More stuff...
Grimjack - link - I've read some of Grimjack. I started reading it during my sophomore year of college; the series was near the end of its run but it was still a solid read. My interest in rereading this series was brought to the surface by the Wordballoon interview with Grimjack co-creator and writer John Ostrander. Where to begin? The Legends of Grimjack v1
Bone - link - Sounds great. I've never even tried it. This series was most recently brought to my attention by the podcast of a panel from Heroes Con with writer/artist Jeff Smith. It has been printed in black-and-white and in color, although it was originally released in black-and-white. I think I would rather try it in b/w. Where to begin? Out from Boneville.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
What I Read - Powers, Starman
Powers v10: Cosmic - SPOILERS >>> A power (person with superhuman abilities) gets killed by another power. Walker and Pilgrim investigate only to get pulled off the case by the FBI. Turns out the power who was killed was the human agent of the Millenium Guard (think Green Lantern Corps of the Powers universe). Walker gets tapped by the Millenium Guard to replace the dead man as the protector of Earth. Meanwhile Deena is being investigated by Internal Affairs and trying to deal with the her new powers. <<<
I liked both Christian's and Deena's story arcs. Both are dealing with having powers. He used to have them, she's never had them. How do they cope? Her story arc is a little more developed and actually began in the last collection.
I enjoyed this collection but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hadn't read Powers before. Its an in-between-er arc. There are developments but it feels like everything here is building to something bigger that's coming down the line. There are some great moments, great sequential art by Mike Avon Oeming, and great dialogue by Brian Michael Bendis but once again this feels like the 2nd or 3rd act of a 5 act play. Things develop but nothing substantial gets resolved.
Starman Omnibus v1 - I wrote about Starman before, but that was when I was halfway through the book. I finished it off several months ago but have not written about it since. The short of it is that I wasn't wild about it. There wasn't any single aspect of the story that I really liked, that would keep me coming back for more. It had its moments but on the whole it came up short and didn't impress me.
On iFanboy Booksplode # 1 (released about 1 week ago) Josh, Connor, Paul, and Sonia discussed volume 1 of this often praised series. I listened to it in the hopes that it would spark my interest in the book and nudge me closer to picking up the second volume. Instead, for the most part, it only reminded me of the parts that I didn't like and that I feel that it is overrated. I finished the program feeling the same way about Starman as I did after reading v1: it wasn't bad but it also wasn't something that I felt the urge to read more of.
I've read the first 17 chapters in this series. It didn't hook me or pique my interest enough to want to know what comes next. Its time to move on and read something else. That said I just learned that the guys at Around Comics also recorded a podcast about Starman Omnibus v1, episode # 191. Because so many people think this is a great series and because I like to hear different POVs on the same topic I will probably be listening to their discussion of Starman soon.
I liked both Christian's and Deena's story arcs. Both are dealing with having powers. He used to have them, she's never had them. How do they cope? Her story arc is a little more developed and actually began in the last collection.
I enjoyed this collection but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hadn't read Powers before. Its an in-between-er arc. There are developments but it feels like everything here is building to something bigger that's coming down the line. There are some great moments, great sequential art by Mike Avon Oeming, and great dialogue by Brian Michael Bendis but once again this feels like the 2nd or 3rd act of a 5 act play. Things develop but nothing substantial gets resolved.
Starman Omnibus v1 - I wrote about Starman before, but that was when I was halfway through the book. I finished it off several months ago but have not written about it since. The short of it is that I wasn't wild about it. There wasn't any single aspect of the story that I really liked, that would keep me coming back for more. It had its moments but on the whole it came up short and didn't impress me.
On iFanboy Booksplode # 1 (released about 1 week ago) Josh, Connor, Paul, and Sonia discussed volume 1 of this often praised series. I listened to it in the hopes that it would spark my interest in the book and nudge me closer to picking up the second volume. Instead, for the most part, it only reminded me of the parts that I didn't like and that I feel that it is overrated. I finished the program feeling the same way about Starman as I did after reading v1: it wasn't bad but it also wasn't something that I felt the urge to read more of.
I've read the first 17 chapters in this series. It didn't hook me or pique my interest enough to want to know what comes next. Its time to move on and read something else. That said I just learned that the guys at Around Comics also recorded a podcast about Starman Omnibus v1, episode # 191. Because so many people think this is a great series and because I like to hear different POVs on the same topic I will probably be listening to their discussion of Starman soon.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
What I wanna read iii
What I'm Reading Now
Two chapters into Kingdom Come and I'm not so sure about where this is headed. I like the grand scale but sometimes it seems like there's too much in the story and not enough focus. Also the sequential story-telling isn't as good as I expect it to be in a story is spoken of with such reverence. That said there are still some great moments here, to go along with the ones that just make me shake my head.
Monday, July 6, 2009
What I'm Reading Now
Kingdom Come - link - This is supposed to be one of the great comic book mini-series of the past couple decades, or so I have been led to believe. I've seen plenty of his artwork all over the internet but I believe that this may be the Alex Ross-drawn story that I have ever read.
I'm one chapter in. So far I like. At first I was concerned with knowing who all the characters were but as I've gotten into the story I've lost that urge. Its enough for me to just get the general gist of the story and enjoy it for what it is. I like how the main character isn't a superhero but an ordinary human. The painted look and feel of the book work for me, in large part because of the scale and apocryphal tone of the story.
Mixed Vegetables v1 - link - a shoujo manga, about Hanayu who comes from a family of pastry chefs and wants to marry Hayato (one of her classmates) who comes from a family of sushi chefs. What drew me to this manga initially was the cooking angle of it. I knew about the romance but that was secondary in my mind and I thought it was going to be secondary in the story. Wrong.
Hanayu's determination to get Hayato to propose (they are only classmates at the beginning of the story) was a bit annoying, at first, probably because it made her seem one dimensional. When she panicked after he asked her out in menu (chapter) 2 it made her seem more real and I started to enjoy the story more. I did like the humor from the get go. I'm only three chapters in but I like. Hopefully the rest of this book will be as good as the first three chapters, or better.
I'm one chapter in. So far I like. At first I was concerned with knowing who all the characters were but as I've gotten into the story I've lost that urge. Its enough for me to just get the general gist of the story and enjoy it for what it is. I like how the main character isn't a superhero but an ordinary human. The painted look and feel of the book work for me, in large part because of the scale and apocryphal tone of the story.
Mixed Vegetables v1 - link - a shoujo manga, about Hanayu who comes from a family of pastry chefs and wants to marry Hayato (one of her classmates) who comes from a family of sushi chefs. What drew me to this manga initially was the cooking angle of it. I knew about the romance but that was secondary in my mind and I thought it was going to be secondary in the story. Wrong.
Hanayu's determination to get Hayato to propose (they are only classmates at the beginning of the story) was a bit annoying, at first, probably because it made her seem one dimensional. When she panicked after he asked her out in menu (chapter) 2 it made her seem more real and I started to enjoy the story more. I did like the humor from the get go. I'm only three chapters in but I like. Hopefully the rest of this book will be as good as the first three chapters, or better.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
What I Wanna Read ii
More stuff that I wanna read...
Limited Series
I've read parts of both these stories. Neither of these are ongoing although one of them does star one of the most popular comic book characters ever.
Batman: Death and the Maidens - link - I bought the first issue of this nine-issue mini-series, when it first came out. At the time I was looking to cut back on my comic book buying and didn't buy any more issues for that reason. Since then I have heard a lot of good things about it. Most recently it was brought to my attention during the recent Wordballoon interview with writer Greg Rucka. I don't read a whole lotta Batman comics but this one sounds like it would be worth my time, primarily because of who wrote it and my past experience (Queen & Country; Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood) with his comic books.
Rocketo - link - I've got the first few issues of this series. I love the style employed by the artist. Some of his creations leave me stunned by their beauty and the amount of creativity they show. Its kind of how I feel when I read China Mieville's novels. That's not to say that the two are comparable just that they are both very creative. So far there are only two collections but hopefully one day there will be more.
Limited Series
I've read parts of both these stories. Neither of these are ongoing although one of them does star one of the most popular comic book characters ever.
Batman: Death and the Maidens - link - I bought the first issue of this nine-issue mini-series, when it first came out. At the time I was looking to cut back on my comic book buying and didn't buy any more issues for that reason. Since then I have heard a lot of good things about it. Most recently it was brought to my attention during the recent Wordballoon interview with writer Greg Rucka. I don't read a whole lotta Batman comics but this one sounds like it would be worth my time, primarily because of who wrote it and my past experience (Queen & Country; Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood) with his comic books.
Rocketo - link - I've got the first few issues of this series. I love the style employed by the artist. Some of his creations leave me stunned by their beauty and the amount of creativity they show. Its kind of how I feel when I read China Mieville's novels. That's not to say that the two are comparable just that they are both very creative. So far there are only two collections but hopefully one day there will be more.
Friday, July 3, 2009
What I Wanna Read
Just for my own reference, and because I am thinking about it and have the time right now, here are some trades/series that I would like to read and have heard good things about but have yet to dive into:
Ongoing Series
DC Comics
Marvel Comics
Vertigo
There may be others series that aren't coming to mind right now. I also have a list of limited series or runs within (and across) ongoing series but I'll get to those later. That's it for now.
Ongoing Series
DC Comics
- Booster Gold - link - time travel, need I say more? - where to begin? 52-Pickup
- Secret Six - link - it just sounds cool, ok? where to begin? Villains United
Marvel Comics
- Captain America - link - Ed Brubaker's run of course; I read the first two trades some time ago but dropped it not realizing how big the story was going to get; should give it another try; where to begin? Captain America Omnibus
Vertigo
- Scalped - link - where to begin? Indian Country
- Ex Machina - link - I thought Y: The Last Man was great so why not give Brian K another try? where to begin? The First Hundred Days
- Fables - link - sounds like can't miss comics; where to begin? Legends in Exile
There may be others series that aren't coming to mind right now. I also have a list of limited series or runs within (and across) ongoing series but I'll get to those later. That's it for now.
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