What Titles Are You Currently Reading?

[ShadowDenizen]

Thought this would be a fun topic, since there's a metric ton of awsome comics out there to recommend, that other people may not have heard of!

I have quite a lot on my pull list each month, but some of the highlights?

(I've mostly weaned myself off the DC New 52, and I'm cherry-picking the MarvelNow titles.)

• Saviors (James Robinson)
• Black Science
• Alex + Ada
• Herobear & the Kid
• Earth-2
• Fantastic Four
• Iron Fist
• A Distant Soil
• East of West
• Sex
• Sex Criminals
• Rat Queens
• Powerpuff Girls
• Umbral
• Revival
• Rachel Rising
• Mind the Gap
•  

As an aside, I've also been rereading some "Vintagee' Marvel stuff that I'm really, really enjoying, like "Tomb of Dracula" [was lucky enough to snatch both omnibuses for cheap!], and "Master of Kung FU", along with the cheesy space-opera "ROM".

Edited May 20, 2014 by ShadowDenizen

[Mars477]

I'm mostly Image, with a smattering of Marvel Now!.  DC is really only good for pointing and laughing at, at this point.

• Lazarus, Veil (miniseries), and Cyclops, all by Greg Rucka
• The Punisher - Nathan Edmonson
• The Activity - Also by Nathan Edmonson, although the release schedule has been very spotty (#16 was supposed to come out in March, now pushed back to May).
• Ms. Marvel - G Willow Wilson
• Captain Marvel - KSD
• Hawkeye - but of course
• Pretty Deadly - KSD
• Black Widow - Edmonson

Dropped most of the X books after the non-starter that was the "Battle of the Atom" arc.  I'm also tradewaiting East of West since I have no fucking idea what happens from issue to issue.

[ShadowDenizen]

Is the new Punisher any good? Can you give a 30-second run-down?

(I read the first issue of Ghost-Rider and Moon-Knight and got badly burned with both of those.)

[Mars477]

Is the new Punisher any good? Can you give a 30-second run-down?

(I read the first issue of Ghost-Rider and Moon-Knight and got badly burned with both of those.)

Edmonson's Punisher is meh.  Art (by Mitch Gerard) is good.  Plot is standard Punisher fare (there is a drug-running street gang, they're being backed by Electro who's spent a few issues kicking Frank's ass.  My main problem is Frank, who after being treated as something like a force of nature has been brought down to human, and as such is exceedingly bland.  When he's not, er, punishing, he's just like some random dude, without the charisma of Fraction's Hawkguy to make those street level shenanigns interesting.  And there're subplots with this bland female LAPD cop that has a crush on Frank (never made me more glad that Rucka kept Frank and Rachel completely platonic) and this bland Army officer who supplies Frank with weapons.  There's also a three man team of Howling Commandos who are hunting Frank who I find vastly more interesting than everybody else, but only because they're basically Edmonson's ISA team from The Activity transplanted into this universe.

 

Rucka's run a few years back is much superior, in my opinion.

 

Of course, the biggest problem I have with the book is that it's been 5 issues and we've seen neither hide nor hair of Rachel Cole-Alvez, who we last saw at the end of Punisher: War Zone continuing Frank's mission in, wait for it, Los Angeles.

[ShadowDenizen]

Thanks for that, Mars477.

Sounds like a pass for me; I've been "Hit or Miss" on the Punisher for some time now. (And I'm only cherry-picking MarvelNow for titeles I'll enjoy.)

 

Of the MarvelNow titles, I'm reading:

 

• Captain Marvel
• Nova
• She-Hulk (I've always loved the Jade Giantess, who is much more relatable and interesting than Red Shulk.)
• Iron First
• Fantastic Four (Tough to follow Matt Fraction, but Jame Robinsons gets a lifetime pass for his sublime run on "Starman".
• 
  

I dropped Black Widow, Elektra and after the first issue, and Ghost RIder and Moon Knight after 2, and I finally dumped Guardians (I have ZERO interest in the "Jean Grey" crossover.)

 

DC is really only good for pointing and laughing at, at this point.

 

Earth-2 is quite good, and I'm really digging Harley Quinn.  As a long-time fan of the GL Corps, I also check in with them periodically.

Edited May 20, 2014 by ShadowDenizen

[Monty]

I'm reading (I think):

 

Miracleman: Mostly because I've been hearing about it forever and I think it's neat that it's finally being rereleased.

 

Afterlife With Archie: Archie with zombies. It's really good!

 

Lumberjanes: This is brand new (the second issue came out this month), and it's about girls at a summer camp fighting monsters and being awesome. The writer is the creator of the webcomic Nimona, which is also a lot of fun.

 

Adventure Time: The Adventure Time comic is super-fun. I only read the main title (written by Ryan North), because it seems like there are a million spin-off titles and they vary in quality.

 

Ms. Marvel: Another new comic! I like getting in on the ground floor. It's about a teenage Muslim girl who gets superpowers. Great stuff.

 

Captain Marvel (the Marvel one, Carol Danvers; not the Shazam dude): Space adventure!

 

Eltingville: This is the story of a club of horrible nerds being horrible to each other. It's by Evan Dorkin, who is currently respectable because he's the writer of Beasts of Burden. But this is him writing and drawing something from his disreputable days, when he dd Milk & Cheese and Hectic Planet. I'm a huge fan of Evan Dorkin. There was a Welcome to Eltingville pilot on Adult Swim once, but it didn't get picked up.

 

Sex Criminals: You all know about this.

 

Saga: This, too.

 

Probably Some I'm Forgetting About: This is why I have a Pull List! I get handed a handful of comics and sometimes I'm surprised because I forgot they existed,

[Wilowy]

Afterlife with Archie

Batwoman (can't stand DC these days except for this one)

Fables

Guardians of the Galaxy

Saga

Sandman

Sex Criminals

 

Don't read individual issues any more except for Archie, so I find myself going back and reading old favorites a lot. 

[ShadowDenizen]

Lumberjanes: This is brand new (the second issue came out this month), and it's about girls at a summer camp fighting monsters and being awesome. The writer is the creator of the webcomic Nimona, which is also a lot of fun.

 

Crap!

Missed this one.

I'll have to wait for the trade.

 

Other titles on my "pull" list that I missed in the last post?

 

• The Midas Flesh (mini-series)
• The Wake (Maxi-Series)
• American Vampire
• Five Weapons
•  Miss Fury (ending with the current issue.) :(
•  

Edited May 21, 2014 by ShadowDenizen

[Danny Franks]

Sad to say that, since Ed Brubaker ruined Winter Soldier on his way out, and then seeing it cancelled a few months later, and Gambit being cancelled as well, I'm actually not reading any new comics at the moment.

 

I've toyed with reading All New X-Factor, but I hate the art on the book. Ugly, stylised crap that feels like an unholy mix of Humberto Ramos and Leinil Yu.

 

Sadly, both DC and Marvel decided to redefine their universes in ways I don't care for, at nearly the same time. Not too long ago, I read everything X-Men that was published. Now? Not a thing.

[ShadowDenizen]

Yeah, I gave up on the Avengers and the X-men some time ago.

After doing a reboot, and they STILL need pages of explnation about what's going on?  PASS.

[Omar G.]

Sex Criminals

 

Hawkeye

 

Ms. Marvel

 

Saga

 

Miracleman (having trouble getting into this one; still stuck on first two issues)

 

Walking Dead (just finished Vol. 19 and 20 and will probably continue w/ individual issues from here on out)

 

Started reading the TPBs of "Powers" recently.

 

Own but haven't read yet: East of West, Satellite Sam, Velvet.

[TravisNelson76]

I'm still relatively new to actively reading comics.  I didn't know one could even, like, HAVE a "pull list"?  Here's what I'm reading, though:

• Adventure Time [Lumpy Space Princess is my favorite, obvs]
• Saga [pretty much... every character is my favorite?]
• Hawkeye [the L.A. stuff is not my favorite, bro]
• Sex Criminals [this one might be even weirder than Adventure Time]
• Alex + Ada [one issue in seems like Her, the comic... in an awesome way]
• Ms. Marvel [about to read issue two]

 

Have basically dropped: The Manhattan Project, Zero, East of West

[AntiBeeSpray]

The X-Files: Season 10 (IDW) -- going to be picking up issue #12 tomorrow. It's getting pretty good.

[Ralan Gibbon]

I picked up the first issue of Trees last week and I enjoyed it. It has all the features I have come to expect from a contemporary Warren Ellis book, but it's too early to know if it's a keeper. Not least of all because Warren seems to have a pretty short attention span these days

[Wilowy]

Rat Queens. I adore little Betty! Though one thing I do find interesting is that not all our heroines are actually that likable. 

[canucktvwatcher]

Edmonson's Punisher is meh.  Art (by Mitch Gerard) is good.  Plot is standard Punisher fare (there is a drug-running street gang, they're being backed by Electro who's spent a few issues kicking Frank's ass.  My main problem is Frank, who after being treated as something like a force of nature has been brought down to human, and as such is exceedingly bland.  When he's not, er, punishing, he's just like some random dude, without the charisma of Fraction's Hawkguy to make those street level shenanigns interesting.  And there're subplots with this bland female LAPD cop that has a crush on Frank (never made me more glad that Rucka kept Frank and Rachel completely platonic) and this bland Army officer who supplies Frank with weapons.  There's also a three man team of Howling Commandos who are hunting Frank who I find vastly more interesting than everybody else, but only because they're basically Edmonson's ISA team from The Activity transplanted into this universe.

 

Rucka's run a few years back is much superior, in my opinion.

 

Of course, the biggest problem I have with the book is that it's been 5 issues and we've seen neither hide nor hair of Rachel Cole-Alvez, who we last saw at the end of Punisher: War Zone continuing Frank's mission in, wait for it, Los Angeles.

Damn. The Punisher is my favourite comic character. Sorry to hear this run is "meh". I might give it a try anyways, but this does not sound promising.

As for what I've enjoyed lately - the new SWAMP THING. Just started the run, and it's great - good story, fantastic art, cool characters. Worth checking out, IMO!

[ShadowDenizen]

For the New 52....

My collcetion of New 52 titles is diwndling, honestly.

 

Earth 2 is, for me, the strongest of the New 52 titles.

Batgirl and Batwoman are both quite good, but benefits strongly from being read in chunks of each arc, as they're heavily serialized.

Harley Quinn started off strong, but has rapidly dipped in qulity for me. The last 2 isues were a drag.

Sinestro is quite good thus far.

Larfleeze was enjoyable, but they're ending it at a good time, so he doesn't wear out his welcome.

 

For Marvel....

She-Hulk is probably my favroite of the new titles. (ANd I'm still hoping they bring Awesome Andy back!!!)

Nova is enjoyable.

Fantastic Four is trending upwards, but James Robinson gets a liftetime pass from me for "Starman". (Hopefully the Marvel/FF film rumors are just that.)

Captain Marvel- Kelly Sue Deconnick is one of the best female comic writers of this decade, just as Gail Simone, Anne Nocenti, etc. were of previous ones.

 

Thumbs way down for Elektra, Black Widow, Moon Knight and Punisher.

[Dandesun]

I'm strictly Marvel anymore.

 

Let's see...

 

All-New X-Factor

All-New X-Men

Captain Marvel

Ms. Marvel

X-Men

Uncanny X-Men

Thor: God of Thunder

Mighty Avengers

Loki: Agent of Asgard

Black Widow

I'm waiting for this Uncanny Avengers story to end... I'm slogging through it and not at all happy about it. Thinking about picking up New Avengers because I want some Doctor Strange in my life. Oh, and the Rocket Raccoon solo that's coming out because Skottie Young is the artist and I love him. I cut my teeth on the X-men so I tend to gravitate towards them. Seriously, I only started collecting again because of Gambit getting a solo (which I quite enjoyed) so I definitely follow him (Peter David's writing him now so I have lots of fun with that one) but I also need my Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde, dammit.

[Lazlo]

• Superman titles (Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, Batman/Superman, Superman, Superman/Wonder Woman)
• Supergirl titles (Red Lanterns, Supergirl)
• Catwoman
• Batgirl
• World's finest: Huntress and Power Girl
• Justice League United (because Supergirl is in it - or will be - though I like the title itself so far.)
• Star Wars: Rebel Heist

 

I'm not thrilled with the direction of much of the DC comics (my favourite of the bunch might be the deliberately retro Adventures of Superman) but I'm not about to drop any of them.

[Chip]

I'm not thrilled with the direction of much of the DC comics (my favourite of the bunch might be the deliberately retro Adventures of Superman) but I'm not about to drop any of them.

 

This is me. I was a huge DC fan and Superman family in particular.The New 52 Superman stuff has just not been that good. I have read every issue and I am clueless as to what is happening in Superboy. Supergirl has been good but I wish they hadn't rebooted her title. 

 

Since the New 52 and Marvel NOW happened around the same time. I have taken the opportunity to read more Marvel.

[Wilowy]

Since the New 52 and Marvel NOW happened around the same time. I have taken the opportunity to read more Marvel.

 

I'm Marvel too (and Image and Vertigo). But have you read Batwoman? It's slower than I like, but fucking gorgeous. 

[Chip]

I am several months behind on Batwoman but the art is great. I haven't actually caught up to when the creative team changes.

[Wilowy]

You mean from Elegy onward? Rucka wrote Elegy and JH Williams does the art, then it goes on with Hydrology and To Drown The World, but JH still does the art, but there are different writers.

 

I think. I'm trades girl, so am I getting that right? 

[ShadowDenizen]

I think the art/writing tema was consistent up until Issue 24 or so.

Then they had the much-publicized dispute with DC over storylines. (Apparenty, they watned to marry Kate and Maggie, and DC nixed that.)

 

DC had been gettting ALOT of flack for some time now about how they're attempting to exert too much editorial control and are stifling the creative teams on various books.

[Chip]

I think the art/writing tema was consistent up until Issue 24 or so.

Then they had the much-publicized dispute with DC over storylines. (Apparenty, they watned to marry Kate and Maggie, and DC nixed that.)

 

This is what I was referring to. I think I have read up through 24 or 25. I remember some big cliffhanger not getting immediately resolved.

[Wilowy]

The stories weren't compelling enough for you to continue? Its been pretty trippy what with the

re-emergence of Alice (and discovery of her identity), and that AWESOME Weeping Woman apparition

, but I'm really diggin' it. 

And yeah, I thought that was shitty of DC to put the kibosh on the marriage. So fucking what? Let 'em get married! It would have really helped to ground Kate, and added another positive dimension to her character. 

[Chip]

It's great, but I read A LOT OF COMICS. Some series just fall by the wayside and then I binge later to catch up. There is a reason I haven't posted what series I read on here, because there are many.

[ShadowDenizen]

I sympathize, Chip.

 

I also read a LOT of comics; I've beent trying to cull the monthly titles to those that I'm REALLY enjoying. And then I get the trades for the assorted titles I want to binge on, (Alot of the fallout has been in the Marvel/DC stable, since Image, Dark House, Boom and IDW are putting out more titles I like to read.)

 

Batgirl and Batwoman are the 2 standouts of the "Bat-Line", IMO. (Even after the wedding deable deal, "Batwoman" is still good, just not as good...)

 

 

[Chip]

I just caught up on Batgirl last night. Batwoman is next. At some point I plan on reading the last 10 years of Green Lantern, just haven't found the time.

[ShadowDenizen]

Read up until the New 52 relaunch and end.

You'll be much happier.  :)

 

Everything from Sinestro Corps War on was pretty aces. (I mean, there were a few clunckers, but mostly it was well-planned, tightly plotted saga.)

 

With the New 52?  Came MASSIVE GL bloat.  They split into FOUR titles, each with differnet leads (which left Guy Gardener and Simon Baz [who has been CRIMINALLY underused] largely out in the cold.  (Not counting the "Larfleeze" spin-off and the ongoign "Sinestro" which just started.)

 

The "Third Army" and "First Lantern" story arcs were godawful, and after Geoff JOhns left, things went even MORE off the rails.... (Let's not even discuss "Lights OUt", or the fact that they turned SUPERGIRL into a Red-Lantern!

 

(As an aside, DC is really pushing their "Franchise Titles" to the brink with bloat. kinda like Marvel is doing with Avengers (and to a lesser degree X-Men.)

Edited June 19, 2014 by ShadowDenizen

[Lazlo]

Let's not even discuss "Lights OUt", or the fact that they turned SUPERGIRL into a Red-Lantern!

 

A Supergirl fan here and I will say her Red Lantern stage hasn't been quite as bad as I feared and the Red Lanterns themselves (of whom I knew nothing) are rather interesting.

 

(Though roll on Kara getting back to normal!)

[FavFable]

I actually like the Birds of Prey Comics from the new 52 launch.

[Chip]

I actually like the Birds of Prey Comics from the new 52 launch.

 

I thought Starling was a cool character and then

they had to go make her all evil.

[FavFable]

Did they really? That sucks. I liked her character. I liked her friendship with Canary. I actually thought the original 4 worked well without adding Batgirl.

[Chip]

I guess that

evil

was too strong a word. But

didn't she betray them

? I forget now.

[Monty]

I'm still reading Miracleman, but it's starting to feel like a chore.

[Chip]

i've been buying Miracleman, but not reading.

[WTActualF]

Here's my list of titles I'm reading. As you can see I'm mostly all Marvel. 

 

Marvel:

• Avengers (on Marvel Unlimited, so I'm still months' behind)
• New Avengers (same, but OMG Black Panther/Namor/Doc. Strange!!)
• Daredevil (I *heart* Mark Waid)
• Black Widow
• She-Hulk
• Ms. Marvel
• Captain Marvel
• Elektra
• Superior Foes Of Spider-Man
• Hawkeye
• Loki Agent of Asgard
• Mighty Avengers
• Thor: God of Thunder
• Wolverine and the X-Men
•  

Now, save for a couple of the runs, I do most of my reading on Marvel Unlimited, which means I'm way behind on my series. 

 

Image:

• Saga
• Sex Criminals

 

Dark Horse:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Angel and Faith

[Mars477]

I'd like to reiterate: if you're reading any Image (and you should be reading Image, as their output right now is vastly superior to the Big 2 by miles) and are a fan of good things, read Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark. Think Game of Thrones meets the Sopranos in the near future, with a kickass non-cheesecake female lead, incredible worldbuilding and supporting characters, and beautiful action set pieces.

The first two arcs are collected in trades, plus they'll be coming out in November as one big hardcover book with bonus material.

[readster]

Just started my collection again due to so financial hits the last several months. My new list is:

 

 

Spider-Man and the X-Men

Ms. Marvel

The Stray

Uncanny Avengers

[Lantern7]

Does anybody else go to the library to get graphic novels? I tend to get them and not read, but there have been a few that I've thumbed through . . .

 

Seconds . . . this is Bryan Lee O'Malley's follow-up to the Scott Pilgrim franchise. It's pretty good, and I'm hoping it could be made into a movie.

 

DC Showcase: Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 5 . . . the "Showcase" books are large, telephone directory-styled tomes that come in black & white. This one has 500-plus pages, covering the Legion of the mid-Seventies. You can laugh about how the tech of the 30th Century doesn't age well, but I think it's held up pretty good. Good stuff from writers Cary Bates and Jim Shooter and artists Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell.

 

Ms. Marvel . . . it's a book that lives up to the hype. Kamila is a cutie, and her power set makes for unique storytelling.

[funkopop]

I am currently reading the Runaways series.  I'm liking it so far. 

[starri]

Gotham by Midnight.  I haven't picked up a DC book since James Robinson ran to Marvel, but I saw enough good reviews that I checked the first issue out.  I wish I could endorse it without reservation, because it reminds me a lot of an old-school Vertigo title, which is fantastic, but I HATE the art with a fiery passion.  A lot of the early art in Sandman looks incredibly rough these days, and the constantly-shifting artists throughout most of the major stories didn't make them cohesive at times (except in instances where the different styles were the point), but it also never looked like it had been splashed with mud and the run over by a car.  I get that they're going for Expressionism (especially Munch), but it's really kind of off-putting.  If the Lovecraftian themes they seem to be setting up weren't so interesting, I don't know if I'd stick with it, but I can grit my teeth for now.

[Joe]

So I just read 100th Anniversary Special X-Men 1. Wasn't there a similar story a few while ago except with Dazzler? It may have been part of Battle of the Atom. I'm guessing this isn't a coincidence, that it's related to the time running out/Secret Wars thing. Even so, I hate retreads. There's so little content in one issue that to rerun an old story seems like a waste of time.

 

But in brighter news, Star Wars 2. Good stuff. I wasn't sure about issue 1, but that was just setting the scene. This one is quite entertaining. I was really impressed by one piece of art, the way Luke holds his lightsabre. He adopts the baseball pose, like he's about to clobber Vader. That's a perfectly reasonable pose for someone completely untrained. However, Vader responds perfectly. Interestingly, it's a call back to ROTS, where Palpatine has a similiar baseball style. Again, I think that's deliberate. I'd like to see a post-ROTJ comic, but if this one keeps up I'll be happy.

[Lantern7]

I got Secret Wars #1 yesterday. It had a blank cover for sketching purposes . . . which is addictive for me, though I don't know what character I'd want drawn. It's a big issue, covering the "616" universe and the "Ultimate" version. I wouldn't recommend it for newbies, even though it clears the board for all the universes waiting in the wings.

 

Is anybody here thinking about getting the tie-ins? I was contemplating getting X-Men '92 because I've followed Chris Sims' online work for some time, and I got his OGN (Ready! Set! Fight!), but there have been allegations that he cyber-bullied a writer, so I'm a little lukewarm. There's also Ghost Racers, which appeals to me because I got every issue of Ghost Rider 2099, and they're bringing back Kenshiro "Zero" Cochrane.

[Joe]

So you're the other person who bought GR 2099. Though I didn't finish the series. Yes, Sims did bully Valerie D'Orazio. Article! But I don't know the current situation.

 

I do intend to get some of the Secret Wars spinoffs, the most interesting one to me is Siege. I like the Wall from a a Song of Ice and Fire, it's a concept that needs fleshing out. This series looks to do that.

[bmoore4026]

I got Secret Wars #1 yesterday. It had a blank cover for sketching purposes . . . which is addictive for me, though I don't know what character I'd want drawn. It's a big issue, covering the "616" universe and the "Ultimate" version. I wouldn't recommend it for newbies, even though it clears the board for all the universes waiting in the wings.

 

Is anybody here thinking about getting the tie-ins? I was contemplating getting X-Men '92 because I've followed Chris Sims' online work for some time, and I got his OGN (Ready! Set! Fight!), but there have been allegations that he cyber-bullied a writer, so I'm a little lukewarm. There's also Ghost Racers, which appeals to me because I got every issue of Ghost Rider 2099, and they're bringing back Kenshiro "Zero" Cochrane.

 

I'm wondering if there should be a separate forum to talk about Secret Wars and all the mini-series that orbit it.

 

And I also read the first issue of Secret Wars.  I cried a little.

[Chip]

I'm wondering if there should be a separate forum to talk about Secret Wars and all the mini-series that orbit it.

 

Done. Good idea.

 

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/26211-secret-wars/

[Jac]

I'm currently reading The X-Files Season 10 (IDW) and I've just started The Woods (Boom). Both as trade issues (being in Australia makes buying individual issues economically unviable but trade issues are fairly well priced.) I have several trade issues of Saga and  Sex Criminals to catch up on.

[Lantern7]

The only title I got today was Section Eight. As somebody who wasn't enthralled by recent nostalgic visits (James Robinson on The Shade, Priest & Bright on Q2: Quantum & Woody), I didn't feel that Garth Ennis and John McCrea hit the highs of Hitman with their first issue. Also, I don't know what's more annoying: the Twix ads that halve two pages, or the tie-in to continuity from the five-page preview in Convergence: Harley Quinn. And the moment with Batman probably works better if you ignore recent continuity. Then again, Ennis & McCrea never gave a crap about that on Hitman, so why start now?