Whats everyone reading?

[TordelBack]

By god it's good comics.

Oh, yes. Yes it is. First mainstream superhero comic in over a decade that's made me think of setting up a regular order. That's how good it is.

Cheers!

Jim

Couldn't agree more.  Makes me hope that Bruce Wayne stays dead for a good long time.  Fascinating to see that Batman can actually work as a 'role'  rather than a specific person.  The [spoiler]Prof Pyg(malion) stuff[/spoiler] was inspiredly horrid, and the [spoiler]Dollgirl sidekick[/spoiler] is creepy as bejayzus.

[Jim_Campbell]

The Prof Pyg(mallion) stuff was inspiredly horrid.

Morrison has described the series as less grim than previous Batman stories, but more creepy ... "It's like David Lynch doing the Batman TV show."

Top stuff.

Cheers!

Jim

[Richmond Clements]

Add to that brilliant character moments like Dick talking to Alfred and his complaining about the cloak, and Gordon and his men not being fooled by the 'new' Batman 'Wasn't he taller?'... then you've got a nigh on perfect read- and that's before you factor in Frank Quietly!

[Colin YNWA]

Yeah just read the third issue and echo wants already been said. I'm loving the development of the [spoiler]Doll Girl in an 'evil Robin' role. Daimon's mistakes surely coming back to haunt him?[/spoiler]

The line of Dick's in response to Gordan's chastisment is just another of those classic Morrison moments. Lovely stuff.

[Odd_Bloke]

Have finished The Joker: Greatest Stories Ever Told, and have now moved on to Batman: Contagion.  Enjoying it thus far.

And, yes, I've spent a good few minutes looking at that page with the full-length Joker from the Jokerfish story over the past couple of days.

[SmallBlueThing]

Aside from Flesh, I also picked up the first issues of 'The Marvel Project' and 'The Ultimates 4' (or 'Ultimate Comics Avengers' as it now appears to be called) and (sigh, here we go again) 'Ultimate Comics Spider-Man'- after I'd picked myself up from being floored by the sheer vomitous hideousness of Marvel's new Ultimate cover-designs, I gave these a read last night.

The Marvels Project, on first go, appears to be MARVELS done all over again, with slightly less-impressive art and stilted dialogue. We're back in '38/'39 at the start of the Marvel Universe, back with the creation of the first Human Torch, and the Second World War is once again threatening. Once again, it's told by an "outsider"- only this time, one with a twist. It's much as you'd expect, and- excepting one magnificent sequence of the Sub Mariner attacking some Nazis which includes one of the best panels I've ever seen in a Marvel comic- pretty bland.

The Ult. Avengers is more in the style of The Ults 1 & 2, thankfully. It's lack of a numeral at least means I don't have to spend the rest of my life feintly perturbed that I'm missing the '3' trade. Millar seems to have gone minimalist with the dialogue this time, which means it's a brief read. This, coupled with the paper Marvel seem to be printing everything on these days, makes the comic seem insubstantial. It's lovely and white and I'm sure those for whom the "art is the thing" are loving it- but for a luddite like me, who wants my cash to buy something that feels worthwhile, it's bordering on "flimsy". A fairly good read, all told. I'll pick up the collection when it appears in six months.

The new Ult. Spidey is an abomination. Apparently, something called "Ultimatum" happened, killing millions of New Yorkers and necessitating the reboot of a perfectly good title, with a ridiculously crap artist. There's the stink of manga about the whole thing, and when in costume, Peter Parker's head now apparently swells up to a perfectly round balloon shape that is at once distracting and revolting. Never before have I been so offended by an artistic choice- but this pissed me off no end- after years of glorious Bagley and even that guy who followed him, this is just a bad joke. Gwen Stacy's back too. I'm several trades behind in the original series, so I have no idea if that's a new development or something familiar. Last I knew she was murdered by a symbiote. The Kingpin reappears, [spoiler]only to be immediately killed by someone looking a bit like Mysterio[/spoiler], so I don't know what that means. And the comic is pitched much lower than the "classic" Ultimate Spider-Man. Hate it with a passion. But, being a Spidey completist, I'm doomed to see it through its hopefully short run.

Oh, also picked up the Amazing Spider-Man annual. The US one, not the Panini UK thing. Claims to be "The Wedding Issue", but marvellously isn't. Cracking little story, with an unprepared-for twist that threatens twisty-turny clone shenanigans are just around the corner. Only this time, I hope, done for entertainment not for sales.

Other than that, I'm reading a book about Lake Monsters. It is good.

Steev

[Paul faplad Finch]

Steev, do you buy SFX? If you check out this months issue they have a 4 page interview with Bendis about the relaunch of the Ultimate universe.

In it he bigs up the new Spidey artist. Apparently he pushed to get him. Bendis also says, of Ultimate Spiderman, "I'm gonna ride the book into the ground"  Okay. I've quoted him out of context but from what you're saying that sounds awfully prophetic.

[SmallBlueThing]

No, I'm not an SFX reader, more a Deathray man. I suppose Bendis would say that, wouldn't he? Take a look at the cover of Ult. Spidey #1- that perfectly round head is replicated throughout the comic, and isn't just an attention-grabber. It really does throw you out of the art- picks you up by the scrotal sack and heaves you out of the panel, such is its awfulness.

There's so much wrong with the comic that there aren't enough words in my computer. Why they've done this to a title that was seen by many as "Spidey's only hope" following the- er- "controversial" OMD/BND over in Amazing, is anyone's guess.

Thankfully, I have really enjoyed Amazing since One More Day, so it doesn't upset me as much as I imagine it does all those other people who rant on the Internet.

Steev

[Roger Godpleton]

Currently plowing through Dead Souls, which is certainly an illuminating read.

[I, Cosh]

Currently plowing through Dead Souls, which is certainly an illuminating read.

Read that last summer. I was surprised at how funny it was. Did you get the same vibe from it? I'm guessing that "plowing" means not.

[Paul faplad Finch]

Currently reading The Walking Dead 10 which is, as always, great fun. If fun's the right word.

Also just about to start the new Mark Billingham book. It's over a week since I heard it was out, on this very thread I believe, but events conspired to keep me away from a bookshop until Saturday gone. I have decided that this is the one that I'm going to figure out before the end. I'm usually pretty good at this kind of thing but for some reason Billingham beats me every time. Basterd.

Locke and Keye has been a recent highlight for me. Got the first colection - Welcome to Lovecraft - from the library and devoured it in one sitting. Lovely cartoony art that shouldn't work with the horror but somehow does and the kind of expert pacing you'd expect from a seasoned pro, rather than the first timer we have here, have made it a fantastic read. It's by Joe Hill, fruit of Stephen Kings loins, and I reckon he's a definite chip off the old block. It's made me want to check out his novel and short story collection as well. If he can keep up this kind of quality I see no reason his career can't have the longvity of his dads. Hell, I'd say this is better than Kings early work. Different medium I know, but in terms of character and dialogue it beats Carrie or Firestarter hands down.

[Roger Godpleton]

I certainly appreciate the humour in Dead Souls, it's brilliant.

[Dandontdare]

Just read and really enjoyed Cancertown by newcomers Cy Dethan and Stephen Downey. It's the story of a  man with a tumour in his head who can slip in and out of a bizarre alternate London inhabited by grotesques with cool names like Crosshair, the Corpsegrinder, the Piecemaker, Evil Twin and Babyface. He becomes involved with the power struggle between these 'players' and ultimately unravels the origin of Cancertown.

It has a few rough edges script-wise -I'm not sure I fully get the ending, and there were a couple of "HUH?" moments along the way - I'll have to have a re-read. Also, the hero is just a bit too much like John Constantine. The story has nods to Clive Barker, also Neil Gaiman's Neverworld. The art by Stephen Downey (coloured by Mel Cook and gloriously lettered by Nic Wilkinson)is really nice - here's a couple of tasters:

   

It's published by Insomnia comics, who I've not come across before - you can view the whole first chapter on Cy Dethan's site: http://www.cancertown.co.uk/

[Bouwel]

Just completed John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos for the first time since English Literature class. Well worth your time if you've never read it. Day of the Triffids is next on the list I think.

-Bouwel-

[O Lucky Stevie!]

...if you are going to get into the Revelation Space stories (and you should) then it makes sense to read them in order as I suspect they make more sense that way):

I'd recommend tackling at least some of the Reynolds short story collection Galactic North first

Seconded. Espesh as the prologue & conclusion of Absolution Gap* won't make much sense without familiarity with the titular story of said collection.

LoveloveloveLOVE House of suns -- think space opera rebooted to year zero via Jean Cocteau.

*Reynolds' only duff note in Stevie's eyes. Quite a trainwreck of a novel IMHO.