tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37620937590395140702024-03-13T01:03:23.460-07:00Comic Book IssuesThe chronicles of one girl’s comic obsessionAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-6504635078442975922012-04-27T09:52:00.000-07:002012-04-27T09:52:02.757-07:00New 52 in Review - All Star Western<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d heard good things about the Jonah Hex comic before the new 52, but had never really found the need to pick it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed the Hex short before the Red Hood animated film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the writers were the same as were working on the character before the New 52 and it was set in Gotham with Amadeus Arkham I thought this one could be interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I like supporting books that star lesser known characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spoilers below, reader beware.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The story starts out in Gotham, and later moves to New Orleans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither of these cities is really the West as we tend to think of it, but whatever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The writers pick up several threads from the Gates of Gotham miniseries, referencing old families of Gotham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s nice to see these familiar names and really gives you a sense of the city’s history while reminding you that these stories are set firmly within the same universe as all the other books, even though it’s in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then we also had the giant bat creatures and the Miagani tribe from the Return of Bruce Wayne and I’m reminded how that story really didn’t make much sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And wait, Hex was in the Return of Bruce Wayne and shot Bruce and was working for evil Thomas Wayne, but in this story the current head of the Wayne family is named Alan and apparently not a devil worshipper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I guess the shared universe thing is a bit of a win some lose some situation, and I’m still not sure what still counts in continuity…</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hex and Arkham have a sort of Sherlock Holmes and Watson thing going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things are told from Arkham’s point of view, as though he is writing these tales down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His are the only internal dialogue boxes I think we’ve had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He observes Hex and comments on his skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Watson he is also a doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hex isn’t too Holmes like, although Arkham does remark on his deductive reasoning skills (which I’m not quite sure we’ve seen too clearly in the comic itself).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m kinda with Hex though in that I don’t really understand what Arkham’s role is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought Arkham would be words and Hex would be actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Hex often seems like he’d do just fine on his own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Gotham at least Arkham was Hex’s link to the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arkham was familiar with the city and its people and had the manners to talk them into certain places. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that they are out of Gotham I’m not really sure what purpose Arkham is really going to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did save Hex’s life, but I can’t see that kind of situation popping up on a regular basis, especially since Arkham doesn’t seem to want to hurt/kill anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would also be thrilled to learn that some of his assumptions about Hex’s past are completely wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or at least have him psychoanalyzing someone other than Hex a bit more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it seems from the solicitations that we’ll be heading back to Gotham after this, and we’ll connect more with the history of Gotham, so perhaps that will be Arkham’s time to shine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The back up stories are pretty good, although I would happily lose them so we could go down to $2.99.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure they are worth and extra dollar every month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a way for them to introduce some new characters who may or may not show up in the story down the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with the story set in the past I suppose it needs these supporting stories to help set up the world that these stories are taking place in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stories were okay, but not really remarkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked the Barbary Ghost if only because she was the first woman we had in the comic who wasn’t a prostitute or a nun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also interesting is that this comic doesn’t seem to have the same no kill rule as most superhero comics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hex kills people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so do the heroes in the back up stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so did Arkham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sets the tone a bit differently when your hero is torturing people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And honestly makes for a bit more interesting characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It stays away from the black and white idea of good and evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m not a huge fan of the art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The colors are sometimes very muddy and there is something loose with the figure work, especially in the faces, at times that I don’t really like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also feels a touch inconsistent (which doesn’t seem like the right word but I honestly don’t know enough about art to tell you the right one) with some pages that almost seem as though they were done by a different artist entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I appreciate the art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not bad, it’s simply not to my taste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And thus we are left with yet another bubble title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not bad, it’s just not great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It never wowed me and I’m not especially looking forward to reading the next one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll probably stick it out at least until we get back to Gotham and see how the pacing of the series settles down.<o:p></o:p></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-70459591112218628622012-04-24T22:12:00.000-07:002012-04-24T22:12:14.992-07:00New 52 in Review - Resurrection Man<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Resurrection Man is a character I knew nothing about, but I was excited that DC was pushing some of their lesser known characters and his power seemed interesting, so I picked this series up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not much more back story than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spoilers below, reader beware!</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My first complaint is that I hate the depiction of women in this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I HATE the Body Doubles and the panty shots that come with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The angel chick isn’t much better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a lot of cheesecakey poses and clothing getting ripped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if they were characters we would never see again I might be able to get past it easier, but I know they will be back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t find them to be interesting characters and it bothered me that we don’t seem to have any strong women who aren’t bimbos.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My other big complaint was with the pacing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew nothing about this character and I was hoping for a bit of a more controlled start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to learn about him and his powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish we had spent a few issues with just Mitch being drawn to some place and solving some problem to start with and then thrown in the crazy angels and demons and mysterious people from his past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that there was a comic some years ago and I can’t help but think that many of these characters might be from there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if you were a reader then you probably really enjoyed getting thrown right back into the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for me, it was a bit too much at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t even really feel I had a good grip on what kind of person Mitch is before they started throwing stuff in about his past and what kind of person he was before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So basically I wish the first few issues had been more like the sixth and seventh issues, and then I might have been able to process the arc they put in the first five issues better.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I know it was probably only done to boost sales, but I kinda liked that the last two issues I read were set in Gotham and Metropolis respectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes sense to me that someone who claims to have powers from dying would end up in Arkham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the kind of shared universe I enjoy, one where it is clear that these things are all happening in the same world without causing other books to get off track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither Batman or Superman appeared in these issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of their supporting characters did (like Jimmy Olsen and a number of Batman villains) so it felt like Mitch was in those corners of the DCnU without having to wave the big guys around.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do like the character and feel that he has an interesting power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just wish that his power was a bit more of the focus rather than these other characters and his soul and all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which, again, the sixth and seventh issues did very well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I really don’t have much else to say about this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was ready to give it up entirely while reading the first few issues, but it did get better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure if it will stay better though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt the sixth and seventh issues were the best, but I don’t know if we’ll continue to tell stories like this or if this was merely a side quest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I’ll have to wait until I read more of the new 52 to decide, but this one is definitely on the bubble.</span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-32563111575033889662012-04-23T22:04:00.000-07:002012-04-23T22:04:32.240-07:00New 52 in Review - Aquaman<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I’m pretty sure we picked this one up because my fiancé wanted to read it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I didn’t have any preconceived notions going into this one really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aquaman…sure why not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spoiler below as always, you have been warned.</span></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First off let me just say that this is the first out of the new 52 series to really impress me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really enjoyed this one and will say right off the bat that this is a keeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun and interesting and the pacing was really good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aquaman isn’t quite the same character as in Justice League.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess he’s had 5 long years of jam packed DC action to bring him a bit more down to earth (seriously, a crap ton of stuff that is still apparently in continuity happened in those 5 short years…).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he is very similar to the version that popped up in Brightest Day in the old DCU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never finished Brightest Day (still intend to, but I want to get caught up on current series first) so I wasn’t sure if things were resolved there or just ignored like his telepathy thing controlling dead fish, but it really didn’t matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything I needed to know was explained in the comic so I didn’t feel I had any giant lingering questions about who Aquaman was.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first issue does a great job of showing us what a badass Aquaman is, which I really appreciate since a lot of comics tend to tell us characters are so great without ever really showing us why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we have the opposite though, as we see how awesome Aquaman is and everyone around him is saying that he is lame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s true that in pop culture Aquaman gets picked on a lot, so I’m okay with this being a reality in the comics as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially if Aquaman spent a lot of time in Atlantis previous to this, his powers would probably be misunderstood by the general public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could not have given you a list of all of Aquaman’s powers, so I appreciate that they are being introduced to us as they come up naturally in the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No info dump or anything, just as things happen you get a sense of what he can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve also enjoyed the bits of his backstory we’ve had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is all presented in a genuine way that fits into the story without being too intrusive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helps a lot since I’m sure I’m not the only reader who knew very little about the character before this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first arc is only four issues long, which seems short compared to the other new 52 series I’ve read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was really as long as it needed to be and any longer would have been padding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first issue introduced the main character and the enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second issue had the two getting into a direct confrontation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third issue ended that first direct encounter and set up the goal of the arc (saving the towns people).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the fourth issue had the big finale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all along the way we learned more about Aquaman and Mera and the Trench, who I suspect we will see again at some point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fifth and sixth issues were basically one shots that continued the larger story, but had self contained problems to be solved (which I really enjoyed) and then the seventh continued with the threads from the previous issues and introduced us to something new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each issue felt like a rewarding read to me, which doesn’t always happen since many monthlies are now written for the trade paperback release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They each had a nice cliff hanger to keep you coming back the next month, but none felt over the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just great pacing all around.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I like Mera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s a strong female presence with her own powers and problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that he has a dog that can’t swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m happy that although he wants to stay on the surface and protect the people who live on the shoreline he is still very much connected to Atlantis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope this back and forth with things relating to Atlantis and thing on land will continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although he wants to be connected with humans, Aquaman’s connection to Atlantis makes him somewhat unique among superheroes, so I’m glad we’re not ignoring Atlantis entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was kinda mad when the second issue had a cute little kid pointing at the incoming boat full of hungry Trench.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought that they were introducing the kid just to be killed off so it was even more sad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thrilled when the kid came back at the end, safe and sound thanks to Aquaman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though there was death in these issues, there was also a great rescue and that was really the focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made the whole thing less grim and depressing than it could have been and I appreciated that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also nice to see that Aquaman felt sympathy for the Trench.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had his priorities and would not sacrifice human lives, but he clearly wished that there was some way they could work things out without killing an entire species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a king and it stands to reason that he would look at problems with a larger viewpoint.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s interesting to me that Aquaman doesn’t have any real secret identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes for some interesting storytelling since anyone can just drop in to see him and he can’t exactly go anywhere without being recognized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which also means that villains can find him too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be interested to see what they do with that.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All in all, it’s a very good comic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definitely recommended and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.</span></span></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-57381442354443424892012-04-22T14:04:00.002-07:002012-04-22T14:12:53.862-07:00New 52 in Review - Justice League<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I picked this one up because it looked impressive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons, so I know that the team can be done in amazingly entertaining ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Super teams at their best use each member’s strong points and rely on teamwork to do something none of them could do on their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this comic was back to the big guns, which many people had complained about before the new 52, that the Justice League wasn’t the Justice League they wanted to read about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I gave it a shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spoilers below, you’ve been warned.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The team gathers slowly over the first four issues, which gives some nice spotlight time to each character’s first appearance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoy that everyone is shocked that Batman is real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also get the origin story of Cyborg, which was the weak point for me as I felt it was a bit too rushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as I love the character he didn’t have any time to deal with the transition from normal kid to half machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He just kinda jumped in and became a superhero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That could have made for interesting storytelling, but was kinda skipped over in favor of more punching.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Geoff Johns has a massive boy crush on Hal Jordon and Barry Allen and that’s more than apparent here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to fault a creator for focusing on characters he enjoys writing, but I really don’t like Hal Jordon myself, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as he probably enjoyed writing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did grow to like Barry Allen, despite my continuing anger that his return has all but erased Wally West from existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Superman was a bit strange as he was portrayed very differently from his traditional boy scout persona. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is set five years in the past and I guess that might correspond with his growth in Action Comics, which I am not reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wonder Woman, while very kickass, was a bit flat for my taste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kind of a mindless berserker character who just wants to fight things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the ice cream scene was precious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aquaman was amusing, and I enjoy his regal arrogance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t really do that much, but I did like what was there which gives me high hopes for the Aquaman series I’ve yet to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Batman was okay, not the best I’ve seen but also far from the worst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Solid Batman without being anything too special.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My biggest complaint was with the use of Darkseid as the first villain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I understand that the threat had to be large in order to assemble all of the great heroes together to fight it, but since these characters are younger and untested and don’t quite understand their powers as well as they could yet and have no idea how to work as a team it kinda just made Darkseid look like a punk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They use a tiny bit of teamwork, but it all seems to boil down to everyone just punching him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And woo they win and Darkseid promises he’ll be back, but I don’t care much as they beat him pretty easily this time once they attacked together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t seem like much of a threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Also, when Darkseid first show up at the end of issue four we have a panel that takes up ¾ of the two pages that I have to turn on its side to see followed by a two page spread of I guess Darkseid’s spirit energy smacking everyone and then splash page of just Darkseid’s face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me that is an incredibly inefficient use of 5 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You only have 22 pages a month to tell me a story, don’t waste 5 of them telling me that exact same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, I thought the splash page at the end of issue five was the perfect use of a splash page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It shows Batman looking out at </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Apokolips</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">(I assume, I don’t think it was ever actually named, but its what’s on the other side of the Boom Tube so I feel it’s a safe guess).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an effective page because it demonstrates the massive scale of what Batman is up against, while subverting our expectations as he was in a small hallway moments before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But by far the worst offender of the overuse of splash pages and double page spreads is issue six with nine out of twenty three pages used in this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not quite half, but it’s far more that I want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The full page spread losses its effectiveness when used that often and just really bugs me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although this is perhaps something I should come to expect from Geoff Johns (as demonstrated by <a href="http://www.letsbefriendsagain.com/2010/01/26/bomber-jacket-not-included/">this comic</a>).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t feel the comic made great use of everyone’s abilities in the final battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Green Lantern got to be a lure, and most everyone else just kinda stabbed or punched at Darkseid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cyborg used his crazy alien technology powers to save the day, making him important in the fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I appreciate that Batman had something to do with going to save Superman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because really, once you pull out Darkseid, what on earth is Batman really going to do? (Ignoring Final Crisis as I’m still not sure I understand what went down there…)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it was nice that he didn’t just have to stand on the sidelines throwing Batarangs or something.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Issue seven started a new arc, jumping forward to the present with a government support group and the team still not really understanding teamwork since Hal Jordon is just sooooooo impulsive (why do the Guardians put up with him, anyway?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The start of the new arc was okay, with some cute stuff with Steve Trevor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was a slow issue that didn’t really do much to introduce the next big threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we get a backup with Billy Batson being a troll of a child that will somehow be found worthy to be Captain Marvel who I guess we’re calling Shazam now and who I really don’t want to read about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose it was really a teaser more than anything, but it really didn’t make me care about what happens to Billy at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t follow the Marvel family much before all of this, but he is way different from what I remembered or expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His costume also has a hoodie cape which I think looks incredibly stupid.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess I should also mention the short backup in issue six with Pandora, the mysterious hooded lady from Flashpoint and every issue one of the New 52.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought it was a bit odd that this was even here referencing that she “rewrote reality” and all that when the New 52 is supposed to be about new reader accessibility and all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would think that they would be avoiding referencing things as they used to be in order to not confuse new readers, but what do I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead it seems like this is only the beginning for this character and whatever mad quest she is on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which makes me wonder how we’re going to keep everything straight if she starts referencing things from the old DCU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But maybe she won’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I dunno, but it just felt like even six months after reshuffling all the cards we couldn’t help but pick up the deck again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t really mind it too much, but I feel like any new readers who the book attracted could be put off by all of this.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the fact that the story and action were often unimpressive, the dialogue was pretty fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were lots of great lines and bits of interaction between the characters when they weren’t punching each other.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So yeah, it’s another book I am torn on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t horrible but it also isn’t fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just sort of there and hasn’t really wowed me at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know there are plans to add some more characters (and many other DC people have already been mentioned in the comic) so I’m interested in seeing how that all works out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also hopeful that they will try to even out the genders a bit so that Wonder Woman isn’t the only girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have no idea if/when that will happen, so it comes down to if I’m willing to wait it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is another I’ll have to wait until I can see the big picture of what we’re keeping/dropping until I can make a decision.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-77614124772557502022012-04-13T23:12:00.000-07:002012-04-13T23:12:32.695-07:00New 52 in Review - Teen Titans<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is another one I was on the fence about picking up at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason almost no one seems to be able to write the Teen Titans well lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what is so difficult about the concept of the book, but recent writers tended to do certain things with the series such as kill off characters for shock value, cause massive internal strife among the teammates, make everyone angsty, write horrible dialogue, and completely changing the team line up because I guess they don’t feel like writing certain characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am drawn to the book mostly because it is the only place I can read about some of the characters I really like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the new 52, this is now the only place I can read about Red Robin, whose solo series was one of my top ten favorite ongoing series before the massive cancellation of the old DCU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I picked this one up…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possible spoilers to follow; you’ve been warned.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First of all I might as well mention that I hate a lot of the new costumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially Red Robin’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can understand the desire to give him wings and make him able to fly like a lot of the other heroes, but to me it just takes away from the team aspect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tim could not fly and that was a personal weakness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The team had to plan for that and make use of the various strengths that each member had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he’s just Super Tim and flies about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wonder Girl’s red costume doesn’t really appeal to me either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t have the greatest costume in the old DCU but this really isn’t an improvement to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and Superboy there is an awful lot of red in these costumes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It pains me to say that Tim Drake is a jerk in this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They play it off as him not being an insensitive prick but actually just wanting to protect everyone and being all business like in order to accomplish that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he’s a jerk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He simply is not the Tim Drake I knew and loved and that pains me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the best things about old Tim Drake was the great relationships he had with his friends and teammates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had very close friendships with Conner, Cassie, and Bart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess they could be trying to develop that again with these new characters, but to me that’s boring as it’s already been done (and done well).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d rather read about the characters already being friends and trusting each other and working together on interesting problems than reading about all the strife that goes along with getting there.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I guess that’s really my biggest problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This entire storyline with NOWHERE and capturing and containing metahuman teens has all been done before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was all done in Young Justice (the old series not the one based on the cartoon), and done very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of this really feels original in any way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I want to read about the young heroes battling a shady organization I’d rather read that series, since I know it was good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not saying that comic writers can’t tell similar stories from time to time, but for the big debut of the new 52 I was expecting something fresh and unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure it’s not exactly the same story, but I can’t help but compare it to the Young Justice one and find this one lacking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The dialogue is horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, it’s just bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids don’t talk like teenagers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And everyone exposits like crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even lampshade it at one point, pointing out that letting the villain talk is your best bet as he’ll tell you how to beat him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the jokes fall flat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just not good writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is probably nitpicky as well, but I got really really sick of all the editor boxes telling me things that were pretty obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or telling me that something happened in issue 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously we haven’t even been going a year yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I want to know more about something the characters are talking about I think I can handle picking up a handful of previous issues to figure out where it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reader doesn’t need to be told this information constantly, especially since most of the readers at this point have probably read all the issues out at the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless it’s something that happened 3 years ago (impossible at this point) or in a different series I really don’t need a note about where to find it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was probably more annoying since I read all of them at once, but it was just really unnecessary and made me feel like the editor thinks all the readers are morons who can’t handle characters talking about anything that happened in a previous issue without a guide map of where to find it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also did not need what NOWHERE is spelled out for me in every issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In issue 4 the comic even tells me what NOWHERE is in context, but then on the next page I get an editor box shoving it in my face, just to be sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like editor boxes when they are used correctly, but here it was just a misuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I appreciate that there is almost an even number of guys and gals on the team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that the girls seem pretty strong and able to fend for themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I really don’t like Solstice’s redesign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Wonder Girl is a jerk too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish the team wasn’t half made up of unlikeable characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other than Bunker the team already feels full of potential angst.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bunker is likable and fun and interesting, but I have to be kinda upset at DC one part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew going in that he was an openly gay character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But how do they introduce this fact to the reader?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well he is written as rather flamboyant I guess, but that in and of itself doesn’t mean anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know plenty of guys who are straight who act similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they finally spell it out for us when he is having a conversation with Wonder Girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m almost certain this is the first conversation they have ever had having just met in the previous issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells her she is “awesome” and she questions if he uses that line on all the girls (calling someone awesome is a pick up line now?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To which Bunker replies “Girls?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uh…Not exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You do realize I’m gay, right?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My main question here if why on earth Bunker and perhaps the writer of the comic seem to think that Wonder Girl should have realized he is gay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not like he was making out with Red Robin or anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would be a legitimate clue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But short of that I don’t see why Wonder Girl should have just assumed that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless the comic is encouraging making snap judgments about people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Bunker’s cheerful character and openness about his sexuality it would have been much better for him to say something like, “Nope, but it’s been known to work on a guy or two.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just anything that wasn’t the “Hey person I just met how can you not have noticed that I am gay” that we got.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I do like the character.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The formula of the issues so far seems to be meet a teen, have a fight, teen joins team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t quite as flat as that in the later issues, but it isn’t much better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The team hasn’t done anything interesting so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They haven’t done any investigating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All they’ve really done is punch things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t even find the big bad behind NOWHERE themselves, he just kinda shows up and announces himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there hasn’t been much teamwork to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got a touch of that in the seventh issue with a planned two part attack from Superboy and Kid Flash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it just seems like most of the time they all do their own thing and hope for the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s still a young team and I guess that could still come, but Tim is supposed to be the smart one and the leader here, so why hasn’t he even tried to make use of his assets yet?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The art is okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My biggest problem was in issue two when Thrice shows up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no idea he was supposed to be a teenager until Red Robin spelled it out for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not drawn with the proportions of a young adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also annoyed me that Grymm’s weird mouth never moves but he totally talks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But other than that I can’t remember having an issue with anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not my favorite but it wasn’t bad.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So yeah, long story short I’m torn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a horrible comic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just don’t think it’s very good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So at this point I have to decide if I want to keep reading for the characters or drop it due to quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a tough call, and one I probably won’t make until I see how many other series we’re dropping.</span></span></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-22272484034294659112012-04-13T00:21:00.000-07:002012-04-13T00:21:20.201-07:00New 52 in Review - Birds of Prey<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was hesitant about picking up this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really enjoyed the old Birds of Prey series and was upset that lots of plot lines would be left up in the air with it being canceled for the New 52.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked the team and the interaction between the members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the initial previews, this series seemed to have little to do with the series I loved besides a single member and the name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it still looked interesting enough and I took a chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possible spoilers below; you’ve been warned.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My very first observation has to be that this series is hella confusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like most of that is intentional story motivated confusion, but since even after seven issues I haven’t reached the end of the first story arc, I’ll have to wait to find out if the payoff is satisfying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There has been group memory loss/manipulation which makes it kinda hard to figure out what is really going on as none of the girls are reliable narrators. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was also a bit with Batgirl that seemed to contradict her earlier attitudes in the series, but again I’m not sure if this was due to sloppy writing or if that moment has some bigger implication.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The pacing is also a bit off in places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really thrown by the gap in time between issues 5 and 6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the other issues pick up where the last one left off, so having 6 start somewhere completely unfamiliar with seemingly no acknowledgement of what happened at the end of the previous issue was jarring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I almost feel as though the writer had something planned and then changed his mind once he sat down to write the issue, since Ev’s ending with her “they really are all out to get me” is just kinda ignored and hand waved away in the next issue.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My biggest complaint is with a rather major inconsistency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like the writer was told after 3 or 4 issues, “Hey, you know these characters don’t kill people right?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because in issue 7 Black Canary makes a big deal out of Ivy killing an innocent dude (completely understandable) and then freaks out again when Katana kills a criminal (which Canary knows Katana has spent the last year doing).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lays out the fact that no killing is rule number one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But wait… Back in the issue 2 after Katana joins the team Black Canary says “In battle Katana is everything I’d hoped for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lethal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Disciplined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Able to watch my back.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lethal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As in, kills people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is what Black Canary herself says she wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She says this after Katana stabs a dude through the chest and then slices up two others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only caution she gives at that point is that they need “at least one of them alive” for questioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not, “Hey Katana, don’t kill anyone,” it’s more like, “Hey Katana, don’t kill <em>everyone</em>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when did Black Canary suddenly decide that killing was their number one no-no?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may seem nitpicky, but it was really confusing to me as I was reading through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured they were the team that works kinda outside the law and although they still have morals and all, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill in kill-or-be-killed situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I guess that isn’t the case after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I like the characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Starling is fun, although I know very little about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoy that she likes breaking things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Katana is interesting when we aren’t dwelling on the fact that she talks to her sword and could possibly be crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This version of Ivy has potential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do appreciate that no one really trusts her, although I’m still not sure what she gets out of being on the team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The addition of Batgirl makes me happy, provided that they coordinate with the writer of the main series to keep her personality and the timeline of major events in her life consistent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Black Canary is okay, although she may be the least interesting of the members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have some nice interactions going on, which I appreciate.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The art had a few mistakes that I noticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first might not have been a mistake, but if it wasn’t it was poor sequential story telling as Black Canary kinds just suddenly appears on the cart Starling was driving away from the authorities alone on the previous page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other annoyed me as it was a case of the artist forgetting to draw in some bandages on Starling’s arm, despite the fact that she has them on the same page in the bottom panel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But nothing too bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall I like the interior art quite a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though the girls are all pretty well figured I feel like it isn’t super cheesecakey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There aren’t a lot of gratuitous ass shots or weird poses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girls are portrayed as active and action oriented and they kick a lot of butt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall I’m still okay with this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll probably keep getting this one for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mystery, although confusing, is still interesting and I want to know how it all works out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose if the ending is terrible I might drop it, but so far the comic has done its job of entertaining me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com223tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-29271178983465344232012-04-12T23:02:00.001-07:002012-04-12T23:06:22.314-07:00New 52 in Review - The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Men<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why is this series first?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it was on the top of the pile that I randomly decided to start with. Possible spoliers below. You've been warned.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My interest in Firestorm began with the Superfriends cartoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really liked the younger characters, and an episode was better for me if it included Robin, Cyborg, or Firestorm (but not the Wonder Twins; they were just never as cool).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Firestorm was cool because he wasn’t just an energetic kid with really cool powers, but he had another side, or rather another person who helped to balance him out and be the voice of reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This two man team was interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It was like the sidekick and the hero in one.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I got back into comics Firestorm no longer had his own series and in fact had at some point died and been replaced by a new version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t really see much of the new Firestorm until Blackest Night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked that he was in many ways different from the old version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked that while Ronnie needed Professor Stein to help him use his transmutation powers, Jason studied really hard so as to make the most of the power himself (and I am a super nerd, so powers that you can improve by studying appeal to me).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I hadn’t know the characters very long I was quite effected by the death of Gehenna, and the back and forth between the newly not dead Firestorm and his replacement was interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not finished Brightest Day to see how all of that turned out, but that storyline was one of the main reasons I picked up Brightest Day in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So now we have the new series and everything is different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ronnie and Jason start off as normal high school kids who end up thrown together and both become Firestorm, this time with separate bodies, although they can combine into some sort of monster thing called Fury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gone is the interesting dynamic with the powers of two normal people in one superhero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another thing that seems to have vanished is the need for scientific knowledge to be able to manipulate the powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could be wrong about that though, because very little was explained in the first seven issues, despite the fact that they had a great excuse for exposition as Ronnie has no idea what is going on and Jason seems to be rather in the know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only clue about the powers comes from a battle they have with the Russian Firestorm who mentions something about "first level powers".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose that since Jason and Ronnie both became Firestorm from a bottle that maybe was only supposed to make one person Firestorm that the powers were spilt somehow, with neither receiving the full set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Ronnie only got the energy blasts and Jason ended up with the transmutation powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is all conjecture on my part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I said, it’s never really explained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And I'm sorry, but if I'm a kid with super powers I gonna ask questions to the guy who claims is super smart about how the heck they work. They should have discussed this. </span>So either they both have the powers and Jason is just being a dick and not telling Ronnie how to use them at all or the powers are split which means that killer blue lady from the first issue should have some part of their power set too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And speaking of killing, it really seemed like there was a lot of death in this series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean the first issue starts off, not with our heroes, but with some mysterious soldier terrorist dudes torturing and killing a family for information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They later do the same thing to a scientist then casually mow down some teachers and students at a school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And later in the series a stadium of 2,000 people are killed by a suicide bomber with hacked Firestorm powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get that the comic wants to show that the powers these boys posses are dangerous, they are nuclear based after all, but the destruction of the stadium just left me kinda cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I appreciate that the event did have significant impact on the main characters and wasn’t simply forgotten about on the next page, but it still didn’t quite feel like enough to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a shocking event for very little reason other than to have a shocking event and have our characters fail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while Ronnie wasn’t killed, he was tortured and had an arm cut off (an injury I am biased against as <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2011/01/well-that-didnt-last-long.html">a sign of poor comics</a>).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The other thing that bothered me is that I never really felt connected to these characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The comic started with an origin story with the characters gaining their powers in the first issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This didn’t give much time to establish not one, but two main characters, their families, and a love interest, along with a shadowy evil organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This bothers me the most with Jason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like the comic did a lot of telling me how smart Jason was, but it never really showed me that he was as smart as they kept telling me he was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t especially strategic and without the explanation of the science behind the powers, he’s just kinda doing magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also really don’t understand the motivations of Zithertech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First they were like kill them at all costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, for no readily explained reason they were like, “Hey, want a job?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no idea why they suddenly don’t want them dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They easily could have just gassed them in their sleep, but instead they are putting on this elaborate ruse and I just can’t think of a good reason why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, there was that whole business with the killers from the beginning, one of whom may have powers and another of whom totally wants these guys dead for nearly killing his girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ve just been kinda sidelined and not mentioned now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure they will make a comeback in some big dramatic way, but I would rather we were dealing with that now rather than leaving us scratching our heads and wondering where those characters ended up.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There was some cute dialogue ("I burned the lake down. How the hell do you burn a lake down?" for one).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked the art, but really didn’t like what I assume is the fill in artist that took over in issue 7 (it wasn't bad art, I just personally hate when characters look different than they did in previous issues).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kinda liked the Hyenas, with their abilities enhanced by drugs that make them efficient although giggly killers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But all in all it was not the comic I was hoping it would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The characters aren’t the ones I previously enjoyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The powers haven’t been explained enough to keep me interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just don’t care enough, even though I wanted to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So yeah, chances are very good that I will be dropping this one. I had far more to say about this than I thought I would, but I don't anticipate them all being this long...</span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-29134061458921347472012-04-12T22:32:00.001-07:002012-04-12T22:34:29.988-07:00Pull List Maintenance - New 52 in Review<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, so for a number of reasons, including an international move and comics piling up during the time surrounding the move and a long vacation in which comics piled up again, I have gotten rather far behind in my comic reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a few series (Morning Glories, for one) that I have stayed up to date on, but the most notable neglected comics have been the new 52.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You see, I had big dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to be completely caught up on all of the old DCU before I stepped into the new DCU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I started out well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then I kinda burned out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so the new 52 just kept piling up.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My fiancé was reading them and kept bugging me to do the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bought a lot of the new 52 and so we always planned that we would drop the ones that we weren’t enjoying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But with me not reading them there was no way to tell which we should be keeping and which we should be dropping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we just kept getting all of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after this vacation I made a vow that this month, before we order any more comics, I would read all of the new 52 we currently have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s 7 issues of about 28 series each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And so, since my lack of comic reading has also lead to this blog being neglected, I have decided to write up a short blurb on my thoughts about each series as I read them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things I like, things I don’t, things that don’t make any sense, and my thoughts on if I’m going to continue the series or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">write ups may be long, they may be short; there’s really no telling until I get going on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">And here we go!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-8465128291160076232012-03-28T14:18:00.001-07:002012-03-28T14:22:57.920-07:00A crafty shout out! Geeky plushies sure to make you smile!<span style="font-family: inherit;">So I haven’t updated for a while as I was busy with a wonderful trip to Japan immediately followed by a trip to AggieCon, a convention I helped run while I was a student but enjoy immensely more now that I am not responsible for it. So while I haven’t been reading many comics I do have something relevant to the interests of anyone who happens upon this blog.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So the vendors at AggieCon carry a wide range of items from swords to comics to board games. There are also several vendors selling handmade items like art sketches and jewelry. And for the past several years I have purchased some wonderful products from one particular vendor named Chelsea Smith who makes adorable crocheted plushies. </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OdANFqbtoY8/T3NwyxwyZaI/AAAAAAAAAfU/FuTTVOm4RRc/s1600/DSC06784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OdANFqbtoY8/T3NwyxwyZaI/AAAAAAAAAfU/FuTTVOm4RRc/s320/DSC06784.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXwa9h0lPjY/T3Nw8M72zzI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Jzi1dJmhOCA/s1600/DSC06785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXwa9h0lPjY/T3Nw8M72zzI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Jzi1dJmhOCA/s320/DSC06785.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It all started about three years ago when I just had to have this adorable little Robin. She had a good number of cute comic inspired dolls (I seem to remember a Rorschach from Watchmen and a Harley Quinn), but for my money, it doesn’t get much better than an adorable huggable Robin. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lHuOuYTDb3w/T3NxCo8BbMI/AAAAAAAAAfk/nB_6azjI9V0/s1600/DSC06786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lHuOuYTDb3w/T3NxCo8BbMI/AAAAAAAAAfk/nB_6azjI9V0/s320/DSC06786.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWMEz2XwkS8/T3NxG-xiZ5I/AAAAAAAAAfs/koJQla7E78g/s1600/DSCN6008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWMEz2XwkS8/T3NxG-xiZ5I/AAAAAAAAAfs/koJQla7E78g/s320/DSCN6008.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last year I bought an adorable little Kaylee of Firefly fame. I saw her while casually browsing the booths and knew that she just had to come home with me. She’s just too cuddly! She’s a good bit bigger than Robin, which allows for more detail and huggableness.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8bfmnLl6YFs/T3NxOsaKEJI/AAAAAAAAAf0/TFDQP5KOHR8/s1600/DSC06789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8bfmnLl6YFs/T3NxOsaKEJI/AAAAAAAAAf0/TFDQP5KOHR8/s320/DSC06789.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XqtyUJOGo8g/T3NxVYJuVlI/AAAAAAAAAf8/1Rjj-OnZhJs/s1600/DSC06790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XqtyUJOGo8g/T3NxVYJuVlI/AAAAAAAAAf8/1Rjj-OnZhJs/s320/DSC06790.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year I bought both Batman and a fox. Batman was the first to catch my eye this time, and I just had to have him. And as I stood at the booth and chatted with the lovely artist I found the fox and just couldn’t say no to him. Both are about the size of Kaylee and make me smile just about as much. She also had several Pokémon, a Yoda, an amazing Wookie, and an Iron Man among many other wonderful creations.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fSlrDHe9ahU/T3NxlEJWArI/AAAAAAAAAgM/Sc2QDpf43Gs/s1600/DSC06793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fSlrDHe9ahU/T3NxlEJWArI/AAAAAAAAAgM/Sc2QDpf43Gs/s320/DSC06793.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eHDe63iI0uw/T3NxtNcdQNI/AAAAAAAAAgU/1Hq_64Lvif4/s1600/DSC06795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eHDe63iI0uw/T3NxtNcdQNI/AAAAAAAAAgU/1Hq_64Lvif4/s320/DSC06795.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On top of the wonderful goods she sells at conventions she also does commissions. I plan (once I have a bit more money to play with) to commission a Nightwing and possibly even a Batgirl to help fill out my Bat family. She clearly knows a lot of great geeky characters and if she doesn't know the character you want I know she is more than willing to look them up in order to create something great for you.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-382qL76Ax6M/T3NxeCAZgzI/AAAAAAAAAgE/A-b2vFwohxg/s320/DSC06791.JPG" width="320" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And what’s more, she is really looking for commissions right now, as she is trying to raise money to travel to the Cannes Film Festival for an internship (which you can </span><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/Cannes-Internship-Opportunity"><span style="font-family: inherit;">find out more about here</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">). You can see some more examples of her work on </span><a href="http://tip-of-the-quill.deviantart.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">her deviant art page</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and I wholeheartedly recommend these little guys. They are well made and obviously super cute and cuddly. If you have a younger brother or sister, niece or nephew, or kid of your own this is a great way to get them something geeky and cute and made just for them! Or yourself! So help an artist out and pay her to make you things!</span></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-65284456324437739672012-02-21T22:11:00.000-08:002012-02-21T22:11:13.127-08:00Won’t Be Watching Comic Book MenI’ll admit to being skeptical about AMC’s new series following the Walking Dead from the moment I first saw a preview for it. But I decided to give the first episode of Comic Book Men a try and really see what it was about, since it was a show that spoke to my interests. But after that first episode I was pretty certain that the show is not for me.<br />
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My first clue was when in the opening minutes of the show the cast bursts into giggles because Batman’s sidekick is named Dick. That certainly didn’t establish a maturity level that I was excited about watching. At that point I checked to see which episode of Criminal Minds was playing on another channel, and finding it to be one I had seen, resolved myself to finish the episode to come.<br />
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There were moments on the show that made me smile. I don’t remember what any of them were exactly, but they were likely just little snippets of conversation between the cast members that reminded me of sitting with my friends in college and having similar, although likely more ridiculous, conversations.<br />
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I read that the show would be sort of like Pawn Stars with comics, but I feel Comic Book Men really fell short in this regard. One of the things that always impresses me about Pawn Stars is just how knowledgeable Rick and company are about just about everything. They do call in experts from time to time, especially to verify the authenticity of items, but they have a huge foundation of knowledge to draw from and I never watch an episode without learning something. On Comic Book Men, I really only felt that the store owner, Walt, knew anything. When customers came into the store he dealt with the items they were trying to sell while the others just sort of stood around and made silly comments. I felt this distracted from the actual knowledge Walt might have.<br />
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The other problem with this model is that people bring things to Pawn Stars often because they don’t know what they are or what they could be worth. They are often things that would be difficult to find prices for without consulting an expert. On Comic Book Men, except for the Bob Kane autograph, it seemed like most of the items could be easily priced by consulting sites like eBay (at least for a ballpark figure). The sellers knew what the things were in most cases and that took away a bit from the fun of discovery. And I can’t help but think that most of them would get a better price on eBay than they would at the store, if only because the store isn’t going to give you retail price so that they can make some money.<br />
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I was also surprised by some of the comments they made about their customers. Its one thing to say something to your coworkers after a customer has left the store; it’s another to do so on camera. I have to wonder if they will still be able to get people on the show if it’s successful enough for more seasons. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the show. I can probably get just as much money on eBay without being harassed on television.<br />
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I’m sure that many people liked the show and thought it was funny, and it may simply be the case that I am not the target audience for this show. But even my fiancé, who is a fan of Kevin Smith’s movies, didn’t like the show. He had had enough and left the room before it was even half over. That put me at an even greater loss as to who the target audience really is. <br />
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Although now that I think about it, I may have an idea of whom the target audience is. I think that for Comic Book Men, the target audience is people who enjoy making fun of diehard fans of not only comic books but general geek culture. The cast are clearly diehard fans and so are the customers. The cast makes fun of the customers and of each other. Audience members can enjoy making fun of all parties involved. <br />
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That isn’t to say that the audience is made up of horrible people or anything. Although I don’t consider myself part of the target audience for the show I know I’ve been guilty of such enjoyment myself. It’s almost a defense mechanism. I think we all sometimes feel self conscious about our hobbies so it can be reassuring to see people who are “more out there” than we are. And of course, if we are not a part of a fandom we are often baffled by the enjoyment others get out of it.<br />
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I didn’t watch the second episode this past Sunday, so I won’t be able to comment on the show further than to say that I really didn’t like the first episode and have no desire to watch any more of it. If you like it, I hope that you enjoy it. I would have preferred a show that was a bit more mature and involved a less stereotypical look at comics and their fandom. And I accept that the show I want is not this show.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-37637751463045536392011-04-05T07:53:00.000-07:002011-04-05T07:54:32.341-07:00Comic Buzz: The Rebirth of CrossGenThis post should have gone up a month ago, but I still think the series sound like they are worth checking out so I'm going to post this anyway. The first issues are already available, so check them out now!<br />
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Ruse<br />
Creative Team: Mark Waid (W), Mirco Pierfedeici (A)<br />
Marvel, miniseries, 4 issues, $2.99<br />
Available now!<br />
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Sigil<br />
Creative Team: Mike Carey (W), Leonard Kirk (A)<br />
Marvel, miniseries, 4 issues, $2.99<br />
Available now!<br />
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I was browsing the Marvel solicitations for March (months ago), which may surprise a few of you since I obviously have a bias toward DC. But I like looking at the solicits because, while I don’t want to dive into the Marvel universe right now for lack of budget and patience, there are some books Marvel puts out that interest me and are very accessible. And this month I found three solicits that jumped out at me as interesting. The first was the already <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2011/03/comic-buzz-5-ronin.html">plugged 5 Ronin</a>. The other two were a pair of miniseries called Sigil and Ruse. Those who know more about comics than I do may recognize these names, but at the time I had no idea what they were. All I knew was that they both sounded really cool. Sigil had the added draw of being written by Mike Carey, author of one of my favorite comics <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-trade-unwritten-vol-1-tom.html">the Unwritten</a>. Ruse had the draw of being a Victorian detective story, and you know <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/09/fan-ramblings-sherlock-holmes-comics.html">I can’t say no to that</a>.<br />
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So since both were minis I figured I’d pick both up and I might not have thought any more about it. But later while I was browsing another internet blog that talked about the new solicits they mentioned the titles as well. The blog mentioned that these titles were Marvel’s first use of something called CrossGen. So being the curious creature I am, I <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossGen">searched for it on Wikipedia</a> to see what this was all about.<br />
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I learned that CrossGen was a defunct comic book publisher that existed from 1998-2004. I learned about the many series that CrossGen put out that were all canceled when the company went bankrupt. I learned that the rights to those comics were bought by Disney, who then did nothing with them. After Disney acquired Marvel someone put two and two together and realized that Disney owned a bunch of comic book properties that they could possibly cash in on now. Marvel revealed last year that they were going to do something with CrossGen, and details trickled out slowly. The books would be introduced as their own imprint outside of the existing Marvel universe in order to help diversify the Marvel line.<br />
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Marvel is starting out slow with the re-launch. Sales will likely dictate if and when more titles are released and if we see more of these series beyond the minis. It’s also a good strategy as Marvel realizes that with the current economy most people cannot afford to add half a dozen new books to their pull list at once (I’m looking at you 16 Flashpoint miniseries). By going at a slow pace they allow new readers to try things out and allow old fans to pick up everything they want and not have to compromise due to their budget. Also appealing is that the books will have a $2.99 price tag.<br />
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When CrossGen existed I was reading Robin, but I always bought it from the magazine rack and I don’t recall ever seeing these books at the store. I didn’t know comic book shops existed, much less where to find one (how things have changed!). I’m rather sad about this fact, because there are many CrossGen titles that I can guarantee I would have bought if I had known they existed. CrossGen specialized in titles outside of the superhero genre, so called “genre titles” (a term I personally hate, since everything is part of a genre, mainstream or not). They had sci-fi space operas, sword and sorcery tales, Victorian detective stories, Bond like spy thrillers, and pirate tales among others. This is what I wish there was more of in mainstream comics and I would have devoured these books if I had known they existed the first time around. As it is, I am anxious to seek out some of the trade collections (that I’m hoping get new printings) and now I am interested in what Marvel is going to do with them.<br />
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Although CrossGen featured a variety of types of stories they did have a shared universe. This seems to have had a mixed reaction from the fan base (based on comments on the internet anyway). It seems like an interesting concept, even if it didn’t end up working out for some people. It appears that Marvel is keeping the shared universe idea, but not forcing the shared concepts that the line had previously (for example, one character in every book had to have magic powers). <br />
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This looks to be a reboot and not a continuation. Many fans of the original series will probably lament that the series they loved will still go without an ending, but it makes sense to keep things new reader friendly (especially with so many of the trades currently out of print). Although many will defend that the company went bankrupt more due to mismanagement and poor business choices than the quality of the titles, the fact remains that the company as a whole did fail. This is still a business move and Marvel is going to cherry-pick the concepts and ideas that they think can succeed for the widest possible audience. The preferences of the new creative teams will likely also play no small part in what is kept and what is reworked or cut out. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.newsarama.com/images/ruse001_cvr_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://i.newsarama.com/images/ruse001_cvr_02.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>For example, Mark Waid was the original writer of Ruse and is returning for the Marvel relaunch. He is happy to be ignoring the shared universe ideas as the constraints they placed on the book never really fit into the story well (and he admits that he ignored them anyway the first time around). Waid describes Ruse as “about an arrogant, Victorian-era detective named Simon Archard, his partner, Emma Bishop, and their wild adventures debunking the supernatural," and that at its core it’s "a steampunk Sherlock Holmes with romance, witty repartee, and a hint of magic." This is pretty much identical to what the series was the first time around. Read more of what Waid has to say about the series <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30006">here</a>.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Sigil on the other hand seems to bear little resemblance to its namesake. The original was a sci-fi space opera, but the new book is described as an epic fantasy. Based on the solicit, this book seems to take the idea of the shared universe and condense it down into a single book. In the old shared universe characters in many books possessed a sigil (also the company logo) somewhere on their bodies that gave them special powers. There was a big crossover war that involved all the characters with the marks, but it was never finished due to the company’s bankruptcy. I doubt we’ll see the sigil mark in many (any?) of the other CrossGen books that trickle out down the line but it was important to the old books and it seems like this is Marvel’s compromise to the whole idea. After all, it was an interesting idea and it is a nice homage to the company this whole new imprint came from. Also interesting to note is that the main character has a very similar name (although a different gender) as the main character of the original series. And while Sigil may not be the Sigil of old, the second issues solicit ties directly into another old CrossGen title as the main character ends up on the pirate ship El Cazador. I would guess that this book will visit several of the old series as sort of a primer for other series to come. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://i.newsarama.com/images/sigil_001_cov_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://i.newsarama.com/images/sigil_001_cov_02.jpg" width="210" /></a>Carey explains the series as “the story of a young girl who has inherited a unique talent and destiny from her dead mother and has also been enlisted without her knowledge or understanding in a war that spans all of space and time.” CrossGen is known for playing within many genres and Sigil follows that tradition; “Sigil is a sci-fi fantasy, a war story and in this opening arc it's also a pirate story.” Reading an interview with Carey this was referred to many times as the initial miniseries, implying that Carey already has plans for another if the pieces fall into place. You can find out more in <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30297">this interview</a> with Carey.</div><br />
As we have one book rebooting very close to the original and one completely different I wonder what old fans of CrossGen think. Until the books come out fans can gush over this image. While on the surface it’s a teaser for Ruse, those items on the table are by no means random. I didn’t know without being told, but apparently many of those items are related to other CrossGen series. And I would have to assume that the series they chose to show on the table are not a random sampling of old CrossGen titles, but a representation of titles Marvel wishes to pursue. I’m sure fans will be speculating about this image for a while to come.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1286715526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1286715526.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />
If you’re an old fan and your favorite series isn’t among the first to launch, you might consider picking up at least these first issues anyway, to show Marvel that you are interested in the CrossGen imprint. If you have never read CrossGen before (like me) the titles will be very accessible and not require any prior knowledge from the previous runs. If you think they look interesting, and want to encourage Marvel to diversify their line, consider picking these up.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-44085137255718141342011-04-04T07:24:00.001-07:002011-04-04T07:26:30.872-07:00By the Numbers – MarchTotal comics for the month: 72 -_-;<br />
Change from last month: +11<br />
<br />
Company Run Down<br />
DC: 37<br />
Vertigo (DC): 5<br />
Wildstorm (DC): 1<br />
Marvel: 5<br />
CrossGen (Marvel): 2<br />
12 Gauge: 1<br />
Aspen: 1<br />
Boom!: 5<br />
D. E.: 1<br />
GG Studios: 1<br />
IDW: 2<br />
Image: 9<br />
Oni: 1<br />
Zenoscope: 1<br />
<br />
Average price I paid: $2.18<br />
<br />
First Issues: 7<br />
Last Issues: 8<br />
<br />
Ongoing: 39<br />
Mini-series: 27<br />
One shot: 4<br />
Half Trade Thingies: 2<br />
<br />
Batman Issues: 17<br />
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This is the most comics I have ever ordered in a month. There were several one shots this month, as well as a lot of final issues of minis and ongoings, so I’m hoping we will drop back down closer to 50 next month. I also ordered my 5 Free Comic Book Day Comics this month, but did not include them here since they won’t come in until May, and would skew things like average price paid. This is also the last month that Wildstorm will appear on my list. I know it hasn’t existed for a while now, but I stubbornly kept track of it until the last mini I was getting from them ended.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-45811536369049699282011-03-02T23:48:00.000-08:002011-03-02T23:51:39.481-08:00Comic Buzz: 5 RoninCreative Team: Peter Milligan (W), Various Artists <br />
Marvel, miniseries, 5 issues, $2.99<br />
Weekly in March, first issue March 2nd <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1293026804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1293026804.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>As most of you know, I currently live in Japan. I’ve been interested in Japanese culture for a long time, and living here has only increased my interest in the history and traditions of the country. So it’s really no surprise that the solicitation for Marvel’s 5 Ronin caught my eye. This 5 issue miniseries reimagines the characters of Wolverine, Psylocke, the Hulk, the Punisher, and Deadpool in Feudal Japan. Each character will have their own spotlight issue (each by a different artist), but their stories are linked. <br />
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I’m pleased to see it reported that this is a finite story. If this turns out well I would be happy to see similar projects down the line, but it’s nice to know that this story will have an ending and isn’t the set up for something else. For me this seems like the perfect Marvel book to pick up because I won’t be bogged down or distracted by continuity references, and there won’t be continuing plot threads in four other books that I’ll need to buy once this is finished.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1293026788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1293026788.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>The covers were a huge draw for this book. Once I saw them, they stuck in my mind. Not the normal covers, although a few of those are interesting (though I’m not fond of Wolverine’s), but the covers by David Aja. They really tie the series together and are absolutely stunning. The sketch work and the single color palettes are just gorgeous. And the best part is that they are not incentive variants! <br />
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If you already like these characters, this series will probably be a fun diversion from continuity. If you’re not all that in to Marvel but are interested in seeing what they have to offer, and the Japanese theme is up your alley, give this a shot. The first issue is in store now, so head on down to your local comic shop and give them a look!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-60421131808912368072011-03-02T23:39:00.000-08:002011-03-02T23:39:07.281-08:00By the Numbers – FebruaryThis marks the one year anniversary of my keeping track of my comic orders in this way. <br />
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Total comics for the month: 61<br />
Change from last month: +6<br />
<br />
Company Run Down<br />
DC: 36<br />
Vertigo (DC): 3<br />
Wildstorm (DC): 1 <br />
Marvel: 1<br />
12 Gauge: 1<br />
Archaia Entertainment: 1<br />
Aspen: 1<br />
Boom!: 4<br />
D. E.: 1<br />
IDW: 2<br />
Image: 8<br />
Oni: 1<br />
Zenoscope: 1<br />
<br />
Average price I paid: $1.94<br />
<br />
0 Issues: 1<br />
First Issues: 3<br />
Last Issues: 0<br />
<br />
Ongoing: 39<br />
Mini-series: 18<br />
One shot: 3<br />
Half Trade thingie: 1<br />
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Batman Issues: 16Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-54840101241600917662011-02-19T09:28:00.000-08:002011-02-28T15:03:06.663-08:00Waiting for Trade? Morning GloriesCreative Team: Nick Spencer (W), Joe Eisma (A)<br />
Price: $9.99<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Glories-TP-Nick-Spencer/dp/1607063611/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298135909&sr=8-1">Available Now!</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.newsarama.com/images/morningglories-v1-tp-cov_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://i.newsarama.com/images/morningglories-v1-tp-cov_02.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>It should be no secret by now that I love this comic. Seriously, seriously love it. It is the first or second comic I read in my giant stack of 50-60 comics every month. Under the Shadowline imprint of Image comics Nick Spencer has created some great characters and an amazing environment to push them to their limits.<br />
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It is surprisingly difficult to describe this series without venturing into spoiler territory. The series has been described as Runaways meets Lost. I can’t speak for the Runaways side as I have not read the series (but really want to check it out) but, like Lost, this series is a long form mystery. Spencer envisions this series being 75 or 100 issues in length, and he is building toward a planned ending. He assures audiences that he is not making things up as he goes along, but since we are only 6 issues in, sometimes it might feel that way. I have faith that things will be explained at their proper time and am having more than enough fun along the way. That being said, if you are someone who wants answers RIGHT NOW, you might not enjoy this book as much as I do. <br />
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Our story takes place in the prestigious Morning Glories Academy and follows the six newest students as they find out that there is much more going on at the school than was mentioned in any recruitment brochures. The characters are what drew me into this series, and they are what has kept me coming back excitedly every month (more on my favorite Glory <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2011/02/look-at-morning-glories-hunter.html">here</a>). <br />
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I’ve heard some criticize that the characters are too stereotypical. Again, I would counter that we’re only 6 issues in and haven’t had a ton of time for multilayered character development. We all knew (or were) these sorts of people in high school; the flirt, the nerd, the “emo” girl, the sleazy jerk. It’s a comfortable place for us to START the story. We recognize the types of characters and it makes it easier for the reader to get into their heads in this first arc. If the characters do not develop further, then yes they are stereotypes and it’s a strike against Spencer for poor writing. But at the moment we are in a great place for continued development and for the characters to surprise us. <br />
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I absolutely love the covers for this series. I’m not sure if this matters to those who read in trade, as I am not sure if the covers are included in this volume or not. I will admit that I prefer the art style of the covers to the interiors, but that’s not to say that the interiors aren’t great. They have their own charm and depth to them, and I feel like it is a solid fit for the series. Faces are very expressive and the characters each have a unique look that is easy to tell apart. Backgrounds are descriptive and help set the mood. <br />
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Image is geniusly releasing volume one, containing issues 1-6, the week before issue 7 hits the stands. Any reader who picks up the trade and is enthralled with the series can start to follow the monthly releases the very next week on February 23rd (or wait the grueling six months for the next volume). This quick of a trade release is nearly unheard of, so take advantage of the opportunity to discover <strike>your</strike> my new favorite comic. To top it off, the trade is only $10 (which is like half of what I paid for the monthlies, seriously you have no reason not to try this!). And as an added bonus for all readers, issue 7 will be the first issue with the newly discounted price of $2.99.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-2172767409219485412011-02-11T08:43:00.000-08:002011-02-11T08:45:52.491-08:00A look at Morning Glories: HunterI have realized that I haven’t talked much about the wonderful comic Morning Glories. I was excited about it <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/comic-buzz-morning-glories.html">before it came out</a>, but once I got the first issue in my hands I was hooked. It exceeded every expectation I had. As the first arc comes to a close (and the first trade on sale February 16th for only $10) I felt the need to gush over it some more and decided that a fun way to do that would be to take a look at my favorite character of the book, Hunter. Hopefully in introducing him to you I can give you all a small taste of why I love this comic so much.<br />
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Morning Glories features an ensemble cast of six new students to the prestigious Morning Glory Academy. As to be expected from such an honor, all the kids are intelligent and gifted, although some have demonstrated their talents more than others at this point. Of course, there is more going on at the school than advertised and it may take every gift the students have just to survive.<br />
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One reason I like Hunter so much is that I relate to him. Looking at the kids in Morning Glories I think that I was somewhere between Hunter and Casey when I was in school. I wasn’t quite as shy and awkward as Hunter, but I also didn’t have Casey’s insane drive. In the initial teasers for this series Hunter was described as the “Most likely to quote Star Wars at inappropriate times.” And he has. And that is something I can see myself doing. All of the kids are “smart” but Hunter seems to be the only “nerd” in the group. And for that, I love him.<br />
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While many of the students seem to have had complicated home lives, Hunter’s seems to rank right up there with the worst. We only get a brief look at Hunter’s life before coming to the Academy, but it seems clear that even if they escape the school Hunter won’t have much to go back to. While I did not get an outwardly abusive vibe, I would say that it’s pretty obvious that Hunter suffers from severe neglect. His father seems to have already forgotten about him before he even walks out the door. I’m sure we’ll get a better look into it down the line, so for now I can only speculate on what kind of disconnect could occur to cause his step brother to refer to him as “Uncle Hunter.” But this sad home life has shaped him in many ways that I will get to in a moment.<br />
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Upon arriving at the Academy, Hunter immediately made a connection with Jun, physically the strongest of the new students. Jun recognizes Hunter as someone who doesn’t have the same toughness that he possesses and tells Hunter to stick with him if things get out of hand. As someone who is capable of defending himself and others, he sees that Hunter lacks this but is someone worth sticking up for. This is not an open offer for just anyone, as he tells their third roommate, Ike, to stay away from him. But Jun sees something in Hunter and he seems like the type of friend Hunter could really use in a place like the Academy. I hope that his relationship with Hunter will be explored in the issues to come.<br />
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Now that I have called Hunter weak and all, I want you to take a look at this picture. This picture was the whole inspiration for writing this post, as I was originally just going to post the picture and gush about it. But I realized that without a bit of context the image was pretty but didn’t have the same impact. This was <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30017">supposed to be the cover for issue 8</a>, but recent solicitations have a different cover for the issue. I’m guessing that this cover has just been pushed back a few issues as it is a fantastic image and I can’t see them wasting it. *crosses fingers*<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1293117064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="http://www.comicbookresources.com/assets/images/articles/1293117064.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><br />
Here’s Hunter, and at first glance you can see that he isn’t the strongest of the bunch. I’d wager this is not Hunter’s first black eye. But if you take a closer look at the image (click on it for a larger version) you will see something in his eyes that speaks to an inner strength. This is a kid who is going to get knocked down, but you can see in his eyes that he’s still going to get back up again. There is a quiet determination there. He understands that if he gets up again he will probably end up back on the ground, but that isn’t going to stop him from doing it anyway.<br />
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I think I can explain a bit of his motivation here. In the comic, when Casey comes to him for help he agrees to help her before she can even explain what she needs help with. I would say that this behavior is only about 40% motivated by his teenage hormones and the fact that he has quickly developed feelings for her. The main factor in this behavior, I think, is his incredible excitement at being noticed. He gushes to Jun about how Casey came to him, him of all people, to help. As I said before, Hunter didn’t seem to have much of a home life. I would wager that Hunter’s good grades, and possibly even his application to the school, were driven by his need to be accepted by his father. It doesn’t seem like he was able to achieve this, but suddenly he has someone important in his life who notices him and confides in him. As such, he is very eager to please. He wants to help, wants to continue this relationship. And that has brought out a stronger side of him.<br />
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I think if you hit Hunter for no reason, or just because you like to beat up on other kids, he might not get back up. He’s not looking for punishment. But if he believes that his actions can help his friends, even a little, he will get back up and take anything you will throw at him.<br />
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Hunter has already had a few very strong moments in the comics. I won’t spoil them here for those who have not yet read the series, but rest assured that he is someone who you can trust in an emergency. He may not always know the right thing to do, but he is going to try his best to help out those few he is close to. And yet he’s still this awkward, geeky kid who is just trying to get by. Not all the kids like him or understand him which I think is something we can all relate to. <br />
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I look forward to seeing Hunter and the rest of the characters in action every month, and, if you’re looking for a great story with some great characters, you should give it a look too.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-77287143207874855102011-02-09T06:21:00.000-08:002011-02-09T06:21:15.414-08:00The Beasts are coming back!I cannot explain how excited I am about this image announcing that the Beasts of Burden series will continue in 2011.<br />
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I gave a <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-trade-beasts-of-burden.html">glowing recommendation of the first volume</a> and thoroughly enjoyed the one shot with Hellboy. I’ve been checking Dark Horse’s solicitations every month hoping that a new miniseries would pop up. And now they have released this teaser image! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/20110207-080215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/20110207-080215.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
I’m assuming that this will be another miniseries. As much as I would love it to be an ongoing series, I have a feeling that Jill Thompson’s beautiful painted artwork requires a bit more time than a monthly schedule would allow for. While there is no specific date listed I’m hoping that the first issue will be solicited for a May release. I guess we’ll find out toward the end of the month. There will likely be another Comic Buzz column about this one once we have some more details. In the meantime, check out the first collection so you can see why I’m so excited about this.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-12152770357277744792011-02-07T22:18:00.000-08:002011-02-07T22:18:18.516-08:00By the Numbers – JanuaryPosting this a little late, but here's the comics I ordered for January (note: not all of these shipped this month, this is just what I ordered)<br />
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Total comics for the month: 55<br />
Change from last month: -6<br />
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Company Run Down<br />
DC: 31<br />
Vertigo (DC): 3<br />
Wildstorm (DC): 1<br />
12 Gauge: 1<br />
Antarctic Press: 1<br />
Archaia Entertainment: 2<br />
Boom!: 4<br />
D. E.: 1<br />
IDW: 1<br />
Image: 7<br />
Oni: 1<br />
Th3rd World Studios: 1<br />
Zenoscope: 1<br />
<br />
Average price I paid: $1.87<br />
<br />
0 Issues: 1<br />
First Issues: 8<br />
Last Issues: 4<br />
<br />
Ongoing: 35<br />
Mini-series: 19<br />
One shot: 1<br />
<br />
Batman Issues: 12<br />
Brightest Day books: 5Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-71729696850908214832011-01-27T06:42:00.000-08:002011-02-07T22:15:10.651-08:00Comic Buzz - Jimmy OlsenCreative Team: Nick Spencer (W), RB Silva (A), Amanda Conner (C)<br />
DC, one-shot, $5.99, 80 pages<br />
March 30, 2011<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.theouthousers.com.s3.amazonaws.com/solicits/dc/mar2011/Jimmy_Olsen_Cvr1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://media.theouthousers.com.s3.amazonaws.com/solicits/dc/mar2011/Jimmy_Olsen_Cvr1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>When I heard that the talented <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/comic-buzz-morning-glories.html">Nick Spencer</a> was going to be writing a Jimmy Olsen back-up in Action Comics I almost laughed. “Jimmy Olsen?” I thought, “Who wants to read about him?” And to further confuse me, Spencer was really excited about the whole thing. Jimmy wasn’t a character that I expected someone to be so committed to. I wouldn’t even call him a B-list character. In my mind he was more of a supporting character than anything. I know he’s been around for a long time and has a firm place within the Superman universe, but I didn’t figure the story would hold any interest for me.<br />
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Then I found out that Spencer would be introducing the wonderful <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/07/fan-ramblings-chloe-in-dcu.html">Chloe Sullivan into the DCU</a> in this story and I did a little dance. And suddenly I cared about the story and really wanted it to be good. But I still wasn’t willing to buy the comic only for the back-up story. <br />
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I was playing around with my iPod in Tokyo, one of the few places that I can get a Wi-Fi signal, and as I browsed the free comics on Comixology I noticed that I could read the first chapter of the Jimmy Olsen back-up story. I figured why the heck not since it was free and all. On the train ride back home I decided to give it a read through and was amazed by how great it was. The dialogue was fantastic and very, very funny. I found myself laughing quite a bit for such a short story and more than once had to lean over and share a line or two with my fiancé. And by the end of the story I was really bummed out because I didn’t think that I would get to read the rest of the story. <br />
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But then I got some great news. As a result of DC canceling their back-up stories in all their books, in order to cut page count and price, the Jimmy Olsen story is no longer featured in Action Comics. But the seven part story had not finished yet. DC assured readers that the back-up stories would all find new homes somewhere and would be released. In March DC is releasing a one-shot that not only finishes the Jimmy Olsen story, but reprints the first four parts as well! So now I, and all of you, can enjoy this story in its entirety.<br />
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This is a rather long set up to explain what you should be buying, so I suppose I should touch at least a bit on why it’s so wonderful. The story is focused on Jimmy and while <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-now-have-opinions-on-superman-and.html">Superman is off on his walkabout</a> he’s being a bit of a slacker. After his girlfriend, our wonderful Chloe, dumps him he finds out that she is doing a story about his rival, who happens to be a Lexcorp employee, and what a week in his life is like. This energizes Jimmy and motivates him to show that he can have a far more interesting week than the jerk who is now hitting on his ex. And he’s going to start by stopping a well timed alien invasion!<br />
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The story is lighthearted and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. There have been so many crazy stories involving Jimmy Olsen and I feel like the tone of this reflects that. So if you’re against that sort of thing and like the darker more serious comics that seem to dominate the market at the moment this might not be for you. You are meant to have fun while reading it, and it may be a bit crazy and over the top, but Spencer’s ultimate goal is to put a smile on your face. The colors are bright and fun and some of the facial expressions are just priceless. There are some great little details thrown into the backgrounds that made me want to examine the pages on more than my tiny screen. As started before the dialogue is really good, which I’ve found is one of Spencer’s selling points. I haven’t read much of the character before, but I really felt like I understood his voice by the end of the issue. Jimmy is a normal person who is very comfortable in a super powered world and that gives us a different take on the DCU than we get in most books. I also thought Chloe was very well handled and love that she’s a decorated blog reporter, keeping her on the cutting edge of technology and letting her be a reporter while explaining why we’ve never really seen her at the Planet before.<br />
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Spencer’s love for the character is clear (he thinks of writing Jimmy as a dream project), and he apparently has more in mind for the character (apparently like a year’s worth of stories). So if this sells decently we might very well get more, and that’s always a good thing. I think it’s a good sign that DC has decided not only to release the end of the story, but the story in its entirety (not all of the back-ups are being given the same treatment). Clearly this story has generated some buzz and I’m sure I’m not the only one who missed out on the story and wanted to read it. <br />
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However, I’m always excited when you don’t really have to take my word for any recommendation. Everyone can read the first part of the story on the iPod/iPad/iPhone. It’s free and a decent way to preview these kinds of things. There is an interview about the story<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/chloe-sullivan-jimmy-olsen-100922.html"> here</a>. <br />
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Remember, there probably isn't an option to "wait for trade" here (unless of course we get a bunch more Jimmy Olsen stories that can be collected together), so if this looks interesting tell your local comic shop to order you a copy or pick it up online while you can.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-16779334930652712942011-01-18T07:14:00.000-08:002011-02-07T22:14:35.862-08:00Top 10 List!I like top 10 lists. They are easy to digest and compare your own picks with. They can say a lot while only saying a little. So I decided to write up a quick top 10 list of my own. <br />
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Below you will find my top 10 ongoing series. I picked them by looking at my pull list as though I had to drop all of my ongoing titles except for 10. If that were to happen, these are the books that would make the cut. The top few spots were hard to assign and in a few months they could easily shift around. But as of now, this is what I would pick.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://geeksyndicate.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/stuff-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="http://geeksyndicate.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/stuff-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Honorable Mention: <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/07/waiting-for-trade-stuff-of-legend-book.html">Stuff of Legend</a> – it can’t be on the list because it’s a series of miniseries and not an ongoing title. But I enjoy it so much that I felt it needed a mention and if I was dropping all of my books but 10 and a book had to be cut from this top ten list to keep this one I would probably make that sacrifice. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q224/amlah6/1124-batwoman_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q224/amlah6/1124-batwoman_cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>10. Batwoman – I admit it, this is a cheat. This book isn’t even out yet. But I have such high hopes for it that it still sneaks in at the number 10 spot on the list. When I actually have the book in my hands it could jump to an even higher spot, especially if the <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-trade-batwoman-elegy.html">previous run in Detective Comics</a> is any indication, but the new creative team has to prove themselves a little before that can happen. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/comics/iSEP100900/darkwing_duck/6/cover-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/comics/iSEP100900/darkwing_duck/6/cover-large.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>9. <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/05/comic-buzz-darkwing-duck.html">Darkwing Duck</a> – What can I say, I’m a sucker for nostalgia. The comic will never be as good as the cartoon (and the cartoon will probably never be as good as my memories of the cartoon) but it’s the only way I’m going to get new stories with these characters. And Darkwing, like Batman, has a great rogues gallery (and Batman doesn’t have a Negaduck!) and a fun family of relationships to explore. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://anadaday.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zatanna2cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://anadaday.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zatanna2cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>8. Zatanna – I love magic. I always have. And really, who doesn’t love the very idea of magic? We all wish we could be magic, or at the very least, wish we could watch someone else being magic. This book is doing a nice job of treading into the magical side of the DCU that has been more or less ignored lately. Here our normal world and the magical world collide and it’s up to Zee to make sure that things don’t get too messy. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_60hznQsXgF4/TMEVJkwBN4I/AAAAAAAAB2g/Uhk-CjZElCg/s1600/Sixth+Gun+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_60hznQsXgF4/TMEVJkwBN4I/AAAAAAAAB2g/Uhk-CjZElCg/s320/Sixth+Gun+5.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>7. <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/07/comic-buzz-sixth-gun.html">The Sixth Gun</a> – I really like the weird west setting. Every time they give me another tidbit about the universe I am itching for more. The villains are scary and the heroes are maybe not so heroic. It’s a muddled environment without the clearest sense of who you can trust and who you should believe. And that helps to make it great. I saw someone describe this series as a western horror series but I don’t feel that really fits. It’s a western with fantasy elements (some of which, admittedly are scary). I look forward to seeing where this one will take me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fanboyz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Batgirl121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://fanboyz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Batgirl121.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>6. Batgirl – This book had so much to prove. It fought a hard battle to prove that it was a good book with an interesting character who deserved her place in the DCU. I have to say that I think the writer has a great sense of voice as the first year was full of Bat family guest stars and they were all portrayed believably. The stories have been great and the stakes have been high. This book doesn’t have to prove itself anymore, and now it can simply focus on being awesome.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://acomicbookblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Red-Robin-6-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://acomicbookblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Red-Robin-6-cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>5. Red Robin – Tim Drake is a great character. I HATED the idea of him being Red Robin, but the past year has really made it fit for the character. The book has a lot of great things going for it right now with some serious long term plotting going on. I hope the creative team can stick around for a long time to come because when Tim Drake is written well he is amazingly interesting and fun to read about. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1979semifinalist.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/izombie-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://1979semifinalist.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/izombie-7.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>4. <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/05/comic-buzz-izombie.html">iZombie</a> – I figured I’d like this story because I like zombies, but this book is full of concepts that just really click with me. I love that one of the main characters is a were-terrier. When they sat down and laid out how vampires and ghosts and zombies and mummies exist in the world I really liked the explanation behind it all. With such iconic monsters it’s easy to just hand wave their existence as some sort of magic that doesn’t need explaining. But this book lays out easy to understand rules and shows a lot of forethought on the part of the writer. Also the art is fantastic. There are a lot of places this book can go and I look forward to being along for the ride.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://vertigo.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/03/unw-cv14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://vertigo.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/03/unw-cv14.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>3. <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-trade-unwritten-vol-1-tom.html">Unwritten</a> – This book continues to surprise me, and every surprise makes me excited to read the next volume. The characters are well developed and the threat they face is interesting and mysterious. And it has an adorable flying cat that I demand a plushie of immediately if not sooner. The pacing in this book is really solid and its one of the first things I read every month without fail.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Morning-Glories-2-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://www.majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Morning-Glories-2-Cover.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>2. <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/comic-buzz-morning-glories.html">Morning Glories</a> – I’ve only read five issues so far, but the first one alone was enough to get me hooked and more than enough to earn the number 2 spot. This one could go down the list if it can’t keep up the insanely high standards it has set for itself, but it’s just starting out and with a long form mystery like this it’s an exciting time to be reading. The characters are fun and different and have great personalities that play off of each other in entertaining ways. The pacing of these issues has been fantastic with each issue ending in a way that makes me disappointed that there are no more pages that month and excited to see how things turn out as soon as the next volume is in my hands.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100829190411/marvel_dc/images/thumb/5/52/Tiny_Titans_Vol_1_31.jpg/221px-Tiny_Titans_Vol_1_31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100829190411/marvel_dc/images/thumb/5/52/Tiny_Titans_Vol_1_31.jpg/221px-Tiny_Titans_Vol_1_31.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>1. <a href="http://comicbookissues.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-trade-tiny-titans-volumes-1.html">Tiny Titans</a> – There is nothing better than this book. I feel like I gush about it all the time and if so it’s only because that’s how much I am enjoying this book. If they had an entire Tiny universe of books I would buy every single one of them and they would all probably be on this list. No matter what happens I know this comic will be fun. It will make me laugh. It will charm me with its whimsy. If I am feeling sad it makes me feel happy and if I’m already happy it makes me happier. Any book that can do that deserves the number 1 spot.<br />
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I’m honestly surprised by how many of these series are new (6 of the 10 haven’t even reached issue 10 yet, so in a way this list doubles as my best of 2010 list). I suppose the longer a series runs the more likely it is to lose readers for whatever reason. It doesn’t surprise me that half the books on here are independent titles. More DCU books would probably be on here if I could depend on the creative team sticking around for more than a year. But when I think about comics I want to read for a long time it’s too easy to assume that the writer I like will go away and be replaced by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. Or that some big DCU event is going to come along and change everything potentially derailing stories that have been building for a while.<br />
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I noticed that I didn't talk too much about what these different series were actually about, so I've included links where I could to other places on my blog where I gush about the series in question.<br />
Share your top 10 list with me! If you could only read 10 ongoings what would they be? Do you have less than 10? Share that too!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-15435092467572954812011-01-18T05:25:00.000-08:002011-01-18T05:25:20.486-08:00A few volunteers neededThe wonderful blog <a href="http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/">DC Women Kicking Ass</a> is looking for a few volunteers to lend a little of their time for a short research article. To participate you must be female, buy your comics at a local comic book store, and have another comic shop nearby that you don’t frequent. She estimates that it will only take an hour or two of your time. You can contact her by sending an email to dcwomenkickingass (at) yahoo (dot) com. <br />
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Unfortunately I can’t participate since I’m in Japan and get all my comics online, but if you or someone you know fits the criteria you should check it out!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-28589817404979056782011-01-17T04:46:00.000-08:002011-02-07T22:13:00.598-08:00Well, that didn’t last long…So yeah…this one is going to ramble a little. <br />
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*Spoilers for <em>JL: Cry for Justice</em> and the recently released <em>Starman/Congorilla</em> one shot ahead*<br />
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Man, where to start. I admit it. I bought <em>Justice League: Cry for Justice</em>. The art was a major draw (although it ended up being pretty offensive in several places and then the artist couldn’t even finish it despite delays) and seemed to contain some characters that I cared about (like Batwoman, who ended up being like three panels of the thing). It ended up being pretty terrible. If you want to know just how terrible it was you should follow the link in the sidebar to <strong>Atop the Forth Wall</strong> and watch Linkara’s excellent review of it (parts one and two are up now and part three should be up next week). <br />
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But as bad as that was, I’m not going to dwell on it too much here. That isn’t what got my attention today. It is important that you know, in case you didn’t read it, that one of the major problems with the series was the insane amount of character death, most of them minor or supporting characters and many of them off panel. The death that got the most attention was probably that of Roy Harper’s (Red Arrow or Arsenal depending on when you are reading) daughter Lian. That one was like a punch in the gut to me, and felt amazingly unnecessary (especially considering poor Roy had just had one of his ARMS TORN OFF). But again, that isn’t what I’m here to rant about. <br />
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You may remember a little quote that was floating around after <em>Blackest Night</em> that “dead was dead” from now on. Now of course, we all rolled our eyes knowing that it certainly wouldn’t last. We all know how these things work. But the point was made that they probably wouldn’t be using character death/resurrection as a gimmick for at least a while. The “revolving door of death” in the DCU was apparently going to be closed. <br />
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Again, I knew that this wasn’t going to stick for too long. But I figured the editors would be keeping a tight leash on this particular idea and that when the first post <em>Blackest Night</em> resurrection happened that it would be a big deal and would have to have some strong writing to work around the “dead is dead” idea. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, I was wrong.<br />
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In the <em>Starman/Congorilla</em> one shot this month (which, for full disclosure, I have not read) the Tasmanian Devil was resurrected by having his remains thrown into a Lazarus pit. Let’s backtrack for a moment. Tas was killed off in the afore mentioned <em>Cry for Justice</em> and, to add insult to injury, his skin was MADE INTO A RUG so that we could all see just what a badass Prometheus was. That’s right. Not only was this character brutally murdered in a rather offhanded manner, but he was skinned and put on display. It was rather distasteful and got quite a reaction when it happened. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15776/942117-devil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15776/942117-devil.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br />
One of the reasons that it was a big deal (other than the outright grotesqueness of it)was that Tas, while a rather minor player in the DCU, is one of the few openly gay heroes. And when there are so few of them in the comic universe the loss of even one is felt strongly by fans who are gay and who support gay characters. <br />
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Now here’s the rub. Tas was killed in <em>Cry for Justice</em> and brought back in <em>Starman/Congorilla</em>. The writer for BOTH of these works was James Robinson. Wait, what? At first this seemed like it was perhaps some half baked apology for the wonton death of <em>Cry for Justice</em>. But upon reading an <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/2011-hot-button-gay-justice-leaguers-110111.html">interview on Newsarama</a> it seems as though Robinson claims this was “planned all along.” He had always planned for Tas to be brought back and to end up as the boyfriend of Starman (another of the established gay characters). Did I mention that Starman’s previous boyfriend was killed (off panel) in <em>Cry for Justice</em> too? So Robinson’s master plan was to kill the old boyfriend and then kill the soon-to-be-new boyfriend and then bring the new boyfriend back to conveniently take the place of the old (and apparently forgotten) boyfriend?<br />
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And now here is the other problem. The big solution to “dead is dead” is the Lazarus pits? Are you freaking serious? Why don’t we just go throw all the bodies of dead superheroes into the Lazarus pit and bring them back too? Why not Lian Harper and Ralph and Sue Digby and all of the other heroes that people miss? Because it’s a terrible idea, that’s why. It has been established many times that while the Lazarus pits are powerful, people have a tendency to come back wrong. Insane wrong usually. Batman decided against bringing Jason Todd back this way. Tim Drake had the opportunity to bring back his parents and best friends (who got better anyway…) and turned it down because he knew that it wouldn’t really be them and this it wasn’t natural. Heck, even when Dick Grayson threw Bruce’s not-body into the pit it was as a last resort that he knew was incredibly dangerous and could have massive side effects. It was a desperation move. But Tas doesn’t seem to have been effected at all. The Lazarus pits were established as a poor solution to death BECAUSE of how broken they are and how many questions are raised if people are brought back with them without consequences. <br />
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*Sigh* Even if this was “the plan all along” (which I do not buy at all) it is a terrible plan and some editor somewhere should have put a stop to it. And by it I mean the death in the first place. You want Tas and Starman to hook up? Groovy. You want to kill off Starman’s current boyfriend as a plot device before that? Well…okay, I mean we wish you wouldn’t but it’s not a complete deal breaker. You want to ignore the big status quo change that we have been pimping in the DCU not even a year after it was made so you can kill this character, among a sea of others, for shock value and then almost immediately bring him back? Sorry Mr. Robinson, we’ll have to see another draft of this; I’m afraid this just doesn’t work.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:12EHRi6g-0wEyM:http://images.clipartof.com/small/32109-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Quality-Control-Rejected-Stamp-Of-A-Red-X-In-A-Circle-On-A-White-Background.jpg&t=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:12EHRi6g-0wEyM:http://images.clipartof.com/small/32109-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Quality-Control-Rejected-Stamp-Of-A-Red-X-In-A-Circle-On-A-White-Background.jpg&t=1" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-66872891784189284612011-01-15T02:24:00.000-08:002011-02-07T22:12:21.892-08:00Texas Friends! Meet a Comic Creator!There is a new miniseries coming out that looks pretty interesting called “Who is Jake Ellis?” I ordered it and almost wrote up a Comic Buzz about it, but at the time I didn’t really have enough info about it and wasn’t quite as excited about it as I have been about the other Comic Buzz entries and then Christmas happened, so I didn’t. Anyhow, the first issue came out recently and I just found out that the author of the series, Nathan Edmondson, will be making a book tour to various comic stores to promote the book and sign autographs.<br />
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I was extra excited when I saw that he would be making not one but four stops in my “home state”* of Texas on January 18th-20th. So if you live in or near the Arlington, Dallas, Houston, or Austin areas I think you should take a look and consider heading down to meet this guy. I don’t know about everyone else, but opportunities to meet real comic creators aren’t exactly jumping out at me all the time, so this might be a fun experience. I mean, he’s not Grant Morrison or Brian Bendis or one of the tip top names in the industry, but he’s still a creative guy who works in the industry we all love. And if his book sounds interesting to you I think it would really be worth your time to head over and say hi. You can find more on the comic itself <a href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/01/talking-comics-with-tim-nathan-edmondson/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30220">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/01/10/who-is-jake-ellis-book-tour/">Check out the schedule</a> for details on stores, dates, and times. I’m only highlighting the Texas locations because that’s still where most people who read this blog are probably from (as in people I actually know), but if you’re from somewhere else check out the schedule and see if he’s headed to your neck of the woods as well.<br />
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*As an army brat I don’t really have a “home state” in the traditional sense, but I lived there longer than anywhere else, so it counts.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-61009786953034220592011-01-09T10:11:00.000-08:002011-02-07T22:11:47.266-08:00On the cancellation of some BatbooksI knew this was coming. I didn’t know for sure which titles would be cut, but it had been too long since DC had trimmed off some of their lower selling books. And since there are so many Bat family books out right now, I assumed that a few of them would be getting the axe. March will see the final issue of three of my current ongoing series. Let’s take a closer look at these titles, shall we?<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Azreal</span></strong><br />
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I was very close to dropping this book anyway, but the low sales clued me in that this one might not last and it seemed a pity to drop it an issue or two before it ended (since I was there for the beginning and all). This is a title that severely suffered from a change in writers. When Fabian Nicieza had the book I felt that it worked. It wasn’t astonishingly amazing or anything, but it did several very interesting things. I enjoyed the issue with Ragman where the two characters talked about the differences of their powers. It was interesting religious philosophy without being heavy handed. I was intrigued by the fact that the first issue showed the main character dead at some point in the mystery future. I thought it was an interesting gamble, and while I thought it could be a fake out of some kind, I admired the guts it took to set up a story that way. <br />
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Unfortunately, Nicieza left the book and was replaced by David Hine. And his take on having a religious hero went from uninteresting to downright offensive. I’m Catholic. The character of Michael Lane is also Catholic. He is “working for” the Order of Purity, a secret religious sect from the middle ages. Now I’m a big girl and can take digs at my religion in forms of media. Nothing said in a comic book or a movie is going to shake my faith. But you would think that the writer or editor might have taken a step back and said, “Hey, Catholicism is a widely practiced religion. Some of our readers might in fact be Catholic. Perhaps we shouldn’t <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/10/24/azrael-and-the-anti-catholic-propoganda/">have a splash page that depicts the Pope (who is very real) as a demonic monster</a>. That might be going a bit far.” Azreal was “safe” when he was under the umbrella of the Order of Purity. You could have all sorts of crazy religious commentary things going on and it was okay because that religious sect didn’t actually exist. But suddenly we decided to tie a lot of real world religion into the book in a very unflattering way and it did not come out the better for it. I get that religious conspiracies are cool and hip, but even that felt stale and overused (oh wow, Lane might be the descendent of Jesus, because he didn’t really die and had kids, and this has never ever been thought of or done before, aren’t we edgy?).<br />
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I have no idea where Nicieza was planning on going with the book had he stayed on, but I have to assume it would have been better than what we got. As it stands, this book would have been far better off being canceled when Nicieza left instead of trying to squeeze whatever final blood they could get out of the title. I’ll see it through to the end in the hope that it finds a way to redeem itself, but I’m actually pretty glad this one is going away.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Batman Confidential</span></strong><br />
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It really confuses me that this book lasted over 50 issues. DC NEVER promoted this book. I read a lot of interviews online, and even when people were bitching about not being able to read about Bruce Wayne as Batman no one EVER brought this book up. When they were giving the low down about who would be appearing in what Batbook, this title was never mentioned. It was like DC was trying to hide this book for some reason, and yet they kept publishing it.<br />
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This book began as a series of untold tales back from when Bruce Wayne had just started being Batman. His first encounter with the Joker, his first this, his first that. It was all very classic stuff. Easy to follow and far less complicated than most of the other books at the time. But then, somewhere along the line, this book seemed to lose its focus. It seemed like we weren’t dealing with a young Batman anymore. It seemed like we were dealing with whatever Batman the writer decided to write about. The stories were still all very “safe” but there didn’t seem to be any connection between the arcs. One arc we’re in Russia, the next we’re dealing with a ghost/fear monster thing, then we’re fighting vampires and werewolves. It really became the weird Batman miniseries book, except that instead of miniseries it was an ongoing with lots of disjointed arcs. <br />
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What really bums me out is that the book seemed to be getting back on track. There was a one shot issue that I felt was very good, and the current and final arc seemed to feel more like we were dealing with a young Bruce Wayne still finding his limits and his place. And it was good! And now that I’ve felt we were getting back to where we belonged the rug is pulled out and the book is canceled. Oh, well.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Batman: Streets of Gotham</span></strong><br />
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This is the only cancelation that really surprised me. And apparently surprised the writer too since he mentioned in an interview that he was working on the next year’s worth of stories for the book. I love Paul Dini. Most of his work I have really enjoyed, and I always found Streets to be an interesting read. But I will admit that it didn’t have as clear of a place in the family of Batbooks as some of the others. You can kinda sum up the purpose of most of the other books in a sentence or so. And while I don’t think its necessarily a bad thing that this book didn't have that, I can see it being tough from a marketing point of view. And with so many other Batbooks out there I guess something had to give. Paul Dini is still an amazing writer and I’m sure they will find a place for any Batman stories he still wants to tell. It’s just always sad to hear that a writer had more stuff planned that they won’t get to put out for the readers.<br />
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With as many comics as I am getting I will admit that I’m slightly relived to have three less comics a month. I’m sure I’ll find something to replace them with soon enough. And none of them were my top tier favorite books, so all in all I can’t really complain all that much. But it does serve to remind me to try to help promote those books that I enjoy that have lower sales so that they do not end up cancelled too.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762093759039514070.post-90252278921409180692011-01-09T09:52:00.000-08:002011-01-09T09:52:03.483-08:00Happy New Year Everyone!I’ve added a poll to find out how those who visit my blog enjoy their comics. I’d be very happy if you’d take a second to answer it. It will help me to know what kinds of posts will be the most helpful to those who are actually checking the blog on a somewhat regular basis. Of course I’ll still probably post a little bit of everything, but if one option is far more popular than the others I will know to give it a bit more attention. I like connecting with my readers through polls so don’t be surprised if more pop up in the future.<br />
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I’ve been a bit lax at posting here for a spell (as in did not post at all in December…), but I’m sure most everyone had more important things to do during the holidays than to read about what I think about comics. And I too had plenty of other things that kept me busy and away from this blog. I thought about posting a Christmas List post or a Top of 2010 post, but as I thought about what I would write I realized that I would just be repeating myself about the series I already post a lot about here. And since that wasn’t new or interesting I put it off and let it slip by. If you want to know what I thought was really good this past year check out the Waiting for Trade posts or even the Comic Buzz posts. Those are things I can recommend to you and will probably continue to remind you of in the future (until all of you have actually read them all, MWAHAHAHAH!). <br />
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I’ll try to keep this blog updated regularly this year with lots of fun and interesting content. I’m really feeling the difficulty of posting things that are timely when I get all my books a month late, but I’ll continue to do my best. It’s hard sometimes feeling like the only comic fan around since I haven’t found anyone here in Japan who shares my obsession (save my fiancé, who at this point doesn’t really have a choice). It’s also tough because when I do venture into the interwebs to find “likeminded” people I’m often overwhelmed by the amount of negativity out there among comic book “fans.” Everyone is free to express their opinions, but some people are so harsh on every little thing that it can be disheartening. Everyone is so vocal about what sucks and sometimes I think people enjoy hating on things more than they like sharing the things they are actually enjoying. While I’m probably going to hate on my fair share of things this next year, I promise to also try to present as many positive recommendations as I can. I set up this blog to share my love of comics with my friends and I won’t convince any friends to read comics if I don’t point them in the direction of things I think are worth a look. <br />
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Well, that’s about it for this long rambling post that is probably a bit boring. I promise to be back with more interesting content soon!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10920217846651096833noreply@blogger.com0