What are you reading right now? (December 2017)

[Kate]

What are you reading right now? What were the best books you've read this year? Which books will you be leaving behind in 2018?

[Kate]

My most recent reads are The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 1 and Archie, Vol. 1: The New Riverdale.

If you have any interest in manga, I'd definitely recommend The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 1. The art is incredible, and it's a pretty good mystery so far.

In addition to our BotM Klaus and PotM Snow Blind, I'm planning on checking out Harvey Kurtzman's Marley's Ghost this month to get in the holiday spirit.

[Jason]

My wife and kids got me the first 3 volumes of the collected ELF QUEST for my birthday. I’d read the first 20 issues back in the 80s, so it’s been a delight to reacquaint myself with the world Wendy Pini created.

My most anticipated comics for December are the next Waid/Samnee CAPTAIN AMERICA and the ROYALS.

[Kate]

Jason wrote: "My wife and kids got me the first 3 volumes of the collected ELF QUEST for my birthday. I’d read the first 20 issues back in the 80s, so it’s been a delight to reacquaint myself with the world Wend..."

Waid/Samnee is a fantastic duo. Did you read their Black Widow, Volume 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Most Wanted?

[Jason]

I decided to trade wait their BLACK WIDOW, but I haven’t circled back to read it. Did you enjoy their run on Daredevil?

[Kate]

Jason wrote: "I decided to trade wait their BLACK WIDOW, but I haven’t circled back to read it. Did you enjoy their run on Daredevil?"

I haven't had a chance to read their Daredevil run, but I'd like to. So many comics, so little time...

[Kate]

I just finished reading Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green. If you're in the market for a good OGN memoir, I'd recommend checking it out.

Have any of you bought comics or comics-related gifts for others for the holidays? I'm curious what people are picking up.

[Phil]

Kate wrote: "I just finished reading Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green. If you're in the market for a good OGN memoir, I'd recommend checking it out.

Have any of you bought comics or comic..."

That book is amazing. It can be tough to read at times because of the subject matter though.

[Phil]

I finally had a chance to catch up on some reading.

From the Dead A re-read. Just as good the second time around.
The Walking Dead, Vol. 02: Miles Behind Us Ditto.
The New Avengers, Volume 1: Breakout This explained some stuff I missed in my hodge-podge reading of Marvel books. Decent team book.
Angela: Asgard's Assassin, Volume 1: Priceless I'm digging the Asgardians and the art is great.
Lucifer, Volume 1: Cold Heaven Wasn't as good as the Mike Carey series, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Vader Down Holy crap. If Vader could do half this stuff in the movies the rebels wouldn't have stood a chance.
Harbinger, Volume 4: Perfect Day
Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 I had never read a Black Panther book before. This is the one I would have wanted. Slow build, but lots of good ideas.
Saga, Vol. 7 I was considering letting this series go. This book kept me interested for at least one more volume.
Shadowman, Volume 2: Darque Reckoning
X-O Manowar (2017) Volume 3: Emperor
The Black Incal

[Nick]

Phillip wrote: "I finally had a chance to catch up on some reading.

From the Dead A re-read. Just as good the second time around.
The Walking Dead, Vol. 02: Miles Behind Us Ditto.
[b..."

Which arc/artist of Matt Kindt's 2017 "X-0 Manowar" has been your favorite so far?

[Phil]

Nick wrote: "Which arc/artist of Matt Kindt's 2017 "X-0 Manowar" has been your favorite so far? "

Hands down I have to give the art credit to Tomas Giorello. Some of the work on that first arc is breathtaking. It was good enough to make me stop reading more than once just to absorb the art. Braithwaite and Crain are some of my favorite artists, so the series as a whole has been really pleasing from an art standpoint.

My favorite arc has been General. It does a nice job of building on volume one without feeling like filler. Plus, it expands on the relationship between Aric and the armor. I like how it delves more into the different tribes and how they influence each other.

[Wayland]

After being way too busy for a while, this week's comic shop run:

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey 17- more of the man flu in Gotham
Detective Comics 970- Tim Drake is back, but is going around the bend? Also, more from the Victim Syndicate.
Falcon 3- Falcon and Patriot battle Blackheart in Chicago.
Star Wars 40- the heroes fight the Empire on Jedha
Suicide Squad 31- the original Squad and the current one fight the Red Wave on the moon.
Titans 18- The team fights the future Troia, with help from the other Wally West.
Weapon X 12- Nuke is bad enough. Now there's more of him?

[Daniel]

Not alot read this first half of December, but I did read some cool stuff, Quality over quantity. Also i completed the IRCB 2017 Challenge so that was cool.

Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2: Who Is Artemis? - the exploration of Bizarro and Artemis as characters though the lens of Jason Todd the Red Hood makes this book very much fun to read.
Trinity Vol. 2: Dead Space
Seven to Eternity, Vol. 1: The God of Whispers - This book is very convoluted, but it is BEAUTIFUL!! Jerome Opeña's pencils and Matt Hollingsworth colors make this book very much worth the read, but definitely better to trade wait.
Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir - A little bit of Star Wars in my life before the movie. It involves alot of my favorite things like Darth Maul, General Grievous, Mandalorians.

The Vision, Volume 1: Little Worse Than A Man &
The Vision, Volume 2: Little Better than a Beast
These were the last reads for the IRCB Challenge, and the book of the month for my local comic book club.
This book was definitely worth the wait, it was GLORIOUS!!

Batman #36 - Beautiful beautiful, this was a great issue.
Mister Miracle #5 - Barda and Scott, sitting in a tree...

That's all for now

[Nick]

Daniel wrote: "Not alot read this first half of December, but I did read some cool stuff, Quality over quantity. Also i completed the IRCB 2017 Challenge so that was cool.

[book:Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2..."

DUDE, you finished the challenge? That's awesome! Were there any major standouts for you? I won't be hurt if you don't list my pick, lol. Is this something you think we should do again?

PS How's Trinity? I've waited to read it, as I've always found Francis Manapul's writing not quite on the same level as his art...and I was anxious of the fact that he'd probably hand off art duties after the first arc. Which is what I think happened? That said, Clay Mann is no slouch.

[Nick]

Phillip wrote: "Nick wrote: "Which arc/artist of Matt Kindt's 2017 "X-0 Manowar" has been your favorite so far? "

Hands down I have to give the art credit to Tomas Giorello. Some of the work on that first arc is ..."

Valiant has this uncanny knack for pulling artists out of the ether that nobody has ever heard of, and I agree, Giorello has had a banner year. There's just something about his work that wouldn't seem out of place on the cover of a 1950's sci-fi pulp magazine.

Are you psyched for the new Quantum and Woody? I'm still struggling to figure out if my excitement for their egregiously foil-coated covers is ironic, or genuine. OH WHO AM I KIDDING ITS GENUINE.

[Daniel]

Nick wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Not alot read this first half of December, but I did read some cool stuff, Quality over quantity. Also i completed the IRCB 2017 Challenge so that was cool.

[book:Red Hood and the ..."


The challenge was great!! It really led me to read things I would have never picked up
There were some standouts for sure
I Kill Giants was definitely my favorite
Closely followed by The Vision and Savage
I was very surprised as to how much I enjoyed Nimona as well
Space Riders was the only item that missed the mark for me completely
We should definitely make a new list for 2018

Trinity is very middle of the road
The art is top notch on both arcs I have read but the story is very inconcequencial capes shenanigans
There is a bit of set up for an upcoming story that seems very interesting
So I will keep buying this book - The annual is a stand-alone story with a very fun guest appearance

[Kate]

Daniel wrote: "I Kill Giants was definitely my favorite
Closely followed by The Vision and Savage ..."

Those are my favorites on the list too! I'm so glad you liked Vision.

How was the Darth Maul comic?

[Kate]

Phillip wrote: "I finally had a chance to catch up on some reading.

From the Dead A re-read. Just as good the second time around.
The Walking Dead, Vol. 02: Miles Behind Us Ditto.
[b..."

What did you think of The Black Incal? I picked up the first issue on Free Comic Book Day, but haven't had a chance to check out the rest.

[Phil]

Nick wrote: "Phillip wrote: "Nick wrote: "Which arc/artist of Matt Kindt's 2017 "X-0 Manowar" has been your favorite so far? "

Hands down I have to give the art credit to Tomas Giorello. Some of the work on th..."

I've been really impressed with the quality of the creators on most of the Valiant stuff I've read. And you're absolutely right about Giorello's art.

I'm lukewarm on this new Quantum and Woody series. I just don't know the characters well enough. Guess I will have to plan on reading through another volume soon. The most variant cover and the ultra foil covers do look pretty cool though.

[Phil]

Kate wrote: "Phillip wrote: "I finally had a chance to catch up on some reading.

From the Dead A re-read. Just as good the second time around.
[book:The Walking Dead, Vol. 02: Miles Behind Us|1..."

Honestly, I didn't enjoy the early portion of the story. The writing seemed rushed, almost like it was forcing the story along. Once I had a handle on the setting and what was going on, it got a lot better overall.

[Daniel]

Kate wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I Kill Giants was definitely my favorite
Closely followed by The Vision and Savage ..."

Those are my favorites on the list too! I'm so glad you liked Vision.

How was the Darth Ma..."

The Darth Maul comic is a lot of fun a lot of my favorite characters and it was also helped by the fact that I was watching The Clone wars on Netflix and the book takes place after Clone Wars but before episode III
Recommend for anyone looking for more Maul and this book is full canon, one of the few books that survived the Disney Aquisition

[Mike, Host & Producer of IRCB!]

Just read Giant Days, Vol. 6 which was fantastic and lovely and hilarious.

I managed to read my copy of As The Crow Flies which was... incomplete? Most likely because it's a volume 1 that ends abruptly. I had some thoughts that I mentioned on the show. It's a very in-your-face comic.

[Wayland]

This week in comics

Batman 37- might be my favorite individual issue this year. Bruce, Selina, Clark, and Lois on a double date at a fair. Great character work. No big fights. Wonderful writing.
Tales of Suspense 100- Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier follow a trail, trying to see if Black Widow is actually dead or not.
Ms. Marvel 25- Kamala is missing, and her friends try and fill the gap.
X-Men Gold 18- the team deals with the chaos in the Negative Zone.
Torchwood 3.3- what do you get when you cross Jack and Gwen?
Shadow 5- the Shadow in the modern era faces serious problems.
Nightwing 35- Dick has yet another new career, and an old foe.
Luke Cage 168- the secret behind Ringmaster's new problems as Luke still doesn't remember who he is.
Thor 702- Jane has some serious decisions to make as Asgard is under grave peril.
Harley Quinn 33- funeral for a friend.
Defenders 8- Kingpins of New York continues with a new player now.
Champions 15- Viv is dead. Or is she? Vision can't let go, and maybe he shouldn't.
Aquaman 31- the revolution continues in Atlantis.
Bombshells United 8- A new Bombshell shows up as Batwoman and Rene face a labyrinth.

[Daniel]

X-Men: Grand Design (2017-2018) #1
This book was pretty perfect for any X-Men fan

[Daniel]

So I have been on leave from work for the Holiday, and this has meant a lot of reading on the Second Half of December

Klaus and Klaus and the Crisis in Xmasville #1
Captain America: Winter Soldier, Volume 1
Captain America: Winter Soldier, Volume 2
Snow Blind
The Gathering Storm
The Mighty Thor, Volume 4: The War Thor
Astonishing X-Men by Charles Soule Vol. 1: Life of X
Superman Vol. 4: Black Dawn
The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire
The Punisher, Volume 1: On the Road
The Punisher, Volume 2: End of the Line
Han Solo
Spider-Gwen, Vol. 2: Weapon of Choice
Spider-Gwen, Vol. 3: Long-Distance
Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol. 1
Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol. 2
The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas
Lando
Jedi of the Republic: Mace Windu
Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree
The Storms of Crait
Reborn: Book One
Babyteeth Volume 1
Bloodshot, Volume 1: Setting the World on Fire
Bloodshot, Volume 2: The Rise and the Fall
Bloodshot, Volume 3: Harbinger Wars
Harbinger, Volume 2: Renegades
Harbinger, Volume 3: Harbinger Wars
Harbinger Wars

Currently reading Saga, Vol. 8

[Kate]

Whoaaaa!! Which was the best?

[Daniel]

Kate wrote: "Whoaaaa!! Which was the best?"

It’s hard to pick just one
But probably The Mighty Thor, Astonishing X-men and the Old Guard in no specific order