New Comic Book Day Megathread

[Colin YNWA]

Well its a haul dominated by three writers this time and we picka writer of the haul... maybe...

But let's start with the rest first.

I think with We only find them when they're dead 8 I've run out of patience with this series. Its the art. i just find it really gets in the way of the storytelling and I no longer know what's happening. In the space based episodes that almost worked as the art really seemed to add to the vibe of other worldliness and other that the series holds. That sense of space being an environment like no other and filled with only the lights of the ships that run through it. In this second arc about... stuff.. set on a planet with politcal... stuff... its just obstructive and I'm out.

Ka-zar 1now I may be selling my old Ka-zar collection but I still get pulled to new ka-zar books in the hope that I'll find the perfect ka-zar tale one day. This one... well maybe. Its an interesting start with our blonde tarzan trying to adjust to his death and return to life (who knew?!?). This family tolerate his adjustment and the Savage Land has problem of its own. We'll see how this one goes. As it is lovely art and decent opener.

Usagi Yojimbo - Dragon Bellow Conspiracy 3 continues this great series well. I do wish I'd got on board this great book earlier so I wasn't collecting this colour issues as an entry point but there we are. I've got a load of digital version of the black and White original coming up on my Read List soon so we'll see how that feels.

The rest of my comics are by just three writers... hmmm maybe time to spread my wings... anyway 2 from Jeff Lemire, Unbelievable Unteens 2 - not as good as the opener but still very good and Black Hammer Reborn 3 - a focus on Lucy's (the original not original Black Hammer) husband and his problems dealing with her power and adventures. Its great stuff. I get all the Black Hammer comics and I have to say the way Lemire (and others) are crafting a universe both parody of the big two but also uniquely their own thing, exploring their own themes, make me feel I can get ride of all my other superhero comics. Its an amazing body of work and starting to come out at quite the rate now!

Second up we have Kyle Starks, whose comedic wonders are a rough house delight. 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton 4 just continues with more brilliantly targeted violent murder mystery bound in the world of Hollywood. Fantastic. Second a OGN 'Old Head', crap title but this one uses all the tropes and cliche of that overdone genra the comedy basketball vampire horror. Damn I'm so tired of these comics, remember when zombies where the thing... ahem. Anyway yes its an oddball thing but damn its funny and dug into the humour are some more powerful themes and ideas. Kyle Starks is probably the most unrecognised of my trio this time. He really shouldn't be.

Finally we have three from Mark Russell, Second Coming - Only Begotten Son 4, a delayed delight, Not all Robots 2 more hardcore satire and Deadbox 1 a new title (well it is a 1!) with a similar tone but fresh and intriguing world into which they are weaved. Its that tone that is my only issue with Mark Russell. He is brilliant, is satire razer sharp, the worlds he creates ... well fresh and intriguing as I've said... its just there is just a knowing tone that runs through all his titles. When you read three so closely together like this they remain a delight, but maybe I'd like to see something entirely different by him. A different take on this satirical voice. Still I'll be buying everything he does cos its that good.

So which is my favourite? Why do I need to decide so while other title might be harder to find while there are three talents releasing comics this good my pull list will remain healthy!

[CalHab]

Mark Russell definitely has a certain voice, but his current "Fantastic Four: Life Story" feels like a different direction for him.

[Colin YNWA]

Mark Russell definitely has a certain voice, but his current "Fantastic Four: Life Story" feels like a different direction for him.

The scenes with Mad Thinker and Doom seem to drop right into this wheel house - but yeah overall it is the most 'different' of his output to date.

[CalHab]

What did you think of his Dredd series?

[Colin YNWA]

What did you think of his Dredd series?

Oh good point. I think it was solidly okay - both in terms of his work and as a Dredd story. No bad but not up to the strenght of either at their best. Which is odd as in my head his hard nose yet cheeky satire seemed a perfect fit?

[CalHab]

Yes, that was pretty much my assessment as well. It was good by IDW Dredd standards, mediocre by prog standards.

[Link Prime]

It was good by IDW Dredd standards

Faint praise there my good sir.

I picked up issue 4 of Red Room this week - favorite issue so far.
A classic revenge story, told in a 3 part EC Comics pastiche.

Piskor has hooked me on this depraved sleaze - counting the weeks until the series returns in December.

My pals at Big Bang Comics also nonchalantly threw the FCBD issue of Red Room into my pull list too.
A nice companion piece to the 4 issues released thus far.

[CalHab]

Daredevil #32-34. Bullseye rampages across NY, while Darelektra (Elektradevil?) hunts for him, producing some top quality violence. Typhoid Mary is hanging around as well.... Meanwhile Daredevil finds out what's going on in the prison, also giving the opportunity for some brutal and top quality violence. I have a feeling this is going to be remembered as one of the great Daredevil runs.

Amazing Spider-Man #74. Sadly, Nick Spencer's run is not going to be remembered that way. It started off well, and a lot of the earlier issues are a blast. Unfortunately the whole Kindred stuff got mired in some baffling and intricate continuity stuff and dragged on for ages. It's all a bit of a shame. Maybe some stronger editorial control would have prevented this? Anyway, new team next issue and hopefully easing up on the unrelenting existential angst.

Crossover #8. Back to the main team after the fill in #7. There's a couple of good gags playing with form in this loving homage to superhero books. I'm really enjoying this.

[Colin YNWA]

Daredevil #32-34. Bullseye rampages across NY, while Darelektra (Elektradevil?) hunts for him, producing some top quality violence. Typhoid Mary is hanging around as well.... Meanwhile Daredevil finds out what's going on in the prison, also giving the opportunity for some brutal and top quality violence. I have a feeling this is going to be remembered as one of the great Daredevil runs.

Looking forward to getting to this at some point. It gets nothing but good write-ups and I'm not shy in my love iof DD.

[Colin YNWA]

A new haul of simply fantastic comics... well that and Gamma Flight 4 which I'm getting out of that stupid sense of completeness I get sometimes and I've got everything else Immortal Hulky (I think).

Also Fantastic Four - Life Story 4 which just bounds across stuff, but not really letting anything touch the side... hmmm maybe I'm only getting this cos of my current Mark Russell completeness (except Red Sonja) thing.

Frontiersman 1so this one is going to get interesting, and I'll note its lettered by 'Our Jim'. I thought the premise and story were superb, really liked it and they way it was handled. An aging, retired hero approached with an offer to get back in the game, even if its a slighty different game. So far so typical, what makes this one more interesting is the smart way it tackles the issue presented to the hero, The Frontiersman, to engage in a environment positive action campaign. He seeks advice from folks and its just really well written stuff by Patrick Kindlon (I don't know him). Loved it.

The problem is I was a little uncomfortable with the art by Marco Ferrari. It felt cluttered and tight at times and other moments scruffy and loose. It just doesn't quite gell with me. Its not bad at all, just I think its going to take some getting used to and I hope it doesn't throw me off another excellent story.

Echolands 2 has similarly busy art, in fact more so, but J.H. Williams is a genius when it comes to balancing busy pages and tight line work and clear storytelling this one is a visual treat and moves along at an enthralling pace. Oh and Bermuda 3, tight line work, busy cluttered panels, mixed with superb storytelling and a visual treat, moving along at an entralling pace. Two utterly different comics offering the same positives!

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters 4has a great episode - which is steady for this series. Samnee and Samnee really focus on the visual storytelling with this one, if the actual story is a little slight.

That Texas Blood 10 wonderful focus on visual storytelling, the story is apparently light but that's deceptive, Jacob Phillips, alongside Chris Condon, actually catches up with his father's work with Ed Brubaker (he is Sean's son right, not that it matters!). This one is just screaming make me into a great tv show. But why would anyone when it'd never be as perfectly timed as this comic.

Out of Body 4 slams along fantastically and then grips us to drag us along into the conclusion next issue.

Time before time 5 ends its first arc pretty seamlessly, it doesn't feel like its going to miss a beat going into its next storyline. Which is straight forward good news as this has been great and maybe I'll read these one just to catch up with the timey whimey... but even if not its still a magnificent breezey read.

Okay so when the haul is this good what on earth is going to make anything standout. Well Black Hammer Visions 8 manages it. Scott Snyder has run his time with me on any number of comics but this one is gripping, well crafted and a mini-master piece of a horror(ish) story. BUT that doesn't even get it. What does is Second Coming - Only Begotten Son 5 christ (ahem) its good. A fantastic insight into what heaven and hell are really like in the modern age of christian belief. Its as hlarious as its smart as it entertaining as it thought provoking. Oh and while heaven (and hell) is used to help us think about where humanity is going, there is some more thought-provoking stuff about humanity here on earth as well and the ridiculous things we want and the risk that might bring. Just simply magnificent.

[Jim_Campbell]

its just really well written stuff by Patrick Kindlon (I don't know him). Loved it.

Glad you're enjoying it — Patrick is a really good writer, who also fronts two, count 'em, two punk bands in his spare time. You might also enjoy Patience! Conviction! Revenge! from Aftershock, by the same team (and which, IMO, has a very 2000AD-ish vibe), and/or Survival Fetish from Black Mask, with art by Diaboliks' Antonio Fuso.

He also co-wrote We Can Never Go Home for Black Mask with now-superstar-ish writer Matthew Rosenburg, and art by Josh Hood (loads of stuff, including Spider-Man, Justice League, Wonder Woman, and assorted X-books).

[Jim_Campbell]

One of my favourite bits of Patience! Conviction! Revenge!

[CalHab]

Rorschach #12. Tom King and Jorge Fornés' "All the President's Supermen" concludes. I'm going to leave aside the ethics of doing Watchmen spin off series, because its a thread in itself and because I'm a coward who doesn't want to face up to the morality of buying this comic. Anyway, shuffling around the enormous elephant in the room, we're left with an interesting conspiracy theory thriller owing a lot to 70s dramas. I suppose there's a joke here that the President in this case is Robert Redford, who had a memorable run making precisely those kinds of films.

To be honest, this doesn't really need to be part of the Watchmen at all. I suppose the Ditko figure and Frank Miller (complicit in a murder plot here. WTF?) would seem out of place. Anyway, this isn't King at his best, which is admittedly very good, but it is worth a read. The art channels those films and adds some interesting design choices. Much like the interesting tv series, this could have been strong enough to stand on its own.

[Jim_Campbell]

I'm going to leave aside the ethics of doing Watchmen spin off series, because its a thread in itself

I was somewhat surprised to discover that Tom King follows me on Twitter, and then I remembered that it was probably because I as good as called him a scab for taking on a Watchmen spin-off, then Bleeding Cool put it on their front page. :-)

[CalHab]

I'm going to leave aside the ethics of doing Watchmen spin off series, because its a thread in itself

I was somewhat surprised to discover that Tom King follows me on Twitter, and then I remembered that it was probably because I as good as called him a scab for taking on a Watchmen spin-off, then Bleeding Cool put it on their front page. :-)

Nice! That's taking snitch-tagging to a whole new level.