Now we're a bit into the run, how are folks feeling about King's run against Snyder's new 52 run?
For batman that is. Finished up reading Snyder's run last night, haven't started King's stuff. Would help me contextualise thoughts about the King stuff I'm reading.
I feel like it's too hard to tell still. They seem to be going for different things. Snyder's arcs felt very epic and huge but were pretty contained and usually had underwhelming endings. So far King really hasn't even concluded one actual story.
I feel like it's too hard to tell still. They seem to be going for different things. Snyder's arcs felt very epic and huge but were pretty contained and usually had underwhelming endings. So far King really hasn't even concluded one actual story.
Yea thats fair enough man. Even what you wrote there is helpful Hah, I was just following along that little exchange over the King book with interest but struggling to place it against something I have an opinion on. I'm holding out for te deluxe volumes of these books, but I might just grab the vol 1 paperbacks, so I can at least get a good idea about them. That's a good few out now.
Now we're a bit into the run, how are folks feeling about King's run against Snyder's new 52 run?
For batman that is. Finished up reading Snyder's run last night, haven't started King's stuff. Would help me contextualise thoughts about the King stuff I'm reading.
They're two different beasts, both in terms of scope and in terms of how the story is told. Snyder and Capullo went for the big stories, and the personal angle got kinda lost in the shuffle as a result. Like, it'll start personal, and it'll end personal, but the middle bit was about raising the stakes and making big cliffhangers from one issue to the next.
King, Finch and Janin are doing something different, where it's all personal, and maybe that's at the expense of going big. It's way more calculated, it's got a sense of purpose both in the story it's telling and in the themes it's exploring. The end result feels way more connected as a result, to the point where it's all really been one continuous story, from I Am Gotham to I Am Bane. I'm way into it, and King seems to have found his groove when it comes to delivering the big moments with imaginative storytelling while still doing the cool thematic stuff, but it's been divisive here and I absolutely get why.
It's the kind of comic that inspires me to write long posts where I explain what happened in a single issue, and I haven't done that since The Multiversity, so, I dig it A LOT.
Yea thats fair enough man. Even what you wrote there is helpful Hah, I was just following along that little exchange over the King book with interest but struggling to place it against something I have an opinion on. I'm holding out for te deluxe volumes of these books, but I might just grab the vol 1 paperbacks, so I can at least get a good idea about them. That's a good few out now.
Opinions on King's Batman seem to be very mixed. I think it's hard to really have any consensus on it. Personally though, I think the farther we get away from that first arc I am Gotham, the more I like it and think back to it. It's just hard to really compare much to anything because it's a piece of a long form story.
They're two different beasts, both in terms of scope and in terms of how the story is told. Snyder and Capullo went for the big stories, and the personal angle got kinda lost in the shuffle as a result. Like, it'll start personal, and it'll end personal, but the middle bit was about raising the stakes and making big cliffhangers from one issue to the next.
King, Finch and Janin are doing something different, where it's all personal, and maybe that's at the expense of going big. It's way more calculated, it's got a sense of purpose both in the story it's telling and in the themes it's exploring. The end result feels way more connected as a result, to the point where it's all really been one continuous story, from I Am Gotham to I Am Bane. I'm way into it, and King seems to have found his groove when it comes to delivering the big moments with imaginative storytelling while still doing the cool thematic stuff, but it's been divisive here and I absolutely get why.
It's the kind of comic that inspires me to write long posts where I explain what happened in a single issue, and I haven't done that since The Multiversity, so, I dig it A LOT.
I would completely agree with this. Of the whole run, there is really only 2-3 issues I've really had any kind of problems with. Other than that I've really been digging it.
Ya there's definitely a chance it was a bullet. I'm definitely worried about Dwight, Laura, and Heath now tho. Stuck outside with all those saviors idk what they will do. Maybe Carl, Lydia and The Hilltop people will swoop in to help. Or people from inside Alexandria, like Negan. I just don't want Dwight dying yet.
Cheers for the thoughts guys! Appreciate the time taken. Big fan of King's other stuff I have read so far but do tend to see mixed things about Batman. I eventually kind of soured on Snyder's grandiosity in Batman despite enjoying the first year a whole load so that does will me with some confidence. Nice to see people get impassioned hah
Cheers for the thoughts guys! Appreciate the time taken. Big fan of King's other stuff I have read so far but do tend to see mixed things about Batman. I eventually kind of soured on Snyder's grandiosity in Batman despite enjoying the first year a whole load so that does will me with some confidence. Nice to see people get impassioned hah
Now we're a bit into the run, how are folks feeling about King's run against Snyder's new 52 run?
For batman that is. Finished up reading Snyder's run last night, haven't started King's stuff. Would help me contextualise thoughts about the King stuff I'm reading.
I'll echo the others in saying it's hard to compare them and that King's run is mixed. I really dug I am Gotham and his parts of the Monster Men crossover but found I am Suicide damn near a waste of time. I could have been done in two or three parts compare to the six it was. I am Bane has been a good step back in the right direction so far, with this weeks issue being fantastic.
My main issue with King (outside of Suicide) is his repetitive use of certain dialogue. He really hits you over the head with some things, and they're usually bad things. I'm also not too sure I like his characterization of Batman. He has nailed a lot of supporting characters but has done some things with Batman that just don't feel right to me.
On a separate note regarding Bane, I love that they've brought his costume back to basics in this story. It's a bummer it's getting thrown out for Bane: Conquest, it's the best he's looked since New 52.
Champions #6... Oof this book is just bad. I'm pretty pinko-commie liberal but this feels like the most insane of progressive Twitter teamed up with Steve Buscemi to write a book.
Between a 54 year-old white male writer trying to use "lit" in a proper context and an all-white rich board of executives as the actual villains, this book is so on the nose that it almost seems like a bad parody. I wanted to like this book so much because of the line-up but man, it's a trash fire.
Batman #18 I really like where King is going. Bane feels like a threat for the first time in years.
Justice League #16 I was buying this out of habit, but I read this and #14 and #15 today. Hitch is good all of a sudden? I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this.
Flinstones #9 I never want this ride to stop. It's easily one of the best series being published currently.
Clone Conspiracy Omega I liked the start of this event, but it of course turned into Slott having everyone take stupid pills as "NOTHING IS EVER THE SAME AGAIN." The next arc could be good but I'm ready for Slott to move on. Bring on Loveness.
I thought it started out pretty strong, but some of the small details I liked kind of fell by the wayside when the main story got started. Overall it was OK. I'd be really interested if it came back as an ongoing.
Also the lovecraftian aspect I feel becomes too in focus which kind of lost some of the Lovecraft effect on me.
I didn't think Shade #6 was quite as good as the last five issues. From the very beginning of the series,
Megan has been built into a bogeyman by the flashbacks, second-hand accounts of her behavior, and the way in which others have acted around Shade. Portraying her as an absolute monster has been effective, as most of us have had bullying in our orbit at some point in our lives, making the state of the story's world when Shade took possession of Megan's body relatable and engaging.
In this issue, though,
Megan is a tangible threat to Shade, a development many predicted. But she doesn't work out too well in this way. Castellucci leans into what has been established about her, which is probably the right choice, but I think she wrote herself into a corner. She's such an extreme personality that she comes off as way over the top, cartoonish, even.
THAT LAST PAGE THO. WOW.
The Flintstones #9, on the other hand, is perfect. Just a perfect comic from cover to cover.
I didn't think Shade #6 was quite as good as the last five issues. From the very beginning of the series,
Megan has been built into a bogeyman by the flashbacks, second-hand accounts of her behavior, and the way in which others have acted around Shade. Portraying her as an absolute monster has been effective, as most of us have had bullying in our orbit at some point in our lives, making the state of the story's world when Shade took possession of Megan's body relatable and engaging.
In this issue, though,
Megan is a tangible threat to Shade, a development many predicted. But she doesn't work out too well in this way. Castellucci leans into what has been established about her, which is probably the right choice, but I think he wrote himself into a corner. She's such an extreme personality that she comes off as way over the top, cartoonish, even.
THAT LAST PAGE THO. WOW.
The Flintstones #9, on the other hand, is perfect. Just a perfect comic from cover to cover.
Champions #6... Oof this book is just bad. I'm pretty pinko-commie liberal but this feels like the most insane of progressive Twitter teamed up with Steve Buscemi to write a book.
Between a 54 year-old white male writer trying to use "lit" in a proper context and an all-white rich board of executives as the actual villains, this book is so on the nose that it almost seems like a bad parody. I wanted to like this book so much because of the line-up but man, it's a trash fire.
Was this the issue with the homeless people and the champions serving as such a good example the entire world starts improving? Heard about some a few days ago. Didn't sound good at all.
Was this the issue with the homeless people and the champions serving as such a good example the entire world starts improving? Heard about some a few days ago. Didn't sound good at all.
Beaches cleaned up, homeless people fed and sheltered, voter registration, female defense courses... all only because #Champions inspired people and became "viral" and "lit" and have people wearing shirts with their logo on them.
I thought it started out pretty strong, but some of the small details I liked kind of fell by the wayside when the main story got started. Overall it was OK. I'd be really interested if it came back as an ongoing.
I would agree if it would be a book, I dont like it either there, but when I read or see a more graphic medium, I tend to get very greedy for shown stuff. It only works there for stuff where I dont expect Lovecraft coming out of the closet in the end, but if I know that I know that I watch a Lovecraft Movie or Comic where the great old ones are involved, I need my fix.
Unstoppable Wasp #3 was great as soon as Moon Girl left. I just can't stand the concept. Letters page has interviews with two female engineers, one of whom specializes in aerospace engineering. Those pages alone are worth the read in my opinion.
From what I've heard about the book it panders heavily to the crowd that asked for the book so how you feel about that kind of stuff will determine how you feel about the book. I've seen people call it amazing while others call it terrible.
Unstoppable Wasp #3 was great as soon as Moon Girl left. I just can't stand the concept. Letters page has interviews with two female engineers, one of which specializes in aerospace engineering. Those pages alone are worth the read in my opinion.
Infamous Iron Man #5
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE STOP ALL THE TOP TIER COMICS? I CAN'T HANDLE THEM ALL!
This is a pretty strong issue. On the surface, Doom's interaction with
his mother is pretty intense, and I especially liked "I'm not convinced I'm not" in response to being Sorcerer Supreme. The big reason it's so important to Doom's character is because now we see him doubt himself. He has a desire to prove his power now, as he believes he failed saving his mother, and now he's ruined Dr. Perera's life, which he's determined to fix. A resolution that seemed particularly cold.
There's also a very interesting potential lore tie-in to another arc
if this really is a Reed Richards, it's probably the Maker. If we all recall, the first arc of Ewing's New Avengers had him attempting to communicate with the afterlife. If he succeeded, then this may mean he pulled Doom's mother from the afterlife. If that's the case, then the why becomes extremely intriguing.
Captain America: Steve Rogers #12
This issue was exceptionally mindblowing. We get some interesting revelations here. The two biggest involve Elisa Sinclair. The first being that
Steve was apparently ordered to kill her, and now we see that she's actually different from Sin. Originally we all assumed that she was just Sin written into Steve's memories in a believable way, but now the Madame Hydra reveal seems to indicate that she is, in fact, a separate person. A separate person who is commanding a separate Hydra faction, I might add. And further more, if Elisa is a separate person, then who the hell is she?
The second big point is
Selvig's noted, where it's revealed that he knows that Steve's memories have been rewritten, as well as Zemo's. It really begs to question if Zemo's memories were also rewritten, or if he's playing along. Selvig even makes mention of this. It's here that we can see Steve's plans are at a high risk of being exposed.
Damn fine comics.
Black Panther #11
This was a pretty okay issue. I mean, there's action. We get to see the rebellion fall apart, though we'd already seen that. We see the big counter T'challa had for Tetu's group (some Talk no Justu up in here). But my big problem is that there's no sense of scope or scale. This book worked in its conflicts for the most part because they were small. Surgical. But this fight is supposed to be a massive siege, and it never feels like more than a game of Team Fortress or some shit. It just feels like a skirmish with a lot of talking an narration. It's not exciting and there's no energy to it. And then that ending...what an okay ending. I guess
Shuri leads Wakanda with a full council. And Zenzi is still out there.
First issue that I really felt was average. Also nice almost one-for-one ripoff of the Zemo/Black Panther scene from Captain America: Civil War.
Hulk #3
This is pretty much a plot issue. We see that Jen is severely isolating herself at this point, but beyond that the focus is all on this Brewn plot, something I'm not really interested in. Creepy ass apartment building, though.
