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COMICS! |OT| June 2016. The Manhattan Project

PsychBat!

Banned
based on solicits, reading Jeff Lemire's run might be needed.

7zyzV5.gif
 

arkon

Member
Finished Enigma. That was... something. Don't think I quite grasped all of it as I was reading but it still had its hooks in me so I was compelled to finish. The black humour sprinkled throughout helped, most often seen in the words of the narrator, who is worked into the story wonderfully by the end.

The artwork was hit and miss for me. In the first half it's really loose, scratchy and all over the place whereas towards the end everything's a bit tighter if that's the way to describe it. I would say I don't mind either which way as long as it's clear what's going on. That wasn't the case here and it happened more than a few times where I'd just be looking at some panels trying to make out what exactly I was looking at. That's distracting and just takes me out of the story.

Probably knock off a half mark or two for some of the artwork but it's still up there with the best stuff I've read this year. Certainly has stuck with me for a while after finishing and I'm still chewing it over...
 

VanWinkle

Member
Green Arrow #1 was definitely good comics but I wish I knew more about who the hell these people are. It made me curious about the N52 run. I actually already own 17-24, might as well read those I guess.

You should read Lemire/Sorrentino's run. If you're a physical collection fan like me, DC has a beautiful deluxe edition oversized hardcover collecting all of it.

From Amazon: Collects GREEN ARROW #17-34, #23.1; SECRET ORIGINS #4, FUTURES END: GREEN ARROW #1.
 
So far today I've read:

Empress #3
Jupiter's Circle #1-6
Jupiter's Circle Vol.2 #1-6

Now I'm working on catching up with Crossed +100. I've only ever read the first trade before. I think I like the art in vol.2 a bit better.
 

Owzers

Member
I finished season one of Marco Polo and started the next Orange is the New Black. Marco is still a CW-tier drama character that is holding back the show.

No comics read yet today but i'll get around to the flops. Game of Thrones!
 
I finished season one of Marco Polo and started the next Orange is the New Black. Marco is still a CW-tier drama character that is holding back the show.

I liked Marco Polo. Though I don't know how
that guy manages to fuck up so much (and bone every virgin in sight) and still keep his head.
. Looking forward to Season 2. It goes up Friday, I think?
 
Groo and Friends wrapped up nicely with the last four issues. Very well plotted arc. Only concern is that it seems like a farewell of sorts. Hope it isn't.

Four issues into 52, it seems fairly decent at this point. Some threads are a lot more interesting than others (Montoya/Question and Dibny's mystery). Still waiting for the Steel and Black Adam threads to get going. Booster Gold has had a lot of screen time but didn't enjoy it much.

The one nitpick has to be the notes between issues. Some very interesting stuff but random spoilers for events that happen four or five issues down. At least we get this fun excerpt of Rucka getting annoyed with the artists and editors.

Could you take a wider picture of where these notes are in the book? They're not in the digital edition I think.
 

Owzers

Member
I liked Marco Polo. Though I don't know how
that guy manages to fuck up so much (and bone every virgin in sight) and still keep his head.
. Looking forward to Season 2. It goes up Friday, I think?

While both characters continually saying how
they are being watched by everyone
 

Owzers

Member
i thought we made a deal that Olivia would be in at least one in three gifs? Where am i, the manga thread? We going to talk about Battleborn next?
 
Finished Enigma. That was... something. Don't think I quite grasped all of it as I was reading but it still had its hooks in me so I was compelled to finish. The black humour sprinkled throughout helped, most often seen in the words of the narrator, who is worked into the story wonderfully by the end.

The artwork was hit and miss for me. In the first half it's really loose, scratchy and all over the place whereas towards the end everything's a bit tighter if that's the way to describe it. I would say I don't mind either which way as long as it's clear what's going on. That wasn't the case here and it happened more than a few times where I'd just be looking at some panels trying to make out what exactly I was looking at. That's distracting and just takes me out of the story.

Probably knock off a half mark or two for some of the artwork but it's still up there with the best stuff I've read this year. Certainly has stuck with me for a while after finishing and I'm still chewing it over...

I always feel like there's an intentional design to the art, in the early chapters its less distinct, more undefined to match the protagonist's mindset. And as the protagonist figures himself out, the art becomes tighter to illustrate the clarity he's achieved.
 
Up to Week 9 of 52 now and the Steel and Booster Gold threads gave gotten really good. Love the conflict between Steel and his neice, along with Luther's smug face (which I hope gets punched somewhere down the line). Montoya and Black Adam's arc has moved into the background but that's ok (I wonder where Shazam is through all of this). The writers area letting each decision linger and that is nice.
And Devilance meets Animal Man!
It's fun to try to guess which author contributed what part.

Also, am I missing something here? First we get Steel being introduced to Dr. Mid-Nite as if they have met for the first time.


And exactly one page later, they act as if they have been talking for a while?


Rucka continues to take pot shots at the artists and editorial.



Could you take a wider picture of where these notes are in the book? They're not in the digital edition I think.

This is from the old trades (13 issues per trade). There's two pages at the end of each issues. First page is commentary. Second page alternates between script excerpts, rough layouts and character portrait sketches.

 

frye

Member
The artwork was hit and miss for me. In the first half it's really loose, scratchy and all over the place whereas towards the end everything's a bit tighter if that's the way to describe it. I would say I don't mind either which way as long as it's clear what's going on. That wasn't the case here and it happened more than a few times where I'd just be looking at some panels trying to make out what exactly I was looking at. That's distracting and just takes me out of the story.

Probably knock off a half mark or two for some of the artwork but it's still up there with the best stuff I've read this year. Certainly has stuck with me for a while after finishing and I'm still chewing it over...

I always feel like there's an intentional design to the art, in the early chapters its less distinct, more undefined to match the protagonist's mindset. And as the protagonist figures himself out, the art becomes tighter to illustrate the clarity he's achieved.

I've been trying to find this Alan Moore quote for the last half hour (that I'm half-convinced doesn't exist now) about how one of the few good things about work for hire is the serendipity of an editor-paired writer/artist team who end up clicking together and regardless of its actual existence I'd just like to say that Enigma is basically the best example of that ever. Fegredo is figuring out a style in those early issues and never draws like that ever again and the way that the art grows clearer and clearer as the main dude becomes more and more aware of his sense of self is kinda perfect?

When I first read it I thought it was intentional too, but according to Fegredo/Milligan it wasn't which is GREAT

DF: Back to reality, I started working on the pages. I’m really not sure what I thought I was doing with the art style, maybe still trying to paint in line after all those pages of Kid Eternity. I was less than happy with the results but thought color would save it. I was excited to see colored pages as Art informed me they would be painted by Sherilyn Van Valkenberg. She’d recently done beautiful work on Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser. Finally seeing the colored pages was a shock, they were just awful, nothing remotely like Fafrd! Such an idiot, the color was fine, I was simply not Mike Mignola!

Around the time I was drawing the fourth issue my line was becoming somewhat less cluttered, more decisive, and my storytelling gained clarity. Meanwhile we had a promotional tour to attend to, Vertigo’s Spin Across America tour. Starting out in Austin Texas, finishing in Miami, tour tee shirts with dates on the back and cheesy embroidered denim jackets, what the hell was this? On the flight out I read through an advance copy of the second issue, it was really disheartening. I think I spent the rest of the tour apologizing for it and telling anybody who would listen “It gets better by issue four!” I’m sure I came over as insane. I think it was during an interview in Florida that Pete explained how as the character of Michael became more developed and open within the story I reflected that aspect in the art. “What an amazing challenge for you as the artist!” exclaimed the wide eyed interviewer, “Um, yes…” It was a perfect Milligan moment, divine inspiration served with elegant bullshit, so if it wasn’t true before, it became the truth at that moment!

PM: Hah hah. I do remember the moment when I’d explained the artistic rationale behind Duncan’s changing art work and style as the book progressed. Yes, there was a degree of bullshittery about it (what had happened was that Duncan had just got better and better, very quickly, over the course of the series). But the best bullshittery has a healthy wedge of truth in it and I did feel that the developing artwork was a kind of perfect visual metaphor for Michael, this half formed or badly drawn man who became more realized as the book went on.
 

arkon

Member
I always feel like there's an intentional design to the art, in the early chapters its less distinct, more undefined to match the protagonist's mindset. And as the protagonist figures himself out, the art becomes tighter to illustrate the clarity he's achieved.

I did wonder if that was the case myself when it was all said and done, in which case I appreciate the attempt by the creators but wish it didn't come at the expense of disrupting the flow of the story.

I've been trying to find this Alan Moore quote for the last half hour (that I'm half-convinced doesn't exist now) about how one of the few good things about work for hire is the serendipity of an editor-paired writer/artist team who end up clicking together and regardless of its actual existence I'd just like to say that Enigma is basically the best example of that ever. Fegredo is figuring out a style in those early issues and never draws like that ever again and the way that the art grows clearer and clearer as the main dude becomes more and more aware of his sense of self is kinda perfect?

When I first read it I thought it was intentional too, but according to Fegredo/Milligan it wasn't which is GREAT

Hah, good answers. That's really interesting. I like their honesty on the subject.

I never really even thought about what it must have been like as the artist getting these scripts (and according to that interview) largely being left to his own devices and making sense of it all.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
616 Peter met Gwen (as in Spider-Woman Gwen) during Spiderverse right?
 

Owzers

Member
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh game of thrones i don't even know where to begin, so many spoilers so little time. Stop reading if you don't want things spoiled.

The dragons were voiced by Sean Connery.
 
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh game of thrones i don't even know where to begin, so many spoilers so little time. Stop reading if you don't want things spoiled.

The dragons were voiced by Sean Connery.

I knew there would be work for him after Dragonheart.

Great finale, though.
YYYAAASSSS QUEEN CERSEI
 

VanWinkle

Member
52 looks phenomenal. I need to get that omnibus like right now.

I wanted the omnibus but can't afford it right now, so I'm getting the two big ~600 page trade paperbacks they're doing. I have the first one coming in a couple of days. The only bad thing is this new reprint doesn't include the notes at the end of each issue. which seems kind of dumb since it would have only taken 26 extra pages in each book.
 

Owzers

Member
Did they really make three of them? Damn. Were the sequels just cash-grab gutter trash?

i don't think i saw the second, which was a prequel upon googling because you were just dying for backstory. I tried watching the third and i don't remember anything about it outside of quitting after 15 minutes.

They should have combined Dragonheart and First Knight for the third movie and had the dragon become king.
 
Soccer Messi just missed his penalty and Argentina went down to Chile in PKs for the second straight year. It's a very painful deja vu.

2014 - World Cup Finals...lost
2015 - Copa America Finals...lost
2016 - Copa America 100th Anniversary Finals...lost

I'm legit shook right now and need to read comics.
 
Wow, first week in several months where I'm not buying any comics. Zero of interest from DC or Image, and playing the MU waiting game for Marvel and their $4 comics.

Guess that frees up more time for packing the house up.
 
Every time I see Higuain I think of Madrid's 2006/2007 season and curse Perez. Then I see matches like this...

He's good all tournament them botches the most wide open chance he'll see this year. Great work, Pipita, hijo de puta! :(

My wife's actual comment: "Why didn't he just blast that in?" Exactly.
 
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