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New Comic Book Day Megathread

Started by The Adventurer, 08 March, 2012, 09:36:36 AM

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The Mind of Wolfie Smith

enjoying both seasons of norse mythology from dark horse.
some of the best comic art i've seen in years.
at the risk of being cancelled by the world, i was once a big neil fan, but i'm finding his prose increasingly stodgy, overly knowing and twee. all sound and fury and cuteness. signifying nothing.
so here we have that rare beast, an adaptation that is actually so much better than the original.
imho.

CalHab

I'm enjoying that too, but I got a kick out of Gaiman's prose Norse Mythology book from a couple of years ago. P Craig Russell is reliably excellent.

CalHab

Defenders#1-3. This is interesting. Dr Strange assembles a team to hunt through the past for the bad guy. Each issue is from the perspective of a different team member, Strange in #1, Silver Surfer in #2 and Harpy in #3. #2 is the standout of these three, a loving tribute to Lee/Kirby comics with Al Ewing doing a very good impersonation of Stan's bombastic dialogue. Worth picking up.

Colin YNWA

Be-duh-duh-duh
Another Haul bites the dust
Be-duh-duh-duh
Another Haul bites the dust

A few things wrap up this haul with differing impact on the the landings. The most significant is, of course, Immortal Hulk 50 which sees off the series and Al Ewings hailed run and to be honest it kinda bounced off me. I need to read the series to re-establish what it was that was so interesting from the start. Its themes and ideas.As it was this one was alas just an overlong read with Hulk shouting at (the Abrahamic) God (literally). The good will towards this series has soured of late due to revelations of Joe Bennet's darker side - which given this series is quite something and it will be interesting to come back to this in a few years and re-read. As it is it just kinda feels, well over.

Speaking of just bouncing off you Gamma Flight 5 end this mini as well wrapping up... well some stuff from the main Hulk series. The very definition of a comic shoulder shrug.

Strange Adventures 12 ends this one and another one that will need a re-read before I judge it properly. I think it was interesting, I know it thought it was.

There are wholly more interesting conclusions in Second Coming - Only Begotten Son 6 and Bermuda 4 the first is thoughtful, satisfying and full of hope. The second is chaotic, thrilling and full of fun. Both perfect for their respective series, both with the promise of more to come.

Chicken Devil 1 is an interesting read with a man having one of those days to the power of 10... 100 and after finding his chicken restuant chain is embroiled in the drug trade, his entire family are blown up and he helps kill a mobster while running away with a bag of heroin. We've all had a day like that. Fun start and the by Hayden Sherman is fantastic.

I keep hoping I'll find the definitive fun Ka-zar run, alas Ka-zar Lord of the Savage Land 2 reveals this latest mini probably ain't it. Were as Deadbox 2 reveals this mini to be another Mark Russell hit, a series on his darker side. Well as is Not all Robots 3.Unbelievavble Unteens 3 is a Black Hammer series deep in the Black Hammer examination of where story begins and ends. And the 'main' series reaches Black Hammer Reborn 4 a fantastic episode were Colnel Weird does terrible things to indeed reborn Black Hammer.

Books of the haul well its almost 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton 5 it only misses out as Kyle Starks maybe leans in a little too hard in the kicking the bejesus out of things fun and frolics.

So that leaves the title to two issues of Usagi Yojimbo - Dragon Bellow Conspiracy 4 + 5 stripping it all back to simple, fantastic storytelling weaved with simple thrilling action and adventure and great battles with real consequenes. Issue 4 in particular is just superb.

Decent haul if a little mixed.

broodblik

Immortal Hulk started with a bang but maybe it was running for me too long and start losing my main interest. I will finish the series since I want to see how it ends - a re-read might be a good idea.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

CalHab

The initial interest for me was Hulk as avenging monster. Once the very large supporting cast became the main driver I gradually lost interest. The Gamma Flight mini was just a complete waste of time.

It's a real shame how it ended, as it could have been a landmark series.




Colin YNWA

Quote from: CalHab on 25 October, 2021, 12:15:41 PM
The initial interest for me was Hulk as avenging monster. Once the very large supporting cast became the main driver I gradually lost interest. The Gamma Flight mini was just a complete waste of time.

It's a real shame how it ended, as it could have been a landmark series.

I've just but this for re-read on my 'To Read' spreadsheet... which is it errr a few years before I get to it and its this that makes me worry. It became - I think - a spralling mess of characters and body horror which made it lose focus on what I wanted it to be. I'll let you know how it holds in re-read when I hope it becomes easier to keep take of all the parts...in a few years...

CalHab

Thor #18. Thor has lost his hammer. Oops. First he goes to Loki for help, who points him in another direction- Throg, The Frog of Thunder! This is an absolutely joyous romp, revelling in the absurdity of the Marvel universe, and there are some beautiful pages here, for what could have just been a gag issue. I was grinning from ear to ear from the first page to the last. Wonderful. I can't wait for next month's issue.

CalHab

Strange Adventures #12. Mostly wrapping up the story after the revelations in the previous issue(s). Beautiful art aside, I'm not sure how I feel about this series. The Vision, Mr Miracle and Omega Men made a real impression on me and this didn't have the same impact. Those books did something very interesting with their protagonists, adding depth to something that was already there, but the treatment of Adam Strange here has a whiff of the 80s "edgy" post-Watchmen books. I think I'll try reading the complete series and see if I'm missing something.

Adventureman #5. Very, very late, so I struggled to remember where we were in the plot and who everyone was. Fortunately that was made clear in the first few pages. Even weirder was discovering that they've already collected #1-4. So.... that book came out without the climactic battle in #5? All part of the fun of Image books. Anyway, this is decent fun with nice art but everyone involved has done better work.

CalHab

Moon Knight #4. A fellow ex (West Coast) Avenger, Tigra, visits Moon Knight while someone tries to blackmail him. Some nice bits of humour in this, pointing out inconsistencies in Moon Knights behaviour and actions. This is a decent series so far, but far from essential.

Daredevil #35. Apparently this run is coming to an end with#36, which will lead on to some other Zdarsky Daredevil series. Hopefully that will keep up the standards they've set. More well told action in this issue as the threads of all the previous issues are wrapped up. This issue has Elektra, Typhoid Mary, Bullseye, Kingpin as well as Daredevil himself. Can't complain about being short-changed there. I think I've said it before, but this is probably the most reliably good monthly comic at the moment.

Colin YNWA

So some more new titles in this weeks hauls

Human Target 1 - looks fantastic Tom King does rather love dangling as much mystery and intrigue from the get go. Our hero 'death' from the start, as is of course fitting and Lex Luther and the JLI somewhere at the heart of it all. These are effective openers but don't really pull you in as much as try to impress you in.

Ant 1 - Not quite sure what this is going to do to standout - Love Larson's new art mind

My Bad 1 - More Mark Russell and it feels SO Mark Russell... am I beginning to get Mark Russelled out? Well maybe but still enjoyed this.

Frontiersman 2 - So okay that was NOT where I was expecting this one to go... at ALL. Which is a really good thing. Its set one thing up and this one completely moves to the left and while I still have issues I'm sold on finding out what this is meant to actually be.

Echolands 3 - Its a really stunning comics and you know when in entertain a protagonist is accused of being responsible for dragging their colleagues into all sorts of danger for their own reasons and with no regard for them... well here - Yeah they are!

Time Before Time 6 - very effective one off that really moves the tone to amp things up for the next arc.

That Texas Blood 11 - Fantastic as Joe Bob turns into 'Harrison Ford' and explain quite why that might seem the case. Wonderful stuff.

Black Hammer 5 - Pieces start to fall into place and characters fall into 'limbo' - superb

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters 7 - Christ on a bike this comic looks fantastic and the story is really going somewhere as well. Comic of the haul type stuff and a great template for Regened as well - the good stuff gets close to this - just not everyone is Chris Samnee!


CalHab

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 06 November, 2021, 09:17:52 PM
Human Target 1 - looks fantastic Tom King does rather love dangling as much mystery and intrigue from the get go. Our hero 'death' from the start, as is of course fitting and Lex Luther and the JLI somewhere at the heart of it all. These are effective openers b

I'm looking forward to this. Tom King has done some great stuff, even if his recent stuff is more mixed (though I'm enjoying Batman/Catwoman).

CalHab

The Thing #1 (Walter Mosley, Tom Reilly, Jordie Bellaire, Joe Sabino). A deliberate throwback, this comic is set sometime after the end of the cold war, but in tone could be the 60s or 70s. The pieces are put in place for the storyline, The Thing is isolated from friends and family in this issue and an antagonist is introduced. The art, however, is a cut above the script here. There's a deceptively simple style and a few interesting tricks used. It all makes it quite a fun issue for the reader.

I did a quick google, and the Walter Mosley who wrote this is the novelist best known for Devil in a Blue Dress. I'd assumed it was a coincidence!
https://www.comicsxf.com/2021/10/18/acclaimed-author-walter-mosley-explains-the-thing-thats-special-about-the-thing/

Colin YNWA

Quote from: CalHab on 15 November, 2021, 12:46:27 PM
The Thing #1 (Walter Mosley, Tom Reilly, Jordie Bellaire, Joe Sabino).

Interesting - have this on my pull list as I'm a sucker for The Thing, but for one reason or another don't have many of his comics, it land at the wrong time, the hook doesn't grab me whatever. This one though the art looked wonderful so I figured why not give it a go.

Link Prime

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 15 November, 2021, 01:21:40 PM

I'm a sucker for The Thing, but for one reason or another don't have many of his comics, it land at the wrong time, the hook doesn't grab me whatever.


In the same boat here, even though I wouldn't purchase a modern Marvel comic if C.B. Cebulski offered to dress up as a Geisha and breathlessly read it to me, I have a soft spot for Ol' blue eyes.

Currently working my way through a handsome Masterworks hardback copy of 'Marvel Two-in-One' Vol. 5.
Recommended for aficionados of refined 70's nonsense.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvel-Masterworks-Two-one-Vol/dp/1302922203/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=marvel+masterworks+vol+5&qid=1637062458&sr=8-6