What comic books/graphic novels are you reading at the moment?

[Perpetual Man]

Heh didnt know you were as big Ennis fan as i who have read most of his works. I have bought so much Ennis from local comic shop that the owner has made a shelf of only Ennis series. I bought Bloody Mary collection last month just because its Ennis and his fav artist in Carlos Esquerra.

Heh, yeah, been a fan of Ennis since he started in the US. I read some of his British (2000AD) material and was not impressed, but the second he hit Vertigo he just cut loose.

It's quite a while since I read Bloody Mary - what did you think?

 

[Connavar]

Heh, yeah, been a fan of Ennis since he started in the US. I read some of his British (2000AD) material and was not impressed, but the second he hit Vertigo he just cut loose.

It's quite a while since I read Bloody Mary - what did you think?

I have read only the start of Bloody Mary and its dark future and mostly i was impressed by Esquerra's look for Mary. She is a badass,dangerous looking. I havent had time to read the whole GN because of Uni term but now im the start of my holiday. I have read many trades. I will read Mary after i read Watchman i got from the library. Library GNs can cost me money if i dont return

I have read a Judge Dredd trade of his 2000AD and his Dan Dare series was pretty awesome SF adventure. I didnt know Ennis was good fun,old school SF adventure.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I had forgotten his Dan Dare series, now that you have spiked my memory it was a lot of fun as I recall!

For my current reading - Buffy finished a lot quicker than I thought - a standalone issue will do that! But a major one. Being visited in dreams by the first slayer and a being of fantastical nature have some major ramifications for the slayer. And I do mean major.

Next up then I will complete reading John Byrne's Next Men, with the final storyline Aftermath

 

[Perpetual Man]

I've also read Amazing Spider-man 700 (breaking my promise never to read Spider-man until the corrected continuity) but as I've given that a thread of it's own...

 

[Perpetual Man]

For me John Byrne is a comics legend. He wrote or co-wrote and drew some of my favourite stories of all time, and his love of the medium is without a doubt.

When twenty odd years ago he started his own series, Next Men it was a cause for celebration, to see what the man could turn out without the strictures imposed on him by the big two.

Next Men was an interesting read, melding superheroics with science fiction. It was fun and entertaining, but never really received the attention it deserved. It did well enough until Byrne decided to take a break. The final page proudly announced that Next Men would return in a few months and it never did.

Until a few years ago, where it reappeared with Byrne promising to finish the story at last.

Much as I hate to say it, perhaps it would have been better if he hadn't leaving the future in the minds of the readers yearning for a title that never ended.

Instead we got a story that might have been just above average but little more, and when he entered the final arc Aftermath it descended into a confused mass of ideas. That did not really explain much and left you thinking is that it?*

To add to that there was some clumsy production values from IDW, with speech balloons going to the wrong characters, muddy printing and spelling errors.

*There is a chance there will be more in which case I'm prepared to eat my words. It feels as though there might be a few bits of information missing and that a follow up series might fill in the gaps and allow you to see the full picture. For now though it is flawed.

(There is a great take on a traditional type of superhero though!)

Next up a one off issue of Angel and Faith, part of the Buffy Season 9 range from Dark Horse.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Finished Angel - well one issue isn't that hard, basically a light fluffy piece dealing with the return of Harmony and Clem (from the Angel series), so a light hearted look at the celebrity life style, and Angel refusing the offer of media manipulation to help his image. An okay story.

Next up Fables, a four issue story arc.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Finished Fables: Inherit The Wind, which follows the death of The North Wind and sees who it will be that will take up the mantle. As always well written and drawn, but I felt the series has just dropped from it's normal high. This was a story that was published over Christmas last year, so I'm officially a year behind.

Next up a few issues of Jennifer Blood. Initially written by Garth Ennis - probably to give the series a kick start, it has been taken over by Al Ewing - and surprisingly it is maintaining the quality so I'm looking forward to this!

 

[Perpetual Man]

I seem to be filling this thread nicely on my own at the moment.

This is not a bad thing as it means I'm making my way through the mountainous backlog that dominates the cabinet beside my bed.

I'm virtually up to date with Jennifer Blood. Something that started under Garth Ennis as a light comedy look at a housewife/mother who just happened to go out at night offing crimelords, has slowly dropped into something a lot grimmer and darker as it has continued. This is not a bad thing as it feels a lot more dramatic and though it is actually going somewhere that is more 'realistic' if that is possible.

If Dynamite has any sense they will be bringing the series to a close about now because to try and drag it out from where it has gone could well ruin the story.

I've also read another short Buffy storyline, where we are thrown yet another curve, but it works perfectly making sense of all that has gone before, in that clever way that you realise it was all there in front of you all the time, you just did not see it.

And in the same universe I've slipped through a few more Angel & Faiths, that see the return of Drusilla and Angel continuing his quest to bring Giles back from the dead.

Next up, I'm going to try to clear the pile of Buffy and Angel...

 

[Charles.Dunphey]

Just finished Batman: The Killing Joke. Moving on to Knightfall and Sandman by Neil Gaiman.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Continuing to cut a swathe through the backlog.

Completed various story lines in Buffy Season 9 and Angel & Faith, then tore through Fables: Cubs in Toyland. After feeling that Fables might have been running a little out of steam, this restores it once more to the excellent read it is.

Next up will be the recent Crow limited series from IDW. Obviously inspired by the James O'Barr original, this one is by John Shirley and Kevin Colden.

This will see me reach the end of the first pile of back-logged comics. Once they are shunted out of the way I'll sort through the next pile...

 

[Perpetual Man]

Completed The Crow, it was entertaining, but just about what I expected. Felt the writing was trying just a little too hard to capture some of the dialogue-feel of the film. Still, a fun read.

Followed it with the complete Before Watchmen: Nite Owl limited series which was entertaining, and have now moved onto the opening issues of Stitched by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer

 

[Perpetual Man]

Stitched was a bit different than what I expected, with Ennis only providing plots, Wolfer scripting. I was expecting something a bit like crossed but was rather impressed with what it actually was. Yes, it is the more violent side of Ennis, but not at his most extreme. Instead there was a supernatural modern war story, with seriously horrific elements.

Followed that with a little more Before Watchmen, this time the complete Silk Spectre limited series. As with Nite Owl, an excellent read, well drawn, but again the feeling that it is not really needed. I guess that Watchmen itself is so well set up that you really do not need any more information, so the books serve no purpose to the actual story, but are otherwise pure entertainment.

Then the last three issues of the Marvel series The Twelve - this was something that started a few years ago, stopped dead, for a few years, then returned with the last three issues last year. Something a little different - 12 lesser known golden age superheroes return in the modern day, it pulls no punches, and some of the heroes actually are killed off so you get a feeling that there is an element of danger.

Next up a few Doctor Who issues.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I've now read Doctor Who A Fairy Tale Life, DW Classics 7, and the 2011 Annual. Mostly entertaining - Fairytale being well written, but the artwork a little cartoony for my liking; Classics just a reprint but fun, and the annual being a selection of short strips, the second of which shines, the art spot on and the characterisation so good you could here Matt Smith speaking as you read.

And I followed this with the next three issues (5-7) of DC's Earth 2. One of the few DC superhero comics I read, but it is incredible, another Earth where familiar characters are being given a fresh spin, and an Earth that is not one like ours, but where the presence of the so called wonders has had an effect.

I'll be back on novels again soon, so the comic reading is going to slow, and even though I've cleared a relatively large amount, the pile to read is still over 200 comics...

I'm going to take a peak at the more recent issues of Angel and Faith next.

 

[Brazil Banks]

I seem to be filling this thread nicely on my own at the moment....

:/

Great Pacific is a lovely book and flies by all too quickly.
Revival is getting better each month, as is Saga.
Changes has started off with wonderful writing and artwork, very intrigued.
Not sure about Mara or Clone yet.
(Image are killing me)
Just bought Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow and an Americas Best Comics collection by Alan Moore, looking forward to them.
And hello?

 

[HoopyFrood]

I seem to be filling this thread nicely on my own at the moment.

You read too much

Well, an update on all mine. I forget what I may or may not have mentioned.

Still going with Batwoman, of course, and it's as brilliant as ever. J.H Williams is a god amongst artists. Issue 13 and 14 were pure artgasms with double page spreads everywhere. I just marvel at the effort he puts into his work. Here's a taster, from issue 13, and one of my favourites from the entire series:

Still going with Birds of Prey, but not sure how I feel about it. Ivy buggered off pretty quickly, she was completely wasted, could have been a brilliant addition but just was given some half baked villainous plan and now she's gone. Katana's leaving for her own series next month. Starling is still brilliant, she's about the only thing keeping me in the series. I wish Saiz had never left art duties because I haven't particularly liked any of the artists since (Travel Foreman especially was a poor choice for a team book -- he's better at Weird). The writing has been a bit all over the place, unable to stick to a plot and then throwing up something even more massively and crazy and not really well explained. I keep saying "Well, I'll check out one more issue and see if I still like it" and damnit, Starling keeps managing to do something hilarious each time to keep me going. But it's close.

I'm still getting Before Watchmen, though I've fallen behind in the reading of them. Not especially interested in Comedian, just getting him to complete the collection. The art for all is still impeccable, though, spot-on choices. I think the title that's being most innovative is Dr Manhattan's -- but then, considering who he is, he can explore more metaphysical stuff rather than be stuck with back story like the rest.

I made the leap over to Marvel and started getting Captain Marvel. Haven't read past the first two issues because I was waiting for issue #3 but now my comic book dude can't get the back issue. And I want to hunt it down before I carry on with the rest. LOVING the art in the first couple of issues. I mean, really, just wow. Love Captain Marvel, she's such a BAMF. Hit something first, ask questions later. Also love that there's an all-female soldierly team. And also I heard that I think issue 4 or 5 had an all-female creative team, which is awesome.

I started dipping my toes into the Death of the Family storyline in the Batman series, with the completely bat-**** crazy Joker, via digital comics, but I've stopped. Yeah, he's utterly insane, yeah he's killed loads and loads of people and yeah apparently he knows who all the Bat-lot are, but that's now just made me worried that the ending's going to be lame. I really trust Scott Snyder a lot, but resolving all that is going to take something massive which might not quite work (unless it's Barbara stamping on the Joker's back and killing him, I'm all for that).

Annnnd finally, also via digital and for a mere 66p, I'm getting Dustin Nguyen's Lil Gotham. It only comes out at special occasions (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc) and is appropriately themed and I just adore his artwork. It's very unique. These are very fluffy, sweet stories that are currently featuring many of the old, pre-52 characters (so you can see Oracle and Cass Cain in some panels...but not Stephanie Brown, because we know DC despise her and want all traces of her gone ) But yeah, just look at his art! Love it.

So now I'm off to read the New Year's Eve addition. Ivy and Catwoman, woot!

 

[Perpetual Man]

I read too much? I wish!

The artwork from Batwoman looks simply stunning.

I'll have a word with my comic store, see if they have a copy of Captain Marvel if you want.

Cap is currently Carol Danvers, is that right?

 

[HoopyFrood]

Carol Danvers, yeah!

If you could have a look, that would be really great, Pep! Our comic book shop is tiny so the guy only really buys what is needed, so not many extras lying around. Number three, if you'd be so kind

 

[Perpetual Man]

My pleasure Hoops can't guarantee much mind you, our little shop is growing nicely, but recovering from quite a battering over the last few years. I'll be going in on Saturday so I'll have a look.

Carol Danvers has quite a long history, and probably more names than most superheroes. Her previous series- Ms. Marvel was quite spectacular, not sure whether there are any graphic novels around but they might be worth a look!

 

[HoopyFrood]

Yeah, although I've only jumped onto comics with the New 52, I follow so many comic-based Tumblrs that I probably know more about the old history now than I know my own family Saying that, though, unless I can find clear jumping on points, I'm happy to just continue with the new stuff. The New52 may be angering people in many different ways, but I'm still glad it happened so I had a lovely jumping-in point.

No One's got shedloads of comics from about ten to fifteen years ago that he keeps prodding me to read, including some old Ms Marvels, I think. I did really enjoy the limited Elektra: Assassin series that I read of his, that was just ruddy brilliant.

 

[Connavar]

Hoopy i hope for fans like you that Captain Marvel series dont get canceled. Im waiting for it to finish its first year before i try it. Simply because Marvel and DC main fanbase has made me careful and cynical. I have lost every female fav superheroine in 20 issues of the new series. Manhunter,She-Hulk and many others in recent years.

Im hoping one of the new ones becomes critical darling like Animal Man,Hawkeye and is saved by that from cancellation.