Spike Spiegel
Member
Well, here we are. A new year, and a new (if admittedly familiar) format for the OT. If it wasn't already obvious, I am not The Take Out Bandit (though skip ahead to the end for a proposed homage I thought would be nice). Personally I prefer a little more structure in the OP, and the opportunity to be informative regarding current monthly offerings, rather than creative themes or general recommendations. If you've got any suggested changes or improvements I'm open to hearing them, however; I'm EXTREMELY open to the idea of others taking over in future months, and bringing their own style to the OT as TToB did so incredibly well. Because while the new format is one I think can be easily maintained on a monthly basis, that doesn't mean I want to be the designated thread-maker. Again.
Let's get to it shall we? Here are some of the spotlight titles from each publisher for January:
+New Avengers #1 & 2 by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting (Jan. 2, Jan. 16). The team from Fantastic Four and FF strikes again, reuniting Marvel's brain trust to save the universe with big ideas. Can new member Beast fill the Professor's shoes, or will he need new ones for his cat (or should I say
ape
+All-New X-Men #5 & 6 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen and David Marquez (Jan. 2, Jan. 16). The original five return to the Jean Grey School with an X-Man's life hanging in the balance! Will Beast survive? I'm guessing yes since he's starring in the book above this one. Plus, young Jean Grey finds out why everyone looks at her funny.
+Thor: God of Thunder #4 by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic (Jan. 9). Old Man Thor gets his turn on center stage as he takes on the God-Butcher! Can the one-eyed, one-armed King of Asgard finally defeat his deadly nemesis? This is arguably the best new series of Marvel NOW!, so don't miss out!
+Superior Spider-Man #1 & 2 by Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman (Jan. 9, Jan. 30). After the controversial ending of Amazing Spider-Man #700, Peter Parker is no more and a new Spider-Man swings across the NYC skyline... and he is superior in every way. But is this new wall-crawler a hero, or a menace? More importantly, will the readers continue to revolt?
+Young Avengers #1 by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (Jan. 23). Kid Loki does what a Loki does best and assembles a team of Avengers! And Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie do what they do best and create and awesome comic book! And you'll do what you do best and read it and love it, because you're awesome too!
+Hawkeye #7 by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Jan. 30). Hawkguy and Hawkgal take a break from their regularly scheduled storyline to bring us a "ripped from the headlines" tale of the Marvel Universe and Hurricane Sandy. It's gorgeous, it's funny, it's the best new comic series of 2012 so why aren't you reading it yet?
+Absolute Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn HC by Grant Morrison and others (Jan. 9). This oversized Absolute Edition hardcover collects the entirety of Morrison's Dick and Damian saga, all sixteen issues, plus the Return issue epilogue. If this run was your favorite, it might be worth looking in to.
+Dial H #8 by China Mieville, Alberto Ponticelli and Dan Green (Jan. 9). Secrets of the H-dial continue to be uncovered, but the mysterious Centipede is on our heroes' trail and looking to strike! From the cover I'm guessing the guy in the suit with after-images is the Centipede. Which must make him a b*tch to draw.
+Earth 2 #8 by James Robinson and Yildiray Cinar (Jan. 9). The villainous Steppenwolf returns to Earth-2, and brings with him the new Fury! What is her secret? Is she the so-called "Last Amazon"? Is she Wonder Woman's reanimated corpse? Is she Donna Troy, or just Lashina with a new twist? It's a brave new world, so anything is possible!
+Batman #16 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo; backup by James Tynion IV and Jonathan Glapion (Jan. 16). The "Death of the Family" saga continues, in this and the other Bat-books. Can the Dark Knight stop the Joker's dastardly scheme, or is it already too late? Who cares; the real question is what sort of antibiotics is the Joker using.
+Demon Knights #16 by Robert Venditti and Bernard Change (Jan. 16). Paul Cornell exits, and a new writer takes over... and for his opening act, Venditti picks up three-decades after the events of last issue! See what DC's temperamental D&D group have been up to after a 30 year intermission, and how time has marked them for better or worse.
+Threshold #1 by Keith Giffen, Tom Raney and Scott Kolins (Jan. 16). DC tries its hand at expanding its offerings of "cosmic" books, with a new series that stars an ex- Green Lantern and Larfleeze. You guys still like Larfleeze, right? I admit it's been a while but I remember people liking him back when I still read DC.
+Glory #31 & 32 by Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell (Jan. 2, Jan. 30)
+One Trick Rip-Off/Deep-Cuts HC by Paul Pope (Jan. 16)
+Saga #9 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (Jan. 16)
+Todd, the Ugliest Kid on Earth #1 by Ken Kristensen and M.K. Perker (Jan. 16)
+Invincible #100 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and John Rauch (Jan. 23)
+Mara #2 by Brian Wood, Ming Doyle and Jordie Bellaire (Jan. 30)
+Hellboy in Hell #2 by Mike Mignola (Jan. 2)
+Star Wars #1 by Brian Wood and Carlos D'Anda (Jan. 9)
+The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 by Francesco Francavilla (Jan. 16)
+Mind MGMT #7 by Matt Kindt (Jan. 23)
+Emily and the Strangers #1 by Rob Reger, Mariah Huehner, and Evily Ivie (Jan. 30)
+The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia HC by Various, introduction by Shigeru Miyamoto (Jan. 30)
+Godzilla: The Half-Century War #4 (of 5) by James Stokoe (Jan. 2)
+My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #2 & 3 by Katie Cook and Andy Price (Jan. 2, Jan. 30)
+Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 by Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman and Ben Bates (Jan. 16)
+The High Ways #1 by John Byrne (Jan. 16)
+Judge Dredd #3 by Duane Swierczynski, Nelson Daniel and Langdon Foss (Jan. 23)
+Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 by Mike Johnson and David Messina (Jan. 23)
+Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake #1 by Natasha Allegri (kaboom!, Jan. 2)
+The Situation #1 by Paul Jenkins and Talent Caldwell (Wizard World, Jan. 2)
+Archie #640 by Chuck Dixon, Rich Koslowski, and Fernando Ruiz (Archie, Jan. 9)
+Dan the Unharmable #9 by David Lapham and Rafael Ortiz (Avatar, Jan. 30)
+Stumptown: The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case #5 by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth (Oni Press, Jan. 23)
+X-O Manowar #9 by Robert Venditti and Trevor Hairsine (Valiant, Jan. 23)
What is "On the Bullhorn"?
"On the Bullhorn" is your opportunity to get on that soapbox that TToB vacated. Each month I'll leave this space empty, and it's your job to fill it, Comic-GAF, with whatever you want. Got a book you want to promote? A writer? An artist? Got something to get off your chest, a pet peeve or storytelling trope you can't keep silent about? Just want to rant for a bit? Then type it up, provide some pics, and send it to me via PM so I can post it in the OP.
Or don't, and this can stay blank. Up to you.
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From ViewtifulJC:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Do we put this in our post when we want to ramble on about this shit going on in comics? Because I could do that.
I read a couple interesting conversations about the current state of the comic book industry here and here. You can read them if you want, and don't let the inceidrary title for you they dismantle that concept pretty quickly.
It's pretty easy to hate comics. They're so big and so old that you can list a million things to latch on to. Poor representation of non-white/non-straight/non-males in big two comics, continuity, creative musical chairs, Tony Harris rant on "fake" geek girls, Siegel/Shuster continuingly getting royall(/t)y fucked over by giant corporate suits, Greg Land, dat damn Catwoman cover where her ass and her breasts are racing to pop out of the cover first, double-shipping, etc. It's EASY to hate them. People can create entire novellas to things they hate about comic books.
Here's the thing though: it's NEVER been a better time to read comic books.
We all have our favorite eras and years and sub-sections, whether it'd be Marvel 1980s, Vertigo in the '90s, or just the years where Jack Kirby was alive and drawing comics. And ya know what? All that shit is still available! Oftentimes in collected paperbacks, oversized sewn-binding hardcovers, hell you can get on your damn iPad now if that's how you want to read that. I don't have to hunt down 60 old issues of Ennis/McCrea's Hitman, they're all right there in trade paperback form.
And it's not just superhero stuff, either. You want to read all of Berzerk? Carl Banks Scrooge McDuck comics? All those depressing Chris Ware books, and wonderful Garth Ennis war stories? They are a few clicks away, ya'll. There are, quite literally, MILLIONS of comic books out there and easily available, surely some of them are to your taste? Surely some of them make you happy about this medium?
The great thing about comics is that the budgets are limitless. Any-fuckin-thing you can think of, can, and probably is a comic book. Ninjas that are doctors with giant-mustache having sidekicks that ride dinosaurs? Buck Rogers sci-fi high adventures by way of an alcoholic Texan? Animals/weapons of mass destruction on the run from the government that made them that plays out like the most badass version of Homeward Bound never made? A team of adventurers travelling to an alternate universe where President Dan Quayle is about to unleash nuclear war on a Soviet Union led by an immortal thirty-foot tall genocidal half-robot Josef Stalin manufactured by the Disney Corporation? If you don't like it, there's about a dozen other things to take it's place, something else you DO like and is worth celebrating.
And I'm not saying that we should all put on a big smile and ignore all the legitimate problems this industry has. Tony Harris said some hateful ignorant shit, and he got deservedly shat on. There's no goddamn reason why they're aren't a better representation of non-white straight males in mainstream comics, you can strive for that. When comics are bad, I call 'em out! When one of my friends ask me(since I am pretty much the comic guy in my group of friends), "what do you think about Batman: Hush?", and I tell them flat-out I think it's shit. I see the appeal because Jim Lee draws it and it's a like a greatest hits of Batman moments, but it's a lousy mystery, with an absolute shit central villain, revisiting iconic battles and ideas from Batman's past while never contributing of their own or doing them in any interesting new way. "Hey, remember that time O'Neil/Adams drew shirtless Batman fighting Ra's in the desert!" "Oooh look, Superman vs Batman again!" "Golly gee, is Batman gonna KILL the Joker this time!?"
But I always end that with suggestions of Batman stories I Do recommend. Batman: Year One is great and accessible. So is Batman: Mad Love.
I'm rambling now. I'm just saying that everybody reading this shit right now is because we love comic books. There's plenty of bad, but there's PLENTY that's good! Even TTOB, abrasive asshole that he was, promoted the comic books he liked it from a variety of publishers, because he genuinely loves these words and pictures strung together in generally chronological order.
You like something you're reading? Talk about it! You don't like Marvel or DC? Talk about how much you're enjoying BPRD or Mind MGMT instead. Why do you like it? What makes it work for you? What the last comic book you read and you really enjoyed it?
TL;DR: Show your love for comic books.
Happy reading!