1000 Books in 2024 3 3

[paperheart]

#21-60

Hellboy TPB's Vol 1-8

 

[srezvan]

113 books so far this year.

Spider-Man Life Story: This was a decent read, but certainly rushed in places. But I guess that was kinda the point - to shove a lot of history (retelling of the history, really) into a short series. Some really goofy parts in the resolution. I read this for my first ever comic book club. We'll be discussing this book tomorrow night.

 

Our (7yo and I) journey through The Legend of Zelda continues. Still way too juvenile for my liking. We are taking a break to read something else that caught his eye. We have finished 5 of the 10 manga in the box set.

 

Uncanny X-Men Omnibus 2 - Our (10yo and I) continue to chip away at this. We've taken a few breaks to read other stories. I really dislike the annual issues. Days of Future Past is up next in the omnibus. We are currently reading X-Men Days of Future Past - Doomsday, which is a modern run up to the classic story. So far, I enjoy it.

[srezvan]

122 comics so far this year.

Dawn of X TPB #10: Still very interesting overall. Excalibur is so bad.

 

X-Men: Days of Future Past: Doomsday TPB: This was a fun addition to the classic story. Art was not to my liking.

[Cat]

I've managed to get a bit of focus and get some reading done, albeit not much. I've mainly read the new Green Lantern series by Jeremy Adams (#2 was so hard to get for some reason, none on eBay, had to rely on a lucky find at a random Melbourne comic store I'd never heard of), which was pretty decent so far, to be honest. Just wish it had more Kyle. 

Omnibus-wise I've read Aquaman by Geoff Johns, and the Green Lantern Corps omnibus volume 1. Both were great reads, although through no fault of its own, GLC duplicates a decent chunk of material from the first Johns Green Lantern by necessity, like the Sinestro Corps War, and the Recharge miniseries. Recharge was a breeze to reread, but I found SCW to be a real slog. Go figure. It's one of my favourite stories too. 

I've just started the Moon Knight by Huston etc omnibus, which is stuff I love, so it's a breeze to date. Another great time ahead of me. 

And that's my attempts at moments of normality in what is a very dysfunctional time in my life. I'm up to 818 books read for the year. 

Take care everyone. Best wishes to you all. 

[Ken Aldred]

Top Ten 1 to 12

As is often stated online; Hill Street Blues with super-heroes.

Several story arcs seamlessly linked together, one of Alan Moore's best series, lots of background Easter eggs to look for.

2024 total = 238

[chromium]

Finished my stack for this month.

April 2024 : 172 comic read  

For a total of 556 comics read in 2024

Once upon the end of the world 11-12
The One hand 1
The Original X-man 1
Our Bones Dust 1-2
The Penguin 4-7
Petrol Head 2-4
Phantom Road 7-9
Pine & Merimac 1
Pixies of the Sixties (3 comics)
Predator the Last Hunt 1
Project Riese 5-6
Punisher 2-4
The Walking Dead Deluxe 78-83
Swan Songs 6
Punisher 3-4
Quasar Cosmos in Collision (18 comics)
Quentin by Tarantino (10 comics)
The Race of the century (4 comics)
Red Light 2
Red Sonja 9
Rom and the X-man (4 comics)
Saint John 2
The Sandman Universe Nightmare Country - Glass House 6
Saucer Country 0
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver 1
Sensational She-hulk (2024) 1-4
The Sentry (2024) 1-3
She's running on fumes 1
Sins of the Salton Sea (6 comics)
The Six Fingers 1
Skeeters 1-2
Star Wars 41-43
Darth Vader 41-43
Star Wars - Mace Windu 1
Star Wars - Thrawn Alliances 1
Starsigns 7
Subgenre 2-3
Suicide Squad - Kill Arkham Asylum 01
Superman 78 1-2
Thanos 2-3
Thunderbolts 1-3
Time Traveller Tales 1-2
Timeless 1
Travelling to Mars 9
The Twilight Zone 1-12
The Twilight Zone 1959 (2 comics)
U & I 1
Ultimate Black Panther 1
Unnatural Order 2-3
Vengeance Of The Moon Knight 1-2
Von Bach 1
W0rldtr33 6-7
Wesley Dodds - The Sandman 3-5
Where the body was (6 comics)
White Widow 1-3
X-O Manowar - Unconquered 4-6
You wish (7 comics)

 

 

[paperheart]

#61-70

Seven to Eternity #1-4

Streets of Glory #1-6

[rlextherobot]

306.    Fantastic Four     Vol. 1    78
307.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    1
308.    Local Man    Vol. 1    2
309.    Hellblazer    Vol. 1    1
310.    Top 10    Vol. 1    9
311.    Captain America     Vol. 1    111
312.    Justice League of America     Vol. 1    61
313.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    2
314.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    3
315.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    4
316.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    5
317.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    6
318.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    7
319.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    8
320.    Top 10    Vol. 1    10
321.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    9
322.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    10
323.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    11
324.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    12
325.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    13
326.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    14
327.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    15
328.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    16
329.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    17
330.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    18
331.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    19
332.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    20
333.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    21
334.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    22
335.    Local Man    Vol. 1    3
336.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    26
337.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    27
338.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    28
339.    Batman: The Cult    Vol. 1    1
340.    Batman: The Cult    Vol. 1    2
341.    Sabretooth     Vol. 3    1
342.    Sabretooth     Vol. 3    2
343.    Showcase    Vol. 1    75
344.    Local Man    Vol. 1    4
345.    Local Man    Vol. 1    5
346.    Grendel: Devil Child    Vol. 1    1
347.    Grendel: Devil Child    Vol. 1    2
348.    Batman     Vol. 1    686
349.    Detective Comics     Vol. 1    853
350.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    1
351.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    2
352.    Grendel     Vol. 2    1
353.    Grendel     Vol. 2    2
354.    WildC.A.T.s / X-Men: The Golden Age    Vol. 1    1
355.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    3
356.    Grendel     Vol. 2    3
357.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    29
358.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    4
359.    Grendel     Vol. 2    4
360.    Grendel     Vol. 2    5
361.    Fantastic Four     Vol. 1    134
362.    Phantom Stranger     Vol. 2    14
363.    Top 10    Vol. 1    11
364.    Top 10    Vol. 2    12
365.    Metal Men     Vol. 1    37
366.    Miracleman (Eclipse)    Vol. 1    12
367.    Miracleman (Eclipse)    Vol. 1    13
368.    Grendel     Vol. 2    6
369.    Amazing Adventures     Vol. 2    1
370.    Local Man    Vol. 1    6
371.    Grendel     Vol. 2    7
372.    Local Man    Vol. 1    7
373.    DC Silver Age Classics: Showcase #4    Vol. 1    NN
374.    Sub-Mariner     Vol. 1    69
375.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    30
376.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    31
377.    Grendel     Vol. 2    8
378.    Detective Comics     Vol. 1    406
379.    The Brave and the Bold     Vol. 1    108
380.    Local Man    Vol. 1    8
381.    Hellions    Vol. 1    1
382.    Hellions    Vol. 1    2
383.    Hellions    Vol. 1    3
384.    Hellions    Vol. 1    4
385.    Hellions    Vol. 1    7
386.    Grendel     Vol. 2    9
387.    Grendel     Vol. 2    10
388.    Grendel     Vol. 2    11
389.    Local Man    Vol. 1    9
390.    Hellions    Vol. 1    8
391.    Batman     Vol. 1    227
392.    Batman / Superman: World's Finest    Vol. 1    25
393.    Batman / Superman: World's Finest    Vol. 1    26
394.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    1
395.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    2
396.    Shazam!     Vol. 4    9
397.    Shazam!     Vol. 4    10
398.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    3
399.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    4
400.    W0rldtr33    Vol. 1    8
401.    Thunderbolts     Vol. 1    147
402.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    5
403.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    6
404.    Grendel     Vol. 2    12
405.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    32
406.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    33
407.    Hellions    Vol. 1    9
408.    The Uncanny X-Men     Vol. 1    201
409.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    7
410.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    8
411.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    8
412.    Hellions    Vol. 1    10
413.    Ultimate Marvel Team-Up    Vol. 1    6
414.    Ultimate Marvel Team-Up    Vol. 1    7
415.    Ultimate Marvel Team-Up    Vol. 1    8
416.    The Uncanny X-Men     Vol. 1    139
 

[Ken Aldred]

On 5/1/2024 at 5:33 PM, rlextherobot said:

306.    Fantastic Four     Vol. 1    78
307.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    1
308.    Local Man    Vol. 1    2
309.    Hellblazer    Vol. 1    1
310.    Top 10    Vol. 1    9
311.    Captain America     Vol. 1    111
312.    Justice League of America     Vol. 1    61
313.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    2
314.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    3
315.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    4
316.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    5
317.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    6
318.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    7
319.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    8
320.    Top 10    Vol. 1    10
321.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    9
322.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    10
323.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    11
324.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    12
325.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    13
326.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    14
327.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    15
328.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    16
329.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    17
330.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    18
331.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    19
332.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    20
333.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    21
334.    Punisher MAX    Vol. 1    22
335.    Local Man    Vol. 1    3
336.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    26
337.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    27
338.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    28
339.    Batman: The Cult    Vol. 1    1
340.    Batman: The Cult    Vol. 1    2
341.    Sabretooth     Vol. 3    1
342.    Sabretooth     Vol. 3    2
343.    Showcase    Vol. 1    75
344.    Local Man    Vol. 1    4
345.    Local Man    Vol. 1    5
346.    Grendel: Devil Child    Vol. 1    1
347.    Grendel: Devil Child    Vol. 1    2
348.    Batman     Vol. 1    686
349.    Detective Comics     Vol. 1    853
350.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    1
351.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    2
352.    Grendel     Vol. 2    1
353.    Grendel     Vol. 2    2
354.    WildC.A.T.s / X-Men: The Golden Age    Vol. 1    1
355.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    3
356.    Grendel     Vol. 2    3
357.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    29
358.    Cosmic Odyssey    Vol. 1    4
359.    Grendel     Vol. 2    4
360.    Grendel     Vol. 2    5
361.    Fantastic Four     Vol. 1    134
362.    Phantom Stranger     Vol. 2    14
363.    Top 10    Vol. 1    11
364.    Top 10    Vol. 2    12
365.    Metal Men     Vol. 1    37
366.    Miracleman (Eclipse)    Vol. 1    12
367.    Miracleman (Eclipse)    Vol. 1    13
368.    Grendel     Vol. 2    6
369.    Amazing Adventures     Vol. 2    1
370.    Local Man    Vol. 1    6
371.    Grendel     Vol. 2    7
372.    Local Man    Vol. 1    7
373.    DC Silver Age Classics: Showcase #4    Vol. 1    NN
374.    Sub-Mariner     Vol. 1    69
375.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    30
376.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    31
377.    Grendel     Vol. 2    8
378.    Detective Comics     Vol. 1    406
379.    The Brave and the Bold     Vol. 1    108
380.    Local Man    Vol. 1    8
381.    Hellions    Vol. 1    1
382.    Hellions    Vol. 1    2
383.    Hellions    Vol. 1    3
384.    Hellions    Vol. 1    4
385.    Hellions    Vol. 1    7
386.    Grendel     Vol. 2    9
387.    Grendel     Vol. 2    10
388.    Grendel     Vol. 2    11
389.    Local Man    Vol. 1    9
390.    Hellions    Vol. 1    8
391.    Batman     Vol. 1    227
392.    Batman / Superman: World's Finest    Vol. 1    25
393.    Batman / Superman: World's Finest    Vol. 1    26
394.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    1
395.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    2
396.    Shazam!     Vol. 4    9
397.    Shazam!     Vol. 4    10
398.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    3
399.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    4
400.    W0rldtr33    Vol. 1    8
401.    Thunderbolts     Vol. 1    147
402.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    5
403.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    6
404.    Grendel     Vol. 2    12
405.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    32
406.    The Avengers     Vol. 5    33
407.    Hellions    Vol. 1    9
408.    The Uncanny X-Men     Vol. 1    201
409.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    7
410.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    8
411.    Avengers Academy    Vol. 1    8
412.    Hellions    Vol. 1    10
413.    Ultimate Marvel Team-Up    Vol. 1    6
414.    Ultimate Marvel Team-Up    Vol. 1    7
415.    Ultimate Marvel Team-Up    Vol. 1    8
416.    The Uncanny X-Men     Vol. 1    139
 

Good mix.

[Ken Aldred]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:38 AM, chromium said:

Finished my stack for this month.

April 2024 : 172 comic read  

For a total of 556 comics read in 2024

Once upon the end of the world 11-12
The One hand 1
The Original X-man 1
Our Bones Dust 1-2
The Penguin 4-7
Petrol Head 2-4
Phantom Road 7-9
Pine & Merimac 1
Pixies of the Sixties (3 comics)
Predator the Last Hunt 1
Project Riese 5-6
Punisher 2-4
The Walking Dead Deluxe 78-83
Swan Songs 6
Punisher 3-4
Quasar Cosmos in Collision (18 comics)
Quentin by Tarantino (10 comics)
The Race of the century (4 comics)
Red Light 2
Red Sonja 9
Rom and the X-man (4 comics)
Saint John 2
The Sandman Universe Nightmare Country - Glass House 6
Saucer Country 0
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver 1
Sensational She-hulk (2024) 1-4
The Sentry (2024) 1-3
She's running on fumes 1
Sins of the Salton Sea (6 comics)
The Six Fingers 1
Skeeters 1-2
Star Wars 41-43
Darth Vader 41-43
Star Wars - Mace Windu 1
Star Wars - Thrawn Alliances 1
Starsigns 7
Subgenre 2-3
Suicide Squad - Kill Arkham Asylum 01
Superman 78 1-2
Thanos 2-3
Thunderbolts 1-3
Time Traveller Tales 1-2
Timeless 1
Travelling to Mars 9
The Twilight Zone 1-12
The Twilight Zone 1959 (2 comics)
U & I 1
Ultimate Black Panther 1
Unnatural Order 2-3
Vengeance Of The Moon Knight 1-2
Von Bach 1
W0rldtr33 6-7
Wesley Dodds - The Sandman 3-5
Where the body was (6 comics)
White Widow 1-3
X-O Manowar - Unconquered 4-6
You wish (7 comics)

 

 

Another good mix.

Nice to see variety.

[Ken Aldred]

On 5/1/2024 at 7:06 PM, Ken Aldred said:

Quasar Cosmos in Collision (18 comics)

One of my guilty pleasure series from the much-maligned 90s.

Consistent writing, some decent art, especially from Greg Capullo.

Edited May 1 by Ken Aldred

[Rockyjo3]

Been really busy! Haven’t had time to do as much reading as I’d like to do.

JSA Omnibus vol 3:

JSA #76-87

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #1-28

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #8-10

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL #1

JSA KINGDOM COME SPECIAL: SUPERMAN #1

JSA KINGDOM COME SPECIAL: MAGOG #1

JSA KINGDOM COME SPECIAL: THE KINGDOM #1

Also Umbrella Academy Volumes 1-3

Total: 357

[mrlatko]

Still slacking, but got some reading done:

Sinestro Corps War!

85: Sinestro Corps Special 1 (DC One Shot '07)

86: Green Lantern 21 (DC '07)

87: Green Lantern Corps 14 (DC '07)

88: Green Lantern 22 (DC '07)

89: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Parralax (DC One Shot '07)

90: Green Lantern Corps 15 (DC '07)

91: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Cyborg Superman (DC One Shot '07)

92: Green Lantern 23 (DC '07)

93: Green Lantern Corps 16 (DC '07)

94: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Superman Prime (DC One Shot '07)

95: Green Lantern 24 (DC '07)

96: Green Lantern Corps 17 (DC '07)

97: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Ion (DC One Shot '07)

98: Green Lantern Corps 18 (DC '07)

99: Green Lantern 25 (DC '07)

100-103: Superman/Shazam: First Thunder 1-4 (DC Limited '05)

Picked back up the "Marvel Universe by John Byrne" and continued reading where I left off last year.

104: Avengers 164 (Marvel '77)

105: Avengers 165 (Marvel '77)

106: Avengers 166 (Marvel '77)

107: Power Man 48 (Marvel '77)

108: Power Man 49 (Marvel '77)

Sinestro Corps War was fun.  Learned about Lantern Kyle Rayner who I knew nothing about.  Pretty epic storyline throughout with solid artwork.

Superman/Shazam is kind of an origin story of their first meeting and friendship.  Sivana and Luthor cause trouble.  Enjoyable all around.

Avengers 3 issue run was the Count Nefaria trilogy.  Good stuff!  Shooter and Byrne, pure Marvel 70s goodness.  Only complaint was the Marcos inking over Byrne.  Guess I'm spoiled by having experienced so much Byrne/Austin?  This just didn't look right to me in a lot of places, almost as if it was just some generic artist instead of Byrne who was just becoming great.  Another odd thing about these 3 issues was just how useless Captain America was.  Did Shooter not like the character?  He was written as a screw up afterthought who couldn't get anything right.  He pretty much sat on the sidelines throughout.

The Power Man issues show the origin of Luke's friendship and initial team-up with Iron Fist.  Pretty enjoyable stuff.  Again, didn't really like the inking over Byrne for a lot of it.  Could also be the way these stories are being reprinted in the Omnibus?  Would need to check against the originals to see for sure.  Didn't think it was possible to screw up Byrne's 70s art, but these guys are managing to do it.  Could also be that Byrne was a bit rushed and still finding his style at this time.

 

[paperheart]

#71-80

Slaughter House-Five GN

Girl Who Danced With Death #1-3

Sentient #1-6

[srezvan]

Great Conan story.

[Cat]

On 5/3/2024 at 12:45 PM, mrlatko said:

Still slacking, but got some reading done:

Sinestro Corps War!

85: Sinestro Corps Special 1 (DC One Shot '07)

86: Green Lantern 21 (DC '07)

87: Green Lantern Corps 14 (DC '07)

88: Green Lantern 22 (DC '07)

89: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Parralax (DC One Shot '07)

90: Green Lantern Corps 15 (DC '07)

91: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Cyborg Superman (DC One Shot '07)

92: Green Lantern 23 (DC '07)

93: Green Lantern Corps 16 (DC '07)

94: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Superman Prime (DC One Shot '07)

95: Green Lantern 24 (DC '07)

96: Green Lantern Corps 17 (DC '07)

97: Tales of the Sinestro Corps - Ion (DC One Shot '07)

98: Green Lantern Corps 18 (DC '07)

99: Green Lantern 25 (DC '07)

100-103: Superman/Shazam: First Thunder 1-4 (DC Limited '05)

Picked back up the "Marvel Universe by John Byrne" and continued reading where I left off last year.

104: Avengers 164 (Marvel '77)

105: Avengers 165 (Marvel '77)

106: Avengers 166 (Marvel '77)

107: Power Man 48 (Marvel '77)

108: Power Man 49 (Marvel '77)

Sinestro Corps War was fun.  Learned about Lantern Kyle Rayner who I knew nothing about.  Pretty epic storyline throughout with solid artwork.

Superman/Shazam is kind of an origin story of their first meeting and friendship.  Sivana and Luthor cause trouble.  Enjoyable all around.

Avengers 3 issue run was the Count Nefaria trilogy.  Good stuff!  Shooter and Byrne, pure Marvel 70s goodness.  Only complaint was the Marcos inking over Byrne.  Guess I'm spoiled by having experienced so much Byrne/Austin?  This just didn't look right to me in a lot of places, almost as if it was just some generic artist instead of Byrne who was just becoming great.  Another odd thing about these 3 issues was just how useless Captain America was.  Did Shooter not like the character?  He was written as a screw up afterthought who couldn't get anything right.  He pretty much sat on the sidelines throughout.

The Power Man issues show the origin of Luke's friendship and initial team-up with Iron Fist.  Pretty enjoyable stuff.  Again, didn't really like the inking over Byrne for a lot of it.  Could also be the way these stories are being reprinted in the Omnibus?  Would need to check against the originals to see for sure.  Didn't think it was possible to screw up Byrne's 70s art, but these guys are managing to do it.  Could also be that Byrne was a bit rushed and still finding his style at this time.

 

Kyle Rayner is a terrific character. I'm of the right age where he was 'my' Green Lantern growing up, and I found it sad to see the decline in usage he's been experiencing since Hal came back. If you're interested in Kyle, and want to read his stories from the time, pick up the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner Rising Compendium. I've seen it go for pretty cheap on Amazon on good days, and contains Emerald Twilight, which explains how he became GL and what happened to Hal and the Corps etc, and his initial adventures, in all their 90's glory! 

There's also the Circle Of Fire tpb, but frankly the Compendium is the better buy IMO. 

Edited May 5 by Cat

[Djedi]

Gretel 1-5, Darkwatchers, Etc.

The first couple of Gretel stories I read were the original Gretel series, Myths & Legends Quarterly: Gretel, and Gretel: Bloody Mary. They all had the same problem. They were too serious, too complicated, not enough fun. But this changed with Darkwatchers. It had a spooky atmosphere with the art and an engaging mythology with the creatures. I found the main characters more appealing too. After that, I enjoyed Seeds of Despair and Mortal Vices as well. Seeds might be my favorite because the witch turns people into winged demons. In these last three, the series seems to have found its stride, simplifying things and amplifying the entertainment factor with the various evil witches.

Charismagic Vol. 1, Death Princess, Charismagic Vol. 2

When Hank, a Vegas magician, does his vanishing act, the crowd doesn't know it's real magic. He can teleport. It turns out his cat, Sparkles, is magic too. Later he's joined by the druid Sudana. I think this is a pretty cool trio. The art is fantastic. The colors pop and I particularly like Sudana's design, including her tattoos that glow when she does magic. There are many other characters. Some are expanded on in the prequel, Death Princess. The Death Princess, Orlana, is born with mind control, so she tries to take over the magic world. Definitely read that before Vol 2. of Charismagic. I'd rate Vol. 1 and the three issue Death Princess about equal. Vol. 2 is still pretty good but loses a little focus because of so many characters. I did like the idea of an evil magic cat (lion) added in since there is the good magic cat.

Edited May 6 by Djedi

[ttfitz]

On 3/26/2024 at 12:36 PM, F For Fake said:

Written by James Hudnall, with art chores by a rotating cast of bland nobodies (though a young Mark Bagley does some credible work in the run), it doesn't take long for the book to be completely stripped of all of its charm and intricacy. This is some truly abysmal writing. The nuance and depth are completely jettisoned, as are most of the major plot-points. The alien Horde are dismissed casually in favor of some sort of story about assassins and a shadow government. You can practically feel the writer's eagerness to jettison everything that came before, to make way for the story he actually wants to tell. It makes no sense given what we'd read up to the point. Characterization is as flat as the bio on a baseball card. This is bad, bad stuff. Do not engage.

I'm a little surprised, I usually really loved the stuff from Hudnall back in the day. Although I will admit the story sounds like him....

[ttfitz]

Last update the total was 127. Looks like this is a 2-month update, March and April (and a little May...)

Bullet Points 1-5
My latest read from J. Michael Straczynski aka JMS aka Joe. Probably my least favorite of his work that I've read recently. A decent premise - Make one little change, and the whole world can change. The change in this case was moving an assassins bullet (hence the name) back 1 day, so that Dr. Abraham Erskine (along with a solder by the name of Ben Parker) is killed by a German spy before the Super Solder serum is used on Steve Rogers, and thus no Captain America. A cascade of effects come from this one event, leading to some interesting twists. Felt like it tried a bit too hard to bring a bunch of "Oh yeah, that's neat" moments. An overdone What If? tale, as it was. 

Invincible 103-144
What can I say that hasn't been said before? Very, very good as always. And as with all good things, it eventually comes to an end. In this case, a pretty good end for an excellent series. Robert Kirkman is probably more well known as the creator of The Walking Dead, but Invincible grabbed me much more that his better known book.

Wesley Dodds Sandman 1-6
One of DC Comics look at some of the Golden Age JSA characters, I really enjoyed this one. Having recently read the Sandman Mystery Theatre series, I thought this felt in line with that series and the portrayal there. Worth a look if you are a JSA fan.

The Ribbon Queen 1-8
A bit of horror from the G-Man, Garth Ennis. An interesting series with a twist or two along the line. Like a lot of Ennis' work, it can be hard to see the lines, and tell who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. Or if there even are "good guys" and "bad guys."

Black Hammer: The End 1-6
A reasonable tie-up to the Black Hammer world, although if you think Jeff Lemire is really holding to The End like with Invincible, I've got a Farm to sell you.

Superman Year One 1-3
Frank Miller with (yet another) telling of the beginning of Superman's life on Earth. Frankly (heh), it was kind "meh" for me. It's no Batman: Year One, that's for sure.

Robyn Hood The Curse 1-6
Chuck Dixon being a favorite of mine from back-in-the-day, thought I'd give this one a try when I saw it listed on Hoopla. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but at least worth reading. Enjoyed it more than the Van Helsing mini of his I read earlier this year.

Killer Tales by Timothy Truman
Ran across this in a dollar box at a recent convention I went to, and I was sold when I saw Tim Truman in big letters on the cover:

One of his first works (but not first released) in the comic book industry. Worth it if for nothing else but the quirky Truman art.

Quick Stops 2 1-4
More from the world of author Kevin Smith's Clerks. Enjoyed this more than the first series, which I thought required a great deal of Clerk's fanboy knowledge in order to follow along. This had connections, but you could have enjoyed this one without the slightest bit of familiarity with the movies.

Norse Mythology II 1-6
Second series of Neil Gaiman's telling of the old Norse myths. As with everything Gaiman, very well written with a fun take on characters many Marvel fans might think they know.

Kirby Genesis 0-8
More collaboration between writer Kurt Busiek and artist Alex Ross - with an assist (via characters developed) from the legend himself, Jack Kirby. Lots of Kirby creations - and when I say lots, I mean 3 or 4 (or 5, I lost track) whole teams of characters. Busiek did his best, but for this reader, way too much Kirby wacky characters, which made it hard to follow. Still worth it for the fans of any of the three, I'd say, just don't expect the best of any of them.

MSH Secret Wars Battleworld 1-4
A supposed tale set between two panels of the 80s Secret Wars that gave us the Spider-Man black costume. Written by Tom DeFalco, I was reminded about why, after a nearly complete run of close to 400 straight issues of Fantastic Four, this completist collector stopped buying the title* due to how much I hated what DeFalco was doing. This wasn't as bad, but fairly blah - when the supposed surprise twist was something I saw at least 2 issues before (which is saying a lot in a 4 issue series) you can't really give it high praise.

So assuming I didn't lose track, that adds up to 100 issues, bringing the yearly total to 227.

 

*And yes, in case you are wondering, I did go back 20 or more years later and pick up the missing issues from the dollar boxes. Completist collector, remember? 

Edited May 13 by ttfitz
timeline

[Cat]

On 5/12/2024 at 1:58 PM, ttfitz said:

Last update the total was 127. Looks like this is a 2-month update, March and April (and a little May...)

Bullet Points 1-5
My latest read from J. Michael Straczynski aka JMS aka Joe. Probably my least favorite of his work that I've read recently. A decent premise - Make one little change, and the whole world can change. The change in this case was moving an assassins bullet (hence the name) back 1 day, so that Dr. Abraham Erskine (along with a solder by the name of Ben Parker) is killed by a German spy before the Super Solder serum is used on Steve Rogers, and thus no Captain America. A cascade of effects come from this one event, leading to some interesting twists. Felt like it tried a bit too hard to bring a bunch of "Oh yeah, that's neat" moments. An overdone What If? tale, as it was. 

Invincible 103-144
What can I say that hasn't been said before? Very, very good as always. And as with all good things, it eventually comes to an end. In this case, a pretty good end for an excellent series. Robert Kirkman is probably more well known as the creator of The Walking Dead, but Invincible grabbed me much more that his better known book.

Wesley Dodds Sandman 1-6
One of DC Comics look at some of the Golden Age JSA characters, I really enjoyed this one. Having recently read the Sandman Mystery Theatre series, I thought this felt in line with that series and the portrayal there. Worth a look if you are a JSA fan.

The Ribbon Queen 1-8
A bit of horror from the G-Man, Garth Ennis. An interesting series with a twist or two along the line. Like a lot of Ennis' work, it can be hard to see the lines, and tell who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. Or if there even are "good guys" and "bad guys."

Black Hammer: The End 1-6
A reasonable tie-up to the Black Hammer world, although if you think Jeff Lemire is really holding to The End like with Invincible, I've got a Farm to sell you.

Superman Year One 1-3
Frank Miller with (yet another) telling of the beginning of Superman's life on Earth. Frankly (heh), it was kind "meh" for me. It's no Batman: Year One, that's for sure.

Robyn Hood The Curse 1-6
Chuck Dixon being a favorite of mine from back-in-the-day, thought I'd give this one a try when I saw it listed on Hoopla. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but at least worth reading. Enjoyed it more than the Van Helsing mini of his I read earlier this year.

Killer Tales by Timothy Truman
Ran across this in a dollar box at a recent convention I went to, and I was sold when I saw Tim Truman in big letters on the cover:

One of his first works (but not first released) in the comic book industry. Worth it if for nothing else but the quirky Truman art.

Quick Stops 2 1-4
More from the world of author Kevin Smith's Clerks. Enjoyed this more than the first series, which I thought required a great deal of Clerk's fanboy knowledge in order to follow along. This had connections, but you could have enjoyed this one without the slightest bit of familiarity with the movies.

Norse Mythology II 1-6
Second series of Neil Gaiman's telling of the old Norse myths. As with everything Gaiman, very well written with a fun take on characters many Marvel fans might think they know.

Kirby Genesis 0-8
More collaboration between writer Kurt Busiek and artist Alex Ross - with an assist (via characters developed) from the legend himself, Jack Kirby. Lots of Kirby creations - and when I say lots, I mean 3 or 4 (or 5, I lost track) whole teams of characters. Busiek did his best, but for this reader, way too much Kirby wacky characters, which made it hard to follow. Still worth it for the fans of any of the three, I'd say, just don't expect the best of any of them.

MSH Secret Wars Battleworld 1-4
A supposed tale set between two panels of the 80s Secret Wars that gave us the Spider-Man black costume. Written by Tom DeFalco, I was reminded about why, after a nearly complete run of close to 400 straight issues of Fantastic Four, this completist collector stopped buying the title* due to how much I hated what DeFalco was doing. This wasn't as bad, but fairly blah - when the supposed surprise twist was something I saw at least 2 issues before (which is saying a lot in a 4 issue series) you can't really give it high praise.

So assuming I didn't lose track, that adds up to 100 issues, bringing the yearly total to 227.

 

*And yes, in case you are wondering, I did go back 30 or more years later and pick up the missing issues from the dollar boxes. Completist collector, remember? 

You've got some good choice of books there, but I have to step in and stand up for DeFalco and Ryan's Fantastic Four run. That was MY FF as a kid, so I have no ability to view it objectively, but let me try: *ahem* it' constantly keeps you on your toes with bigger, more bombastic storylines, yet also allots a decent amount of pagespace for family downtime and shenanigans. Whether you liked the end product or not, it's clear DeFalco was writing his hardest, desperate to make FF work in the Image era, a hopeless task. The pencils by Paul Ryan while not what you'd call exciting, are always en pointe, never rushed, never a bad panel, always of a high quality. A true penciller's penciller, I think someone once said of him. Together they fought against the impossible, being seen as your parent's comic, not cool like all these new Image and X-Men guys, and together they actually raised sales at some times, a rather minor miracle. 

Parts of the run haven't aged that great, but for the most part I can read 90% of it happily today, a pretty good percentage considering the vintage, creators, and competition. 

Might it be time to try an issue or two again and see if your views have changed over time? You never know...