Reply With QuoteHas Dark Horse solicited a trade yet? I've been dying to read this.
* fine print at the bottom of post
This week we are reading: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1-6 by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse 09/19/07-02/20/08 )
Our reviewers this week are:
Adrian B AWESOME - 8
Xander Boune - 9.5
charlie - 9
dEnny! - 10
Matt C. Linton - 8.5
Hot Pink - 9
Marcdachamp - 8.5
J Money - 8
Next week we are reading: RASL #1 by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books, 02/27)
Upcoming: PictureBox Roundup Winter 2007 Part Two - New Engineering by Yuichi Yokoyama & Powr Mastrs Vol. 1 by C.F. (PictureBox, 10/31/07), True Story, Swear to God Archives Vol. 1 by Tom Beland (Image, 2008 ), Skim HC by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books, 02/28/08 ), The Arrival HC by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 09/12/07), The Education of Hopey Glass HC by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics, 2008 ), George Sprott (1894-1975) by Seth (The New York Times/The Funny Pages, 09/17/06 - 03/25/07), Kramers Ergot 7 ed. by Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura Press, early 2008 ),...
Our previous reviews:
Spoiler:
What we do: This is a fanbased review group, open to everybody. It was launched as a companion thread to the BB Review Group. The idea is to review creator-owned books that provide an alternative to the superhero books of the Big Two. This can be anything, from single issues, self-published mini comics, and online comics to graphic novels and anthologies. Because graphic novels are more expensive and may also require more time to read than a 24 page comic (and sometimes for you to be in the right mood), there will be sufficient time to get the books and to read them before the review thread is up. The "upcoming" section lists a few graphic novels, collections, or anthologies we are going to review in the coming weeks and months, with room for many more. Feel free to suggest books, and also to keep adding your reviews and comments to older threads as you read the books.
As people post the reviews, I will add your name and score to a list in the main post and at the end of the week average the scores for an overall grade on the book. We grade on a scale of 0-10, the meanings of which roughly translate to:
10 - Everything I want in a comic, an instant classic
9 - Excellent, a nearly perfect read
8 - Highly recommended but it has minor flaws
7 - Very good, it does have some problems
6 - Above average but has deep flaws
5 - An average comic
4 - Below average, the flaws outweigh the good
3 - A disappointing comic
2 - Forgettable, a waste of time
1 - Stay away!! One of the worst comics I've read
Anyone who participates is asked to please keep this scale in mind when giving a grade so that everyone is operating on the same system.
Locked review threads: If you would like to review a book from one of the previous weeks, but the thread has been locked by the moderators in the meantime, pm me and I'll get a new review thread up.
THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE EVERY TIME A NEW THREAD IS UP. Please join in as little or as much as you like week to week. If you are uncomfortable giving a grade then just join in the discussions and ask questions.
Last edited by Andreas; 12-05-2008 at 01:34 PM.
Has Dark Horse solicited a trade yet? I've been dying to read this.
Follow me @Marcdachamp on Twitter
I'm looking forward to reading this, I'll pick up the trade.
No collection has been announced so far, but Dark Horse is throwing a contest and you can win a set of the six issues plus buttons and more.
Andreas
I was completely taken aback by this. While there are a couple of scratches and imperfections, this was the exact opposite of what I thought the lead of My Chemical Romance would release: a fun, entertaining, well-written and incredibly deep book that really changes how I look at the superhero genre. Gerard, while I don't really care for his music, has won me over with his writing ability and I will definatly be following his work.
When I found out Gabriel Ba was leaving Casanova to do this, I was pissed. Really pissed. But by God was he the perfect artist for this book. His pencils are breathtaking and whoever is doing the coloring on the book deserves a fucking medal or something.
All and all, a surprising strong start for a series that's sure to mimic BPRD or Hellboy in release structure, and something I am sure to follow for a long time.
8
Originally Posted by joepineapples
I'm gonna have to check this out. I was a skeptic, but it sounds pretty good.
What a terrific miniseries... very fun and unlike anything else out there. The creativity and freshness of the material is evocative of something Grant Morrison would write, and the art was perfect for the tone of the series. I'm not sure how subsequent miniseries would work based on the final status of two of the characters, but there's tons of backstory yet to be explored (particularly with The Horror), so maybe they'll focus on earlier tales. In any event, I'm looking forward to more work from Way.
9.5
I echo this completely, and I was a little scared to draw comparisons to Morrison, but I was thinking the same thing. Morrison, but more accessible. High quality all the way around and I can't wait for more. 9/10
Heh. 666th post
UMBRELLA ACADEMY: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way, Gabrial Ba w/ covers by James Jean - I decided to trade wait on this series. It became difficult hearing so many amazing things about it, Jamie raved about it, but then the first two issues sold out so that was good.
This story isn't at all what I expected and only leaves me wanting more. This is the story of the Umbrella Academy reforming after so many years, and it is an amazing story, but I also want to know about the early years of the team. Gerard Way masterfully gets you invested in the readers showing their pain and their desires, glimpses of their history that shaped them into the dysfunctional people they are today, but still gives you slivers of hope and how these characters cope and make it through, with a little joy maybe. One character in particular you grow to love and with the aid of "The Monocle" their horrific past...it's really a beautifully down story.
I wasn't a huge Gabriel Ba fan not having read my issues of Casanova, his style came off meh to me in that book from just flipping through it. I'm not sure if it was the colorist, but I'm going to have to catch up on my Casanova reading because I grew to really appreciate his work in this series. I'm excited about the follow-up...UMBRELLA ACADEMY: Dallas coming in November. *sigh, I guess I'll wait on the trade again.
Again, I want to see more of these characters pasts because some of the characters I like who have powers I dig were changed after this series, and I think I'm going to miss what they were before.
10
I don't believe for a second only FOUR Bendis Board members read this title. Come on guys, I'd love to read your all's reviews and thoughts on this book.
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