Haven’t gotten mine for today, but last week I got Hulk, Incredible Hercules, X-Factor, and Kick-Úš. Hulk and Incredible Herc are still on my list probably because I started buying Incredible Hulk when PAD started writing it again with Tempist Fugit and I never dropped it. But I still like both of those books, even though I know it’s favourable to bash on Loeb’s Hulk run. I like it, though, if only it’s the only book I buy for pretty art and it’s endearingly goofy consistently. not deep at all, but entertaining. Like I knew I dug the book when Rulk punched out The Watcher, which I thought was all kinds of awesome. As for Incredible Herc, sometimes that book wavers in my eyes – mostly when it gets into heavy Greek mythology exposition that grinds the book to a halt – but that’s becoming better as it goes on (or maybe I’m getting used to it), and there’s some solid character moments and really interesting plot twists at least once an issue. Cho’s solution of dealing with Norman’s Avengers was downright genius. X-Factor was good as always, but I wish there was more time spent in the future plotline, if only because I like Future Cyke and lots of Sentinels. Kick-Úš is another book I always like, if only because it’s so dámņ mean and features a decent shocker every single issue. And I love JJR’s art. And did I mention this book is just plain wrong? Seeing Big Daddy and Hit Girl training sessions was just gleefully twisted. And that last page was another kick in the sack. But in a good way. I hope the series ends before the movie comes out.
Also, the two trades I finished off in the past week were Captain America: The Man Who Bought America and Fallen Angel: Cities of Light and Dark. Both were satisfying conclusions to lonnnnggg story arcs but brought the thunder when called for. I really liked those last 2 pages of Fallen Angel. Great Twilight-Zone-y ending.
But, that was last week. Haven’t gotten this week yet. Shockingly, there’s another Hulk book in there: Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine. I like that too, 3 year delays aside.
Saving my comic store visit for Friday, which is “Free Comic Book Day”. Looking forward to the Prelude to Blackest Night freebie — GL is once again a fun read! Man, never thought I’d say that again…
Gah; meant Saturday! (mummble; more coffee…)
Legion of Three Worlds 4 was worth the wait. It’s all action, done extremely well by Johns and Perez, with the return of Bart, a twist we all saw coming, and one we didn’t. Here’s hoping that Johns continues to run with the LSH after this is done.
The Literals 1, like the first two parts of The Great Fables Crossover, is entertaining but seems rather insubstantial. It’s really hard to care about what’s going on, and I am not sure that we need to have a third Fables book for three months to make this story happen. Also not sure if I’ll keep buying Jack and The Literals for the rest of the story.
The Gotham Underground one-shot has great art and some nice character bits, but it’s little more than an ad for Sirens of Gotham (even though this isn’t written by Dini). Could have skipped it.
Agree about Legion of three worlds, don’t you think prime should be dead after this?
No. Prime dying (or, more precisely, being killed) would be a failure of what Superman stands for. He’s the man with the power to play judge, jury and executioner at will and the wisdom to know better than to walk that path.
Superman gives hope. Superman gives a second chance even to to worst foes. The Legion strives to live up to that standard. That is his legacy and ultimate victory.
Besides, Prime having to live with his utter failure to corrupt and destroy Superman’s legacy is both just and infinitely crueler than death would be.
Got my usual pulls. I continue to burn through X-Factor like a brush fire, and the storylines in Nova and Green Lantern have pretty much made me forget all the other X-books. The whole “War of Kings” storyline is also being done rather well and I’m interested in the fleshing out (Fixing the insane origin mess) of Darkhawk. Be intersting to see where they take it, given all the weird concepts behind the armor in the original series.
Also started picking up trades like crazy, as I’ve moved to a smaller place and need to conserve space. Anyone else notice how hard it’s getting to find any Straczynski Spider-Man trades lately? Especially “The Other” and the ridiculously maligned “Sins Past” collections? Its as if Marvel is literally wiping it from continuity by letting them go out of print so nobody can look back at them and go “Hey, wait a minute!!!” Of course, I have no idea why I also can’t get the trades of a fan-favorite like X-23, so I don’t know what’s going through the heads of the trade department at Marvel.
While I’m on the subject of the ridiculous trade situation… At any comic store, I can easily find trades of PAD’s entire run of Captain Marvel in his “Aoogah bibble bibble fweeeet!” mental breakdown/rebuilding period, but nothing for the previous Genis run except for the “First Contact” collection. Did they even collect anything beyond those first few issues? (And use a binding glue that didn’t crack the first time you opened the book and breathed on it, scattering pages everywhere much to the delight of the cat?)
Only upshot to this is it gives me a bit of a chuckle when I think of how many of the “I’ll wait for the trades” crowd would try to refute any arguments I’d have for supporting an ongoing monthly… The lesson here kiddies is, economy aside, if there’s a story you want to read, get it while you can.
They’re starting new collections of the JMS Spider-Man
Marvel frequently lets many of their trades go out of print. Other publishers, too, but you were specifically discussing Marvel in your post.
I originally was going to boycot the Darkhawk tie in (if it was 2.99 i would have taken it the first time) then one of the regulars said how good issue 1 was so i went and got both and liked the story, and the attempt at cleaning up the origin. what i didnt like was 2 3.99 books so they can put a reprint of the priginal darkhawk book in the back. i think the 1.50 i payed for the reprint half of the book is more then the original is worth. Does anyone view these reprints marvel does ala thor 600 a value add or is marvel just trying to justify a higher coverprice because of the increased pagecount ?
Oh, brief supplemental log: Picked up “New Frontier: Treason” which had been maddeningly elusive in book stores. Plowed through it in about 3 housemate-ignoring hours, stopping only for food.
May I say that the last sentence in the book is merely one more reason why I have to hold myself back from kicking you in the shins?
The standouts for me were Legion of Three Worlds and Green Lantern. LO3W – well, mostly stood out for the two big reveals. The first was heavily foreshadowed, but very welcome to me. The second – I’m still processing. GL – I’m having fun with the War of Light. I mean, I find the whole emotional spectrum pretty ludicrous, but it’s fun. And I really enjoyed Hal’s throw-away line about Green and Blue going together. Is it me, or does he seem like he’s warming up to the Blue Lantern concept?
Nova was OK as well – I’m enjoying the series a lot, and Rich’s parts in the current storyline. The new Nova corps members are falling a little flat for me; I think there were more interesting stories to tell than a frustrated Robbie Rider coaching fellow centurions through stage fright.
Also picked up the first trade of Warren Ellis’s Fell. I enjoyed being disturbed by it a lot.
The Literals, a Fables tie-in.
.
The Muppet Show from BOOM! Kids.
.
RASL, by Jeff Smith of Bone fame.
.
Batman: Gotham After Midnight, by Steve Niles and Kelley Jones. This was the final issue of this horror maxi-series.
Just a few highlights from my stack:
UXM – Pretty good issue. The art sometimes goes over the line with its sexual suggestiveness as in the case of Emma’s “bindings.” The political issue is one I, as evidenced from previous responses, likely disagree with the writer on and could be a bit subtler than “Proposition X.” That said, I’m feeling very good about the next few issues.
Nova – I’m a bit confused. Is the implication that Worldmind is and always was Ego? Other than that bit of confusion, I loved this issue. I would never have thought I’d like cosmic Marvel so much.
Thor – I love me some Thor. I never liked the character until this run. Now I love me some Thor. Did I mention I love me some Thor?
Dark Avengers – I’m slowly warming up to Bendis again. I was a huge Bendis fan until the run up to and duration of Secret War. He’s stopped giving everyone the same snarky voice and improved his pacing over all.
Okay, back to the job hunt (Just got the grades for my college senior film, yay!).
My read on Nova was that while the Worldmind thought he was erasing and taking over Ego, Ego really subverted him…
Late again, but I appreciate PAD giving us this opportunity and I’d hate to see it die out.
.
For me, the #1 comic this week was the incomparable Madame Xanadu. Proudly proclaiming on its cover: “Nominated for four Eisner Awards” and well-deserving too.
.
Immediately after was Dark Avengers #4. I am really enjoying this. Doom’s characterisation was spot-on and that final page – wow! The look on Bob’s face… and Norman’s….
.
Also read Wonder Woman – meh. Jungle Girl – meh. Haven’t yet read Nova, Green Lantern, Sherlock Holmes or Mr Stuffins.
.
But I DID see “Planet of the Dead” if Peter J Poole is reading…. 🙂
.
Cheers, JB
• 
Haven’t gotten mine for today, but last week I got Hulk, Incredible Hercules, X-Factor, and Kick-Úš. Hulk and Incredible Herc are still on my list probably because I started buying Incredible Hulk when PAD started writing it again with Tempist Fugit and I never dropped it. But I still like both of those books, even though I know it’s favourable to bash on Loeb’s Hulk run. I like it, though, if only it’s the only book I buy for pretty art and it’s endearingly goofy consistently. not deep at all, but entertaining. Like I knew I dug the book when Rulk punched out The Watcher, which I thought was all kinds of awesome. As for Incredible Herc, sometimes that book wavers in my eyes – mostly when it gets into heavy Greek mythology exposition that grinds the book to a halt – but that’s becoming better as it goes on (or maybe I’m getting used to it), and there’s some solid character moments and really interesting plot twists at least once an issue. Cho’s solution of dealing with Norman’s Avengers was downright genius. X-Factor was good as always, but I wish there was more time spent in the future plotline, if only because I like Future Cyke and lots of Sentinels. Kick-Úš is another book I always like, if only because it’s so dámņ mean and features a decent shocker every single issue. And I love JJR’s art. And did I mention this book is just plain wrong? Seeing Big Daddy and Hit Girl training sessions was just gleefully twisted. And that last page was another kick in the sack. But in a good way. I hope the series ends before the movie comes out.
Also, the two trades I finished off in the past week were Captain America: The Man Who Bought America and Fallen Angel: Cities of Light and Dark. Both were satisfying conclusions to lonnnnggg story arcs but brought the thunder when called for. I really liked those last 2 pages of Fallen Angel. Great Twilight-Zone-y ending.
But, that was last week. Haven’t gotten this week yet. Shockingly, there’s another Hulk book in there: Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine. I like that too, 3 year delays aside.
Saving my comic store visit for Friday, which is “Free Comic Book Day”. Looking forward to the Prelude to Blackest Night freebie — GL is once again a fun read! Man, never thought I’d say that again…
Gah; meant Saturday! (mummble; more coffee…)
Legion of Three Worlds 4 was worth the wait. It’s all action, done extremely well by Johns and Perez, with the return of Bart, a twist we all saw coming, and one we didn’t. Here’s hoping that Johns continues to run with the LSH after this is done.
The Literals 1, like the first two parts of The Great Fables Crossover, is entertaining but seems rather insubstantial. It’s really hard to care about what’s going on, and I am not sure that we need to have a third Fables book for three months to make this story happen. Also not sure if I’ll keep buying Jack and The Literals for the rest of the story.
The Gotham Underground one-shot has great art and some nice character bits, but it’s little more than an ad for Sirens of Gotham (even though this isn’t written by Dini). Could have skipped it.
Agree about Legion of three worlds, don’t you think prime should be dead after this?
No. Prime dying (or, more precisely, being killed) would be a failure of what Superman stands for. He’s the man with the power to play judge, jury and executioner at will and the wisdom to know better than to walk that path.
Superman gives hope. Superman gives a second chance even to to worst foes. The Legion strives to live up to that standard. That is his legacy and ultimate victory.
Besides, Prime having to live with his utter failure to corrupt and destroy Superman’s legacy is both just and infinitely crueler than death would be.
Got my usual pulls. I continue to burn through X-Factor like a brush fire, and the storylines in Nova and Green Lantern have pretty much made me forget all the other X-books. The whole “War of Kings” storyline is also being done rather well and I’m interested in the fleshing out (Fixing the insane origin mess) of Darkhawk. Be intersting to see where they take it, given all the weird concepts behind the armor in the original series.
Also started picking up trades like crazy, as I’ve moved to a smaller place and need to conserve space. Anyone else notice how hard it’s getting to find any Straczynski Spider-Man trades lately? Especially “The Other” and the ridiculously maligned “Sins Past” collections? Its as if Marvel is literally wiping it from continuity by letting them go out of print so nobody can look back at them and go “Hey, wait a minute!!!” Of course, I have no idea why I also can’t get the trades of a fan-favorite like X-23, so I don’t know what’s going through the heads of the trade department at Marvel.
While I’m on the subject of the ridiculous trade situation… At any comic store, I can easily find trades of PAD’s entire run of Captain Marvel in his “Aoogah bibble bibble fweeeet!” mental breakdown/rebuilding period, but nothing for the previous Genis run except for the “First Contact” collection. Did they even collect anything beyond those first few issues? (And use a binding glue that didn’t crack the first time you opened the book and breathed on it, scattering pages everywhere much to the delight of the cat?)
Only upshot to this is it gives me a bit of a chuckle when I think of how many of the “I’ll wait for the trades” crowd would try to refute any arguments I’d have for supporting an ongoing monthly… The lesson here kiddies is, economy aside, if there’s a story you want to read, get it while you can.
They’re starting new collections of the JMS Spider-Man
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=12361
Marvel frequently lets many of their trades go out of print. Other publishers, too, but you were specifically discussing Marvel in your post.
I originally was going to boycot the Darkhawk tie in (if it was 2.99 i would have taken it the first time) then one of the regulars said how good issue 1 was so i went and got both and liked the story, and the attempt at cleaning up the origin. what i didnt like was 2 3.99 books so they can put a reprint of the priginal darkhawk book in the back. i think the 1.50 i payed for the reprint half of the book is more then the original is worth. Does anyone view these reprints marvel does ala thor 600 a value add or is marvel just trying to justify a higher coverprice because of the increased pagecount ?
Oh, brief supplemental log: Picked up “New Frontier: Treason” which had been maddeningly elusive in book stores. Plowed through it in about 3 housemate-ignoring hours, stopping only for food.
May I say that the last sentence in the book is merely one more reason why I have to hold myself back from kicking you in the shins?
The standouts for me were Legion of Three Worlds and Green Lantern. LO3W – well, mostly stood out for the two big reveals. The first was heavily foreshadowed, but very welcome to me. The second – I’m still processing. GL – I’m having fun with the War of Light. I mean, I find the whole emotional spectrum pretty ludicrous, but it’s fun. And I really enjoyed Hal’s throw-away line about Green and Blue going together. Is it me, or does he seem like he’s warming up to the Blue Lantern concept?
Nova was OK as well – I’m enjoying the series a lot, and Rich’s parts in the current storyline. The new Nova corps members are falling a little flat for me; I think there were more interesting stories to tell than a frustrated Robbie Rider coaching fellow centurions through stage fright.
Also picked up the first trade of Warren Ellis’s Fell. I enjoyed being disturbed by it a lot.
The Literals, a Fables tie-in.
.
The Muppet Show from BOOM! Kids.
.
RASL, by Jeff Smith of Bone fame.
.
Batman: Gotham After Midnight, by Steve Niles and Kelley Jones. This was the final issue of this horror maxi-series.
Just a few highlights from my stack:
UXM – Pretty good issue. The art sometimes goes over the line with its sexual suggestiveness as in the case of Emma’s “bindings.” The political issue is one I, as evidenced from previous responses, likely disagree with the writer on and could be a bit subtler than “Proposition X.” That said, I’m feeling very good about the next few issues.
Nova – I’m a bit confused. Is the implication that Worldmind is and always was Ego? Other than that bit of confusion, I loved this issue. I would never have thought I’d like cosmic Marvel so much.
Thor – I love me some Thor. I never liked the character until this run. Now I love me some Thor. Did I mention I love me some Thor?
Dark Avengers – I’m slowly warming up to Bendis again. I was a huge Bendis fan until the run up to and duration of Secret War. He’s stopped giving everyone the same snarky voice and improved his pacing over all.
Okay, back to the job hunt (Just got the grades for my college senior film, yay!).
My read on Nova was that while the Worldmind thought he was erasing and taking over Ego, Ego really subverted him…
Late again, but I appreciate PAD giving us this opportunity and I’d hate to see it die out.
.
For me, the #1 comic this week was the incomparable Madame Xanadu. Proudly proclaiming on its cover: “Nominated for four Eisner Awards” and well-deserving too.
.
Immediately after was Dark Avengers #4. I am really enjoying this. Doom’s characterisation was spot-on and that final page – wow! The look on Bob’s face… and Norman’s….
.
Also read Wonder Woman – meh. Jungle Girl – meh. Haven’t yet read Nova, Green Lantern, Sherlock Holmes or Mr Stuffins.
.
But I DID see “Planet of the Dead” if Peter J Poole is reading…. 🙂
.
Cheers, JB