JD's Comic Book Thread

[Captain Craig]

Glad to hear the positive WOM on Klaus from you guys. I flipped through it and was very tempted to pick it up. Knowing it was a mini I opted to trade wait it though. The art impressed me as well on the book.

I also finished Book of the Dead, as well as the chase title, Legends of Geomancer and found that the BotD conclusion is a large set up for Gilad's new ongoing. Much like The Valiant seemed to be a backdoor pilot for Bloodshot Reborn. Looking forward to Wrath of the Eternal Warrior later this month.

TMNT #51 - I want to avoid spoilers if I'm the only one current on the title. Some of you I think mentioned are reading it in trade? Just want to say that the status quo shake up from the events in #50 begin to unfold and I'm very excited and curious about the next dozen+ issues.

Archie's Dark Circle Superhero Line:
Black Hood #6
Shield #1
Hangman #1

I'm not sure how many of you have tried this revived line but with the Dark Horse Superhero line fading out, King Tiger's mini ends next week and Barb Wire ends at #8 in Feb(no new projects announced as yet) and Dynamite Gold Key line dead, I decided to try this. I've not been disappointed that I did. Shield & Hangman #1 were both impressive debuts. Black Hood picked up after a 2mo hiatus with some good character development.
The next title to debut is going to be The Web and reimagines that character as an Asian 15/16 yr old Oracle meets Katana type hybrid character(swords optional I think). That comes out Dec and that just leaves The Fox to come off of hiatus.

Apparently in Black Hood #7 a few of the The Crusaders(a team book associated w/these characters) stop by so that hopefully will be a prelude of that book to re-emerge in '16?!

DC licensed these characters back in the early 90's but I never read that iteration of them so before I started the line I was peripherally aware of the concepts. I can't compare this to then but the quality on the Dark Circle material to date has impressed me. Anyone else give the titles a try?

 

[kirk55555]

TMNT #51 - I want to avoid spoilers if I'm the only one current on the title. Some of you I think mentioned are reading it in trade? Just want to say that the status quo shake up from the events in #50 begin to unfold and I'm very excited and curious about the next dozen+ issues.

Yeah, the shakeup was interesting, and not something i really expected before it happened. I kind of hope it stays the status quo for awhile, although I'm sure it will fall apart before too long.

Archie's Dark Circle Superhero Line:
Black Hood #6
Shield #1
Hangman #1

I'm not sure how many of you have tried this revived line but with the Dark Horse Superhero line fading out, King Tiger's mini ends next week and Barb Wire ends at #8 in Feb(no new projects announced as yet) and Dynamite Gold Key line dead, I decided to try this. I've not been disappointed that I did. Shield & Hangman #1 were both impressive debuts. Black Hood picked up after a 2mo hiatus with some good character development.
The next title to debut is going to be The Web and reimagines that character as an Asian 15/16 yr old Oracle meets Katana type hybrid character(swords optional I think). That comes out Dec and that just leaves The Fox to come off of hiatus.

Apparently in Black Hood #7 a few of the The Crusaders(a team book associated w/these characters) stop by so that hopefully will be a prelude of that book to re-emerge in '16?!

DC licensed these characters back in the early 90's but I never read that iteration of them so before I started the line I was peripherally aware of the concepts. I can't compare this to then but the quality on the Dark Circle material to date has impressed me. Anyone else give the titles a try?

I read The Shield #1 and enjoyed it a good deal. I'm not familiar with any of the other Archie heroes, but I intend to keep reading The Shield. Its premise felt like a bit of a rip off of DC's Uncle Sam character, but I liked that premise anyway so I enjoyed the first issue.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'm fully caught up on TMNT except for 51 though and LOVED 50. Absolutely LOVE this book and everything about it. Can't stress enough love for it.

"Spawn" has been really good since Al has returned and am looking forward to the descent into Hell with Erik Larsen.

 

[TheSeeker]

*Larsen

 

[TheSeeker]

I finally finished off Book of Death and enjoyed it enough that I picked up Wrath of The Eternal Warrior. It was interesting, but it didn't really wow me. I'll give it one more issue but I'm not sure I'll keep picking it up.

 

[Captain Craig]

I felt Wrath of EW was too much set up without enough oomph at the end to give a compelling reason for where the story is going.

I'm going to read the arc regardless but it better have tighter scripting and pacing next issue I agree.

I'm looking forward to X-O Manowar: Commander Trill #0, the one shot focusing on the singularly focused Vine commander, assumed dead, nursed back to health by Vine plantlings and is now seeking to destroy humanity with his new planting loyalists and newly relocated Vine army on earth(see X-O title for more).
The X-O title is one of not only the better VALIANT titles but one of the better books period on the shelf. It's in any top 10 I'd create right now.

 

[TheSeeker]

X-O Manowar is another Valiant title I have been thinking of trying out for some time now. I really liked his Book of Death one shot.

Ivar, Timewalker might currently be my favourite Valiant title. There's just the right touch of humour, adventure, and action. I'm looking forward to seeing how the current story line wraps up with issue 12. I thought I had heard that this was the end of the series. Do you know if that's the case?

 

[Unicron]

I was trying to decide about posting this here as well, since I posted it in the Misc. Action Figure thread because it kind of fits both categories. For those of us who grew up in the glorious '80s and were fans of the MOTU line, we remember the sweet minicomics that came with the toys and figures. Dark Horse just recently released a compilation of all of the minicomics that came with the toys, throughout pretty much every incarnation of the line. Including some of the very odd early comics before some of the major elements were added, and He-Man was more of a Conan like character.

It also includes some interviews with the designers, artists, writers and others who helped to create the MOTU universe and define some of the traits that became iconic, and even has a small bit of unfinished content that was never properly released near the end of the toyline. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves MOTU and/or fantasy comics in general.

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^^^
That's on my lengthier list of wants. I've heard nothing but good things about it, except for the amounts of white space. That should be expected since the original content was micro comics.

X-O Manowar is another Valiant title I have been thinking of trying out for some time now. I really liked his Book of Death one shot.

Ivar, Timewalker might currently be my favourite Valiant title. There's just the right touch of humour, adventure, and action. I'm looking forward to seeing how the current story line wraps up with issue 12. I thought I had heard that this was the end of the series. Do you know if that's the case?

The X-O:Commander Trill #0 one shot that came out yesterday was also really good. Also well timed as the character is back in the main title, healthy again after being near death during Armor Hunters, and causing problems for G.A.T.E. and Aric.

Timewalker does indeed conclude at issue 12. Valiant says that was the intent, that due to their "9 title" rule, they are rotating characters. Quantum & Woody also only got 12 issues, then some minis and Ninjak debuted. So some precedence. His title ends as Eternal Warrior starts up...then in March Archer & Armstrong return. The Immortal Brothers are basically on a time share it seems.

 

[Unicron]

Honestly, there's really not a lot of wasted space IMO. It's a thick book with about 1200 or so pages, and it's really great to see every minicomic blown up to a larger scale. The book is solidly assembled and I think fans will readily get their money's worth. I've enjoyed reading some of the interviews with the creators, and there are two previously unseen comics that, to my knowledge, haven't been made available before. One of them is apparently an early comic intended for Flying Fists He-Man which got to the point of being illustrated (but not colored) and was dropped for some reason in favor of the version which actually came with the figure. This is probably the only minicomic where Evil-Lyn is a major part of the action and not more of a cameo. The second is a script for an unproduced comic that was likely intended for Faker, possibly to go with his rerelease in 1986/87.

 

[TheSeeker]

I don't think I've shared this yet, but if I have I apologize.

Last year at NYCC I got a commission done by Erik Larsen. I shared a photo of it with an Erik Larsen fan group I am a part of on facebook and I was contacted by one of the guys who helps Larsen put his book together. He asked me if I could send him a high-res scan of my commission with the idea that some day it could be run as a pin-up or something else in an issue of Savage Dragon. I thought it was a cool idea so I sent him a scan of it and that was that.

Quite a bit of time passed then in September I got an email telling me it was going to be run as the back cover of an upcoming issue. It was supposed to be issue 207 but it didn't pan out, but it was used on the very next issue, and here it is.

I have to say that this is one of the coolest things to ever happen to me in my days as a collector.

 

[Captain Craig]

That's very cool indeed and a nice story to accompany it!

 

[JD]

That is really cool.

 

[TheSeeker]

I picked up my comics today and read a few over lunch. Specifically I read Ivar, Timewalker #12, Invincible #126, Klaus # 2, and Huck #2.

The final issue of Ivar, Timewalker was pretty good but left me wanting more. It was a fun series and I'll miss it.

The final instalment of the "Reboot?" storyline in Invincible really threw a curve ball at Mark Grayson. It'll be interesting to see where things will go from here. We'll have to wait a while though since they are taking a break and won't come back until April.

Klaus continues to be a fun read with outstanding art. This may be the easiest read by Grant Morrison that I have ever picked up.

Huck was a pretty light read but it was fun. Millar threw a few plot twist into the mix which should be interesting to follow.

Of course I have quite a few more titles to read from this week but that's all I had time for. I decided to pass on Wrath of Eternal Warrior after flipping through it at the store so someone will have to let me know what they thought of it.

 

[TheSeeker]

Minor rant. I really find it annoying when a comic uses a foreign language and doesn't translate it. I know the dialogue is usually inconsequential but it still irks me. Winterworld does it with Spanish, the last issue of Captain Canuck did it with French (luckily I can read French), and Black Magick did it in their last issue with German.

Okay, end minor rant.

 

[TheSeeker]

At the risk of receiving an infraction for spamming, I just finished reading the last three issues of Bloodshot Reborn which concluded the first arc. I must say that it was a very enjoyable read. Something like this would be great adapted to a movie. Hopefully the next arc will be just as good. I wasn't a Bloodshot fan before this series, but I am now.

 

[Captain Craig]

Let me jump in here so Savage is sparred Moderator action!

I also really enjoyed how Ivar, Timewalker #12 ended and wish were getting more. Neela, Timewalker!!!

Bloodshot Reborn #9 concluded the lengthy "reborn" story of Ray Garrison was good. My major quibble is that burning the folder seemed a bit cowardice. I'm not totally intrigued enough by Magic to keep her around but now she is the only one, that the readers might trust, to give any actual details from Ray's past that were in that folder. Sure Kozol from Project Rising Spirit knows, he's the one who gave it to him back in the first Bloodshot volume but can the reader, or Ray/Bloodshot, ever truly trust him? Also, he gimmick of doing the cancel/reboot is now played out since Bloodshot has fully been reborn, albeit in more control. This should've just been Bloodshot #34 but I digress.

X-O Manowar #43 as Ninjak teaming up with Aric to help hunt down the Vine plantlings that have infiltrated many strategic places. Trying to root out the uprising led by the now revealed to be alive Commander Trill from last arc should be good. I'd say the opening issue to this arc was a bit softer in impact than I'd have liked but overall quality.

Ninjak #11 - he and Punk Mambo continue to search for Jack Boniface/Shadowman within Deadside. The confirmation within this issue is that indeed Jack has been ensnared and being controlled as a pawn of Master Darque. So his character turn at the end of the mini, Shadowman: End Times, can be explained away now and Jack can re-emerge as the hero he had set out to be. This arc is finally starting to make me care a bit more about Mambo as a person instead of just a flat character with no depth.

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TMNT #53 - if anyone else is still reading that I'd like to chime in that this series continues to be a Top 10 book in my "too read" pile any week it comes out. This issue focused largely on Mikey's decision to join up with Hob and his Mutanimals. It also gave a few nice quite moments of April with her Mom.

 

[kirk55555]

I'm also still reading TMNT, and enjoying it a lot. I'm a bit annoyed that the Casey/April mini is being referenced so much, I skipped it because I wasn't super interested but I didn't expect it to be so relevant to part of the story. Oh, well. Its not a huge deal. I'm still enjoying the book a lot, and I'm not someone who really grew up with the Turtles (Power Rangers were the big thing when I was a kid).

 

[Captain Craig]

I did read the April/Casey mini and while it was passable I didn't find it that awesome as it's own thing. However, as you noted, it's interesting how often the past 2/3 issues some reference, no matter how vague, has been mentioned by either April or Casey since they got back. Maybe I should re-read it in anticipation of something in there being even more relevant. It did feature the Rat King emergence into the IDW comic pantheon of Turtle foes.

 

[JD]

I've started reading the first collection of IDW's Ghostbuster series over the last couple week's and I'm loving it so far. It really feels like a great continuation of the movies and the game. I'm a big fan of the game, so I got a big kick out of the reference to it.
I like the way that they've tied it back into the story of the first movie. It's a nice follow-up without feeling to repetitive.