• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

COMICS! |OT| April 2014. Truly, there is no shame in continuing to read awful comics.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Cheska said:
Hasn't it always been this way though? I feel like overall, Marvel is the worst offender in series bloat. Too many Avengers, too many X-Men, Spider-Man, etc.
Click to expand...

Most companies do this with any series that they deem a flagship title. DC does it with Batman and the Justice League. It does help that not all books are of equal quality. Most of the time you can just be satisfied with two or three titles from a franchise. Marvel is a funny case, as they do tend to be my favorite publisher of capes books, and yet they also have the most crap to wade through.
 
ElNarez said:
All-New X-Factor: oh man corporate sponsored superheroes guess what the corporation is evil how surprising oh and all that good dialogue you like reading in PAD's comics is gone fuck you
Click to expand...
That's not it. 5 issues in and nothing evil has been revealed about the company but there is an uneasiness about the entire deal. As for the second part, the great PAD dialogue is still there but I guess it's upto personal preference.
 
I don't mind multiple Justice League, Avengers, X-Men etc.. titles as long as there's a focus on a different set of characters in each
 
Cheska said:
Hasn't it always been this way though? I feel like overall, Marvel is the worst offender in series bloat. Too many Avengers, too many X-Men, Spider-Man, etc.
Click to expand...

Avengers didn't get really ridiculous until Bendis got a third book with Assemble but yeah, it's pretty out of hand now. X-Men has always been pretty bad. Spider-Man weirdly enough cut down on the "family" of books when BND started shipping thrice a month, with the logic that since Amazing was the best-selling of them anyways, they should just do three of those instead of Amazing and two spin-offs.
 
One of the comic podcasts I listen to had a really good question asked on their show.

"If you could only keep around two current series, which two would they be?"


The first is easy, I'd go with Saga. No issue has been downright disappointing and when it releases it's always at the top of my reading pile.

The second is where things gets trickier because there have been a lot of newer series that have been picking up speed, but ultimately I think I'd choose Batman.

Even though I'm experiencing some fatigue with the Zero Year arc, I loved the direction things were going in before, and I can't wait for us to get back to it. It's also been consistently good in terms of art and writing, and I feel like I would need at least one superhero book.

There have been a lot of other stand outs like Wonder Woman, Rachel Rising, Black Science, Captain Marvel (would have been my next pick), Harley Quinn (Messi <3), etc but if it came down to the wire I'd have to make those cuts.
 
I'm posting my first list here. I've always been a trades guy but the past few weeks I've been digging into single issues for the first time ever. It's small list but anyways:

Daredevil #1.5
All New Ultimates #1
Batman Eternal #1
 
sillymonkey321 said:
i'm buying 1-8 of Original Sin and the tie-ins of the books i'm already buying if they are from the regular writer. That better be more than enough :P
Click to expand...

Right? I have no interest in buying something I'm not already reading just because it's a tie in. But the premise for the story sounds interesting, so I wanna check it out.
 
tim1138 said:
Right? I have no interest in buying something I'm not already reading just because it's a tie in. But the premise for the story sounds interesting, so I wanna check it out.
Click to expand...

Me too, but Marvel always does this... They come up with an interesting premise before shitting the bed on the actual story. I'll give this a shot because I just never learn, but I'm not getting my hopes up.






But it's guaranteed to be better than Nocenti's Catwoman! *runs*
 
Cheska said:
One of the comic podcasts I listen to had a really good question asked on their show.

"If you could only keep around two current series, which two would they be?"


The first is easy, I'd go with Saga. No issue has been downright disappointing and when it releases it's always at the top of my reading pile.

The second is where things gets trickier because there have been a lot of newer series that have been picking up speed, but ultimately I think I'd choose Batman.

Even though I'm experiencing some fatigue with the Zero Year arc, I loved the direction things were going in before, and I can't wait for us to get back to it. It's also been consistently good in terms of art and writing, and I feel like I would need at least one superhero book.

There have been a lot of other stand outs like Wonder Woman, Rachel Rising, Black Science, Captain Marvel (would have been my next pick), Harley Quinn (Messi <3), etc but if it came down to the wire I'd have to make those cuts.
Click to expand...

Harley and Catwoman
 
TheKaeptain said:
Bendis writes a really awesome Cyclops. Both young and old Scott.
Click to expand...

Seriously. After years of seeing everyone write Scott as a huge pecker, it's been a relief to see him finally return back to his boy scout/heroic routes. I also like the fact that he isn't dating Emma. I never liked that coupling for some reason.

Uncanny X-Men 18 was finally a step in the right direction for a heroic present day Scott.
 
Cheska said:
One of the comic podcasts I listen to had a really good question asked on their show.

"If you could only keep around two current series, which two would they be?"


The first is easy, I'd go with Saga. No issue has been downright disappointing and when it releases it's always at the top of my reading pile.

The second is where things gets trickier because there have been a lot of newer series that have been picking up speed, but ultimately I think I'd choose Batman.

Even though I'm experiencing some fatigue with the Zero Year arc, I loved the direction things were going in before, and I can't wait for us to get back to it. It's also been consistently good in terms of art and writing, and I feel like I would need at least one superhero book.

There have been a lot of other stand outs like Wonder Woman, Rachel Rising, Black Science, Captain Marvel (would have been my next pick), Harley Quinn (Messi <3), etc but if it came down to the wire I'd have to make those cuts.
Click to expand...

Saga would be one I'd easily cross off the list. I'm through volume 2 right now, and it's fun but I don't know what it's about and where it's going. So far it's an extended chase sequence and a bunch of pitstops into weirdness. That's enjoyable enough, but not something I'm dying for.

Manhattan Projects would be one of my picks. Batman would be a prime candidate. Maybe Atomic Robo, since that's just great clean fun. That's tough... I'm reading so many ongoings...
 
tim1138 said:
Right? I have no interest in buying something I'm not already reading just because it's a tie in. But the premise for the story sounds interesting, so I wanna check it out.
Click to expand...

I just hope its not like Fear Itself, where they set up 2-3 potentially interesting things in the main book and its like 'IF YOU WANT TO SEE AN ACTUALLY GOOD BOOK, READ JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #BLAHBLAH!" at the end, leaving the main book as just empty spectacle and "big" moments.

“You do that and it is the all-time greatest Captain America story. Put it up in the rafters. No one is going to ever touch it. You are Frank Miller on Daredevil if you have the Red Skull kill Bucky when you’ve done with Bucky.” - Matt Fraction

I mean IDK Matt Fraction, I thought Frank Miller DD is so beloved because it was innovate pop-noir comic mixed the conventions of manga, and Frank Miller was an absolute brilliant storyteller. Thats the difference between the "idea" of a story, and an actual one.

foom091124-4.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm gonna stop shitting on Fear Itself one of these days, but its a perfect example of everything wrong with mainstream superhero comics in the 21st century
 
KoruptData said:
Wanted Spiderman to rep my book shelf. Found this within my price range.

BkplK6lIUAAg7_s.jpg


Two books that I would keep right now? Batman and Moon Knight.
Click to expand...

I can just give you a bunch of a4 pages if you want to swap out Moon Knight.

In all seriousness I would pick Harley Quinn and SAGA with Batman & Robin and Chew being hard cuts. Each month I'm dying for Harley and SAGA.

Edit: You have the best SAGA print <3 Korupt
 
Cheska said:
One of the comic podcasts I listen to had a really good question asked on their show.

"If you could only keep around two current series, which two would they be?".
Click to expand...

I'm an avid large scale comic consumer, so honestly if it ever came down to the point where I only had two comics on my pull list, I'm probably not going to be into comics anymore. I just couldn't handle that little to read.

But my choices would probably be: Batman and Batman Beyond Universe. I'd really want a Superman title in there somewhere, so Superman/Wonder Woman, Action Comics, or Adventures of Superman are really close to top of the list. But between Batman and Batman Beyond Universe, there is a wealth of pages that just seem to go on forever. Batman Beyond Universe also has the benefit of two stories in a single issue, both set in the same universe, the DCAU that is so timeless and classic in its perfection.

Saga would be a bad choice because you'd only get 6 issues a year. ;)
 
GrandHarrier said:
I'm an avid large scale comic consumer, so honestly if it ever came down to the point where I only had two comics on my pull list, I'm probably not going to be into comics anymore. I just couldn't handle that little to read.

But my choices would probably be: Batman and Batman Beyond Universe. I'd really want a Superman title in there somewhere, so Superman/Wonder Woman, Action Comics, or Adventures of Superman are really close to top of the list. But between Batman and Batman Beyond Universe, there is a wealth of pages that just seem to go on forever. Batman Beyond Universe also has the benefit of two stories in a single issue, both set in the same universe, the DCAU that is so timeless and classic in its perfection.

Saga would be a bad choice because you'd only get 6 issues a year. ;)
Click to expand...

I'll wait if they keep the quality they have given us so far. Fiona Staples is so good.
 
arkon said:
I don't think I could narrow it down to just two books.
Click to expand...

if you hadddddddddddd to? The biggest problem there would be whether or not i was able to try new books still to see if like them, and if i do i'd have to drop one of the two? Ewwww.

I'd go with Saga and Invincible though. I could manage with 10 books if i had to, two would be rough. That's like saying " pick one movie to watch each year."
 
As for the "too many books", I think the thing with X-Men or Avengers is that you have so many characters who can qualify as a member, you gotta put them in their own book. otherwise you end up like Fraction's X-Men where they put hundreds of mutants on one island, but its 90% Cyclops and Emma Frost with various X-Men sitting in the back as wallpaper.

It goes back to around the second half of Claremont's Uncanny X-Men run. New Mutants was the first alternate X-Men ongoing, but I thought that one had a pretty legit claim. Claremont didn't ever get to do the whole "O5" thing with the teenagers going to school under Charles Xavier and training to be X-Men(I mean, could you imagine Storm and Wolverine sitting in class getting demerits and shit?), and it was a completely new cast of characters that stayed in their own world and you didn't have to buy if you didn't want to. And hey, those issues Sienwickiz were the shit.

I think the beginning of the end was when they launched X-Factor. For some reason, despite the fact the the Original Five X-Men were BORING AS SHIT and nobody cared about them until the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams years before being completely eclipsed by Claremont's tenure, there was some nostalgia for these pack of characters(that continues to this day with All-New X-Men...I can't explain it). They wanted them to have their own book, even though Jean died in that really big story everybody liked and Cyclops was married to his wife and had a kid on the way. But Shooter wants what Shooter gets, so Jean comes back to life(in a completely different book) and Cyclops ditches his wife and child so they can do this 05 book.

Nevermind the whole concept of the original X-Factor is pretty stupid when you think about it for more than five seconds. The characters (chiefly PR man Hodge) suggest they are turning anti-mutant sentiment around on itself, using it to actually help mutants, but none of the former X-Men seem to realize just how much the seemingly-legitimate X-Factor business model will fan the flames of anti-mutant sentiment, reinforcing the public notion that mutants are something to be feared and hunted down. Furthermore, no one addresses what will happen when X-Factor is hired to capture a villainous mutant who needs to be locked up, as opposed to mutants being wrongly persecuted. Finally, while lip service is paid by the characters to the idea that the obviously-mutant Beast and Angel can't attend meetings with clients and that, while operating as costumed heroes, they need to be careful not to be associated with X-Factor, no one seems to recognize the fact that Angel is a known mutant, and that his money is all over X-Factor even while he operates alongside the others as a costumed hero, meaning it won't be too hard for anyone to make the connection.

So the book concept is bad, the actual stories aint much good, and it kinda pisses on Cyclops' characterization and Dark Phoenix Saga's ending, just for a nostalgic cash grab. They had to LITERALLY demonize Maddie and make her into the bad guy so Cyclops and Jean could be together again in Inferno. lol

--

For single characters, I think TWO should be the max. Amazing and Spectacular Spider-Man? OK. But do we need an Adjectiveless and Peter Parker, too? Crossing over all the time with various creative teams, meh. In the early 2000s, the satellite titles Peter Parker/Spectacular/Friendly Neighborhood just didn't sell very well compared to Amazing. Personally, I'm a huge fan of how they did it with BND/Big Time/Superior/etc; you got ONE book starring the adventures of Peter Parker, and it comes out 2-3 times a month. That's the only book you gotta follow.
 
sillymonkey321 said:
if you hadddddddddddd to? The biggest problem there would be weather or not i was able to try new books still to see if like them, and if i do i'd have to drop one of the two? Ewwww.

I'd go with Saga and Invincible though. I could manage with 10 books if i had to, two would be rough. That's like saying " pick one movie to watch each year."
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about it for the last while. I'd get rid of the fringe books first and then look at value for money with the remainder. Something like More Than Meets The Eye feels like it's worth my money every month. There just seems so much packed into each issue.
 
I really wish more of you read Batman Beyond Universe. It's criminal under represented on your pull lists. If you have any love for the DC Animated Universe, you're really missing out.

Messi said:
I'll wait if they keep the quality they have given us so far. Fiona Staples is so good.
Click to expand...

Sure, she's great. But every time the hiatus hits I give serious thought to just dropping the series because I hate, hate, HATE delays with the fury of a righteous, angered God.
 
GrandHarrier said:
I really wish more of you read Batman Beyond Universe. It's criminal under represented on your pull lists. If you have any love for the DC Animated Universe, you're really missing out.



Sure, she's great. But every time the hiatus hits I give serious thought to just dropping the series because I hate, hate, HATE delays with the fury of a righteous, angered God.
Click to expand...

It's not a delay if it's planned though. It's a break.

I have a Spider-Man and Punisher question. If Electro is the villain in the first arc of the new American how can he be in Punisher at the same time?
 
ViewtifulJC said:
I just hope its not like Fear Itself, where they set up 2-3 potentially interesting things in the main book and its like 'IF YOU WANT TO SEE AN ACTUALLY GOOD BOOK, READ JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #BLAHBLAH!" at the end, leaving the main book as just empty spectacle and "big" moments.

“You do that and it is the all-time greatest Captain America story. Put it up in the rafters. No one is going to ever touch it. You are Frank Miller on Daredevil if you have the Red Skull kill Bucky when you’ve done with Bucky.” - Matt Fraction

I mean IDK Matt Fraction, I thought Frank Miller DD is so beloved because it was innovate pop-noir comic mixed the conventions of manga, and Frank Miller was an absolute brilliant storyteller. Thats the difference between the "idea" of a story, and an actual one.



I'm gonna stop shitting on Fear Itself one of these days, but its a perfect example of everything wrong with mainstream superhero comics in the 21st century
Click to expand...

Despite what Birdie thinks, Fear Itself deserves being shit on because it was absolutely terrible. I've read that crap twice and other than people getting hammers I can't remember a damn thing that happened.

I'd be ok if they went the AvsX route where you could skip the tie ins and still get the whole story. I didn't read Infinity but it sounds like you needed to buy Infinity, Avengers, and New Avengers to get the whole thing. And who the hell cares about Age of Ultron.

So like a sucker I'll give it a shot.

Cheska said:
One of the comic podcasts I listen to had a really good question asked on their show.

"If you could only keep around two current series, which two would they be?"
Click to expand...

This is so easy, Zero and Manhattan Projects. I've actually given thought to trade waiting everything but those two.
 
Shit, forgot about Zero and Mind MGMT. Both of those would be very serious contenders.

I'm certainly glad I don't have to make that choice.
 
I have to share this. DC got me into comics, I love their characters and always will. I'm not turning my back on them but they have disappointed me lately. I think it's mostly the Forever Evil delay but any momentum they had has hit a brick wall. It had allowed Marvel to come in and take some interest away. I'm glad I have experienced Marvel, there is great books with great characters.

Now it sucks because I don't have room to add any more books for the rest of the year unless I drop something. I blame DC for this mess. What do I drop? This is me and my wife's shared pull. She said she will drop Catwoman so there is a start.

Bkp0y2iIIAAq-bF.jpg
 
Messi said:
It's not a delay if it's planned though. It's a break.

I have a Spider-Man and Punisher question. If Electro is the villain in the first arc of the new American how can he be in Punisher at the same time?
Click to expand...

Maybe the stories take place at different times
 
KoruptData said:
Now it sucks because I don't have room to add any more books for the rest of the year unless I drop something. I blame DC for this mess. What do I drop? This is me and my wife's shared pull. She said she will drop Catwoman so there is a start.
Click to expand...

Don't ask me. If that were my pull, I would dump so much of that DC stuff. So, so much...
 
My two would be Rachel Rising and Lazarus. I'm just not even gonna consider minis like The Wake...too painful ;p Without minis, I actually found it pretty easy.

Lazarus doesn't get enough love. I know there aren't that many people who loved it from the first issue (though I am one of them), but it's improved a great deal with its second arc.

I enjoy Saga a lot, but it was one of the first to go when it came right down to it. Sex Criminals, Deadly Class and Black Science would all be a lot harder to walk away from.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Guys, which comics do you read? Manga aside!
2
72
2K
L*][*N*K replied
Reading GAF 2025 |OT| Physical, Digital, But No Fabio
2
83
2K
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt replied
X Men Comics Question
16
2K
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt replied
MacBook Pro (Retina 2014) connected to Wi-Fi but no internet access
15
537
LordCBH replied
AWS is down - internet in shambles
2
58
846
ForAcademicPurposes replied
Top Bottom