Reply With QuoteYeah, I kind of had to change my Avatar with issue 4.
Yay!Originally Posted by sunbird
Yeah, I kind of had to change my Avatar with issue 4.
Pretty big week for me with Marvel really showing up for the first time in a long time: Wonder Woman 10, JiM 640, The Unwritten 38, Hellblazer 292, Daredevil 14, Saga 4, Casanova: Avaritia 4, X-Factor 238, Ragemoor 4, and Legion of Superheroes 10, plus I picked the Vertigo Shooters OGN. I've only read WW 10 and JiM 640, but both were outstanding. I think you'll see more of the thoughtful and clever Wonder Woman that some people have been missing in 10, and JiM 640 plays with the idea of national symbolism and mythology in an interesting way. (Best line: And surprisingly, a greenhouse in Northampton, which was a shout out to Alan Moore putting British comics creators on the cultural landscape.)
This was a big week for me, and I still haven't read much of what I bought. It was a bummer day though, so I read SAGA first, because I love it so. Damn, is that a fine comic book. Everyone sings its praises, so I won't go into any detail, but so good.
Is anyone else reading SUPERGIRL? It's pretty good right now. I'm enjoying the slow burn on Kara's integration into Earth society, and I think her new found friends should be interesting. If you're not reading it, it's worth checking out. It's predominantly action, but there's some good character work. The art is gorgeous.
WONDER WOMAN is WONDER WOMAN. The story is excellent, but I'm still waiting for Diana herself to be interesting. It's always disappointing when Cliff Chiang isn't on art.
I also read X-FACTOR and INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, which were of the usual quality. The art could have been better on this particular issue of X-FACTOR. The art could be better on every single issue of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN.
Wow, this was a surprisingly huge week for me, and it was a huge passel of some of my favorite series. That was good, I needed this, since I have had a horrid few days (Just absolutely horrid...well, except for seeing Old Jews Telling Jokes last night. That was hilarious).
Birds of Prey #10: Okay, this series needs to figure out what it wans to be about. Seriously. I'm no longer actively disliking it as much as I did for the first issues, but it has no consistent plot, contradictory character interactions, and now Dinah can fly? It really needs to come together or I just won't be able to stick with it.
The Shadow #3: Man, the Shadow is one messed up dude. You can't even hide in death. Batman, eat your heart out.
Catwoman #10: For all the horrible Catwoman covers we complain about, this one actually isn't exploitative or anatomically improbable (At least, not to an extreme). No part of her body is being thrust towards the camera and her spine is curved forward as she curls up. So, good stuff there. I also like them following up on the kidnapping hooker's thread, and the inclusion of male prostitutes (They're almost always left out, as if there's no such thing as a woman or bi/gay man wanting sex). I also really liked the focus on the cops, bringing us into that part of the story while not losing sight of the main character. My one complaint, and I saw this coming months ago, is the reveal that Selina was a kidnapping/abuse victim as a child. I just wish that, just once, a person can want to be good out of pure empathy and morality; because they dislike seeing bad things happen. Why do they always need to make it personal? Are they saying that if Selina hadn't been a victim herself then she wouldn't care about the people being taken now? Makes her a bit shallow, doesn't it? It's just not necessary to me.
Daredevil #14: Dude, that ending....dude, what the frak? That single panel was one of the most heart-wrenching compositions I've ever seen. Why? WHY?!?!?!
Wonder Woman #10: See, this is the Diana I've been waiting for, because this is exactly what Diana does: She doesn't let herself be bound. Period. End of frakking story. She doesn't bow down to mortal or god or Kryptonian. She is Diana of Themiscyra and, for all my NERD RAGE! over what was done to her history, she is still Diana, and to appropriate the words of Dinah Lance, "[she] takes &%&@ from precisely NO ONE!" I do, however, have to build on my general complaints of the past issues for the portrayal of Hades; one of the very things I will say definitively is that he would not comdemn somebody for the truth. He wasn't perfect, but he was one of the only gods who was not that sort of vindictive.
Chew #27: Man, this series is just getting weirder and weirder, but by "weirder" I also mean "awesomer" (And weirder). We need more comics with badass mother@#$%ing Sikhs. Who need to be less poopy (<3). That is something we need more of.
The Punisher #12: Ah...damnit. Mother-frakking damnit! I thought she was out. I really did. I thought Daredevil had reached her, I though he had gotten through. I thought that maybe, just maybe, she cold get out. Then this...aww, man. Why do I open up my heart knowing that it will be torn out?
Supergirl #10: Hell yeah, Kara, you slay that dragon like a boss! This series is still just knocking it completely out of the park, particularly her growing Earth relationships that they're spreading out over multiple issues to give time to build. I absolutely loved seeing Siobhan start to turn...and then she sees her brother and, forget world domination, she's just so happy! This is what we need more of (And the badass Sikhs that I mentioned before).
Saga #4: Dude, you used your ex-fiance's wedding rings? Seriously? How did you not know that was going to come back to bite you? Also, what's it say about me that, during The Will's trip through the Sextillion, my first thought was about the impressive balance of that naked pyramid? Anyway, to echo previous sentiment: @#$% yeah The Will! There's monsters and then there's monsters and that...dude, he was asking for a head-crushing.
Batwoman #10: So good, and yet also so...meh. Almost every "past" scene was phenominal, from Colonel Kane with Bette to Maggie and Gordon (Her and her daughter...oy, my heart twanged there). However, the "present" scenes of Maggie and Sune just left me...well, a bit confused, actually. I couldn't tell exactly what was happening from the art, and dialogue didn't make it much clearer. I'm pretty sure I have it deciphered, but I shouldn't have to decipher it. Decipher it's meaning, sure, I can get behind that, but I shouldn't need to decipher what it is I'm actually looking at. Still, even with that, the issue as whole comes out ahead. It was so heart-wrencingly beautiful (Kate at the window....I nearly cried) that I just want to cradle every character here and cuddle them.
I also want to know if anybody got the new Blue Beetle and what they thought of it. I dropped the series several months because it's just so not what Jaime Reyes should be, it was almost offensively un-Jaime, but #10 has Director Bones on the cover and it's Director Bones. That makes me intrigued right there. Has anybod read the issue? Is it better than the early arcs?
Last edited by JBK405; 06-21-2012 at 06:39 PM.
Life is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs, but if you sit back and relax you get a heck of a ride.
SAGA has, after only four issues, moved to the top of my list of current comics. If it keeps up, it could someday take its place as my second-favorite title of all time.
"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." --Benito Mussolini
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to bid defiance to the laws of our country." --Thomas Jefferson
Some great comics this week -- I thought Legion of Superheroes was probably the strongest issue since the relaunch, for instance. And Fables had one of the most horrifying scenes the book has ever has ever had... all in a simple series of confessions. But the book I had the most to say about so far was Wonder Woman -- which I wrote about on my long-neglected blog.
Batwoman #10.
Have to say, I was not expecting that from the Colonel. It did break my heart a bit when he finally admit it and to see that Kate over hear it. But still...was not expecting that. Then that bit with Swayer calling her kid - sniff, sniff.
This issue was a little slower paced then normal. It's getting interesting though - that whole morphing thing with Suen and her brother...gross. Good issue but really slow.
"Treat everyone the same until you find out they're an idiot." Lucy Lawless
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