Raze Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 11 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said: If they compile the Hill House comics into TPB/HC, I will have to check them out. Ive finished 2 of them. I would pass on dollhouse family, but basketful of heads is fun! I haven’t started low low woods or the plunge. I like to read the complete story at one time as opposed to reading books monthly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ken Aldred Posted June 2, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) 129 to 145 Special Marvel Edition 15 and 16 Master of Kung Fu 17 to 28 Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu 1 to 3 Very consistently readable comics, keeping me engaged until the end. Definitely carried through by the stories, as the art team changes frequently between Jim Starlin, Paul Gulacy, Ron Wilson, Al Milgrom, Keith Pollard, John Buscema and Ed Hannigan. Starlin and Gulacy produce some great work here, of course. A part of the series that I found much more interesting now than it ever would’ve been to me as a teenager was comparing the mindsets of Shang-Chi and Fu Manchu. His father has lived a very, very long time due to an elixir of vitality, has an underlying psychopathic personality, always having enjoyed playing games with people, with the typical long-term evolution towards more and more extreme manipulation, until, in the end, he’s bored and emotionally unmoved unless stimulated by gameplay and control at a most extreme, worldwide level. Shang-Chi himself was basically a eugenics project; a carefully-selected, ideal mother, then, lifelong indoctrination into his father’s belief system, little more than an experiment in control via nature and nurture to create a perfectly like-minded, super-intelligent, apex killing machine. However, the plan fails completely, as, instead of creating another selfish, empathy-deficient psychopath, nature and the unpredictability of genetics results in a very caring, thoughtful individual with a strong moral compass, the exact opposite of what was intended. The stories explore the resultant conflict between the self-serving, frequently destructive and murderous directives of Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi’s conscientious distancing from those demands and from his father, and lots of debating about the subjective perception of good and evil by two polar opposite personalities. Shang-Chi’s half-sister, Fah Lo Suee, is also introduced in this run. Fu Manchu loses the genetic lottery again with her; someone just as psychopathic, manipulative and power-mad as himself; totally unsupportive and hostile, aiming to take over his organisation and kill him in the process. Just as importantly, there are also many kick-arse fight scenes to recommend in these comics. Edited June 2, 2020 by Ken Aldred bb8, DavidTheDavid, telerites and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srezvan Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Some random reads. Marvel Fanfare #4 was a suggestion from the boards. It was a fun slug fest, Hulk vs. Blob and Unus the Untouchable. Marvel Team-up #65 & #66. First US appearance of Captain Britain and first appearance of Arcade. A pretty straight-forward superhero story of good guys vs. bad guys. Raze and Ken Aldred 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 On 5/15/2020 at 1:04 PM, DavidTheDavid said: I LOVE that series. I was a new father who was also struggling with depression when I read it. It resonated rather deeply with me. On 5/15/2020 at 4:41 PM, Talapas1 said: I’m not a new father, but I was, once upon a time. And seeing depression laid out like that was very real. Scott and Barda’s relationship seemed very relatable (as relatable as two planet hopping war gods can be) in that their arguments seemed real and anger felt legitimate. It’s hard to explain, but rarely do superhero relationships seem that authentic. What was your opinion about what was actually going on in the series? There are various theories online, and a couple, IIRC, in the thread over in Modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raze Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 256-261 Gideon Falls 1-6 tpb Interesting read, I will be picking up vol 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raze Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 262 Frontline Combat 10 Ken Aldred and DavidTheDavid 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Classic war comic. Raze 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raze Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 15 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said: Classic war comic. First story was good but the rest were ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Raze said: First story was good but the rest were ok Just had a look on GCD. I thought it was the one with the Wally Wood atom bomb story. Completely wrong. That was Two-Fisted Tales 33. Edited June 6, 2020 by Ken Aldred Raze 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talapas1 Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 On 6/3/2020 at 6:11 PM, Ken Aldred said: What was your opinion about what was actually going on in the series? There are various theories online, and a couple, IIRC, in the thread over in Modern. I'm not sure. I'm still figuring out DC continuity so I don't know if the mini series is canon. Or is it set in the near future? It seems like it takes place over a decent amount of time so it feels like that would make sense. I don't think it all took place in his mind. The drone and drag and jumping forward in time really felt like how life with depression could feel. If I had to choose a theory that I like, it would be that this was a future elseworlds take rather than something all in Scott's head. Ken Aldred 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine48 Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Just read Tec Annual #4 and was big mad when I remembered it was a what if type of tale at the end.Annual 3 was meh.Story for Year One Batman the Scarecrow was okay,art was fart. DavidTheDavid and Raze 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Talapas1 Posted June 6, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 6, 2020 609-617 Taarna 1-4: I have been a fan of Heavy Metal since I was a kid. I remember watching the movie (edited I think) late at night on WTBS and my favorite parts were the undead WW2 short and Taarna. So I was super excited to see that they made a comic with her. I tried getting the complete series, but then saw the collected edition and had to snag it. I really enjoyed the story and it was very evocative of 70s and 80s era scifi/fantasy. Fun read. Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child. I’m not going to lie, I don’t follow the DKR universe very closely. I grabbed this because it looked like a oneshot and the character design on the cover looked pretty cool. It was a crazy read. Not being versed in the universe did leave some confusion and the jumping around in plot was a bit hard to follow, but man did it have some cool scenes. I really liked the art, though it’s not typically the style that I prefer. All in all, I found it worth the price, despite some of the criticisms I had of it. Bounty Hunters 1 &2: Decent Star Wars read. Not sure how I feel about it yet. Story started out fast and left some questions, which I suppose was the point, but not knowing any of the characters beyond Fett and Bossk, it was a bit confusing at first. Not sure how I feel about the “central” character as not enough time has been spent with him and I get the feeling that the book will follow a bunch of characters so development may be slow going. I’m going to stick it out for a few more issues as I think I can see some of where they are going but it’s the weakest of my pull list. Marvels X and Marvel: I really enjoyed Earth X and Marvels so anything that calls back to those is automatically on my radar. Really enjoyed the Marvels X premise and I’m sure by the time the series wraps up, I will be revisiting the Earth X series. Marvel was cool as I really like stand alone stories and love the multiple stories in one book premise. These two will be added to the pull list. Random DC stuff: Love the finale of the DCeased mini. Cool reveals and some hope shines through at the end. Really liked action comics as Con-El is back! Also leading many in the universe to realize that they’ve been through a Crisis. I’m not a huge JRJ fan though, and it takes away from some of the story for me. Far Sector is interesting and I look forward to seeing how the story develops. Skin Thirteen was an accidental purchase. Thought I was buying the Gen Thirteen issue, but didn’t look closely enough. Oh well. It was a silly parody of Gen 13 and really made fun of the T&A. Not super happy I bought it, but looking at Evil Bay, it looks like it’s worth a few bucks more than I paid for it, so I will probably resell it if I can find someone who wants it. The Boys: Dear Becky: Anything new to do with the Boys and I’m in. Loved the series from the start and will always be ready to read further adventures of Wee Hughie. Transformers Galaxies: Short arcs focusing on developing the Transformers universe and less than main characters? Yes please. Really enjoyed this short Cliff Jumper arc and can’t wait to see where the series goes next. Another one added to my pull list. porcupine48, DavidTheDavid, theCapraAegagrus and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTheDavid Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 96 and 97. I have a phat omnibus started. I'm really digging the first two issues in the collection. Ken Aldred, F For Fake and Raze 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 On 6/6/2020 at 5:08 PM, Talapas1 said: ...Marvels X and Marvel: I really enjoyed Earth X and Marvels so anything that calls back to those is automatically on my radar. Really enjoyed the Marvels X premise and I’m sure by the time the series wraps up, I will be revisiting the Earth X series. Marvel was cool as I really like stand alone stories and love the multiple stories in one book premise. These two will be added to the pull list... Did Alex Ross do the interior art for Marvels X? Talapas1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talapas1 Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 On 6/8/2020 at 6:28 AM, theCapraAegagrus said: Did Alex Ross do the interior art for Marvels X? On 6/8/2020 at 6:28 AM, theCapraAegagrus said: Did Alex Ross do the interior art for Marvels X? unfortunately not. Art is still decent though. Ken Aldred and theCapraAegagrus 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 146 to 153 Hour of the Dragon, reprinting Giant-Size Conan 1 to 4, Savage Sword of Conan 8 and 10, Conan Annual 4 and 5. Roy Thomas’ adaptation of Robert E Howard’s 'Conan the Conqueror' novel. The first three Giant-Size issues are the most impressive art-wise, with excellent Gil Kane pencils brilliantly enhanced by Tom Sutton’s inking; ultra-detailed and a grimy, earthy quality to the finish which perfectly suits the Dark Age setting of the material. The Kane art in the fourth Giant-Size is still good, first somewhat softened by Frank Springer’s inking, and then, in the later pages, thankfully just about surviving Vince Colletta’s attempt at erasing and ruining the pencils. Excellent remastered art and colouring up to this stage. The final two sections of the original REH story were published in black-and-white in Savage Sword magazine, and the colouring here is very disappointing. In issue 8, Kane’s last, there’s poor inking and, for me, some absolutely terrible, muddy, dull colouring. In issue 10, pencilled by John Buscema, the art’s fine, but the colouring is a bit washed out. The story adaptation is a page turner though, and classic Bronze Age Marvel sword-and-sorcery. The two Conan Annuals are Roy Thomas’ continuation of REH’s novel, more about Conan’s reclamation of the kingdom of Aquilonia, the last attempts by his rivals at getting rid of him, and his relationship with the former harem slave girl and eventual queen, Zenobia. Again, perfectly readable Bronze Age Conan. Being from colour newsprint books, the remastering of John Buscema and Ernie Chan’s art is back up to an excellent standard. Recommended, but with a caveat about patchy, remastered art in places. cgcsketcherz, DavidTheDavid, Raze and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post srezvan Posted June 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2020 X-Men God Loves, Man Kills from 1982. Great story that still holds up today. bb8, Ken Aldred, Talapas1 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post theCapraAegagrus Posted June 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2020 Progress: 100/1,000 Calvin & Hobbes: 1985 Calvin & Hobbes: Winter 1986 The production value on the complete collection is fantastic. I don't think I ever read anything of C&H from the 1980's. There is a lot of political humor. Some real LOL strips. Ken Aldred, Raze, F For Fake and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTheDavid Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 On 6/9/2020 at 8:42 PM, srezvan said: X-Men God Loves, Man Kills from 1982. Great story that still holds up today. I was at the age as a kid where I could start grasping social issues when this book was published, and it had a deep impact on me. Just seeing that cover stirs those same feelings I had reading it. Talapas1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTheDavid Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) 98-101 The Crack Comics I bought for the cover, but it's fun to see modern takes on a classic comic. The Immortal Hulk I bought because I'm just wowed by Ross's covers on this title, but the story was quite good, too. I read the first 20 or so of these and was really impressed with the writing. If this issue is any indication, it's maintaining that quality, which is tough for 30+ issues. I bought the Amethyst comics with the same mild chagrin I had as a kid buying the 80's series. I told the clerk not to laugh at me or I would cry and not come back. He pointed at me and laughed anyway. Then I cried for a while, but I still like the comics. They remind me of Ken Garing's recent Gogor series. The main character is really well written, the plot is intriguing, the art is compelling, and it's been a fun series so far. Edited June 13, 2020 by DavidTheDavid Ken Aldred and Raze 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...