Comics, etc.

So you disagree with me about Fear Itself in that me saying it was Marvel anally violating us in particularly rude fashion wasn't going nearly far enough?

Kamakazi010654 wrote:

Also, if you just want an awesome crossover try Annihilation. It is Marvel Cosmic but I would say it is their best event EVER. I am a huge fan of Marvel cosmic, so I am admittedly a bit biased (I AM GROOT!).

Pedantic comic nerd mode engaged: Groot wasn't in Annhilation, but appeared in the sequel, Annihilation: Conquest. Both are fantastic events. I have the big hardcover collections of those 2 and War Of Kings, and trades for Realm of Kings, The Thanos Imperative, Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel seem to have drifted away from cosmic stuff again (is Annhilators even still going?) but, hopefully, the Guardians movie will change that.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

I always thought the best Marvel "event" was "House of M".

I like it, as I tend to like What If?, Elseworlds, and other alternate reality scenarios, but it doesn't make my top three.

I am a fan of these alternate reality stories too. I remember hearing talk about Marvel launching another What If/Exiles-type series, but never heard if it ever came out. Had to break out some serious google-fu to even find that link. Have you been following this at all? My guess is it got swallowed up in the whole AvX stuff.

Hadn't heard that. LOVED Exiles until the World Tour, when it began sucking.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

So you disagree with me about Fear Itself in that me saying it was Marvel anally violating us in particularly rude fashion wasn't going nearly far enough? :lol:

You could say that

spider_j wrote:
Kamakazi010654 wrote:

Also, if you just want an awesome crossover try Annihilation. It is Marvel Cosmic but I would say it is their best event EVER. I am a huge fan of Marvel cosmic, so I am admittedly a bit biased (I AM GROOT!).

Pedantic comic nerd mode engaged: Groot wasn't in Annhilation, but appeared in the sequel, Annihilation: Conquest. Both are fantastic events. I have the big hardcover collections of those 2 and War Of Kings, and trades for Realm of Kings, The Thanos Imperative, Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel seem to have drifted away from cosmic stuff again (is Annhilators even still going?) but, hopefully, the Guardians movie will change that.

Touchy comic nerd defense mode activated: It was quite obvious in my post that I had switched to making a statement about Marvel Cosmic as a whole. Touch comic nerd defense mode deactivated: I really wish they would make an omnibus of the recent marvel events. Or at least just Annihilation, Conquest, and maybe some of the tie-ins. Would also love a Guardians and Nova Omni as well. I have switched 100% to digital for most things, but if either of those three were released I would pre-order them instantly.

Avenging Spider-man 11

Is that a recommendation or a warning?

soonerjudd wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

I always thought the best Marvel "event" was "House of M".

I like it, as I tend to like What If?, Elseworlds, and other alternate reality scenarios, but it doesn't make my top three.

I am a fan of these alternate reality stories too. I remember hearing talk about Marvel launching another What If/Exiles-type series, but never heard if it ever came out. Had to break out some serious google-fu to even find that link. Have you been following this at all? My guess is it got swallowed up in the whole AvX stuff.

Looks like it did release after all. Just picked up X-Treme X-Men #1 from my LCS. I'll try and post some thoughts after I've had a chance to read it.

spider_j wrote:

Is that a recommendation or a warning? ;)

It was the best single issue I've read of anything in a very long time.

But I'm a sap for spidey and this issue is incredibly sappy.

I love Peter Parker like a brother, so I'll check that out. And X-Treme X-Men.

oilypenguin wrote:
spider_j wrote:

Is that a recommendation or a warning? ;)

It was the best single issue I've read of anything in a very long time.

But I'm a sap for spidey and this issue is incredibly sappy.

Same hymnsheet, my friend. Off to blow even more cash on Comixology.

soonerjudd wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

I always thought the best Marvel "event" was "House of M".

I like it, as I tend to like What If?, Elseworlds, and other alternate reality scenarios, but it doesn't make my top three.

I am a fan of these alternate reality stories too. I remember hearing talk about Marvel launching another What If/Exiles-type series, but never heard if it ever came out. Had to break out some serious google-fu to even find that link. Have you been following this at all? My guess is it got swallowed up in the whole AvX stuff.

I'm not impressed with the first two issues of X-Treme X-Men (vol 2). Seems like a worse Exiles. And it seems like they can't decide on a tone - I'm not sure whether the severed head thing means I'm supposed to read the whole thing as crazily over the top or what.

They should have just rebooted Exiles, imho. I may stick with it for a bit, just because I like this sort of thing.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
soonerjudd wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

I always thought the best Marvel "event" was "House of M".

I like it, as I tend to like What If?, Elseworlds, and other alternate reality scenarios, but it doesn't make my top three.

I am a fan of these alternate reality stories too. I remember hearing talk about Marvel launching another What If/Exiles-type series, but never heard if it ever came out. Had to break out some serious google-fu to even find that link. Have you been following this at all? My guess is it got swallowed up in the whole AvX stuff.

I'm not impressed with the first two issues of X-Treme X-Men (vol 2). Seems like a worse Exiles. And it seems like they can't decide on a tone - I'm not sure whether the severed head thing means I'm supposed to read the whole thing as crazily over the top or what.

They should have just rebooted Exiles, imho. I may stick with it for a bit, just because I like this sort of thing.

I finished X-treme #2 and I think I'm done with that one. I was skimming pages on my iPad to see if anything interesting happened.

Dark Horse sent me an email trying to drum up interest in their app. I grabbed it a while back for the free Mass Effect comics that they were offering, but they wouldn't download. I don't think that I have looked at it since, as what little I did read was not even vaguely to the standard of the Comixology apps or ComicZeal in terms of app performance.

It's been updated a couple of times since then, and today's email included a code for 50% off, so I thought that I would give it another try. $11.50 for 13 issues of Buffy s9 seemed a good deal! (have to go through the website to use the code, BTW).

Unfortunately, I got a digit wrong in my credit card number, and when I retried the transaction, the discount code shows as invalid. I have emailed them, and await a response.

The point, I suppose, is that you might want to check your email if you have the app. Between the bundles that they offer and the discount code, there's some very cheap comics there.

It hit me last night that Hickman is leaving Fantastic Four. I knew he was, but I was trying not to think about it. I know that he's moving over to Avengers, but....I'm not sure if he'll be a good fit there. Which is just my way of saying I don't want him to leave FF.

Matt Fraction is taking over Marvel's First Family, and his run on The Defenders has given me hope. But damn, Hickman.

Fraction is amazing but yes, unless he's making up his own mythos, there is no better fit at Marvel for Hickman than FF.

I am super excited for Matt Fraction to prove me wrong.

oilypenguin wrote:

I am super excited for Matt Fraction to prove me wrong.

I'm with you. Hickman's run has been so groundbreaking that I'm not sure how Matt can continue on that path. But I am keeping my fingers crossed and both titles on my pull list.

As one example of Hickman's genius,

Spoiler:

I offer up the FF eating in the AIM cafeteria in the last issue--after what looked like your basic superhero throwdown-- and Ben wondering how they ate through their helmet grills.

And of course, everything else he's done.

I really have been meaning to check out Hickman's FF run. He was so, SO good on Secret Warriors, as we've discussed a few times here. Absolutely one of the best Marvel books in forever.

If he's moving to Avengers (which is cool because I'm a longtime fan of book, moreso than FF for sure), is Bendis moving to something else?

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I really have been meaning to check out Hickman's FF run. He was so, SO good on Secret Warriors, as we've discussed a few times here. Absolutely one of the best Marvel books in forever.

If he's moving to Avengers (which is cool because I'm a longtime fan of book, moreso than FF for sure), is Bendis moving to something else?

X-Men, believe it or not.

Big crossover events are problematic. Do you just keep to the core books or do your branch out. Currently reading Blackest Night which has some really good branch comics and some really bad ones. I wish I could ask Booster Gold to take me back in time so I could stop myself from buying the crapping ones. Kind of funny is the Latern comics are must reads or the story isn't going to flow. Then there are books that prop up the story like teen titans, rebels, and flash.

Hey when did Vril Dox become the son of Brainiac. Was he always the son of Brainiac? Hmmm well he has always looked like a Brainiac. Kind of liked him in the Rebels crossover books.

Yep, crossovers suck.

And Bendis on X-Men. Hmm. Well, his Avengers run, especially New Avengers vol 1, was totally fantastic, so I know he can do team books. I read Morrison's New X-Men and then Whedon's Astonishing, and since then I've basically ignored the X-books. If Bendis does half as well with X-Men as he has with Avengers, this should be a really great run.

Have any of you kept up with this San Francisco - Utopia run? Any good?

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Have any of you kept up with this San Francisco - Utopia run? Any good?

I have. Kieron Gillen is a great writer ( Journey Into Mystery), and despite having to juggle the heavy editorial demands that comes with writing Uncanny X-Men, he's managed to make it his own brand of joyously weird. The run of Mr. Sinister stories were a lot of fun, for example. He also took a small sub-plot out ofUncanny X-Force and turned it into (I think) six months of intriguing story.

Gillen's run has had a strong science-fantasy feel to it, and while he's had to do the mandated stories to tie into the latest crossover, he has still managed to veer the X-Men into self contained bursts of oddness.

You know, I was in the middle of typing that KG has been the only bright spot lately but then Uncanny X-Force is really good. And Wolverine and the X-Men is fantastic. And X-Factor is still great. And New Mutants is pretty good....

You know, the only bad parts about the mutant books right now are X-Men, Astonishing, and AvX and its crossovers.

Can I just say how excited I am to see KG on Iron Man? I guess he's also doing something with Kid Loki but that remains unannounced.

I jumped on Uncanny and Wolverine and the X-men when they started at 1 a year or two ago. Uncanny is one of my favourite books. I loved the Sinister story. I've also been reading JiM. It's been very good when the issue isn't a crossover. The crossover issues still manage to be okay. I wish he wasn't being taken off Uncanny, but I guess this will give me a reason to look at Iron Man for the first time in 20 or so years.

Hickman made me look forward to FF for the first time maybe ever. Too bad hes' leaving, but I guess I'll look at Avengers. I've barely touched Bendis, so I'll give him a shot and see what I think.

I was loving Peter David's X-Factor run until it forced me to read some awful X-crossover that just sucked a giant one. I think I may have mentioned that before.

To continue the X-Men discussion, Brian Wood has been doing his best to resurrect Ultimate X-Men. It reads very much like 'X-Men: DMZ', but I've been enjoying the book, which isn't something I could say when Nick Spencer was writing it. Huge focus on Kitty Pryde, which I will never argue with.

Anyone else reading Garth Ennis' The Shadow? Another quality book that seems to be floating beneath the radar.

I find it amusing you say "resurrect" Ultimate X-Men. I've only read the first volume, I'll confess, but that first volume was a terrible read. Was there a part where it stopped being grimdark terrible?

Tell me more; I love Ennis. Just re-read Preacher, The Boys is about to wrap...I've never been more aware of how fantastic he can be.

Which is not to say that Ennis doesn't frequently decide to just be ridiculous and gross for the hell of it, like in the Fury MAX mini from several years ago (not My War Gone By).

Preacher makes it clear that Ennis likes westerns; his Streets of Glory mini is essentially a western movie in comic form. It's good, but not great.

ccesarano wrote:

I find it amusing you say "resurrect" Ultimate X-Men. I've only read the first volume, I'll confess, but that first volume was a terrible read. Was there a part where it stopped being grimdark terrible?

I was spotty on the first run of Ultimate X-Men, but did climb on board when they rebooted the series. Spencer was not the best choice of writer, and as you say, it was grimdark. Grimdark isn't always bad, but this, sadly, was. When Brian Wood came on, I thought he at least began to write the book with a stronger sense of purpose, and I'm enjoying the current run. Is it still grimdark?

Yes, but with qualifications. The threat to mutants here isn't the rather unfocused species-ism you find in 616, which is occasionally focused around a religious group to give it more of a sense of relevance and/or provocation. Here, the threat is nothing short of genocide, complete with concentration camps. As dark as that is, Wood has given the book a sense of hope through Kitty Pryde and her band of freedom fighters. There are still elements that make me roll my eyes (Nick Fury's rationalizations regarding his actions being number one on the Crap Parade), but I still think Wood has managed to elevate the book.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Tell me more; I love Ennis. Just re-read Preacher, The Boys is about to wrap...I've never been more aware of how fantastic he can be.

Ennis is simply writing a Shadow story with the tone of a Thirties radio play but with a deeper degree of intelligence and anger. He takes the hokey parts of the mythos and subtly updates them, making the Shadow creepy and unsettling for today's audience. Ennis' work on his war books like Battlefields informs the current tale, so if you're a fan of that work, you will find material here to your liking.

Ennis isn't writing a fluff piece of homage. His Shadow is a right bastard, but he's a bastard on our side. It still reads like a pulp story, but with more brutality, even moreso since many things are based on real life war crimes.

I'll admit to a love of the pulp era, and of the Shadow, so I would have picked this up regardless of who wrote it. But I was excited when I heard Ennis was doing it,and with each issue that expectation of quality is met.

I'm not sure how the book is doing in sales, or how long Ennis is staying on board with this. But there is a trade coming out, and you should check it out if you enjoy Ennis' work. It's a gem.