like a slightly more complex vanity press, it would be odd for them to get too hands-on with a comic like this, wouldn't it? Especially one that's been such a massive success.

Yeah, from what I've heard about Image, it doesn't scan that they'd be looking to interfere.
Next guess would be AMC/the TV show but why, who knows. Possibly looking to expand the product, against Kirkman's wishes if need be?


Mister Six

The comic is creator-owned, though, so I don't see how they could do that unless the contract he signed for the show was completely fucking deranged.

I also don't see how shutting down the comic would in any way preclude them from "expanding the product" any way they chose, if he signed away the rights in some mad lapse of judgement.

It's a puzzler, all right.

Small Man Big Horse

Well I've read it, and unsurprisingly it's just a bit naff. Spoilers: It's another time jump thing where Carl is all grown up and married to Sophia, and has a daughter called Andrea. They're all living in a huge safe zone where the kids have never seen a zombie in the wild, though Maggie's twatty son Hershel keeps them as a freak show, until one gets free and Carl kills it and then the rest of them. He buggers off for a bit to avoid being arrested and visits a bunch of surviving characters, then returns home and there's an informal hearing presided over by Judge Michonne, who lets him go free as she hates the idea of zombies being kept as pets. Then Carl goes home and reads a bedtime story to Andrea about how fucking great Rick was. The end.

I mean it could have been worse I suppose, but it just felt like it was repeatedly hammering home the message that Rick, and Rick alone, was responsible for everyone having amazing lives nowadays, which was all rather tedious.

I was originally going to quit reading this after issue 100, but as I was then able to read it for free I carried on doing so and pretty much regret such a thing. I was going to quit once again after last issue but when I heard there was only one more to read I caved in once more, and the only thing I really feel is that I'm so glad it's over and I can finally stop torturing myself.

BeardFaceMan

I had the same feelings as you, pretty much, though I managed to bail at around 140, I think. It was around the time I read the first Walking Dead novel and that was utter dogshit, horribly written with an appalling twist, that's when I lost all faith in Kirkman as a competent writer who had any fresh ideas left for the series. Hate-reading is not something I usually do but I'm going to have to read those last 2 issues.

madhair60

I thought it was the best issue in years and a great finale tbh.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: madhair60 on July 03, 2019, 04:35:19 PM
I thought it was the best issue in years and a great finale tbh.

Well I've just checked and I'm afraid you're wrong.

Small Man Big Horse

In all seriousness it's not a terrible issue I suppose, it shows us what happened to most of the characters and offers up a great deal of hope for their future, I just didn't like how much of it was all about how Rick Grimes was a God who single handedly saved the world, sure he did a lot but the comic suggests there were large chunks of America that did just fine without him. Plus I wanted Carl to die painfully, but that is just because of my unhealthy hatred of children, admittedly.

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on July 03, 2019, 02:58:32 PM
I had the same feelings as you, pretty much, though I managed to bail at around 140, I think. It was around the time I read the first Walking Dead novel and that was utter dogshit, horribly written with an appalling twist, that's when I lost all faith in Kirkman as a competent writer who had any fresh ideas left for the series. Hate-reading is not something I usually do but I'm going to have to read those last 2 issues.

I wish I had. It's weird, I've never hate read a comic before, and it's something I have no interest in doing again, but for some reason I kept on going back to it even though pretty much every issue annoyed me a great deal. At least I've quit the tv show, so with this final issue that it's for me and The Walking Dead universe.

kidsick5000

Quote from: kidsick5000 on July 03, 2019, 09:54:59 AM
Yeah, from what I've heard about Image, it doesn't scan that they'd be looking to interfere.
Next guess would be AMC/the TV show but why, who knows. Possibly looking to expand the product, against Kirkman's wishes if need be?

Well, conspiracy theory corner can stand down.
Reading his message at the back of the comic in full, it's all proof his plan has been in effect for some time.
And it's a lovely issue.
I especially like that it leaves with a bite.
Hershel's side-Show does have a use after all, because everyone is getting too complacent. And that quite a few people resent Rick's perceived saintliness
It's the ending of a man in middle age. He does reveal the ending he would have unleashed much earlier and it's very different. The ending of someone who's listening to quite doomy music

Not sure what to say about #193 yet but intitial feeling is thatnof underwhelment.  I have religiously read this comic from the outset up until the last two years where I have become quite complacent about the storyline. I have always hoped that it would get back on track but not to be. Yep, the last comic was okay but it did go full GOT and try and wrap it all up to quick. In fact the more I think about it I feel a bit Dad that I have read those for the best part of 16 years and we get mugged of in one comic. A bit like GOT really innit. A sign of things to come I bet?



Custard

I thought it was a decent last issue, but yeah it's high time the book ended as it's been donkey dick for years.

I think the last time I properly enjoyed it was just before Negan. And he came in 93 issues ago!

Those first few years though, great stuff. Everything leading up to and including The Governor was gripping stuff, and really well written and plotted. The last few years it just hasn't gripped me the same way

Liked how honest Kirkman was in his message at the end, too. And it's admirable that he didn't just drag it out forever. He reached the end of the story he wanted to tell, so ended it


kidsick5000

#537
Quote from: Shameless Custard on July 04, 2019, 02:51:03 PM
I thought it was a decent last issue, but yeah it's high time the book ended as it's been donkey dick for years.

I think the last time I properly enjoyed it was just before Negan. And he came in 93 issues ago!

I don't think the series ever recovered from the death of Glenn.
Funnily enough, I think the TV series is finding that too.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on July 04, 2019, 03:43:45 PM
I don't think the series ever recovered from the death of Glenn.
Funnily enough, I think the TV series is finding that too.

I'd agree with that, and all of the new characters they introduced were pretty weak, Princess being the most tedious of them all.

Doom Patrol - The Weight Of Worlds issue 1 - I just don't get on with Gerald Way's taken on Doom Patrol at all, to me it feels like it's being weird for weird's sake and the characterisation is just dull. I'd even prefer Paul fucking Kupperberg to write the title again than Way but unfortunately DC keep on hiring him so despite loving the characters I won't be be reading about their antics for a good few years to come sadly.

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on July 04, 2019, 08:24:02 PM
Doom Patrol - The Weight Of Worlds issue 1 - I just don't get on with Gerald Way's taken on Doom Patrol at all, to me it feels like it's being weird for weird's sake and the characterisation is just dull. I'd even prefer Paul fucking Kupperberg to write the title again than Way but unfortunately DC keep on hiring him so despite loving the characters I won't be be reading about their antics for a good few years to come sadly.

Oh, that's a real shame. Was gonna start reading that soon. Hey ho. Best get on with Sandman before it gets its Netflix release.