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Author Topic: Funnybooks  (Read 170727 times)

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Ted Belmont

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #300 on: November 14, 2008, 04:50:52 PM »

To be fair, a mask with a covered mouth would be impractical for pretty much everything.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #301 on: November 18, 2008, 04:24:33 PM »

Nrama Millar interview focuses mostly on FF, but has a little bit on Old Man Logan in there too.
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Royal☭

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #302 on: November 18, 2008, 08:24:51 PM »

On Sunday I picked up Madman vol. 1 because some crazy guy on these forums keeps talking about it so I thought I'd see what the fuss was.  Also, Mike Allred draws in an eye-catching pop style that is like Kirby without ripping Kirby off.  Today I bought the third volume, they're that good.  I was hooked before this one, but this volume has Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter as incompetent hitmen.  Every go buy like 15 copies for all of your friends.  Now.  Each volume is around $15-18 dollars, contains about 8-10 comics each, and they're on sell at Amazon.  DO IT!

Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #303 on: November 18, 2008, 11:53:34 PM »

Madman's one of my favorite series that I've been flogging for years between the old forum (where I'm SURE I mentioned the Conan and Andy cameo) and this one.  Glad to hear I've got another convert.

The current series is different, a lot more experimental and contemplative, but just as much a joy to read.  I love the way Allred's played with the medium -- so far there's been an issue where every panel was an homage to a different artist, an issue with no words, and an issue that consisted of one, continuous 22-page panel.

But you're going to want to pick up the Atomics trade before you pick up the current Madman: Atomic Comics series.

(My dilemma is that I have several, but not all, of the trades from when Dark Horse was publishing them, so if I started buying the new Image trades to complete my collection, I'd be buying a lot of stuff I already own.  Of course, it's all moot until I have an income.)
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #304 on: November 22, 2008, 12:49:07 AM »

You know, Thunderbolts is a weird damn book to have an almost complete run of.

I quite liked the first 30 or so issues that Busiek did.  Then Nicieza's run was, overall, mediocre, but managed to do something brilliant just often enough to keep me from quitting.

I DID quit after the first two issues of that fucking Fight Club reboot they did after Nicieza left.  (I read an interview with Joe Q once where he described that as the worst decision he'd ever made as EiC -- and given that this was before One More Day, he was probably right.)  I think that arc only last four issues, meaning I'm only missing two issues of the whole series.

The next reboot was more Nicieza, so again, it was so-so but good enough.

The Ellis run was great, and more importantly it was the biggest shakeup in the book's history.  (Well, except the aforementioned shitty Mexican wrestler arc.)  This is a team that, by its nature, CAN'T have a stable status quo; if you're not a nutjob, you probably shouldn't be a Thunderbolt.

So, okay -- #126 is another shift, some team members leaving, new ones presumably coming, and at least one old character coming back: Dallas Riordan is apparently on the Senate DHS Committee now.

The problem is that it's not very accessible.  Dallas showing up isn't really a problem as her history with the team doesn't play into the story at all (you wouldn't even know it was her if Norman didn't address her by name), but the story DOES rely heavily on the Ellis run.  This is a two-parter, so maybe #128 will be a good jumping-on point with the new roster and whatever else.

At any rate, it's a good story, though I didn't care much for the art.  The characters are well-presented; Moonstone is the standout of the issue as she says what we're all thinking to Robbie, but Norman's almost equally engaging.  Wheels in wheels; he's got a master plan and it's going to be very interesting seeing what it is.

The point is, it's a good issue; lots of shit happens and it's got me looking forward to finding out what happens next.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of Diggle's work.

But not more of de la Torre's.  Sorry, de la Torre.


Predictions:

Norman and Venom stay, because they're the two biggest-name characters in the book.

Moonstone stays, because she's the most interesting character in this issue and it would be lame if they stuck her in a coma for two years again.

Bullseye stays and Songbird goes, UNLESS Bullseye's lying and [spoiler]Norman didn't put him up to this[/spoiler], in which case all bets are off.  It's difficult to imagine Songbird staying on the team if Bullseye's telling the truth and [spoiler]her ace in the hole is gone[/spoiler].  I'd lay pretty good odds of her joining up with Dallas and trying to fight back if she leaves, though.

Robbie goes.  If Songbird goes, he teams up with her to strike back.

Radioactive Man goes.  [spoiler]In fact, he already did.[/spoiler]

Swordsman is a wildcard.  He saw this coming, and [spoiler]is the most likely candidate to show up and save Songbird next ish[/spoiler].  As long as he's got a body full of nanobots he can't leave, but there could be a solution to that.  Death would be an obvious one.

As for new members?  Hard to say.  Smart money's on introducing more A-list villains (say, from the Avengers or X-Men rogues gallery), though I think the team works better with B- and C-listers.  (Norman's the only A-lister who's interesting; Moonstone and Swordsman are way more fun than Venom and Bullseye.)  Course, it doesn't have to be all villains at this point, either; anyone in violation of the SHRA is a candidate.  Punisher, for example, is a longshot but would fit right in with this version of the team.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the original team showed back up; between Dallas's appearance and Songbird looking at the original team photo I think there's some foreshadowing to that effect.  The one I'd like to see again is Fixer; Atlas was fun but too dumb and whiny (though he's the one with a connection to Dallas).  More than one would be pushing it though.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #305 on: November 22, 2008, 01:12:17 PM »

The Spirit Special #1: buy this.

There was some conversation earlier in the thread about how the Spirit is a little-known character who's had a big impact, and this collection of old Eisner strips is a great crash course for $2.99.  (My CBG commented that there's no fucking way Marvel would release a movie tie-in book for $2.99, even if it was just reprints.)

My overall reaction to the book is "They don't make 'em like this anymore" -- except in a lot of ways, they do.  Eisner was decades ahead of his time.

The art's gorgeous; the characters are all loaded with personality.  (And all right, Ebony is a hideous pickaninny, but for 1947 he's actually a pretty progressive black character.)  The stuff he does with layouts, backgrounds, and light and shadow creates an atmosphere seldom seen then or now.  (There's an early page that's all in blue shadow, with only red blood and a yellow light standing out -- and all right, that looks like the sort of thing Frank Miller would do, but I'm still not going to see the damn movie.)

It's also really violent.  The first two pages consist of the Spirit getting repeated blows to the head, and it's bloodier than most of the books I read today.

Then there's the writing.  The dialogue is natural, in contrast to other books of the day, and the stories move at a breakneck pace -- the first seven-page story in this collection is as complete as the average 48-page two-parter in a modern book.

All in all, there are a lot of reasons Eisner is one of the most revered names in the medium, and this collection's a good example of a lot of them.  Well worth the three bucks.  And I'm hoping that #1 isn't just a generic #1 like they put on all one-shots; I hope there are more like this.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #306 on: November 23, 2008, 09:35:28 PM »

Wolverine #69 does fuck-all to advance the plot (except that a background shot of Mt. Rushmore finally tells us who the President is, and it made me :facepalm: with its obviousness), but Fantastic Four #561 makes up for it by providing a satisfying, if predictable, conclusion to BOTH Millar FF arcs AND some more foreshadowing for Old Man Logan.

So, as for my prediction as to what Hawkeye's got in that briefcase: [spoiler]it's a piece of the Galactus Engine.[/spoiler]

And if we REALLY want to go all , [spoiler]it could be a piece of the Galactus Engine FROM THE PAST.[/spoiler]

ARC EDIT: Plausible enough for spoiler tags.
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Zaratustra

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #307 on: December 01, 2008, 03:14:49 AM »



My doctor is retarded. I don't have a brain tumor.

Büge

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #308 on: December 01, 2008, 09:16:40 AM »

Mt. Rushmore finally tells us who the President is,

Truly a great man.
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Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #309 on: December 01, 2008, 09:50:23 AM »

Who was it?
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #310 on: December 01, 2008, 12:34:22 PM »

[spoiler]Red Skull.[/spoiler]
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Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #311 on: December 01, 2008, 02:53:41 PM »

 :facepalm:
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #312 on: December 02, 2008, 11:44:30 AM »

This year's Simpsons Winter Wingding is pretty good.  The first couple stories are kinda meh, then the third one picks up, and the last one is written by Paul Dini and Misty Lee.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #313 on: December 03, 2008, 02:24:33 PM »

So uh apparently Marvels: Eye of the Camera is finally out tomorrow?

Nrama's dug out a five-year-old interview with Busiek on the subject.

I expect it'll be good, but after Astro City: The Dark Age (or the first half of it, anyway), my feeling is that Kurt's at his best in the Silver Age, and when he goes into the 1970's and 1980's it's just not as interesting -- not his fault, it's just that, with a few exceptions like the Kree-Skrull War, I just don't like the stories from that period that damn much.

And of course I'm going to miss Ross, but Anacleto's work looks pretty good from what I've seen.

Anyway.  More thoughts once I've actually read the thing.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #314 on: December 08, 2008, 12:12:23 AM »

Sure enough, the book starts out awesome and gets progressively less so as it leaves the Silver Age.

The Fantastic Four bits are great; it references a bunch of the early stories (including my personal favorite, where Reed loses all their money and they make a movie to make it back), and of course takes the Marvels man-on-the-street angle of, holy shit, wouldn't it be weird if you were watching TV and a special bulletin came on and said A BUNCH OF POWER PLANTS WERE DISAPPEARING INTO GIANT CRACKS IN THE GROUND?

Anyway, all that stuff's great; as we move into the Bronze Age at the end of the issue it starts slipping, culminating in a really obvious "twist" ending.  (Hint: [spoiler]Joe Q's ban on smoking in Marvel comics is well-known.  So why would he make an exception and have a character chain-smoking through the whole issue?  ...Yeah, there's really only one reason, and it's not historical accuracy for a story set in the 1960's.[/spoiler])

Still, Busiek's still got it, and Anacleto does a pretty good job recalling the Ross vibe without being derivative.  Worth picking up; one of my favorites this week.
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Büge

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #315 on: December 08, 2008, 08:32:46 AM »

really obvious "twist" ending.  (Hint: [spoiler]Joe Q's ban on smoking in Marvel comics is well-known.  So why would he make an exception and have a character chain-smoking through the whole issue?  ...Yeah, there's really only one reason, and it's not historical accuracy for a story set in the 1960's.[/spoiler])

The whole thing was a nightmare vision Jack Kirby experienced as he lay dying?
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Zaratustra

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #316 on: December 09, 2008, 02:45:09 AM »

Frankly I read comics less and less these days. It feels like the only thing of note that ever happens in them is people dying, and since they always come back, nothing of note is actually happening.

Mostly I read the Warren Ellis shit, since Alan Moore buried himself in his coffin and Grant Morrison is taking six months of butt scratching between each issue he produces.

Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #317 on: December 09, 2008, 08:19:54 AM »

Welcome to my world some years back. Now I read almost nothing.... North American (or Japanese!).

Luckily I have Europe to carry the torch, so I have no shortage of reading material. I really wish I could give you guys a sampling or something of the books I have.

I don't know. If any of you guys are really interested in alternatives to the same old crap, I can throw together a reading list of stuff that has been published in English.

In the meantime, This Guy is hilarious AND distributes his comics for free reading online (I own hard copies). Bookhunter and Fleep are highly recommended.
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Zaratustra

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #318 on: December 09, 2008, 08:33:29 AM »

I read that like eighty thousand years ago when dinosaurs such as the mighty Argon Zark wandered the pangean netscape.

you can always name the european books you like reading and the net will provide

Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #319 on: December 09, 2008, 10:09:55 AM »

Okay, well, this list is by no means comprehensive. And other than Moebius (who remains surprisingly obscure) I'm not bothering with any major well-known works, European or otherwise (e.g. Tintin, Asterix, Maus). This is basically a selection of "good comics that you have probably never read or even heard of". I have not restricted myself to Europe as there are a few North Americans here too.

Available in English

Good Clean Fun
- Green Manor 1&2 (Vehlmann & Bodart): A Holmseian Victorian collection. Many short stories of murder and intrigue.
- Rocketo 1&2 (Frank Espinosa): A pulp hero extravaganza. Phenomenal storytelling. Books 3 & 4 are forthcoming (4-book series).
- Wake (Jean David Morvan & Phillippe Buchet): Space Opera euro-style with a spunky heroine. Episodic TV-like structure (7 books have been published in English so far). Cheesy but fun. 

Powerful
- Notes For a War Story (Gipi): A dark story of three kids looking for adulthood in the smouldering fires of an unnamed Balkan conflict.
- Nat Turner (Kyle Barker): An account of the Nat Turner slave rebellion. Extremely stark and powerful artwork.
- Three Shadows (Cyril Pederosa): A whimsical but haunted tale of a father's love for his son.
- Deogratias (J.P. Stassen): A boy comes of age in Rwanda in 1994. Really there's not much you can add to that description. A truly harrowing and heartbreaking story.
- The Madwoman Of The Sacred Heart (Moebius & Jodorowsky): By turns amusing and lunatic, philisophical and cynical, the story of an ascerbic Parisian philosophy professor (with some severe personal issues) who falls in with a group of young fanatics on the verge of founding a new religious cult. Seemingly weighty, but easy to read. 

Idiosyncratic
- Nil (James Turner): The book that restored my faith in satire. An extreme, over-the-top, tale of one man's quest for belief in a nation that truly believes in nothing. Cynical hilarity taken to new heights. Plus: Local Guy points: Turner lives in Toronto, only a few blocks away from where I used to work. He probably thought it was quite novel that anyone would actually recognise him on the street. 
- The Professor's Daughter (Johann Sfar & Emmanuel Guibert): A one-shot tale by an artist who normally writes and a writer who normally draws but who chose to reverse roles for a book. Lush, beautiful watercolour cartoons that are full of life illustrate an amusing tale of romance and mummies run amok in Victorian London.
- Gus & His Gang (Chris Blain): A story of three western outlaws with a distinctly personal twist. A great introduction to Chris Blain and a fun story. Also a good example of the European pseudo-episodic style, where a collection of shorter stories accretes into one larger story as characters change and develop meaningfully over time.
- Wimbledon Green (Seth): A distinctly Canadian offering, Seth serves up a pastiche of second-hand stories about Wimbledon Green, the world's greatest comic collector and his hilarious adventures. Also has a cameo of the guy I buy my comics from (Peter at The Beguiling)!
- I Killed Adolf Hitler (Jason): One of Jason's two most readable stories. This Norweigian author serves up shortish stories that pretty much embody angst, without losing the essential qualities that make a comic satisfying or fun to read.
- The Last Musketeer (Jason): See previous.

Heavy Metal-eque
- Moebius 0-9 (Moebius): The core work of the man who invented Heavy Metal. This represents most of his best stories for Metal Hurlant. Some brilliant sci-fi stuff here, inlcuding the original ideas for some of the most famous sci-fi properties of the 80's.
- Keepers of the Maser 1-6 (Massimilano Frezzato): Extremely lush artwork and interesting characters keep this story going.
- Gypsy (Enrico Marini & Thierry Smolderen): Technically, this is too trashy for the list, but I had to include it. It could have also gone under 'good clean fun' because it's so damned cheesy. Think Mad Max, but with ice, Russians, and a heavily slavic-accented main character. Excellent 3rd-string action-movie gas. "My dick in your house, my balls in your yard, you motherfucker!"

Film Noir
- The Bloody Streets of Paris (Jaques Tardi): The best example (and only English volume) of Tardi's comic book rendition of a classic French detective series set in the 30's and 40's. The Bloody Streets of Paris add the occupying Germans and Vichy angst to the normal mix of crime and noir intrigue. A riveting tale with artwork that almost makes the time and location active characters in the story. Also a great example of French life in occupied France.
- Blacksad 1&2 (Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido): 50's era detective tales from two Disney refugees, absolutely BEAUTIFUL artwork. PHENOMENAL quality and attention to detail. The stories are basically straightforward classic noir detective stories, but one where each character is depicted as an animal closest to their personality. Most of the time the situation is played straight, with occasional lampshading of the animal factor for hilarious effect. Don't worry: this only qualifies as 'furry shit' if you already are one. Please note that while further volumes after #'s 1&2 do exist, they are only available in French, due to a publication deal falling through.

Additional suggestions available only in French

Powerful
- C'était La Guerre Des Tranchées (Jaques Tardi): Tardi's depiction of a collection of true WWI tales. Quite possibly the best graphic work on the War that I have ever seen.

Idiosyncratic
- La Ligne De Fuite (Christophe Dabitch & Benjamin Flao): The story of a small Victorian-era French poetic club, the French cultural milieu of the time, and one young man's obsessive-yet-innocent search for Arthur Rimbaud (in retreat from the world). The story exhibits a treasured dreamlike quality and the loose sketch-style artwork posesses great energy. 
- Le Marquis D'Anaon 1-4 (Fabien Vehlmann & Matthieu Bonhomme): The account of a young Cartesian, Rationalist hero, travelling around France and Europe debunking the supernatural in the early-mid 18th century. Great storytelling and the only extant example I can think of in comics of the anti-climax being raised to an art form.

Cheesecake
- Songes Coraline (Terry Dodson & D.P. Filippi): Really, the writing is irrelevant here. Terry Dodson is persuaded to come to France and illustrate something other than covers for a change. Hilariously contrived situations and curvaceous artwork follow.
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