Anyone currently reading comics?

[ATenderLad]

I've been rediscovering Jodorowski's Metabarons.
View attachment 36910

I had no idea he wrote comics, I've just seen some of his (insane) movies!

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I've been rediscovering Jodorowski's Metabarons.
View attachment 36910

And of course the name baron is indeed a reference to his (canned) Dune.

I wish we would get an official release of the storyboard as an actual book.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

I had no idea he wrote comics, I've just seen some of his (insane) movies!

I'd say the comics are also insane.

 

[ATenderLad]

I haven't done a general "Here's what's I've been reading" post in a bit, but that's easily fixed!

Lesse, first off there's Ultimate Wolverine, from a relatively new creative team of writer Chris Condon and artist Alessandro Cappuccio. The latter is also responsible for the colors, and I like his choice to leave a lot of the pencil work visible in the dark sections. (The black on the costume for example, if that's visible on here.) The actual plot is pretty cut and dry, Logan is literally the Winter Soldier of the "Eurasian Republic"....which is just Russia, really. There's not really any meaningful difference from the Winter Soldier, or any number of KGB spy/assassin characters in most fiction; he's just brainwashed Wolverine.

Actually, not to harp on the point too much, but being a government weapon after a gray matter rinse is practically *the* Wolverine story, it's been repeated so many times now. The point of these books is to re-imagine/reboot the mainline books a bit, yes, but this is less a reboot and more re-telling, with all the plot beats intact from the old Weapon X origin. It's a bit gritty and violent, but that doesn't really stand out when Wolverine: Revenge is selling right next to it on shelves with a "Red Band" rating. (Come to think of it, that goddamn book *also* has a Russian dystopia run by Colossus just like this one! Why didn't an editor notice they showed up wearing the same dress to the party?!) Hell, even the mainline Wolverine title gets Adult advisory warnings nowadays, skulking through a frozen wilderness collecting heads doesn't really move the needle.

If you like Wolverine and bloody action, try....shit, anything. You have a lot of options, this one doesn't stand out much. There's also barely any cross-over between the Ultimate titles so far, so no one's really missing out if they *only* read Ultimate Spider-Man, or just pick up The Ultimates instead. The same applies here, the only bit of lore (sorry) is that The Maker - evil Reed Richards responsible for changing the world and it's history - killed Dr. Cornelius, the guy responsible for Weapon X and jumping Wolverine's bones. Uh, with adamantium, obviously.

---

Over in the normal 616-Marvel line, the new event One World Under Doom has started in earnest with the first issue of the event proper and multiple tie-ins across titles. The previous cross-over event, Blood Hunt, saw Dr. Strange give up his station as Sorcerer Supreme to Dr. Doom in exchange for his help quelling a vampire apocalypse. (Comics are silly). Now, Doom declares himself the Earth's Head of State (Head of Planet?), with all the world's leaders swearing fealty to the Latverian king. It's only just begun, but I feel pretty confident that "a wizard did it". Will a wizard un-do it? Stay tuned, I suppose! (Almost certainly though, yes.)

The main event is being penned by Ryan North, best known for his comedic takes on Squirrel Girl. He's bringing a little bit of that here, with Doom making a dramatic entrance on a T-Rex version of himself from another reality at one point, but the first issue honestly feels like anyone could have written it. I'm hoping more character starts to emerge going forward, but I've read too many big capeshit events; let's not dare to dream, lest we wake to disappointment.

The tie-in books, on the other hand...well, I remember collecting the issues around Civil War back in the day. One of the major issues with these issues (so sorry) is they're hamstrung by release dates and editorial concerns; several of them with One World Under Doom emblazoned on the cover only briefly mention the event, because they can't risk readers not being caught up on the main book. In the 00's and 10's, most big events saw publishing delays and the pacing of all the related books would get strained and weird to keep track of. I haven't noticed that with the last few from DC and Marvel that I've read, fingers crossed it doesn't happen here. That being said, tone of these books can vary so...you know what, here's an example.

Doom Academy is the new update to the ongoing Strange Academy series, a Harry Potter-esque school setting for young Marvel Mages, run by Strange and other mystic nerds. Apparently Doom gets all of Strange's fucking assets with the Sorcerer Supreme title, so the school and the responsibility of guiding the youth falls to a dude who's been an international terrorist for decades. Anyhow, the book itself is still pretty much the same, young adults in high school worried about grades, relationships, and their teachers secrets; the big difference is the students are all suspicious the headmaster might kill them if they fail a subject.

Now, let's contrast that with Thunderbolts: Doomstrike, where Bucky a.k.a. the Winter Soldier and his team get up to some happy-time revolution! Bucky finds a job offer waiting for him from the new King of Earth, offering him a position as the head of his secret police. (With the *admittedly* cool moniker of Fulgur Victoris). The offer is politely declined, with gunfire and a plan to overthrow the mystic tyrant. Doom, naturally, responds by *literally* dropping an orbital nuclear missile on Bucky's hometown in Indiana and framing him and his friends for the event.

Kinda different, right!? (Really though, I respect that *insane* raising of the stakes, good lord.)

It's way too early to say if this event will be worth a read, like most events it'll probably just introduce a new status quo for the next five or six months of Marvel. Nothing to recommend so far.

---

Over at DC, the new direction is...mixed. Most of the books are labeled All In, but that's not really an event so much as a status quo, like Heroes Reborn if you're a 90's fan. The main thing to know is the Justice League is back, and bigger than ever. Damn near every hero is a member now, taking clear inspiration from Justice League Unlimited and the animated DC shows of the 90's/00's. The Watchtower satellite serves as a central hub, a shared setting to send unusual pairings of characters on missions or just treat it as a workplace for more conventional drama. There's a couple books building up a mystery involving Darkseid - like Challengers of the Unknown and The Atom Project - but it's just the build-up to the inevitable cross-over between the Justice League and their Absolute universe counterparts.

Still though, there's some bright spots. Birds of Prey continues to be a monthly treat, The New Gods is half adventure/half redefining the cosmology of the universe, and then there's Zatanna.

Written and illustrated by Jamal Campbell (he even does the covers), I don't remember the last time a debut issue grabbed me so immediately. Zatanna is a stage magician in the vein of Houdini or Siegfried and Roy, thrilling casino audiences with sleight of hand and daring escapes. She's also an *actual* witch, and when her latest venue turns out to be haunted by the ghost of a legendary producer from the golden age of Hollywood, she has to rescue her stage crew from mystic purgatories styled after different genres of classic film.

*Small note, I took me quite awhile to notice that I was just writing out the book page for page, like a giant nerd.*

Okay let's just say I loved it, and even though it's only a first issue, I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys magic, old movies, or gorgeous women in fishnets.

---

Outside of The Big Two, I haven't ready too much lately. There is Power Fantasy by Kieron Gillen/Caspar Wijgaard, but I think I've already sung it's praises on here. It's great, give it a shot if you want to see geopolitics at the mercy of actual superhumans. Transformers continues to impress, Star Trek: Lower Decks is good for a laugh, and Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre is something special.

(A lot more brief than the previous sections, but I got side-tracked by work and really lost my train of thought. It's so damned difficult to get "in the mood" to write sometimes.)

Hope everyone's reading something fun, comic or otherwise!

 

[Octopus]

(A lot more brief than the previous sections, but I got side-tracked by work and really lost my train of thought. It's so damned difficult to get "in the mood" to write sometimes.)

I'm very much out of the loop for most modern comics but I read your writeups here all the same just for the entertainment value, so keep 'em coming when you can my friend.

One of the major issues with these issues (so sorry) is they're hamstrung by release dates and editorial concerns

The bane of all ongoing comics existence. We talked about the Clone Saga way back when in this thread already, but it's just what happens to like every big event. Just look at what happened to Doomsday Clock...

I have been reading a little bit of comics actually here and there; I re-read Born Again for the first time in quite a few years since the new season of Daredevil just dropped, (it has nothing to do with the story as they already did it in Season 3 essentially, but I took the excuse to read it again; also, watched the first two episodes today and it's...okay so far) which is of course an amazing story and I think probably up there for Frank Miller's best.

I've also been reading the classic Savage Sword of Conan comics which was a solid hell yeah.

Post automatically merged: Mar 6, 2025

Just to add on to my little Born Again thing; love the extended Cap appearance in it, along with the Tony and Thor cameos. Shame Miller never wrote anything else with them or the rest of the Avengers, as he seemed to really get them here, especially Cap.

 

[ATenderLad]

I'm very much out of the loop for most modern comics but I read your writeups here all the same just for the entertainment value, so keep 'em coming when you can my friend.

Thanks, and happily!

The bane of all ongoing comics existence. We talked about the Clone Saga way back when in this thread already, but it's just what happens to like every big event. Just look at what happened to Doomsday Clock...

I have been reading a little bit of comics actually here and there; I re-read Born Again for the first time in quite a few years since the new season of Daredevil just dropped, (it has nothing to do with the story as they already did it in Season 3 essentially, but I took the excuse to read it again; also, watched the first two episodes today and it's...okay so far) which is of course an amazing story and I think probably up there for Frank Miller's best.

I had to go back and catch up on Doomsday Clock some years later, the absolute hubris of making it that many issues. There wasn't that much story to tell!

Great choice of panels, I remember seeing the exact same ones in Wizard magazine, part of their list of "25 Greatest Moments in Comic History".

I clocked out on Daredevil a few episodes into season two, the Netflix shows just weren't connecting with me. David Tennant was a real nasty little freak in Jessica Jones though!

I've been reading the classic Savage Sword of Conan comics which was a solid hell yeah.

That reminds me, I left it out because I was focusing on current ongoings, but I found a collection of issues of Conan the King, starting with #20 in 1984.

Conan's son gets seemingly murdered, and the following 10 issues are mostly drama; Conan mourns and rages in equal measure, gets distant from his wife and family, and starts longing to leave the throne and start wandering again. Meanwhile, the prince is actually mystically whisked away to Khitai to get into his own style of "the Barbarian"-style adventures.

The story on the homefront in Aquilonia is the really interesting bit, with schemes against the king and everyone in love with the wrong person. Courtly intrigue, basically, with a Cimmerian at the center. Conan is a pretty checked-out husband, and an actively shitty father here. He only really cared about his oldest son, and his youngest boy despises him for it. His daughter adores him, but he barely notices her. All of them get up to shenanigans, with the daughter having a torrid romance with one of the royal guard and the queen looking to start up something with another soldier. Conan himself runs into Red Sonja, gets tricked into helping her loot a "death barge" with cursed gemstones, and he nearly abandons everything to follow her to more hijinks. (She tricks him onto a boat and cuts him loose though, she wasn't about to share the reward.)

There's more to it, and it was really interesting stuff, but it seems like it rubbed people the wrong way: The creative team gets replaced by #30, and the new writer sets in making Conan the star again, setting him at war with the rest of the continent to form an empire, and takes pains to reassure us that all of the drama from the last ten issues totally didn't happen. The queen is super faithful, Conan loves his family, the crown prince arrives back home without the barest of explanation, and the rest of the supporting cast is killed off or forgotten within the next two issues. The wildest part is Conan's second son, who pursued black magic to get annoy his father. The new writer decides he isn't *really* family, but a shapeshifting imp switched at birth with the kings *real* child.....which we only find out after the kid is killed off screen!

(The real son is out there, at the end of a hackneyed plot, and dies briefly after reuniting with his parents. Naturally, he assures them that he loves them and there's no hard feelings about never being there for him. Nice kid!)

Oh, I forgot the best part!

So the new creative team removes every little trace of infidelity or implications that Conan isn't the masculine ideal as a warrior *and* father....but they didn't have any such qualms with the villains! Namely, the Queen of the Amazons and the King of Argos.

Well, well, well, if it isn't my old friend The Author's Barely Concealed Fetish! There's nothing sexy before or after this in the entire run, so this really stood out. (She's not even betraying him or scheming here, it's just genuinely some kink mixed in. Delightful!)

 

[Octopus]

I clocked out on Daredevil a few episodes into season two, the Netflix shows just weren't connecting with me. David Tennant was a real nasty little freak in Jessica Jones though!

That's fair, but you're missing out to me; all three Netflix seasons are amazing stories outside of being superhero shows, but season two was the weakest of them. Especially when Frank wasn't on screen, he steals the show in it and it's the only appearance of Netflix Punisher that actually got the character; his two solo seasons were middling at best, other than the finale of season 1 which was a 10/10 surrounded by 6/10 episodes. Season Three was 80% a straight Born Again adaptation that they really nailed, and also gives a good reinvention of Bullseye.

She tricks him onto a boat and cuts him loose though, she wasn't about to share the reward.

Classic Red Sonja, dude.

There's more to it, and it was really interesting stuff, but it seems like it rubbed people the wrong way: The creative team gets replaced by #30, and the new writer sets in making Conan the star again, setting him at war with the rest of the continent to form an empire, and takes pains to reassure us that all of the drama from the last ten issues totally didn't happen.

Shame, that sounded actually really good and interesting; I'll have to check it out sometime. I assume it was probably the editorial side that retconned it. That's unfortunately the thing though is that it was 'interesting', and for the next run they had to return to status quo all over again. Such is comics.

 

[ATenderLad]

That's fair, but you're missing out to me; all three Netflix seasons are amazing stories outside of being superhero shows, but season two was the weakest of them. Especially when Frank wasn't on screen, he steals the show in it and it's the only appearance of Netflix Punisher that actually got the character; his two solo seasons were middling at best, other than the finale of season 1 which was a 10/10 surrounded by 6/10 episodes. Season Three was 80% a straight Born Again adaptation that they really nailed, and also gives a good reinvention of Bullseye.

I am curious about season three, I'll probably grab it here tonight actually. Hard agree about Frank/Jon Bernthal, a real great performance with so-so writing to match in his series.

Shame, that sounded actually really good and interesting; I'll have to check it out sometime. I assume it was probably the editorial side that retconned it. That's unfortunately the thing though is that it was 'interesting', and for the next run they had to return to status quo all over again. Such is comics.

It really is! This was more aggressive than I was used to seeing though, the new team *hated* the previous ones work. Every plot thread was left dangling, the letters pages were full of people asking "what happened, what changed?"

(It was also, I gotta say, incredibly fascist. I know that gets thrown around with Conan sometimes, but I don't really believe it of most of Howard's writing and the movies. This comic though? Oh yeah, Conan wages a war of conquest because he's the "one good strong man" who can unite the continent under empire. It's...a choice, for the character.)

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I've finished reading Superman: Red Son. I liked some of the mini-arcs and it almost felt like Luthor was the actual protagonist of that story but I gotta say that the ending kinda was confusing to me.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Finished Vikings vs The Thing.

 

[ATenderLad]

I've finished reading Superman: Red Son. I liked some of the mini-arcs and it almost felt like Luthor was the actual protagonist of that story but I gotta say that the ending kinda was confusing to me.

It's a bit of a weird one, yeah. I suppose you can look at a few ways.

On the one hand, as dramatic irony: Luthor despises Superman for "devaluing" humanity with his presence, but Kal-L(uthor) turns out to be the destiny of mankind, sent here from a future Earth. It's a sort of "if he only knew" kind of thing, albeit overly convoluted.

On the other hand, it could be an extension of the political themes of the book, which I imagine can go one of two ways.

First, it could be a kind of reconciliation of socialist/capitalist beliefs, in the sense that the capitalist world of Lex Luthor seems to be lost without the tempering humanitarian leanings of Superman. Splitting the difference, essentially, to say that the the future lies somewhere in the middle. This viewpoint would be drawing from work like Metropolis (1927), the massively influential sci-fi movie that inspired the name of Superman's comic book hometown, among a million other things.

(Truthfully, that's a bit of a milquetoast "Can't we all just get along?" message, and the director Fritz Lang actually hated the ending of Metropolis later in life. Being a German who moved to America once the Nazi's conquered the country, he re-thought a *lot* of things.)

Second, you could *mayyyyybe* say that Mark Millar is transposing Superman's "Never ending battle" onto the concept of struggling for a more equitable, presumably socialist world. His life being a predestination paradox - where losing to Luthor and America keeps creating the conditions for Jor-L to send his son back in the hopes of saving Earth - could represent the idea that the struggle continues until we change the world.

That said, for all the Millar comics I've read, I never got the impression he thinks that way, sooooo I'm gonna call that "Unlikely"! Those are my best guesses as to interpreting the ending though, and ultimately of course it's up to each reader.

It's probably a mix of dramatic irony and the political "middle road" interpretation, though. The book is chock-a-block with references and nods to the character of Superman and his roots, so saying it's drawing on Metropolis feels like a safe bet.


More importantly, whatcha gonna read next?

Finished Vikings vs The Thing.
View attachment 38352

Oh shit, how was it?

I love the movie of course, I've never read any tie-ins though.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Oh shit, how was it?

I love the movie of course, I've never read any tie-ins though.

Northman's nightmare on its own is very short but that's not always a bad thing. Least that's what she said.

 

[Yousef]

I just wanna leave this bit of Superman renouncing his citizenship, from Action Comics 900, by far one of my favorite bits and easily one of many, countless reasons I love Soup-man. <3

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

It's a bit of a weird one, yeah. I suppose you can look at a few ways.

On the one hand, as dramatic irony: Luthor despises Superman for "devaluing" humanity with his presence, but Kal-L(uthor) turns out to be the destiny of mankind, sent here from a future Earth. It's a sort of "if he only knew" kind of thing, albeit overly convoluted.

On the other hand, it could be an extension of the political themes of the book, which I imagine can go one of two ways.

View attachment 38582First, it could be a kind of reconciliation of socialist/capitalist beliefs, in the sense that the capitalist world of Lex Luthor seems to be lost without the tempering humanitarian leanings of Superman. Splitting the difference, essentially, to say that the the future lies somewhere in the middle. This viewpoint would be drawing from work like Metropolis (1927), the massively influential sci-fi movie that inspired the name of Superman's comic book hometown, among a million other things.

(Truthfully, that's a bit of a milquetoast "Can't we all just get along?" message, and the director Fritz Lang actually hated the ending of Metropolis later in life. Being a German who moved to America once the Nazi's conquered the country, he re-thought a *lot* of things.)

Second, you could *mayyyyybe* say that Mark Millar is transposing Superman's "Never ending battle" onto the concept of struggling for a more equitable, presumably socialist world. His life being a predestination paradox - where losing to Luthor and America keeps creating the conditions for Jor-L to send his son back in the hopes of saving Earth - could represent the idea that the struggle continues until we change the world.

That said, for all the Millar comics I've read, I never got the impression he thinks that way, sooooo I'm gonna call that "Unlikely"! Those are my best guesses as to interpreting the ending though, and ultimately of course it's up to each reader.

It's probably a mix of dramatic irony and the political "middle road" interpretation, though. The book is chock-a-block with references and nods to the character of Superman and his roots, so saying it's drawing on Metropolis feels like a safe bet.

The fact that Superman's city has the same name as the movie (and book) is maybe for a reason.

I do enjoy time loop because at least it's less messy than many other time travel stories.

I still wish that the ending would lead to that Superman ending up in Smallville's farm instead of Ukraine to actually show that things can always change (for the best hopefully).

I still liked that this Batman from Russia who wasn't Bruce Wayne had a slightly different personality to show how different a Batman that isn't from a rich US family could be instead of being a carbon copy or him.

I don't understand why Lois would end up being married to Lex but I don't know the lore of Superman enough to tell.

I'm surprised they never introduced kryptonite in that timeline but I think it's too much of a deus ex machina as a rock while Green Lantern or Bizarro are more creative as "Anti-Superman weapons".

I think I appreciate the mix between 1984 ("Superman is watching you") and Brave New World (almost every inconvenience of mankind have been eradicated for the price of living in a golden cage). Superman being a "dictator of good" is an interesting way of seeing the character.

More importantly, whatcha gonna read next?

Either Batman: Year One or The Watchmen.

 

[Tonberry]

Gonna read through Watchmen tomorrow. My dad gave it to me a few birthdays ago and I’ve had it on my backlog since before then. He really loves it.

Today I’m reading some old early Spawn issue in Swedish I bought at a flea market years ago.

 

[Yousef]

Gonna read through Watchmen tomorrow. My dad gave it to me a few birthdays ago and I’ve had it on my backlog since before then. He really loves it.

Today I’m reading some old early Spawn issue in Swedish I bought at a flea market years ago.

Spawn is fantastic ?

 

[Tonberry]

Spawn is fantastic ?

It really is. It’s like the epitome of ’90s edge and grit. Just naming a villain ”Violator” is so radical. I wish I had all the issues that released in Swedish but it’s almost impossible to track them down.

 

[Yousef]

It really is. It’s like the epitome of ’90s edge and grit. Just naming a villain ”Violator” is so radical. I wish I had all the issues that released in Swedish but it’s almost impossible to track them down.

Plus the main antagonists are literally god and satan, and spawn wins by becoming god. Todd was as subtle as a brick.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Gonna read through Watchmen tomorrow. My dad gave it to me a few birthdays ago and I’ve had it on my backlog since before then. He really loves it.

My parents used to own the comic before they sold it. I also got one for birthday (or Xmas I forgot).

It really is. It’s like the epitome of ’90s edge and grit. Just naming a villain ”Violator” is so radical. I wish I had all the issues that released in Swedish but it’s almost impossible to track them down.

This reminds me of the name Mechanical Violator Hakaider from the 90's.

But violation could also mean trespassing or disobeying and order.

Speaking of old comics I need to read Dylan Dog since I've only read the first volume long ago.

 

[trickybus]

Apparently Doom gets all of Strange's fucking assets with the Sorcerer Supreme title, so the school and the responsibility of guiding the youth falls to a dude who's been an international terrorist for decades.

This got me starting the day with a good laugh, thank you, @ATenderLad!

I'm now a big fan of your comic book write-ups, btw! I haven't taken the plunge into this media format yet but I do love to listen to/read a regular's thoughts on the matter. There's always some interesting topic to broach.

(And ridiculously cool comic panels to seeIloveTREXdoomHNNNNNG)

 

[ATenderLad]

Gonna read through Watchmen tomorrow. My dad gave it to me a few birthdays ago and I’ve had it on my backlog since before then. He really loves it.

Today I’m reading some old early Spawn issue in Swedish I bought at a flea market years ago.

Ah, Watchmen for the first time! There's probably been more written about it than any other comic, so I'll just say take your time with it. The artwork has a lot of repeated motifs and symbols, and one of the issues/chapters has fun with symmetry; the first and last pages mirror each other, and so on for each corresponding set of pages till the you reach the center, where you can see them overlap in a big splash image. (Issue 7 or 8, I think, you'll know it if you see a guy getting walloped by a CEO.)

Also, the supplemental material - like the book excerpts and pirate story for example - all inform the story and/or characters to some degree. It's a longer series at twelve issues, and there's enough details that you might want to go back and read something occasionally and refresh your memory as new details come up. (Which, I know, is obvious for a written work, but medium differences like that are part of what make the movie adaptation a weaker retelling.)

This got me starting the day with a good laugh, thank you, @ATenderLad!

I'm now a big fan of your comic book write-ups, btw! I haven't taken the plunge into this media format yet but I do love to listen to/read a regular's thoughts on the matter. There's always some interesting topic to broach.

(And ridiculously cool comic panels to seeIloveTREXdoomHNNNNNG)

Hey, thank you! That's really great to hear, I appreciate it.

I can see how it's a bit impenetrable sometimes, looking back my older cousins had a big role in sharing their books and talking/lecturing about what they enjoyed. They're probably the reason I jumped into it from such an early age, and maybe a little bit why I enjoy the sound of my own voice on the topic. (Sorry, uh, everyone! Blame them!)

Also, since you mentioned it, bonus cool comic panels!

Here's a ridiculously cool layout by J.H. Williams III, from his run with Greg Rucka on Batwoman.

Here's an early bit from Darwyn Cooke's incredible The New Frontier.

Here's a rarity from me, something video game related! (It's amazing they let me write articles on here.) Here's a bit from Street Fighter VS Darkstalkers, art by Edwin Huang. Is it good? Nope! I don't actually know any good video game adaptations off the top of my head, but maybe y'all will enjoy this bit.

Chun Li, lost in the Makai/Afterlife, returns to save the day after some assistance from the spirit of her teacher, Gen. Here's an uncommon bit of her using his more lethal teachings.

I might write about something a bit older next, there were some decent new issues this week (and the new Doctor Strange of Asgard had a cool debut), but nothing to spark the brain.

 

[trickybus]

Here's a rarity from me, something video game related! (It's amazing they let me write articles on here.)

Hey, it's good to have a writer passionate about non-video-game media! We stan all media in this house

And that Batwoman layout is phenomenal!

 

[pr0xy]

Just finished Incognito (including Bad Influences) and Kill or Be Killed by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Absolutely loved them. Specially Kill or Be Killed.
Next I'm going to read Frank Miller's Daredevil run.

 

[Cuestionador]

That's pretty excellent taste, in my opinion!

The Absolute books I've praised here a few times now, and New Gods is only three issues in but has me hooked. Ram V and Federici are making some real cosmic fantasy, Jack Kirby would love it.

View attachment 35991

Superman is in a weird place, plot-wise, but Dan Mora is a real monster on the layouts.

View attachment 35989

Great Marvel picks too, The Ultimates is growing on me but I'm a little wary of what the story is building to. I dig the new versions of some of the characters, do you like the re-imaginings?

On the other hand, Immortal Thor is usually the first book I read out of a weekly haul, with a "meta" story that manages to stay fun and not feel overly much like navel-gazing. The way it uses the storytelling of Norse skalds, with quotes and adapted passages from epic poems (The Edda's, I think they're called?) is pretty clever; one of the larger themes being "Beware who tells your story". It's basically a sequel to Al Ewing's Loki as the God of Stories, while being one of the most interesting depictions of Thor I've ever read. They aren't really related except by author, but have you read Immortal Hulk?

Oh you like the *real* sickos, I see. Gorilla Grodd is so silly and so evil, he's hard not to love. I really enjoy the Flash villains for being such an assortment of weird lowlifes, it keeps the stories grounded at sometimes. I occasionally feel nostalgic for old-fashioned bank robbers and the like, with comics often stuck in a loop of warding off...actually hang on, Grant Morrison sums it up better.

View attachment 36008

...basically a good-natured slam on Scott Snyder and his events like Justice League: Metal and the whole Dark Multiverse thing. (All of which I kinda enjoy, but The Batman Who Laughs got *obnoxious*).

I'll have to think up a top five villains of my own here in a bit, I enjoyed reading yours!


Green Lantern: Dark was so unexpected; a Tangent series in 2025? Unreal....but also pretty good, or at least I really enjoyed the first issue.

I'm really in the bag for All Along The Watchtower, it *is* a bit of weird new role for Renee but the image of her as the Justice League Sheriff gets me right in my western lovin' heart, having grown up watching too many cowpokes slap leather. Really though, it seems to be a conscious effort on DC's part to re-align their big name comics with their best-known entry point, the animated shows and movies. I think that's why the Question is serving as a kind of Internal Cape Affairs officer, keeping the superhero community honest. (The actual book isn't really capitalizing on that right now though, I dug the first issue but the mystery is turning underwhelming recently.)

Seems like you're into the more human characters, with a touch of dark and mysticism. Have you seen Hellhunters?

View attachment 36015

Private Ghost Rider, along with Nick Fury, Wolverine, and the other wahoos kicking around back in WWII for a Dirty Not-quite-a-Dozen to fight Nazi zombies prowling through Europe. Pretty fun!


It's a good one! It takes the base premise but goes so much further than just a Yakov Smirnoff joke, they used the Elseworlds format to explore a politically active Superman and what that might mean for the world. Not a new concept at the time - Alan Moore's Miracleman is the easiest thing to point to, or Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme mini-series - but it was rare to actually tell that story with the intended character.

Hello again, sorry for my late answer! I'll be looking for Hellhunters, seems cool. Nick Fury is a great character and i love things like the issues of Kirby inked by Russ Heath, the Steranko run or graphic novels like Scorpio Connection (one of the comics that i bring to Howard Chaykin to sign in his visit to my country). Recently i was reading the manga Her Frankenstein and Hulk: Future Imperfect, every time i read something of Hulk or Doctor Strange i enjoy the hell out of it, something similar happens with the Silver Surfer or Daredevil. Classic Squadron Supreme is one of my favourite comic-books of all time, i have the two TPB's and hope to obtain the Marvel Graphic Novel Death of a Universe someday, years ago i did an article for the argentinian site Comiqueando about the miniseries and his follow-ups in titles like Quasar (another great comic by Gruenwald, at least the first 25 issues). Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[ATenderLad]

It's been a minute, and someone pinned this thread! (Probably a forum first, for me).

Just finished Incognito (including Bad Influences) and Kill or Be Killed by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Absolutely loved them. Specially Kill or Be Killed.
Next I'm going to read Frank Miller's Daredevil run.

Oh thank you, I had *completely* forgotten about Incognito! It got recommended to me by a sweet dork at a comic shop back when it was new, and I've always meant to read it. I've got a fondness for pulp like The Shadow and the Phantom, which I'm ashamed to admit *did* come from their terrible movie adaptations in the 90's. (Dick Tracy, too).

Hello again, sorry for my late answer! I'll be looking for Hellhunters, seems cool. Nick Fury is a great character and i love things like the issues of Kirby inked by Russ Heath, the Steranko run or graphic novels like Scorpio Connection (one of the comics that i bring to Howard Chaykin to sign in his visit to my country). Recently i was reading the manga Her Frankenstein and Hulk: Future Imperfect, every time i read something of Hulk or Doctor Strange i enjoy the hell out of it, something similar happens with the Silver Surfer or Daredevil. Classic Squadron Supreme is one of my favourite comic-books of all time, i have the two TPB's and hope to obtain the Marvel Graphic Novel Death of a Universe someday, years ago i did an article for the argentinian site Comiqueando about the miniseries and his follow-ups in titles like Quasar (another great comic by Gruenwald, at least the first 25 issues). Thanks for the recommendations!

Sorry for my late response! Nick Fury is such an odd duck; from rough-and-tumble infantry in the European Theater to psychedelic secret agent in the vein of James Bond or Harry Palmer. Then he starts running the super C.I.A., America's top cop in a sense. In one character, Fury encompasses all manner of military and clandestine action from the viewpoint of rank-and-file grunt all the way up to the highest levels of government. He's kinda like Marvel's Batman, in the sense that nearly every writer seems to have at least one great Batman/Nick Fury story to tell. Oh, and getting Chaykin to sign the Scorpio Connection is amazing!

Speaking of Batman, there's a story arc in Grant Morrison's fantastic Batman Incorporated that (I think) draws heavy inspiration from Steranko art. It's a globetrotting mystery that leads to an aged Nazi criminal mastermind, with a specialty for elaborate mazes and dramatic deaths for superheroes. The old monster has developed alzheimer's, and comes up with a way to inflict that condition on Batman, trapping him in a loop that he keeps forgetting over and over.

(This was, perhaps, a flimsy excuse to post a bit of a book I like. Perhaps.)​

---

I went back and re-read Squadron Supreme since you brought it up, and I'd really forgotten how much I love Mark Gruenwald. As a kid, it wasn't even for his actual comic books runs; there was little I enjoyed as much as reading and memorizing the Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe. They were like my moms encyclopedias, but for important shit. Sure, I guess Napoleon surrendered in June of 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, but who cares? What I need to know is how an alien agent named Lucifer - and his secret base/super weapon with a computer brain, Dominus - crippled Charles Xavier as a young man for thwarting his plans to conquer Earth, as related via flashback in X-Men #20 (vol. 1)! That's important, because Young Me had Kurt Busiek's 1998 Avengers/Thunderbolts crossover where Hawkeye moves the T-Bolts into what was left of Lucifer's secret base, and an ensuing fight with the Avengers activates a sub-routine of Dominus that plans to destroy Earth for resisting the initial invasion thirty years prior! It's called Dominex, this time around, because....90's! Motherfuckers put X in everything.

(....sorry, let's try that again!)

---

Squadron Supreme! What a fantastic series concept, taking the off-brand Justice League that they cooked up for the Avengers to slap about and having them decide to become the scariest thing in superhero books: Proactive. Hyperion (Superman) and the Squadron (JLA) simply vote amongst themselves, "What if we fix America?" The motion carries, with Nighthawk (Batman) as the only holdout, resigning in protest.

The comparisons to Watchmen are common, and it's understandable. Both books feature a group of pastiche superheroes dealing with contemporary political issues of the 80's; both are a 12-part miniseries, and they released within about a year of each other. That said, this is unmistakably still a story set in a comic book world, where Watchmen is rather more grounded. Writer Mark Gruenwald gives us plenty of big, dramatic super-villains, sweeping heroics, and haymakers that level mountains. The tension is in the ethical dilemmas that keep coming up, there's a new dilemma in nearly every issue.

To name a few:

• The initial question, to unmask and commit to creating Utopia.​
• Curing cancer at the cost of betraying a friend, essentially weighing the good of the few against the few.​

You got it, hoss. End of the week sound okay?​

• The biggest plot element, behavioral modification units (BMU's) to rehabilitate convicted felons/supervillains.​
• Said BMU's see immediate use actually, when the Green Arrow expy proposes marriage to the Squardron's Black Canary and gets rejected, and uses one of the devices to re-roll that answer like a fucking charisma check.​

I adore this progression of panels as she declines his offer. ​

• Hyperion is replaced by a doppleganger - his Bizarro in a sense - who sets his romantic sights on Power Princess. (Wonder Woman in all but name). To that end, the fake kills her elderly husband, basically a Steve Trevor who'd aged ahead of his immortal partner. It's a pretty straight-forward dick move, but the Princess doesn't know he's a fake, and she's always had feelings for Hyperion. The two genuinely fall for one another, before the genuine article returns and beats his imposter to death, leaving him to die in the arms of his lover. Girl, it's messy. (I fucking love it).​

• A fair bit of killin', with multiple questions as to lethal force and how it gets used. The diet Green Lantern kills a fellow teammate who goes wild with grief, basically self-defense. Hyperion has to commit to pulling the plug on a comatose member of the Squadron, as their power is running unchecked without a concious mind to control it. Also, the finale is a brawl with like seven fatalities; it's a pretty high body count for 80's capeshit.

It's no Watchmen, but what is? For 1985, this was pretty wild, and a clear inspiration on later work like Kirkman's Invincible. The story gets side-tracked on occasion - the author of my beloved Handbooks can't resist any opportunity to share a comic book history lesson - but it's a lot more focused than mini-series of the time tended to be. The story ratchets up the tension as compromises keep stacking up, as the cast struggles to do the right thing in the face of difficult questions.

(There's an interesting bit with the Aquaman character; he's consistently voting against the majority, and halfway through the story he breaks all of the BMU's and leaves for the ocean. He declares he'll never return to the surface, and he means it. There's no dramatic return at the end, he's just gone. It's anecdotal, but I feel like writers - in most any medium - can't really get away with that anymore. Not for anything with a fandom, at least).

I don't have a ton to say about the artwork, unfortunately. The artist, Bob Hall, does some pretty great work with faces, which serves the story pretty well. Most everything else is kinda boilerplate, though. Typical layouts, very few splash pages (I suspect on account of how much dialogue and thought balloons they have to get through), and the majority of panels are dominated by characters. I didn't notice any interesting backgrounds or landscapes worth sharing, at least.

---

So, I was going to post about the last two weeks of new comics, but I read Squadron and lost my train of thought, and now it's late and I'm rambling. (I don't wanna sleep, there's work on the other side of that fuckin' thing!)

Ah well, to be continued! (With Absolute Flash, probably!)