Comic Book Discussion

[Kong Wen]

I spent some time at the bookstore the other day, and I saw they had Superman: Red Son. S:RS is a What if...? scenario where Superman lands in the Soviet Union instead of America. It's got some amazing cover art.

Nice! I'm not really much of a DC fan, but I like "What If...?" stories and this one seems to be quite well-liked. I might have to look it up.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

I went for it.

I picked up Superman Red Son too and it was pretty good. Especially in the art department.
Since I am not too solid on any DC lore, I propably didn't 'get' a lot of cameos/references though.
In fact: It is the first DC mainstream comic I ever bought.

I also picked up The Killing Joke, since it is rumored to be good.
And it was very good...

[squishy]

It's an older one but I recently went back and reread this. Really liked this series, it's a shame it never really caught on.

[VictorViper]

Battlechasers caught on just fine, it was Joe Mad's ongoing inability to meet deadlines that killed it. He had a nice IP going with Steampunk as well, but it also floundered because the books just weren't getting made in a reasonable timeframe.

[Kong Wen]

Has anyone read Planet Hulk and/or World War Hulk? I'm not sure how I feel about the character/concept of Hulk, and these seem to have been his recent big main-focus crossover stories.



Some people think the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be heading in this direction as well, but I don't how how much sense that would make, especially with their track record with Hulk movies.

[PoisonRamune]

Over the summer I've been reading most of the Marvel Star Wars series comics and have been generally impressed for the most part. So far they have: Star Wars, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, and Kanaan (which I don't read because I don't watch SW Rebels due to not having cable TV).

Darth Vader is a little wienery, overt and at times tough to get through but it has its moments (notable scene when Vader is sent to Genosis someone asks if he knows the layout and it then shows a drawn panel of him and Padme going into the colosseum from Attack of the Clones w a little Vadery tear).

Star Wars is pretty awesome throughout. At times you get panels that aren't clearly drawn (like I still don't know what Boba Fett is holding on page 12 of issue 6 but that's okay too). But the story is super good and is adding a lot to the Star Wars mythos especially since it's turning a lot of former canon on its head. Like the old Dark Horse graphic novels they tell the story that takes place between New Hope and Empire but deal w a lot of the emotional struggles and trials of the characters we all know.

Princess Leia was a series that I loathed at first and loved by its conclusion (it's only a 5 shot while I think the rest are gonna be milked til dry). Its art style is really bright, sort of "girl comic" style and the story starts to reinforce that it's going to be the case throughout, since it really begins as "Princess Leia Best Little Princess in the Galaxy." However, after issue 1-2 the story takes a delightful turn and becomes almost a spy mystery w really vibrant color palettes.

Lando is perhaps my favorite Star Wars series but perhaps I'm biased as Lando is my favorite Star Wars character. Lando is exactly what's on the box (or cover in this case) "before Cloud City, before the Millennium Falcon; it was the greatest heist he pulled." From the bold art style to the "how's he gonna get outta this one?" situations Lando is simply amazing. They remind me of old cowboy comics based on the way Lando will tackle an obstacle or move through a tough situation.

I also picked up a prequel comic to the Force Awakens but haven't ripped into that.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

Time to update this thread *takes a deep breath*

Lets's start with Marvel:

Rocket Raccoon & Groot Complete Collection:
Collects the early appearences of both characters and includes the Rocket miniseries from the late 50s.
The best part about it is arguably a newer series of comics that connect the present day characters, with this old (and rather silly) series. Otherwise, it's rather forgettable.

Ms. Marvel Vol 2: Generation Why:
I really liked the first volume and while this one isn't really bad, it kinda falls into a common trap. Instead of putting the focus on her as a character, they try to establish her inside the Marvel universe . This leads to throwaway cameos and a plot that (despite a funny villain) kinda goes nowhere. The moralizing part was almost unbearable, but I put the blame on myself for that as I am old and grumpy.
Still, may continue reading this sometime.

Thor: The Goddess of Thunder & Who Holds the Hammer?:
These are really good. A plot that doesn't require extended knowledge of comic lore, great artwork and I will certainly continue reading those. I also plan to pick up the comics set before this one at some point. Marvel at it's best (at least for me so far).

DC Time:

Batman Hush:
Beautiful to look at, but messy sums it up. You better know your Batman lore to get the most of it.

Batman The Long Halloween:
More stylized than Hush but a much more focussed story. Overall the better read.

The Dark Knight Returns:
..... Can't really say I like it. Requires prior knowledge and has some really messy panels/pages. As for the plot, I can see why it was considered groundbreaking at it's time... guess knowing a bit more about Miller has clouded my view on it though.

Batman Vol.2 City of Owls:
Sequel to Court of Owls and I liked Vol.1 more than this one. The art is still great and I really enjoyed the added Mr.Freeze short. Might pick up the next ones in this series.

Others:

Age of Reptiles Omnibus:
Three collected text-free comics of dinosaurs. Pretty, sometimes gruesome and I liked it.

Hellboy Vol 1 & 2:
I really like the artwork with it's great use of spaces. The writing is actually really good, giving you enough information to go on, without revealing too much which results in a permanent sense of mystery. My only gripe, those books are are quite expensive.
Will keep on reading them eventually.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Omnibus:
This has become one of my absolut favorites. Filled with heroes and villains of Wells, Verne, Haggard, Stevenson, Burroughs, Stoker, Doyle etc. I highly reccommend it. From what I heard all the spin offs and sequels (not to mention the movie) aren't as good though.

The Wicked + The Divine Vol.1:
Good art, but the story so far doesn't grab me. I assume I have no real connection to the protagonists (which are kinda hipster/groupie types), though I like the character of Luci(fer).

Autumnlands Vol.1:
I picked this up for a few buck and was quite surpised as it was better than I thought. Well drawn and while the plot itself seems a bit predictable, it's the surrounding details and flavor elements (e.g. the protagonists prayers) that make it work for me. Will continue reading those.

Wytches Vol.1:
A horror comic with quite a unique art style (at least for a casual reader like me) and a lot of focus on relationships, depressions, alcoholism etc. Quite dark and enjoyable stuff.

Fables Deluxe Edition Vol.10:
Is crap....
No seriously, it collects two bad spinoffs. One is a crossover with another spinoff series (Jack of Fables) which insists that 4th wall breaking is funny (it isn't.... at all) and the other one is an inconsquential little plot doomed to go nowhere.
This may be a good spot to stop collecting those, after all Vol.9 wrapped up the first big storyline.

[Kong Wen]

Has anyone read Planet Hulk and/or World War Hulk? I'm not sure how I feel about the character/concept of Hulk, and these seem to have been his recent big main-focus crossover stories.



Some people think the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be heading in this direction as well, but I don't how how much sense that would make, especially with their track record with Hulk movies.

Potential spoilers for upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok in this leaked synopsis:

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/01/25/r ... ok-surface

It's possible we may get some hints of Planet Hulk in Ragnarok if this turns out to be (somehow, weirdly) true.

[Drauks]

Planet Hulk would (and already has, actually) make for an awesome movie. I'm not sure how I feel about throwing Thor into the mix, though.

[Kong Wen]

Planet Hulk would (and already has, actually) make for an awesome movie. I'm not sure how I feel about throwing Thor into the mix, though.

I think Marvel has lost faith in their ability to make a stand-alone Hulk film, even with fan sentiment warming up to Mark Ruffalo's portrayal. So it sounds like they're going to use Planet Hulk as a background element for the larger Thor storyline. That is, it won't be a full Planet Hulk film, there will just be some scenes that pay it tribute (i.e. Thor finds Hulk hulking out on a gladiatorial world). That's the speculation, anyway. I'd be surprised (but also impressed) if they use that at all.