What I Bought - Apr 15, 2012

I went to the Capicon Show at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department today. I didn't find any of the things at the top of my list but I did buy a number of other things.

- Hercules, Prince of Power #1 - 4 (1982 mini-series)

- Machine Man #1 - 4 (1984 mini-series)

- New Teen Titans (1980) #21 - 25 :: first appearance of Brother Blood (21-22) followed by the first 3 parts (of 4) of the Titans encounter with Starfire's sister, Blackfire; this story concludes in Annual #1, which I already have

- Captain America #262 :: to replace the coverless copy that I have had for years; I still need to buy #261 and #264 to complete my run of the early DeMatteis/Zeck run on Cap

- The Untold Legend of the Batman #1 - 2 :: I was unable to find #3 at a "reasonable" price

- DC Comics Presents Annual #2

- Comic Book Comics #4

Total cost: $11.50 which includes the $2 admission fee

I grabbed a bite to eat and then went to Barbarian Comics in Wheaton, MD where I bought some new, much more expensive books.

- 20th Century Boys v19
- Scalped v3: Dead Mothers
- Punisher Max v1: Kingpin

What I Bought: Oct 16, 2010

Even though I've got a ton of trades to read at the moment I still took the time to made a trip to Barbarian for the first time since before the Baltimore Comic Con.

House of Mystery v3 - I'm finishing off v2, just one more chapter to go, and I am eager for more.

20th Century Boys v10 - I'm a little behind in this series but I'm enjoying it enough that I picked up the latest even though I've only read through v7.

What I Read - Apr 1, 2010

Fables v1 - written by Bill Willingham with art by Lan Medina. A good but not a great read. The opening arc of this series revolves around the investigation into the disappearance and possible murder of Rose Red, Snow White's sister. All the main charcters come from other fiction: Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Blue Beard, Jack, Prince Charming, Little Boy Blue, Old King Cole, etc. Bigby leads the investigation, Snow White is the deputy mayor and city administrator of Fabletown, Old King Cole is the mayor. Its a little unclear where they are located but I'm guessing that it is supposed to be somewhere in New York City.

The art gets the job done but I wouldn't call it solid. The most interesting or appealing part of the story was the characterization of the main characters, and how they seem to embody characteristics from the stories they originally appeared and traits that seem somewhat contradictory to their original nature: rather than being a damsel in distress Snow White runs the town and on occasion curses up a storm, Prince Charming is best known (in this series at least) for sleeping around,etc.

The Moth - written by Gary Martin with art by Steve Rude. Despite high expectations I wasn't too wild about this book after reading the first 10 pages. I think it was the plot and characters. Despite the weird mix it seemed somewhat formulaic in places

I've now finished the first chapter. Although I'm still not wild about it, I've taken off my blinders, opened my eyes and can now see that the book has strengths, namely the artwork and the humor. Hopefully the story and characters will get more interesting.

20th Century Boys v5 - story and art by Naoki Urasawa. Halfway through this volume the story veered in a direction that I didn't see it going, it flashed forward 14 years into the future (to the year 2014) and one of the supporting characters took the lead. There was some indication in v1 that this would or might happen but I was taken in by the rest of the story and assumed that it would end in the year 2000, as I thought was hinted in v1.

Of course, I don't know what comes next. It's possible that the story will return to the late 20th century before its over. I hope it will since there are a number of questions that have yet to get answered. Regardless of where the story goes from here its been a fun ride so far. I hope it continues to be entertaining to the end.

What I Bought - Mar 20, 2010

Yesterday I returned to Barbarian. I was looking for a couple things (Sleeper: Season Two; Daredevil : Return of the King) that they didn't have in stock but that they said they would order for me. Both were written by Ed Brubaker. I'm much more interested in the second installment of Sleeper.

I want the Daredevil because it is the final installment of Brubaker's run on the book. The first couple arcs were good and had me wanting more. Not so much with the later ones, in particular Lady Bullseye. Wasn't godawful, just not as complete as the previous ones. Also it feels like Brubaker is bound to leave things hanging at the end of his run. I know a little bit about where the story winds up, from the podcasts I listen to, but not exactly how the story is going to get there.

I bought 20th Century Boys v7 and The Moth. The latter book is a collection that I've had my eye on since I first saw the individual issues when they first came out, probably 5 years ago, at what was then Closet of Comics. Yesterday, I was looking for something more or less self-contained. This seemed to fit the bill and was reasonably priced. I love the look of the artwork and the premise seems kind of wacky in a way that appeals to me. Hopefully it will up to my modest expectations.

What I Read - Mar 21, 2010

Sleeper: Season One - Well that didn't end how I thought it would. Then again, Brubaker kept me guessing the whole way as to which direction the story was headed in. The final chapter was a bit anti-climactic but it also set things up for a sequel: Season Two.

20th Century Boys v5 - I've only read the first couple chapters but so far I like. It's been too long since I read v4, three months too long; I read it in December. The big reveal in what I've read so far is the re-appearance of a couple more characters from Kenji's past: Yanbo and Mabo.

What I Bought - August 22, 2009

I made a trip to Barbarian Books today. I wanted to pick up Bleach v24 and 20th Century Boys v4. I found Bleach v24 but they didn't have v4 of 20th Century Boys. They checked for me and it looks like it won't be out until next month. Its a great series and that keeps me reading but also hearing it discussed on podcasts, namely Crankcast (week 198) and 11 O'Clock Comics (episode 58), makes me want to keep as current as possible so that I don't have it spoiled for me by one of my favorite shows.

In addition to Bleach I also picked up the first four issues of Wednesday Comics. Cover price for each one was $3.99. I got a 10% discount but they still cost me $15.36, before adding tax. I dunno what I was thinking, spending that much on individual issues. I've heard a lot of great things about this short-lived series and wanted to experience it for myself. It looks like the sort of thing that won't be the same in trade paperback format. Its like a newspaper. Each page is from a different series. The great part is that the stories feature more than just a-list characters, like Batman and Wonder Woman, but also include b-list characters such as Kamandi, Metamorpho, Sgt. Rock, and Deadman.

What I Read - Week of August 10, 2009

Watchmen - Chapter 5 - Last week I wrote about how I should take my time and savor each chapter of Watchmen. This week I showed that I have zero discipline. I read all of chapter 5 in one fell swoop. I loved how all the different story lines were laid one atop the other the newsstand, Tales of the Black Freighter, Rorschach, Dan and Laurie, Ozymandias. It very different from chapter 4, in which Dr. Manhattan was the focus. The text piece at the end of chapter 5 about the fictional rise of pirate comic books in the 50s and 60s, which Tales of the Black Freighter was part of, was great. The whole chapter was great, possibly my favorite so far. It was like mainlining crack. I just couldn't stop reading.

I definitely wanna buy the Absolute Edition of this book but I'll probably wait a couple years before doing so.

Phantom Stranger # 21, 22 - Not great but they were fun to read. I didn't bother with the back up stories. I was most interested in the Jim Aparo art, sappy dialogue, and half-baked plot.

Superman: The Bottle City of Kandor - Started to read it last night. The first story (from Action Comics # 242) has some great moments. Loved the art work by Al Plastino, especially some of the facial expressions. Loved how silly and simple some of the science is. Both Kandor and Brainiac make their first appearance in Action Comics # 242. I bought the collection because I love those old Superman and Superman family stories from the 1950s and 60s.

I finished reading the story after having dinner at Mark's Kitchen. The waiter ribbed me for reading Superman. He even went as far as to ask the manager if I would get a Superman discount. I did my best to grin and bear it and ignore his silliness.

20th Century Boys v2 - link - This collection is vindicating my faith in Naoki Urasawa. I can see the story is going to be a slow burn and take its time to develop but I like the direction the story is going in and more importantly I like most of the characters. I like the art too. I especially enjoy looking to see the expression on Kanna's face when she does appear. Quite often I have to go back to look for it because she's in the background and I skip right over her. Kanna is Kenji's niece whom he carries around on his back.

Carl Barks' Greatest Ducktales Stories v2 - link - Another fun read. A nice change of pace but I wouldn't want to read stories of Uncle Scrooge, Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie all the time.

What I Bought - July 18

I made the monthly trek to Barbarian Books today. I wasn't planning on buying a lot. I ended up spending more than $50, which is well within my monthly budget but more than I thought I would.

20th Century Boys v2 & v3 - link - I'm not completely sold on the series yet but I decided to take a chance and buy the next two books at the same time based on how I felt about writer/artist Naoki Urasawa's previous series, Monster.

Superman: The Bottle City of Kandor - link - which is a collection of stories from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s about the Kryptonian city of Kandor. I may have read one or two of these before but I couldn't resist.

Carl Bark's Greatest Duck Tales Stories v2 - link - Uncle Scrooge stories from the 1950s and 60s. Hard to resist. I recall reading some of these kinds of stories before I really got into reading comic books. I would usually find them at the barber shop. When I was in my teens I sometimes watched the Duck Tales animated tv series. This collection is of comic book stories that were made into episodes of the tv series. I would have bought v1 if they had it but they didn't.

FCBD 2009

I went to Barbarian for Free Comic Book Day. I didn't get any of the free comic books but they were having a sale: 20% off all trades. I picked up Powers v11 and Daredevil: Cruel & Unusual. and saved roughly $7.50 (including tax).


I have yet to read v10 of Powers but I've already got 11 and 12, now. I ordered v10 and asked about 20th Century Boys v2, even though I have yet to read v1. I think they understood that I want them to order it for me.