Chad’s Comments (group member since Mar 22, 2018)

Chad’s comments from the I Read Comic Books group.

Yasmine wrote: "I am also trying to read up on older story lines (I've barely read anything from the New 52, but I have no idea how to get my hands on the stuff without spending all my savings)"

How do you feel about reading comics digitally? I think Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite are the best and most cost efficient way to go back and read old comics that you don't care about owning. The entire New 52 is on DC Universe Infinite. (BTW, about half of the New 52 is hot garbage so I wouldn't pay much for it.) I look at those 2 services as the quarter / dollar bins of the past where I'd buy cheap copies of stuff I haven't read.

Whitney wrote: "I would love to get into Future State but I’m not even close to being up-to-date on any of the series I’m interested in."

Future State is set at least 10 years in the future. I don't think you need to be current to read it.

@Yasmine:

I read Death Metal in single issues. That's the one thing I don't like about the collections. To read everything in the proper order, you need to flip back and forth between Death Metal and the other 3 trades.

The only Future State books I bought were Legion of Super-Heroes and Swamp Thing. Post Future State, I'm buying Swamp Thing, Justice League, Nightwing, and the Batman miniseries Tom Taylor is writing. I decided this was a good time to cut back on a lot of the DC books and just get them in trade off Hoopla, spend my money on more smaller press books instead.

Last week's adventures in comics

The Tankies ★★★★★
Three related comics about the British Tankies, the men who were the tank crews in World War II and Korea. This was fantastic.

Concrete Park, Vol. 2: R-E-S-P-E-C-T ★★
Fantastic art and character designs about gang members on a prison planet. The story though is like reading the first 100 pages of a novel only to find out the rest of the pages are blank.

G.I. Joe: World on Fire (G.I. Joe (2019-) ★★★★★
My pleasant surprise of the week. This was a brand new Elseworlds type take on G.I. Joe where Cobra has conquered the U.S. and G.I. Joe are insurgents.

Dark Nights: Death Metal ★★★★
This story is insane and absurd, but as long as you're OK with that it's actually a lot of fun.

Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Darkest Knight ★★★★
Most of these one shots could be considered between the numbers comics from the main Death Metal story. Ties in with issues #1-3 of Dark Nights: Death Metal.

Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Multiverse Who Laughs ★★★★
More one-shots that should be read with issues #5-6 of Dark Nights: Death Metal. I hate how this event was put together.

Dark Nights: Death Metal - War of the Multiverses ★★★★
Two square bound one shots that take place in conjunction with issue #7 of Dark Nights: Death Metal.

Wonder Woman Vol. 4: The Four Horsewomen ★★★
Steve Orlando comes in and finishes off G. Willow Wilson's Year of the Villain story with Cheetah. And a bunch of other OK stories.

Pixu: The Mark of Evil ★★
Four excellent comic book creators couldn't save this turkey of a comic.

Savage Avengers, Vol. 3: Enter the Dragon ★★★★
This book has been a lot of insane, gory fun. Conan is beating monsters to death with prosthetic legs and Kulan Gath is turning people into monsters so he can eat them.

Yasmine wrote: "My pull list at the moment is way too big though, so I can't really justify to myself putting more comics on my tab until I read the ones I have already"

That seems to always be the rub.

Today's trip to the LCS.

The Next Batman: Second Son #2
The Silver Coin #1 <-- New Chip Zdarsky book
Carnage: Black, White & Blood #3
Heroes Reborn #1 <-- comes with a pack of trading cards handed out by your LCS
Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal #1 <-- New Garth Ennis book
Firepower #11
Hellions #11
Marauders #20
Strange Academy #10

Lenny wrote: "can anyone tell me if Original Sin is necessary for the Thor run, or can I just skip to Jane Foster? I'm seeing very mixed reviews and not sure if I want to spend the time if I don't have to. Thanks!"

It is the impetus for why the Odinson is no longer Thor, but you don't find out why until much later in The Unworthy Thor. I think you can skip it.

Last week's adventures in comics.

The Toys of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ★★★★★
Catalogs every action figure ever put out. Great stuff.

Usagi Yojimbo Saga, Vol. 1 ★★★★★
I never thought I'd enjoy a series about a wandering rabbit ronin, but I'm happy to be proved wrong.

Spy Island ★
Complete garbage. Clearly released only to try and get a movie deal.

Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise ★
I couldn't make it past the first 20 pages or so. The line work is so busy and overwhelming.

First Team: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Novel ★★★★
This may have been the best prose Marvel novel by Aconyte yet. It follows one of the younger X-Men, Anole, and his friends Cipher, Graymalkin, and Rockslide as they are menaced by the Purifiers.

Bomb Queen Volume 1: Woman Of Mass Destruction ★★
Bomb Queen is a scantily clad villain with a city enthrall. Meh.

X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 6: Proteus ★★★★★
Damn, the Chris Claremont and John Byrne collaboration was so good.

Revolver ★★★
It's an OK story that has been done many times before in science fiction where someone falls asleep in one world and wakes up in another.

Red Sonja: Worlds Away, Vol. 1: World's Away ★★★★
That wily wizard Kulan Gath transports Red Sonja to modern day Manhattan.

Harley Quinn, Vol. 5: Hollywood or Die ★★★★
Harley moves to L.A. where she starts wrestling and gets embroiled in a murder investigation. I love her interactions with Booster Gold.

Wonder Woman: Earth One Vol. 3 ★★★
It's the war of the sexes with misogynist Maxwell Lord declaring war on Queen Diana and the Amazons. The ending is pretty much a foregone conclusion from the onset that Diana's philosophy of loving submission will win out.

New Gods Book One: Bloodlines ★★★
New Gods follows Orion around as he struggles with his dual nature, the son of Darkseid but raised by Highfather.

I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 3 ★★★
This series is about a zombie outbreak in Japan and the unlikable manga artist who is also the only person around with a gun. I'm all in on the zombie babies, but the storytelling got real disjointed in the middle.

I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 4 ★★★
The first half of this suffers from the trope of "The real monsters in a zombie apocalypse are humans". In the second half Hiromi finally uses that friggin shotgun he's carried around all this time which was pretty great.

I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 5 ★★
This series can be infuriatingly slow at times with multiple chapter interludes that have nothing to do with the overall story.

Justin wrote: "Controversially my favourite flash run is the New 52 run that Francis Manapul did with Brian Buccellato, vol 1 is called Move Forward. Everyone seems to absolutely love the geoff johns run but i th..."

Manapul's Flash art is sublime. I've still got to give props for Geoff Johns's and Mark Waid's Flash runs though. Plus, Wally West is just a more interesting character than Barry Allen, at least until DC screwed him up in recent years.

I absolutely love this comic and have been buying it since it came out. Bridgette is a demented delight as a badass granny Buffy. I love the twist on the Arthurian legend.

Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain's art is magnificent. Something about it reminded me of a Don Bluth cartoon like Dragon's Lair.

My full review can be found here.

OK to air

This week's trip to the LCS.

Nuclear Family #3
Robin #1
Crossover #6
Abbott 1973 #4
Black Widow #6
Cable #10
MODOK: Head Games #4
New Mutants #17
Once and Future #18
Shadow Service #7
X-Men Legends #3
Batman: Black & White #5

Last week's adventures in comics.

Kill Whitey Donovan ★★★
A revenge story set during the Civil War that takes its sweet time to reveal why these girls are looking for revenge.

The Hunt Is On (Seekers of the Aweto, #1) ★★★★
The colored pencil art in this is just gorgeous. Bright, vibrant but subtle colors with a great use of white as negative space. This reads like traditional Chinese folklore.

Earth Boy ★★★
An uneven story about the first human accepted into Galactic Rangers school.

Youth Season One ★
Good lord, the art is terrible in this and the story is hardly any better.

Natan Sharansky: Freedom Fighter for Soviet Jews ★★★★★
Natan Sharansky was not someone I was familiar with. I was a child while he was a prisoner in a Russian gulag, basically for nothing more than being Jewish and protesting their treatment in Russia.

Black Heroes of the Wild West ★★★★
A short graphic novel perfect for kids focusing on three people proving it wasn't only white men who tamed the Wild West.

The Black Ghost Season One ★★
A terribly uneven story about a alcoholic journalist who becomes an awful, drunk vigilante.

XIII Vol 4: Spads ★★★
XIII is an long running European comic about an assassin with amnesia. In this one, we finally find out the true identity of XIII through an incredible amount of exposition.

XIII Vol 5: Full Red ★★★★
This story of XIII comes to a close as the conspirators' coup attempt comes to fruition.

XIII Vol 6: The Jason Fly Case ★★★★
XIII goes in search of his past, uncovering that his father was murdered when he was a teenager.

XIII Vol 7: The Night of August Third ★★★★★
This arc about the death of XIII’s father concludes.

XIII Vol 8: Thirteen to One ★★★★
The identity of I (The person behind the attempted assassination of the President) is finally revealed. It’s a bit crazy so don’t think about it too much.

XIII Vol 9: For Maria ★★★
XIII gets embroiled with some rebels in a made up Latin American country when someone tells him a story about his missing 6 years of his life.

XIII Vol 10: El Cascador ★★★★
XIII is captured and put on trial by the new government of Costa Verde where he finds out once and for all if he was El Cascador.

XIII Vol 11: Three Silver Watches ★★★
XIII learns the true history of his family. (At least for now. He's thought his father was 3 different people now.)

XIII Vol 12: The Trial ★★★★★
Van Hamme brings the series full circle as General Carrington kidnaps the President and puts him on trial for the murder of the former President.

XIII Vol 13: Top Secret ★★★★
Van Hamme's version of The Most Dangerous Game

X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Vol. 2 ★★★
This middle volume of the event is mostly filler. If you enjoy the New York based heroes fighting Sentinels, then this may be your thing.

Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer, Vol. 9: Sins Rising ★★
Ugh, I'm so sick of this Kindred story that has literally went nowhere for 47 issues and counting now. He just gives Pete some bad dreams while bugs crawl around the page. Then he resurrects the Sin Eater in a dumb story where he shoots people and eats their sins along with their powers. This also ends mid-story instead of collecting it with the next volume.

Today's trip to the LCS.

Justice League #60
Way of X #1
Carnage: Black, White, and Red #2
Superman: Red and Blue #2
Alien #2
Eternals #4
Spider-Woman #11
SWORD #5
X-Force #19
Nightwing #79
Lady Baltimore: the Witch Queens #2

Last week's adventures in comics.

Geiger #1 ★★
I gotta say, I was a bit underwhelmed given the pedigree of the creative team. It was OK. Seems a lot like the video game Fallout.

Lovesickness: Junji Ito Story Collection ★★★
Lovesickness is about a town obsessed with having its fortunes told. The local lore is that you stand at an intersection and ask the first person you meet for your fortune. Fortunes begin to go horribly wrong when a teenage boy starts giving bad fortunes.

Gert and the Sacred Stones ★★★
A solid fantasy adventure for kids.

Curtiss Hill ★★★
Gorgeous sepia-toned artwork in this story about two race car drivers in pre-war America.

The Orville Season 2.5: Launch Day ★★★★
Missing Star Trek: the Next Generation? Well then you should really check out The Orville. It's continuing what ST:TNG did best, but adding in more social commentary and a few jokes along the way.

Tales From The Umbrella Academy : You Look Like Death ★★★
Klaus gets his own miniseries with an introduction by the actor who plays him.

Everything Volume 1 ★★
A slow burning, Twin Peaks like story about a department store moving into Holland, MI in 1980.

Everything, Vol. 2: Black Friday ★★★
I did like this graphic novel that closes out the series better than its predecessor miniseries. We get the big answers about what is going on.

Cyberpunk 2077, Vol. 1: Trauma Team ★★★
Reminded me of The Raid set in a cyperpunk world. There are these trauma teams that are part extraction groups, part EMTs.

Bill & Ted are Doomed ★★★
Evan Dorkin returns to Bill & Ted in a series that bridges the gap from Bogus Journey to Face the Music.

Freaks of the Heartland ★★★
Trevor looks after his little brother Will who is treated like a dog by his father. Will is some kind of hulking mutant. When his father decides to take care of Will once and for all, the boys go on the run.

Bandette, Volume 2: Stealers Keepers! ★★★★★
I adore Bandette. Full of 6o's kitsch, Bandette is clearly inspired by Audrey Hepburn. This book is so much playful fun.

Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky, Vol. 5: Truth/Dare ★★★★★
Zdarsky continues to make this one of the best books Marvel publishes. Daredevil finally decides to turn himself in and face justice for accidentally killing someone with his billy club.

Marvel's Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes ★★★
A solid entry into the Gamerverse. This adapts Spider-Man and Black Cat's relationship from the 80's and weaves it into the DLC for the game which revolves around the Black Cat.

Avengers by Jason Aaron, Vol. 7: The Age of Khonshu ★★
Jason Aaron's Avengers run is officially getting kind of stupid. Moon Knight takes out all of the Avengers one by one with some god like powers because only he can defeat Mephisto... or so he thinks.

Teen Titans Vol. 4: Robin No More ★★★
Robbie Thompson takes over and the story revolves around Robin and his decision to start murdering criminals after what happened to Alfred.

Concrete Park, Vol. 1: You Send Me ★★★
Concrete Park is something of an Escape from New York set on another planet.

Hellblazer, Volume 9: Critical Mass ★★★★
This is a bit of a mixed bag of stories due to three different writers in this one. Once Paul Jenkins and Sean Phillips take over, the book gets good very quickly.

XIII Vol. 3: All the Tears of Hell ★★★★
XIII has been framed for the murder of his father and sentenced to an insane asylum.

Birthright Vol. 1: Homecoming

There are so many good titles to choose from. This could be the theme for the entire year.

Ria wrote: "I really want to read Serial, are you liking it?."

Yes, if you liked Rachel Rising, you are going to like this.

Ria wrote: "I started Spider-Gwen by Jason Latour but not totally convinced yet.

I’m quite behind with everything, especially now the prices are over £3 for most comics so I try to wait for the sales!!"

I feel Spider-Gwen never lived up to its potential and always hated the garish color palette.

Yasmine wrote: "I love to read Marvel and DC Comics and the Saga series. And I also enjoy reading the bande desinées from my dad's collection from time to time. Currently I'm reading the Ms. Marvel series (2014-today)"

Welcome Yasmine. If you really enjoy Ms. Marvel, she's a big part of Mark Waid's Avengers and Champions runs too.

Today's trip to the LCS.

Serial #3
Batman: The Detective #1 <-- Tom Taylor and Andy Kubert on Batman
Young Hellboy #3
Namor: King in Black #5
Wolverine #11
Thor #14
Scout's Honor #4
Resident Alien #5
Locke & Key / The Sandman: Hell and Gone #1
Rorschach #7
American Family 1976 #7
Autumnal #6
Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow #1
Sweet Tooth: The Return #6
Children of the Atom #2
The Joker #2
Grendel: Devil's Odyssey #5 <--- Finally! #4 came out over a year ago.

Last week's journey into comics.

Autobiographix (Second Edition) ★★★★
True stories in black and white comics told by the creators themselves.

Otter Lagoon ★★★★
A graphic novel for kids set on an island in the Pacific Northwest that is a magnet for strangeness.

Martian Ghost Centaur ★★★
A story about growing up and finding your passion in life. Set in a small Northern CA town known for sasquatch sightings.

X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Vol. 1 ★★★★
This was surprisingly well done for a 90's X-Men event. I like how it's slowly built up over a couple of years, preceded by Onslaught's harbingers.

The Final Night ★★★
This was an interesting event from the 90's in that there were no villains. The sun goes dark and Earth's heroes have to figure out how to save everyone while stopping people from looting and other end of the world type behavior.

Punisher: Shadowmasters ★★★
The Shadowmasters miniseries was actually more interesting than the Punisher issues. The Shadowmasters are a family of ninjas from Japan.

Infinite Crisis Omnibus ★★★★★
If you can get your hands on this backache inducing whopper of an omnibus, I think this is the best way to read this. It collects not only Infinite Crisis but the all the content leading up to it for the few preceding years.

Gwenpool Strikes Back ★★★
Leah Williams embraces the meta nature of Gwenpool a little too much and it wore very thin by the end of this.

Avengers: Infinity Prose Novel ★★★★
I thought this was a very good and faithful adaptation of the first half of Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run of comics.

XIII Vol. 2: Where the Indian Walks ★★★
XIII has amnesia and apparently done some bad things in his previous life including faking his own death and then assassinating the President.

Immortal Hulk, Vol. 6: We Believe In Bruce Banner ★★★★
Hulk declares war on entities harming the Earth. First up, Roxxon and Dario Agger from Jason Aaron's Thor run.

Justice League Dark, Vol. 4: A Costly Trick of Magic ★★★★★
Ram V. capably closes out what James Tynion started in Justice League Dark with a conclusion to the conflict with the Upside-Down Man.

Captain America Epic Collection Vol. 18: Blood and Glory ★★
Contains the infamous CapWolf story where Captain America gets turned into a werewolf. I think this fallow era of Captain America was directly responsible for Marvel giving this character to Rob Liefeld during Heroes Reborn.

Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey: The Hunt for Harley ★★★
This is just a continuation of Conner and Palmiotti's Harley Quinn run, but with Amanda Conner providing the art as well. Oh, and since this is Black Label the swear words aren't bleeped out.