What Titles Are You Currently Reading?

[Lantern7]

My trial run ran out. I think it can be extended to 30 days, though I may have missed out on that. While the Unlimited package is about $5.95/month, I think I'd want to be making more money before diving in for keeps. It's so sad . . . I was downloading so much Thursday in the hopes that it wouldn't be all gone Friday. At it was. At least I got to read several Valiant series, as well as stuff like G.I. Joe vs. Transformers, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and other stuff I wouldn't get from the library because I'm cheap as hell.

I've read the first three volumes of The Wicked + The Divine. Interesting stuff. I'm also amused that a porn parody popped up in Sex Criminals. "Amateurassu" . . . that's funny.

[PatternRec]

On 6/18/2016 at 5:13 AM, millennium said:

Has he created any?   Every time I've crossed paths with him, he's screwing with Batman, or Swamp Thing or name a favorite character of mine.  

John Constantine was created by Alan Moore during his run on Swamp Thing. He never wrote a solo Constantine book but Constantine was an important part of Swamp Thing.

14 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I've read the first three volumes of The Wicked + The Divine. Interesting stuff. I'm also amused that a porn parody popped up in Sex Criminals. "Amateurassu" . . . that's funny.

Have you ever read Planetary?

[PatternRec]

On 9/1/2015 at 6:12 PM, Lantern7 said:

I got the latest Empowered volume from Amazon today. I liked it, but I wouldn't recommend it for new readers because it's the ninth book in the series. I'd advise reading the first few volumes to get a feel of the hapless heroine's adventures, or maybe the deluxe hardcover collections. It's not as porn-y as the shrinkwrap and "mature readers" sticker suggests.

I've always loved Adam Warren's art and writing. Empowered is his best. Also check out Livewires by him. A great miniseries.

edit: sorry for double post. Usually the board merges them. 

Edited July 16, 2016 by PatternRec

[MeloraH]

On 7/16/2016 at 1:53 PM, Lantern7 said:

I've read the first three volumes of The Wicked + The Divine. Interesting stuff. I'm also amused that a porn parody popped up in Sex Criminals. "Amateurassu" . . . that's funny.

In the new one (I've read vol 1 and 2)? Or did I just overlook it/read it before I read W+D (only 1 vol. into W+D)?

[Lantern7]

It was in Sex Criminals: Two Worlds, One Cop.

[MeloraH]

On 7/17/2016 at 9:41 PM, Lantern7 said:

It was in Sex Criminals: Two Worlds, One Cop.

Oh, I read that like a week before Wicked + Divine, I'll have to catch it in a re-read.

I finished vol. 1 of Rat Queens which I liked. I loved the characters but wanted a little more from the plot but I'll definitely stick with it. I also just finished Paper Girls vol. 1 and I'm really curious about where it's going but also really confused but I loved a lot of things about it.

[Lantern7]

Been reading Injustice: Gods Among Us from the library. I'm into the third volume. Part of me loves how off-the-rails the story goes, as Superman goes corrupt like a Justice Lord, and plenty of fun moments can be had. I'm tempted to get two redesigned characters sketched. And they got at least one character maimed, in the mighty DC style! I've also been looking up the video game sequel online. Supergirl! Gorillla Grodd! Atrocitous and Dex-Starr!!

And I'm still borrowing stuff from Comixology, including the first Faith miniseries. I can see why she's a popular character . . . she's truly one of us, maybe moreso than Kamala Khan.

ETA for any DC fans: does the company explain how Harley Quinn "works" in her own title and Suicide Squad. I peeked at the Rebirth issues, and I would guess there are two Harleys . . . given DC's latest plot twist, that might not be out of the question.

[PatternRec]

I'm cheating and posting this here because I didn't want to start a whole new thread for a fun coincidence. I'm still currently reading The Wicked + The Divine and got a kick out of Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCHES sporting the makeup of the gods in this concert video:

[Lantern7]

I think I saw W+D cosplay at New York Comic Con. Kinda wish I had taken pictures to confirm.

Any other Adam Warren fans pick up Deadpool Annual? He brings in a character from Livewires to team up with Wade.

[PatternRec]

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Any other Adam Warren fans pick up Deadpool Annual? He brings in a character from Livewires to team up with Wade.

I had no clue he was doing that! Gonna pick it up today. He's one of my faves. 

[PatternRec]

Ok just finished the Deadpool annual. Adam Warren's story was fun. It's jarring to see his stuff in color. I think the tight pencil style he uses in Empowered is some of his best artwork.

[magicdog]

Quote

Picked up Future Quest with a blank cover because I am weak. I might be in for the whole thing. I'm not a child of the Sixties, but I watched a lot of Cartoon Network before they started broadcasting new material. Fun to try and unify all the Hanna Barbera properties, and add to the mythos. For instance: who is Ty supposed to be? And who's the woman with the Impossibles on the cover? As for the blank, I'm not sure which character(s) I'd want sketched. Jonny Quest and Bandit? Space Ghost and Blip? Or maybe I can use my mediocre skills to draw Gloop and Gleep.

I've been reading it too - I loved seeing many of HB's adventure characters finally united!  It's a dream come true for someone who grew up with the original cartoons!  For the most part I'm enjoying it.  It's almost like revisiting old friends.

I am curious about the new characters and reworkings in this comic.  For Frankenstein Jr. , they have Buzz's mother as the surviving parent, which is reversed in the original cartoon.  They didn't really need to do that.  They also had Jonny Quest's mom as a scientist working along side her husband Benton Quest (no one really knew much about her character, even Doug Wildy admitted he didn't put much into her except that she died before the show begins).  There is also Deva who's working with Birdman's secret organization - though she's never been seen before.  The girl with the Impossibles is called Cobalt - who has control over magnetic fields (essentially, Magneto for the HB comic universe), but she's newly created for the comic as well.  I guess someone wanted to add some "girl power" to the story. I do give the comic props for giving an origin of powers story for The Impossibles and even a wink and nod to the old show.  I'm surprised

Spoiler

they made Ty the new Mightor and his pet cat a sabertooth tiger sidekick.

[PatternRec]

@Lantern7 cutest Rogue ever? 

[Lantern7]

Chris Giarrusso did a Rogue sketch card that was pretty cute.

[MeloraH]

On 11/14/2015 at 6:15 PM, Crim said:

The first issue of Monstress. It's excellent. Great art, great beginning of a story, can't wait for the next one.

 

And oh yeah, I should read more Ms. Marvel. I've stopped at volume 3.

I finally just read the first volume of Monstress and really loved it. I also should read more Ms. Marvel I think I'm up to Super Famous which I think is 5...

[Lemuria]

As a longstanding Dr. Strange fan who was not happy with the Aarons run and the loss of magic, I'm liking the new Legacy run.  The current one, which I think is bringing some magic back (finally!) and the next run, "Damnation," looks very interesting.

[BK1978]

I have a bunch that I am reading right now.  These are the ones I can remember, there actually might be more.

From DC:  Batman White Knight- Which is probably my personal favorite out of what I am reading currently.

Mister Miracle- I find it to be a bit overhyped for my tastes.  I know a lot of people are saying it is the best story out right now but I only find it to be good.

Demon  Hell Is Earth-  This is just a fun comic to read.

Silencer- This is a new title.  The first issue was really good and I am looking forward to see where they are going to take this character.  It is about a hitwoman who retired only to be brought back into the life again. I get a Kill Bill vibe off this book and that is not a bad thing.

Flash- I am really enjoying the current storyline.

Sideways- Another new title.  The first issue was good, I will probably check out the next one.

Deadman by Neal Adams- This is my so bad it is good comic.  This comic makes absolutely no sense and I have to wonder if Neal did some acid before writing it.  If you want to say what the fuck after reading every page, this is the comic for you.

From Marvel:  Marvel 2-in-1-  I am really enjoying this and it is probably my favorite Marvel book right now.

Cable- I liked Ed Brisson's run on it.  I am not sure if I am going to continue reading it now that a new creative team is taking it over.

Moon Knight-  I might stop reading this as well.  The current storyline is good but the guy writing it is a dick to the readers and I am not sure I want to continue supporting someone like that.

[justcris]

I've just read all 6 volumes of Locke and Key and loved everything about it. Hope the TV show does it justice.

[BK1978]

On ‎2‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 4:05 AM, BK1978 said:

I have a bunch that I am reading right now.  These are the ones I can remember, there actually might be more.

From DC:  Batman White Knight- Which is probably my personal favorite out of what I am reading currently.

Mister Miracle- I find it to be a bit overhyped for my tastes.  I know a lot of people are saying it is the best story out right now but I only find it to be good.

Demon  Hell Is Earth-  This is just a fun comic to read.

Silencer- This is a new title.  The first issue was really good and I am looking forward to see where they are going to take this character.  It is about a hitwoman who retired only to be brought back into the life again. I get a Kill Bill vibe off this book and that is not a bad thing.

Flash- I am really enjoying the current storyline.

Sideways- Another new title.  The first issue was good, I will probably check out the next one.

Deadman by Neal Adams- This is my so bad it is good comic.  This comic makes absolutely no sense and I have to wonder if Neal did some acid before writing it.  If you want to say what the fuck after reading every page, this is the comic for you.

From Marvel:  Marvel 2-in-1-  I am really enjoying this and it is probably my favorite Marvel book right now.

Cable- I liked Ed Brisson's run on it.  I am not sure if I am going to continue reading it now that a new creative team is taking it over.

Moon Knight-  I might stop reading this as well.  The current storyline is good but the guy writing it is a dick to the readers and I am not sure I want to continue supporting someone like that.

Looking back on this list now, I am only still keeping up with Silencer (great title), Marvel 2-in-1, and Mister Miracle (whose last issue just came out yesterday).

I mostly read DC.  There are a few Marvel titles out there that are good but a good portion of the what Marvel puts out is utter crap.  Though anything with Donnie Cates on it is probably going to end up being good.  Well not Cosmic Ghost Rider that is just terrible, but most of his other stuff is really good.  I love his indy book Baby Teeth, if you like the Omen then you will probably like Baby Teeth. 

[Black Knight]

I'm currently reading Rainbow Rowell's revival of The Runaways. This run of hers is making me so happy. The series was cancelled at its nadir - poor writing and continuity, seemingly being too scared to tackle major events like finally bringing Gert back or finally putting Nico/Karolina together. Rowell is obviously a huge fan of the series and has restored it to its original heights, continuing the trademark humor while more seriously addressing some of the angst of the characters that the original comics tended to gloss over. And Kris Anka's artwork is terrific.

Edited February 2, 2019 by Black Knight

[Bruinsfan]

I'm currently reading:

Avengers: No Way Home because No Surrender was the most I've enjoyed an Avengers book in years, plus Hercules as one of the leads (in a not-entirely-buffoonish role!), and Al Ewing in general.

Immortal Hulk because, again, Al Ewing.

West Coast Avengers for my Clint & Kate fix, plus Miss America Chavez in a book that doesn't feel like attending a lecture on identity politics buzzwords.

The Dreaming because I just can't quit Gaiman's Sandman even if it's not actually being written by Gaiman.

Lucifer because it appears to be heavily featuring horror themes rather than the cosmic action/adventure of the previous two series, and has literary references I'm enjoying. (When was the last time William Blake appeared in a comic?) I'm not sure whether or not I like it apparently throwing out all the character's continuity since the late 90s and picking up from his last appearance in Sandman, but it's Vertigo and intriguing enough I'm willing to give it a chance.

Occasionally peeking at the Superman books, but I've had more than my fill of Lobosday, er, ROGOL ZAAR and recent developments with Lois and Jon have left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Black Knight]

On 3/5/2019 at 8:32 AM, Bruinsfan said:

The Dreaming because I just can't quit Gaiman's Sandman even if it's not actually being written by Gaiman.

Does it feature any of the major characters from Sandman?

[Bruinsfan]

Quite a few of the ones native to the Dreaming, as well as some new ones.

[BK1978]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 11:32 AM, Bruinsfan said:

I'm currently reading:

Avengers: No Way Home because No Surrender was the most I've enjoyed an Avengers book in years, plus Hercules as one of the leads (in a not-entirely-buffoonish role!), and Al Ewing in general.

Immortal Hulk because, again, Al Ewing.

West Coast Avengers for my Clint & Kate fix, plus Miss America Chavez in a book that doesn't feel like attending a lecture on identity politics buzzwords.

The Dreaming because I just can't quit Gaiman's Sandman even if it's not actually being written by Gaiman.

Lucifer because it appears to be heavily featuring horror themes rather than the cosmic action/adventure of the previous two series, and has literary references I'm enjoying. (When was the last time William Blake appeared in a comic?) I'm not sure whether or not I like it apparently throwing out all the character's continuity since the late 90s and picking up from his last appearance in Sandman, but it's Vertigo and intriguing enough I'm willing to give it a chance.

Occasionally peeking at the Superman books, but I've had more than my fill of Lobosday, er, ROGOL ZAAR and recent developments with Lois and Jon have left a bad taste in my mouth.

I have heard the Immortal Hulk is good but I will not touch it because Al Ewing has me blocked on Twitter.  Mind you I have never interacted with him, he just has me blocked because I follow "the wrong people" on Twitter.  Such a dumb way to conduct business.

Do you read The Books of Magic?  So far I found it to be very well written.

It seems like all of the books I like are getting axed or have already been.  The Silencer, Weapon H, The Titans, Damage, and The Green Arrow (though that is getting a reboot) have all been cancelled recently.

Right now I am really enjoying Criminal from Image, the rebooted Daredevil, Batman Beyond, and Detective Comics.

[Bruinsfan]

No, the 1990s ongoing series thoroughly stamped out any interest I had in Tim Hunter and his story. I think I'm so done with the character nothing short of Gaiman himself writing the title could get me to read it.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Bruinsfan

[Fukui San]

Which part of Books of Magic turned you off? I experienced it like this:

#1-25 of Ney Reiber: incredible 

#26-50 of Ney Reiber: increasingly tiresome 

#51-75 Peter Gross written era: Awesome. One of my favorite arcs

Subsequent miniseries: meh

Have not read recent revivals. They are good? 

[starri]

Tim popped up in the New 52 Justice League Dark (one of the few New 52 titles I liked).  It was pretty well done.

[BK1978]

I feel bad for whomever got involved in that War of Realms nonsense.  With all of the main stories and off-shoots it is completely ridiculous.

Also, I had to laugh about Marvel doing yet another reboot of the X-Men.  They just did an overhyped reboot and now they are doing it again.

Marvel is such a crap company.  They are constantly rebooting stuff (even stuff that does not sell *cough* Captain Marvel *cough*) and they make far too many variant covers.  They should take a lesson from DC and trim the fat get rid of the low selling books and put focus on the better selling books.

[Anduin]

Dug up a couple of things to reread. First, Nextwave. Yeah, it's funny. It's crazy. Not bad. But it just left me cold.

However, then I read Fray. It's written by Joss Whedon, in a distopian cyberpunk future city. Melaka Fray is the regular kind of cyberpunk character. Does dodgy things for money, gets into fights, etc. Turns out, she's the new Slayer, and there are vampires who want to open a portal and let all kinds of monsters through.

Thing is, I spotted something surprising. The big bad is the protagonist's brother. He opens a portal, lets a big sinous flying creature through, along with an army of mooks. And in the end, he lives to cause trouble another day. Yes, Joss partially lifted the third act of Avengers 1 from his own comic.

Other than that, it was all right. Not as quippy as your usual Whedon writing. The art was pretty good.

[Fukui San]

Sooo...  I might be late to the party but I just discovered that my local library membership lets me borrow digital versions of what seems like practically every mainstream comic book via hoopla.com.

This changes everything. 

First up is binge reading the new to me Brian K. Vaughn/Cliff Chiang title Paper Girls, where 1980’s paper delivery girls get embroiled in time travel shenanigans. Highly enjoyable as you’d expect. Will probably catch up on the creepy Locke and Key after that. 

Anyone know if the creators benefit at all from reading their work in this way financially? It’s a free service with no ads. 

[Lantern7]

4 hours ago, Fukui San said:

First up is binge reading the new to me Brian K. Vaughn/Cliff Chiang title Paper Girls, where 1980’s paper delivery girls get embroiled in time travel shenanigans. Highly enjoyable as you’d expect.

I think that's concluding soon. It would make for a viable movie or TV show, but I'd be concerned that people would immediately compare it to Stranger Things due to the Eighties nostalgia.  On the other hand, "Four suburban newspaper delivery girls from Ohio keep getting thrown throughout time" is a concept that can stand on its own.

*sigh* Naturally, the site where I upload my acquired sketches appears to be down. I've gotten some decent stuff from Cliff Chiang over the years. Nothing too major. Here's what I got when I searched "Cliff Chiang sketch" in my Flickr account.

[MeloraH]

On 7/27/2019 at 1:53 PM, Lantern7 said:

I think that's concluding soon. It would make for a viable movie or TV show, but I'd be concerned that people would immediately compare it to Stranger Things due to the Eighties nostalgia.  On the other hand, "Four suburban newspaper delivery girls from Ohio keep getting thrown throughout time" is a concept that can stand on its own.

It's apparently in development at Amazon.

[BK1978]

On ‎7‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 8:55 AM, Fukui San said:

Sooo...  I might be late to the party but I just discovered that my local library membership lets me borrow digital versions of what seems like practically every mainstream comic book via hoopla.com.

This changes everything. 

First up is binge reading the new to me Brian K. Vaughn/Cliff Chiang title Paper Girls, where 1980’s paper delivery girls get embroiled in time travel shenanigans. Highly enjoyable as you’d expect. Will probably catch up on the creepy Locke and Key after that. 

Anyone know if the creators benefit at all from reading their work in this way financially? It’s a free service with no ads. 

You know I did not think Paper Girls would be my thing, but from what I read of it thus far it has been great.  I am not that far into it yet, I think I am on the second or third TP. Paper Girls and Black Science (which is another great series that is ending soon) are the only two series that I have bought exclusively digitally (Well I bought the last issue of Paper Girl in floppy).

I am willing to check out anything that deals with time travel and at the time Comixology had the digital TP and the digital individual issues dirt cheap so I bought the first TP, enjoyed it and then I ended up buying the rest of the series (Well up to that point, I think it was on issue 20 something when I bought them). 

I ended up dropping Venom.  I developed Venom fatigue thanks in large part to Marvel putting out a new Venom book nearly every other week (That is a bit of an exaggeration but honestly only slightly).  Also, I think that Marvel ended up spreading Donnie Cates to thin.  They have put in on so many books and I think his writing is suffering due to it.  Venom is just not interesting anymore.

I really enjoyed the Kraven storyline that was running in Spider-Man and I liked TAS 25.  So I was thinking about making that a regular pick-up for me, that was until I read the last issue of TAS.  Holy crap was that awful.  I was not a fan of Nick Spencer's first few TAS issues but I was willing to give him a shot again after reading that Kraven story arc (The Gibbon issue alone was worth it, that was a fantastic issue.) but any goodwill he earned was lost again after reading issue 26.  It was just corny for lack of a better term and it reminded me why I disliked Nick on Spider-Man in the first place.

I will just stick with Peter David's miniseries and Chip Zdarsky's excellent Spider-Man: Life Story for my Spider-Man fix.

Also, if anyone is looking for a good horror book I would advise you to check out Boom's Bone Parish by Cullen Bunn (Also, his new book that came out Wednesday called Manor Black was pretty good and looks like a promising title).

[Rushmoras]

Tried for the first time since the early nine-ties reading some comic-books, and, like an idiot that I am, started with Golden Age DC stories (you know, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman). And... yeah, they really are a product of their time. But what really does bug me is that these stories are spread out not in one title, but in two. You have your Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman comics telling one thing and then you have Action or Detective Comics telling another, which is either a throughout storyline (I read somewhere that they did not do extensive storytelling until the seventies, but that's not the case, sure, it's not serialized, but as I've noticed they make nods to what has happened prior) or simply gangster number one hundred wanting to cash-in from his [add your own] profiteering ring. And, sometimes, those stories repeat themselves (like, damn, I'm sure I already read it in another magazine, which is not this one). And this is what's confusing me, because, for example, some time ago I read Fables comics, and they tell one single story throughout. You don't have to search for other magazines that may or may not repeat their stories. I mean, is this the same with modern DC super-hero comics? If so, then, nope, ain't going to read them anymore...

[JustHereForFood]

3 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

I mean, is this the same with modern DC super-hero comics? If so, then, nope, ain't going to read them anymore...

They don't repeat the exact same stories as far as I know, but some storylines can seem repetitious, with using same villains, etc. And you often have crossovers where you need to follow multiple titles, but those can be skipped if you are not interested in them and you can just resume the one book you are reading after the crossover.

[Rushmoras]

10 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

They don't repeat the exact same stories as far as I know, but some storylines can seem repetitious, with using same villains, etc. And you often have crossovers where you need to follow multiple titles, but those can be skipped if you are not interested in them and you can just resume the one book you are reading after the crossover.

Thanks.

[Tenshinhan]

On 11/9/2021 at 11:32 AM, Rushmoras said:

Tried for the first time since the early nine-ties reading some comic-books, and, like an idiot that I am, started with Golden Age DC stories (you know, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman). And... yeah, they really are a product of their time. But what really does bug me is that these stories are spread out not in one title, but in two. You have your Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman comics telling one thing and then you have Action or Detective Comics telling another, which is either a throughout storyline (I read somewhere that they did not do extensive storytelling until the seventies, but that's not the case, sure, it's not serialized, but as I've noticed they make nods to what has happened prior) or simply gangster number one hundred wanting to cash-in from his [add your own] profiteering ring. And, sometimes, those stories repeat themselves (like, damn, I'm sure I already read it in another magazine, which is not this one). And this is what's confusing me, because, for example, some time ago I read Fables comics, and they tell one single story throughout. You don't have to search for other magazines that may or may not repeat their stories. I mean, is this the same with modern DC super-hero comics? If so, then, nope, ain't going to read them anymore...

I'm not sure I understand what exactly it is you are looking for.  Serialized storytelling, single titles, or both? Are you trying to read just one particular era of books? And how are you reading them? Digitally, physically?

[Rushmoras]

Started reading Dragon Ball manga lol. Just started volume 3 where Goku and Krilin start their training at Turtle Hermit House. Pretty entertaining stuff.

[Tenshinhan]

On 8/24/2022 at 1:47 PM, Rushmoras said:

Started reading Dragon Ball manga lol. Just started volume 3 where Goku and Krilin start their training at Turtle Hermit House. Pretty entertaining stuff.

Yeah, Dragon Ball is a classic.  The Rōshi training/21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai arc is where the series really begins to take off.

[Rushmoras]

On 8/27/2022 at 6:50 AM, Tenshinhan said:

Yeah, Dragon Ball is a classic.  The Rōshi training/21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai arc is where the series really begins to take off.

Yeah, I know, watched the series as kid :) Was surprised how much of the manga they've used (i.e., while reading all of the episodes flashed before me in my mind)

[Tenshinhan]

4 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Yeah, I know, watched the series as kid :) Was surprised how much of the manga they've used (i.e., while reading all of the episodes flashed before me in my mind)

The anime tends to stick very close to the manga, albeit with filler padding included.  I can't recall anything that happens in the manga that the anime leaves out.

[starri]

I was traveling last week and ended up finding an extremely cool comics shop in Sacramento.  I haven’t been inside one since well before COVID, and haven’t bought dead-tree comics in probably even longer.  But the experience was so cool I ended up indulging in the first three issues of The Sins of the Black Flamingo which Image is currently planning as a five issue mini, although I hope they consider giving it a sequel.  Best way I can describe it is “What if Hellblazer, but even more queer.”  The art, which reminds me a lot of JH Williams III is amazing too.

[Rushmoras]

Hmmm... reading through Dragon Ball manga and in Volume 6 or 7, Goku, while chasing down Red Ribon Army general, ends up in a so called Penguin Village. My question is this. Is this a cross-over with some other manga? Because it surely looks like it, by the way some events are depicted (as if the reader should know who those kids and/or cherubs are)?

[Lantern7]

7 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Hmmm... reading through Dragon Ball manga and in Volume 6 or 7, Goku, while chasing down Red Ribon Army general, ends up in a so called Penguin Village. My question is this. Is this a cross-over with some other manga? Because it surely looks like it, by the way some events are depicted (as if the reader should know who those kids and/or cherubs are)?

Dr. Slump, the manga Toriyama made before Dragon Ball.

[Rushmoras]

So, I've been following Mike's amazing comic world website to read up post crisis on infinite earths Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and... I, don't know.

For one thing, only Wonder Woman has a coherent story-arc, which flows from one story to the next, maybe because only Geroge Perez has written a bunch of issues, but it's a coherent storyline (at least with Gods and Mortals and Trials of the Gods; have yet to read more) that does not get interfered with cross-over events (well, there are cross-over events, but so far she did not participate therein or if she did it was for the briefest of times, and I really hope it stays that way throughout Pereze's run).

Batman... man, I thought that "Year One" reboots him, but... apparently, it's just stand-alone so far, because everything else is more or less from the past (Robin, another Robin, rogue gallery; hell, even Son of the Demon, which was, if compared to all the crap I had to read trough since Year One, was very good); and it's more or less of one-shot self-contained stories. Bleh, well, I guess, there will be a broader arc with those women being carved up in Batman 414, but it's being intercepted by the Millenium arc. Ugh.

So, speaking of those pesky cross-overs - why can't they happen in their own respective books? It ruins the flow of the story. I remember reading a year ago Man of Steel Vol. 2 where Clark had a dream about Wonder Woman (after Legends) events and it really threw me off, because neither in WW, nor in MoS they never met (because back then I did not read Legends), and it was so odd, that I simply did not continue forward up until this year. I don't know, maybe it's a very petty thing, but, it's a deal-breaker for me such things.

Anyway, what's left? Superman? Uh, Superman and Adventures of Superman are good and compared to Batman has broader stories (did not read Action Comics, unless the issue pointed out that I should read it next, but it happened only a couple of times) like the Circle mutants (even though it ended on a meh note for me). Will I keep reading? Probably not or only Wonder Woman, but limited to Pereze's run, since so far I like her story the most. 

[Tenshinhan]

6 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Batman... man, I thought that "Year One" reboots him, but... apparently, it's just stand-alone so far, because everything else is more or less from the past (Robin, another Robin, rogue gallery; hell, even Son of the Demon, which was, if compared to all the crap I had to read trough since Year One, was very good); and it's more or less of one-shot self-contained stories. Bleh, well, I guess, there will be a broader arc with those women being carved up in Batman 414, but it's being intercepted by the Millenium arc. Ugh.

Post-Crisis Batman takes a couple years to find its footing, so maybe stick it out for a little longer.  The continuity eventually gets tighter and more fluid.  Especially after Death in the Family.

Pre-Crisis Batman of the 80s had better continuity and broader arcs than early post-Crisis Batman, for what it's worth.

[Rushmoras]

Spoiler

So... Death in the Family (Batman No. 426-429)... of course, from general knowledge of having watched the cartoons as a kid and played a bunch of video-games, and stuff I heard throughout the years, I knew what this storyline will be about, and I generally thought that the events surrounding the death of Robin will be... well... something else... not that the Joker suddenly becomes a nuclear arms dealer (what the fuck), goes to sell his wares in Middle East, miraculously encounters Robin and Batman there (because Jason's birth mother is in Middle East... what a coincidence!), gets his plans foiled and then takes revenge on Robin, while Batman is away. And in the end becomes a fucking ambassador to Iran!

Man... what the actual fuck did I read and what the fuck was Starlin smoking while writing this shit? I mean, I get by the general idea of a) Todd's mother does not have any motherly feelings towards a kid, who she gave up; b) Robin's anger, which was ever since he was introduced, getting the best of him and killing him in the process.

But the events in between all of this... Man... *shakes head*. This is some type of bullshit you'd catch watching Power Rangers during Saturday mornings as a kid.

And Batman comics were still popular after this? It baffles my mind.

 

[Rushmoras]

So, following Mike's Amazing Comic Book World website, I was reading Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (with a side of Hellblazer), and currently at 1751 page of that website. For Batman it would be A Lonely Place of Dying, for Superman...

Spoiler

something with Brainiac and Jimmy Olsen getting infected

, for Wonder Woman it would be the end of Cheetah Arc. And I think that for the time being I'm gonna post a moratorium on the reading.

Um, what I did like... Wonder Woman. Minus a couple of filler issues (where it seems nothing important is going on), I liked her arcs the best. What else...

Um, John Byrne's Man of Steel, of course, that was a nice Superman anthology to read, which does well with introducing majority of major players.

Spoiler

I liked the Superman travelling to alternate reality and having to deal with repercussions of what Zod did, and the ensuing psychological crisis for Clark Kent afterwards, which led to Superman Exile storyline.

Everything in between, felt like the stuff I was interested in was more placed as cliff-notes,

Spoiler

like Lex Luthor being slowly poisoned by his Kryptonite ring or scientists uncovering frozen 'Supergirl' (which was not her) in Antarctica [sure, that led to a nice little story-arc in another reality, but could have been more fleshed-out for my tastes).

Batman... ooh... difficult, really. This is more of a case where I liked the side stuff a whole lot better than the main plot

Spoiler

(like Jason Todd having anger issues, because he grew up parent-less on the streets and found-out that Two-Face killed his parents, and this anger finally did him in (A Death in the Family), or Bruce Wayne grieving the death of Jason Todd.

Sure, there were some hidden gems in the mainline story like the Ratcatcher, which was a creepy read, or the Cult, which was probably the best story in mainline Batman's continuity for me, and, of course, the Many Deaths of Batman (though, could have been more silent comics than they were, but, oh well). But everything else revolving Batman... yikes. Or, maybe I'm just not a fan of: "hey, this twelve year old has leant karate and kinda beat up a goon, why don't you take him as your protege" storyline (not to mention that stupid god awful Robin's attire, which has not changed since the origins; yeah, read the original Batman a couple of years ago). Was not a fan.

Now, Hellblazer... um, when John Constantine is not on drugs half the time, the stories are pretty interesting. The problem comes when they try explaining what magic mumbo jumbo they are trying to do and it comes off as esoteric nonsense (last story I read was the Fear Machine).

So, having this tirade in mind, do you think that I'll have a better chance with New-52?

[JustHereForFood]

6 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Now, Hellblazer... um, when John Constantine is not on drugs half the time, the stories are pretty interesting. The problem comes when they try explaining what magic mumbo jumbo they are trying to do and it comes off as esoteric nonsense (last story I read was the Fear Machine).

I love Jamie Delano's run. Yes, some of it is crazy and Fear Machine was an issue (or 3) too long, but it's still my favorite. One of my favorite stories is Family Man, which is shortly afterwards.

I know that Garth Ennis' run is generally more popular, but other than Dangerous Habits, I wasn't a fan.

Constantine in New 52 is IMO a hit and miss. On one hand, I like it when he interacts with other DC characters, on the other hand, the original series has a specific feel to it that is kind of missing, especially when he's not in UK. What I strongly recommend is the recent Si Spurrier run, that is right up there with the early Delano stuff.

[Rushmoras]

Well, managed to read through year 1994 and beginning of 1995 (for Batman with Prodigal storyline).

Since Perez left, I have no love lost with Loebs material on Wonder Woman (maybe a couple of issues stood-out, but mostly it is bad writing material and probably scantily clad women to detract from the fact that it is bad material).

Now, Superman had a few better arcs (like battling Blaze and Satanus, of course, Death and Return of Supes, did not care much for the aftermath issues, especially Reign of Supermen, cause those were just to establish new comic books, liked tie-in issues with Zero Hour, but not the Zero Hour itself, found the book trash. What I can without a doubt say that I hate L. Simonson writing, for the most part is trash and on par with Loebs for Wonder Woman for all I care; sometimes it gets good with big story arcs for Supes (like "Peer Pressure" or zero issues after Zero Hour event or "Satanus/Blaze War"), but mostly is trash for me.

Batman... the main titles had some few good stories, but the quality of writing and art work paled in comparison to what was happening in Legends of the Dark Knight; primarily, because most of those issues, which I've read, was set in Year One and was following Miller's example of storytelling. Sure, there were bad issues as well, but even those bad issues - I liked them much more than whatever Moench wrote in Batman comics. Dixon saved Detective Comics in my opinion and he was the reason why I started to read Robin as well. The introduction of Bane and Knightfall was good, though, did not care much for Azrael's stint in the Crusade chapters or Dick Greyson's stint in the current Prodigal arc; the latter was the last story I've read and in my opinion it's meh. A couple of good issues (mainly in Shadow of the Bat and in Robin series, the rest is... well, it's Moench's stuff, I generally can't stand him).

Hellblazer... John Constantine is all right. I completed Rake at the Gates of Hell a month ago, and I think I'll stick with Constantine till the end of the issues.