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COMICS! |OT| March 2016. It's your job to be great.
- Thread starter Tyrant Rave
- Start date
I enjoy Old Man Logan more than I should. Extraordinary X-Men is another Apoc story/time travel story and I'm going to wait it out, but everything else I agree on. You'd think Marvel is doing this on purpose making the X-Men look bad. Sigh.
It was on twitter but it came from comicvine.
I'm starting to like Coffin Hill now, my main gripe was how they laid out that first issue, it the time jumps felt weak as a story starter and though i'm almost done with volume one i'm not sure if i care about the main character Eve and whether or not this is just a random trade i bought. I like the art and horror movie vibes, i like forests, but that might be it. Maybe if there were more headbands i'd be in.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Eh, still hyped.
I know the Elektra 2014-2015 run is considered great and has some of best art to grace marvel but is the story arc good?
think I might pick it up along with all of Daredevil by Waid
edit: They want 4 dollars for the first volume and 18 dollars for the second volume? lol wtf I might as well pick up both Volumes in physical form for 20 dollars.
think I might pick it up along with all of Daredevil by Waid
edit: They want 4 dollars for the first volume and 18 dollars for the second volume? lol wtf I might as well pick up both Volumes in physical form for 20 dollars.
and it didn't at "Jeff Lemire" !?
Why would it? I like Lemire.
Fancy Clown
Member
Have not ready any of his stuff I don't think, but I'll trust ya on this one
Please read his current Vision series for Marvel and Grayson and omega men from DC. Dude is legit.
Poodlestrike
Banned
He wrote the first volume too, it was some p. good shit.
Best new writer, IMO. Dude's gonna be a superstar.
Sheriff of Babylon is also fantastic.
Freezasaurus
Member
Hm. That's a bit disappointing. Although this art doesn't really look bad or anything. More than anything, I'm looking forward to the continuation of the story.
Gonna try to get through the first few episodes in a bit. Just played the Division for a few hours longer than I intended.
Agreed.
MCU-cap has always felt much too young to me.
Winter Soldier is the only time I actually bought him.
Fancy Clown
Member
Oh nice I have Omega Men in my comixology wish list since I kept hearing good stuff about it, and Grayson seems pretty cool as well.
I haven't read any Captain America comics so I can't speak at all to how true he is to the charavter, but I Evans gives the best performance of any of the MCU Avengers. Dude just oozes pathos which really makes the character endearing.
Freezasaurus
Member
It hit a bit of a lull around issue 6-7, but it picks up again pretty much immediately after that. I just caught up with the last three issues this week.
BKatastrophe
Member
I can only get my X-Men fix via trades now. Not even an ongoing to satisfy me.
"Oh God, not another one."
But why?
Why not?
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
Just saw on Twitter that the Cho cover with Power Girl/Deadpool/Batman posted a couple of days ago was stolen from the person who bought it at C2E2. Thought that was pretty funny.
TetraxShards
Member
The person who got robbed must have been....outraged.
Daredevil season 1 complaint: So much crying.
I'm going to start season two tonight perhaps, before the warriors/spurs.
Dubs v Spuds is tonight?
Does it have a slip cover that I will need to throw in the bin?
yup, on ABC at 830ish pm est. America stations.
OUTRAGE
hyenas eating each other, the lot of them
BKatastrophe
Member
Astonishing X-Men Vol. 4: Ghost Box
And so I have finally decided to continue my reading of Astonishing X-Men post-Whedon and Cassaday, beginning with the first volume of Warren Ellis' run. Now, this arc wasn't bad. I enjoyed it for the most part.
So the basic plot is that, post-M Day, Scott's X-Men -- consisting of Armor, Beast, Wolverine, and Emma Frost -- relocate their base of operations to San Francisco, where they even cooperate with the police. Mutant recovery operations are funded primarily by Wakanda, which we learn Storm, -- who at this point, is married to T'challa and is now queen of Wakanda -- is responsible for. After Storm arrives, the X-Men find out (after a murder and a choice encounter) that there are mutants with a synthetic DNA strand and mutants with their X-Gene on a different chromosome (comic biology, you know the drill). They also find a device known as a "Ghost Box," which allows beings to travel between dimensions. Essentially, a race of mutants from a parallel Earth is looking to annex 616 because it'll have the least resistance based on the severe lack of mutants. We find out that the synthetic mutants have been built by Forge, who believes he is fighting a secret war. This is both true and the ramblings of a crazy person. The X-Men eventually stop both Forge and the annexation, the later by launching a big ol' satellite laser through the Ghost Box.
The plot is simple and straightforward, though I do enjoy the mystery aspect. Whedon's run was about putting the X-Men on the map again: building them back up as superheroes and educators. There was an alien prophecy storyline in the background, but it was primarily very straightforward in its arcs. Ellis' run, on the contrary, is a good ol' fashioned mystery. At one point, the X-Men visit a floating, hidden city where a group of mutants were living in secrecy, monitoring the world (referred to as the "Chinese X-Men" for some reason), until M-Day when their city crashed down due to the fact that it was powered by a mutant/mutants. When they visit this city, it's effectively abandoned. Corpses here and there, but there's still an air of "shit ain't right," which I love. I love stories where they arrived in abandoned cities. In fact, if there is a portion of the movie like that, it's one of my favorite parts: Serenity has it with Miranda; The Lord of the Rings has it with Moria; so on and so forth. There's something about that set piece, and likewise it's one of my favorite parts of this story. Also interesting are the short stories at the end involving the annexations. Two of which are a "what if" involving the taking of 616, and the other one is a "what if" involving the taking of another Earth. They're fun little stories with no real plot relevance.
As for the characters, I feel like Ellis did a good job for the most part. They still have their voices, which makes for solid dialogue, and Storm's addition to the crew is welcome, especially with Kitty and Colossus gone. Colossus who, by the way, is never brought up. He's just gone, but never mentioned as to why he left or where he went. I assume there was another series going on at the time that had the details on it, but right now I'm a bit lost. Beyond that, I think the developmental steps Ellis took are good and they make sense: Hank is a bit lost because he can't find a way to fix the result of M-Day; Scott is fed up with everyone's bullshit and is gradually becoming more militant, though Emma is there to keep him grounded and happy; Hisako is more concerned with growing into her own and being unique, while dealing with her responsibilities as an X-Man, but she's still a student. Logan and Emma really don't seem to have much going on for development. You could argue that this is Logan's slow descent towards his X-Force mentality, being a killer and all, but that's about it. Emma...she's pretty much the same as usual, though she's much happier and less cynical. Storm is an interesting addition, but nothing much happens in the way of actual development. She's basically in the group to play off of the others: we learn about her being queen of Wakanda, and she's still the badass we all know and love. Her relationship with Forge heavily comes into play near the end (with a very ambiguous moment), but beyond that there's no real development beyond her learning that the X-Men have had to change to adapt with the times: becoming far more willing to kill and eliminate their threats outright.
The two most important factors of a team book are group chemistry and making sure each member of the group has a unique role, both of which are on point: Emma and Logan bond as the darker members of the group, having to very much do what needs to be done. A moment that becomes apparent when a mutant "dies" under their watch: After an interrogation, there are two synthetic mutants left, one of which gets brought onto the new X-Jet as a prisoner while the other is killed. Logan and Emma both know that Storm disapprove's, so Logan states he'll tell Storm that the mutant tried to get away. Logan attacked him and he bled out before they could do anything. Emma then claims that Logan is a terrible liar and that she'll simply say that the mutant died from the shock of Emma psychically pulling information out of his head. This kind of chemistry and character interaction is throughout the book, something that was thankfully not lost from Whedon's run. Ororo and Emma have my favorite interactions of the team, both having a regal air to them (something Storm always had), while coming from two ridiculously different worlds. It's an amazing pair, and the fact that there isn't a current book with these two is criminal.
Now, for the final piece, we have the art. Spoiler alert: it's not great. Simone Bianchi is extremely inconsistent, sometimes going from a more realistic style (where she shines) to a more cartoonish and less detailed look (which is not nearly as good). While there are some truly lovely spreads and panels, for the most part the art is just okay. I don't like her new design for Scott (the visor looks terrible) nor do I like Storm's new costume, however the rest are actually really good. I feel like her style tries to be "sexy," but it doesn't really work at all. On top of that, her panelling is what I would describe as "manic." It's all over the place. Granted a lot of it, when looked at as a whole, is actually really interesting. There's genuinely some really good panelling or at least cool ideas that don't work out as well as she wanted. The problem is that, I would say 70% of the time, it's actually difficult to read. I can't think of how many times I had to re-read certain pages because I lost my place. It's all over the place, like she's trying to be abstract while also communicating straightforward information, a choice that doesn't work well. There are huge skips in scenery and/or time with no real flow, so I just got lost. There's also a strange choice of having a panel with just Storm and another X-Man (I think Emma) walking next to each other, except it's just from the waist down with another panel of Storm's head (speaking) on top of and next to Storm's crotch. Like, I don't get it. Still, there are some good parts of the art; some solid action sequences, and while I understand Bianchi attempted to make a dialogue heavy story very visually engaging (the purpose of the artist), it's done in a way that becomes more confusing then not.
Overall, I really liked the story depite my mixed feelings, and while Ellis' run has a bad rap, I have managed to enjoy it so far. Looking forward to the next volume, especially since it no longer has Bianchi on art.
Fair enough
But why?
And so I have finally decided to continue my reading of Astonishing X-Men post-Whedon and Cassaday, beginning with the first volume of Warren Ellis' run. Now, this arc wasn't bad. I enjoyed it for the most part.
So the basic plot is that, post-M Day, Scott's X-Men -- consisting of Armor, Beast, Wolverine, and Emma Frost -- relocate their base of operations to San Francisco, where they even cooperate with the police. Mutant recovery operations are funded primarily by Wakanda, which we learn Storm, -- who at this point, is married to T'challa and is now queen of Wakanda -- is responsible for. After Storm arrives, the X-Men find out (after a murder and a choice encounter) that there are mutants with a synthetic DNA strand and mutants with their X-Gene on a different chromosome (comic biology, you know the drill). They also find a device known as a "Ghost Box," which allows beings to travel between dimensions. Essentially, a race of mutants from a parallel Earth is looking to annex 616 because it'll have the least resistance based on the severe lack of mutants. We find out that the synthetic mutants have been built by Forge, who believes he is fighting a secret war. This is both true and the ramblings of a crazy person. The X-Men eventually stop both Forge and the annexation, the later by launching a big ol' satellite laser through the Ghost Box.
The plot is simple and straightforward, though I do enjoy the mystery aspect. Whedon's run was about putting the X-Men on the map again: building them back up as superheroes and educators. There was an alien prophecy storyline in the background, but it was primarily very straightforward in its arcs. Ellis' run, on the contrary, is a good ol' fashioned mystery. At one point, the X-Men visit a floating, hidden city where a group of mutants were living in secrecy, monitoring the world (referred to as the "Chinese X-Men" for some reason), until M-Day when their city crashed down due to the fact that it was powered by a mutant/mutants. When they visit this city, it's effectively abandoned. Corpses here and there, but there's still an air of "shit ain't right," which I love. I love stories where they arrived in abandoned cities. In fact, if there is a portion of the movie like that, it's one of my favorite parts: Serenity has it with Miranda; The Lord of the Rings has it with Moria; so on and so forth. There's something about that set piece, and likewise it's one of my favorite parts of this story. Also interesting are the short stories at the end involving the annexations. Two of which are a "what if" involving the taking of 616, and the other one is a "what if" involving the taking of another Earth. They're fun little stories with no real plot relevance.
As for the characters, I feel like Ellis did a good job for the most part. They still have their voices, which makes for solid dialogue, and Storm's addition to the crew is welcome, especially with Kitty and Colossus gone. Colossus who, by the way, is never brought up. He's just gone, but never mentioned as to why he left or where he went. I assume there was another series going on at the time that had the details on it, but right now I'm a bit lost. Beyond that, I think the developmental steps Ellis took are good and they make sense: Hank is a bit lost because he can't find a way to fix the result of M-Day; Scott is fed up with everyone's bullshit and is gradually becoming more militant, though Emma is there to keep him grounded and happy; Hisako is more concerned with growing into her own and being unique, while dealing with her responsibilities as an X-Man, but she's still a student. Logan and Emma really don't seem to have much going on for development. You could argue that this is Logan's slow descent towards his X-Force mentality, being a killer and all, but that's about it. Emma...she's pretty much the same as usual, though she's much happier and less cynical. Storm is an interesting addition, but nothing much happens in the way of actual development. She's basically in the group to play off of the others: we learn about her being queen of Wakanda, and she's still the badass we all know and love. Her relationship with Forge heavily comes into play near the end (with a very ambiguous moment), but beyond that there's no real development beyond her learning that the X-Men have had to change to adapt with the times: becoming far more willing to kill and eliminate their threats outright.
The two most important factors of a team book are group chemistry and making sure each member of the group has a unique role, both of which are on point: Emma and Logan bond as the darker members of the group, having to very much do what needs to be done. A moment that becomes apparent when a mutant "dies" under their watch: After an interrogation, there are two synthetic mutants left, one of which gets brought onto the new X-Jet as a prisoner while the other is killed. Logan and Emma both know that Storm disapprove's, so Logan states he'll tell Storm that the mutant tried to get away. Logan attacked him and he bled out before they could do anything. Emma then claims that Logan is a terrible liar and that she'll simply say that the mutant died from the shock of Emma psychically pulling information out of his head. This kind of chemistry and character interaction is throughout the book, something that was thankfully not lost from Whedon's run. Ororo and Emma have my favorite interactions of the team, both having a regal air to them (something Storm always had), while coming from two ridiculously different worlds. It's an amazing pair, and the fact that there isn't a current book with these two is criminal.
Now, for the final piece, we have the art. Spoiler alert: it's not great. Simone Bianchi is extremely inconsistent, sometimes going from a more realistic style (where she shines) to a more cartoonish and less detailed look (which is not nearly as good). While there are some truly lovely spreads and panels, for the most part the art is just okay. I don't like her new design for Scott (the visor looks terrible) nor do I like Storm's new costume, however the rest are actually really good. I feel like her style tries to be "sexy," but it doesn't really work at all. On top of that, her panelling is what I would describe as "manic." It's all over the place. Granted a lot of it, when looked at as a whole, is actually really interesting. There's genuinely some really good panelling or at least cool ideas that don't work out as well as she wanted. The problem is that, I would say 70% of the time, it's actually difficult to read. I can't think of how many times I had to re-read certain pages because I lost my place. It's all over the place, like she's trying to be abstract while also communicating straightforward information, a choice that doesn't work well. There are huge skips in scenery and/or time with no real flow, so I just got lost. There's also a strange choice of having a panel with just Storm and another X-Man (I think Emma) walking next to each other, except it's just from the waist down with another panel of Storm's head (speaking) on top of and next to Storm's crotch. Like, I don't get it. Still, there are some good parts of the art; some solid action sequences, and while I understand Bianchi attempted to make a dialogue heavy story very visually engaging (the purpose of the artist), it's done in a way that becomes more confusing then not.
Overall, I really liked the story depite my mixed feelings, and while Ellis' run has a bad rap, I have managed to enjoy it so far. Looking forward to the next volume, especially since it no longer has Bianchi on art.
Fair enough
But why?
I don't want to start another trade paperback, i'm just going to mostly like it and never read the second volume anyways.
Comics were a mistake.
Madness.
Comics were a mistake.
Madness.
nope!
I appreciate this. Death to the dustcover. Print that art on the hardcover.
how do you feel about blu ray slipcases?
Fine by me.
Squirrel Girl is getting her own graphic novel!!!
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/1...l?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter
Dead in 3 issues they said... what now.
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
I throw them right in the rubbish bin my good mate!
Fine by me.
Squirrel Girl is getting her own graphic novel!!!
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/1...l?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter
Dead in 3 issues they said... what now.
And I gave up after 2 issues. Man did I make a mistake on that one
TetraxShards
Member
That cover is fantastic. Worth getting for that alone.
So you went back and read it? It is a really wonderful story that is so much fun.
At the very least it will be a skewed take on it like most of the squirrel girl book.
Vic_Viper
Member
I completely agree. I personally picked up the Deadpool, Cable & Deadpool, and the New X-Men omni to hold me over for awhile. I really want to get the Uncanny X-Force omni but there's no way I'm paying $200+ for it. Why hasn't marvel done a reprint for it?
Come to think of it, I don't like any of the current on goings from Marvel lately. After Hickman's run ended I haven't bought a single issue aside from the awesome Spider-Man Deadpool book. Other than that, I've been reading Extordinary X-Men on Comixology just to see what's going on. The all new X-men book is so bad and I'm not a fan of the Uncanny line up to even bother after the first issue. I really miss the Rememder days. His books had a really great thriller movie feel to them that no one else has been able to match. I really like the stand alone runs like that and Hickman's Avengers run.
Also on Civil War 2, I feel like the teams are flipped.
Why is Cap on the side that's for pre-crime? Wouldn't that be considered the bad guys? It doesn't go along with his character at all imo, but on the flip side I could totally see Tony's justification for it.
Are there any other trades people here recommend? I'm looking for a Secret Warriors book atm if I can find one at a good price. And also considering Franken-Castle, but don't know which trades are part of the full run since the franken trade is just those issues and are missing the first half of the story, never read it before.
It only went out of print like 1 1/2 or 2 years ago. Its gonna be a while before a reprint happens. They have done the two complete collections since.
Episode 1-4 of Daredevil season 2 are really wonderful. They really went out of their way to
which is really impressive.
5 onward is where the show starts to meander and spends way too much time on
I don't hate the later as much as the former, but it's still been draging on for wayyyyyy toooooo longggggggg. I'm looking forward to
but whatever. Still, having
one up the hallway fight with the building fight with the biker gang.
5 onward is where the show starts to meander and spends way too much time on
the boring as shit Frank Castle trial plot with foggy, and the tug and pull between Elektra and Matt, and her kind of bumpy introduction. Elodie Yung is fantastic, and I really do enjoy her time on screen, but as it stands, all they have done is fight random Asian goons and not much else.
Castle inevitably going back to work after they deal with this case which will obviously find a positive because of some deus ex machina that works in Frank's favor. He'll probably end up pulling some plot out of a hole in his arm.
no real antagonist after almost 4 episodes is horrible. I want bullseye or Jigsaw or someone who isn't just a stunt man as the next person in line for the not so super trio to fight.
Because Bendis is writing Iron Man and all his favorite character are in one team and why should he write them as the bad guys?
i thought about throwing my mad max cover away because it had a scratch in the cardboard from when i removed a sticker. It made me question slipcovers entirely.