I Read Comic Books discussion
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What are you reading right now?
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What are you reading right now? (January 2021)
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So far, to start off 2021, I decided to start chipping away at my big unread book collection. I’ve started this off with the escape room by maren stoffels, I’ve also decided to in my extra spare time get into watchmen. I have recently found passion in comic books, this past December I finished a max comics punisher collection comic book and am looking forward to get deeper into the graphic novel and comic book world this year. Considering I’m fairly new to the comic book world, any tips/ advice would be appreciated
New year. new list of comics I read last week.
War on Terror: Godkillers ★★★A cool idea about ISIS using mythological creatures in warfare that ultimately reaches too close to the sun for a 5 issue series.
Bad Reception ★★The queen of social media and her fiancee get married on a remote island where they decide to take everyone's phone away. Of course, now that everyone is stuck on the island, a killer starts murdering everyone in the reverse order of their social media presence.
Kill a Man ★★★Creed if Michael B. Jordan was gay.
Belle: Oath of Thorns ★★★Beauty and the Beast reimagined as superheroes.
Rai (2019) Book 2 ★★★★The best comic Valiant is currently publishing.
The Ballad of Yaya Book 7: The Trap ★★★★Part Manga, Part Tintin. Yaya gets amnesia and goes off with her kidnapper to Hong Kong.
The Ballad of Yaya Book 8: The Return ★★★★This Manga influenced French comic is strangely enthralling.
The Ballad of Yaya Book 9: Sonata ★★★Yaya's story comes to a close even though there's not much closure.
CULLEN BUNN OMNIBUS ALL MY LITTLE DEMONS: An AfterShock Library of Tales ★★★A massive tome of most of Cullen Bunn's work at Aftershock.
The Cimmerian Vol. 1 ★★★Two adaptations of Conan stories. One fantastic, one awful.
The Adoption ★★★★A story both heartwarming and gutwrenching.
Brothers Dracul Vol. 1: Blood of the Dragon ★★★An origin story for Vlad the Impaler.
Knights Temporal, Vol. 1 ★★This is a great concept with poor execution. A knight is scattered across multiple times because "reasons". Nothing is explained.
Witch Hammer ★★★★A tale of revenge as a goat headed person tracks down and murders every member of a demonic cult. Short and pretty damn sweet.
Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 2 ★★★A collection of three different series set in the Aliens universe.
The Absolute Sandman, Volume Three ★★★★★Collects the back half of Fables & Reflections, Brief Lives and Worlds' End. These oversized Absolute volumes are fantastic.
The Green Lantern: Season Two, Vol. 1 ★★I'm not a fan of Morrison's Green Lantern at all. He needs to release annotated editions just to explain what the hell is going on.
Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren ★★★★Finally, Disney has released something that actually fills in a bit of the huge gap between the trilogies.
Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble ★★A cartoonish comic whre Spider-Man and Venom are roommates. Ugh.
DC's Very Merry Multiverse #1 ★★★The holidays throughout the Multiverse.
Goodnight Paradise ★★★A social justice commentary about Venice Beach disguised as a murder mystery. Joshua Dysart REALLY hates Snapchat.
Mod
Very cool! I too have an extensive collection of unread books (comic and otherwise) I'd like to get to this year.
Are you interested in books outside of the Big 2 (Marvel and DC)? What types of prose books do you like to read? You can often find graphic novels that hit the same themes as prose books you like, such as memoirs, mysteries, self-help, etc. I'm sure this group would be happy to offer recommendations!
Joseph wrote: "... Considering I’m fairly new to the comic book world, any tips/ advice would be appreciated ..."Go to the library and check out anything that looks interesting to you.
Chad wrote: "New year. new list of comics I read last week.War on Terror: Godkillers ★★★A cool idea about ISIS using mythological creatures in warfare that ultim..."
Looks like some good reads in there.
Ed wrote: "Joseph wrote: "... Considering I’m fairly new to the comic book world, any tips/ advice would be appreciated ..."Go to the library and check out anything that looks interesting to you."
😭 My libraries are close!
Oops. Yeah, many libraries are closed. Mine still does allow placing holds and then picking them up, but that is no good for random browsing.If your library has the hoopla digital app, you can still do some browsing that way.
Mod
- Mike: Chainsaw Man Chapters 56-97, Decorum #1-6
- Eric: Eternals (1985-1986), X-Men: Mutant Massacre
- Kevin: Seven Secrets #1-5, X-Men: Messiah CompleX
Check out the episode to hear what we thought!
Tonight's LCS trip.Juggernaut #5
Spider-Woman #8
Venom #32
Hellions #8
Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #3
Thor #11
Firepower #7
Eternals #1
Death Metal #7
MODOK: head Games #2
Scout's Honor #1
Iron Man #5
Crossover #3
Walking Dead Deluxe #6
Alicia wrote: "Finish Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 2 will be working on three."I remember reading this a few years ago and it being as absolutely bonkers and enjoyable as it first sounded.
I finally got around to reading Reckless, which I loved. Brubaker and Phillips are always great. I also started reading Hikaru no Go, Vol. 1: Descent of the Go Master for the IRCB Discord manga read along and today I'm going to read Why Art? for the IRCB Goodreads book of the month!
Mod
Finally got around to Crowded, Vol. 2: Glitter Dystopia which was exciting - I really hope a Vol. 3 comes out! I'm still very into this series.
Currently working on Pearl, Vol. 2 and The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists Of The Jazz Age!
Last week's easy reading.
Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel ★★★A lesbian coming of age story.
Great Naval Battles of the Twentieth Century ★★★The title pretty much sums it up.
The Terrifics Vol. 4: The Tomorrow War ★★★Bizarro gets a time machine and wackiness ensues. If there's one villain I can't stand in comics, it's Bizarro. I find Bizarro-speak completely exhausting.
The Fearsome Doctor Fang Vol.1 ★★★★Chock full of pulp adventure goodness. If you like old movie serials or Indiana Jones type adventure stories, you'll probably dig this.
Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 3 ★★★The Mike Mignola story in here is the best in the anthology.
Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 4 ★★★★Stronghold by John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke is fantastic. These 2 always bring out the best in one another.
The Absolute Sandman, Volume Four ★★★★★And thus ends Sandman.
Justice League of America, Vol. 3: The Injustice League ★★★★McDuffie brought in the Legion of Doom 10 years before Scott Snyder did it more recently.
Justice League of America, Vol. 4: Sanctuary ★★Almost all of these issues require you to read other comics to know what's going on and that's never a good thing.
Justice League of America, Vol. 5: Second Coming ★★★Amazo returns, giving each member of the Justice League a moment to be a badass, especially Black Canary and Zatanna.
Justice League of America, Vol. 6: When Worlds Collide ★★★McDuffie brings back his Milestone characters before getting interrupted midstory for Final Crisis. DC really plagued his run with editorial changes and crossovers.
Coda, Vol. 2 ★★Some cool fantasy concepts ruined by poor chaotic artwork with weak linework.
Erin wrote: "I also got through Wrinkles by Paco Roca, which emotionally destroyed me, ..."Yeah, Wrinkles is tough! (But good.) I'm in the middle of The House now, which is much sweeter.
Mod
The House was one of my favorite reads last year - I hope more people read it! I thought it was a beautiful read in many ways.
Mod
- Mike: Eternals (2021-) #1, Future State: Wonder Woman #1
- Nick: Orphans Vol 1-2, Bang! #1-3
- Danny: Batman, Vol. 3: Ghost Stories
Check out the episode to hear what we thought!
(I've also been reading Dragon Ball for fun, and read Vols 1-2 of Hikaru no Go as part of the Discord Manga Read-Along)
Mod
I also read Big Black: Stand at Attica, about the Attica prison riot in the 70s. I hadn't heard of this event before and it was definitely an emotional and eye-opening read.
Erin - I'm glad you liked Crowded! Vita is one of my all time favorite comic characters, but I wasn't a huge fan of this one. Pretty sure I read somewhere volume 3 will be the last one.Chad - Sad but not surprised to hear Coda was bad. I didn't make it through the first volume.
My 2021 reading so far - some have been fantastic books and others have just been mediocre distractions from *gestures at everything*
Mr. and Mrs. X, Vol. 2: Gambit and Rogue Forever - So meh, but I'll read anything Rogue and Gambit.
The House - Huge thank you to Erin for sharing this book and recommending it for a BoTM last year. Absolutely beautiful graphic novel by Paco Roca. Will probably be a favorite of the year.
A-Force: Hypertime - You'd think an all-women superhero team book written by G Willow Wilson and Kelly Thompson would be an automatic home run. Nope.
Why Art? - For our BotM! Thoughts in that thread.
Heartstopper: Volume One - Frickin' adorable YA LGBTQ graphic novel.
Yesterday's trip to the LCS.Swamp Thing: Future State #1
Sweet Tooth: The Return #3
Marauders #17
Seven Secrets #6
American Vampire 1976 #4
SWORD #2
Thunderbolts: King in Black #1
Chris Claremont Anniversary Special
The Autumnal #4
Serial #1 <-- Terry Moore's new book about Zoe, the 10 year old serial killer from Rachel Rising
I just finished The House this morning. Like Wrinkles, it also deals with aging and death, but it isn't as much of a punch to the gut as Wrinkles is. It is just the story of a family gathering at a house where they spent many weekends with their father in the past. Quite nice even if nothing really out-of-the-ordinary.Arkhamaniacs is something totally different. All of bat-kid's villains as kids living together in a boarding house. It is kid friendly and so sweet it will make your teeth rot.
The Merchant of Death Graphic Novel has nice art and creative lettering by Carla Speed McNeil, but the story is too cliched for me. The non-graphic novel series is popular with kids, but I guess this graphic version wasn't popular enough to get a book 2.
Dark Ark, Vol. 1: Forty Nights is about the other arc. The one that allowed all the vampires and other monsters to escape the great flood. Meh.
BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels. Lovecraftian horror meets gentrification story. Pretty good, though I still prefer his Upgrade Soul.
And finally, Histoire de la science fiction en bande dessinée which is exatly what it sounds like: a history of Science Fiction in comic book form. Pretty well done and pretty comprehensive for English-language SF. Also includes good information on the independent development of SF in France. The publisher says an English translation is planned for late 2021, but, for reasons I don't understand, they will cut out the part about French SF. That is sad to me. English speakers are mostly ignorant about books in other languages. Can't they tolerate a few pages about books from another language? Besides, the art is already drawn and will just be wasted. Blargh!
Mod
OMG, might need to check out Serial! Absolutely loved Rachel Rising.
Lenny wrote: "Erin - I'm glad you liked Crowded! Vita is one of my all time favorite comic characters, but I wasn't a huge fan of this one. Pretty sure I read somewhere volume 3 will be the last one.
Chad - Sad ..."
Yesss, Vita is life! I'm so excited to see where their story goes. Bummer that it will end after Vol. 3 but at some point the campaign has to end, I suppose :( I'm so glad you loved The House! I feel like a broken record continually talking about this book, but it's SO GOOD!
Past week or so I finished the rest of Haikyū!! (loved it all), read the four volumes of Fence (pretty good, volume 2 and 4 being the best), and finished my readthrough of the main Star Wars title. Star Wars was pretty mediocre imo, there were some highlights throughout but it never clicked for me- hopefully the side titles and mini-series are better.I'm almost finished Parasyte (got one volume left), and read the first two volumes of Hikaru no Go- it's been a decade since I read either title so I'm loving this reread.
Oh and I'm late to the party but These Savage Shores is a GOAT everyone must read it.
Brandon wrote: "Past week or so I finished the rest of Haikyū!! (loved it all), read the four volumes of Fence (pretty good, volume 2 and 4 being the best), and finished my readthrough of the main Star Wars title...."The Vader books and Doctor Aphra are better than the main series, to me. I agree the whole of the main series was nothing memorable at all.
X-Ray Robot ★★★★Mike Allred is always interesting. This is full of time travel and alternate dimensions. It's a lot of fun.
Drawing Lines: An Anthology of Women Cartoonists ★★An anthology of short stories by female comix creators.
Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 5 ★★★
Aliens Omnibus, Vol. 6 ★★★★ 
Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus, Vol. 2 ★★★The meat of this is a 12 issue maxiseries by Chris Claremont. He was more concerned about telling a story of genetic engineering and VR / dream scenarios than an AvP story.
Scream, Vol. 1: Curse of Carnage ★★Meh. Andi Benton (Mania) has bonded with a new symbiote and fights an uninteresting big bad in Grendel's mother.
Seven Secrets Vol. 1 ★★★★★Fantastic! But it's Tom Taylor so that's not surprising. It's about a secret sect that guards the seven secrets of the world. There's also a sect that is trying to obtain the secrets.
Absolute Carnage: Scream ★★I gotta say, I was surprised how Scream was nothing more than filler considering they gave her an ongoing book out of this.
Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors ★★★★This tie in actually furthers the story. It essentially regathers the heroes that team up to helped Spider-Man back in the 90's during Maximum Carnage.
Typhoid Fever ★★Typhoid Mary is in the psyche ward when a doctor decides to operate on her. Of course, it goes wrong and her powers increase. She comes across, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Iron Fist in these specials. It's really boring as most of the story is spent in Typhoid Mary's soap opera dream world.
Crypt Of Shadows (2019) ★★★Al Ewing's ode to Marvel's horror comics for Marvel's 80's anniversary.
Adventureman, Vol. 1: The End and Everything After ★★★I feel like there really wasn't enough story here for a full arc. It's about a Doc Savage type pulp hero who is only thought of as a character from a book when a mother becomes aware he was real 80 years later.
The Red Mother Vol. 2 ★★★★Still a VERY slow burn but I dig it. I do think this will read better all of once when it's completely finished.
Today's trip to the LCS.Batman / Catwoman #2
Abbott 1973 #1
We Live #4
Miskatonic #3
Legion of Super-Heroes #12
Rorschach #4
Barbalien Red Planet #3
Cable #7
King in Black #3
Once & Future #15
X-Force #16
Mod
- Mike: Cosmoknights, Home Sick Pilots #1-2
- Brian: Questionable Content
- Kara: The Golden Age, Book 1, Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Vol. 1
Check out the episode to hear what we thought!
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I also read Agents of the Realm Vol. 1-2 which was fantastic. Beautifully developed characters with deep, rich backstories and personalities. I highly recommend it.
Last week's adventures in comics. Got on a TMNT kick.
Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 4: Cold Vengeance ★★★★I think Tomasi's final arc on Detective was his best. In the Year of the Villain event, Mister Freeze finally resuscitates Nora with some help from Lex Luther.
Wonder Woman, Vol 3: Loveless ★★★Wonder Woman finishes her quest to find Themyscira before Cheetah returns as part of the Year of the Villain event.
Wonder Woman (2016-) #750 ★★★★An all star anniversary celebration of Wonder Woman with several different creative teams.
New Teen Titans Vol. 12 ★★★★The Titans finally go after Brother Blood.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 2: Enemies Old, Enemies New ★★★★A new take of the old stories. Now the Turtles and Splinter were created in a lab but yet are also somehow reincarnations from a family in feudal Japan.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series, Volume 1 ★★★★Four single issue stories, each focusing on one of the Turtles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 3: Shadows of the Past ★★★★The Foot Clan finally makes its presence known in Enter the Shredder
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 4: Sins of the Fathers ★★★A couple of smaller stories that play off the second half of the micro-series comics.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 5: Krang War ★★★The Turtles get transported to Dimension X where they must help stop General Krang from taking over.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Secret History of the Foot Clan ★★★★Flashes back between now and feudal Japan times as we see the history of the Foot Clan unfold.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 6: City Fall, Part 1 ★★★★★There's an issue drawn by Kevin Eastman that is just fantastic.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 7: City Fall, Part 2 ★★★★★Tons of action and character moments as the Foot Clan grabs the reins of the criminal element of the city.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Villains Micro-Series, Vol. 1 ★★★★Origin stories for Krang, Baxter Stockman, Old Hob, and Alopex.
The Harrowing of Doom: A Marvel Untold Novel ★★★★A prose novel about Dr. Doom trying to rescue her mother from Hell.
Bone: Quest for the Spark, Vol. 1 ★★★★A new prose adventure set in the Bone universe featuring all different characters from the original series.
Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War ★★★★★I was enthralled by this story of a Ukranian girl coming of age during World War II, first becoming a rebel fighter before joining the army and becoming a tank commander.
Mod
-Mike: I Breathed A Body #1, Aster of Pan
- Brian: Giant Days, Vol. 8
- Paul: Eternals
- Kait: For Goodness' Sake Vol. 1-2
I really want to thank all of you for making this community such a vibrant, fun place to talk about comics. Don't miss the special shout out we made to this group on the episode!
And we announced our newest Patreon series: Giant Days Of Our Lives - Brian, Kara, and Kait will be reading and discussing ALL of Giant Days volume by Volume starting January 29th, 2021!
Mike wrote: "And we announced our newest Patreon series: Giant Days Of Our Lives - Brian, Kara, and Kait will be reading and discussing ALL of Giant Days volume by Volume starting January 29th, 2021!"Can't wait for this!!!
DC launched DC Universe Infinite last week and decreased the delay time of putting issues on the service from 12 to 6 months...so I've got 6 months worth of issues to work through. That'll probably keep me busy in-between more current stuff and Hikaru No Go over the next month or two.
Last night I read Kennel Block Blues and loved it! It probably won't be a five-star read for everyone, but it was for me. I just love sad musicals, and that is what this is. Yep, a musical in comics format. The main character breaks out into song when he's nervous and the art changes to super-cute cartoony for those segments. About dogs and cats trying to bust out of prison. (It is short and is included in Comixology unlimited.)Other stuff.... Ghostwriter is excellent.
Reincarnation Stories is typical of Kim Deitch, and thus good.
In addition to musicals, I love whimsy and ludicrousness. However, The Ludocrats by Kieron Gillen totally failed for me.
On the other hand, I loved all five volumes of the French comic Azimut: Les aventuriers du temps perdu by Wilfrid Lupano. But I am angry with Amazon. Volumes 1 to 4 are available in Comixology, but volume 5 is only available in Kindle. So you cannot get the whole story in the same format.
Tonight's trip to the LCS.X-O Manowar #4
X-Men #17
Batman: Black and White #2
Kaiju Score #3
Namor #3
Legion of Super-Heroes: Future State #1
Strange Adventures #8
Colonel Weird #4
Excalibur #17
New Mutants #15
Something Is Killing the Children #14
Strange Academy #7
We Only Find Then When They're Dead #5
Wolverine #9
Year Zero: Vol. 2 #3
For January, as far as collections go I have read/reading:
used paperback from Amazon
really nice condition hardback from Hasting's Going Out of Business sale
really nice condition hardback from Hasting's Going Out of Business sale
oh, and two more:
via Comixology Unlimited
and
via Comixology Unlimited
I recently read “The man without talent” by Yoshiharu Tsuge. If you want something more personal this is a good take.
My January reading balanced out my lack of December reading! Marvels by Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross was marvelous and a perfect way to start my 2021! Set from 1939-1974, a photojournalist & the rest of America adjust to new superheroes joining our world, and what changes they need to make to their everyday lives.
I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider is a witty comic book about literary love and all about loving books, plus the writing process for authors, but was a bit one-note.
Rogue Planet by Cullen Bunn & Andy MacDonald is a scifi/horror graphic novel that has an Alien movie vibe. The art is solid with vivid coloring. While it wasn’t bad, it was cliched and somewhat bland. Not a single character stood out, and the ending confused me.
Why Art? by Eleanor Davis was weird, surreal and abstract...thus, honestly, it wasn't for me. Read it for BotM.
Once & Future: Old English (V2) by Kieren Gillen & Dan Mora is a fantastic new series that mixes up British mythology. Duncan & his ass-kicking Gran continue to fight an evil reanimated King Arthur, plus Beowulf & Grendel!
Child Star by Box Brown is based on true stories of television child stars of the 1980s, this graphic novel basically fictionalizes the life of Gary Coleman, star of Different Strokes, as Owen Eugene and is heavy on the nostalgia factor.
Harleen by Stjepan Šejić is excellent! Harley Quinn is given an origin story on how she went from a psychologist to the Joker's lover. The art is outstanding.
Here are the books I read this month:-A Man Among Ye #4
-Abe-kun's Got Me Now, vol. 5
-B&V Friends Forever: Winter Fest
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, vol. 1
-Elfen Lied Omnibus, vol. 1
-The Empty Man
-Fatale, vols. 5 & 6
-Getting It Together #3-4
-Genshiken Omnibus, vol. 1
-Hajime no Ippo, vol. 86
-High Score Girl, vols. 1-5
-Home Sick Pilots #1-2
-Kick-Ass vs Hit-Girl #1-3
-Lost Soldiers #5
-Nailbiter Returns #8
-Nozoki Ana, vol. 7
-Oreimo Comic Anthology
-The Prince's Romance Gambit, vols. 6-8
-Plunderer Omnibus, vols. 1-5
-The Red Mother #12 & vol. 2
-The Scumbag #2
-Sex Criminals, vol. 6
-Undiscovered Country #10-11
-The Walking Dead Deluxe #5-7
Nancy wrote: "Marvels by Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross was marvelous and a perfect way to start my 2021! Set from 1939-1974, a photojournalist & the rest of America adjust to new superheroes joining our world, and what changes they need to make to their everyday lives.."I remember how groundbreaking Marvels was when it was released in the 90s. It spawned a whole trend of imitater comics from an outsiders perspective. Marvels is still one of favorites that I go back and re-read.
I'll second Once & Future and Harleen a well. Both are great.
Mod
Chad wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Marvels by Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross was marvelous and a perfect way to start my 2021! Set from 1939-1974, a photojournalist & the rest of America adjust to new superheroes joining our ..."Only one month into 2021 and some of my January reading will make it onto my Top 10 at the end of the year- Marvels & Harleen.
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I Read Comic Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix Vol. 2 (other topics)G.I. JOE Volume 1: Homefront (other topics)
G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds (other topics)
G.I. JOE America's Elite: Disavowed Volume 3 (other topics)
Batman, Volume 5: Zero Year – Dark City (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Kim Deitch (other topics)Kieron Gillen (other topics)
Wilfrid Lupano (other topics)
Carla Speed McNeil (other topics)
Ezra Claytan Daniels (other topics)
As a reminder, you can check out what the IRCB crew is reading on the weekly Top of My Pile posts on Patreon!