Been having a busy weekend, and the next two weeks are going to be chaotic, but wanted to pop in and say how awesome Bii's pick ups were! Let me know how those Kotobukiya statues are
Batman 29 was amazing! First and formost, this was some if the finest work Greg Capullo has ever done. Lots of panels in the rain and he never phones it in. Gives each panel his all. He never does that anyways but with the amount of small detail, you might excuse some of it but he never gives you that chance.
The main theme of this issue is Bruce dealing with eventual failure. Also, how each and every action has consequences. This young Bruce is very spontaneous, relies on his reactions. He has not developed into the master strategist we know he does become. That's what Tokyo Moon was all about. This whole story could have happened way differently had Bruce took one simple action years ago. Also, Tokyo Moon is the story that plants the symbolism of the Bat signal in Bruce's head.
The power is down in Gotham and the police have nothing better to do than chase a furry in a Bat costume. There is also a bone monster killing folk.
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Dr. Death's design is awesome and terrifying, the splash page with him on the weather balloon is amazing.
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Who knew the Batcave could be so colorful, one of the scenes at the beginning of the arc we see Bruce exit the cave that is filled with warm colors into an earth tone surface coming face to face with Gordon. Beautiful work here by FCO Plascencia.
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Kind of sad about the lackluster Batmobile chase
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Batman gets his ass handed to him courtesy of the GCPD
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Young Bruce scenes were done incredibly throughout the arc
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The Tokyo Moon story was good, it humanized Dr. Death pretty well and it hits Bruce hard how he's responsible for many deaths.
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Finally the Fall scene, I've read this issue a couple of times and it is so great at portraying the hopelessness of Batman failing the city. The last four pages of issue #29 show a very violent death of Bruce's parents, nothing is held back.
I'll finish up later tonight.
Edit: Went ahead and spoiler tagged everything, I wouldn't want to ruin anyone else's fun
Been having a busy weekend, and the next two weeks are going to be chaotic, but wanted to pop in and say how awesome Bii's pick ups were! Let me know how those Kotobukiya statues are
D'aww, thanks! I usually don't splurge on a lot of items like this but I couldn't help it.
It probably doesn't help that SDCC is this week and I probably should have saved the money to splurge then. I am keeping a very strict budget for SDCC, though. Last year, I think I spent nearly $1k on merch alone.
I really like Kamala; not only is she having to deal with these newfound powers of hers but also has to deal with real world problems (when you're a teenager living under your parent's roof). She has a deep, rich, humanly factor to her that you don't see much with other super heroes elsewhere. There were some real touching moments such as her and her dad's conversation seen in one of the pictures below. Gotta say, it's still one of the better $2.99 Marvel books I've been reading.
Yea, I absolutely love that one, Zonjic really knocks it out of the park. The fun thing is, as always, it does completely stand alone, but at the same time, it's fleshing out some of the legacy elements hinted at for the Black Flame (who
an incarnation of at least
has shown up in BPRD) and some other stuff. I love everything about the Lobster though, it really pushes my buttons. One of the books I have on the way right now is volume 3, smells a rat, so I'm pretty psyched for that. You should consider checking out Sledgehammer 44
Absolutely. He got (probably) one of the greatest character designs when it comes to Indy comics (I'd put it on the same tier than Invincible, which has already a bad ass design)
if some of ya'll are really so inclined to liefeld up an artist, might as well pick one that's legit mediocre/terrible, there's plenty out there but quietly's not one of them
if some of ya'll are really so inclined to liefeld up an artist, might as well pick one that's legit mediocre/terrible, there's plenty out there but quietly's not one of them
i wasn't present for those, so you'll forgive me for not abiding poor taste.
seriously though, if you guys really don't want Quietly discussed for whatever reason, why keep bringing dude up via cheap shots? because being on the outside of this circle & its odd conclusion, it makes no sense to continually shit on a good artist when dudes like greg land, salvador larocca, mateus santolouco, half the dudes on the last volume of x-factor etc keep getting work.
i wasn't present for those, so you'll forgive me for not abiding poor taste.
seriously though, if you guys really don't want Quietly discussed for whatever reason, why keep bringing dude up via cheap shots? because being on the outside of this circle & its odd conclusion, it makes no sense to continually shit on a good artist when dudes like greg land, salvador larocca, mateus santolouco, half the dudes on the last volume of x-factor etc keep getting work.
i wasn't present for those, so you'll forgive me for not abiding poor taste.
seriously though, if you guys really don't want Quietly discussed for whatever reason, why keep bringing dude up via cheap shots? because being on the outside of this circle & its odd conclusion, it makes no sense to continually shit on a good artist when dudes like greg land, salvador larocca, mateus santolouco, half the dudes on the last volume of x-factor etc keep getting work.
There is no conclusion on this. Don't feel like you can't discuss something here. All discussion is warranted and welcome. There are definitely two camps on this particular issue and some of us amongst it on both sides choose to not continue that heated and obviously subjective debate on the quality of (some) of Quitely's work.
There is no conclusion on this. Don't feel like you can't discuss something here. All discussion is warranted and welcome. There are definitely two camps on this particular issue and some of us amongst it on both sides choose to not continue that heated and obviously subjective debate on the quality of (some) of Quitely's work.
*shrugs* when ive popped my head in, there's been nothing but shots. when i've disagreed, others have groaned at me for "bringing up the discussion again". maybe it's my timing but it sure doesn't feel that way. didn't mean to bust balls but it's been pretty off-putting
There is no conclusion on this. Don't feel like you can't discuss something here. All discussion is warranted and welcome. There are definitely two camps on this particular issue and some of us amongst it on both sides choose to not continue that heated and obviously subjective debate on the quality of (some) of Quitely's work.
Overall, I just wanted to devote a little time to the book since it's what I read this past week, and I don't see many people speak about it. That's probably partly down to the intermittent release schedule and partly down to the fact it doesn't tie into the hellboy world, as most stuff Mignola touches does.
as a big fan of the mignloa-verse, ive really been digging Baltimore & liked your post as well! i just wanted to address this part: correct me if i'm wrong, but when Sir Edward Grey started out, was it a known thing that he'd tie into Hellboy's world? because for whatever reason i wanna say i didn't necessarily see that coming, and if Baltimore's still not tied in (however loosely) i'd be surprised if there wasn't at least a reference somewhere as the books go on.
*shrugs* when ive popped my head in, there's been nothing but shots. when i've disagreed, others have groaned at me for "bringing up the discussion again". maybe it's my timing but it sure doesn't feel that way. didn't mean to bust balls but it's been pretty off-putting
i wasn't present for those, so you'll forgive me for not abiding poor taste.
seriously though, if you guys really don't want Quietly discussed for whatever reason, why keep bringing dude up via cheap shots? because being on the outside of this circle & its odd conclusion, it makes no sense to continually shit on a good artist when dudes like greg land, salvador larocca, mateus santolouco, half the dudes on the last volume of x-factor etc keep getting work.
I just had my first glimpse of Larocca's work whilst reading the first volume of Udon's Street Fighter Classic. His cover for issue #7 is laughably bad:
*shrugs* when ive popped my head in, there's been nothing but shots. when i've disagreed, others have groaned at me for "bringing up the discussion again". maybe it's my timing but it sure doesn't feel that way. didn't mean to bust balls but it's been pretty off-putting
ah, was assuming as much but it's good to hear, thanks for that man.
Honestly, as someone who participated in that debate it really became as weirdly contentious not so much because of the actual quality of the work but because of both sides refusal to concede that Quitely isn't GOAT or Worst Ever, but somewhere in the middle like most artists, with examples of good and bad work. The decision to table the discussion then arouse because it really was going nowhere and both sides were getting way more upset about it then made any logical sense. And you're absolutely right that the anti-Quitely crowd tends to be the one that "breaks the truce" and I say this as someone in that particular camp. Even I've fallen victim to the occasional snipe.
And you're absolutely right that the anti-Quitely crowd tends to be the one that "breaks the truce" and I say this as someone in that particular camp. Even I've fallen victim to the occasional snipe.
that's what i was saying! god i wish i could remember who it was that did this arc during the last volume of x-factor, i think longshot was fighting a gang or something but i couldn't tell because everything was smeared shit and the action was more confusing than an orgy drawn by ben templesmith
Honestly, as someone who participated in that debate it really became as weirdly contentious not so much because of the actual quality of the work but because of both sides refusal to concede that Quitely isn't GOAT or Worst Ever, but somewhere in the middle like most artists, with examples of good and bad work. The decision to table the discussion then arouse because it really was going nowhere and both sides were getting way more upset about it then made any logical sense. And you're absolutely right that the anti-Quitely crowd tends to be the one that "breaks the truce" and I say this as someone in that particular camp. Even I've fallen victim to the occasional snipe.
fair enough - i obviously didn't know the context, so i appreciate it. just thought he was a random target or something. i get people liking/not liking stuff, carry on!
except whoever here said Magik of the X-men was interesting, she's just turrible
Larrocca i can deal with. he's alright, a bit dull, but at least he's consistent and reliable. I didn't mind his Cable & X-Force stuff. It was all fine. I don't get excited for his art, but it's better than some alternatives
BIRDIE PLS I'M NEVER WRONG. Haha kidding. Birdie you better drop it now, or you'll be hearing from Capullo's wife/lawyer. Nice one rooting through all those interviews Dan.
as a big fan of the mignloa-verse, ive really been digging Baltimore & liked your post as well! i just wanted to address this part: correct me if i'm wrong, but when Sir Edward Grey started out, was it a known thing that he'd tie into Hellboy's world? because for whatever reason i wanna say i didn't necessarily see that coming, and if Baltimore's still not tied in (however loosely) i'd be surprised if there wasn't at least a reference somewhere as the books go on.
Actually you may be surprised to find this out but Sir Edward is mentioned/shown
in both his incarnations no less!
as early as Wake The Devil, a good 12 years before his first mini-series, and then is referenced/seen through the years after that. Mike was seeding that one for a looong time. It's easy to forget or miss him because the world and plot in Hellboy is so dense, but if you go back and check, he's there! And as I mentioned, they've deviated the Baltimore mythology quite heavily, especially as of volume 4, so I think that door is closed now. But hey, the rules upon how these worlds work, anything is possible man, I'd never say never I'd love to see Baltimore walk in that world but at the same time, I really like that it's currently the mignola book you can really truly pick up with no baggage, no 20 volumes preceding the latest book. How long that last though, who knows, because the narrative reallly picked up in volume 4.
I actually love Edward Grey btw, I've always wondered what his role is in things, and the epilogue in Darkness Calls (I believe it's that volume) where
Hecate
tells him he will suffer like no man before him before his role in things is through, it really gives me chills. I'm under the impression we finally get more on his present day situation in Hellboy In Hell, which I'm reading next, so super excited.
Actually you may be surprised to find this out but Sir Edward is mentioned/shown
in both his incarnations no less!
as early as Wake The Devil, a good 12 years before his first mini-series, and then is referenced/seen through the years after that. Mike was seeding that one for a looong time. It's easy to forget or miss him because the world and plot in Hellboy is so dense, but if you go back and check, he's there!
holy crap! not that i need many excuses to do so but i'm totally going back to re-read this week, thanks man! damn, crazy to think he was lingering around that early on.
I actually love Edward Grey btw, I've always wondered what his role is in things, and the epilogue in Darkness Calls (I believe it's that volume) where
Hecate
tells him he will suffer like no man before him before his role in things is through, it really gives me chills. I'm under the impression we finally get more on his present day situation in Hellboy In Hell, which I'm reading next, so super excited.
wait wait, Baltimore vol 4? i only recall Plague Ships, Curse Bells, and Dr. Leskovar's Remedy; what'd i miss?
holy crap! not that i need many excuses to do so but i'm totally going back to re-read this week, thanks man! damn, crazy to think he was lingering around that early on.
oh...yeah i'll say no more but please post back after reading Hellboy in Hell!
Baltimore volume 4, Chapel Of Bones, just hit a few weeks ago man. Do you read by trade? If not, it collected the infernal train & Chapel of Bones which both came after Leskovar's remedy, and brings huge upheaval to the status quo I won't say more but if you check my posts yesterday I wrote some hype about it. It's great, if you've not read those yet, you really want to check em out!
Haha, definitely man that's why I love rereading the mignola books so much, you uncover so many little things you missed before or even, things you didn't know connected until now, and now you can read those scenes with different thoughts/ connotations. Very amazing stuff!
I will man, I'm rereading the wild hunt and the storm & the fury today, in preparation to read the midnight circus & Hellboy in Hell vol 1 for the first time, have both sitting right here! Very very excited.
That's because Punisher is needlesly made overpowered in that he will always kill his target(s), which is BS because it only applies to him.
Once Punisher is prep timed for, he becomes a splat on the wall.
listening to heavy metal as he launched his attack on Superman
gave me a goofy ass grin. It's just so perfectly absurd. Jim Lee had a lot of fun with his splash pages here. The wait for this issue was dumb but the result was fun.
Dough Mahnke should be the next event penciller for DC. Atleast this way the art will be of high quality and still be on time. He saved Final Crisis by doing the final issue masterfully and that too under an extreme deadline completely surpassing JG Jones' middling interiors on the previous 6 issues. Now he's outclassing Ivan Reis on Justice League. Don't know what's happened to Ivan though. His work is noticeably sloppier and not as good as his Legion and Green Lantern days.
Lol. Yes.... yes I do.. Just so happens they're all pretty good too eh?!
Don't forget Tec Comics and Batman/Superman )
I just recently started pulling Batman/Superman after getting the first HC
So when did Original Sin go wrong? I thought I remember seeing people saying that it was a great story for the first few issues, and now all of a sudden I'm seeing "This event is total garbage."