KoruptData
Member
I never know with you. It's hard recommending you a book.
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COMICS! |OT| October 2014. Witches, wytches, and things that go GROOT in the night.
- Thread starter Spike Spiegel
- Start date
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I never know with you. It's hard recommending you a book.
And the worst part is that I'll probably grumble and sell off my OHC and still buy the omnibus if they don't announce a second OHC before it comes out. Hmmph.
I will die if they announce Infinity for Summer 2015. Or AXIS.
This isn't specifically in response to this post, but more in general: Would you mind taking the negativity down a notch? It seems like every one of your posts is just needlessly tearing someone or something down.
KoruptData
Member
Aquaman was awesome! The start of a really cool arc, you can tell. Jeff Parker is the man! He has not missed a beat.
I think I'll love Zero. After reading this, I think I will even more so.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record (I'm pretty sure i say this in every thread), Zero is the best comic being published right now by anyone. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
echoshifting
Banned
I completely disagree with this, and I think it all comes down to the way we've trained ourselves to enjoy comics. In fact I think you've established a particularly onerous requirement here - perhaps unintentionally - since nobody is capable of going back to the beginning of, say, Spider-Man or Captain America and reading everything. Even with a new team and a new vision, though, I think it's almost always possible to jump in anywhere...or, at least, it always should be. I just think back to when I was a kid, it didn't matter if I came into the middle of a storyline or not, I still had fun with it.
There are really two parts to this: deeper knowledge of a universe going into a storyline, and knowledge of an arc or run. Both of these impact our enjoyment of these stories in different ways.
The easier issue to address is the wider picture. I think the more you know going into a book, the more you can maximize your enjoyment of it, but there are drastic diminishing returns with this rule that we all have a tendency to ignore. Take a look at those huge lists of recommendations that popped up a day or two ago when somebody asked what they needed to read in order to enjoy Morrison's Batman. Virtually none of the books that anybody recommended, even with the best intentions, actually needs to be read to enjoy that run. You could reduce the important referential information to a sentence or two for virtually all of those. Appreciating the deeper context, and having encountered it in its "natural" environment - the books themselves as opposed to a wikipedia page - is one of the rewards of immersing yourself in a shared universe, but it's not something that can be shared with a new reader. It's something you build up over time, and there are no shortcuts there. I remember trying to run down a similar list for one of the recent DC crises...and it was honestly absurd how often I found myself reading 3, 4 even 6 issues of something I had limited interest in just to avoid having to get that info from a wikipedia page. Again, I think people put these lists together - here and elsewhere - with good intentions, but you know, if you want to read Morrison's Batman, just read it. If you want to read Hickman's New Avengers, I'm not at all convinced you need to read Avengers as a companion book to know what is going on there, nor do you need to read Infinity at any point. As regular readers, we get hooked on the links....the links are wonderful! And we want to share them, because that is indeed a more optimal, fuller picture of what's being done in those stories. That doesn't mean you can't just pick them up and read them, even if you are averse to wikipedia summaries. A book that asks $4 should always stand on its own terms to at least some degree. If it doesn't it's a bad book.
The trickier problem is single issues of big stories, though I absolutely still think anyone can - or should be able - to jump in anywhere and have a good time with it. It's just that deeper context that we, as regular readers, are all totally addicted to. We think we need it, but we truly don't. Honestly, do you need to read every issue of Hawkeye leading up to the Pizza Dog issue to enjoy and understand that? I can't really answer the question, since I had been following the book, but I really think anyone could read that. What about the latest issue of Daredevil, the second part of a story on the Purple Man that moved along pretty quickly plotwise in its first issue? Pretty sure you could have a good time with that too.
Those are just a couple of examples, and I'm known around here as more of a Marvelite so it's easy for me to pick and choose some solid Marvel examples. I'm gonna put my money where my mouth is today, though, and see if it's still possible to hop in wherever/whenever with a comic and enjoy it just like when I was a kid. I'm gonna pick an issue from three books I've been eyeing completely at random, read them and see how it goes. This is completely unscientific, naturally....can't really be my own sample in my own experiment! But I am curious to see how it pans out.
The books are gonna be - Harley Quinn, Pak's Action Comics, and JLU3k whatever it's called (maybe a Legion book? I know fuck all about any of that stuff). Totally random issue numbers. Let's do this.
Thanks, good enough for me!
Great post. I don't have anything to add, but wanted to say I enjoyed reading it.
Good luck with your experiment!
KoruptData
Member
Infinity Man was ok this month. Probably the weakest of all issues released but not a bad issue by any means.
echoshifting
Banned
Thanks
I am looking forward to it with equal parts trepidation and excitement, especially the (randomly selected) Action Comics #33, which appears to be part of a massive event. My hypothesis will probably stand or fall on that one issue, and my "comic guy brain" is screaming bloody murder at me for this heretical commitment. But I am looking forward to experiencing comics just like I used to when I was a kid. I hope it pans out.Other selections, for the curious, were Harley Quinn #10 and Justice Leage 3000 #6. Current runs, sorry Messi...wanted stuff that would be fresh for anyone interested in following along.
Edit: ha, I love that the title of the Harley issue I picked out is "There Are No Rules." FATE.
You are am absolute machine on Wednesdays. You read so many books so quickly.
KoruptData
Member
Heh, just read Batman Eternal. It was alright, finally learned about the Riddlers code. I have read 6 books so far today, 4 more to go.
I did end up pre-ordering the first two issues so i will get to try it, but the waiting....
Right then, this has been a long time coming, but I finally stopped being completely lazy, and thus I present to you all: a glimpse at what a collection with 2000 volumes of manga (plus some comics) looks like! (Sorry for the awful, awful iPhone pics!)
Starting off, the core of my comics collection. This is where most of it lives. The hard to see books facing sideways are mostly artbooks (the various Mega Man Complete Works, Hyrule Historia, etc), plus Transformers and Iron Fist, plus a Powers hardcover.
Moving on, where the rest of my comics live, on my newest bookshelf. Already you can see the overlap and crowding setting in, with some Jojo's boxsets and some random DVDs crowding them in.
And a full shot of the bookshelf. The bottom is all import manga, while the middle is where the bulk of my non-portable videogames that aren't in storage have retreated to.
And here is the original bookshelf. This is where my collection started, originally with room to spare on these shelves. Dragon Drive, Hoshin Engi, Ouran, Rosario+Vampire, and Pretty Face were all pretty much the first series I started collecting, along with the currently elsewhere R.O.D. books. (Pretty face is sideways here, just out of frame). Also, One Piece is the big threat here. I want it easily accessible always, but it's steadily eating away at that space on the bottom as it grows longer and longer.
This is the bookshelf where my expansion will usually get sorted to. Nice and accessible, so when I buy a big chunk of new series I plan to read in the near future, I sort things out to end up here.
And the good old "it's hard to reorganize stuff so these things are on the floor right now" pile. It's gotten pretty bad though, so I'm probably going to reorganize so I can get it up on shelves soon.
A glimpse at one part of the upper shelves. This being the part that's overtaken by videogames double-booking the space in front of the books.
A super crappy shot of a corner. You can see the random cel of Shredder that I picked up at a con a long time back.
And finally, the part that's double-booked by anime.
There's also a ton of anime and videogames in storage containers, and I'm now up to 3 storage containers full of manga as well. I really, really want to be able to just have a dedicated "library" room someday, where I can display things properly and not have to double-book shelves and all that jazz.
Starting off, the core of my comics collection. This is where most of it lives. The hard to see books facing sideways are mostly artbooks (the various Mega Man Complete Works, Hyrule Historia, etc), plus Transformers and Iron Fist, plus a Powers hardcover.
Moving on, where the rest of my comics live, on my newest bookshelf. Already you can see the overlap and crowding setting in, with some Jojo's boxsets and some random DVDs crowding them in.
And a full shot of the bookshelf. The bottom is all import manga, while the middle is where the bulk of my non-portable videogames that aren't in storage have retreated to.
And here is the original bookshelf. This is where my collection started, originally with room to spare on these shelves. Dragon Drive, Hoshin Engi, Ouran, Rosario+Vampire, and Pretty Face were all pretty much the first series I started collecting, along with the currently elsewhere R.O.D. books. (Pretty face is sideways here, just out of frame). Also, One Piece is the big threat here. I want it easily accessible always, but it's steadily eating away at that space on the bottom as it grows longer and longer.
This is the bookshelf where my expansion will usually get sorted to. Nice and accessible, so when I buy a big chunk of new series I plan to read in the near future, I sort things out to end up here.
And the good old "it's hard to reorganize stuff so these things are on the floor right now" pile. It's gotten pretty bad though, so I'm probably going to reorganize so I can get it up on shelves soon.
A glimpse at one part of the upper shelves. This being the part that's overtaken by videogames double-booking the space in front of the books.
A super crappy shot of a corner. You can see the random cel of Shredder that I picked up at a con a long time back.
And finally, the part that's double-booked by anime.
There's also a ton of anime and videogames in storage containers, and I'm now up to 3 storage containers full of manga as well. I really, really want to be able to just have a dedicated "library" room someday, where I can display things properly and not have to double-book shelves and all that jazz.
Tyrant Rave
Banned
holy shit boogie is the manga master
tringworldso
Member
I didn't like this issue.
Last issue they introduced Penn who I thought Ales would make a friend of Zero's instead of going the normal route of making the new lady friend a lover as is the usual trope but then he totally did and it made this issue all the more disappointing.
And was the sex page really necessary? For a comic that thrives on subtlety I don't understand what Zero getting ridden by and then blown from <redacted> was supposed to show. Felt like I was reading Sex Criminals.
Edit:
Lovely post Boogie.
That's great to hear! Can't wait to start it.
Give it to me!
2015 is going to be glorious.
Anyway, today's stuff
The Walking Dead #133
Good.
I suppose the zombie skin wearers are "tourists" from Europe? The broken English seems to point to that.
The Amazing Spider-Man #8
The main story has a fun conclusion, but holy shit at that Mayday stuff
Sixis #3
It's still dumb, but man, when he saw his face, he's an Avenger!
Another X-Men and Avengers stand-off. Sigh. This won't end well.
Avengers #37
Best book. Steve's in full dick mode again (what's with the Nick Fury act Rogers?) and there are some cool things going on. Love how Hulk is taunting Steve.
And Susan is actually an Illuminatie spy? Well then, that's something. And lol what, the X-Nation? I guess Cyclops and the gang has a new state of their own?
Edit: GODDAMN Boogie. :bow :bow :bow
slightconfuse
Banned
Is SIXAXIS OUT today?
Sibersk Esto
Banned
holy shit
echoshifting
Banned
This experiment has already been worth it if only for the somewhat cutesy, slapstick Harley Quinn #10 with the drab extreme rollerskating setup ending up with
Nope, did not see that coming.
I would say about 80% of the issue worked fine on its own.
Harley literally blowing her opponent in half with exploding toothpaste after the match.
I would say about 80% of the issue worked fine on its own.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Amen.
Yeah, the one set of shelves on the wall are a bit of a worry, but the warping is actually old, from when I jammed them literally as packed as they would go. The 20th Century boys being on top is a new reshuffling and I want to fix that soon before they risk breaking, especially since that's kind of over my bed.
And thanks everyone!
echoshifting
Banned
I am digging what Bendis is doing with All-New X-Men and to a lesser degree Uncanny. Worth trying out a couple of issues and seeing if it's something you might like.
I don't think I've heard a single good word about the W&tXM relaunch, sadly. Not many people seem to care for Amazing either. The adjectiveless X-Men is pretty shitty, or at least it was when I eventually abandoned it.
Cosmic....I like Rocket Raccoon a lot, and Nova is pretty good with the current creative team...the Beta Ray Bill arc is *awesome* and should be read by everyone. Silver Surfer is supposed to be good. Bendis GotG is divisive stuff, but I like it....it kinda lost its way after the Trial of Jean Grey but seems to be finding its footing again. Didn't think much of Star Lord or 3000.
What I would really recommend is just picking up the Trial of Jean Grey, which is a terrific crossover and catches you up nicely on all of this stuff. If you really dig either the GotG or the ANXM stuff, you can backtrack, grab the older stuff. And that's the launching point for Cyclops, which is one of the best books Marvel is putting out right now.
Pop-O-Matic
Banned
Mahvel's preparing for the reboot by revisiting all their "classic" storylines before Spidey wishes them all out of continuity to save Aunt May again.
GrandHarrier
Member
If we never hear from Boogie again he was trapped beneath a mountain of manga.
The sex scene was pretty gratuitous, I'll give you that. I do think a scene of that type was necessary though, when last saw Edward four years ago, he was a very broken man, reeling from the effects of PTSD. That scene was important to show how far Edward has come since then, he's able to trust someone again on a very intimate level. Considering everything he has seen and been put through, I feel like this is a huge step in the process of getting us to the Edward Zero of 2038. So sure, maybe it could have been framed in a different manner, but the implications of that page were most definitely necessary.
echoshifting
Banned
Sigh, nothing Marvel can come up with is gonna top this
Freezasaurus
Member
Awesome collection, shit organization. Oh man, how can you live like that?
googleplex
Member
Harley Quinn #11
Power Girl and Harley team up? This needs to be an ongoing thing!
Power Girl and Harley team up? This needs to be an ongoing thing!
KoruptData
Member
The Harley/Power Girl team-up was everything you could have hoped for. The creative team NAILED it! Another book of the month canidate.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's a space issue.
It's just too big to organize properly! It's a hassle just trying to keep series together, and then it takes up so much space I have to do lame stuff like jamming a ton of books together. Like I said, I really, really want to just have a room dedicated to displaying everything properly one day.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
hhhhh
omgggg
oooommmgggg
http://multiversitycomics.com/longf...-lasting-impact-of-the-marvel-universe-cards/
omgggg
oooommmgggg
http://multiversitycomics.com/longf...-lasting-impact-of-the-marvel-universe-cards/
Freezasaurus
Member
Not even.... Someone bring this man to Ikea.
Harley doesn't win book of the month when Remender releases books in the same month.
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