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COMICS! |OT| November 2015. The much-anticipated sequel to October's OT.

VanWinkle

Member
Reading Batman Incorporated vol. 1, I think I'm really digging the art. I can't tell yet. It's good, but also bad? Pretty to look at, for sure. Almost feels like it was done in color first. Which is a weird thing to say, but that's the overall impression.

EDIT: Aaaaaand I just realized I started reading the post-New 52 book first. Whoops.

Hahaha
 
That first issue of the first New 52 volume really is weird looking!
I remember everyone being wrinkly. And a cow joke that went on for way too long.
Super excited for Ultimates, Monstress and Ellis Bond.

Savor this sample to hold you until next week:

FhgFb51.jpg

LOOK AT ALL THAT SPACE AND THEM CUBES.
 

ElNarez

Banned
I remember everyone being wrinkly. And a cow joke that went on for way too long.


Savor this sample to hold you until next week:



LOOK AT ALL THAT SPACE AND THEM CUBES.

This is the logical next step for Rocafort's layouts and yet I did not see this coming.
 
Caught up with Vader with issue #11 and that was fantastic. The way Vader is playing both sides is masterful. You went from some corny sounding dialog in the first arc to just spot on dialog. Classic tale of the writer taking some time to figure things out. You can tell in the letters section that he loves writing this book.
 

Messi

Member
Re reading Ms Marvel in the OHC format. Beautiful sturdy book. Seems to read better collected. Still unsure if I will continue on after this OHC.
 
Just a few issues until I've read 700 issues of Marvel from #FF1 in Chronological Order. I'll admit it now, at times it has been a bit difficult due to how dated and bad some of the stories are. HOWEVER, when it's good, it's good and I've found it easy to read several issues back-to-back.

Writers

So far I've really enjoyed gaining an appreciation for storytelling and art in comics. Before this I didn't really care too much, and just wanted to see the major story arcs and their conclusions - basically the MAJOR EVENTS. I was really bad for reading the internet to get the general idea of what was happening and then picking up a handful of key issues/the conclusion issue.
However, since I've started from the beginning it's pretty clear they're are some REALLY good storytellers, and some not so good ones. I'm more than likely several decades behind on these views, but I've discovered I don't really like Stan Lee as a storyteller. I think he's without a doubt one of the best publicists and promoters of comics, but the stories he tends to lead are so hammy and corny (even by comic standards). He's also really guilty of doing the old 'Robot of the Week' cop-out. However, I must respect a man who can seemingly write 500+ issues out of the 700 I've read, and perhaps I'm just enjoying a new style of writing after reading so much of his work already.
Actually... really looking back it would appear that Stan Lee had his hand in those, so perhaps I'm being overly harsh. When he's good he's good, but when he's bad... he's bad? Perhaps his talents were spread too thinly at times and the quality suffered, after all Spiderman has been consistently one of the better comics in the order so far. As far as I can tell Stan Lee has written each and everyone of those so far.

I've liked Roy Thomas' writing for the Hulk mini-stories in 'Tales to Astonish'. The conflict between Banner and the Hulk has had seeds set, and the way the Hulk keeps wishing to the stars for a peaceful place to call his home is fantastic. I've also enjoyed his run on the Avengers, as it feels like an on-going story where things matter and stay relevant. However, his work on the X-Men is terrible, so I'm not entirely sure what to think there.

My favourite though, as I've sung praises for already, is Jim Steranko. His writing mixed with his own unique art style cause him to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the Marvel writing pool during this time. For me Steranko is everything I'd associate with comics and their presentation. I'm not sure if he's responsible for the way the panels changed during his time as writer/artist of Nick Fury, but it was so refreshing to see things blended, woven together instead of the very pedestrian 4/6 panel blocks. But anyway, as a writer Fury is one of the few characters that comes across with his own personality and style in the writing and not just the art.

600-700 Impressions

Spide-rman - Not many issues of Spiderman over the last 100 in the Reading Order, however (as is often the case with Spiderman) they're all crucial reading. It continues to be one of the better comics within the order, and one of the few that has created a great sense of a living world. You don't just care or become concerned for Peter Parker/Spiderman, you care for his supporting cast too.

500-600 was really huge for Spiderman. It had Green Goblin unmasking, Norman Osbourne discovering Peter Parker's secret, and vice versa, before suffering a blackout and forgetting it all. Even the Rhino made his debut. 600-700 only had a handful of Spiderman stories, but all of them were pretty much essential reading. The Shocker made his first appearance and wasn't overly cheesy considering his power and the time period. Kraven made his return, convinced he'd take down Spider-Man AND The Green Goblin (who he felt had betrayed him the last time they worked together).
There was a 'New' Vulture (a convict who double-crossed the original Vulture so he could steal the flying equipment and use it escape prison), however I wasn't really a fan of it. Thankfully it seems to have only lasted 3 issues.
However, there's been so much personal life progression that Spider-Man has become less about the villians of the week and more about the development of Peter Parker. It's so refreshing to read about how someone is dealing with being a Superhero and still trying to maintain a normal life. I didn't think I'd enjoy the never ending love triangle between Parker and his many girls, but it's been a good read so far. Betty v Liz Allen, Betty v Gwen, Gwen v MJ.
That's almost the real story in Spider-Man!

But it's not just Peter Parker who has issues. You get a little insight into MJ's dreams, Flash Thompson heading off to war, Harry Osbourne being a little estranged with his father. Everyone seems to have a purpose, and a life outside of the panels. It's nice, and dare I see a little deep for a comic from the 1960s?

Fantastic Four

Whereas there were only a handful of Spider-Man stories, Fantastic Four have propped up this last 100 issues in the reading order. I also have to make a confession - I wanted to really hate Fantastic Four, as I've always had this deep rooted dislike for them and found them boring. However, after Spiderman Fantastic Four is easily the second best comic in the order right now.
I still think the actual Fantastic Four (The Thing excluded) are boring, but so much goes on in their stories that it's hard to dismiss the comics. Reed Richards has had his first (or perhaps his second) trip into the Negative Zone thanks to an attack on his lab by The Sandman (which I didn't like). He was saved by the FF with the help of the Inhumans - basically Triton swam through the Negative Zone to bring him back...
Naturally after all of that the FF decide to take a break and go on Holiday ANYWHERE in the WORLD! Well anywhere the dart is thrown on the map, and hey what do you know it lands on a nice remote island aww... where the Sentry is... that warns the Kree.
Oops.

So the FF have introduced Marvel to

- The Skrull
- Silver Surfer
- Galacticus
- The Kree
- The InHumans

Lately they've just created 'God', a being that spawned from a Cocoon who was so pure... and of course Dr. Doom. I've probably forgotten a few too. FF is insane for Galactic events. The only thing that spoils FF are the 'normal' episodes, they're so bad and often repeated - how many times can Ben Grim flip flop between wanting to be normal and love being The Thing? How many times will The Thing turn on and fight the other members of the FF? How many times does Reed Richards beat Sue off panel?

Strange Tales

This start off so poorly but by the end of it's run (which happened with this 100 issues) it was one of comic lines I really looked forward to. Nicky Fury and Dr. Strange were well written and amazingly drawn.

Avengers

Avengers is another really well written and interlinked series of comics, events carry over from one issue to the next. Not in a hugely in your face way, but just in the little details, such as Black Widow's injury. It's nice and makes things feel like they matter. The stories aren't too thrilling from what I can remember, but the group dynamic and development is really working. What's interesting is Quicksilver's slow development towards hating Homosapians, I'm really looking forward to this.

Sadly X-Men and Daredevil continue to be terrible. The sooner Daredevil stops this terrible Mike/Matt Murdock bullshit the better. It's not clever, it's silly. It's so silly, it makes me feel silly as I've spent too much time wondering if it's something more than it is (it's not). It's terrible.
The only standout issue remains the appearance by Spider-Man where Foggy dressed up as Daredevil and everyone commented how fat Daredevil had become. Foggy did this to get into a girl's pants.

Tales of Suspense is pointless at this point in time. Iron Man hasn't been up to much. Captain America had a brief run in with Red Skull, and met Agent Carter for the first time. He's now wondering about retiring his secret identity, it's a shame I don't care about this more as it is interesting.

The Hulk hasn't been up to much, but the few times he's appeared he's been one of the most human of all the characters in Marvel.

Surprisingly, according to CMRO Marvel Unlimited is missing just over 60% of the comics printed within 616!

Total Missing Comics So Far: 9294/15374 or 60.42%
Main Order
 
Savor this sample to hold you until next week:



LOOK AT ALL THAT SPACE AND THEM CUBES.
AAAAAAAHHHHH

LOOKS SO COOL!
AAAAAAAAAH

LOOKS SO COOL
Sadly X-Men and Daredevil continue to be terrible.

You best not be talking shit about Uncanny X-Men, that's for damn sure. From #1 through to the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga is one of my favorite long-form storylines in all of comics.
 
You best not be talking shit about Uncanny X-Men, that's for damn sure. From #1 through to the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga is one of my favorite long-form storylines in all of comics.

I am :( I'm not enjoying it at all. I've liked maybe 4 issues. The ones with Juggernaut are great, and the one where they introduced the Sentinels was fantastic too. Sadly, the rest of them are so pointless. There's no real character progression, social progression, or point. I don't know. I'm still reading them, so I look forward to them improving.

Is there something I've missed? Something you'd recommend? Why do you like them? :)
 
I am :( I'm not enjoying it at all. I've liked maybe 4 issues. The ones with Juggernaut are great, and the one where they introduced the Sentinels was fantastic too. Sadly, the rest of them are so pointless. There's no real character progression, social progression, or point. I don't know. I'm still reading them, so I look forward to them improving.

Is there something I've missed? Something you'd recommend? Why do you like them? :)
This post is going to be a bit scattered, because posting something super in depth would be way more time-consuming than I'm willing to give, but I feel like we read entirely different books, because there is a lot of character progression. What Claremont set up in his long tenure with the X-Men is a lot of fundamental stuff that never really changed. He set up the Phoenix Force, made Magneto more than just some maniacal cartoon bad guy. Jean's sacrifice is a powerful emotional moment. He created the very first "Wolverine's a badass" moment when the X-Men went to the Hellfire Club. Colossus' choice to kill Proteus. These are all powerful moments. Seriously.

And to say there's no character development or progression? Most of the characters' storylines are learning about trusting other people after being heavily used and/or persecuted. Storm was a lonely street urchin who eventually came to be worshipped as a goddess, being brought in by Xavier because she realized she was living a lie. Nightcrawler tried to make a paradise out of a prison, being held as a carnival act after being chased around by pitchfork wielding villagers because he, a devout Catholic, looked like the devil. Wolverine, a savage killing tool, learns to trust and get close to people; to be human. Colossus learns that he doesn't have to hold everything on his shoulders anymore. Scott having to command a new group, and forge bonds with a new group of people, despite constantly isolating himself because he's the leader.

Like, did we read the same book? Because I'm not sure. And yeah, Claremont's dialogue is terrible and intensely dated, but from a story perspective Uncanny is awesome. There's a lot of good action as well. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel like the comments about not dealing with any social issues or having any character progression is just factually wrong.
 

Brian Fellows

Pete Carroll Owns Me
I've never liked Claremont's writing style. He over explains everything and always feels like he's talking down to the reader.
 

Owzers

Member
I say trades and hardcovers are not a mistake. It's nice to collect stuff you like physically. But floppies are a mistake.

*stares at Flashpoint hardcover*

yes....stuff you like....

My trade collection is starting to remind me of my cd and dvd collection in which it's full of things i probably shouldn't have bought.
 
Love, love, love the old-timey comic talk. So interesting. Glad to have you guys sharing your thoughts on the thread. Continue to enjoy the ultimate universe updates, too.

I don't think I could like a Warren Ellis comic. But maybe. Might like Nextwave. But when I want lots of cursing and blood-soaked stories, I play GTA.

I hear you guys on floppies. I have hard decisions in my future, what with my closet filling with short boxes. But I worry about DRM with digital. And I worry about comic shops. I LOVE comic shops. I'd be so sad if they all closed down.
 
This post is going to be a bit scattered, because posting something super in depth would be way more time-consuming than I'm willing to give, but I feel like we read entirely different books, because there is a lot of character progression. What Claremont set up in his long tenure with the X-Men is a lot of fundamental stuff that never really changed. He set up the Phoenix Force, made Magneto more than just some maniacal cartoon bad guy. Jean's sacrifice is a powerful emotional moment. He created the very first "Wolverine's a badass" moment when the X-Men went to the Hellfire Club. Colossus' choice to kill Proteus. These are all powerful moments. Seriously.

And to say there's no character development or progression? Most of the characters' storylines are learning about trusting other people after being heavily used and/or persecuted. Storm was a lonely street urchin who eventually came to be worshipped as a goddess, being brought in by Xavier because she realized she was living a lie. Nightcrawler tried to make a paradise out of a prison, being held as a carnival act after being chased around by pitchfork wielding villagers because he, a devout Catholic, looked like the devil. Wolverine, a savage killing tool, learns to trust and get close to people; to be human. Colossus learns that he doesn't have to hold everything on his shoulders anymore. Scott having to command a new group, and forge bonds with a new group of people, despite constantly isolating himself because he's the leader.

Like, did we read the same book? Because I'm not sure. And yeah, Claremont's dialogue is terrible and intensely dated, but from a story perspective Uncanny is awesome. There's a lot of good action as well. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel like the comments about not dealing with any social issues or having any character progression is just factually wrong.

I think we have been reading different comics, or perhaps I haven't even read the ones you're talking about as none of that stuff has happened yet. The last X-Men I read was X-Men #34

034.jpg


Which was written by Roy Thomas, so Claremont's work hasn't even begun yet it's only been Stan Lee and Roy Thomas writing on X-Men so far. Thankfully, it sounds like there's a lot of good stuff to come, so I look forward to it!
 
I think we have been reading different comics, or perhaps I haven't even read the ones you're talking about as none of that stuff has happened yet. The last X-Men I read was X-Men #34

034.jpg


Which was written by Roy Thomas, so Claremont's work has even begun yet it's only been Stan Lee and Roy Thomas writing on X-Men so far. Thankfully, it sounds like there's a lot of good stuff to come, so I look forward to it!

Oh yeah classic X-Men is not good.

Now I feel like a dick
 
haha no worries, man. I'm probably confusing people with the numbering I'm using. I'll try to be more specific in the future, and include a few covers.

Well I was referring to Uncanny X-Men. Claremont's run starts at Giant-Sized Uncanny X-Men #1. Before that it's just X-Men.
 
Absolute Sandman due tomorrow and Bombshell Hawkgirl statue due Friday....
We gotta talk Boss... I looked at your profile.
Love, love, love the old-timey comic talk. So interesting. Glad to have you guys sharing your thoughts on the thread. Continue to enjoy the ultimate universe updates, too.

I'm with you! I started reading comics with Lee/Ditko ASM so it's fun to see impressions on other early Marvel stuff.
 
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