Whats everyone reading?

[SmallBlueThing]

(cont) didnt have a comedy pooftah crim back in the early eighties, along with all the japanese tourists.

Anyway, it's not bad, the art isnt as lovely as dobbyn's contemporary stuff in the meg and elsewhere, as i guess he was trying to learn the american way of doing things and only pencilling after all. It's still the best of all the art from the 31 US DC comics. Worth picking up.

SBT

[Keef Monkey]

Always see the Solaris ads on the back of the prog, but the one for Helix Wars jumped out at me, so I've bought the first one (Helix) to give it a try. If I enjoy it I can see me grabbing some of the other Solaris books that look interesting, I'm trying to take a random punt on sci-fi novels lately.

[PreacherCain]

BPRD is absolutely awesome! I bought the Plage of Frogs hardback book 1 a while ago and its really superb. The actual Plage of Frogs story begins in volume 3, and the artwork by Guy Davis is really something special indeed. Having said that, I need to get Book 2 soon, I think theres 4 in total.

The fourth hardback should be released in the next few weeks. They really are a fantastic read and those omnibus editions are lovely (both hardback and paperback!) and a perfect way of reading the series.

[radiator]

Erm, am I missing something with King City?

What do people see in this? It's just wall to wall quirk, complete style over substance. The 'story' so far is crap - no explanation for anything, no introduction, no reason for me to care about any of the characters. I really want to like it, but theres very little to get my teeth into, just wafer thin characters spouting self-conciously quirky dialogue. Reminds me of Scott Pilgrim, but at least I could kinda tell where SP was coming from.

What a let down. Looks like ill be selling my copy on.

[Davek]

Which illogical storylines do you feel Prophet is getting mired in? I find some aspects challenging but all seems to make sense to me.

As I said, from issue 4 onwards (once the setup is established), the visuals become cluttered and how the eye is supposed to progress around some pages (the Appleseed homage sequences especially) is unclear without stopping and deciphering what is in the end just messy rather than intricate.  Complex layouts that reward repeated viewings are good when done well - see JH Williams' work in general - but it shouldn't be a chore to tell what's supposed to be going on, that's just sloppy work - there were pages I did not even know what I was looking at in some panels beyond that whatever was going on, it was happening in mud.

We'll have to agree to disagree (for me the story became more interesting when it moved away from the prophets assembling - think that was around issue 4?I cant wait to see how the different arcs come together).  I enjoy stopping and deciphering the complex scenes, as otherwise the comic is just another title that you race through in 5 mins. 

On a related note - I started Multiple Warheads last night, and did find that more difficult to follow - mainly I think due to the off kilter dialogue.  I'm guessing Multiple Warheads is closer to King City that Prophet (I've not read King City but did plan to).

[Mabs]

By the way, I'm reading Strontium Dog agency files 02 right now...

Really interested to see what you make of it, whether you agree with the favourable reports myself and many others gave it...

I'll let you know straight after i finish reading it mate, first impressions are really good. I'm in the opening chapters (portrait of a mutant) and i'm really enjoying it. Carlos Ezquerra's artwork is absolutely stunning !

[Professor Bear]

We'll have to agree to disagree (for me the story became more interesting when it moved away from the prophets assembling - think that was around issue 4?

You misunderstand.  My problem is not with the story, it is with the muddled narrative techniques which are used to tell that story.  Once the Masamune Shirow homage kicks in with the mech suits, the pages are a mess in some places, and the end of the book is basically a level from Shadow of the Colossus where Space Wolverine jumps out of the monster for some reason.

I cant wait to see how the different arcs come together).

I suspect you have made my point here: the arcs have already come together.  The disparate characters meet up and are killed in service to the living ship whose avatar is the little white ghost girl.  By the time the story picks up in issue 6-ish, some characters have been killed off-panel.

I enjoy stopping and deciphering the complex scenes, as otherwise the comic is just another title that you race through in 5 mins.

Fair play.  Personally, I don't enjoy not knowing what I am looking at.  I have this crazy idea that first and foremost a page should be visually functional in that it clearly illustrates the story - Prophet does not always manage this.

[Mikey]

Always see the Solaris ads on the back of the prog, but the one for Helix Wars jumped out at me, so I've bought the first one (Helix) to give it a try. If I enjoy it I can see me grabbing some of the other Solaris books that look interesting, I'm trying to take a random punt on sci-fi novels lately.

Love to know what you think - I've only ever read his short fiction (which I really like) so have been thinking about picking this up too. 

I haven't read any prose in the last 3 months or so, it's been all comics! Have had a blast through a bunch of 2000ad trades and am now reading book six of Moore's Swamp Thing. Really didn't care for the Adam Strange/Rann yarn to start with and was just a bit meh about Loving the Alien. There were far too many words and it seemed very self concious and I just didn't get it overall. Finished last night with All Flesh is Grass which was much more up my bayou and what I want from Swampy - a bit mental, a bit scary, all depicted with no little expertise by Veitch, Alcala and Wood. Put me in mind of Barker's In the hills, in the cities which is no bad thing either.

M.

[Daveycandlish]

Just had the final Nikolai Dante book delivered today. Question is, do read it now or go back to the very beginning and start again? Decisions, decisions...

[Colin YNWA]

Just had the final Nikolai Dante book delivered today. Question is, do read it now or go back to the very beginning and start again? Decisions, decisions...

Uh uh start from the beginning start from the beginning. i did a re-read a wee bit ago and chuffin' loved it.

[Mardroid]

I'd like to continue reading the Dante trades, but in order. (In other words, I have the first two trades, and last I checked - which to be fair was a while -the third wasn't readily available).

I just finished The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett. Basically Discworld does Australia. With wizards. Very enjoyable. I rarely feel that inclined to actually buy Pratchett's work though. I enjoy it, but as a light read from the library, if that makes sense. There are exceptions mind you. I don't intend that as a slight of his work in any way.

Speaking of library books, I've got a bunch to get through. Oh and a Dredd Case Files #8 that I picked up recently from a Classified's ad on this very site! I have #2 and intended to get them in order, but as it was there, and a decent deal, I thought, why not? Most Dredd stories are pretty self contained anyway.

More on the other library books when I get to them.

[Professor Bear]

Masters of the Universe, the latest comic book adaptation of the 1980s pop cultural phenomenon, and at least the second update of a 1980s cartoon show and toy line that I've seen where the writer seems determined to work out some of the sexual fantasies they had about the characters they grew up with while their puds were starting to sprout, as like that Thundercats update where Wilykat was Mumm-Ra's underage sex slave and Cheetara spent all her time chained to a pillar because it made her easier to rape, MotU features an update of Teela where she's not a warrior of any sort but a "handmaiden" to Trapjaw who waits about to be rescued by Adam - yes, Adam, and not He-Man, which if you are unfamiliar with MotU lore is a bit like Lois Lane being rescued by Clark Kent instead of Superman.  Between this and actual fanfiction, I'm beginning to worry that I never had any violent rape fantasies about female cartoon characters while I was growing up.

The gist of a so-far aimless story* is probably that Skeletor has altered the memories of the MotU cast to make them forget they were badasses, a one-issue story at best that seems to be a 6 or 12 part tale by the looks of things three issues in, and I have absolutely no idea who this book is aimed at: regular comic book readers have seen this story done a thousand times before, MotU fans will be uninterested in seeing their characters act out of sorts for a story the cartoon has done a couple of times already, and beyond that there is literally nobody left to read this.  Even I picked it up on a whim and I am more frustrated and baffled by it than compelled to see how things turn out, though I imagine there's probably some kind of props due to any creative team that can fail to write a story that lives up to anything that has gone before when the bar is the cartoon, comic and movie versions of Masters of the Universe.
They have found a new way to fail, and I'll admit I can't take that away from them.

* I do not use the term "aimless" lightly - Adam is a lumberjack and one day, he just decides to go on a journey and he meets the evil MotU characters as he goes.  This is the actual plot of this book.

[Emp]

Wow ..i stopped after the 1st paragraph....two tv cartoons i remember from my childhood which always had a moral twist at the end (which i remember despising) now involving bondage and rape!!  It's more than my delicate constitution can take....it's like Paddington Bear the peado.

[Colin YNWA]

Just caught up with the first three trades of Li'l Depressed Boy and what a joy these were the read. Surprised no one seems to be talking about this comic. Its wonderfully observed reflections on modern life can be both charming, hilarious and heart breaking. It all feels so wonderfully similar and yet as I'm older myself now safely distant.

Only problem with it is its so quick to read. Each trade, reprinting 4 issues only really taking me 30 minutes. Still brilliant while it lasted.

[Mabs]

By the way, I'm reading Strontium Dog agency files 02 right now...

Really interested to see what you make of it, whether you agree with the favourable reports myself and many others gave it...

*Minor spoilers*

Fret not mate; i finished reading it last night and theres one word to sum it all up.....DROKKIN' AWESOME! Okay, thats two words but it was a fantastic read!

Let me first start off by saying that Carlos Ezquerra's artwork is simply superb. The consistency and the detail for each story is bloody brilliant. As for the story - Wow! Its like Star Wars via The Spaghetti Westerns!

My favourite story in this collection has to be The Killing followed by Outlaw. The Moses Incident was also another one i loved, not to mention The Kid Knee Caper - the ending was really tragic! I took a liking to the title character and was gutted by his sad demise *sob*.

The first story Portrait of a Mutant was a great introduction to the character of Johnny Alpha. It was one of the reasons why i chose to buy file 2 as a starting point rather than 1 ( but i will definitely read these case files in the near future).

One of the reasons why Strontium Dog is such a joy to read is the characters; we have Johny Alpha and Wulf not to mention the lovable Gronk, but also the other muties such as Middenface, Cracton Fuzz and The Torso from Newcastle!

Strontium Dog S/D  File 2 was a joy to read; memorable characters, awesome settings complemented by Ezquerra and Grant's beautiful artwork and humourous writing respectively - being a fan of sci-fi, and having grown up on British shows such as Red Dwarf and Doctor Who - i lapped it all up with joyous gusto! I have been familiar with Judge Dredd for a long time - since a young boy to be precise - but this is my first proper introduction to SD; and i must confess i am now a fan!

I cannot wait to read the rest of the files.

5/5