Well, we certainly got some discussion going last week, so that was nice. I’ve started putting the date in the threader heading. Yes, I know it’s already up there on the tab to the left, but I figure it will eliminate potential confusion for the “Recent posts” list over on the right.
PAD
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For me, the nicest item that actually showed up was Showcase Presents: Ambush Bug, covering every story with him 1982-1992. The nicest item that went on sale today but for some reason never made it to Victoria BC was the latest Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover. Presumably it did a nice job of updating various entries 2004-2008 in alphabetical order, but I’ll be more sure next Wed (hopefully).
I got the latest Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover in my shop, but Diamond didn’t invoice me for it for some reason.
The Ambush Bug showcase was fun to see.
I grabbed for myself Muppet Show #1 from Boom; I loved that show as a kid!
I haven’t read all of mine yet, though I loved the Incredibles. Got a big stack this week. Looking forward to Muppet Show, Madame Xanadu, Amber Atoms, Incredible Hercules, and Wolverine First Class most, I think. But only very slightly. Man, I am really excited about *everything* I got.
Also, there’s something wrong with the RSS feed for the site. It shows new posts, but when I click on them it doesn’t take me to the site. Thought you should know.
Got a bunch of stuff this week. So far my recommendation is “Ms. Marvel” #37. I like Brian Reed’s writing and it has been clear from the start Marvel was going to finally make her their best attempt to rival Wonder Woman. To me, they have succeeded. The character is extremely powerful and interesting and sexy as hëll. But the end to this issue will blow you away and shows that yet again, Marvel is giving this book every chance to succeed by having it again tie into and feel the ramifications of a major crossover, in this case “Dark reign”, which shakes up a book featuring a solo character the most dramatic way a book featuring a solo character can be shaken up, if you know what I mean. Awesome stuff.
I got the latest issues of Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, and Thunderbolts.
Mighty Avengers. It’s been clear since at least Avengers: Initiative that Dan Slott is trying to rehabilitate Hank Pym’s character (Even if the character he was rehabilitating turned out in that case to be a Skrull.) There’s more of that here, and we’re left with a nice little Avengers team, and a great twist on the first team origin. Kinda wish Hulk would have stuck around, though.
New Avengers. I like that Marvel’s using so many of its young avengers cast members in other titles–the more new characters are used, the better. But after the whole Brand New Day debacle, the Spider-Man revelation in this issue really got on my nerves. I mean, wasn’t this one of the supposed reasons for the whole problem the last time around?
Thunderbolts. I’m enjoying this crossover of secondary titles, but in a weird way. I mean, I doubt that the respective writers WANTED me to like Deadpool a whole lot more as he’s written by Diggle, or that they WANTED me to think Deadpool is more interesting than the entire Thunderbolts cast combined, but that seems to be the way it worked out. I’ll still be getting the next installment though, so everybody wins.
Hey Pad, Is Jae Lee still artist for The Dark Tower minis? His name isn’t on the solicits and instead it says art by Richard Isanove. It’d be a real shame if he left, his artwork was phenomonal and really captured the tone of such a prestige book. Plus I think it would be jarring for the more mainstream non-comics fan buying to have a swtich in art halfway in. Hope he’s still on board.
Totally off subject, but I thought worth mentioning: since this past weekend or so, the RSS feed links don’t work. They take me to a site that says:
“Hey, it worked !
The SSL/TLS-aware Apache webserver was
successfully installed on this website.
If you can see this page, then the people who own this website have just installed the Apache Web server software and the Apache Interface to OpenSSL (mod_ssl) successfully. They now have to add content to this directory and replace this placeholder page, or else point the server at their real content.
ATTENTION!
If you are seeing this page instead of the site you expected, please contact the administrator of the site involved. ”
So, just thought I’d let you or your webmaster know in case you were unaware.
Yeah, that’s what I’m getting too. It’s very annoying.
Hope this is in the Spirit of the stash, Does anyone know if The Twelve was canceled? Or better yet when the next issue will come out?
Thanks
The SHOWCASE titles are ALWAYS appreciated. A fair amount of crap in them, but also a lot of good stuff, and the ratio of good stuff to price is always good.
WONDER WOMAN was a tick upwards to me. A variant of the warrior’s rage, but with full control….
Anybody watching Heroes? They killed off two of them last time. I thought the death of “Flash girl” was very sweet. I wonder if “Ice girl” will melt and reform later. Sorry but cannot keep names straight.
I read an article that they intend to end story lines of some of the minor characters to focus on the main ones. Looks like this is the start and it’s probably a money saving reason also.
I know a lot of people didn’t dig Larry Stroman on X-Factor, which is understandable as his style didn’t match the tone of the book and his art team didn’t work well with him. However, he is much more in his element on X-Men: The Life and Times Of Bishop and everyone should really check it out (Farmer and Milla do some great work). Swierczynski also does a great job at exploring and expanding the world in which Layla and Ruby Summer currently reside, so this series also has value to X-Factor readers for that reason.
On top of that, my other favorite read this week was The Muppet Show. For anyone who has ever enjoyed that show on television, this is a must read.
Peter,
In a long ago posting you mentioned that you read very little in the way of new comics other than Fables and the X-Men books that are necessary to your keeping track of mutant continuity for your work on X-Factor. Can you talk a little bit about what keeps you reading Fables month after month when you read so few other titles? Do you also read Jack of Fables? If so, what do you think of it?
Thanks for answering my questions should you choose to do so. Any time you and Kathleen feel like opening up a post heading in order to take more, I have a million more.
Bye for now.
Patrick
My stash this week:
WarMachine — I am already tired of this and it is only 3 or 4 issues old. It seems out of sync with the rest of the Iron Man appearances, but I can live with that. The characterization of Jim Rhodes, however, continues to annoy. He is not even close to the character he once was and it feels totally arbitrary. There is some attempt to explain his actions (almost ironically, it is like he is a god who is a machine — someone who knows all and can judge motives, not just actions taken) but it leaves a lot to be desired. I may pick up one more issue to see the story completed, but doubt I will continue. This one won’t last.
New Avengers — We finally get the Doctor Strange update. I find it arbitrary as to why he can’t be the sorcerer supreme in light of what I remember of his history, but everything else (like Iron Man’s character) has been arbitrarily changed, so why not this. Within that premise, this is actually an interesting quest that at least uses past history between the source of the Hood’s powers and Strange to good use. However, the scene with Spidey seemed out of place and makes the BND stuff iditotic. I mean, he lost his wife (at least in the sense of still being married to her) because of his choice the first time. Doesn’t he remember that? Forget the arguments for or against Peter being married. This scene didn’t fit the current status quo in my mind (in terms of Spider-Man history; it makes some sense in terms of recent Skrull events).
Mighty Avengers — Except for the mis-characterization of Iron Man, this was a great issue. It is not perfect, but I don’t look for perfection. It made sense, was fun, had a clever twist in more ways than one, and clearly advanced the story. I have always like Pym and am glad to see him written with intelligence and leadership–it just didn’t have to be done with Tony looking like a jerk. The story did give a possible out (something like “he seemed off his game”) but there would have to be a very convincing reveal for this to fly with me.
Out of the 3 current Avengers books, this is the one to read. It is well written, has great art, and (in all but one case) hits the right notes with the characters involved.
Iowa Jim
Haven’t had time to read (tonight, for sure), but o0ne notable missing item this week was Previews. Previews always comes out on the 4th week of the month, but not this time. It may have been delayed last month, too, but that may have been a local thing.
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And last months Previews didn’t list all the DC titles. Some of the listings were reprints from the previous Previews. So on one page, there was a solicit for the upcoming 2nd issue of the Oracle comic, and on the next page was the solicit for the already solicited 1st issue.
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Diamond’s service and quality is really in the dumper right now. If they go out of business, who will distribute comics books?
There was a re-issue of the DC section as a standalone (similar to Marvel Previews). At my LCS, it was given free to anyone who had bought Previews the week before.
My LCS got 1 copy of that update, which they then put underneath the counter. Doesn’t anybody know how to run a business these days?
Previews was late everywhere and will arive next week.
Joe V.
The haul this week:
Trinity 43 (DC)
Justice League of America 31 (DC)
Wonder Woman 30 (DC)
Amber Atoms 2 (Image)
Madame Xanadu 9 (Dc-Vertigo)
Umbrella Academy: Dallas 5 (Dark Horse)
Thus far I’ve read the first two in the list.
Enjoyed Trinity (as usual).
I hate to say it, but Justice League of America 31 might be my last on that particular title. It provides a very tempting jumping off point, that is for certain. I haven’t really been enthusiastic about it over the last story arc or two. And now with where it appears to be going … I’m already looking to trim down my buy list just because I already see a few new series I’m going to be adding come June, and it looks like JLA and Green Arrow Black Canary (which has just been one huge train wreck as far as I’m concerned) will be two of the titles to go.
I basically read GABC strictly for Dinah, and they’ve pretty much booted her to the background and treat her like window dressing there. And now it appears her role in JLA could be diminishing as well. If the only two titles where I can get my Dinah fix are not going to deliver quality use of the character, then there is really no reason for me to be forking over my money and spending my time reading them.
This week, War of the King stuff was great. (Darkawk, Kingbreaker, Nova). All of them are leading into another great DnA run.
Guardians of Galaxy was interesting in terms of what it means.
JLA-that was the final straw. This book has been so hit or miss, I am dropping it from my pulls and will only buy issue if it looks good on the stands.
Cap was good, but not as good as previous storylines.
FF was a blantant rip-off of many horror movies and books, with an FF twist.
To Steve’s question above, I believe The Twelve is at least on hiatus because I think the artist Chris Weston left the book.
As far as this week’s stash, have read only a few so far –
I didn’t like the Mighty Avengers myself. Loved the twist at the end but thought the tension of the plot was undermined/not there and some characters came off as slightly annoying at times, especially Iron Man. It could have been a really fun read but just wasn’t for me.
Also, Battlefields: Dear Billy #3 was gripping and wrenching. I wish the “next issue” blurb at the end of the previous issue didn’t foreshadow the ending of the series but it was still a powerful three issue series. Great writing & great art.
And I thought Battle for the Cowl: Oracle was ok. I love Oracle/Barbara Gordon as a character but the connection with Battle for the Cowl seemed a bit tenuous.
Wow, for the first time in a while, I can actually contribute to this thread! (I’ve pretty much lost interest in following the “main” Marvel and DC Universes; it’s all just become a long, joyless slog to me. I read the Marvel Adventures titles and the Showcase/Essential series, but the post-Christmas bills have made me put even that on hold for a bit while I catch up.)
But I made an exception for “Showcase Presents Ambush Bug”! Keith Giffen’s comedy has always cracked me up–to the point where I’m actively hoping for a “Heckler” trade–and this is one of his classic characters. I’ve been enjoying its inspired lunacy greatly, and I’ll probably be blogging about it in detail sometime soon.
I also got last week’s “Geek Monthly”; it’s a slightly under-par issue this time, but even a slightly under-par issue of “Geek” is a fun way to pass an hour or two. I love this magazine because it’s so diverse; it comments on music, anime, science and technology, comics, TV, DVDs, and really just covers the whole spectrum of interests that an intelligent person might have.
Agree completely with Iowa Jim ref War Machine. Might as well be called Full Metal Punisher for all the relevance it has to previous appearances of the character, which is a bit disappointing given how much I’ve enjoyed a lot of Greg Pak’s other work. Probably see out the current arc then ditch it.
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Avengers books; I’ve always had a soft spot for the Avengers, and always felt the books should be doing the kind of sales numbers the X-Herd does. I have a strange dichotomy with where Bendis has taken these books, because ‘yes’ they’re very well written and I thoroughly enjoy them, but it doesn’t feel like the Avengers I knew and loved… (I was a big fan of the Bob Harras era, with the funky ‘A’ jackets). It’s kind of nice to see Dan Slott taking the Might Avengers back to those roots a wee bit, and I like what he’s doing with Hank Pym. It was also very nice to see the edginess between Pym and Stark, and I’d be curious to see if Thor ends up back in the book after all that’s gone down between those three characters. (One of my favourite scenes in recent years was the issue of Thor wherein Tony Stark got his long overdue bìŧçh slapping…). New Avengers was a refreshing change of pace, and personally I’m glad to see Spidey revealing his id again. (Insert obligatory rant here about what a hunk of copouty crap OMD was. Breathe. Breathe. Onward). BTW, I’ll have a public side-bet that the Ancient One said the next Sorcerer Supreme would be Clea, not ‘clear’.
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I’ve also always had a soft spot for Barabara Gordon, but if it were down to me I would have her marrying Ðìçk Grayson, just to put some real change into the Bat books instead of having them continue shambling along like zombies…
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Hmmm.. Fanboy guilty pleasure of the week is probably Madame Xanadu. After a very shaky start with Merlin in da pointy hat, Amy Reeder Hadley’s art is really starting to grow on me.
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Cheers.
My monthly mailing from DCBS came today. It was a pretty slim month, which I blame as much on the publishers as on my finicky tastes. This month:
Usagi Yojimbo (the only standard comic I still read)
Jeff Smith’s “Monster Society Of Evil” trade paperback
Case Closed
Alter Ego
Wizard Anime Insider
All stuff that interests and entertains without fail, except the “Monster Society of Evil” trade. Never seen Jeff’s work outside of “Bone”, but he’s got a good track record.
I still bought nothing new, again to protest the price gouge. I did find a nice run of Thunderbolts (a.k.a. New Thunderbolts) circa issues 50-75 in the quarter box at my local Half-Priced Books.
Peter J Poole: “Avengers books; I’ve always had a soft spot for the Avengers, and always felt the books should be doing the kind of sales numbers the X-Herd does. I have a strange dichotomy with where Bendis has taken these books, because ‘yes’ they’re very well written and I thoroughly enjoy them, but it doesn’t feel like the Avengers I knew and loved…”
I know what you mean. Avengers have always been the center of my collection, but since Dark Reign started, I needed a break. Bendis’s Avengers feel more like the Outsiders, the DA is more like Thunderbolts. Even Slott’s Avengers feel wrong, or maybe they feel like West Coast Avengers. So I am taking an Avengers’ break. I may get these issues as a trade or from back issue boxes, but I need a break from the current direction. And with the price of books, I can use the savings.
To Alan’s post above:
>> Haven’t had time to read (tonight, for sure), but o0ne notable missing item this week was Previews. Previews always comes out on the 4th week of the month, but not this time. It may have been delayed last month, too, but that may have been a local thing.
It’s due next week – I asked Diamond UK about the delay, but they had no explanation. We were due a price increase in the UK from Diamond (which has been postponed for now) – perhaps that was partly the reason (order forms getting reprinted, etc)…?
Wow I never thought I would live in a world that had so many Avenger series and mini series going on at once.
Loved New Avengers, the dialouge was smart and interesting and Spider Man coming out of the closet to them (again) was handled very well. What I didnt like is the fact that they seem to trust Ms. Marvel again with no problems? Isnt the registration still legal? Shouldnt she be a good soldier and arrest them all?
Mighty Avengers – I want to like this series. While New Avengers seems to be thoughtful and well written, the Mighty Avengers seems to be more action oriented and the characters seem to be less developed as long as the story is moving along. I will wait and see about this one. Iron Man is just a jerk and deserves everything coming to him.
JLA – hope this doesnt lead to yet another re-boot. The new JLA run by GL and GA doesnt seem to make any sense in a world that has so many super teams and some proactive ones like the Outsiders. I do like the fact that some characters which are on too many teams (Flash, Black Lightening) are leaving so that they can just focus on one team. After all, when do they find time to relax if they are running around all the time.
Oracles – great writing and art. I love it when a writer can quickly create a character, make you fall in love with them with just a few lines of dialouge and then rip your heart out.
Thunderbolts #130.
I will be reading it but it will be my last issue.
“Previously in Magnus Opus (which started in Deadpool #7)” they said.
No, Magnus Opus started in Deadpool #8. So I bought one issue that I don’t really need.
So last issue of Thunderbolts for me. I don’t like being lied to.
So far, New Avengers is the only one of my haul that I’ve actually read. I was glad to see the unmasking scene, primarily because I think it makes sense for members of teams to know who everyone else is. Peter unmasking to his teammates wasn’t the problem pre-BND, it was the televised unmasking in front of the whole world.
I also enjoyed the extremely-uncomfortable conversation between Peter and Jessica Jones that immediately followed it, and which we didn’t get last time out. It did raise one question for me, though: I’ve gotten the impression that BND didn’t just erase the marriage, but also somehow made Peter younger than he was before–like maybe he was 30ish before and is now 23 or 24. This is based primarily on discussions I’ve read online and in CBG, so it could be completely wrong, but there it is. So if Jessica was still in high school with him, doesn’t it follow that she, too, must be several years younger than she was pre-BND? If so, she’s had a hëll of a nasty last four or five years.
(Her having been in high school with Peter was established during the “Secret Origin of Jessica Jones” arc in Alias, so it’s not something Bendis just pulled out of nowhere for this scene).
No, Peter’s supposed to be the same age. FWIW, I think of him as 26-27.
Lary,
technically, you are correct. “Deadpool” #7 was not an official part of the crossover, but the entire story leads up to it and explains how it begins and the last four pages include Norman Osborn and the Thunderbolts. So, what set Magnum Opus in motion did really start in issue #7. You may feel differently, but I don’t see how.
bbayliss,
We all get it. You’re going to continue your boycott week after week and we’ll continue talking about the fun we’re having reading the new books week after week. We get it.
Loved New Avengers, even as I gritted my teeth through the Spider-Man-Revealing-His-Identity thing. The griitng turned to laughter at Bendis’ great dialogue, so I just went with enjoying the story, even though it already happened. Early on, the best arc of New Avengers I read was in JMS’ Amazing Spider-Man with the Aunt May vs. Wolverine face off.
I finally read the first three trades of Brand New Day (thanks library!) and while I enjoyed some of it (Zeb Wells’ blizzard story with the army of homeless guys was beautiful) a lot of it felt wrong, and not just because of the BND issues. Spider-Man seems unusually crass and insensitive. Sure, he’s always been a smart-aleck, but he was also a nice guy. Just don’t care for it…
I enjoyed Mighty Avengers, although I’m considering dropping it based on issue 22. I liked it a lot but there were a few scenes and jokes that really should have earned it a T+ rating. The Avengers books are not all ages and there’s nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn’t be labeled as such.
My shop didn’t have enough issues of Wolverine: First Class for me, but they’re ordering one. Can’t wait to rad it.
“Spider-Man seems unusually crass and insensitive.”
He’s reflective of the attitudes of Marvel’s editors?
Oooyaweebitch! He shoots, he scores!
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Transatlantic high five to Mr Coil!
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Cheers.
Stash Day is a Friday in Oz and I couldn’t get to the shop this Friday. I was going to leave it until next week until a couple of people mentioned Madame Xanadu.
OMG. Sorry, PAD, but Madame Xanadu is the most beautiful book on the stands. A rare rare rare example of a Vertigo book with stunning story AND stunning art.
Based on my previous comments, New Avengers had to be the next one on my list. Still continuing to love every minute.
On the exact opposite end of the scale is Fantastic Four. Why do I keep buying this? I haven’t read it yet but it can’t be any worse than the last issue. Can it? Surely not?
Mid-week I finally sat down and read War of Kings #1, which I picked up off the shelf on impulse. Loved it. The Inhumans vs The Imperial Guard. I’m a sucker for space operas when they’re done right (one of my all-time favourites will always be the entire run of Dreadstar).
I hope Previews makes it into the shop next week!
Small world… My daughter abandoned me in town earlier and I hit the LCS, picked up Kingbreaker 1-4, War of Kings and the two Darkhawk books on impulse.
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I didn’t like X-Men Deadly Genesis at all, didn’t like the 12 issue Mutants in Space shtick, (I actually missed one issue and didn’t notice for a couple of months. Brubaker is good on some titles, X-Men is not one of them!) but I have been vaguely impressed and pleased with most of the Annihilation stuff and it’s fallouts and spinoffs.
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This latest arc is looking very nice indeed, I’m really enjoying the way there’s a real sense of continuity in the Marvel Universe universe these days. Artwork on the books is very nice too.
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Cheers.
I just read Superman. Good comic, and I’m definitely sticking with it, but it led me to wonder if James Robinson read any of the old Superboy series. See, the Guardian was a clone of Roy Harper’s uncle. In this issue, it’s revealed that he’s also Jamie Harper’s great-uncle. Which means Roy and Jamie are related. I wonder if anyone else noticed that.
Shana,
DC is making some efforts to clear up the Guardian’s convoluted, complex and confusing history, most recently in a one-shot.
And yes, the Superman books seem to be really well done right now.
ASM 589 – I should only read this depending on the arc. I wasn’t impressed
Cap America 48 – Ever since hte death of cap arc, although a good read, it just doesn’t grip me.
DD 117 – Another Brubaker title. I can tell he’s done w/ DD. I think this is his swan song arc.
Mighty Avengers 43 – Dark reign is interesting. I hope they don’t blow it.
New Avengers 51 – Ditto
Thunderbolts 130 – Ditto
Ms Marvel 37 – Not as good as She Hulk.
Runaways 8 – I’m stopping at issue 12.
Batman Gotham After Midnight
Superman 686
JLA 31 – Another of my favorite reads. Ed Benes does beautiful art.
Trinity 43 – I started since issue 1 so i still read it.
Star Wars Legacy 34 – Only Star Wars Title that I read. It does bother me that after 100 years, the empire is still around.
Spawn 190 – I like the art. I never read it for the story.
Crossed 4 – Ennis crafts a simple yet gripping tale, and as always, not for the squmish.
On a note, I live in Fargo, ND and as some of you may or may not know, the area is fighting a flood from the Red River. Those of you that pray, please keep us in your prayers. The River has crested and will be at max capacity for 5 more days. Snow is coming on Monday and Tuesday, and rain on Wednesday. We have 48 miles of dikes and levees holding all of that water.
Joe V.
Joe – the Red River flood made the news in Perth, Western Australia (!) I’ve got my fingers crossed for ya – don’t let them comics get wet!
Developments in Ms. Marvel made me sad; while I’m generally not a huge fan of “Status Quo,” I hope that the biggest changes over there are temporary. That said, I’ve mostly enjoyed Reed’s run – and have enjoyed seeing Carol Danvers get some much needed attention of late.
I’m liking Dark Reign a lot more than I expected. The team in New Avengers feels a lot more right than it has in awhile. And as others have mentioned – great re-reveal. I enjoyed the coma-girl bits, too. I’m not sure about Mighty Avengers yet – a little bit too B-team for my tastes – but B-teamers I like a lot. And if nobody has any else minds, I’m just going to forget everything that’s happened to the Vision since before Avengers Disassembled. My biggest surprise is how appealing I find Bendis’s Norman Osborn. There’s a guy who knows how to take advantage of an opportunity.
I’m reading Superman for the first time in awhile now, and enjoying the New Krypton arc. I have no idea what’s going on, having jumped on in the middle, but I like it. What happened to Lois Lane?
JLA 31 was probably my last issue; there’s no direction here. While I like Black Canary, there’s nobody else left here I find remotely compelling. I am looking forward to Robinson’s mini, however.
Adam,
Lois Lane is still around. It’s just that Supes had to leave everyone and everything behind – even his wife and mother – in order to be accepted by Alura, the quasi-ruler of Krypton (though a certain General may have something to say about that) – and prevent a possible cataclysmic conflict between New Krypton and Earth.
Ms. Marvel’s apparent demise depressed me as well. I love strong female characters and love how Marvel was seriously making an attempt to have a character as strong and powerful as Wonder Woman. Reed succeeded in telling stories showing how powerful Carol was but how conflicted and utterly human. Of course, Reed recently “killed off” Red Sonja over at Dynamite and has used that and her “rebirth” to take the book in a new and exciting direction. I feel the same will happen here. Having made us care about her and have the character play a prominent role in the Marvel Universe, reed has killed her off abd “Moonstone as Ms. Marvel” should make for some interesting stories for a while until Carol comes back, probably in time for issue #50 and reclaims her title.
Chances are the 4/1 edition of Stash Wednesday will be posted soon, but I just had to comment on “Hotwire” from Radical Comics. this is one awesome book, starring a kick-ášš, believably drawn, super-intelligent and sarcastic female character i a story based on a plot by Warren Ellis and written by Steve Pugh. Pugh gives Ellis’ typical zany, out-there plot a candy coating that makes it more digestible for the masses. His artwork in the book is absolutely outstanding. Anybody who loves comics should drop a book they are picking out of habit and buy this book instead. It is yet another jewel in what has become a very impressive, glittering line by Radical.