Whats everyone reading?

[HOO-HAA]

Finished The Omega Solution and reviewed it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/781700627

In short, really enjoyed it!

Onto Anderson PSI Division: Sins of the Father by Mitchell Scanlon. So far, so good! 

[Mabs]

Wow. I've been reading a LOT of stuff lately thanks to my local libraries.....

Blacksad: A Silent Hell - I'm a big fan of Blacksad, a comic centred around anthropomorphic animals (like Grandville and Maus). The stories concern a private Investigator, Blacksad (a black cat) along with his reporter sidekick 'Weekly' (a fox). In this particupar story, Blacksad is in New Orleans taking up work for a dying record producer who specialises in Jazz. He is tasked with finding a singer who has gone missing leaving his pregnant wife in limbo, but as Blacksad starts digging deeper he finds that there's more to the case than he first realised and some shady goings on not least involving his employer. This was a marvellous tale, bringing alive the look and feel of New Orleans along with its musical and superstitious heritage. Juanjo Guarnido's artwork is simply stunning, the crowd scenes in particular just take the breath away. And Juan Diaz Canales' script is engaging and thrilling, drawing on American film noir with a great deal of love and respect.

A History of Violence - I've been meaning to check out this graphic novel (by our very own John Wagner) for a while now, ever since watching the film adaption by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen. Well I thought the comic was excellent, it's more dense than the film, which I thought beniffited from the short running time. And some changes; in the book the main character and the bad guys are depicted as Italian American. Whereas in the film they're Irish American. It's not a big change but nonetheless it was interesting. Also we have a backstory in the comic, looking at Joey/ Tom's past which was great, showing him growing up on the streets of New York alongside best friend Richie (who was changed to his brother in the film). If I had one criticism about the comic it would be the depiction of Tom's wife; as soon as Tom breaks the news to her that he's been lying to his family and he is not who they think he is, she takes it pretty well without making too big of a deal. But I thought the film version had a much better potrayal of the wife (played by the excellent Maria Bello) wherein she reacts the exact opposite. As for the artwork; Vince Locke is a talented artist, but his 'scratchy' style was a little distracting in places.  Still, the bulk of the work was well done, giving it a feeling of unease and urgency.  I really enjoyed  this comic, its an engaging thriller with some shocking moments (esp. toward the end - it's totally different from the film)  and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

Kick Ass 2 - the intro to the book (by Joe Carnahan) is pretty foul mouthed. He starts off by addressing the readers with "hey fuckers", and ends it with "cocksuckers".

What an Arsehole!

The comic did have its moments, there was a lot of twists and turns with kicking, shooting, stabbings and beheadings and a rape scene  which I thought was needless. We meet new characters on both sides, and the bad guy 'Motherfu*ker' has gone up a notch laying waste to a suburb full of kids and parents, just to get to Kick-Ass. In the meantime Mindy (Hit-Girl) has promised Marcus that she will stop being a superhero after he discovers  a stash of weapons in het toom. I cannot deny Kick-Ass' entertainment value (both in the comis and the films), but Millar does tend go overboard both in terms of the story and the dialogue, some of which is truly cringeworthy.  JRJR's artwork though looks superb (except for his depiction of Mindy - who looks like a.bobblehead toy with her abnormally large head). His artwork has a more painted feel to it here, and frankly it looks marvellous. In fact, it reminded me a great deal of Richard Corben's style.

I also started Dark Satanic Mills and Superior - another comic by Mark Millar, but more on those later.

[GrinningChimera]

Sinister Dexter - Slay Per View

Having never read any before, I read the whole thing in one hit, and these guys are now my new favourite characters. I can't wait to read some more.

[Hawkmumbler]

The first volume of Kohta Hirano's Hellsing saga. Never seen anything to do with it before but heard nothing but good stuff. As per with manga I don't judge it by it's first volume as they are by nature slow and designed for laying ground work. This case is slightly different as it moved along at a solid pace and introduced a surprisingly high number of concepts at once, such as the presence of three organisations all at each others throats. It's grim, gritty and ultra violent and a decent first entry, will be reading more.

Also, just got Tetrapod Zoology volume one by Darren Naish, which a collection of stories from his amazing blog. He discusses the duckbilled Platipus and how barmy it is, the joy's of Tapirs and Camels and why they are cooler than Rhino's, flightless Pterodactylyds and more. Stoncking good reading for any aspiring zoologist.

[Colin YNWA]

Sinister Dexter - Slay Per View

Having never read any before, I read the whole thing in one hit, and these guys are now my new favourite characters. I can't wait to read some more.

Always good to know someone else has seen the light. Its a truely wonderful strip alas not well served by its trade programme. Lets see how IDW do with it...

[TordelBack]

Sinister Dexter - Slay Per View

Having never read any before, I read the whole thing in one hit, and these guys are now my new favourite characters. I can't wait to read some more.

Always good to know someone else has seen the light. Its a truely wonderful strip alas not well served by its trade programme. Lets see how IDW do with it...

I've been pretty critical of the SinDex trade situation in the past, but I just finished working through two local libraries' holdings, and with the exception of the no-point-dredging-it-up-again Downlode Tales mess, there really is a huge and rather wonderful amount of it available.  I'd like to see a new coherent approach to the whole series from the start, but we certainly aren't starved in terms of the quantity out there, and it is a strip that is surprisingly resilient to dropping in and out of in no particular order or format, once you've got the taste for deadlead, puns and quippery.

[Theblazeuk]

I suppose SinDex was where my collection of 2000AD started, which led on to me eventually collecting the Megazine and then onto the prog proper. Previously I'd read some Judge Dredd collections and the odd few Eagle comics my Dad had (oh and the Dredd/Batman crossover) but it was around when DC started reprinting them that I took a proper interest.

Whole of funtin fun in Sinister Dexter even if I never really connected with the overall plotline.

[GrinningChimera]

I just ordered all 3 available Sin Dex volumes from the store. Can't wait til they arrive.

[Judge Brian]

I have the first 2 Sin/Dex collections. I really didn't care for it until I got to the longer stories. Trade 2 started with a long story  than goes back to one shots. That's where I stopped reading.

[davepain]

Elephantmen Volume 1. Fun so far. Feels a lot like 2000AD.

Also read East Of West volume 1. Could be great. I think it depends how it evolves! Vol 2 is out now. Must get.

These are my first experiences with Image Comics. Positive impression so far.

[Skullmo]

Try Bloodstryke next!   

[Link Prime]

Try Bloodstryke next!   

Don't hate me for knowing it's actually 'Bloodstrike'. I tried the first Tim Seely issue by the way, wasn't great.

I get two Image titles every month; Prophet & Saga. Both are consistently fantastic reads.

[Skullmo]

I did not know they had re-made it.

Any of the early 1990s Image titles are classics.

[Mabs]

I started Locke & Key Vol. 2 which is aboslutely funting brilliant! The opening chapter concerning Mr. Ridgeway just took my breath away, such brilliant writing from Joe Hill, and complemented beautifully by Gabriel Rodriguez's artwork. Not since Sandman have I been so gripped by a comic series.

[Link Prime]

/quote]

That's whats known as sarcasm for those who weren't there.

I jumped on the Image bandwagon with gusto back in those days.
My only regret is not picking up Alan Moore's 1963 series...never to be reprinted since.
I didn't like the look of it at the time cause I was young and a moron.