Wednesday, December 31, 2003

Comic Book Notes (LJ) Dec 2003

12/01/03

More reasons to drop Mile High like a hot potato? Maybe. The following books have yet to get shipped to me. I'm not sure if it is the publisher's fault or Mile High's but in at least one case (Gene Pool) I saw the book at Closet of Comics.

Here's the list:

CrossGen - I'm pretty sure that this have not come out yet.

  • SEP - Scion (Vol. 5) TPB: Far Kingdom
  • SEP - Sigil (VOl. 5) TPB: Death Match
  • OCT - Route 666 (Vol. 2) TPB: Three Ring Circus
  • OCT - Scion (Vol. 3) Traveler: Divided Loyalties
  • NOV - Chimera TPB

Image

  • SEP - Hawaiian Dick: Last Resort # 1
  • SEP - Savage Dragon TPB: Worlds at War
  • OCT - Hawaiian Dick: Last Resort # 2
  • OCT - Rex Mundi # 7
  • NOV - Hawaiian Dick: Last Resort # 3
  • NOV - Rex Mundi # 8

Other

  • SEP - Comic Book Artist Vol. 2
  • OCT - Dead Memory HC
  • OCT - Gene Pool
  • OCT - John Byrne's You Go Ghoul Ashcan
  • OCT - Yossel

Given how much these will cost me altogether I'm not sure if I should complain or not. Maybe Mile High is just trying to save me some dough. Ya know?

12/07/03

I did go to closet of comics today. I spent about an hour in there. I must have gone through the shelves about three times. At first I thought I would get D (the student I tutor) a Will Eisner book. I know he writes/draws good stuff. They have quite a few there, but I decided to keep looking. Eventually I found TPB editions of Matt Wagner's Mage. I've never read Mage, but I've read some of his other stuff and heard good things about Mage, so I bought him one of the many TPB volumes they had there. It was only $9.95. Just about right for what I wanted to spend on D's present. I also considered buying him the TPB collection of the original issues of Swamp Thing. D is into horror books. It was $19.95, which isn't too much for me to spend, but given that I'm not too sure what he thinks of comics I decided to play it safe and get him something a little less pricey, but just as attractive.

12/09/03

It's been a while since I wrote about what I've been reading.

Things I liked:

Heaven's Devils # 1 (Image) - I wish it was done on better or a different sort of paper, or maybe colored, but I really like the story so far. I bought it because the pencils are done by the same guy that did the first four issues of Clockmaker, Zach something-or-other. I like the story so far, I just wonder if the last three issues of this limited series can live up to the first one.

JLA # 88 (DC) - This book seems to get a lot of knocks from reviewers, but I like it a lot. I don't read many spandex superhero books, but this is one that I'm not about to drop. Love the whole Martian Manhunter gone nuts story line, and his budding romance with that flaming vixen whose name escapes me at the moment.

I think the biggest trouble with this book is that it seems like every other storyline involves the JLA saving the world, but recently I think the creative team on this book has done a fairly good job of not making it too over the top.

Other news:

I just read in Lying in the Gutters that Mark Waid and Barry Kitson maybe taking over Legion in the near future. That's enough to get my attention. I think this is the same team that's been doing the Empire mini-series, and I love that.

I also plan on sticking with Thanos after Jim Starlin leaves (last issue #6) and Keith Giffen takes over. I was kind of bummed when I read that Starlin was leaving, but I'm interested to see how Keith Giffen, who has written and drawn the Legion of Superheroes in the past, handles Thanos.

I've been picking up the issues I missed of Lady Death: A Medieval Tale, and plan on buying Lady Death: The Wild Hunt. I loved Jim Cheung's artwork on Scion, even though I only have read a few issues of it. I thing Cheung is a good choice to draw LD, although I'm not so sure that he was the best pick to draw an issue of Route 666 (#18 I think) I'll be getting that in the mail soon.

There's more books that I could write about including some of the disappointments like:

  • Batman/Joker: Switch - I'm not sure what attracted me to this in the first place, but I didn't care for the plot/pacing or the coloring.
  • World's Best Comics: Golden Age DC Archive Sampler - Glad I only paid $0.99 for this.
  • Tigress: Journey to Caldathera - OK, but nothing spectacular. It was a little pricey, $9.95, for a prestige book, but I wanted to give Mike Hoffman's work a try. He does nice paintings, but his writing and sequential artwork leave a something to be desired. Glad I tried it, but I don't plan on returning for more. any time soon.

I'm sure there are more things that I didn't mention, maybe tonight or tomorrow I'll get around to writing about them.

12/10/03

I got my shipment (or most of it at least) of comics from Mile High yesterday. I guess my last exchange with them put a sense of urgency in them, for this month at least. That was about ten to twelve days from the time I got the e-mail saying the comics were on their way. That's the fastest I've ever gotten a shipment from them. Now I said most of them because three items were missing which I assume were shipped seperately.

So naturally I stayed up late reading my favorite item from the shipment, the previews catalog.

12/14/03

What a nothing weekend. I've read a lot of comics. Maybe I should write about that?

Let's see, in reverse order I read:

Extinction Event # 5 - Talk about the non-event mini-series of the year. I am so disappointed in myself for buying this one. I guess with everything that I do buy I'm bound to make some bad decisions. Not only did I not care for the plot, the art, the pacing, but it doesn't even have an ending! WTF?

Captain Marvel # 15 - Another fairly good (but not great) issue of Captain Marvel. I think it is the dark humor as much as it is anything else that keeps me reading this book. The artwork hasn't been too impressive lately, but the writing (Peter David) is fairly good and not too predictable.

1602 # 3 - Another good issue in the mini-series.
  • It appears that the grand inquisitor is Magneto after all.
  • John Grey has to be Jean Grey in disguise. Her chat with Angel, certainly hints at that.
  • As in issue #1 Peter Parquagh almost gets bit by a spider.
  • Speaking of spiders, Black Widow's fight in the Inn in the Tyrol was a little confusing. It was kind of like the camera was focusing in on Daredevil while the fight went on around him.

Lady Death # 6 - Not quite as good as I hoped it would be, or as some of the earlier issues. Hopefully the quality of the writing will pick up again with #7.

Oh, and I have just one more issue to go before I'll be done with the Thor/Walt Simonson TPB. I'm still enjoying it. Great writing. I wish I had believed the hype when these issue were coming out and bought them then.

I was only going to read negation # 23, but it was such a tease that i had to read # 24. Now I have to wait another month before I get # 25.

Was it worth it? Right now I'm thinking yes.

12/17/03

My second package of comics from Mile High arrived today. It contained:

  • Fagin the Jew by Will Eisner - Eisner's take on Fagin's life
  • Sgt. Rock: Between Hell and a Hard Place by Brian Azarello and Joe Kubert - I almost passed up on this one, because it cost so much, but how many more Sgt. Rock stories is Mr. Kubert going to draw?
  • Previews Catalog - I didn't realize that I was going to be getting one from MailOrderComics.com, otherwise I wouldn't have paid an extra $2 for one from Mile High.
12/19/03

I read Empire #4 tonight and tried watching Storm Riders on DVD. The movie was disappointing. It is based on a Manga comic book. It seems like one of those deals where I would probably enjoy it more if I had read the comic book, or maybe not. Anyway, the plot moves too fast, the special effects are really weak, and it was putting me to sleep, so I turned it off after about an hour. Empire #4 I enjoyed very much. It is a shame that this is only a six-issue limited series.

12/24/03


I was reading the interview (skimming is more like it) with Jeph Loeb (over at Newsarama) about his work on the relatively new Superman/Batman book when I got an idea for a slightly different book. I'm half afraid to post this to one of the message boards. Someone has probably already thought of it before. Here goes:

What I would like to see is a Batman/Wonder Woman book. They have had a nice little thing going in JLA, where they are not romantically involved, but there is something there (more than just friendship or a working relationship) that neither one wants to seem to acknowledge. I think it could be good. It would probably attract more female readers than the current Superman/Batman title does.

Of course, I would want them to drag the relationship out as long as possible. Not resolve things too quickly. Maybe I should send an e-mail to someone at DC. Hmmmm....

12/26/03

I just read Heaven's Devils # 2 from Image. Another good issue. I wish the gray scale work was a bit lighter, but other than that I really like it: story, artwork, everything.

I also finally got around to reading JLA # 90. The one where they finally resolve the whole Batman/Wonder Woman thing. From my previous posts and my posts at comicbooklovers it should be apparent how I feel about it.

12/27/03

I read a few more comics: Incredible Hulk # 63, Thanos # 2, Conan: The Legend # 0. I enjoyed all three of 'em. :-)

12/30/03

After reading the Tokyopop: Lucky in Love, I am thinking of trying a couple of shoujo manga series and spent some time checking them out at TOKYOPOP. Yeah, yeah I know. They're supposed to be just for girls, but I wanna know what all the fuss is about. I probably won't stick with 'em, but I want to give them a try.