New Comic Book Day Megathread

[Hawkmumbler]

Just throwing out a random reccomendation, but fans of Hellboy who are perhapse getting a little jaded with the expanded universe might want to give Blood Blockade Battlefront a read. It's bloody good stuff, and deffinelty a series i'll be sticking with.

[Hawkmumbler]

Well though I might have fallen a little behind on my weekly pull's these last few weeks (holidays, bah!) i've been busy working further through my back catalogue of TPB's.

First up was Mudman by Paul Grist. It's fair to say Jack Staff was a resounding success, and I was very eager to dive into Grist's newest hero tale. It didn't dissapoint, however the same level of magic that Jack Staff encapsulated was not to be seen. Oh, it was very very good indeed, just not quite as magnificent as Staff was.  Maybe i'm being unfair, their's only 5 issues of Mudman thus far and i'm sure it'll reach the god like levels i've come to expect from Grist soon.

Next up was Barrage by Kohai Horikoshi, who'se current superhero saga you might be aware i'm a big fan of. I missed this when it was being published weekly but thankfully unlike most cancelled series Viz thought it pertinent to release this in two fanncy little volumes. It's good stuff, and deffinetly a break from the normal shounen cliches, and had a lot of scope to become a classic slice of space saga. Sadly it was not to be, and it's only as soon as it picks up steam that it get's cut down in it's prime. The art is lush though.

Following this was Assassination Classroom vols 5, 6, and 7. I had feared that after the first 4 volume's the premise had started to flag a little, diverting into romcom antics and sport scenarios. And though this might have continued in the next couple of volumes, it wasn't as high a concern as I had expected. Indeed, Matsui seem's to have found a careful balance between the students average educational life and the continuing mission to murder Korosensei.

This was then topped off with Nexus Omnibus 1. Bloody hell thats some good sci-fi comics, but as I believe i've said before VERY camp. So if you like Flash Gordon you'll probably be all over Nexus. The premise is an intruiging one, with the titular superhero/messiah/techno jesus being sent throughout history to assassinate the wicked and cruel. With an epic scope that's only hinted at throughout this first volume i'm very much down to continue this. But please, more Badger. Love that guy.

[PsychoGoatee]

This was then topped off with Nexus Omnibus 1. Bloody hell thats some good sci-fi comics, but as I believe i've said before VERY camp. So if you like Flash Gordon you'll probably be all over Nexus. The premise is an intruiging one, with the titular superhero/messiah/techno jesus being sent throughout history to assassinate the wicked and cruel. With an epic scope that's only hinted at throughout this first volume i'm very much down to continue this. But please, more Badger. Love that guy.

I've had that over on the to-read pile, been there for a few years. I should get on that. Speaking of First comics like Badger, Grimjack is another one I have a few books of that I should probably get around to checking out.

[The Adventurer]

their's only 5 issues of Mudman thus far and i'm sure it'll reach the god like levels i've come to expect from Grist soon.

Unfortunately there's only been 5 (six actually) issues of Mudman for nearly 2 years now. I fear it has ended up in the never-gonna-be-finished pile with Burglar Bill. (((((

Thank god for Demon Nic


I've tried getting into Nexus, mostly through the recent runs in Dark Horse Presents. It never quite grabbed me. I like Steve Rude, but eh. Just not clicking.


Now Mister X on the other hand... Dean Motter is a mad genius.

[Colin YNWA]

their's only 5 issues of Mudman thus far and i'm sure it'll reach the god like levels i've come to expect from Grist soon.

Unfortunately there's only been 5 (six actually) issues of Mudman for nearly 2 years now. I fear it has ended up in the never-gonna-be-finished pile with Burglar Bill. (((((

I keep an eye on Paul Grist on Twitter and he's been reassuring for like 18 months now that there's more coming, last time was just before X-Mas and we're seen pictures of art AND he's told me personally its coming. Problem is he's working on new Kane at the same time AND had to do Demon Nic AND wanted to get the issues banked before rolling more out so its taking time BUT I remain naively optimistic its on its way.

Will you lot just get on and read Nexus already its bloomin' great.

On a more personal note I got my haul yesterday... bloomin' heck has it really been that long since I got a chance to go to the mighty Sheffield Space Centre or is Doctor Who double, double dipping at the moment. I thing my 'review' will have to be in two parts there's so much stuff!

[Hawkmumbler]

their's only 5 issues of Mudman thus far and i'm sure it'll reach the god like levels i've come to expect from Grist soon.

Unfortunately there's only been 5 (six actually) issues of Mudman for nearly 2 years now. I fear it has ended up in the never-gonna-be-finished pile with Burglar Bill. (((((

I keep an eye on Paul Grist on Twitter and he's been reassuring for like 18 months now that there's more coming, last time was just before X-Mas and we're seen pictures of art AND he's told me personally its coming. Problem is he's working on new Kane at the same time AND had to do Demon Nic AND wanted to get the issues banked before rolling more out so its taking time BUT I remain naively optimistic its on its way.

Oh, more Mudman is deffinetly on te cards I believe, those recently dried page's on twitter are indication enough and i'm sure I saw a cover for #7 kicking about the net someplace.

Kane is right up on my list of titles to look into. I'm really enjoying my tour of indi superhero comics from the likes of Image, Dark Horse, and (formerly) First but i'm feeling a mighty need for some police crime thrillers after being left low with Luther's finale (Now THEIR'S a show crying out for a comic book).

Will you lot just get on and read Nexus already its bloomin' great.

It is a bit, isn't it. Mike Baron might well be one of the great writers of space opera, up with Herbert and Jodorowsky. Very much looking forward to picking up the other 6 (?) omnibi.

[Link Prime]

A few gems landed in my LCS yesterday, but I don't think I'll be finished work in time to go over and pick them up today;
Ragnarok is back after a bit of a break with issue 7. Every issue so far has filled me with comic-readin' joy.
Cable & Deadpool get a new mini-series ('Split Second') from personal favorites Nicieza & Brown. First mainstream Marvel comic I've bought in months, but I couldn't pass this up.
Wytches gets an over-sized artist proof edition for issue 1, an absolute bargain for €25. A must for any fan of Jock, so probably wouldn't interest anyone on this board.  https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/image-giant-sized-artists-proof-edition-wytches-1

[Colin YNWA]

Got my comics yesterday which means it was the day before this weeks comic day so havent got Ragnarok yet, can't wait to have that back in me bag. Anyway in the mean time for whatever reason had 22, yes count un 22 bloody comics in my haul. So this will be in two halves. Read the first half over the last couple of days, those being, new comics still on trail and comics on the cusp of the cut. So here we go.

We'll start with the good and that is that The Massive is back with prequel Ninth Wave 1 in which Brian Wood and Garry Brown provide quite a superb re-inroduction to our characters and one of their adversaries. Its brilliant set up to a very different Ninth Wave. Its hard to imagine them being this big and this organised after The Massive revealed them in desperate lost time but this is a wonderful opening and a welcome return to something new.

So after a very positive start we'll get the negative out the way. I'm a dropping the series after 12th Doc 15. Much as I love Robbie Morrison this just isn't working for me and I figure one Doctor Who comic is enough for me so as this 'season' draws to a close so does my time with this book. Which is a bit sad as the holiday special 12th Doc 16 is actually pretty damned good. Better than the regular issues anyway.

Klaus 2 is GMozz doing a fairy tale and this really works as a fairy tale, just not so much as a great GMozz comic. its a good comic, just not GMozz good. Still enough to keep me there. Goddamned 2 is doing its goddamnedist to be a horrible comic and it does that very well. Very well indeed, I'm hoping our damned 'hero' while become a little more hope into the mix as while its relentlessly grim done very well it surely can't sustain being just relentlessly grim. Fascinating comic experience though.

As is Island 5, which like last issue gets this title to be the comic I always wanted it to be. Each strip is great this time, each in different ways. Ancester is pretty much terrifying and chilling, Habitat is more straighhtforward but nicely contructed, Pop Gun War Chain Letter is just plain intriguing and while I defo don't get it I'm loving thinking about it. So a real winner.Well no alas not cos Island biggest weakest comes to the fore again. Each strip is now disappearing for a while and the lack of stories running month to month is a real pain in the ass. Its understandable give this is very niche and I figure most of the strips need to be fitted around paying stuff but it makes reading the comic very bloody frustrating.Still it giving me comics I otherwise wouldn't be reading so I'm sticking to this.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur 2 cute fun and while not quite there is certianly getting there. Hercules 2 is now there were it wasn't last month. Its clearly setting out its stall and this issue is what I'd hoped we'd get, were issue 1 was a little more stayed.

Two news series next Judge Dredd 1 creates a fantastic scenario BUT does that thing were folk think they get Dredd by making him hardass but by just doing that kinda miss the point. There's a couple of bits that just kicked me out and made me shake with 'that's not my Dredd', but it ain't and this other Dredd has enough of my Dredd and is in an interesting place that this still might work. Rocketeer at War 1 puts another hero into an odd scenerio but this does it all the more successfully and some slightly inconsistent art aside is an absolute triumph.

More soon folks, bet you can't wait...

[Hawkmumbler]

Well seeing as i'm back to the grind on sunday i've spent the whole day catching up on my pull list and playing Undertale, more on that on the video games thread later.

First up the negatives. Dark Horse Presents #17 will once again be left on the chopping board. Dream Gang has come to it's (definitive?) conclusion and i've very much enjoyed it and hope to see it reprinted someday, however the rest of it is all a little so-so and lacking any recognisable talent or refutable creators. I'll be keeping an eye on the content, but currently only Semiautomagic and Finder are anywhere near of interest to me. Then their was Judge Dredd #1. Colin got it in one for me, though this isn't MY Dredd it isn't a BAD Dredd either, but it's cerainly flat as a pancake in contrast to the mighty tooth. Art is gorgeous, mind you, so i'll be giving this a few more issues before I decide weather to give it the boot or weather it stays.

Art Ops #3 is more of a mixed bag, as a few evident plot inconsistencies start to show themselves and that kid is really starting to get on my wick! Oh, it's still a good title, and Mike Allred will always be a genius in my eyes, but i'd much rather see him work on another series of Madman at time's than this. Not that Art Ops is bad, no most certainly not, it's just not living up to the full potential just yet. 11th Doctor Who s2 #4 in contrast continues to get better and better and is turning out to be the best run of DW comics in years. It's just stonckingly good fun, as you would expect from two veterans of the galaxies greatest. It also manages to tap into just about the right level of continuity to not baffle anyone who isn't me and henceforth doesn't have a sad level of o knowledge of the DW mythos.

Now onto the good stuff! Savage Dragon #210 whacks a reveal that I wasn't expecting. Nice to see even after 20 years of publication Larsen can still have a throwback to #2  and make it work, sure it involves bringing back probably the worst SD villein EVER but eh, it was a hoot! Invincible #126 amusingly wraps up it's 3 issue throwback story arc as Mark returns to his own time and finds the inebitable has happened, though i'm not gonna lie that last page had me tearing up a little. Invincible continues to frustrate and excite in equal measures, but it's always good comics.

Weekly Shonen Jump #2/3/4 continues to be just about the second best anthology on the market. Everything is superb, from a humble 8 page chapter of One-Punch Man (the size of these centipedes are just getting silly!!!), a satifying dollop of intrigue in One Piece, a bombastic conclusion to the Another arc in Toriko (even if I don't understand a lot of it, it'll be a lot clearer on a reread), and oodles and noodles of heart and whimsey in My Hero Academia ("WE ARE....THE WILD WILD PUSSYCATS!!!!*). Always extremely excited to dive into my weekly manga mega haul.

Following this Saga #32 continued the story of Alana and Marko's continued seperation from their daughter, and the traumatic experience it has caused. Oh, and Prince Robot [spoiler]is still a dick.[/spoiler] I'm amazed Fiona Staples can find the time to illustrate both Saga and Archie though, bless her she's a damn fine talent and I hope she doesn't burn herself out! The Spirit #6 is just superb, honestly in the space of 6 issues i've learned pritty much all the vital aspects of Eisners universe and it's so enjoyable seeing Wagner let loose and just weite some crazy, insane story line's involving island prisons and lone rangers, mad desk generals and femme fatals. It's just bloody good fun!

Then we go from the superb, to the sublime. Wilds End The Enemy Within #4. Good gravy, good bloody gravy. Now, this sequel series has served itself well as a follow up, as the first six issue mini was a solid mix of action and plot development, this time around it's been 4 solid issues of espionage and pot boiling, with some truely delightful character set pieces and dialogue, now it's all gone and blown up in the faces of the military and the government, with the alien menace now unleashed on England i'm extatic to see how our hero's are going to make it out of it this time, or if they will at all.


*Spin off spin off spin off!!!!!

[The Adventurer]

First up the negatives. Dark Horse Presents #17 will once again be left on the chopping board. Dream Gang has come to it's (definitive?) conclusion and i've very much enjoyed it and hope to see it reprinted someday, however the rest of it is all a little so-so and lacking any recognisable talent or refutable creators. I'll be keeping an eye on the content, but currently only Semiautomagic and Finder are anywhere near of interest to me.

Semiautomagic is pretty cool, and would be right at home in the pages of 2000 AD. Jerry Ordway strikes me as a criminally overlooked talent that really should be bigger then he is.

[BPP]

Semiautomagic was one of the reasons I ditched DHP. Since the relaunch the whole thing has been garbage and tales (with the exception of Dream Gang) all read like bad TV series pitches. And yet it'll get nominated for best anthology year in year out and 2000AD gets jack shvt. I took my DHP money to Island. Much better although I fear (given format changes) it isn't long for this earth.

Someone let me know if they use Mick McMahon again tho, I'd hate to miss out on that.

[Colin YNWA]

11th Doctor Who s2 #4 in contrast continues to get better and better and is turning out to be the best run of DW comics in years. It's just stonckingly good fun, as you would expect from two veterans of the galaxies greatest. It also manages to tap into just about the right level of continuity to not baffle anyone who isn't me and henceforth doesn't have a sad level of o knowledge of the DW mythos.

Damn straight and while the first half of my haul saw me get rid of 12th Doctor 11th Doctor (2) 3 and 4 just gets better and better. This is good Doctor Who, better than the other stuff I've read over the last... well however many years it is since  what maybe the John Ridgeway 6th Doc stuff, better than the telly show has been for a good 4 years now. This is GREAT Doctor Who. I do wonder if the 12th series suffers by comparison. Whatever this is all the Doc I need for now and its simply magnificent.

Spurrious also pulls a blinder on The Spire 5, this one took a while to get to me, but now it has wow! Hip Hop Family Tree 4 and 5 (this is why December has been my biggest haul for years (literally) I've had at least 4 titles double ship and I don't think anything skipped!) continued to enthrall and infuriate this whistle stop tour of the History of Hippity Hoppity just flys past.

Autumnlands 8 is a funny old comic book, it seemed to flip to a different way of telling its story and sprung a new thing on us quite weirdly, which is meant to leave us as baffled as Learoyd and succeeds. We then get battered by goats... did settle well with me but sure its all going somewhere good.

Invisible Republic 8 and The Spirit 6 both have typically wonderful episodes, such different comics doing the same thing so well, stories told from different angles so well. BUT comic of the Haul is Sex 26. At times this series seems to plod and meander. Then you get to an issue like this and you realise quite how much has been going on and how much has happened. I need to give this a re-read but that may have to wait!

[Hawkmumbler]

Hip Hop Family Tree 4 and 5[/b] (this is why December has been my biggest haul for years (literally) I've had at least 4 titles double ship and I don't think anything skipped!) continued to enthrall and infuriate this whistle stop tour of the History of Hippity Hoppity just flys past. !

Now see, I was in Traveling Man the other day and was eyeing HHFT with a significant amount of interest. None of the present staff have been reading it, making you my sould source of pre-read knowledge for the title. It looks absolutely barmy, and quite charming as well. But he k does it come with a steap price tag! I might leave it a little longer but i'm sure this'll rise to the top of my binge list sooner or later?

[TordelBack]

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

[Colin YNWA]

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!