Humanoids Comics Bundle

[sintec]

I've been really enjoying diving into the huge pile of digital comics currently on offer by Humanoids (available here for a few more days if you want to buy in).

It was the Jodorowsky and Moebius stuff that caught my attention initially, whilst I've read The Incal and The Metabarons before I've never got around to reading the Before The Incal and Final Incal so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to check them out. Having said that I've actually started by reading some of the non-Jodorowsky content in the bundle as I was intrigued to see what else was on offer. This has led me to a breadth first exploration of the collection rather than diving deep into anyone series. Below are my initial thoughts on some of the comics, I'd be interested to hear what others are making of them. I'll try to keep things spoiler free (or at least tagged) and would appreciate it if others would do the same.

Carthago:
Just finished volume 2 last night. Setup reads like a textbook b-movie about a giant shark; evil machinations from a shady corporation (check), a mysterious wealthy crypto-zoologist (check), some intrepid environmentalists seeking to uncover the truth (check).  Despite being a little predictable it's good fun stuff with loads of gorgeous underwater sequences which let the art shine.

Legend Of The Scarlet Blades
Only read the first volume so far. The plot revolves around a ronin with a mysterious past, so far so predictable samurai comic. What really sets this apart is the absolutely jaw dropping art, those ice wolves are freaking amazing.  It's tense and action packed stuff as this volume slowly drips out the backstory and builds it's world.  Very tempting to just keep going on into the next book at the end and see where it's taking the characters next but decided to take it slow and savour this one.  Cracking stuff which feels like it would be perfectly at home in the prog.

Omni
I have to admit I'm not the greatest fan of superheros - it's just one of those genres that doesn't really appeal. This is an alright start, it sets up the world and our heroine nicely but I'm not sure I'm all that engaged yet.  This was the first one of the shared-world set (Omni, Ignited, Strangelands) that I tried, maybe I just picked the wrong starting point. Gonna try Ignited next and see if that draws me in more.

Metal Hurlant Collection 1 Vol 1
A collection of short Future Shock style sci-fi pieces. All pretty solid, with some good twists. Only let down was Monster Police Department, it set up and intriguing world but it didn't really do anything with it.

Not had a chance to get any further yet but based on the above (and previous knowledge or Jodorowsky's Incal and Metabarons) I have to say this is superb value for money.  If you're on the fence about buying it I'd strongly urge you to dive in - for just $15 for this many comics there's really no good reason not too.

[IndigoPrime]

Would you recommend a reading order for The Incal and its related series?

[sintec]

I'd start with The Incal - that's where it all began.  I've not actually read Before and Final yet but plan to approach them in publication order (so Before The Incal and then Final Incal).  From what I've heard Before contains significant spoilers for the original series and Final builds on events from both the previous series.

The Metabarons deals with the family history of The Metabaron who is a character that is introduced in The Incal.  It fills out that characters backstory and concludes around the same time The Incal starts (although I don't think there are any significant spoilers there). Publication wise these came out around the same time as the Before The Incal stuff although I believe they're largely independent so could probably be read in either order.

The Metabaron series (which we might get if the enough people buy in to unlock it) is the most recent material so I'd leave that until last. Weapons Of The Metabaron sits in between the two main Metabaron arcs (chronologically I think the events happen before The Incal but again I've not read this yet so I could be wrong). I believe it's mostly a self-contained tale but it probably won't make much sense prior to reading The Metabarons.

tl;dr: The Incal -> The Metabarons -> Before The Incal -> Weapons (maybe) -> Final Incal -> The Metabaron

[IndigoPrime]

Ta. I'd no idea Metabarons was wrapped up in The Incal. (I've read a bit of The Incal via FCBD, but that's basically it.)

[sintec]

Well we've hit the total required to unlock all 6 volumes of The Metabaron series.  Next up (assuming the bundle can raise another $2700 in 2.5 days) will be The Technopriests. It's another series set in the Jodoverse and one which I know very little about beyond it explores the Techno-techno society which is introduced in The Incal.

[BPP]

Anyone else had issues opening the cbz files on chunky? The pdfs work fine but atm I'm limited to direct download on an iPad and can't get the cbz files to work...

[IndigoPrime]

I just loaded up Incal vol 1 (CBZ) and that seems fine here. Which files are you having trouble with?

[BPP]

Metabarons vol1 and Exo Bol 1 both failed.

I'll try incal now

[IndigoPrime]

Both of those are fine here. Current version of Chunky. Are you up to date with the app? I know there was a version released a while ago that had a CBZ bug.

[sintec]

Achievement unlocked - all 8 volumes of The Technopriests now also available to download. I think we've got nearly all of the Jodoverse in here now!

[sintec]

Exo
This is a cracking sci-fi alien invasion story with some nice twists as it develops. I'm 2 books in now and I'm intrigued to see how this wraps up in the 3rd volume. Like Carthago the set up is all a bit b-movie sci-fi but this feels like it's taking itself a bit more seriously. The art is maybe a little less epic but it does a great job of conveying the feel of the different locations and telling the story.

Miss: Better Living Through Crime
Crime drama set in 20s America - not the kind of thing I'd have picked up based on the blurb but so far really good stuff. Plenty of gritty noir as our protagonist trys to survive the various underworld characters she crosses paths with. The choice of colour palette really sets the mood and brings the dirty city streets to life. Looking forward to seeing where this goes as it progresses.

The Loving Dead
A zombie love story, set in a future where the dead come back but not as you standard mindless flesh eaters. I'm not really sure what to make of this one - it's ok but it's not really drawn me in yet.  The art is functional but not amazing, the story trundles along and the world is interesting. Maybe it'll pick up in book 2 but right now I'm not really sure I care about any of the characters.

Gullivera
Erotica is another genre I wouldn't usually pick up outside of a bundle like this - not out of any kind of prudishness more that it has a tendency to be a bit tedious. This hasn't changed that opinion. The art is well drawn but the plot is basically a gender swapped Gullivers Travels in the style of a 70s porno. Our heroine manages to loose her swimming costume within the first 3 pages and it continues in that vein. There's a couple of good gags which keep it entertaining but I can't see this getting re-read.

The Incal
Started on a re-read of this before beginning the prequel as it's been a few years. Moebius' art is fantastic conveying the wonderous, bonkers and bizarre locations and characters brilliantly. As with much of Jodorowsky's writing the plot races along at a million miles an hour racing from one crazy idea to the next with a sense of glee and wonder. It's all about the world building (or more accurately universe building) and there's sometimes a sense of the characters being dragged through events rather than driving them.

[sintec]

Well I finally got around to finishing Carthago. It ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger with a big reveal about one of the characters and an "End Of First Cycle". Can't say it was a complete surprise as it was foreshadowed over the preceding couple of episodes but it's taking the tale in a new direction that certainly wasn't obvious right back at the start. Being critical it gets a little convoluted at times jumping around it's various threads but it's been enjoyable stuff. I can see myself tracking down the continuation when it eventually lands (from the Humanoids site it looks like it was scheduled for April so I'm guessing it's been delayed). Not sure if I'll get those in digital or track down the trade - kinda depends on the price and space on bookcases (which is becoming a seriously limiting factor).

[sintec]

Legend Of The Scarlet Blades
Finished this series and it's absolutely superb stuff right to the end by far my favourite thing from the bundle so far. The various characters back stories are slowly revealed as the plot rattles forward with plenty of action and suspense. It's gripping stuff and it was increasingly hard to put down. Going to keep my eyes peeled for a copy of this in print as the art is glorious. Looks like there's a couple of follow up series which I might grab as well.

Muse
Another piece of erotica - this one at least has a decent mystery plot attached. A young woman is hired to work in a mysterious estate where the young gentleman of the house invents all kinds of bonkers machines. The staff are all in on a secret and keep feeding the new girl a mysterious elixir that transports her to different fantasy worlds where she confronts peril and inevitably looses her clothes. The arts great and really suits the setting and storyline. It's a bit of a shame it was all used as a vehicle to deliver boobs as there's a good story in here.

Miss book 2
This continues to be an excellent read. Our protagonists take on some more jobs and get into some scrapes along the way. Slim and Miss's backstories are fleshed out a bit more as we meet various members of their respective families. The world and character building is superb and the art continues to be a great match with it's gritty colour palette.