Topic: Funnybooks (Read 170925 times)

Büge · « **Reply #20 on:** March 03, 2008, 06:19:45 AM »

Phil and Kaja Foglio recently did a radio interview on "The Biblio File" and it's available in a medium-quality podcast. They talk about how Girl Genius came about, their respective forays into the industry and why GG became a webcomic. Fairly standard interview stuff but I thought it was worth a mention.

Thad · « **Reply #21 on:** March 03, 2008, 11:36:32 AM »

Rasl is as good as you expect from anything with Jeff Smith's name on the cover, and edges out Batman and Kick-Ass as my favorite book of last week.

It's one of my favorite styles of storytelling -- a black-and-white, action-oriented approach, with only five lines of dialogue in the whole thing and just enough narration to carry you along without getting bogged down in unnatural exposition. Very Japanese.

The story -- of a time- and space-traveling art thief being pursued by the authorities -- evokes a Doctor Who feel (in a good way), and I don't think it's an accident that a pivotal plot twist involves a Bob Dylan album cover where he bears a more than slight resemblance to Tom Baker.

As for the tone and pace, I'm going to go back to my other favorite books of the week, Batman and Kick-Ass, and say this actually combines the best elements of both: Batman's giddy, disorienting mystery, and Kick-Ass's plunging the reader into the middle of a story without yet explaining how the hero got there.

Great, great book. Go buy it.

Kayma · « **Reply #22 on:** March 03, 2008, 08:22:27 PM »

Kick-ass is my book of the week. I liked Rasl, but It was definitely very much a first issue. I wonder, had I not known who wrote, whether or not I'd still care after reading it. Still, it's Bone-guy, the comic was a decent set-up, and I look forward to seeing where it goes.

Kick-ass was... well, kick ass. I liked Wanted quite a bit, and I'm getting a similar vibe from this book. A comic book about a kid who likes comic books becoming a super hero? How delightfully meta!

[spoiler]I'm gonna go look on eBay for a wet suit.[/spoiler]

Thad · « **Reply #23 on:** March 03, 2008, 10:00:03 PM »

Quote from: Kayma on March 03, 2008, 08:22:27 PM

Kick-ass is my book of the week. I liked Rasl, but It was definitely very much a first issue.

Uh, and Kick-Ass wasn't?

Kayma · « **Reply #24 on:** March 03, 2008, 10:22:58 PM »

Kick-ass was way more engaging. It set up the story and made me care. Rasl set things up, but I don't care yet.

Thad · « **Reply #25 on:** March 03, 2008, 10:59:22 PM »

See, I thought the Dylan bit was money. I want to know how Indian guy got here, what's up with scary trenchcoat monster guy, and what happens next.

And like I said, the storytelling hit all the right notes for me -- I've always loved comics that keep the yakking to a minimum and rely on visuals.

Not to say Kick-Ass's dialogue was a bad thing by any means. It's fucking top-notch. I'd say Millar and Ennis write the best dialogue in comics. (Well, "best" as in "most realistic". I love the brilliant, dramatic stuff from guys like Moore, too, of course.)

And I don't mean to leave RoJu out either. He's one of the best in the biz too.

Anyway. All this to say, don't take anything I say as suggesting I have a negative opinion of Kick-Ass. Far from it; I loved it. I just loved Rasl slightly more.

Mongrel · « **Reply #26 on:** March 05, 2008, 06:17:47 PM »

Picked up RAZL and Kick-Ass today. I would have to say that I enjoyed RAZL much more - there was certainly some tasty bait on that hook.

Kick-Ass was actually disappointing after the build-up it got here. I don't think that's so much the comic's fault as it is the fact that I've never been partial to stories about 'teenagers just like you!'. That kind of stuff just really grates on me, I suppose* (having not been a teenager for a decade certainly doesn't help that). I fear that eventually the character becomes A Hero of some kind, the comic will have Justification, and the dear reader will learn that You Should Always Follow Your Dreams, leaving this comic no more than a slight variation on every other damn run-of-the-mill Superhero wish-fulfillment theme.

Anyway... that's probably a much harsher response than the comic deserved. I still picked it up, and I'll definitely look up the second issue. The story could still go anywhere, and I'm certainly willing to give it a chance.

*The GooGoo Dolls? Junior stalker (tm)? For fuck's sake Mark... geez... laying it on a bit thick there. Ugh.

Cannon · « **Reply #27 on:** March 05, 2008, 08:25:37 PM »

Just a friendly "no crap, Cannon" reminder: All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, while awful, is grating because I don't think it can be mined for Internet memes anymore.

...Which, yeah, probably means I should ask Chris to stop putting the issues in my folder.

Kayma · « **Reply #28 on:** March 05, 2008, 10:07:20 PM »

Looking forward to The Long Road home this week. I'm a big Dark Tower nut, but even I thought the comicization that was The Gunslinger Born was a bit lacking. Beautiful, though. Excited for this new one since, so far as I know, it's treading into untold tales.

Wish I has bought that Gunslinger Born poster when I had the chance.

Thad · « **Reply #29 on:** March 05, 2008, 11:28:27 PM »

Secret Invasion Saga is free because it is composed entirely of panels from other comics. The words are new, though, and there are a hell of a lot of them (presented rather distractingly in italic all-caps).

The most interesting thing it does is contrast the goofy Silver Age Skrull stories with the modern SERIOUS BUSINESS approach. Guess which one I like better.

It's done clumsily, too; I get the impression that they desperately wanted this to be like Grant Morrison repurposing goofy old Batman shit for his current run, but it just doesn't work that way.

Still, there's a lot of great shit in there; the original Skrulls who were turned into cows, Super Skrull, the gangster planet of Kral, and the Kree-Skrull War, which may be the best story in the rather dull Bronze Age. No reference to the Skrull who impersonated Nixon, though, which is just a huge missed opportunity.

Anyway. All this to say, this reminds me that I really do like Skrulls, but I still don't give a flying fuck about the invasion.

Except that if Captain Marvel turns out not to be a Skrull I'm going to be very disappointed.

Niku · « **Reply #30 on:** March 06, 2008, 01:39:05 AM »

Quote from: Thad on March 05, 2008, 11:28:27 PM

the gangster planet of Kral

Sadly missing since February 14th, 3002.

Thad · « **Reply #31 on:** March 06, 2008, 12:42:24 PM »

...I don't get it.

Rosencrantz · « **Reply #32 on:** March 06, 2008, 04:35:03 PM »

Quote from: Thad on March 06, 2008, 12:42:24 PM

...I don't get it.

I can't link to the file directly, but it's the very last quote on this page. I'm sure you remember it.

Thad · « **Reply #33 on:** March 06, 2008, 05:41:57 PM »

Ah. I remember the speech but forgot that detail.

Thad · « **Reply #34 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:04:10 PM »

Booster #7 is decent but subpar. The cause and results of Ted's return are totally predictable; he had damn well better not end up dead again to set the timeline straight, because my God would THAT be hackneyed.

The last page moneyshot probably would have been more satisfying if I recognized anybody there besides [spoiler]Ultra[/spoiler], but I do love a good villains-sitting-around-a-table-scheming reveal cliffhanger. The appearance, a few pages before, of the cavalry, complete with Booster's snarky commentary on same, was fun too. Hoping we get a good, JLU-style look at La Resistance next month before they jump back into the timestream to kick some Time Stealer ass; of course, given the

backstory, the big question at this point is what Wonder Woman's up to.

Kashan · « **Reply #35 on:** March 16, 2008, 09:24:40 PM »

So I know I'm a little late on this, but I picked up Kickass and the new Terry Moore book Echo. Kickass seems like Millar at his best, which is good because bad Millar can be pretty terrible. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this book.

Echo I'm not sure about yet. It's clearly a completely different book from Strangers in Paradise, which honestly is probably a good thing as that book lost its way more than once. Still, I have to say the first issue didn't hook me. I fucking love his art though, and I don't care about art in comics usually.

I've been picking up the twelve, and so far it's a lot of fun. Nothing ground breaking here, but it's a very very solid mix of pulp and modern political superhero comics. Maybe it'll come together into something really amazing, or maybe it'll fail hard, it's still too early to tell.

I just don't understand Bendis. Powers, Alias, and his run on Daredevil are some of my favorite superhero comics ever. But then Ultimate Spiderman and New Avengers are just all over the place quality wise, and Mighty avengers is just blah. Currently I'm really enjoying Ultimate Spiderman and Powers, and not particularly caring for either of the avengers titles.

X-Factor has been my favorite book consistently since Vaughn left Runaways. The last two issues were probably the weakest of the current run, and they were still pretty great. I really need to check out some other Peter David stuff.

I assume anyone who'd consider picking it up is already picking it up, but the Buffy comic is just about perfect.

I've started picking up Teen Titans and Birds of Prey. I'm enjoying them, but they're really highlighting for me how much I just don't get the DC universe.

I've actually started to really like Allstar Batman and Robin.

God the new amazing spiderman is terrible.

I'm actually liking the current arc on Runaways, though I wish it wasn't coming out quarterly.

I spend too much money on comics.

Oh, and I'm finally getting around to reading Bone. Turns out it's pretty good

Thad · « **Reply #36 on:** March 16, 2008, 10:27:02 PM »

Speaking of "a little late on this", I just got around to reading the Morrison interview Cannon linked in the first post. In addition to the Alpha Lanterns bit Cannon pointed out, the most interesting part to me is that it's Morrison revisiting the New Gods and Frankenstein. Yaaay!

SCD · « **Reply #37 on:** March 16, 2008, 11:50:55 PM »

I think I mentioned Fables and Y, the Last Man on the other boards.

I'm still endorsing it and sticking to it as hard as I would with JMS' Midnight Nation, which I also endorse!

Cannon · « **Reply #38 on:** March 17, 2008, 03:30:29 PM »

Quote from: Thad on March 16, 2008, 08:04:10 PM

Booster #7 is decent but subpar. The cause and results of Ted's return are totally predictable; he had damn well better not end up dead again to set the timeline straight, because my God would THAT be hackneyed.

The last page moneyshot probably would have been more satisfying if I recognized anybody there besides [spoiler]Ultra[/spoiler], but I do love a good villains-sitting-around-a-table-scheming reveal cliffhanger.

The other two are [spoiler]Per Degaton (a fun Justice Society villain, because we need to be reminded that Johns is co-writing this, apparently) and Silver Age Despero (which, interestingly enough, is not a baddie that my admittedly limited knowledge of comics lists under 'time travel shenanigans')[/spoiler]. I'm okay with the middling quality of this issue; Johns needs his periods of rest, and he's having one right now in Green Lantern. Anyway... In regards to Ted, chronol duplicate or gtho. That's how era-hopping baddies pull off their comic book "resurrections," in any case.

Speaking of GL books, the smaller story with Alpha Lantern Boodika is a welcome change of pace from the epic stories, even if it's not fantastic. There's so much potential (what with over 7200 Corpsmen active at any given time) for smaller, character-driven tales that I don't like to see it wasted by big event massacres. Sinestro's "I believe in the Green Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan. Don't you?" speech made me put the comic down for a good minute. Now that's a super-villain.

Quote from: Kashan on March 16, 2008, 09:24:40 PM

I spend too much money on comics.

Erm. Yeah, so do I. At least Chris gives me a discount for being a regular customer. Heck, he's even going to get me a convention exclusive HeroClix figure.

Quote from: Thad on March 16, 2008, 10:27:02 PM

Speaking of "a little late on this", I just got around to reading the Morrison interview Cannon linked in the first post. In addition to the Alpha Lanterns bit Cannon pointed out, the most interesting part to me is that it's Morrison revisiting the New Gods and Frankenstein. Yaaay!

Yeah, I'm pretty giddy about the inevitable arrival of the Fifth World (which looks to be happening after or during Final Crisis), which is seemingly the crux of Countdown.

In regards to the current number one of the Big Two, I snapped up the hardcover of the first six issues of Hudlin's Black Panther (it was fifty percent off, and the parts of that arc which I originally bought I liked), so I'm wondering... Is the next part worthwhile, Thad?

Thad · « **Reply #39 on:** March 17, 2008, 03:40:20 PM »

The first BP arc was essentially Black Panther: The Movie. After that, if memory serves, was a fun little vampire story in post-Katrina New Orleans with Blade, Cage, Brother Voodoo, and Monica Rambeau. If that's the second trade, it's worth it; if not, probably not.

Hudlin's Panther is one of those books where I'm kind of wondering why I'm still reading it. Priest's run was much better, and Kirby's run was Kirby; if you're jonesing for Panther trades, those are better.

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Author Topic: Funnybooks (Read 170925 times)