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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

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Mister Six on September 19, 2020, 01:36:28 PM
What impressed you about its pro-gay marriage stance? Just that it had one, or the particular take on it?

Just that it had one to be honest, I'm perhaps easily pleased but while it's something I expect from the UK I find it more surprising when I see such a thing in the US.

Mister Six

I mean, this was in a mainstream US superhero comic (written by a Scotsman, admittedly) 18 years ago...



It's honestly not that impressive. Gay marriage was legalised in the US before the UK and is pretty much accepted by everyone who's not an inbred MAGA fuckwit or religious loon.

They had to move Queer Eye to the US Deep South to justify it for the 21st century. Doom Patrol made its gay character an 80+ year old immortal recluse to justify his self-loathing, and changed the modern-day gay drag queen into a non-binary character to justify their persecution.

If The Flintstones was actually tackling trans issues or worker rights or the Dems fucking over the poor while pretending to be the good guys I'd be impressed, but the comic is serving up cold US centre (so worldwide centre-right) liberal platitudes that have been played out in other media over the past few decades as nauseum.

Not that I'm bitter about its success or anything.

Small Man Big Horse

#992
Quote from: Mister Six on September 19, 2020, 09:40:31 PM
I mean, this was in a mainstream US superhero comic (written by a Scotsman, admittedly) 18 years ago...



It's honestly not that impressive. Gay marriage was legalised in the US before the UK and is pretty much accepted by everyone who's not an inbred MAGA fuckwit or religious loon.

They had to move Queer Eye to the US Deep South to justify it for the 21st century. Doom Patrol made its gay character an 80+ year old immortal recluse to justify his self-loathing, and changed the modern-day gay drag queen into a non-binary character to justify their persecution.

If The Flintstones was actually tackling trans issues or worker rights or the Dems fucking over the poor while pretending to be the good guys I'd be impressed, but the comic is serving up cold US centre (so worldwide centre-right) liberal platitudes that have been played out in other media over the past few decades as nauseum.

Not that I'm bitter about its success or anything.

You're right of course, and many a comic has dealt with the issue far more impressively. And as mentioned, though I liked it at first (I vaguely remember thinking it also had a quite nuanced take on Fred's marriage to Wilma) I only read a couple of issues before losing interest.

Mister Six

I don't know why I'm so annoyed by it, to be honest.

Custard

Up to year four of DC's Injustice, and Superman is such a massive cunt. It's great

Also been reading Greg Rucka's Wolverine run, and that's quality stuff. Not sure why he started about 5 ft and was 6 ft by the second arc, mind. Maybe we're meant to just ignore it. Like when Vicki Fowler suddenly dropped her American accent in Eastenders

Deadpool Vs The Punisher was fun. As daft and over the top as you'd expect, and want

The first two volumes of Batman Eternal were very good, but the third book is losing me with the two young girl characters. Not cos they're women, but cos they're badly written and boring as fuck

Really enjoyed Gotham City Sirens. Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn forming a team and well, beating people up. Tis good fun

Small Man Big Horse

I picked up more shit from the local charity shop this week, this time being the first two volumes of Angel Catbird by Margaret Atwood. I'm a huge fan of her novels so had high hopes that her comics work would be of interest, but jesus, it's simplistic, painfully tedious nonsense and I'm amazed Atwood thought it was in any way acceptable to create something so poor.

On the plus side I also got the first Animal Man graphic novel by Grant Morrison, it's a series I bought at the time and loved, and have revisited a couple of times over the years, but I sold my original run a while back when broke so it's really nice to have it in print form again, and I'm enjoying it as much as ever too.

magval

That's a great grab and those books are scarce for sensible prices these days. I love those three original rough-paper trades and wish I hadn't sold mine :-(

Maybe the best last page of a comic run ever. The cover with Buddy holding up the chimp with that look of rage on his face is amazing as well. Animal Man rules.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: magval on September 26, 2020, 09:01:55 PM
That's a great grab and those books are scarce for sensible prices these days. I love those three original rough-paper trades and wish I hadn't sold mine :-(

I feel your pain, when broke I've ended up selling my complete runs of Animal Man (well, the Morrison years, I didn't even try to sell what came afterwards), The Sandman, Shade The Changing Man, Hellblazer 1 - 60 and Morrison's Doom Patrol issues, which I've enormously regretted since but I really needed the money at the time to pay for pesky things like rent and food.

QuoteMaybe the best last page of a comic run ever. The cover with Buddy holding up the chimp with that look of rage on his face is amazing as well. Animal Man rules.

It really does, and I feel very lucky to have got in to (American) comics at a time when it was being published along with the series mentioned above, but Buddy's antics have a particularly special place in my heart for the way it played around with the form while also being a very human and emotional series too.

Small Man Big Horse

More charity shop finds:

The Forty-Niners - Extremely fun stuff and Alan Moore in a playful mood as this piece of madness features nazis, vampires, robots and various superheroes, all of which works really effectively. The ending is slightly rushed (
Spoiler alert
seeing all the vampires wiped out on one page felt disappointing
[close]
) but as a whole it's a graphic novel I enjoyed an awful lot.

Trillium by Jeff Lemire - In the far, far future humanity has almost been destroyed by a sentient virus, but it looks like they might finally have found a cure. There's a catch though, and one which involves our lead character finding herself back on Earth in the 1920s, where she meets a soldier who's struggling with his own existence after the first world war. It's an enjoyable, intriguing read, but it didn't quite work for me if only because
Spoiler alert
I didn't buy in to the central romance as the characters had spent so little time together (even if they had been a big part of each other's lives in other ways) and aspects of the mystery are never solved (like why did Nina end up in that alternative version of the past?)
[close]
, though I certainly don't regret reading it.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on October 03, 2020, 12:01:51 PM
Trillium by Jeff Lemire - In the far, far future humanity has almost been destroyed by a sentient virus, but it looks like they might finally have found a cure. There's a catch though, and one which involves our lead character finding herself back on Earth in the 1920s, where she meets a soldier who's struggling with his own existence after the first world war.

Is it
Spoiler alert
Hitler
[close]
?

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: kidsick5000 on October 03, 2020, 01:24:18 PM
Is it
Spoiler alert
Hitler
[close]
?

Ha,
Spoiler alert
that would have been fun, but sadly not, it's just some ordinary bloke.
[close]

samadriel

I finished up the most recent run of Quantum and Woody, which took a hefty left turn and became quite grim and dramatic, with a melancholy ending that really invites a future series; I hope that happens sometime soon. I didn't like the second artist in this book, Francis Portela I think it was, although I also didn't really like the bland colours, so some blame to be spread there.

I read volume 2 of The Boys, and I think there must be something wrong with me, probably down to reading Preacher in my formative years -- I find Ennis' childishness comfortingly familiar, and I enjoy it in a way that I would never permit with an author like, say, Mark Millar. Not that I'd otherwise compare Ennis to a dickhead like Millar, but they do have a certain childishness in common. I'm rapidly headed towards where Mister Six says it gets good, so hopefully Ennis shall get a bit more ambitious before long.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on October 03, 2020, 02:35:49 PM
Ha,
Spoiler alert
that would have been fun, but sadly not, it's just some ordinary bloke.
[close]

That's better for me.

Custard

Just binged the Batman Vs Predator collection. It's actually really good, especially the first story. Would probably make a really good film, if they could be arsed

Finished Injustice, and that was a real load of fun. As it's outside of any existing timelines or canon, they could go a bit crazy with it, and they certainly did. Bumping off major characters here an there, and with that comes a real sense of danger and tension. Supes being a massive cunt was very refreshing, also

Onto Injustice 2 now, and already it feels like a step-up from the last few issues of the first lot. Mainly cos Tom King is back writing it, I'd guess

The series is also very funny in places, and the humour is needed as it balances out the grimdark really well. Harley Quinn for example is genuinely very funny in this, and immediately makes any issue she's in better

13 schoolyards

Is the first Batman vs Predator story the one by Dave Gibbons, with Chris Warner on the art? I haven't read it since it first came out, but I remember that one being a stand out (though I could be wrong about the creative team).

Custard

I believe so, yes!

It's very good, as it's kept so simple. A Predator comes to Gotham looking for sport and sees Bats as the biggest challenge. It's then a back an forth battle, as they try to work each other out. Its very well written, and far better than I'd assumed it would be

The two other stories are solid too, but they start to involve more characters, so it kinda loses the simplicity of the first one.

The whole book is worth a read though! I like that each story features a Bats at a different stage in his career. So he approaches it in different ways each time. It's cleverly done

samadriel

Hey, the alternative September 11 (and 20th century Vought American stuff) history issue of The Boys is a massive improvement over what's come before, it feels like Garth put some thought into it, not the Pro-esque autopilot he was on earlier. I'm in.

Custard

Has anyone read Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov?

Blimey. One of the bleakest, grimmest things I've ever read. So dark.

No Spoilerz, mate! But I highly recommend it, if you're looking for a Halloween read

Mister Six

Quote from: samadriel on October 11, 2020, 03:39:32 PM
Hey, the alternative September 11 (and 20th century Vought American stuff) history issue of The Boys is a massive improvement over what's come before, it feels like Garth put some thought into it, not the Pro-esque autopilot he was on earlier. I'm in.

Which issue is that one?

samadriel

#1009
Let's see... I'm not sure, but this article says it was issue 21.

Edit: now I'm up to the bit where
Spoiler alert
Annie comes out to Hughie
[close]
. Pretty good so far, which is a relief because the "Superduper" episodes were really crass -- the bad guy is presented as bad for thinking Superduper are a pack of "retards", but Ennis really has his cake and eats it, most of those characters are unambiguously presented as laughably retarded.

Mister Six

As is his way. Although I think he's probably aware that the woman caring for the supes is a better person than him, and his target audience. He's not totally without introspection.

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Shameless Custard on October 30, 2020, 11:48:52 AM
Has anyone read Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov?

Blimey. One of the bleakest, grimmest things I've ever read. So dark.

No Spoilerz, mate! But I highly recommend it, if you're looking for a Halloween read
I have the first volume in my 'to read' pile.

I read the first volume of Gideon Falls over the weekend, which I loved. Great script. Great artwork. Really works well. It's quite ploddy, but very gripping. Will get volume two at some point.

Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Shameless Custard on October 30, 2020, 11:48:52 AM
Has anyone read Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov?

Blimey. One of the bleakest, grimmest things I've ever read. So dark.

No Spoilerz, mate! But I highly recommend it, if you're looking for a Halloween read

Fucking hell. You're not kidding. Read first 2 issues last night. Blimey, that's grim.

Custard


Artie Fufkin

Quote from: Shameless Custard on November 03, 2020, 02:34:23 PM
Heh, it gets worse!
Jeeze! That was a barrel of laughs, wasn't it?
Finished it last night.
Really good.

Small Man Big Horse

Doom Patrol - Weight Of The World 6 and 7 - Gerard Way and Jeremy Lambert's take on the series has been cancelled after just seven issues and I couldn't be more delighted. It was cartoonish idiocy that took characters I loved and made them ridiculous (
Spoiler alert
Cliff turned himself in to a planet, for instance, as he was so sick of being hurt all the time
[close]
) and filled with ideas which were embarrassingly unfunny, I hope after this Way never comes near the characters again and someone who understands what makes them so unique is given a shot.

Gulftastic

Working my way through 'Fables'. Just about to start volume 7 and really enjoying it so far. The 'fairy tails in a modern setting could have been a bit hackneyed, but they get it right.

Buying trade paperbacks second hand off amazon is great, even though I feel a bit guilty.

Small Man Big Horse

I've read the first 60+ (and maybe more) issues of Fables and liked it a lot, but then I got frustrated with reading it on a monthly basis, decided to wait until it was finished and then planned to binge it, but annoyingly I can't remember what number I got up to and so have never returned to it. Given how long it's been I should probably just start from the beginning again, though Bill Willingham turning out to be a bit of a twat has put me off so far.

Mister Six

Never liked Willingham's stuff, generally speaking. There's a nasty streak running through it that puts me off.

kidsick5000

I honestly can't remember at what point it was, but after happily binging a number of the collections, I found a sudden plummet in interest in Fables.
It's like within the space of a few pages it lost everything that had kept me engaged for so long.