New Comic Book Day Megathread

[Colin YNWA]

On another note I've just re-read J Bones and Jame Robinson's brilliant Image series The Saviours again tonight. This only lasted 5 issues alas as its the prefect Sci-Fi B movie. A quite superb series (well it needed a letterer as great as J Bone is he's not a good letterer!), or it would have been if it'd got off the ground.

Anyway having re-read it and loved it tonight I thought I'd have a quick nosey and see if there was any chance of it coming back. Turns out the trade of the first 5 issues is about to be released... which seems weird given it wasn't been around for at least a couple of years. Could this mean they are thinking of giving it a return?

Either way well worth checking this trade out when its released in November.

[Colin YNWA]

The Spire 8 concludes this series and its already on my re-read list, I need to do that before making a judgement as to be honest I've not engaged with this in the way I have other Spurrioso works BUT its always had an undercurrent that's strongly suggested I've find what I'm missing on re-read.

Well this has already had a re-read and I'm very glad to report that read in one go it REALLY holds up with the best of Spurrrioso's work... well okay maybe not 6 Gun Gorilla good bit its close. The Spire is an engaging smart metaphor of a mystery wrapped in a political thriller. Its sharp, funny, exciting, action packed and deceptively thoughtful. All beautifully rendered by Jeff Stokely.

Wonderful stuff and served so much better read as a collection. Fingers crossed this creative team have something else up their sleeves soon.

[Colin YNWA]

I fought the comics
and the comic won

So I bought a comic I shouldn't have. I saw Cerebus in Hell 0 on the shelves of my LCS and while I'd decided not to get it as I'm no fan of the views of the creator, seeing it in the flesh made me stop and take purse. Who am I to fail to seperate art from the artist. As I've said before about Cerebus. Whatever interruptation Dave Sim puts on his own works its often (for 200 issues) one of the greatest pieces of literature I've encountered and so brilliantly observed. So I buckled and got this. Read on one level its an incredibly funny set of observations about Cerebus in Hell... no surprise there. Read at a deeper level... well I decided to avoid that in case looking for the themes and meaning drove me to dispair about this incredible talent.

Island 12 is the only comic I have an issue with this month. As is the way with Anthologies sometimes they win, sometimes not, its the pay off for getting stuff you otherwise wouldn't. In this case I'm not fan of Zooniverse which dominates this issue. Avia doesn't work for me either. Everything else is magnificent.

As are the rest of my comics. Well okay Flintstones 5 is a little down from this comics normal stella heights. Its still bloomin' fantastic mind. Only just realised its by the chap who did Prez recently... which explains a lot. Flash Gordon - King's Cross 1 sees Jeff Parker return to Flash G in fine, fine form a refreshing fizzing breeze of a comic. James Bond 11 has us crashing into the end play. Fantastic, hard stuff. Almost the opposite end of the spectrum to the gentle slice of life that is Resident Alien 3, Skizz if he'd landed in the middle of Northern Exposure, which had landed in Midsummer Murders, which had landed in Twins Peaks' more sane and grounded twin town.

Comic of the haul however goes once again to Unfollow 13/b] God I love this series. Not only does it provide an explaination of what Sime Gane has done while we're waiting for more They're Not Like Us but also offeres a simply stunning back story to Akira our now dead and working it Japanese artist manipulater.

Anyway you lot can't be just me reading comics. So lets have smarter more interesting voices telling us what they've been reading.

[Hawkmumbler]

I fought the comics
and the comic won

So I bought a comic I shouldn't have. I saw Cerebus in Hell 0 on the shelves of my LCS and while I'd decided not to get it as I'm no fan of the views of the creator, seeing it in the flesh made me stop and take purse. Who am I to fail to seperate art from the artist. As I've said before about Cerebus. Whatever interruptation Dave Sim puts on his own works its often (for 200 issues) one of the greatest pieces of literature I've encountered and so brilliantly observed. So I buckled and got this. Read on one level its an incredibly funny set of observations about Cerebus in Hell... no surprise there. Read at a deeper level... well I decided to avoid that in case looking for the themes and meaning drove me to dispair about this incredible talent.

I can't bring myself to read it. I just can't. The final 100 issues of the seminal series are the quintessential examples of simultaneously jumping the shark and alienating your entire readership I have ever seen. Yes, the first 200 where great, bordering on phenomenal, but sweet jesus if Final Days didn't leave a taste in my mouth so bad I had to spit and gargle with bleach for a week to kill it.

Flash Gordon - King's Cross 1 sees Jeff Parker return to Flash G in fine, fine form a refreshing fizzing breeze of a comic.

THIS, on the other hand, is really rather special. It takes a special kind of talent to make your work simultaneously wholesome, larger than life, and thoroughly memorable whilst also being light weight without being disposable. Parker's Flash Gordon stuff is just that, pure spontaneous comics without the disposability, I can keep coming back to them quite happily.

[TordelBack]

I adore Cerebus, I even still have a big soft spot for Dave, I bought Following Cerebus and even Glamourpuss...but I flicked excitedly through Cerebus in Hell before returning it to the shelf. No, sorry.

[Colin YNWA]

I adore Cerebus, I even still have a big soft spot for Dave, I bought Following Cerebus and even Glamourpuss...but I flicked excitedly through Cerebus in Hell before returning it to the shelf. No, sorry.

Oh interesting - what was it that put you off? I know you're a big fan and so wondered if you'd looked at it.

[TordelBack]

I didn't find any of it funny. I appreciate the health situation behind the art,  but from what little I read none of the jokes landed and it felt like a bit like a right-wing webcomic. I decided I didn't need this to be the continuation of the series, even given that Cerebus' story had ended [spoiler]with a fart joke[/spoiler].

[Colin YNWA]

I didn't find any of it funny. I appreciate the health situation behind the art,  but from what little I read none of the jokes landed and it felt like a bit like a right-wing webcomic. I decided I didn't need this to be the continuation of the series, even given that Cerebus' story had ended [spoiler]with a fart joke[/spoiler].

Ha! Cool. Goes to show just like art humour is so subjective. I was snorting with laughter when reading this. Though worrying incredibly that I was laughing at a right wing webcomic... on that you might well be spot on... still don't look to deep, don't look too deep...

[Fungus]

Hm, I also returned it to the shelf yesterday. Twice.
But then felt the fear and bought it anyway. We'll see if it augurs well for the mini-series...

[Colin YNWA]

Hm, I also returned it to the shelf yesterday. Twice.
But then felt the fear and bought it anyway. We'll see if it augurs well for the mini-series...

and did it...

[TordelBack]

Well sod the pair of you. Now I'm going to have to go back and see if there's any left. I owe it to Dave to give it a proper read, don't I?

[Hawkmumbler]

I'm not caving in! You can't make me!

[Fungus]

It didn't augur well. Read half and gave up, didn't I? No snorting was involved.
Giving the series a miss.

[TordelBack]

Okay, Cerebus in Hell? 0: a couple of chuckles ([spoiler]the Three Stooges as the heads of Cerberus, Steve Ditko as Dante lost in the first 38 issues of Spiderman)[/spoiler] but rather overwhelmed by the dozen or more that fell totally flat, and given the coup-de-grace by #aardvarklivesmatter.  Mental illness can only excuse so much, I don't think I'll be returning.

Contrast with today's other purchase, Black Hammer 5, superb in every way. Great book.

[Hawkmumbler]

Well I think thats a good indication of just how far right Dave has driven himself.