New Comic Book Day Megathread

[Hawkmumbler]

Dip a flipper?

[TordelBack]

IIRC there's a fair amount of HHFT available on BoingBoing, if you were looking to dip a flipper.

I recognise most the words but I have no, literally no idea what this means!

Get hip to the far out lingo, daddio. All the cool kids know what I'm voking.

The 'website' BoingBoing.net is available on 'the internet', and has 'hosted' a few serialized 'comics', Hip-hop Family Tree is one of them. They've run a good number of pages, and if you wanted to try before you buy, it's a good place to check it out, assuming you can 'surf the information superhighway' like a cyber cowboy of old. For realsies.

[SuperSurfer]

Hip-hop Family Tree

A fine comic. I bought the first floppy. It hits the spot on so many levels for me. Fine story and dialogue but in particular I like the art, the paper, the design, the splash pages with Artie Simek style lettering. Excellent as it is, there isn't enough in the subject matter that interests me enough to buy more, though I am tempted to buy a Treasury Edition.

Speaking of nicely packaged comics I do like the Dark Knight III. I resisted but caved in and bought the first two. I'm impressed. The mini comics work well. The Wonder Woman comic in issue two is rather good. I did look at the hardback version which enlarges the mini comics rather than including them as mini inserts, which is a shame. And the weird Superman drawing, in context actually looks ok. To my eyes, anyway. Recommended.

[Colin YNWA]

...assuming you can 'surf the information superhighway' like a cyber cowboy of old.

cyber cowboys, glad I didn't watch the latest series of Doctor Who and as for surfing the information superhighway, well I've just started a re-read of Kirby's Fourth World opus so I think I'm getting to that soon as the hairys take Jimmy on their next trip.

Golly that all sounds so spiffing, be dashed if I understand a bally word of it all old chap.

[Hawkmumbler]

You all give very good arguments. But please could someone give me a key, or a lonely planet book to decode all that?

[Jabberwocky]

I'm really enjoying Descender at the minute. It is a wonderful book and hopefully the studio that optioned it will make an equally brilliant movie. I can't wait to see Tim-21 on the big screen!

I've also been catching up on East of West,, just have issues 20-23 to read. The art work is incredible and the writing is very decent, IMO.

Monstress is also off to a good start, if you enjoy steam punk crossed with kaiju.

J

[Colin YNWA]

I'm really enjoying Descender at the minute. It is a wonderful book and hopefully the studio that optioned it will make an equally brilliant movie.

That's the Jeff Lemire book, not read anything by him for a while.

[Jabberwocky]

It's really, really good. The art is excellent but it is the writing that makes the book for me. I highly recommend it.

[I, Cosh]

Been meaning to pop in and update on some decent stuff I've picked up over the past few weeks.

Ragnarok #7 was a pleasant surprise last week. It continues to be fantastic entertainment, each issue managing something which eludes a lot of writers and telling a satisfying chapter within the ongoing story. An unexpected twist mixes things up this time. Given the gap between issues I'm hopeful there's enough material in the can to get on a regular schedule for the next few months.

The final issue of Nameless was also worth the long wait. To some extent, this series has been more of the same from Morrison but done with such gusto (from the fishmen in Maryhill Road to the marvellous swearing) that it's quickly become my favourite thing he's done since Seaguy. Chris Burnham's art is something quite special too. Hope this is a long and fruitful partnership.

Old Grant's back with Klaus #2. This isn't anything like as wild a ride as Nameless but the idea of Santa's secret origin being a drunken shaman and his talking wolf out of their minds on mushrooms tickled my funny bone and it has some fun dialogue.

I've been up and down with the latest series of Phonogram. It took until the third issue to get me fully on board and the fourth promptly put me off again. Luckliy The Immaterial Girl #5 is a real corker. There's some unexpected movement and character development which has been deliberately put off since the very early days. More of the finest wonderful McKelvie pictures and snarky Gillen words have me quite excited for the climax. Hopefully it'll be one worthy of this great comic.

Spurrier's first arc ends with Crossed +100 #12. I'll give it a reread but I think I'm done with this. It's unavoidable but it's far too in thrall to the Moore's work on the first six issues. Conversely, Spire #5 is Si at his best. Interesting, human relationships in amongst his own incessant neologising. Him and Jeff Stokely, whose art deserves to be savoured and have its nooks and crannies thoroughly explored, have created a world here which I hope we'll see more of after the end of this first series.

[Hawkmumbler]

2016 is going to be painful for my wallet. Moving out, buying a car, that 2K trip to Scapa Flow in August etcetcetc.
So i'll go ahead an waste much needed money on more comics!!! It's fine, I can live off of pot noodle.

So what better way to start a diet sized week of comics with an appetiser! Because Unfollow #3 certainly wet my appetite with it's unique blend of Agatha Christie and Battle Royale, with a brilliantly dropped hint that not everyone is going to last very long in this little game. Mike Dowling knocks it out of the park, one of my personal favourite artists around right now. Johnny Red #3 in contrast is as meaty as a Meateor pizza and just as calorific, with glorious visual feets and dog fights, and an art style to absolutely die for it's a high pick of the week for me, and just classic war comics. Make's me long for Rebellion to launch a new war comic anthology with Ennis at the helm.

Weekly Shonen Jump #5/6 is a filling, spongey dessert. But I have to say that splash panel in Food Wars made me loose my appetite, somewhat. Creepy face's in shounen seem to be in vogue at the moment. And by now, I believe My Hero Academia could be more accuratelt named "The same group of kids get continously and doggedly stallked by serial murderers". Doesn't stop it being the best of the weeklies though, and One-Punch Man is as ever a delight (though I do wish Metal Bat would hurry up and kill this centipede already!).

I don't feel like I talk about Jojolion enough, seeing as I never cover it in this here thread. As the 8th arc in the mighty Jono's Bizarre Adventure series, you would think it would be heavy on continuity, right? Amazingly, not at all. It's completely self contained, and quite a marvelous mystery as well! It has so many congruent plot threads that, until this very chapter, seemed unrelated. But no sooner do we start to get some deffinative answers are more opened to us! Truely the gift that keeps on giving, and such a visual treat as well. Hopefully one day it can recieve an official English release and it can have a place on my bookshelf.

[Link Prime]

Ragnarok #7 was a pleasant surprise last week. It continues to be fantastic entertainment, each issue managing something which eludes a lot of writers and telling a satisfying chapter within the ongoing story. An unexpected twist mixes things up this time. Given the gap between issues I'm hopeful there's enough material in the can to get on a regular schedule for the next few months.

Issue 8 is solicited for March, so don't hold yer breath Cosh.

6 issues a year written & drawn by Simonson (69) to this level of quality would be more than welcome.

[Hawkmumbler]

Oh! Forbidden Planet Manchester have more Nexus omnibi for £8 each! Thats 2,3 and 4 bought then!

[Colin YNWA]

You get the feeling that Boom! have a lot of faith in Kennel Block Blues and I get why. They ran a preview in their issues this month and that was enough to get it on my pull list. They've now released the full issue (with a big old watermark) to tempt people. I'm not reading it, waiting for the issue to arrive BUT figure its gotta be worth checking out given how impressed I was with the preview.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/01/09/boom-makes-kennel-block-blues-available-for-free-before-its-published-with-a-massive-watermark/

[Hawkmumbler]

Lets kick this weeks comics haul off with a bang!

Weekly Shounen Jump #6.5 packs in just as many thrills as a full length issue. Blue Exorcist is genuinly facsinating right now, Seraph of the End goes completely nuts, theirs a Muhyo and Roji Bureau of Supernatural Investigation jump back, a series i've never read before and found incredibly twisted and delicious. The One-Punch Man one-shot was absolutely perfect however, and best of the bunch, and I think King might just be the best gag in the entire series.

Image comics served up a flurry of excellent comics this week, starting with the belated Egos #9, and it's damn good comics. Fucking brilliant comics actually, deffinetly a highlight in my current pullist as the "Crunched"  story arc concludes. Thier be blood, I tell you that. I just have to wonder how long we must wait for #10! Following on from some phenomenal sci-fi we get...some more phenomenal sci-fi as both Spread #12 and Limbo #3 cranck out some mystery and entrepidation to counter balance the explosive conclusion in Egos. Both titles have compounents I like, with the fluidity in the art of Limbo with the lucid story telling reminding me of Umbrella Academy, meanwhile Spread is just pure horror and gory brilliance.

Groo Friends and Foes #12 concludes the saga as the melted cheese warrior helps find his young charge's history and father is revealed, though it comes as no big a shock to anyone besides Groo. A delightful tale wraps up and it's been a blast, continuously entertaining and flippent it proves that comics can be for all age's and utterly delightful as well. I really, really can't recommend it highly enough. Batman/TMNT #2 on the ither hand has me wondering how they are going to stretch such a simple premise over 6 issues. If I hit the next issue with the same amount of dissapointment this one left me in then it's getting dropped, sadly.

In contrast, 27 issues on and The Maxx is still superb. What a truly unique reading experience, one of the most bizarre comics i've ever layed eyes on. But it's oh so good, such a vivid deconstruction of how i dividuals percieve one another and how....nah, I can't even sound smart reading it anymore. I have no idea as of yet what message it's trying to deliver, only that it's a bloody entertaining rollarcoaster of a ride in the process of finding out.

[Colin YNWA]

The Maxx ... I have no idea as of yet what message it's trying to deliver, only that it's a bloody entertaining rollarcoaster of a ride in the process of finding out.

What you think we'll find out! I think we'll be working it out for years to come... gloriously.