I Read Comic Books discussion
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What are you reading right now?
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What are you reading right now? (December 2020)
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This week's trip to the LCS.The Other Side of the DC Universe #1
Kaiju Score #1
Batman / Catwoman #1
The Walking Dead Deluxe #4
King in Black #1
MODOK: Head Games #1 <---Written by Patton Oswalt
Strange Adventures #7
Hellboy: Her Fatal Hour and The Sending
Black Widow #4
Fire Power #6
Hellions #7
Thop #10
X-Factor #5
Tales from the Dark Multiverse: War of the Gods
I have been spending the last month reading a bunch of Inhumans books, culminating in me spending the last week reading a bunch of Civil War II books. Basically, I've been reading a lot of mediocre stuff and a lot of garbage.Inhumanity ★★
Inhuman, Volume 1: Genesis ★★★
Inhuman, Volume 2: AXIS ★★★
Inhuman, Volume 3: Lineage ★★★
Avengers & X-Men: AXIS ★
Amazing Spider-Man/Inhuman/All-New Captain America: Inhuman Error ★★★★
Inhumans: Attilan Rising ★★★
All-New Inhumans, Volume 1: Global Outreach ★★
All-New Inhumans, Volume 2: Skyspears ★★
Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Rise of Alpha Flight ★★
Captain Marvel, Vol. 2: Civil War II ★
Uncanny Inhumans, Volume 1: Time Crush ★★★
Uncanny Inhumans, Volume 2: The Quiet Room ★★
Uncanny Inhumans, Volume 3: Civil War II ★★★
Civil War II ★
Civil War II: Fallout ★★★
Civil War II: Choosing Sides ★★★
Civil War II: Kingpin ★★★★
Civil War II: Gods of War ★★★
Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man ★★★★
Civil War II: X-Men ★
Mosaic, Vol. 1: King of the World ★★★
Mosaic, Vol. 2: Down Below ★★
Sorry for the big wall of books but this has been a very frustrating few weeks of reading garbage and mediocre books. Most of these I rounded up in terms of stars, I think the Amazing Spider-Man volume and the Inhuman Error book are the only two I actually really enjoyed.
Mod
How was that MODOK book? I'm excited to see Oswalt play MODOK in that new Hulu show - seems like perfect casting!
Last week's adventures in comics.
Tomorrow ★★Peter Milligan's attempt at writing The Stand but dumb.
Hidden Society ★★★A new entry in the hidden magic society category.
Liberty and Justice for All: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Novel ★★★A prose novel about two of the newest X-Men (Triage and Tempus) teaming up with Sabertooth.
Baboon ★★★★A wordless graphic novel about a baboon raised by a leopard. Pau packs a ton of emotion into his art.
The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales (Avatar: The Last Airbender) ★★★Some just OK short stories taking place during the show.
Remina ★★Ego the Living Planet comes to Earth and the whole world loses its collective mind.
Promethea, Vol. 3 ★★★★Sophie and the previous Promethia, Barbara, take a trippy road trip into the higher consciousness of the Immateria while Stacia becomes the new Promethea and protects Earth.
Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 2 ★★★★★Each issue amps up the tension as things get worse and worse. Now there's 5 little monsters running around hungry to kill more children.
Wolverine by Benjamin Percy, Vol. 1 ★★★★Wolverine takes on the Flower Cartel and Vampire Nation.
Underworld Unleashed: The 25th Anniversary Edition ★★★Underworld Unleashed was a great idea. You have all these villains (and a few heroes) making faustian bargains with the devil.
The Flash, Vol. 13: Rogues Reign ★★★In this Year of the Villain tie in, Apex Lex amps up the Rogues and they are running Central City.
Jennifer Blood: First Blood ★★Dynamite is milking the series at this point. It didn't really add much of anything to the Jennifer Blood story and frankly most of it was boring.
James Bond: Case Files ★★★★Four stand alone tales set in the James Bond universe, two with James Bond, one with Moneypenny, and one with M.
Hellblazer, Volume 7: Tainted Love ★★★★★With Steve Dillon in tow, this book really kicks it into high gear.
Here's what I've been reading since last week - reviews on each book page.Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Vol. 5: Worst Among Equals - possibly my favorite of the series so far!
Almost American Girl - very moving memoir of Robin Ha's move from Seoul to Alabama at 14
The Times I Knew I Was Gay - another great memoir, this one focusing on Eleanor Crewes' coming out story
Mod
- Mike: Far Sector (2019-) #8, Far Sector (2019-) #9, Cosplayers
- Kara: The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill
- Nick: Alien: The Original Screenplay #1-5
Check out the episode to hear what we thought!
Far Sector and Tea Dragon Society are both so good!
Tonight's LCS trip.DC's Very Merry Multiverse
Crossover #2
Resident Alien: Your Ride's Here #2
Locke & Key / Sandman #0
Juggernaut #4
S.W.O.R.D. #1
Batman: Black and White #1
Marauders #16
Sweet Tooth: The Return #2
Seven Secrets #5
Strange Academy #6
Namor: King in Black #1
Venom #31
Year Zero: Vol. 2 #2
Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint
Death Metal: The Last Stories of the DC Universe
American Vampire: 1976 #3
I am still working my way through the 3 Superman titles that started with John Byrne's 86 reboot. I am on Superman #40, Adventures 462, and Actin 650- The Brainiac Trilogy just ended, Jimmy Olson is elastic, and the fortress of solitude is being created
Erin wrote: "Currently reading the Clue GN adaptation for this weekend's Discord Book Club!"Sounds fun.
Mod
You should join in! It's Saturday the 12th at 2pm Eastern - there's lots of other good comics chat on there too, but we do a book club every two weeks on Saturdays, rotating who picks the next book. :) https://discordapp.com/invite/E8JUB9s
Last week's adventures in comics.
Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood ★★★★A brother and sister are trapped on a spaceship with 2 Predators and an Alien.
Criminal Macabre: The Big Bleed Out ★★★Cal McDonald, Monster PI falls in love with a vampire while his zombie partner encounters a sewer ape.
Predator: Hunters III ★★★A bunch of survivors from previous Predator comics hunt Predators.
Bang! ★★★A meta take on various hero archetypes from pulp novels.
Interpol - Volume 1: Mexico - La Muerte ★★A private eye and an Interpol agent hunt for a serial killer decapitating women in Mexico City.
The First Assassin (Cassio #1) ★★Way too much raping for me in this tale set in Roman times.
Batman in the Eighties ★★★★Some solid Batman stories from some of the best writers and artists of the eighties.
The X-Files: Origins ★★The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew version of the X-Files. Fox and Dana investigate two different incidents 3 years apart when they were children.
X-Files: Origins, Vol. 2: Dog Days of Summer ★★Tries to be a Stranger Things version of the X-Files with Mulder and Scully as children, but the story goes nowhere.
Outcast, Vol. 7: The Darkness Grows ★★★Kirkman is really milking the series at this point.
Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter ★★★★An ode to the midnight creature features of the past. Add in lots of poor choices and the fact those monsters from the movies are real and you have Count Crowley.
Promethea, Vol. 4 ★★★★Alan Moore (along with Sophie and Barbara) ends his acid trip through the Immateria.
Monet: Itinerant of Light ★★★The life of Oscar Monet told in art resembling his work of the time period.
Plastic Man: Rubber Banded - The Deluxe Edition ★★★★Kyle Baker channels the energy and zaniness of the Plastic Man Adventure Hours cartoon.
Mass Effect, Volume 1: Redemption ★★★A decent little story about Liara going after Commander Shepard's body. Provides as a nice lead in to Mass Effect 2.
The City of Shifting Waters (Valérian and Laureline, #1) ★★★Valerian and Laureline travel back to a 1986 that has been ravaged by ecological disasters to recover a fugitive from their time period.
Bizenghast, Volume 1 ★★★If you like Gothic manga with big eyes, you'll probably enjoy this.
Hedy Lamarr: An Incredible Life ★★★★In addition to being an actress, Hedy was an inventor. Her patent on frequency hopping became the basis for wireless technology.
Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #0 ★★★The 2 stories are worth 5 stars but this is just a reprint of Locke & Key: Open the Moon and Sandman #1.
The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage ★★★★Always good to see a new Question comic.
Bigby Bear Vol.1 ★★Droll comic strip about an artistic bear and a rabbit.
The Kill Lock ★★★★Four banished robots have received the Kill Lock, if one of them die, they all die. It was really good.
Mod
- Mike: Clue, Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics
- Paul: Blue in Green, The Other History of the DC Universe (2020-) #1
- Kait: To Your Eternity, Vol. 1, To Your Eternity, Vol. 2
Check out the episode to hear what we thought and see what we picked as our BEST comics we read in 2020.
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I also read Lemonade Summer which was a nice read in the cold weather. Some of the stories were okay, but overall it was a wholesome, cute collection of short comic stories.
Made it to the LCS before the snow started.Symbiote Spider-Man:King in Black #2
Once and Future #14
New Mutants #14
Locke & Key: In Pale Battalions #3
Barbalien: Red Planet #2
Atlantis Wasn't Built for Tourists #4
Batman's Grave #12
Wolverine: Black, White and Blood #2
Miskatonic #2
Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Crisis
Immortal Hulk: King in Black #1
Iron Man #4
Death Metal #6
Superman #28
Rorschach #3
X-Force #15
We Only Find Then When They Are Dead #4
I finished my Fullmetal Alchemist read and am now going through a Scott Pilgrim reread on my lunch breaks at work! It's fun comparing the books and the movie, I love both and there are some clear differences (positive and negative) made in the adaptation.
AlienatedSomething is Killing the Children, Vol. 1
The House of Whispers (2018-) Vol. 1: Power Divided
House of Whispers Vol. 2: Ananse
House of Whispers Vol. 3: Watching the Watchers
Chew, Vol. 4: Flambé
Chew, Vol. 5: Major League
(Trying to finish the entire series)
The Woods, Vol. 3: New London
The Woods, Vol. 4: Movie Night
I hit a wall in my December reading, but as I forgot to post my November reading, I am including those graphic novels too:
Solutions and Other Problems- A follow-up to Hyperbole and a Half, the crude art style is wickedly funny, with some surprisingly poignant stories. It was uneven but still worthwhile to read.
X-Men: Origins- This mediocre graphic novel gives us the origins of six X-Men: Colossus, Jean Grey, Beast, Sabretooth, Wolverine and Gambit. Each story is told by different authors and illustrators, thus there was some inconsistency in how each story unfolds.
Plunge- Joe Hill saved the best for last in his five-volume Hill House Comics label! The story takes inspiration from The Thing and Alien movies and takes place in the Artic with a salvage crew investigating the signal from a ship lost for 40 years. There are extraterrestrial worms- nuff' said.
Daphne Byrne- This Gothic story is an interesting mix of Rosemary’s Baby meets The Omen! Set in New York City in 1886, fourteen-year-old Daphne has just lost her father, and her mother is being bamboozled by a spiritualist who has a sinister plan in store for her. A ghostly young man appears to Daphne- and we are never sure of his intents or origins, but his shadowy specter convinces her to explore her inner darkness.
Maids- Based on the gruesome 1933 double-murder in Le Mans, France, this story details how two sisters killed their employers and their crime might have had roots in the class struggle of that time period. The art is cartoony and some readers might not realize it was a real crime.
Manifest Destiny: Talpa Lumbricus & Lepus- The seventh volume in the reimagined Lewis & Clark expedition finally came out- two years after volume six. The motley crew keeps on journeying westward but run into Lovecraftian creatures along the way. Will this series ever get a chance to wrap up the story, as financial issues and Covid seem to be dooming this series to an ignoble end.
I listened to the podcast Marvels (based on the graphic novel of the same name) this month. It gives the perspective of everyday people living in a world populated with superheroes, villains and mutants. We see the world through their eyes as they try to make sense of the incredible things happening around them. I plan on reading the original source material.
Erin wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Sounds fun."You should join in! It's Saturday the 12th at 2pm Eastern - there's lots of other good comics chat on there too, but we do a book club every two weeks on Saturdays, rot..."
Aww! Miss it! Thanks though.
Well finish two cute stories by Derek Fridoles & Dustin Nguyen !Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime
Study Hall of Justice
Going to start reading DC Universe Christmas
Still reading:
Batman The Long Haul by Jeph Loeb
Batman The Golden Age Volume 1
Elseworld: Batman Volume 2
Batman:The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2 by Jiro Kuwata
All Quiet on the Western Front ★★★A dour and depressing adaptation of the classic dour and depressing novel.
Wildfire: Volume 1 ★★n extremely heavy-handed story about the evils of genetically modified crops destroying L.A.
Lois Lane: Enemy of the People ★★★Good characterization can't save an unfocused story.
American Terrorist ★★★The book makes some solid points and I agree with quite a bit of it but it all feels very contrived and one-sided.
Norse Mythology, Volume 1 ★★★★Long time Neil Gaiman collaborator, P. Craig Russell, has brought in a murder's row of fantastic artists to breathe life into Gaiman's retelling of Norse mythology.
The Wizard's Tale ★★★★★This is the story of an evil wizard from a line of evil wizards who really doesn't want to be evil.
Whispers ★★This was...strange. It's about a germaphobe who begins to astral project.
Vampirella/Army of Darkness ★★Rahner got Ash spot on. But that story, yikes! It's not good.
The Shield, Vol. 1: Daughter of the Revolution ★★An outline of a cool story of an immortal Captain America clone and some kind of demon she's fighting.
The Victories Volume 1: Touched ★★★★This could almost be seen as a spinoff of Powers where it focuses on a team of heroes instead of Walker and Pilgrim investigating powers related murders.
Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 1 ★★★★The first 3 Aliens miniseries from Dark Horse. They were written before Aliens 3 came out so Newt and Hicks are still alive.
Carthago Adventures Vol. 1: Zana ★★★★Carthago Adventures tell untold stories of the rich old man from Carthago. He's a cryptozoic hunter. In this, he's searching for Neanderthals in Russia.
Carthago Adventures Vol. 2: Bluff Creek ★★★Mr. Feiersinger and London Donovan hunt for sasquatch in Northern California in the 80's.
Carthago Adventures Vol. 3: Chipekwe ★★★★London Donavan and his effectric billionaire boss look into the legend of the Loch Ness Monster before heading to Africa in search of a dinosaur.
Carthago Adventures Vol. 4: Aipaloovik ★★★★Cryptozoic hunter London Donovan returns to his home in Alaska and fights a Leviathan.
True Death of Billy the Kid ★★★This feels like a fleshed out version of a story that would have appeared in one of those Big Book of series that Paradox Press published in the 90's.
Earthlight Vol. 1 ★★This reminded me of The 100. It's teenage brats being teenagers in space, doing really dangerous and stupid things.
Spellbound - Season 1: Book I ★★★An overly complicated fantasy story, some of which is frustratingly not explained (like why the Queen hates her daughter).
The Tea Dragon Society ★★★★This was all about the cutesy art carrying this graphic novel for middle schoolers.
Mod
- Mike: Blue Flag, Vol. 1, Blue Flag, Vol. 2
- Brian: We Only Find Them When They're Dead #4
- Nick: Bloodborne Vol. 1: The Death of Sleep, Rai (2019) #10, Sentient
This episode was our Goodreads Book of the Month discussion about Farmhand Vol. 1, so don't miss it!
This week's trip to the LCS.X-O Manowar #3
Spider-Woman #7
Something Is Killing the Children #13
Shadow Service #5
Maestro #5
King in Black #2
Excalibur #16
Death Metal: The Secret Origin
Action Comics #1028
Batman: White Knight presents Harley Quinn #3
Grendel, KY #4
Nancy, I'm glad you ended up liking Solutions and other Problems! I agree with you, uneven but worthwhile.My recent reads:
When Stars Are Scattered - phenomenal memoir. Can't wait to nominate this for a future BotM.
Doctor Aphra volume six and seven - very disappointing end to the series. Looking forward to enjoying Aphra again with Alyssa Wong's first volume.
Farmhand for our BotM - wasn't bad but don't think I'll continue reading the series on my own.
The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part Two - tries to do too much in less than 100 pages, and it shows.
Mod
Also read Threadbare: Clothes, Sex, and Trafficking which again, interesting premise but questionable execution. A skilled editor and a professional letterer could have saved this, but as it was some of the stories were rambling and convoluted, and most of them were nearly impossible to read in the digital copy, even blown up on a huge monitor.
Hopefully the rest of my 2020 reads are better!
Last week's light reading.
Nanami ★★The Neverending Story for bored teenagers.
Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things ★★★★Comics for Goth preteens in the vein of Tim Burton or Jhonen Vasquez.
Spell on Wheels, Vol. 2: Just to Get to You ★★★Thelma & Louise with witches.
Alter Nation ★★A crappy, toy tie-in comic.
Alien: The Original Screenplay ★★★A new comic based on the original screenplay of the film.
The Butcher of Paris ★★★A true crime comic about a serial killer operating in Paris at the end of World War II.
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins Library Edition ★★★★★This was great. A fantasy adventure with lots of hijinks and humor.
The Neil Gaiman Library Volume 2 ★★★★A bunch of Neil Gaiman's short stories brought to life by some wonderful artists.
Crone ★★★A story about Red Sonja if she got old.
Paying the Land ★★★★A documentary style graphic novel about the indigenous people of Canada.
The Sacrifice of Darkness ★★A romance set in a coal mining town with the occasional spaceship available for snuffing out the sun. It's almost comical how bad the world building and science is in this book.
Urban Legendz ★★★Tries to be The Goonies set in Brooklyn.
HBO MAX Digital Comic ★★In each of these 10 page teasers, a dog gives someone superpowers. I have no idea what that has to do with HBO Max but there are some decent artists involved.
HBO Max/Raised by Wolves (2020-) #1 ★This was incomprehensible as a teaser for the new HBO show.
Black Dahlia ★★★Rick Geary presents a very well researched look into the death of Elizabeth Short in another of his true crime tales.
The Sign of Darkness (The Black Moon Chronicles #1) ★★I read in other reviews that this originally started as a Greyhawk campaign and it shows. Those early adventures were over the top, gory and simple fantasy.
Promethea, Vol. 5 ★★Promethea brings about the Apocalypse. This series has been one big acid trip. That by no means ends here. The epilogue is Moore at his most Alan Moorian with his head completely up his own ass. It's nonstop esoteric mumbo-jumbo bullshit.
Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood ★★★★Greg Rucka takes a Godfather approach to Huntress.
The 7 Deadly Sins ★★This is your standard Western trope of criminals trying to redeem themselves, even though it's iffy if they are actually helping anyone. The story isn't very good and the art is worse.
Sara ★★★★★This is my graphic novel of the year. Sara is about a squad of female snipers working in the Russian theater of WWII. Garth Ennis and Steve Epting knocked it out of the park.
The Precinct: A Steampunk Adventure ★★A by the numbers murder mystery set in a steampunk world.
Justice League: Vengeance is Thine ★★★Venditti's short time on the Justice League is fine if nothing special.
Wellington ★★★The Duke of Wellington gets involved is a supernatural murder-mystery.
Mod
I can't get over how prolific you are! Very impressive. I also really like the way you structure your posts, I want to try it too! :)
Wrapping up my reading for the year, I've got one prose book to finish to meet all my challenges, but recently flew through:
Prince of Cats - The art was really cool, but I struggled to follow this (sort-of) Romeo & Juliet retelling.
Babyteeth, Vol. 1: Born - can't wait to sink my teeth (pun half-intended) into more of this creepy Anti-Christ comic!
Meal - comic about eating bugs (yes, really) - some of the illustrations made me squirm, but the essay in the back was really good and overall it was a cute story despite the subject matter.
Goldie Vance Vol. 1 - not an earth-shaking work of great importance or anything, but I totally loved this fast-paced cutesy detective story.
Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey - Pretty interesting little memoir comic about growing up in Turkey and not fitting into the molds your parents want you to be in, but the end wrapped a bit too briefly for me.
All Together Now - follow-up to Hope Larson's All Summer Long, which I really enjoyed. I don't think this was quite as good as the first, but I'm definitely on board to read Book 3!
Erin wrote: "I can't get over how prolific you are! Very impressive. I also really like the way you structure your posts, I want to try it too! :)."Thanks Erin!
Erin wrote: "Babyteeth, Vol. 1: Born - can't wait to sink my teeth (pun half-intended) into more of this creepy Anti-Christ comic!"
Ooh! Babyteeth! One of my favorite comics of the last few years and IMO Donny Cates's best work.
Erin wrote: "Goldie Vance Vol. 1 - not an earth-shaking work of great importance or anything, but I totally loved this fast-paced cutesy detective story.!"
I really like these cutesy LGBTQ+ mysteries. The whole series is fun.
Lenny wrote: "Nancy, I'm glad you ended up liking Solutions and other Problems! I agree with you, uneven but worthwhile.As I stated in an earlier message, I put it off for awhile, but am glad I read it considering I had liked her first one so much. The author endured a lot of heartache in the last few years, so I hope this book was cathartic for her.
Erin wrote: ...I had some problems with "Prince of Cats" as well. That Shakespeare-style language is tough on me. I do remember a couple of fun limericks in it.
Babyteeth sounds like fun!
I've recently read the complete series Harrow County and Fatale. I very much enjoyed both even though horror isn't among my favorite genres.
Ed wrote: "'ve recently read the complete series Harrow County and Fatale. I very much enjoyed both even though horror isn't among my favorite genres."Sixth Gun and Bone Parish are too other very good Cullen Bunn books.
Mod
Yes! Some of the lines were so so good, but my first (and last oop) experience with Shakespeare was Romeo & Juliet in 10th grade English when I had a teacher guiding us through it :P
You should give Babyteeth a shot, I'm really excited to keep reading it!
I had my problems with Prince of Cats as well. Once you bring that Shakespearian dialogue out, my brain goes numb.
Chad wrote: "Sixth Gun and Bone ParisFangirl, Vol. 1: The Mangah are too other very good Cullen Bunn books."Sixth Gun is one of my favorite series of all time! Highly recommend.
Happy New Year everyone! My final reads of the year are
Fangirl, Vol. 1 
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 2Looking forward to more reading and an overall better year ahead.
Mod
Sixth Gun is one of my favorite series of all time! Highly recommend.
..."
Oooo! Fangirl is near the top of my to-read pile right now!
Mod
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I Read Comic Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott (other topics)Fangirl, Vol. 1: The Manga (other topics)
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Vol. 2: Hostile Takeovers (other topics)
Fangirl, Vol. 1: The Manga (other topics)
Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me (other topics)
More...
Speaking of reading challenges, don't forget about the 2020 IRCB Recommended Reading Challenge! Anyone who finishes the challenge before December 16th will get to help pick the January 2021 Book of the Month!
As always, you can check out what the IRCB crew is reading on the weekly Top of My Pile posts on Patreon!