Talapas1

1019-1022 Four of my current subscriptions. Bounty Hunters is the only current Star Wars series I’m getting right now. Story is decent and the art is okay. My favorite thing about the title is all the different background lore crammed in there. Three Jokers is pretty good and I can’t wait to see where the story goes. The Boys Dear Becky is the title in most excited to get every month. I can’t get enough of Ennis’s world and Wee Hughie’s attempt to navigate it. Stranger Things Science Camp Was mistakenly added to my pull list but as my kids are fans of the show, I decided to keep it. I can’t believe how glad I am about that decision. Fun story that adds some details to the show. The big bad of this series so far seems to really Match up with what was scaring kids in the 90’s. Can’t wait to read more of Dustin’s adventures .

929-1018 Wooo! I hit my goal, and crossed the line with a bang! The Boys 1-72, Herogasm 1-6, Highland Laddie 1-6, and Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 1-6. It’s been a few years since I’ve read these so after finishing season 2 of the show I figured I may as well finish up my first 1000 with The Boys. I forgot how insane a lot of it was. I remembered most of the major beats but there was a lot either I didn’t remember of that I missed the last time I read it. I’m glad I was inspired to take a refresher read as I’ve also been reading Dear Becky and needed the reminders of where our story has been so far. All in all I was glad to use the depravity that is Garth Ennis’s writing reach issue 1000. Next stop 2000.

I think I have the Leiber comics somewhere in the collection. May have to dust them off. That vision series sounds interesting. I’ll be adding that to my never ending to-read list.

yeah. I have the green one. There is also a Canadian G1 variant that looks like a regular G1 except it has a red head

926-928 Strange Academy 1-3 I’d heard someone good things about this series and just recently was able to find and purchase them. I gotta say that the hype was deserved. This one is now added to my pull list. I’m a sucker for new heroes (and otherwise) leaning about their abilities and how to survive in the world. This one is pretty fun and a needed break from some of the more standard superhero fare. It’s totally worth checking out.

I think I have the Leiber comics someWhere in the collection. May have to dust them off. That vision series sounds interesting. I’ll be adding that to my never ending to-read list.

I picked up a few vintage pieces over the weekend. I was really happy to find the W.O.R.M.s figure since I made a deal for a helmet for one last month. I was also surprised to find the G2 dinobot since I didn’t realize it came in red.

923-925 Fantastic Four 533-535 I saw a review of this story on Twitter and realized they were sitting in my collection. It was a great lead up to Planet Hulk and some great writing of Ben Grimm as he fights the Hulk with a lot of understanding of what it means to be a monster. Some really great writing on these. I recommend any fans of the Hulk or Thing to check them out.

887-922 Secret Six 1-36 I just finished Secret Six 1-36 and overall I found it a fun book. Having D-listers take center stage is one of my favorite types of story to read. Of the main characters, I was only familiar with Bane and Deadshot, and even that knowledge was limited. I knew Bane was a muscular mastermind, and Deadshot was a complete mercenary who was usually stuck with the Suicide Squad. The others were complete mysteries to me. One thing that was somewhat shocking initially was the causal murder and death in the book. It was an almost Garth Ennis level of murder and mutilation which surprised me in what I thought was a mainstream book. Most of the time it didn’t really bother me, but I found a couple scenes disturbing as causal deaths of innocents that can really be upsetting to me. It wasn’t like it didn’t fit with the story though. The main characters are murderers, mercenaries, and maniacs. They have complicated moralities and often do horrible things without conscience. The only time they seem to really restrain themselves is when they’ve made a promise to a fellow teammate, and even then that is not a guarantee. As I said previously, I enjoyed the series, though the depiction of Bane threw me off for much of the series. I’m still processing what it was about him that didn’t work for me, but he just didn’t match what I had in my head of how Bane would act. This was only really an issue for me early in the series. By the end though, I had grown used to him. The series did really elevate Deadshot for me. I enjoyed almost every scene with him. He felt like the most realistic of the characters in many ways as he was a villain, but usually wasn’t unnecessarily cruel. His friendship with Catman was fun to read and by the end of the series I had gained a new appreciation for the character. The only other quibble I had was that some of the story arcs had a weird sense of timing. I found myself hoping for more story in many instances. The one-shot stories were big examples of this. I felt like the Island story could have been stretched out an issue or two, but it was all wrapped up by the end of the issue. I felt like the last story was going to have a longer build but it abruptly ended Wild Bunch style, and while it worked, I felt like I was missing a piece. Maybe that was a testament to Gail Simone’s writing. She left me wanting more. Overall the series was worth the read. The writing and art worked well together and I found myself really enjoying characters who were pretty bottom of the barrel. I see that there was another series that came out after one of the big DC reboots. I may have to hunt that one down as well and see what Catman and co. have been up to.

827-886. Scalped Disclaimer This review is pretty long and personal compared to my other ones. If that isn’t your thing, feel free to scroll on by. It’s not often that I read something that gets to me like “Scalped” did. While I hadn’t been actively avoiding the title, I hadn’t had a huge motivation to pick it up. Recently, a full run of the trade paperbacks had found their way into my collection. I started reading last Friday and two days later, I’ve finished the series and now am sitting here trying to put into words how I feel about the experience. I’m always wary about fictional accounts dealing with indigenous peoples that are written by an outsider. Because of this I approached the reading with a certain amount of skepticism. There is so much that can go wrong when outsiders write about Natives. I worry about what stereotypes will be present and reinforced and what will be left out. Did the writer do their research? Is the work exploitive or is it authentic? After my reading of this work, I guess that I’d say, “It’s complicated.” The story of Prairie Rose Indian Reservation isn’t a true one in that these events and people are all creations of Jason Aaron. But there is a truth in some of the detail. He obviously did some amount of research as I see a number of details jump out from the background. Other things seemed off though. A few elements were over-emphasized: some of the slang, the way certain subjects were talked about by the cast, and the despair. These little things would be enough to take me out of the story for a second. I’d constantly remind myself that Prairie Rose isn’t based on my home or my people. It’s based on tribal people who have a completely different history and culture. There are some things that are similar across the Native American experience and it’s these similarities draw me in. The use of these allow me to feel that some of the people present in the story are people I know, their stories are those that I’m familiar with. There was a point where I found myself becoming uncomfortable at the use of imagery of traditional beliefs and practice in the story. Many of my people don’t share such things with outsiders but I’d have to remember that I don’t know about the practices of others. I don’t know if the images shown in the story regarding spirituality and cultural practice were accurate. I had to remind myself that it was a work of fiction. Just like a story with another setting, it isn’t a true representation of that place, but instead is its fictionalized self. These places and people only need to seem authentic as much as it is necessary to allow the reader to become immersed in the story. Much like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and Twilight, the Prairie Rose reservation becomes a living character in the tale, but one that isn’t 100% accurate to the reality of reservation life. I try not to nitpick when I consume a piece of fiction for entertainment. This particular work managed to emotionally tug at me in ways I wasn’t prepared to deal with. The familiarity that I felt for the characters of and setting drew me in. But other elements didn’t ring true and would give me pause. But after thinking on it, I remember that “Scalped” is a crime story, not an Indian story. The Native People give shape to this story, but aren’t meant to be true to life. I don’t know Jason Aaron. I’ve met him a few comic conventions, but I haven’t interacted with him outside of those brief moments. I don’t know his background. I have no knowledge of how he researches his subjects. Reading this particular work, it’s clear that he made effort to ensure that Prairie Rose Reservation was realistic. Some could say that using the stereotypes of the poor reservation is exploitive when an outsider uses it for their art. That’s not how I felt reading it. The story wasn’t meant to present a factual account of life on the Rez. It wanted to present a story of horrible, broken people; some looking for redemption, some for an easy thrill. I feel in that, “Scalped” accomplished it’s mission. This essay may make it seem like I didn’t like “Scalped.” The reality is that my feelings are beyond like or dislike. I enjoyed reading it. I was legitimately moved by some character arcs. The themes of hope and despair spoke to me. Unfortunately, those emotions were at war with parts of me feeling that it was inappropriate for a writer to use pieces of a world when they aren’t a part of it. I love Jason Aaron’s writing but I’m still processing how I feel about this particular work. And in the end, that is an amazing feat. Where most books I read for enjoyment are quickly forgotten, this story and its characters will live on in my thoughts for a while yet to come.

I’m enjoying it so far. Getting some glimpses about how the Maestro was born is pretty interesting. Also seeing that everything he told Hulk in the Future Imperfect May have been embellished a bit. I was surprised that Hulk doesn’t seem to recognize what’s going on. The original meeting with the Maestro was a frightening encounter for hulk that you’d think he could see some of the evidence that he was in that timeline. I guess so much has happened to him since then that either he’s forgotten or doesn’t really care anymore.

I really enjoyed the Kanan mini. Hope you like it too.

701-826 I was going to break these up and do individual writes up on them, but the stack got away from me. Mainly my monthly subscriptions but a few odds and ends as well. Favorites currently are Strange Tales, DCeased, The Boys: Dear Becky, and The Cimmerian. I’m enjoying the Superman stories, but not a huge fan of the art. I enjoyed Empyre, and Just wrapped that up. Getting close the the 1k mark. Thanks for the motivation.

781-790 Lazarus Risen 1-4 I loved Lazarus and am a fan of these longer format books. Rucka has created an awesome and somewhat scary world And I can’t get enough of it. Punisher: The Platoon 1-6 I’m a sucker for most anything Garth Ennis, especially his takes on American experience. I really enjoyed this story but almost wish it was longer. Learning about Frank Castle and not the Punisher was pretty cool, but it felt like this story could’ve been stretch to ten or twelve issues. What I really liked the most about reading this series was some memories from my childhood. My Grandpa read novels, both fiction and nonfiction, about The Vietnam War. I ended up reading almost every one he had as well. I found the experiences that our conscript troops went through both fascinating and terrifying. This story really sent me back to those days, reading and chatting with grandpa about the books and such. I’m sure if he was still alive, he would’ve enjoyed this series too. These are worth a read if you are a fan of Vietnam War movies, Garth Ennis, or the Punisher.

Wow. Finally finished this one. 719-780: The Fourth World Omnibus. This was a beast to get through. Between the dense exposition and vintage writing style, combined my slower reading speed as I move into middle age, this book took a bit. The art was great and I loved all the giant pages of Kirby art. Mister Miracle has slowly become one of my favorite characters so it was a foregone conclusion that those issues would be my favorites. Two things that really detracted from these stories for me was the Jimmy Olsen stuff, which felt interminable, and the focus on Earth. I can’t stand Jimmy Olsen as a main character and the newsboys here were just as obnoxious. Though I get the use of Earth as ten battleground between New Genesis and Apokolips, all of the action that took place on those two planets was usually my favorite. All in all, I’m glad I read it, as collecting the single issues was taking too much time, but I’ll likely only revisit it for Mister Miracle and Orion. And Big Barda.

I picked up a collection today and I’m trying to figure out if this is a blue hologram or if I’m seeing it weird. The border pops green, but the center appears blue I think. Thoughts?

I’m thinking about doing a review for our local comic Facebook page. It was interesting reading it thirty years later

My newest arrival! I’ve been wanting to read the Fourth World stuff for a while but it was taking forever to collect them in floppy form. So I found this at a decent used price and pulled the trigger. Can’t wait to carve out some time and get to it.

Found an unpicked through .75 bin and scored this one. Not mint, but I was happy to find it.

Wow. It’s definitely been a while since I posted. I won’t go through everything but will leave my thoughts on some notables reads. 646-718 Empyre: Really enjoying this series as it feels very retro to me. Originally I was going to pass on it but the Hitch cover for #1 drew me in and I quickly bought all the issues I needed to catch up. It definitely reminds me of an old school avengers story. Dead Planet: The DCeased stories have been at the top of my read list and this one is no exception. Really liking the way these stories are progressing. The Next Men: I had never read these before and seeing a big chunk of the run in the fifty cent bin got me to take a chance. I’m not going to go too far into it, but I’m conflicted on how I feel about it. It definitely is a book of its time, but there were some kernels of creativity in there that kept me engaged. I will finish it up once I hunt down the rest of them. The Cimmerian: Favorite Conan comic series in a long time. Feels like what I would’ve envisioned a translation from the novels would be. A must read for Conan fans. Forever Evil Series. I’ve been wanting to read this for a while and I wasn’t disappointed. Seeing the villains cut loose where the heroes couldn’t was pretty awesome. I’m getting there. Next up is the Forever People Omnibus. Till then, have an epic day

That's pretty cool. RI cover?

I appreciate that. So many different covers to modern comics nowadays, I’ve found myself buying extra copies by accident just because I didn’t recognize the cover. Lol.

Doh. Lol. I checked the inside cover and couldn’t find anything that said second printing. Too good to be true I guess. Lol. Still look cool and if Gold Lantern gets big for some reason I may be able to get my money back at least. Thanks for the info.

These were still on the rack at the local shop and I thought there are worse ways to spend sixteen bucks. Probably just going to put them away for a while. Maybe Gold Lantern will get big or maybe not, but this will always be the first appearance (unless they appeared in some obscure trade mag or some odd back issue that will be discovered further down the road. Lol)

622-646 My kids and I have been playing a lot of the DC Deck building game lately. My son has decided that he needs to understand what all the cards are referencing, so he has been digging through all my trade paperbacks to do so. Now, since all my trades are laying around the house, I’ve been going back through them as well. The death of Blue Beetle was amazing and tragic in that he was on the right path, but was constantly dismissed. It took his death to trigger any action on their part and even then, they didn’t seem wholly affected by his passing. mad for Rai, a dealer threw that in on a sale and I realized I had never read it before. I really enjoyed it, as I do much of pre-unity Valiant. i have a few other things to add to the reading pile this week. I may not get a lot of time to get to them, but we will see.