Invincible and Saga...they aren't much alike genre wise, (superhero and fantasy/ci-fi) but they both have three things in common: engrossing characters, realistic but unique worlds, and authors that are not afraid to kill off likable characters. These three qualities bring a lot of weight to both titles. The world and status quo change constantly. Spoilers will be unmarked because these are not easy to review without spoilers. I will not say anything about the big events from those issues, but be warned on the smaller stuff.
Monster Girl and her Son
Invincible 107 dealt with the fallout over the last couple of issues, as well as reintroducing an old villain with some new tricks. The issue starts with the return of Doc Seismic as a volcanic monster human hybrid that has shacked up with another volcano monster called Volcanikka. Comics right? Personally, I always liked Doc Seismic. He was always one of Invincible's more entertaining but threatening minor villains. Now that he has a new body and partner in crime, I'm hoping we will get to see some more of him in the future. We then get to see the fallout of the recent Robot and Monster Girl story arc where we met Monster Girl's son from an alien dimension who invaded our world to get revenge on Robot for killing his family. Oh and Monster Girl is the father. God I love my job. We get to see a conversation between the two that plants the seed of doubt in Monster Girl's head over if Robot is really as trust worthy as he seems. Honestly, I've always felt Robot was emotionally ambiguous at times, and I'm sure hundred of years of being a leader for an alien empire has caused him to become much more morally ambiguous as he attempts to make the world a better place by controlling it.
I also like the idea of Monster Girl having to deal with the consequences of her actions, and I hope her son becomes a regular character. We get a bit of ship tease between Invincible and a female Viltrumite, but I hope it doesn't come back to haunt Mark later, because I like his relationship with Eve. Finally, the last page sets up something awesome. Mark has to make a choice between security of his family and vengeance or making his wife happy and letting go of the past. It really made me want to catch next issue. It is one of the best superhero titles out there.
Awesome issue, enough action to be interesting, but as per Kirkman's usual story telling technique, he keeps enough interesting story lines in the air while not having them interfere with each other.
Prince Robot getting his funk on.
Saga 17 was...interesting to say the least. We get to see more of Upshar and Doff while they are interrogated by The Brand, a female freelancer with a demon-eyed St. Bernard that can shoot poison darts out of his nose. I swear to God I am not on drugs this post. She poisons the pair with her demon dog and delivers an ultimatum: if they publish the story on Alana and Marko's child, they will die due to the magic in the darts. While brief, this intro was pretty awesome. The Freelancers are all Boba Fett-level bad asses, and it is cool to see another one, especially with a pet so...uniquely terrifying. Unfortunately, we cut back into Mr.Heist's interrogation by the hand...er blaster arm of Prince Robot. Heist reveals to Prince Robot a secret from his latest work, one that strikes Robot personally due to his intense case of PTSD. I don't want to spoil the secret but it was...out there to say the least. I'll just tell you that Heist claims that he has discovered the opposite of war isn't peace and leave it at that. We also get to see a heart rending scene between The Will and Sophie were he tries to part some wisdom to her in case he dies from the wounds he received two issues ago. I kind of wonder if Marko's ex is gonna take up the mantle of The Will and if she will have to continue pursuit of Marko by herself. I'm super nervous honestly. The last third of the issue deals with one massive cluster fuck as the the three parties (Prince Robot, Heist and Marko's Mother, and Marko's Ex) are all caught in a... confrontation. A confrontation that leads to the death of one of my favorite characters in the series. I'm super sad and pissed about this, and it kind of came out of nowhere. Hopefully, next issue will resolve most of these issues, but to quote Gwendolyn "Fuck".
The dog that will haunt your nightmares
The art for both issues was very awesome, but I don't feel much need to talk about it that much. Invincible's art is always solid, but Fiona Staples literally brings the world of Saga to life. It's always a treat to read an issue of Saga due to the unique way Staples can bring in such odd creatures like the demon dog that shoots blow darts from his nose (yes that still freaks me out), or such well drawn and beautiful characters like Marko, Gwendolyn, The Will, etc. She's just as important to giving this title life as Brian K. Vaughn's writing.
Highly recommend and enjoyed both these titles as a series and these single issues in particular. Please, if you want something unique or different check these titles out. They are worth your time.
I'm a huge fan of Ant-Man. In fact, he's my favorite Marvel character.Ant-Man is a superhero that has gone through a lot of changes. He was originally a one shot character in Marvel's Tales to Astonish science-fiction series. He was a scientist named Henry Pym (Hank to his friends) that discovered Pym Particles, microscopic particles that could shrink anything to a smaller size by exposing it to a gas containing the particles. Any living thing exposed to the gas would still retain its normal strength, making him a true pint sized power house. After testing the serum on himself, he developed a cybernetic helmet that would allow him to communicate with ants and other insects.
Ant-Man from the cover of Season One
After a couple of issues by himself, Ant-Man found a kindred spirit in Janet Van Dyne, a young heiress who lost her father to an alien monster. So Hank did the most logical thing possible, turning her into the Wasp by splicing her DNA with said insect so that she could grow wings and wrist mounted gauntlets that could shoot "wasp sting" blasts. It was the 60's. What can I say. They eventually joined the Avengers, where Hank learned how to harness his size changing powers to become Giant Man, and later Goliath. Because comics are fickle I guess. Anywho, after a while, Hank went crazy while working with some chemicals and adopted the persona of Yellow Jacket, basically his Ant-Man identity modified to be more like the Wasp. And then she tricked him into marrying him. Because comics. To make a long story short, Hank has had a complicated life, with constant costume changes and identity crisis. Sometimes he's Ant-Man, sometimes Giant-Man aka Goliath, sometimes he's the Yellow Jacket. For a while, he assumed the identity of the Wasp to honor her memory after she died. But don't worry guys, it's comics. She will be back next year or so.
left to right: Ant-Man, Giant Man, Goliath, Yellow Jacket, Wasp
I was a little dissapointed when he wasn't included in the first
Avengers movie, seeing as he was a founding member of the original
Avengers. But he's finally getting his own movie. I'm kind of excited
because Edgar Wright of Scott Pilgrim, Hot Fuzz, and Sean of the Dead
fame is going to be directing the film. Which is great, because Edgar
Wright is very unique with his directing style and how he approaches
characters.Considering Ant-Man's main powers are super intelligence combined with his ability to control his size and talk to insects, I'm hoping Wright is going to try to make this movie feel more like a fun sci-fi adventure with quirky dialogue. Sadly, Ultron, an evil robot that Henry Pym created, will not be tied to him even though Ultron will be in the next Avengers movie.
Edgar Wright and the Ant Suit.
Finally, it has been confirmed that Paul Rudd from I Love You Man, Anchor Man, and other quirk comedies will be playing Ant-Man. I'm not sure how to feel about this. He might to a good job as a clever witty scientist, and having to deal with the odd situations Ant-Man finds himself in. Hopefully, he will do a good job. I'm sure that Edgar Wright knows what he is doing, because he is very passionate about this film.
If anyone is interested in learning more about Ant-Man, Ant-Man Season One is a good starting point to understand the character. Hopefully I've stirred some interest in you guys to go see the movie. I'm really looking forward to it, and pray that enough people go see it so that it can get a sequel. It hits theaters in May 1st, 2015.
I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum for this review, but some cannot be helped.
Buddy Baker is Animal Man, a human who has been giving power by the lifeforce that all living creatures are connected by aka the Red. He can absorb the abilities of animals, like the regeneration powers of a star fish, or the strength of an elephant. Pretty impressive in my opinion. But Buddy is a family man. He beats up supervillains and comes home to a wife and two kids. But life is never easy for a hero. Something...really bad happens to one of his kids, and Buddy's life comes crashing down over his head.And just when Buddy seems like he is getting his life together and messing up the bad guys, he gets teleported to an alien world.
I'm not going to lie, I raged at last issues ending. We are going through this emotional roller coaster, and then at the very top of the tracks, the cart suddenly stops. But this issue more than made up for it. One of my problems with the idea of a Red/Rot/Green trio of forces that govern the natural order is why does Earth seem to have the only connection to it? Spoiler alert, it isn't and we get to see that there is more to the story what we've seen from the Red's perspective. Plus we get introduced to a new character that could be Buddy's new mentor, and someone would could make Buddy the most powerful person in the universe. No lie.
We do get a good bit of action where Buddy has to adapt to the strange creatures around him and fight a giant monster that looks a lot like Darkseid with Horns, but the way he takes him down is utterly hilarious. Most of the comic is world building and a conversation with Buddy's new ally.
Luckily next issue, Buddy will confront Brother Blood (from teen titans!) and end the arc, but this issue has set a lot of things in motion for the future, and decide whether Buddy chooses his family or the continued survival of the Red/Green/Rot triumvirate.
Honestly folks, I don't envy him.
7.5- awesome issue with decent art and some really cool ideas. Would have been higher, but I felt like this would have been better at the start of a new arc, though I understand its purpose.
It's been almost a year since I updated this blog. And I am sorry for that. I started this as a labor of love, got lazy, and didn't spend the time I needed to actually work on it. So I've decided to change that.
Tuesday will be when I try to talk about my personal feelings on current comic book events/story lines/ or movie stuff. Not just super heroes, but other comic related things.
Thursdays will be review days. I know comic day is Wednesday, but I am going to be super busy on Wed. next semester of college, so Thursday would be best.
Saturday will be fun topic day, where I just jabber about whatever pops into my head about comics: be it best fights, weird comic facts, or whatever has crossed my diseased brain.
I'm sorry for how life has been, and how lazy I have been. Hopefully, I can make it up to you.
Yeah that's an understatment. Part of the reason I haven't sat down and come up with a regular update schedule for this blog is because of school. The other part is that I have been recently rewatching random episodes of Justice League Unlimited. When I was a kid, I loveeeed Justice League. We got to see characters like Batman and Superman interacting with a bigger world, and I got to meet characters like John Stewart (GL), Flash (Wall West Flash anyway) and the ever awesome Martian Manhunter. Only problem was that they cast Aquaman from the main roster...but that was okay because then he popped up in the show and the whole two parter episode was all like...
"I AM AQUAMAN, AND I HAVE WAYYYY TOO MUCH TO DO, LIKE RULING THE WHOLE OCEAN N S%^& TO FIGHT CRIME!"
So yeah. I've mostly been watching random episodes. And damn, they are good. Shadow of the Hawk is probably my favorite because we get to see Hawkgirl and John Stewart's love triangle getting more attention. Plus we get finally get Hawkman, and even Shadow Thief! ( obscure Hawkman villain, so of course you know I love him.) Great episode, also proves Batman should never interfere with anyone's love life.
My favorite so far was Grudge Match. People complain not enough female heroes get the limelight. The plot revolves around female heroes being kidnapped and force to fight in an underground sketchy cage match arena. And it's pretty much just female superheroes laying an unholy smack down on each other and then their captors. A lot of DC heroiens get spotligthed here, my two favorites being Huntress and Black Canary. Huntress really steals the show. I love her aggresive but playful attitude and her banter with Black Canary. Definatly a great episode.
It's been a lot of fun. Especially catching all the references put in for long time comic readers. Man I love this show. I can't understand why younger me didn't watch JLU more often.
Picked up Green Lantern 16, Green Lantern Corps 16, and Justice League 16 ( Throne of Atlantis tie-in)
Man...it's been a slow burn but Green Lantern is finally paying off. For about 3 months, we've been getting acquainted with Simon Baz, a Lebanese-American. I'll talk more about Baz, but suffice to say, I like him. We haven't seen enough of him for me to consider him a new favorite, but he proves himself in this issue to be selfless if somewhat flawed and reckless.
Baz teams up with B'dg aka the squirrel green lantern, who's come to Earth to find Hal or Sinestro and warn them that the Guardians have turned on the Corps. Baz decides that since he was chosen by the ring, he must do the right thing and help the Green Lanterns fight back the Guardians and their new fiendishly creepy third army. Honestly, a lot of this issue focuses on Baz's guilt. We get the sense that he isn't a bad guy, but he's made mistakes that have cost him a lot. And this issue has a lot of Baz trying to face down his problems instead of running away from them. Now that he has a Green Lantern guiding him, Baz should be a more than capable asset against the Guardians.
I was perturbed by one thing though. Green Lantern Corps' initial arc delt with the concept of a race of Keepers that protected the GL's power batteries. According to this story, when a GL puts their battery in a pocket dimension, it gets teleported to the keeper's home planet so they may watch over it. They had a huge falling out, and now the GL have to find their own method of storing their batteries. Well, in this issue Baz pulls his battery out of a pocket dimension, with no mention to the Keepers revolt. WTF!?
tl;dr, NIT PICKING!!!!
Oh also, Baz totally breaks the rules of the game and does something no Green Lantern has ever done before. It was a very powerful scene and part of the reason I liked this issue so much. But if I told you, it'd take all the shock value out of it. Also we get more B'dg!!!!! When a character garners enough attention to wind up on Robot Chicken due to their obscurity, you know I'll love them. All and all, I really enjoyed this issue.
8/10
Green Lantern Corps 16
Similar to how GL is focusing on Baz, GL Corps 16 is focused on Guy Gardner, the fiery red head loud mouth of the Corps. Oh wait...yeah he kinda got booted out last issue didn't he? Man...well, that doesn't keep him from being any less of a belligerent raging badass as he teams up with his cop brother and sister to prevent their precinct from being over run from the Third Army! I've really been digging the use of Guy Gardner's family. They are a tight-knit group and it's great having Guy interact with someone other than the Corps. Most of the issue deals with Guy being ring less and the menace of the Third Army closing in. Luckily, Simon Baz and B'dg show up and help save the day. In a way that was kinda awesome.
Good issue. Art could have been better, but that's my only real complaint.
7/10
Justice League 16
Justice League 16 is basically Aquaman issue 15.75. Hey remember how people mock Aquaman and Atlantis for being useless fish people who just herp and derp around? Yeah...well as someone puts it in the issue and I'm very roughly parapharsing "We've already lost thousands of people and most of our major cities are flooded and the Atlantians haven't even attacked yet! This issue really plays up the strength the Atlantians and their threat as an offensive force. The action is split between the Justice League taking the fight to Ocean Master and Cyborg trying to save Dr. Shin, the only man who knows enough about Atlantis to stop them. The Atlanteans are out for blood. And damn it feels good. The League is pushed to their limit, and relationships are strained as Aquaman has to once again choose between his home or his people.
If they story wasn't enough, Joe Prado ( Aquaman's former artist) is absolutely killing it in Justice League! It's just so...gorgeous! The way he draws the Atlanteans makes their crustacean like armor and their gigantic war machines very lifelike...but alien. Oh and he even references Aquaman's past costumes in the Atlantean infantry. Heck there are a lot of Aquam It looks like the JL is going to need some serious help...and the final page has a big reveal that is going to change how the post New 52 JL does things.
( There was also the matter of the back-up following the character of Shazam. It is short and very satisfying, but I don't want to spend very much time covering it. Suffice to say it was pretty good.)
Seriously, I'm recommending a comic that heavily features Aquaman. Why aren't you buying it right now?
Picked up Demon Knights 16, Batman 16, and Saga 9 today.
In others words, pretty damn good haul.
Demon Knights just switched to a new author and I was extremely worried that the quality would dip with the lose of Paul Cornell.
Turns out I was wrong because Demon Knights 16 feels like it fits perfectly into the world Cornell put together. Not only that, I, Vampire hinted that the Demon Knights fought and put away Cain, the first vampire. Well now we get to see that happen! Cain is rampaging across Europe thirty years after the Demon Knights stormed Avalon and fought off the hordes of Hell with the help of King Arthur...
Seriously how is no one buying this title. READ DEMON KNIGHTS DAMMIT!!!
And one of the team is trying to reunite his old friends together to strike back. The story moves at a rapid clip, letting us get acclimated to seeing out immortal heroes again while also showing how the years have aged the regular humans amongst their group. Adventures that happend in the 30 year gap are hinted at without being fully explained, and we get to see the twisted supervillain in immortal Vandal Savage seep out from his good natured facade. Good title, great read.
8/10
Saga...never dissapoints. It focuses on the interstellar bounty hunter, The Will, as he tries to save a little girl from prostitution on the world of Sextillion. Wallowing in self pity after losing someone he loves, he comes across Marko's ex fiance, Gwendoylen, and the two (along with The Will's partner Lying Cat of course) go to Sextillion to rescue the slave girl.
I'm so glad I replaced Dark Knight for this title. The Will is probably one of my favorite characters in Saga, and we get more of him being a total badass (Don't ever call his laser sword faggy. He'll kindly remind you it's a lance before he horribly murders you with it) and the ever lovable Lying Cat who comes off as a snarky bastard even though it can only say "lying". Finally, we get to me Gwendolyn, which was a big effing deal! And man was she worth it! Marko definitely has a type, and that's tall, dark and terrifying. The biggest surprise for me is that she doesn't come off as a one note spurned lover character. She wants to find Marko and make him pay, but you can also tell she genuinely loved him (and he did kind of use her engagement ring for his wife's wedding ring. Bad move Marko, baaaad move).
If you want to read some awesome, R-rated space opera/fantasy, then you should check in on Saga. It is totes worth it.
9.5/10 ( Was an amazing read with a satisfying end to a cliff hanger. Awesome comic, why aren't you buying it? The first volume is out for ten dollars! Come on people!)
Batman.
Oh my God Batman was terrifying. Remeber when I said Batman was a horror story?
Yes, yes it is. And Joker is the ringmaster. No more Scott Snyder monologues about architecture or pupil dilations. No this was a pure romp through high octane nightmare fuel. Joker's taken over Arkahm Asylum...again. But this time, he's done some...re-decorating. But Batman caught him in the middle of the most important part. Step by step, Batman makes his way through the asylum trying to take Joker off guard. But the horrors Batman encounters are nothing compared to what's at the end of the maze...
Very satisfying. There were a few hiccups. Not to spoil too much but Batman punches a horse in the face, and it just goes flat onto the ground. The scene was awesome, but I'm pretty sure he would have shattered his hand on the horse, gloves or not, the speed it was coming at him. There are some minor grips I could bring up...but they just don't feel that necessary. My only other problem is Joker. Joker's performance in here is phenomenally chilling and uncanny...but at times he just feels too powerful. It feels like Joker needs to be punished for all of the horrible things he's done in this arc. I hope Snyder doesn't just have him slink back into the shadows after this, because ultimately I want Batman to stop this psycho. I know Batman can't kill and I'm cool with that. I'd just like something a little bit more permanent than the revolving door that is Arkham Asylum. Don't let that undercut Joker though. This comic shows just how far Joker has gone to show his affection for Batman. And it really shows just how twisted and effed up Joker is and why he is such a terrifying foe.
The back up was really good too, and did an amazing job of deconstructing Two-Face as a character, as well as giving us a preview for what's to come. Definitely excited for the next issue.
10/10 ( Some very minor flaws outweighed by the amazingly creepy journey through Joker's new Arkham Asylum. Joker and Batman's dynamic continues to grow in the most effed up of ways and we get to see just how far Joker is willing to go to show his affection for his king.)
So I was watching Justice League: Doom ( awesome animated movie) and one thing was nagging at my mind. Each of the heroes was paired up with one of their toughest foes. Martian Manhunter even had a a villain who I had never seen before. He appeared to be a Martian like J'onn J'onzz. And he could shape shift like one too.
So I did some research. He's Martian Manhunter's evil twin brother, Malefic. Which at first made me go, huh that's a little unoriginal. But then I dug a little deeper. He was arrested for mindraping another member of his kind, the worst offense on their planet. So the Martian High Council deleted all telepathic ability in him and erased the memory of his crime. Malefic became an outcast as a result, because his race was so inexorably link via their minds. He was so bitter he engineered a plague that would cause a Martian using their telepathic abilities TO ERUPT INTO FLAMES! Considering that Martians use telepathy all the time, you can imagine how quickly this disease spread. Now being set on fire is a bad thing right? Well to Martians, fire is one of the few things that can permanently damage them. It also didn't help that the Guardians of the Universe placed an intense phobia of fire into the Martians' minds to keep from taking over the universe.Oh did I mention lobotomizing Malefic of his telepathy powers deprived him of his fear of fire? Dropped the ball on that one, Martian High Council. Dropped the ball big time.
So what I'm saying is, no matter what else this guy has done he is TERRIFYING in my opinion. Because anyone who wiped out most of his race with a telepathically spread fire plague for a crime he didn't remember committing deserves a pat on the back from the Joker.
So how many comics has he been in? Comic Vine says 18.
...So, Martian Manhunter has someone who can match him ability for ability, is a complete amoral psychopath to J'onn's stoic Lawful Good nature, and he created a plague that sounds like it almost single handily brought down Martian society. But he has only been in 18 comics?
Weeeeeeeeak
Martian Manhunter is an awesome character. But to me, he's always that guy who is just there in the background. He's awesome and whenever he steps up it's memorable, but mostly the spotlight is directed at other characters. Well...maybe we could get some more stories with him smackin his evil twin around because one of the coolest parts of Justice League: Doom was the shapeshifter faceoff.
You get it? Faceoff? Because they were constantly changing fa-*SMACK,SMACK*
OWWWWW
....But seriously, I spotlighted Malefic today because he looks like an awesome villain. An extremely powerful and evil villain. And most of all, because I think people over look Martian Manhunter a lot and maybe if he fought more people like this guy, he could get his own book. Which I would throw money at. A lot of money. Here's hoping in the future, we will get to see more of Malefic.
One thing I've noticed lately is people are talking about comic book
characters more, but most of them have barely picked up comic, much less read or even heard of
masterpieces like the Killing Joke and Whatever Happened to the Man of
Tomorrow. It's easy to see how this happens.
Marvel's Avengers was a titanic
commercial successes (even though I personally found it completely ruined by
the lack of Ant-Man and the Wasp *sniff*). While the story was rather run of
the mill and it did have a few plot holes, it had FANTASTIC characters, fight
scenes and special effects. For the first time, Hollywood was able to capture
the essence and feel of a superhero team. And Batman: The Dark Knight
brought forward an incredibly grounded, realistic, and gritty superhero story
to the theaters. (Well, as realistic as "rich man dresses up as a bat to
fight crime" stories can be) I feel that both of these movies made super
heroes much more accessible to the mainstream audience. Which is a good thing,
believe me. Even if someone hasn't read every issue of Batman (which is not
necessary at all, believe me), they can still provide new insight on a
character, create astonishing fan art, or simply decide to purchase a graphic
novel or comic now and again.
The problem I'm seeing is many people are interested in comics, they don't
really read them. I feel like some of that deals with ease of access, but let's
face it, comics are pretty much soap operas with tights and fights. Their plots
can become convoluted and complicated. Writers can take over titles and totally
wash away everything the last writer did with a retcon. Plot elements from 15
issues back can spring back into effect with little to no warning. Good Lord,
you would not believe some of the plot twists Spiderman comics come up with,
and don't even get me started on the tomes you could fill with all the
unnecessary characters in X-Men (But if anyone touches Beast, Gambit, Colossus,
or Nightcrawler I will hurt them with a stick!) So I guess this is my
meandering long winded way of saying, I'd like to help give some tips on
getting into comics.
1) Try everything to find out what you like- When I started buying
comics, I didn't immediately decide what to follow monthly, so I bought a lot
of titles to see what I wanted to keep reading. I also didn't just stick to my
stuff. I read all my friends comics too. From there I was able to par it down what
I actually wanted to continue to spend money on.
2) If you found something you like, do a little research- Many people
don't like to jump in on the middle of a story, and I can respect that. Most
comics are nice enough to include a recap page to explain what is happening. If
not, we live in the age of the internet. While I hate admitting this, I will
wiki information I need to know before I read a comic, especially if a tie-in I
don't want to buy was involved. Don't be afraid to do a little research history
on your favorite characters. I highly recommend sites like Comicvine for doing
so. They can really fill in the gaps.
3) Try to establish a comic community with your friends- Comics are a
lot more fun with your friends. If money is that big of a deal, you can easily
share the load with your buddies so people can keep what they like the most
while getting to keep up with everything that's going on in other big titles.
It also gives you someone to discuss and speculate with, and makes attending comic
movies much more rewarding when everyone gets the references.
4) Don't be intimidated- Comics are big, with story lines that can
converge over years if planned correctly. Do not be afraid because you don't
know everything. You think I knew who half the characters where in Kingdom Come
or Justice League Unlimited? BITCH PLEASE. Believe me; I know it can be hard to
follow. Don't let it overwhelm you, if a writer is good enough he will try to
explain lesser known characters instead of moving on with clueless readers. The
best thing is to jump in, and start absorbing as much information as possible.
Or you can read indie comics, which are not usually as bogged down in
continuity, featured more varied stories that are less dependent on super
heroes, and come to (usually) satisfying and definite conclusions
5) If comic store runs are inconvenient , go digital- If you don't
want to go to a grubby comic book story filled with sweaty nerds who know more
about men in tights than American history, well I'm very sorry to say you are a
sad person, and we can no longer be friends.
..Kidding, I'm just kidding! Wipe that frown off your face! But seriously. I
understand if you don't want to go to a comic book store every week to follow
your favorite titles. You're busy, I'm busy, and we are all busy. Comics are
(usually) cheaper, awesome promos and deals abound, and it's quite convenient.
For some people, storing comics is a hassle. With an e-reader or smart phone,
you don't ever have to worry about giant clunky boxes full of comics you're
never going to read again. Going digital is a great way to stay connected to
what's going on without having to deal with the hassle of getting a hard copy.
I hope these tips help. Comics are a vast, wonderful, and varied world. The
important thing is finding what you like, and friends to share what you find.
Comics aren't for everyone, but I hope what I've said was able to spark some
interest in you, even if it was just a glimmer. Thanks for reading!
And I wisely spent it on six issues of Saga, an Image comic title by Brian K. Vaughn. Damn,I feel like a criminal because that deal was a steal!
Saga is about a couple from opposite sides in a bloody war that has raged across the cosmos so long that now most of the conflict is being fought through proxy wars and mercenaries. Alana, a brash , down to earth woman from the high tech world of Landfall meets POW Marko (a sensitive, romantic ,magic user) from Landfall's moon, The Wreath. They fall in love and have a baby together. Only problem is, they are both deserters and everyone on both sides wants them dead.
And good God this title is good. The characters dynamic is beautiful ( Alana definitely wears the pants in the family) , the bounty hunters chasing them are awesome three dimensional characters, the world has intriguing plot elements ( like magic requiring sacrifices to work properly) ...did I mention the art by Fiona Staples? Because.it's.awesome.Oh, and this story BEGINS with the birth of a new child , and it only strengthens the characters and makes them more interesting as they attempt to give their daughter the best life they can and HOLY SHIT PEOPLE, THIS NEVER HAPPENS IN COMICS!!!
I went out and got the latest issues from the web. The cliffhanger for issue eight was so good, I smacked my computer because I felt cheated. Let me repeat, I was so frustrated that I had to wait another month for this story to conclude, I had to smack an inanimate object to relieve my frustration.
... I feel bad for not reading this sooner.
*word of warning, this comic is not afraid to show dicks and titties. And really weird alien shit. There was a pleasure planet involved. It was awkward.For everyone. So be prepared*
Well 2012 has come and gone and surprise, surprise we are
still here. Which is unfortunate because I've read a lot of good titles over
the past year, and I hate having to narrow down my favorites but dammit it has
to be done!
5. I, Vampire
Story by Joshua
Fialkov, Art by Andrea Sorrentino
I really dismissed this title when it first came out. DC
putting out a vampire story for the New 52? Pssssh. Luckily, I had a friend who
forced me to sit down and read it. I was hooked almost immediately. I guess you
could say it was...love at first bite!
*SLAP* OWW, OWW, OWW, okay, I'll behave!
*ahem* I’ve been kind of down on vampire stories lately. Not
so much because of Twilight itself, but because of the glut of vampire stories
that started popping up on the market. Most of them didn't really capture the
spirit of a true vampire or what they were capable of. I Vampire, on the other
hand, does it almost perfectly.
I, Vampire is set around our two main characters,
Protagonist Andrew Bennet and his lover/ nemesis Mary Queen of Blood. Andrew
was a 14th century British nobleman who fell in love with Mary, a local serving wench.
On the night that he ran away to be with her, he was turned into a vampire. He
tried to stay away from Mary but he eventually turned her as well. The conflict
comes from how they handle their new found powers; Andrew is horrified by what
he has become and wants to protect his people and live in harmony and humanity.
Mary sees her newfound power and freedom as a means to take over the world and
crush humanity under her heel. Their love story is rather tragic. Andrew loves
her for the person she used to be, and she loves him for the monster he could
become. But even with all the drama, the title has had room for a lot of funny
moments and quips to keep the mood from becoming too angsty while not losing its
horror tension.
This title has had an amazing run so far. It's set in the
modern DCU and has already had several guest appearances by other characters
like Batman, John Constantine, and Storm watch- all while not being forced. And
now it has closed out the year with the tables being turned: Andrew has become a
feral monster and Mary has to step up and be a hero! The art by Sorrentino has
been fantastic. It's dark, heavily shadowed, but detailed when it needs to be.
I'm sorry to see her go, but I still look forward to reading this title and
hope it only gets better in the future.
4. Tie: Animal Man and Swamp-Thing battle the Rot
Animal Man: story by
Jeff Lemire, Art by Steve Pugh
Swamp-Thing: Story by Scott Snyder, Art by Yannick Paquette
I have been waiting for this crossover for a year now. And
it has delivered in spades. Quick recap: Swamp-Thing and Animal Man are both
avatars of their respective elemental factions, the Green (which encompasses
all plant life) and the Red (encompassing all animal life). Both the Red and
the Green are opposed by an elemental force of decay called the Rot, which
wants to destroy all life on earth.
Animal Man is a superhero/actor who can channel the
abilities of any animal on Earth. He is also unique for having a family, who he
must protect at all cost, especially his daughter Maxine who is the REAL avatar
of the Red, and exceptionally gifted with her powers. Swamp-Thing is about Alec
Holland, a botanist newly returned to the land of the living. Alec fought the
Green's decision to make him their Warrior King, but when faced with losing his
beloved, Abigail Arcane, he donned the mantle of Swamp-Thing. Both titles are
being written by excellent authors, but Scott Snyder's Swamp-Thing has really
"grown" on me.
*SMACK* OKAY, I PROMISE THAT'S THE LAST ONE!
Both titles share exceptional art and stories. A trick by
the Rot forces Animal Man and Swamp-Thing into a future where they're disappearance
means victory for the Rot. Most of the world's heroes are dead or converted
into monsters and only a pocket resistance must put a stop to the Rot. Cameos
and action abound, and they only become more prevalent as both make their
separate journeys Animal Man to find his daughter, and Swamp-Thing to rescue
his beloved. These titles truly capture a feeling of despair and hopelessness
as they march on through the wasteland. The enemy they face is unstoppable. It
doesn't eat, it doesn't sleep. It just destroys everything in their path.
Battered, but determined to save the ones they love. our heroes soldier on,
even as they lose companions along the way. And as always when Scott Snyder or
Jeff Lemire are helming a titles, the twists keep me surprised and on the edge
of my metaphorical seat. I'm glad to see that so far, this was worth the wait.
3. The Goon
Story and Art by Eric Powell
Man, I love the s$^% out of the Goon. Imagine every pulp
1930s and 1940s smashed together (Neon spacemen, giant monsters, and mobster
noir) mash it up with some self-deprecating, crass hick humor and then sprinkle
some surprisingly poignant and moving stories and you have the Goon. Powell has
been busy trying to put together a Goon movie (which is finally happening!),
but this year the title went monthly.
And then there was much rejoicing! From me! Because I don't
normally get to read a comic where the main character is being chased by gangsters
and a murderous, hatchet wielding squid while punching zombies! That might be
the most awesome thing I wish I could have included in an English Paper!
Eric Powell seemed almost manic depressant this year. He
went from stories mocking the recent gimmicky trends in comic books and a Charleston
dance showdown that lead to the summoning of Satan, to the horribly grounded
realistic origin of Goon's aunt and caretaker, Kizzie the Iron MaidenEven worse was the return of the terrifying
Zombie Priest, who came bearing a grim message to the Goon. The rest of his
kind is coming, and...
Everyone in this town is doomed.
WOOOOOO, I love it when Powell gets all gritty and dark and
kills off characters that only twenty pages ago where blowing up bacon addicted
carny abominations and giant zombie chimps!
...Damn I love this comic.
This title has continued to wow me as something new and
unique ever since it came out... Still, it's good to know our hardened mobster
with a heart of gold is still doing good. We even got a crossover with Powell's
other major title, Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities. And it was glorious.
Then again how could it not be?I'm just
happy I get to read it on a more consistent basis!
2. Invincible aka the
Best Super Hero Comic in the Universe.
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Corey Walker, Cliff Rathburn, Ryan Ottley, and John Rauch
When my immediate response to closing a comic book is
"DAMMMMN, Shit just got real!" You know it's good. If Invincible's
shit got any realer, it would be in my hand.
EW, EW, EW that was a terrible metaphor!
Okay, let's try again. Better metaphor this time.
If Invincible got any more intense, then I would literally
need to take a smoke break between inhaling these comics because they are that
INTENSE. Invincible is written by the Robert Kirkman, the same man behind The
Walking Dead comics. Yeah. That Kirkman. You think characters aren't safe just
because they are in a superhero comic? BITCH PLEASE. This is an indie comic and
Kirkman can kill off whoever he feels like! That's what makes this story
intense. Unlike most superhero books, the danger of losing a character isn't as
real as it is in here (with a few minor exceptions and one major one).
Invincible started out as a typical coming of age comic
about a teen getting super powers and quickly spiraled into a story where the
world deals with the fantastic in practical ways, the lines between villains
and heroes are morally blurred, and no one is totally perfect.
We've gotten a lot over this past year. Bulletproof's
origin was finally explained, what happened between Robot and Monster Girl was
finally explained, and Invincible even had to cope with losing his powers for a
while.
This book has had some odd choices over this last year. In
particular, one background character had an origin that was finally explained
that lead to a sudden and very violent conclusion that didn't make much sense.
Even worse, Kirkman inserted an avatar of himself that explained what happened
in his terms. I don't know if he was justifying himself or parodying his
writing style but it just felt odd.
But that was okay, because next issue he kicked it into high
gear with a comic that literally changed the rules of Invincible's game. For
the past year, he'd been trying to reform a villain. What happens when that
backfires stupendously? We won't know for sure until issue 100, but you can bet
I will be there to find out!
And of course, the number 1 is...
1. Batman
Story by Scott Snyder, Art by Greg Capullo
Remember when I told you that Invincible was super intense?
Well, there is a reason it is number 2 to Scott Snyder's Batman. After every
issue, I would call one of my best friends and just gush about this series.
Every time of the month. Like clockwork. I'm hearing people say that Scott
Snyder is over- rated and that these stories have been disappointing from a few
random comments on the web and I am here to tell you. Usually, I believe people
are entitled to their own opinions and I won't try to bluntly or rudely tell
them they are wrong. But in this case...
No. You are wrong, sir and/or madame. Wrong. In fact, Lex I
need some help with this.
Scott Snyder's run on the Court of Owls has to be up there
with one of my favorite Batman comics. Maybe not the best. But damn close. He
claimed that Court of Owls was going to look like a warm-up compared to Death
in the Family. I scoffed.
He was right.
Joker has been inactive for over a year. He cut his own face
off for purposes that I never exactly understood. To reinvent himself? To hide?
I don't know. I probably missed some tie-in that explained everything. Ah well,
point being Joker was out of the lime light for a year. Which was awesome,
because it gave new villains like the Court of Owls time to shine. And then
Joker killed almost everyone in a police precinct except Jim Gordon while
telling a joke.
Things went downhill pretty quick. Joker's back and he's
inverting all his usual tricks and methods. He's more hands on with his crimes,
he doesn't wear a fancy suit, he repeats all his old crimes but with a cruel, self-aware
twist. Joker never played by many rules, but now he's abandoned all pretenses of
guidelines.
This isn't a superhero comic, it's a horror story.
Greg Capullo is an excellent artist. While his characters
look great (god the Talons where gorgeous!), his real strength is in the
environments. He brings the architecture of Gotham to life, working hand in
hand with Scott Snyder's knack for using architecture to tell a story. And his
Joker is...frightening. Terribly frightening. Especially the eyes. Batman has
to keep reminding himself he's only dealing with a human being when he fights
the Joker, but he lets it slip that his eyes unnerve him. And with Capullo
drawing them, I can see why.
So once again, because he deserves it, Batman wins for what
I believe to be the best comic of this year.
Thank you guys for
joining me, I know this was a lot, but this was also a year in review and my
first real article. I hope that you enjoyed this article as much as I did
writing it, and that you enjoyed everything on your pull list as much as I
enjoyed my stuff.Happy 2013!
This is rather exciting isn't it? I've been thinking about
putting this blog together for a couple of months now. But I haven't had the
courage to put this together until tonight. The idea of putting yourself out
there on the internet is a daunting task, but I feel that it is worth starting
this.
Why you ask?
*clears throat*
Because I read comic books, and I have opinions I'd like to
share!!!
*ahem* that’s the simple answer, I love comic books. I've
grown up since I was a little kid reading the adventures of Marvel and DCs
greatest heroes along with many others. Lately I've spent more and more of my
time discussing comics on Facebook. And I decided “Hey, why not share with the
rest of the world and see what they have to say?”
So what's the goal of
this blog you ask? Well...to talk about comics. Weren't you paying attention to
the whole loud declaration thingy earlier in my ramblings?But really it's more than that. A lot of my
joy with reading comics comes from sharing them with others. It always feels good
to know when a particularly good comic was able to touch someone in a special
way...or to get the satisfaction of ripping apart a bad story. Comics are an
amazing medium and you can play around a lot more with the presentation and
style than you can with just written text. Getting to share and talk about them
is one of the best things about them.
(Get used to long winded paragraphs, folks. I like typing
almost as much as I like sound of my own voice.)
So a few things about this blog before we get started.
1) Comics are expensive. Especially if you follow them on a regular basis. So I will mostly talk about what I am able to follow, which is
mostly DC with a few Dark Horse and Image titles sprinkled in.
2) I am biased. I was raised reading classic Marvel, but
I've been reading a lot more DC as of late, especially after the new 52 event
recent the DC continuity and allowed me to jump in on several titles. I also
really enjoy Dark Horse titles like the Goon and Image Skybound titles like
Invincible. I like several Marvel characters like Henry Pym, Iron Man, Doctor
Strange, Daredevil, etc.But I just
don't feel invested enough to buy Marvel comics regularly. That's what my
Marvel reading friends are for! The same goes for other titles/companies I
don't get to cover.
3) I have read a lot of comics. A lot. But I have not read
all of them. So while I can talk on great lengths about them, I don't know
EVERYTHING!!! I have not read every Infinite War of Secret Crisis on Two
Earths. But that is okay, because you can tell me why it AWESOME and then we
can talk about it!
4) I want to keep this blog fairly positive. I don't want to
be all like "HERP DERP THIS IS BAD BECAUSE THINGS ARE DIFFERENT!!!"In
my book, status quo is not God. But if a plot element is immature, comes right
out of nowhere, or severely undermines what a character stands for, I will call
a writer out for it.
5) I am planning on posting on my thoughts related to comics
of the week, definitely my weekly comic runs, and on graphic novels. But I will
also talk about comic games, movies, and figures if I can. I might deviate and
post about something cool I think people should hear about, but mostly I'm
sticking to comic/graphic novel related material.
6) I'm fairly new to this. I don't have a planned posting
schedule at the moment. And this layout will probably change to. I'm just going
to be tweaking things as I go. And I make mistakes. I get so caught up in what
I’m thinking and typing that I will make typos.I’ll try to be vigilant, but it’s going to happen.
I can't wait to start
blogging. I hope you guys will enjoy what I'm putting out here as much as I
did, and that I will be able to just as much fun talking about what YOU
recommend.
I also like the idea of Monster Girl having to deal with the consequences of her actions, and I hope her son becomes a regular character. We get a bit of ship tease between Invincible and a female Viltrumite, but I hope it doesn't come back to haunt Mark later, because I like his relationship with Eve. Finally, the last page sets up something awesome. Mark has to make a choice between security of his family and vengeance or making his wife happy and letting go of the past. It really made me want to catch next issue. It is one of the best superhero titles out there.
Awesome issue, enough action to be interesting, but as per Kirkman's usual story telling technique, he keeps enough interesting story lines in the air while not having them interfere with each other.
