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Author Topic: Funnybooks  (Read 170336 times)

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Lottel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #700 on: April 01, 2010, 07:36:44 PM »

I am pissed about the new Captain Boomerang [spoiler]NOT being brought back[/spoiler], too be honest. I love the Rogues and this kids whole story was interesting. Speed powers, not knowing either of his parents, bloodlust, and boomerangs.
Digger is fine, but my favorite Boomerang moments involve the younger one.
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Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #701 on: April 01, 2010, 08:10:15 PM »

What book is that from?
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Royal☭

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #702 on: April 01, 2010, 08:12:10 PM »

Blackest Night #8

Zach

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #703 on: April 01, 2010, 11:54:13 PM »

I don't know so much about Captain Boomerang [spoiler](the dead one)[/spoiler], but [spoiler]Ostrander's Suicide Squad has me convinced that Digger can do no wrong.[/spoiler]

I still don't like Hal Jordan. Guess I never will.
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Büge

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Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #705 on: April 11, 2010, 05:56:33 AM »

West to the comic store for the first time in a while (visiting the comic store has become depressing for at least three or four completely separate reasons, but that's another story entirely).

Some new stuff, most interestingly Larry Gonick finally released the last volume in his Cartoon History of the Universe series, which was about equal in pacing and coverage to the previous volume.

Also, picked up the latest Hellboy volume, The Wild Hunt. Now, I can maybe someday forgive Mignola for giving up drawing his series (that happened a few volumes ago), since Duncan Fegredo is excellent and his drawing style is well-suited to Hellboy. But wow did Mignola's writing ever take a turn for the worse in this volume. considering his past high standards, that was definitely new.

It seemed good at first, but it dawned on me an hour or two afterwards that just about every single plot element in that volume has been recycled. [spoiler]Hellboy hanging out in the house of folks who've died long ago, shoehorning in an older short story as a key plot point (Alice was was kind of superfluous, other than her Dr. Watson-esque role as the story's human point of contact), the interestingly neutral cabal guys turning out to be yet another boring evil bunch who want to use Hellboy for their own purposes, the seemingly friendly guide spirit leading Hellboy to a trap, Hellboy growing his horns again and breaking them off again - I guess that's going to be routine now? Plus many minor recycled bits.[/spoiler]

But the worst of those was when [spoiler]he re-used the And the "The last half of the book all took place in Hellboy's head - it was only a dream!", again. Now that was a total cop-out.[/spoiler] also instead of using mythological figures judiciously, he now seems to just be grabbing them by the fistful and chucking them willy-nilly into the story like it's some kind of "how many references can I make?" game. This goes double for linking said mythologies together in awkward ways, just so we can have a SURPRISE CONNECTION.

The instances where things are just forced for no really good reason didn't help either. [spoiler]When Alice says "The little people did me some good as a justification for her abnormal youth, it was like a record needle screetch in my head[/spoiler]. Writers using paper-thin justifications to allow them to draw attractive women is something I normally expect from a much lesser artist.

But the most painful part was when he decided that this volume's BIG REVEAL would be the fact that [spoiler]Hellboy's human half was descended from King Arthur[/spoiler]. Ugh? Really? That was the most forced thing of all. I think it was much better when [spoiler]Hellboy's mother was just a random witch.[/spoiler] That actually made him more human, not less.

Don't get me wrong, there were still a few nice moments [spoiler]The 'slug house' gag, the art-deco demon, and especially when they pointed out all the prophecies of doom have come from people who had a vested interest in lying to Hellboy.[/spoiler] With that last bit being the only really meaningful growth Hellboy experiences in the whole volume.

 :tldr: I guess I always thought that there was an overall plan and that the story might come to an end someday, after a long and overarching tale. This volume makes me think that perhaps there is no plan at all and we're just wandering aimlessly while a burnt-out artist drags his finest creation down with himself.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #706 on: April 11, 2010, 11:48:29 AM »

...Blackest Night postmortem:

It had a lot of good ideas.  And abandoned them all almost immediately.

I'd have loved to see more of Lex as Orange Lantern.  Sinestro as White Lantern was the cleverest twist of the whole thing, and "resurrected heroes come back as White Lanterns" was a good idea too but the trouble is they worked poorly together.  If Sinestro was going to be the WL, he should have STAYED that way.

Brightest Day could be good or it could suck.  I'll pick up an issue or two and see.  I like the IDEA of DC going back to a brighter, more heroic backdrop, but they've been swearing that was coming since fucking Infinite Crisis and I'll believe it when I see it.

Actually, I probably won't believe it even then.  It took me YEARS to finally pay money for Astonishing X-Men, even after Marvel had the first issue free on their site.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #707 on: April 11, 2010, 11:49:47 AM »

On another topic: the latest issue of The Muppet Show has Skeeter come in and join the cast...but oddly, she is never referred to by name, she's just "Scooter's sister" throughout.  Makes me wonder if the rights to the character are owned (or at least co-owned) by the company that made Muppet Babies.

Of course, I thought the company that made Muppet Babies was Marvel, which is now owned by Disney, which also owns the main Muppet license.  So who the fuck knows.
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Lottel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #708 on: April 11, 2010, 08:21:32 PM »

I would have loved in Blackest Night was longer. And gave us more time with Orange Lantern Lex and Yellow Scarecrow. It's a new way to see old characters and it'd be really interesting to see how Orabge Lex fought Superman.
What I wanted to see for the White Lanterns was for Sinestro to be the only one and for him to either die and be remembered forever as the Greatest Lantern of All Time (which would really stick it to Hal) or for him to live through the Blackest Night and have the Brightest Day revolve around him and how he is cleaning up the universe. I'd assume at first he'd try to be his old self, but being connected to every living being would make that hard. He'd be forced to either change his ways or give up the ultimate power.

I completely agree that Blackest Night had a lot of good ideas that they kept around for maybe half an issue then ignored. I need to check in on the tie-ins though. See if they explored more in them than what I've read so far.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #709 on: April 11, 2010, 08:35:34 PM »

Fuck tie-ins.
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Lottel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #710 on: April 11, 2010, 08:39:04 PM »

That's my normal stance but dammit. I want more from the Blackest Night. And the Green Arrow shit was pretty good, right? So maybe they did TWO good books for tie-ins.
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Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #711 on: April 11, 2010, 08:47:54 PM »

If they had more story to tell, they could have cut down on the goddamn Where's Waldo two-page spreads and told more goddamn story.
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Zach

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #712 on: April 11, 2010, 09:18:13 PM »

The Blackest Night tie-ins didn't really expand on the hints of cool in the larger event. Most of them follow the formula 1) hero is made fun of by zombies, 2) hero can't defeat zombies, 3) hero defeats zombies.

The ones that I found interesting were Weird Western Tales, the Power of Shazam, and Suicide Squad. They're just good zombie stories though -- not anything that expands upon the thematic significance of the larger event. I'm glad that I spent very little money on this one.

Sinestro was robbed.

My big two books right now are Batman and Robin and Unwritten. Not empty promises there!
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Bal

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #713 on: April 12, 2010, 12:13:14 PM »

I've stopped reading comics entirely at this point. DC is mediocre at best, and Marvel is a stinking pit full of Quesada's mid-life crisis.
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Mongrel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #714 on: April 12, 2010, 12:15:55 PM »

Uh, I'm not actually trying to be a dick when I say that "I'm pretty sure there are other comic book companies whose work you might enjoy".


Oh hey, that reminds me, finally read RASL 6 & 7. Pretty good. The plot's moving along and even though the science is pretty FAIL, you can at least stop caring and just go along for the ride. I may still be on the fence about the plot, but the book as a whole is still worth picking up.
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Bal

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #715 on: April 12, 2010, 12:24:13 PM »

I haven't seen anything so standout that I was compelled to read it from any of the other publishers either. Invincible tempts me sometimes, but that's not something you can just pick up in the middle. I'll read the odd comic here and there if something gets recommended to me, but by and large it just isn't worth the effort. The big two are worthless, and I don't really have the time or the inclination to sift through everything else.

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Büge

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #716 on: April 12, 2010, 02:57:54 PM »

I don't really have the time or the inclination to sift through everything else.

That's a problem that I have with a lot of media and pastimes these days. Time was, I just sort of piggybacked my friend Patrick's hard work sifting out the good games/music/movies/tv series. These days it's pretty much just you guys and 4chan.
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Lottel

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #717 on: April 12, 2010, 04:00:45 PM »

I am actually a big fan of Invincible. Not too entirely sure about this new series they are starting (or whatever they are doing) but I loved the first 70 issues or whatever. If you've got the time, go back and read it. But yeah. Not something to just jump in on.
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Royal☭

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #718 on: April 12, 2010, 04:14:06 PM »

That's why I pick up trade paperbacks.  The library carries them, so I can weed out stuff without having to buy them first!  That said, I've picked up a few things I like:

Fables:  Read the first trade, which collects the first 5 comics and then throws on a short story to boot.  Didn't have time to read the short story, but enjoyed the actual comics.  Bill Willingham has a gift for writing some of the clunkiest, most obnoxiously obtuse dialogue I've read in awhile.  His characters also tend to veer from mood to mood like a drunk driver, but I still found myself enjoying the story anyway.  Despite the flaws, the idea of a bunch of fable characters trying to hide in the real world while their homeland is ravaged is a compelling enough hook to make up for Willingham's writing.

It also coined the word "cocksmanship", which I plan to use in everyday situations now.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:  Read the first two volumes, one penned by Whedon and the other by Brian K. Vaughan.  They're fun!  They pick up where the show left off, and follow the spirit and humor of the pretty well, only freed up from its low budget constraints.  I guess the most accurate review is that if you enjoyed the show, this is pretty much that only in comic book form.

Ex Machina: Also written by K. Vaughan, this series is about a former superhero who becomes the mayor of New York City after September 11th.  But like Y the Last Man, Vaughan manages to take this premise and weave a complex, well-constructed story around it.  One of Vaughan's greatest gifts is his ability to write dialogue that is both natural and informative.  His characters read like they're having a real conversation, not just hitting plot points.

The book is filled with little touches that bring the characters to life, and make the world seem real and lived in.  Mitch Hundred (the ex-superhero named "The Great Machine") admits that he freely gave up being a superhero because he felt he could do more good in the public sector rather than just trying to save individual people from criminals.  This becomes part of the theme of the book, about self-reliance and about the need for strong, protective leadership.  It's thought-provoking at times, but never loses site of its characters or themes.

At least, in the first two books.

As for more current series, Batman & Robin is my favorite book, with Morrison having fun with the a different dynamic duo than normal.  The latest story arc, in particular, has been a blast, with Dick Grayson uncovering clues about the secret history of the Wayne family beneath the manor, and Damien's Robin fighting alongside a fake British detective against punks in a graveyard.

It's full of touching little character moments, such as when Damien remarks that if Bruce Wayne comes back, he and Dick won't get to be Batman and Robin anymore.  I recommend it, even if you've written off superhero books.

Thad

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Re: Funnybooks
« Reply #719 on: April 12, 2010, 07:56:44 PM »

Spider-Man: Fever is simply fucking gorgeous.  It's a loving tribute to Ditko, without feeling too derivative.  It features Dr. Strange and the requisite psychedelic worlds he travels through, and Spidey...it's really quite uncanny; it's like the last 45 years never happened.  The angle of the webbing on his costume, the height of his nose and eyeholes, the poses of his lanky body -- Brendan McCarthy draws Ditko's Spider-Man.

The dialogue, similarly, has traces of Lee's cheesy incantations, but it doesn't cross the line from "loving homage" to "slavish duplication" either.

But mainly, it's the art that deserves praise.  The shapes, the colors...if you're a fan of Spider-Man or Dr. Strange at all, pick this one up.
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