What are you reading right now? (October 2017)

[Kate]

What are you reading this month? Did you pick anything special up for Halloween?

[Mike, Host & Producer of IRCB!]

I started a re-read of Batman & Robin with Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn and it is just as weird as I remember. I'm digging it.

Plus, as minisode preparation with Nick, I'm going to re-read the first "year" of East of West (#1-15).

[Peter]

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

[Nick]

There is no such thing as being “up-to-date” in comics. You’re either behind in your physical comics, or you’re behind in your digital comics. And if you don’t do digital comics, then let me show you the ways of Comixology sales and Humble Bundles. And if you don’t do physical comics, then I guess you’ll have to settle for having your forehead signed at cons. With all of this in mind, my recent reads have had my digital books getting some attention, while my physical reads await my commute to my LCS.

“But what have you read?”

Well, I’ve been slogging my way through DC’s great experiment from 2006, aptly named 52, Vol. 1. It was a weekly book that ran for a year, soo...I’m sure you can sort that out. The premise is semi-solid; DC’s big trinity of heroes is taking leave to regroup/evaluate things in the fallout of Infinite Crisis...and with that happening, some of DC’s lesser-known heroes must step up. So what you get is a fun book about semi-obscure characters like Steel, Booster Gold, and The Question, penned by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, and Greg Rucka, with pencil breakdowns by Keith Giffen. Granted, I haven’t finished it yet, and there aren’t many other grandiose weekly book experiments to compare it to...but that being said, I find it to possess a more cohesive element that Batman: Eternal, Volume 1 (one of DC’s more recent yearlong weekly books) lacked.

I’ve also been tackling a slightly less ambitious project: the second arc of Warren Ellis’ run on James Bond, Vol. 2: Eidolon over at Dynamite. Let me say, while I’m not entirely sure how they did it, acquiring Ellis was a very intelligent move. Much like the movies, Bond can be a blank slate that largely only ensures the readers of petite firearms and strong martinis, so bringing a strong characterizing talent on board is essential. And what do you get with Ellis? Someone who has a real handle on modern global espionage and just international affairs at large. His writing has a grounded realism and a (sometimes) gruesome physicality to the action sequences that draws more than a passing resemblance to Daniel Craig’s current iteration of 007. For those who didn’t think Dynamite was capable of weightier intellectual fare, time to adjust your expectations.

Look, Mike (Host of I Read Comic Books, for those unaware) has tried to get me to read East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise several times over. The kid loves John Hickman, what else is there to be said? Several years back, I tried to read this very book in singles, through the sixth or seventh issue. Maybe it was having to wait a month between issues, maybe I wasn’t accustomed to books that asked so much of its readers, or maybe it was just me feeling homesick for the “Big 2.” Whatever it was, I “tagged out.” So you can only imagine my feelings when, of all things, THIS was the book Mike thought I needed to come away from a big Image sale with. So I appeased him. Why? Because if Mike’s right, I end up enjoying/appreciating a great book. If Mike’s wrong, I get something to hold over his head for a prolonged period of time. If that’s not a WIN/WIN, what is? If you want a fun, imaginative post-apocalyptic tale of North America, and you’re willing to give it the attention it deserves, look no further.

[Phil]

52 is amongst my favorite DC books. Admittedly I haven't read a ton of stuff by DC, but for someone that isn't as familiar with all these characters, it was great. As you mentioned Nick, the story is very cohesive. Even the regular DC books can struggle with that, especially when there are crossovers mid trade (maybe it isn't so bad in singles, but I haven't read floppies in ages). And since it was discussed recently on the show, the extra materials where the creators talk about the process of making this book over the course of the year, including their favorite moments and times when things got a bit too tense, was awesome. I've considered nominating the first volume for one of our monthly reads.

[Wayland]

This week's comic run:

Harley Quinn 29- her mayoral campaign runs afoul of the Scarecrow
Green Arrow 32- more Metal tie ins. I have no clue.
X-Men Gold 13-Mojo Worldwide crossover kicks off as the X-Men, once again, learn they shouldn't play softball.
Jessica Jones 13- The Purple Man is back.
Star Wars 37- SKAR Squadron returns, and they mean business.
Nightwing 30- Blockbuster and Raptor team up.
Iron Fist 73- I hate the new numbering as Sabertooth returns.
Avengers 672-more confusing numbering as the Avengers team up with the Champions.
Batman 32- Bruce pops the question after DC massively spoiled this surprise.

And, because it's weird team up week:
Shadow/Batman 1- in which Damian is a jerk. Stunning surprise.
Harley/Ivy meet Betty and Veronica- well, THAT might get me to watch Riverdale...
Wonder Woman/Conan- Diana seems to be having memory problems.

Also got the DC Icons Nightwing figure, and swung by the frame shop to pick up my Tad Stones original Darkwing Duck art he did for me at DragonCon. It's a good week to be a geek.

[Mike, Host & Producer of IRCB!]

GANG!

We launched the IRCB Kickstarter today!!! This is super exciting for everyone on the show, and, hopefully, for you too! Head on over and snag a sticker and a t-shirt or two.

In other news: I read Black Bolt (2017-) #6 last night... and damn it is good.

I also started Dream Thief Volume 1... Greg Smallwood's art is unbelievable. Seriously.

[Wayland]

This week's comic shop run:

Ms. Marvel 23- I think this was a team up between Ms. Marvel and Red Dagger, but with Marvel running in-house ads every other page, it was hard to keep track.
Gotham City Garage 1- yet another dystopian/apocalyptic future with yet another all female team filled with yet more future versions of current heroes. Not getting #2.
Detective 966- Tim Drake talks to himself. His future self.
Spirits of Vengeance 1- Ghost Rider and Hellstrom team up to solve a mystic mystery, but they're going to need help...
Batgirl & The Birds of Prey 15- Gotham literally gets man-flu
Bombshells United 3- Did Diana just commit the weirdest suicide ever?
Suicide Squad 27- bringing back old names like King Farady, Karin Grace, Argent, and the original Task Force X
Defenders 6- The power behind Diamondback is revealed.
Falcon 1- Sam Wilson is back to his original name as he fights gang war in Chicago.
Uncanny Avengers 28- Johnny Storm is rich, and the Beast and Wonder Man reunite to celebrate their friendship and/or beat on Whirlwind.
Justice League of America 16- The story behind Null, and Ray Palmer back in costume
Weapon X 9- The current Wolverine joins the hunt for the Hulk-verine. See, sentences like that are why people mock us comic book readers...

[Daniel]

Here is a quick Midmonth update as i do not want to spam the thread...

All-New Wolverine, Volume 4: Immune
Champions, Volume 1: Change the World
Batman/The Shadow: The Murder Geniuses - Amazing Crossover, and beautiful art, made me very happy
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters - this was for our Local Book club, not my cup of tea but i appreciate the experience, and the ART is Gorgeous!!!
Redneck, Vol. 1: Deep In The Heart - Donny Cates can do no wrong, plus TEXAS
Nightwing Vol. 3: Nightwing Must Die
The Flash, Volume 3: Rogues Reloaded

As part of the IRCB Reading challenge i got thru a few as i try to catch up.
Fante Bukowski
Old City Blues - felt alot like Ghost in the Shell Manga
Giant Days, Vol. 1 - Esther is my fave
Savage - favorite book of the challenge this month.

Read the Podcasters Pick of the Month
Batman: The Long Halloween and had to keep going with Batman: Dark Victory as a Batman fan I can't believe i hadnt read these.

Also Read the DC Metal Crossover: Gotham Resistance spans between 4 titles.
and continue to read Dark Nights Metal #3 along with the One Shots, and finally this Month' s Mister Miracle (2017-) #3

Been a great month so far...

[Kate]

Daniel wrote: "Here is a quick Midmonth update as i do not want to spam the thread...

All-New Wolverine, Volume 4: Immune
Champions, Volume 1: Change the World
[book:Batman/The S..."

WOW!!!!

[Kate]

I am reading Afterlife with Archie, Vol. 1: Escape from Riverdale and it's just as good as everyone said.

I'm also rereading Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins & Batman: The Long Halloween. Both were books I 1st read years ago, with little knowledge about the main characters, so it's a very different experience revisiting them.

[Phil]

Here's the most recent batch:

El Deafo - A bit different than what I think a lot of us read regularly, but very good.
Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick - Much better than anticipated. Loved the visual effects for the Quiet.
Star Wars Vol. 2 - Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon
Star Wars - Kanan - The Last Padawan - As much as I've enjoyed the other Star Wars books so far, this one might have captured the feel of the movies the best.
Secret Weapons - I want more.
Rat Queens, Vol. 4: High Fantasies - Disappointing. Where is the heart?
Chew, Vol. 7: Bad Apples
Descender, Vol. 2: Machine Moon
Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1: The Parker Luck
Captain Marvel, Vol. 2: Coven - Better than volume one.
Paper Girls, Vol. 3
Trees, Vol. 2: Two Forests

Currently reading Batman: The Long Halloween and Black Canary, Volume 1: Kicking and Screaming.

[Wayland]

This week's comic run

Marvel Legacy is here to totally screw with issue numbering!

Invincible Iron Man 593- Tony is missing, Friday is narrating, and they check in on Ironheart and Iron Doom, too.
The Mighty Thor 700- All the Thors! Young Thor! Jane Thor! War Thor! Thunder Frog (no, really) Thor's grandaughters in the far future
X-Men Gold 14- Mojo sends the various X-teams through some of their greatest adventures and weirder costumes
Champions 13- The Champions/Avengers team up contniues
Luke Cage 166- Luke goes on a road trip. Ever see that go well for a hero?
Cable 150- Cable gets a team together to revisit the Ex-Ternals issue

also got:
Titans 16- The new(er) Wally West shows up as the team worries about the old one and fights a new menace
Nightwing 31- Raptor messes with Blockbuster and the Run-Offs learn some things as Dick and Helena have problems
Harley Quinn 30- Harley's mayoral quest continues
Green Arrow 33- GA and BC reunite as things get worse in Star City/Seattle
Aquaman 29- the revolution continues in Atlantis
Bombshells United 4- Diana may be gone, but the Wonder Girls fight on

and from the non-big 2
Torchwood 3.1- Jack and Gwen find another link between them they didn't know about and John Hart is back.
Dresden Files: Dog Men 5- There's a lot going on, and Harry and Listens to Wind need to get it figured out fast.

[Kate]

Phillip wrote: "Here's the most recent batch:..."

Wow! Descender, Vol. 2: Machine Moon is probably next up for me. How did you like it? I was a big fan of volume 1, especially the art.

[Kate]

Wayland wrote: "This week's comic run Marvel Legacy is here to totally screw with issue numbering!..."

I'm so behind that I haven't read any of the Legacy stuff yet. What are your thoughts and feelings on it so far?

[Phil]

Kate wrote: "Phillip wrote: "Here's the most recent batch:..."

Wow! Descender, Vol. 2: Machine Moon is probably next up for me. How did you like it? I was a big fan of volume 1, especially the ..."

I really enjoyed volume 2. The plotline following Andy was much stronger than the one with Tim-21 in my opinion. The art is still good. It was more sparse than the first volume. I think it felt that way because there are a lot of white backgrounds.

[Wayland]

Kate wrote: "Wayland wrote: "This week's comic run Marvel Legacy is here to totally screw with issue numbering!..."

I'm so behind that I haven't read any of the Legacy stuff yet. What are your thoughts and fee..."

I'm not sure. I'm hoping Iron Man doesn't dump Riri. She's really grown on me as a character. Thor was more like an anthology story, like some of the Annuals or specials used to be. Could be good. We'll see, I guess.

[Mike, Host & Producer of IRCB!]

Getting back on my kick of reading Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye with Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 5.

Telling myself I need to read this series before I jump into a full re-read of Chew.

[James]

Mike wrote: "Telling myself I need to read this series before I jump into a full re-read of Chew. "

Chew is a masterpiece.

Lately, I've been reading an assortment of different things. I just read Nijigahara Holograph. Inio Asano is an absolutely fascinating manga creator (also see Goodnight Punpun Omnibus (2-in-1 Edition), Vol. 1). He's a master of storytelling, making even the strangest character feel like someone you've known your whole life, only to learn the most horrifying truths about them later on.
I read Tetris: The Games People Play, and wow this book is everything you think it is, but then SO MUCH MORE. Thanks to Paul for always recommending Box Brown, its insane how much he communicates with his minimalistic style.
Caught up on Black Hammer and Sherlock Frankenstein. This series is so amazing, and I can't say why cause spoilers.

[Wayland]

Bit late this week, but weekly comic shop run:

US Avengers 11- Cannonball is in basically an Archie comic come to life. In space. Odd.
Thor: Where Walk The Frost Giants 1- Classic Thor from his earlier days, with the Warriors Three
Suicide Squad 28- More about the original Task Force X
Shadow 3- More on the Shadow's modern version.
Detective Comics 967- Tim Drake's future self is still causing problems for the team.
Blue Beetle 14- Jaime and his friends go on a road trip during summer vacation. I'm sure that will go smoothly...
Justice League of America 17- the tale of two Atoms comes to an end, and a new/old foe shows up at the end.
Weapon X 10- more with the Hulk-erine.

[Kate]

It's Halloween ComicFest day! What did you guys pick up?

[Mike, Host & Producer of IRCB!]

Whoa. That's a thing?

[Daniel]

Yes!! Halloween comic fest is pretty great. The big 2 usually just reprint a “scary” story but other imprints put out scary or Halloween related story

[Kate]

Yes! And the best part is they're free!

[James]

I snagged up the Shiver preview (so excited for this in December), Babyteeth, and Sabrina!
Also picked up my East vs West v6, trade waiting this book is tough but so rewarding.

[Kate]

When I got to my shop near the end of the day, they still had so many free comics that they were encouraging everyone to grab one of each! I also picked up Kill or Be Killed Vol. 1.

[Phil]

Kate wrote: "It's Halloween ComicFest day! What did you guys pick up?"

This is totally awesome. I found out about it when I went to the comic shop on a whim. I snagged Sabrina, Darth Maul, and the Batman/Harley Quinn books.

I purchased Stumptown Volume One: The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo (But Lef, The Bunker, Vol. 1, X-O Manowar (2017) Volume 2: General, and Shadowman: End Times. These will probably have to wait before I read them because I have The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk and Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch to pick up from the library.

Currently reading Space Riders, Volumen Uno: Vengeful Universe and Hellblazer, Volume 1: Original Sins.

[Daniel]

My Halloween ComicFest was great, as we had book club the same night so they let me just grab one of each, some good stuff in there. I'll probabaly pass them out during Halloween along with some of my extra comics.

Here is what i read in the second half of October.
Snotgirl, Vol. 1: Green Hair Don't Care lovely book and amazing art.
Edward Scissorhands Volume 1: Parts Unknown

I also read a few more things for the Reading challenge and I am in pace to finish :D
Heartthrob, Volume 1: Never Going Back Again
Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery
Nimona

I Kill Giants - This book is something special, I have so many feeling about this book and I am glad i read it. Thanks to Kait for recommending this be added on the list.

Lastly I read Hellblazer, Volume 1: Original Sins
and like always, Batman ongoing, and the Dark Nights DC Metal Oneshots. so good

[Kate]

Daniel wrote: "I also read a few more things for the Reading challenge and I am in pace to finish :D"

WOW!!! That's awesome! I Kill Giants is one of my all time favorites. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! What did you think of Nimona?

[Kate]

Phillip wrote: "This is totally awesome. I found out about it when I went to the comic shop on a whim. I snagged Sabrina, Darth Maul, and the..."

Oh wow, it was meant to be!

Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch is on deck for me as well. How are you liking Hellblazer, Volume 1: Original Sins so far?

[Daniel]

Kate wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I also read a few more things for the Reading challenge and I am in pace to finish :D"

WOW!!! That's awesome! I Kill Giants is one of my all time favorites. I'm so gl..."

I am about 50 pages away from being done with Nimona, but it is a lovely book, very different than what i consider my bread and butter. The world in that book is very interesting. Another great recommendation. This reading Challenge is really showing me some cool stuff.