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COMICS!!! |OT| May 2017 - Every Empire Falls

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Wanderer5

Member
Meh Burbank has the wait list going. I would probably prepare for this more for Aquaman.:p

I hope Wonder Woman will be good. DCEU needs to step it up.
 

Aizo

Banned
So when people say Nick Spencer is a terrible writer, do they actually mean to say "I hate the concept of Hydra Cap," or is his actual writing bad? Doesn't seem so bad to me. Also, is why do people freak out so much about a story that has so much riding on its development and conclusion? I'd say those are pretty important to judge his work by. Sure, I could hate it by the end, and I think some things are pretty dumb, but I don't think it's fair to judge until it's finished. The art is great, and it is an interesting situation for many characters to deal with.
 
Started up a reread of Harrow County since I picked up vol. 4 last week. I think this is a pretty good book in general with cool creepy folklore ideas stuffed in every corner, but specifically this volume is a fantastic volume. As far as 2 & 3 went, I remember feeling like it was a little compressed at times, Bunn would blast through moments without giving what could have been better emotional weight to them, but this volume is void of any of that, and just a fucking great introductory volume to a book. Tyler Crook's art is just stupidly amazing throughout as well. Evocative & atmospheric, the watercolour style he applis just takes his BPRD era stuff to the next level. Cool book, I'd recommend it to fans of folklorey stuff. It's a little wordier than a HB or BPRD, but it's good stuff.

Just as an example of the art, I nabbed a preview page form the first issue. The book begins with a tale told around the local area of a witch that was hung 18 years ago, and this is a bit of that legend:

harrowc1p3-5ee13.jpg

Just a really cool scene with the witch burning in the rain, and the panel in the middle right where it focuses on her face is gruesome and very otherworldly haha there's lots of just stunning backgrounds focusing on the night sky, the nature & animal denizens of Harrow County too though that makes it a gorgeous book to look at.
 
So when people say Nick Spencer is a terrible writer, do they actually mean to say "I hate the concept of Hydra Cap," or is his actual writing bad? Doesn't seem so bad to me. Also, is why do people freak out so much about a story that has so much riding on its development and conclusion? I'd say those are pretty important to judge his work by. Sure, I could hate it by the end, and I think some things are pretty dumb, but I don't think it's fair to judge until it's finished. The art is great, and it is an interesting situation for many characters to deal with.

Well speaking as someone who by and large hasn't read his cape work, but has read maybe 8 volumes of work of his independent stuff, I personally just dislike his writing basics. I think he's a good plot man who can think up the kind of twist you probably didn't think of already, which is good with mystery or thriller fiction, he's decent with dialogue and can give a good voice to characters BUT I think his pacing can be way way off and I think his core fundamental understanding or interpretation of what the backbone of the story is or should be between plot, character and themes of the book can be atrocious. This is mostly based off of Morning Glories and Bedlam. I just think he writes all for the glory of the plot twist and the layered mythology but he doesn't work for it to mean something for the characters or coherently towards some sort of overarching thought or symbolism. Particular with Glories too I felt he was writing his Lost and wanted to explore his own slant on similar ideas but it came across as absurd that teenagers who hadn't lived any sort of independent life could have had all this "you didn't know" happen to them previously, and that they would be emotionally mature enough to grapple with it. Which I guess he agreed with after some of the stuff he pulls to solve that issue.

All of that to say though, that I don't particularly care about Secret Empire either way lol and I would just say he's not for me, over calling him a terrible writer. On the surface he can appear very much in line with things I like and get excited by in fiction but under the surface I just don't think there's much there. I couldn't be offended by Secret Empire because I don't think he's a thoughtful enough writer to try and write or hide anything insidious.

(I try not to write negative stuff about specific writers often, but since you've asked a few times haha)
 

Owzers

Member
If I start buying more digital image books what's going to happen to my trade shelves? I don't rebuy things usually, I think I'll buy digital cheap then buy the hardcover if I really like it but the shelf knows this is a lie. This is a defining moment if buy deadly class vol 1-4 and sell my trades, then buy vol 5 digital.

Oh wow I actually got the coupon too. What to buy...

Everything...

But especially east of west and manhattan projects if you haven't already.
 
If I start buying more digital image books what's going to happen to my trade shelves? I don't rebuy things usually, I think I'll buy digital cheap then buy the hardcover if I really like it but the shelf knows this is a lie. This is a defining moment if buy deadly class vol 1-4 and sell my trades, then buy vol 5 digital.



Everything...

But especially east of west and manhattan projects if you haven't already.

I have MP, but EoW had most of their issues on CMX Unlimited, so I can just use that when I'm ready.
 

frye

Member
My opinions about Spencer are from 6-7 years ago when he first got big but I think I read most of his comics from Morning Glories (which had a lot of hype at the time) until Secret Avengers trying to figure out how he bamboozled Marvel into giving him that exclusive contract.

dude's a fraud who writes bad comics
 

Sandfox

Member
So when people say Nick Spencer is a terrible writer, do they actually mean to say "I hate the concept of Hydra Cap," or is his actual writing bad? Doesn't seem so bad to me. Also, is why do people freak out so much about a story that has so much riding on its development and conclusion? I'd say those are pretty important to judge his work by. Sure, I could hate it by the end, and I think some things are pretty dumb, but I don't think it's fair to judge until it's finished. The art is great, and it is an interesting situation for many characters to deal with.
In terms of his current work, I don't really see any problems with it outside of people not liking the subject matter of his current books and how he tends to stretch things out.
 
My opinions about Spencer are from 6-7 years ago when he first got big but I think I read most of his comics from Morning Glories (which had a lot of hype at the time) until Secret Avengers trying to figure out how he bamboozled Marvel into giving him that exclusive contract.

dude's a fraud who writes bad comics

I like Superior Foes a lot. But, I still credit a lot of that to Lieber lol
 
I guess I don't like Spencer because they were hyping him taking over Supergirl and he bailed before the first issue came out. Maybe that was a good thing though.
 

Wanderer5

Member
God damn. New Darkseid statue from Sideshow and Prime 1. 32" tall and $1250.



Oddly, it's not the price that's keeping me away, I just don't know where I would put something that massive.

Damn that is pretty tall. Yeah beside the pricing, don't know where I would put him.XD
 

Sandfox

Member
I guess I don't like Spencer because they were hyping him taking over Supergirl and he bailed before the first issue came out. Maybe that was a good thing though.
Based on what we've heard it was DC editorial that messed those plans up, which is why Spencer went Marvel exclusive at the same time.
 

frye

Member
I like Superior Foes a lot. But, I still credit a lot of that to Lieber lol

yeah I kinda stopped ragging on him once that came out since a lotta people whose opinions I respect (like you!) dug it but right before that it really looked like the dude was about to be a total washout
 

Aizo

Banned
Well speaking as someone who by and large hasn't read his cape work, but has read maybe 8 volumes of work of his independent stuff, I personally just dislike his writing basics. I think he's a good plot man who can think up the kind of twist you probably didn't think of already, which is good with mystery or thriller fiction, he's decent with dialogue and can give a good voice to characters BUT I think his pacing can be way way off and I think his core fundamental understanding or interpretation of what the backbone of the story is or should be between plot, character and themes of the book can be atrocious. This is mostly based off of Morning Glories and Bedlam. I just think he writes all for the glory of the plot twist and the layered mythology but he doesn't work for it to mean something for the characters or coherently towards some sort of overarching thought or symbolism. Particular with Glories too I felt he was writing his Lost and wanted to explore his own slant on similar ideas but it came across as absurd that teenagers who hadn't lived any sort of independent life could have had all this "you didn't know" happen to them previously, and that they would be emotionally mature enough to grapple with it. Which I guess he agreed with after some of the stuff he pulls to solve that issue.

All of that to say though, that I don't particularly care about Secret Empire either way lol and I would just say he's not for me, over calling him a terrible writer. On the surface he can appear very much in line with things I like and get excited by in fiction but under the surface I just don't think there's much there. I couldn't be offended by Secret Empire because I don't think he's a thoughtful enough writer to try and write or hide anything insidious.

(I try not to write negative stuff about specific writers often, but since you've asked a few times haha)
Oh shit. I always forget he wrote Morning Glories. I tried to read that a couple years ago and thought it was a horribly written mess.

It's not that I want to defend Spencer, but I wanted to know why people hated him so much.
 

Vic_Viper

Member
Got my 70% off Image comics coupon for Comixology. Can I use it on a bunch of single issues or is it only valid for 1 item? It says no bundles, but nothing about multiple single issues.
 
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