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COMICS! |OT| July 2015. Okay for everyone, unless you're a DC or a Spider-Man.

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jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
how was the new Princess Leia mini? in the mood for some female led action.

I love her Red Sonja but I think I will wait this out and buy the trades of it turns out well.

Is there any good Vampirella I could read?

Vampironica will be dope, but i dunno when that'll drop
 

Mitch

Banned
For those of you who have ordered from InStockTrades: How quick did your order ship out? I put in an order on the 22nd, and haven't received an update yet. Chose FedEx ground for an extra $1.50 as well, which probably wouldn't have any effect on the picking speed.
 

Zombine

Banned
For those of you who have ordered from InStockTrades: How quick did your order ship out? I put in an order on the 22nd, and haven't received an update yet. Chose FedEx ground for an extra $1.50 as well, which probably wouldn't have any effect on the picking speed.

Sometimes it's dependent on if they have the books in stock. You can check on the status of the order in your history and it'll show you at what state the package is in. This hasn't been a problem since the transition to their new distribution center, but they seem to be having similar issues has before behind the scenes and their shipping time is back to being abysmal. If it goes on for a few weeks send them a message ASAP. They seem to have a hard time getting older Dark Horse titles out to people.
 
For those of you who have ordered from InStockTrades: How quick did your order ship out? I put in an order on the 22nd, and haven't received an update yet. Chose FedEx ground for an extra $1.50 as well, which probably wouldn't have any effect on the picking speed.
They've gotten speedier but IST takes much longer to ship than most sites. It also depends on what you order. They don't keep all what they sell in inventory and acquire from other places. So if you go into the order status you'll see all items but one are ready to ship.
 
The fastest picking time for me has been when I order big single volumes in the first week (Absolute Transmet, GL Omnibus, etc). I think they pre-package a lot of the single big books for quick shipping.
 

Few things I'd recommend here:
Dan Dare Omnibus: Garth Ennis basically does a "coming out of retirement" story for one of Britain's greatest comic book heroes.

Mark Waid's The Green Hornet: Bully Pulpit: Kevin Smith's version is pretty good, but I prefer this, it's a more classic take.

King's Watch: Jeff Parker does Defenders of the Earth, if you liked the recent Flash Gordon series, it's worth checking out.

Pathfinder: Dark Waters Rising: Funny and exciting adventure, based on the tabletop game's Iconics characters. If you liked D&D: Fell's Five, it's like that. Also has some stuff for the game if that's your bag.

Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues: Gail Simone writing Strong Female Protagonist! Really good art as well.

What is this from?

Irredeemable and Incorruptible by Mark Waid

Legit one of my favourite comics of all-time.

Irredeemable is awesome.

GH knows.
 

Mitch

Banned
Sometimes it's dependent on if they have the books in stock. You can check on the status of the order in your history and it'll show you at what state the package is in. This hasn't been a problem since the transition to their new distribution center, but they seem to be having similar issues has before behind the scenes and their shipping time is back to being abysmal. If it goes on for a few weeks send them a message ASAP. They seem to have a hard time getting older Dark Horse titles out to people.

They've gotten speedier but IST takes much longer to ship than most sites. It also depends on what you order. They don't keep all what they sell in inventory and acquire from other places. So if you go into the order status you'll see all items but one are ready to ship.
Thanks you two.

I ordered volumes 1 through 11 of Berserk, so what Zombine said about Dark Horse titles makes sense. Volumes 2 and 11 seemed to have been picked and scanned so far. Not in a huge rush, just curious.

I have plenty to read in the meantime.
 
Yeah yeah yeah it was pretty sick. I really like this series, and though I think it starts out very much as your average battle shonen with a darker tone, it definitely comes into its own during the Edo arc.

The most recent chapter in particular is super wack, too. In particular because initially, I thought the whole bit with
the 14th was cliched. Like, of COURSE there's another Noah that no one knows about. And of COURSE he turned against the other Noah, and of COURSE the main character is this Noah. But then with the most recent developments and how it has played out, it ended up being a very cool and interesting plot thread. Though I'm still wondering how Cross Marian ties into this, exactly. Apparently, him and Allen were the only two people who could inherit the Will of the 14th. And I'm betting he wears the mask to hide the fact that he carries the exact same curse as Allen.

So, knowing all that, I have one question to ask you: Do you believe that
Cross Marian is dead?
My bet's on "No."

The thing that’s become really clear in the past few chapters is that I have no clue who I’m supposed to be cheering for.
The Order has its head up its own ass, and seems to be headed by the Heart, who has its own fucked ideas on how to do things; yet the Heart is the only one that can defeat the Noah (as it seems they’ll just keep reincarnating otherwise). The Mana wants to keep Nea alive because bro love, but Nea wants Mana dead to become the only half of the Earl; the Noah just follow the Earl, so whoever comes up on top is the one who leads them. So, yeah, especially considering Mana and Nea are two halves now who want completely different things, I just don’t know who I should be backing. I predict Nea might take advantage of Mana’s emotions and kill him, which would be ridiculous on so many levels because where does that leave Allen? Leading the Noahs?

As for Cross,
whether he’s alive or dead (my money is definitely on alive), we’ve not seen the last of him. I think the theory that he was also cursed by Mana is plausible and has some merit, but then that raises a couple of questions. First, why isn’t his hair white? What separates him from Allen where Allen started changing into Nea but Cross couldn’t? (though I think that one has to do with Allen himself; I recall a comment by Nea about how Allen was much younger than he remembered 35 years ago) Why did the Heart kill him? When did Mana have a chance to curse him? Also, not specifically related to Cross, but if Mana died, how was he there to turn himself into an Akuma?

On the topic of deaths,
I’m not a fan of those fake deaths that are supposed to play on your emotions, and Hoshino is definitely guilty of that during the Edo arc (Kanda/Krory), but I like that she’s been doing the fake outs with some real narrative/developmental purpose recently, especially Kanda. Where once I thought he was a trope, during the Alma arc and especially when he could have walked away but chose to come back to help Allen, I think he’s become one of the most well-developed characters in the series.

Lastly, the Bookmen are complete and total jobbers. lol
 

Zombine

Banned
Thanks you two.

I ordered volumes 1 through 11 of Berserk, so what Zombine said about Dark Horse titles makes sense. Volumes 2 and 11 seemed to have been picked and scanned so far. Not in a huge rush, just curious.

I have plenty to read in the meantime.

Eventually they will ship you the orders and give you an IOU for the books you need.
 
So I'm reading Avengers Vs X-men, about to read issue #3. So far this has been a poor choice as an entry point. It contextualizes the events but in really clunky (and at times with tongue in cheek) ways. The story itself so far is not good with the battle at Utopia being contrived and not even visually interesting. Some of the panels look so silly and one has to hold their brain back to not analyze the specifics of the battle. I certainly hope this isn't one of the better big events.

Femmeworth pls

no one told you to read that event
 

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
So I'm reading Avengers Vs X-men, about to read issue #3. So far this has been a poor choice as an entry point. It contextualizes the events but in really clunky (and at times with tongue in cheek) ways. The story itself so far is not good with the battle at Utopia being contrived and not even visually interesting. Some of the panels look so silly and one has to hold their brain back to not analyze the specifics of the battle. I certainly hope this isn't one of the better big events.

you really shouldn't be reading any super hero events
 
So I'm reading Avengers Vs X-men, about to read issue #3. So far this has been a poor choice as an entry point. It contextualizes the events but in really clunky (and at times with tongue in cheek) ways. The story itself so far is not good with the battle at Utopia being contrived and not even visually interesting. Some of the panels look so silly and one has to hold their brain back to not analyze the specifics of the battle. I certainly hope this isn't one of the better big events.

No such thing as a good
non-Valiant
superhero event.
 
Femmeworth pls

no one told you to read that event

Be fair. As Zombine said earlier, starting with an event is an easy pit to fall into when starting out, although I'd also add that one potential draw is that as a new reader you'd think "Hey, that means it's a clearly defined and self contained story, right? Seems like a good way to get my feet wet." not realizing that most big events, especially crossover ones, are badly written at best and are often outright nonsensical due to their shoehorned nature.

I think one of the first and most important lessons for reading superhero comics is that, as a general rule, the greater the role of editorial in the storytelling the worse the resulting books are and events are generally high up on the editorial nonsense ladder.
 
I'm not saying it's going to go to shit, but I'd rather wait till its done to see what all the fuss was about.

Also, while the event may be well-written, the premise behind it is pretty controversial, rebooting the universe and whatnot.

The main title's been fantastic so far and there's some enjoyable tie-ins as well.

As with anything in comics though, it's nowhere near as drastic a change as it seems on the surface. It's simply pulling 616 and 1610 together to cut off the unnecessary flab and giving the writers a chance to have more flexibility for a short while with the Battleworld titles.

We've all seen how different ANAD Marvel actually looks. Not very.
 

Horseticuffs

Full werewolf off the buckle
So I'm making my way through Providence #2 over yesterday and today. Man, what a massive comic! I'm continually impressed with Moore's knowledge of all things weird and, let me stress, you're going to get a lot more out of this if you've read Neonomicon.

Also read the first three issues of Faction's Hawkeye in between moving my girlfriend in. My weekend was a hell of lugging couches and washing machines, freezers, and refrigerators, but I found a few quiet minutes to learn to love Clint. He's so charmingly written, and each issue is so well done. From writing, to art, but likely my favorite bit is the coloring.

These are my first Superhero books. I'm trying to enjoy the hobby more economically and Marvel Ultimate seems the best way. I'm excited for Hawkeye, Miles Morales, and Mrs. Marvel!
 
So I'm making my way through Providence #2 over yesterday and today. Man, what a massive comic! I'm continually impressed with Moore's knowledge of all things weird and, let me stress, you're going to get a lot more out of this if you've read Neonomicon.

Also read the first three issues of Faction's Hawkeye in between moving my girlfriend in. My weekend was a hell of lugging couches and washing machines, freezers, and refrigerators, but I found a few quiet minutes to learn to love Clint. He's so charmingly written, and each issue is so well done. From writing, to art, but likely my favorite bit is the coloring.

These are my first Superhero books. I'm trying to enjoy the hobby more economically and Marvel Ultimate seems the best way. I'm excited for Hawkeye, Miles Morales, and Mrs. Marvel!

Ms Marvel's fantastic. Drop that washing machine and go read it.
 

Xis

Member
I think one of the first and most important lessons for reading superhero comics is that, as a general rule, the greater the role of editorial in the storytelling the worse the resulting books are and events are generally high up on the editorial nonsense ladder.

Events also usually cram way too many characters into them. If you aren't deeply invested, there will be a lot of "who is this guy"? "Why are they showing me this?". I thought I was pretty well versed in DC stuff but found both Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis to be pretty bewildering.
 
The main title's been fantastic so far and there's some enjoyable tie-ins as well.

As with anything in comics though, it's nowhere near as drastic a change as it seems on the surface. It's simply pulling 616 and 1610 together to cut off the unnecessary flab and giving the writers a chance to have more flexibility for a short while with the Battleworld titles.

We've all seen how different ANAD Marvel actually looks. Not very.

While all true, the shifting around of creative is all pretty alarming. I only read like 3 Marvel books, but I would be pretty upset if any of them got a huge change in talent because of this. I mean, there are a lot of fans who are getting burned by more Bendis on Guardians or several big names leaving the label (Hickman, Fraction). Also, you call it flab, but how are the X-Men or Fantastic Four considered that by any stretch? Granted, we don't know the true extent of their alienation, but if the new Guardians team is any indication, it's not looking good.

You say that the tie-ins give the writers some creative leeway, but that's really something that the label should do on a regular basis. I sound like a broken record at this point, but that's the kind of thing that puts Valiant ahead of the big 2 for me. It may not have the financial backing, but it makes up for it with stuff I actually want to read and see intertwine. Their events actually carry weight and bring considerable changes to the characters. The company gives the writers freedom to build the universe however they feel like. I see how DC and Marvel have conducted themselves in the last few years and it frustrates me.
 

Horseticuffs

Full werewolf off the buckle
Ms Marvel's fantastic. Drop that washing machine and go read it.
Ack! I can't believe I got the honorific wrong :'( It seems like Marvel has a lot of fun characters going on now and that there's some great starting points!

I don't even know how the fuck to approach Peter Parker as Spiderman, really. I've got a rough cultural understanding of his story just by being a nerd on the internet, but Miles is just starting out! I can catch up on his shit in a few weeks probably.

I thought the idea of the Ultimate Reading Club was cool. I was hoping perhaps there might be a whole podcast devoted to discussing the selections, almost like well, a book club. I've just started listening to "This Week in Marvel" but it seems that the reading club is just a small bit at the end.

Like a podcast discussing curated selections to guide new readers would be amazing!
 
^KIPP MY DUDE
Hellboy: Conqueror Worm

Another fine tale from Mignola. BPRD spoiled the aftermath for me but the actual story was still great. Roger has quickly turned into one of my favorite characters and Lobster Johnson is the coolest damn dude ever. Kinda villain spoilers but
the worm itself was really terrifying. I think cosmic horror can be very creepy and Mignola knocked the whole design out of the park.

I'll probably start Strange Tales or whatever it's called tomorrow but I got some good reading in today between this and BPRD Plague of Frogs 1. So good.

YASSSSSSS
 
While all true, the shifting around of creative is all pretty alarming. I only read like 3 Marvel books, but I would be pretty upset if any of them got a huge change in talent because of this. I mean, there are a lot of fans who are getting burned by more Bendis on Guardians or several big names leaving the label (Hickman, Fraction). Also, you call it flab, but how are the X-Men or Fantastic Four considered that by any stretch? Granted, we don't know the true extent of their alienation, but if the new Guardians team is any indication, it's not looking good.

You say that the tie-ins give the writers some creative leeway, but that's really something that the label should do on a regular basis. I sound like a broken record at this point, but that's the kind of thing that puts Valiant ahead of the big 2 for me. It may not have the financial backing, but it makes up for it with stuff I actually want to read and see intertwine. Their events actually carry weight and bring considerable changes to the characters. The company gives the writers freedom to build the universe however they feel like. I see how DC and Marvel have conducted themselves in the last few years and it frustrates me.

Oh I didn't mean the X-Men or Fantastic Four when I mentioned flab, but a lot of the dead wood from the Ultimate Universe. The change in talent is unfortunate but nobody seems to stay on a single book too long these days. I totally understand what you're saying in regards to the stories but I definitely wouldn't cancel Secret Wars out without giving it a chance. I haven't read a great deal of events myself but it's been good reading thus far.

I don't even know how the fuck to approach Peter Parker as Spiderman, really. I've got a rough cultural understanding of his story just by being a nerd on the internet, but Miles is just starting out! I can catch up on his shit in a few weeks probably.

Have you read Ultimate Spider-Man? It leads quite nicely into Miles' story but it is quite a commitment. The original run's about 140 issues. Most of ComicGAF would recommend it though.
 
Oh I didn't mean the X-Men or Fantastic Four when I mentioned flab, but a lot of the dead wood from the Ultimate Universe. The change in talent is unfortunate but nobody seems to stay on a single book too long these days. I totally understand what you're saying in regards to the stories but I definitely wouldn't cancel Secret Wars out without giving it a chance. I haven't read a great deal of events myself but it's been good reading thus far.



Have you read Ultimate Spider-Man? It leads quite nicely into Miles' story but it is quite a commitment. The original run's about 140 issues. Most of ComicGAF would recommend it though.

I haven't really written it off. I was just being facetious and giving Valiant a shameless plug
 
Just read Prez #1 and #2. This might be a hard sell to some but take the chance as its one of the best DCU books out there. A very smartly written book.
 
The main title's been fantastic so far and there's some enjoyable tie-ins as well.

As with anything in comics though, it's nowhere near as drastic a change as it seems on the surface. It's simply pulling 616 and 1610 together to cut off the unnecessary flab and giving the writers a chance to have more flexibility for a short while with the Battleworld titles.

We've all seen how different ANAD Marvel actually looks. Not very.

But the crossover itself, regardless of end result, is phenomenal. Even the lesser tie ins are still fascinating expansions on past events or legit interesting juxtapositions of different versions of characs. Even Age of Ultron/Marvel Zombies has some really interesting stuff with Timely Hank Pym in a region of contempo Ultrons.

That's just a fucking rad idea, how can you not be psyched for it
 
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