I Read Comic Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
What are you reading right now?
>
What are you reading right now? (November 2023)
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
Here's what folks read:
- Mike: The Flash (2023-) #1, Koguchi Magazine #1
- Zach: Bone Orchard Mythos: Ten Thousand Black Feathers, The Autumnal
- Nick: The Fable vol 1, Giant Robot Hellboy #1
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.simplecast.com/ep...
---
I've been reading quite a bit lately between the KManga app, using up October Hoopla borrows, and getting through a physical stack from the library.
Earthdivers, Vol. 1: Kill Columbus ★★★★I'm glad I could read this in one sitting, otherwise I think the multiple storylines would have lost me. I usually have a lot of questions about time travel consequences, but a number of those gets addressed in the story without being too technical about it. I liked the art quite a bit although it does get pretty violent.
Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy ★★★★★I've been waiting for this to release for awhile and the wait was worth it. This is a YA romance, and while some things are a little tropey there were some unique aspects to these characters and their dynamic. I liked many of the secondary characters. There are some things that felt rushed. As long as this book was, I would have preferred a longer book to flesh out some of those things.
Hollow ★★★★★I like whimsical spooky stories and this fit nicely in that descriptor. It's a retelling of the headless horseman story.
Rise Up ★★★★★This was a good ending to this series. I love the mix of ways people communicated in this book.
The Seeds ★★It's not very often that I don't like a book, but here we are. About half the text was pretty abstract and sometimes I couldn't tell what something was supposed to be in the dark gritty art. Somewhere in between the abstract big picture commentary and the gross bad guys there was a story I would like to follow, but not enough to read more of this.
kaitlphere wrote: "The Seeds by Ann NocentiIt's not very often that I don't like a book, but here we are. About half the text was pretty abstract and sometimes I couldn't tell what something was supposed to be in the dark gritty art. Somewhere in between the abstract big picture commentary and the gross bad guys there was a story I would like to follow, but not enough to read more of this."
You can pretty much guarantee if Ann Nocenti is involved the book will suck. She's been an awful writer for Marvel and DC since the nineties.
I liked Earth Divers and Hollow.
Today's trip to the LCS.Canary #1
Avengers #7
Spider-Boy #1
Ultimate Universe #1
Snow White Zombie Apocalypse #4
X-Men #28
Dr. Strange #9
Very slow reader here so I'm still reading a few spooky comics. Currently reading
Last week's adventures in comics. Still reading a lot of Spawn comics on a buddy read where all the buddies quickly dropped out. Can't say I blame them but I'm a glutton for punishment.Nature's Labyrinth Vol. 1 ★★★
This is a story you've seen several times before. The Battle Royale type story where strangers are left on an island containing a changing maze and have to kill one another to win a treasure. The subplots are very much secondary to the fighting.
Third Shift Society Volume One ★★★
A burgeoning witch and a guy with a pumpkin for a head investigate supernatural mysteries.
Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea ★★
It's starting to be diminishing returns with the Hellboy universe now that they've mined pretty much every story. This was terrible. It wasn't at all helped by the rudimentary art and coloring.
Spawn Origins, Volume 21 ★
Oof, now we just seem to be resetting everything back to how it was a hundred issues ago. Wynn's back in charge with a little Violator devil on his shoulder. This is an era of Spawn that should definitely be skipped.
Spawn Origins, Volume 22 ★
Wanda and Terry have moved away to parts unknown and I hope they never come back. Wynn is possessed by the Violator and starts murdering Wanda look-alikes while Spawn helps Twitch save his vampire son who is trapped in a haunted house. Nyx is still around and not doing much except probably repeatedly dying her hair to keep that striped look going.
Spawn Origins, Volume 23 ★
Violator is back and jumping bodies and controlling multiple people. Nyx is mainly still doing nothing as Satan attempts to get her to betray Spawn in order to save a friend who is in Hell.
Spawn Origins, Volume 24 ★
The first issue by Nat Jones is like a big tease. His art looks like Michaelangelo compared to normal artist Angel Medina. The way these stories are put together though, this is the third issue of a three part story.
Spawn Origins, Volume 25 ★★★
I've never been so glad to see a creative team leave. Angel Medina's art is grade A garbage. Brian Holguin's writing isn't much better. They do the first two throw away issues. Then David Hine and Phillip Tan take over. I wasn't sure of all that was happening at first, but they clearly have a plan and Phillip Tan's art looks like a career professional to Medina's 5th grader carving dicks into his desk.
Spawn Origins, Volume 26 ★★★★
I can't believe how much better this book has gotten since David Hine and Phillip Tan took over. Or maybe it's that the 49 issues that Brian Holguin and Angel Medina did are some of the worst comics ever made. It could go either way. If you've ever been curious about Spawn, just skip straight from issue #100 to #150.
Spawn Origins, Volume 27 ★★★★
The Armageddon arc finishes up. Things are really crazy there for awhile. Now there's no more angels or demons. It's just mankind at its best and worst. Al realizes he was a piece of shit before he died. I can't believe I'm saying this about Spawn, but good stuff.
Spawn Origins, Volume 28 ★★★★
Just when you think the book can't get darker, it does. Hine has morphed this into something of a Vertigo book, especially when tied in with the darker, less cartoony artwork. First Sam and Twitch investigate an apartment building where tenants keep going crazy and murder people. Then Nyx returns and we learn more about Al's past. After 28 volumes, we've finally run out of Spawn's origins.
Spawn: New Flesh Collection ★★★★
After the Armageddon craziness, everyone is settling into this new reality. They soon realize this world without angels and demons still has plenty of monsters.
Spawn: Neo Noir ★★★★
Spawn remembers his family and time growing up with his brothers. Every time we find out more about his past, it seems he was even more of a dirtbag than we previously thought.
Spawn Volume 1: Endgame ★★★
In the typical writing of past Spawn, there's a new Spawn but nothing is explained. This new guy has woken from a coma and things happen very slowly. I'm assuming we may get some answers in volume 2. I really wish David Hine was still writing this. Apparently there's some random retconning again as now angels and devils are back in the picture even though they were supposed to be cut off from this new reality. At least there's some terrific art from the rarely seen Whilce Portacio.
Spawn Volume 2: Endgame Part 2 ★★★
This new Spawn is more of the same with less whining about Wanda. McFarlane is writing it so it's still crappy storytelling, just with A-List artists this go around. I'm still having difficulties following the herky-jerky story. All of the stuff from the David Hine run seem to have been reset. It makes it very confusing to just forget what happened 12 issues before.
Mod
Here's what folks read:
- Mike: Rare Flavours #1 and #2, Karmen
- Brian: Swamp Thing: Green Hell, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds--The Illyrian Enigma
- Nick: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures (2023-) #1, How to Grill Our Love, Vol. 1
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.simplecast.com/ep...
---
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American ★★★★★I've been reading a lot of immigrant and second generation stories lately and this fits into that genre nicely. I loved some of the art decisions made in this book. There's a multi-spread transition from high school to college using gaming as an extended metaphor. The use of color, especially toward the end of the book, was enchanting.
Weathering With You, Vol. 1 ★★★★★I read this series in chapters on the KManga app. This is the same story as in the animated movie, and they did a really nice job adapting it into manga.
Today's trip to my LCS.Transformers#2
Uncanny Spider-Man #3
Abbott 1979 #2
House of Slaughter #19
Shazam #5
X-Force #46
X-Men Red #17
Birds of Prey #3
G.O.D.S. #2
Mod
Here's what folks read:
- Mike: The Space Between #1, The Sacrificers #3 and #4
- Paloma: The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, Transformers #2
- Kara: House of X/Powers of X, Booster Gold, Vol. 2: Blue and Gold
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.simplecast.com/ep...
---
Layers: A Memoir ★★★★The anthology nature of this book made it easy to read over multiple sittings but hard to get invested in. I doubt this will be my favorite of Bagieu's work, but I intend to keep reading her books.
The last 2 weeks of light comic book reading with a vacation to Charleston in the middle of it.Spawn, Compendium 4 ★★★★
The first two-thirds of this are actually pretty good. David Hine actually has things happen in the book. Then McFarlane comes back in issue #185 and wipes it all away. The thing is he doesn't do anything to really signal a reboot. There's just a new Spawn and most of the things Hine setup are retconned. It's odd and confusing.
Spawn, Compendium 5 ★★★
I wish I'd taken out stock in black ink while Szymon Kudranski was drawing this book. I could have made millions. This is all about the new Spawn. Al Simmons is gone now and this new Spawn wakes up from a coma at the exact same time. He's got new powers including the power to heal others. Parts of this are pretty good. Parts of it are issues long info dumps.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Omnibus ★★★★
Some fine, classic adaptations of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. Mignola's art is terrific. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are a fun duo, always getting themselves into trouble in this old school fantasy world.
The Night Eaters, Vol. 1: She Eats the Night ★★★★
From the creators of Monstress, it's the odd tale of an immigrant family from Hong Kong by way of Hawaii to NYC. The mother is a chainsmoker who is very hard on her adult children who run the family's restaurant. The father is laid back and cool. Across the street is a haunted house realtors are trying to sell. After a slow burn with some humor, the story finally begins to pick up as we veer into the supernatural.
The Night Eaters, Vol. 2: Her Little Reapers ★★★★★
At the end of book one, the twins found out (view spoiler). Now their parents aren't telling them anything more leaving them to figure it out themselves as they are pursued by some kind of cult and all of these Asian mythological creatures show up.
Witch of Thistle Castle Vol. 1 ★★
A generic manga set in current time where witches exist but are frowned upon in Great Britain. Nor are they really needed much with modern technology. The subplots all felt half-baked and poorly laid out.
Doctor Who Vol. 1: Alternating Current ★★★
After a previous adventure with Doctors 10 and 13, time is all screwed up and the Sea Devils have taken over the earth. With only 4 issues, this feels very by the numbers.
Lone Sloane: Babel ★
This was awful. I couldn't even tell you what it was about. It's that old school kind of sci-fi from the 50's and 60's that talks a lot without saying much. It feels like an adaptation of a book from the way it's written but I think it's just an extension of the original books.
The Cat from the Kimono ★★★
This was solid. It's almost like an anthology but the stories all eventually connect through the cat. It's quirky and odd and a perfectly fine way to spend an hour.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Reborn, Volume 7 – Isolation ★★★★
IDW does a poor job of putting these events together. This is part of Armageddon Game but from reading this you won’t know much about it even though this is the main title. It’s about Donatello and Jennika holding down the fort while the other Turtles are I guess doing the actual event stuff.
Noir Burlesque ★★★★★
I really liked this. It’s great noir with some terrific art. The sepia toned color palette with a red exception worked very well.
Silver: Of Treasures and Thieves ★★★★
A sneaky good, pulpy heist comic. It’s got a Hellboy vibe in that they are robbing vampires. It’s black and white with some cartoonier Mignola influenced art. This is only the first half of the story.
Moriarty: The Clockwork Empire Vol. 1 ★★★
Steampunk Sherlock Holmes meets Jekyll and Hyde.
The Shadows of Thule ★★★
Some natives of preGreat Britain (the Picts) fight Elder Gods and the Romans.
UTown ★★★
A story about a failing loser artist living in a project that’s about to be brought down. He consistently makes wrong choices and blames others for his own mistakes. This was fine. Nowhere near as good as CAB’s Nuclear Winter though.
Frank At Home On The Farm ★★★
This was an odd one. A man returns home from the war to find his family missing and some kind of Animal Farm thing going on with the farm. The art added to the madness.
Boogeyman ★★★★
This was cool. A little boy is attacked by boogeymen and an ancient boogeyman arrives to save him as they go on the run.
Family Time ★★
A decent comic for kids. It's about a family that's transported back to ancient Ireland on a generic adventure.
Die!namite Lives ★★★
The licensed characters of the Dynamite universe fight more Deadites. It doesn't shed any new ground but it does travel some well trod ground well.
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, The Sapling Vol 3: Branches ★★★
It's no surprise that this story with the Sapling just kind of peters out rather than ends satisfactorily. At this point the comics were just kind of limping along.
Unforgiven ★★
The three Unforgiven one-shots, Spider-Man, X-Men and Captain America, are awful. They feature some vampires with zero character who don't drink human blood. Sid Kotian may be a good artist some day but today isn't that day. The Blade: Vampire Nation one-shot in the back, however, is terrific.
Unfamiliar, Vol. 1 ★
A twee little webcomic for little girls. I hated the artwork. It looked like an old Betty Boop cartoon with witches. The stories were so lite they made the Baby Sitters Club look tough.
Lovecraft: Unknown Kadath ★★★
Basically a travelogue through a imaginary land in search of Kadath, a city no one's ever seen. Through the lens of Lovecraft, it's a darker world than one might expect.
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Archives Omnibus Volume 1 ★★★
Collects two stories, Agent Provocateur and The Forgotten. The first story has the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones having a lot of fun as the Shadow Proclamation tries to box them into helping their plans. In the second story, the Doctor and Martha wake up in a museum devoted to the Doctor. He's lost his memories and uses objects from his past to remind himself of past adventures with each era.
I read Washington's Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben which tells a part of American history I'd never heard before. Quite interesting.
Today's trip to my LCS included a comic book signing by the writer of new Dark Horse comic, Lunar Lodge.Uncanny Spider-Man #4
Titans #5
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2
Batman / Superman: World's Finest #21
Immortal X-Men #17
Invincible Iron Man #12
Nightwing #108
Wolverine #39
Void Rivals #6
Lunar Lodge #1
Incredible Hulk #6
The Plot Holes #4
Mod
Here's what folks read:
- Mike: Monica, Time Before Time #29
- Kait: Weathering With You, Vol. 1 through Vol. 3, Kaya, Vol. 2
- Bijhan: Marvel’s Muppet Babies Vol 1
Find Bijhan's work online here:
- https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Blood-G...
- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
- https://www.patreon.com/Jamsheedstudios
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.simplecast.com/ep...
last night I finished 'Blossoms in autumn '. a graphic novel. it was a great
Last week's adventures in comics. Yes, I'm still stuck in Spawnoween hell leftovers. I guess it's Spawnsgiving at this point. I'm really hoping to avoid Spawnmas.Silver: Of Hunters and Prey ★★★★
The supervising animator of What If finishes his story of a heist within Dracula's castle. This was cool.
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Archives Omnibus Volume 2 ★★★★
Where this gets cooking though is the back half. It's an ongoing story where the Doctor is put on trial by the Shadow Proclamation for interfering with history. It brings in a ton of races and plots from the TV show and mixes it up wonderfully.
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Archives Omnibus Volume 3 ★★★★
The Advocate's plans come to light. I like how it all comes together. Great representation of David Tenant and the show itself.
Eye of Newt ★★★
A new take on King Arthur's origins where he's apprenticed to Merlin as Newt and goes on a quest to become a wizard. Some of the elements are still there like Morgan Le Fey and Uther Pendragon but the main focus is on this quest which is all new.
The Golden Voice: The Ballad of Cambodian Rock's Lost Queen ★★★
A biography of one of Cambodia's most popular singers before the Khmer Rouge took over the country. It details her life from early adulthood until her untimely end.
Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Whatever Happened to the Fantastic Four? ★★★★
I found Dan Slott's run uneven and plagued with tiny little volumes full of special issues. These 6 regular issues of the series were a delight. They are all one and done. The first few issues feature various members split up, alluding to something happening a few months before which you find out about in issue #4. Each issue is full of smart writing, humor and a lot of heart.
Spawn: Resurrection Volume 1 ★★
Paul Jenkins has gotten his overwrought hands on Spawn. Every issue is the same. Spawn meets a different character, they talk for forever as they try and sway Spawn, and then Spawn quickly says no and kicks their butt.
Spawn: Satan Saga Wars ★★★
Erik Larsen takes over the book for a while here writing it with McFarlane and drawing it with McFarlane doing inks. With McFarlane as the inker, Larsen's stuff looks much better. I found Larsen's writing refreshing as well. It turns more into the punchy-punchy and far less of the endless introspective exposition blocks.
Spawn: Hell On Earth ★★★
So Spawn has returned from Hell with only a fraction of his powers. He promised Wanda he'd watch over her family. Erik Larsen writes and draws the first several issues so this turns into more of a superhero comic with some of his characters from Savage Dragon. Then McFarlane and Kudranski return and the book gets darker again. Cyan is now 14. She's in a rehab facility and gaining powers like Spawn's.
Spawn: Dark Horror ★★★
Jason Shawn Alexander comes onboard and gives the book an all different look. Certainly more of a horror edge and vibe to it. Cyan is hiding out in Tokyo after the last volume until some gangster types with a Japanese horror element to them cross her path.
Spawn: Vengeance ★★★
The buildup before it sounds like Spawn is going to kick heaven and Hell's asses.
Spawn: The Record-Breaker ★★★
This was actually pretty solid. The status quo changes for Spawn as he goes after heaven and hell. The one thing I would have liked more is a little uncertainty. Spawn is so confident that everything will work out that it sucks some of the drama out of it.
Spawn: Aftermath ★★
Now we've got multiple Spawn's floating around including She-Spawn. You really couldn't come up with a better name than that Toddster? The last two issues, I guess in the future, were very confusing. They mostly sounded like gibberish.
Spawn: Omega ★★
Gunslinger Spawn enters the picture but overall this feels all pretty inconsequential with lots of wheel spinning. I'm officially out of trades for the main Spawn title. Thank God, the end of my labors is in sight.
Spawn's Universe: #1 ★★★
All of these Spawn one offs never seem to make it into any of the collections and that trend continues here. It spins out of Spawn #318 and sets up the three Spawn spinoff books, King Spawn, Gunslinger Spawn and the team book, The Scorched.
Junior ★★★★
Some solid sci-fi here. This woman, Junior, and her miniature hippo alien partner gets stranded on a prehistoric planet. While there they discover what happened to her mom along with an incredible secret. It's fast paced and full of action, not burdening itself down with a ton of exposition or backstory since this is only 4 issues.
James Bond: Agent of Spectre ★★★★
Bond goes undercover to work for Spectre. There's a civil war brewing between Blofeld and one of his lieutenants with Felix Lieter being used as leverage in order to force Bond to work for him. Quick and action packed.
Today's trip to the LCS plus some back issues I picked up on Saturday when comics were 50% off.Alien #5
Penguin #2
Penguin #3
Penguin #4
Punisher #1
Outsiders #1
Titans #4
Captain America #2
Captain America #3
X-Men Blue: Origins #1
Fire Power #29
Something Is Killing the Children #35
Titans: Beast World #1
The Devil That Wears My Face #2
Mod
Here's what folks read:
- Mike: Oldboy 1, Operation Sunshine #1
- Alex: Donner Dinner Party, ASTRONAUT DOWN
Check out the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear our thoughts on what we read! Or listen now at https://ircbpodcast.simplecast.com/ep...
Check out the Opinions May Vary podcast at OMVpodcast.com or @opinionsmayvary on Instagram.
---
Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear ★★★★Loved the variety of unusual Star Wars races in this series and how it feels like it's own thing instead of a tie in to the films. It ends on a cliffhanger.
H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, Volume 1 ★★★★Even for black and white art, parts of this were very gory. There were also a lot of panels that were just Very Serious Looks from the men. This was my first time reading Mountains of Madness and I found myself pretty engrossed. The danger of the expedition is very clear, as well as the strength of the curiosity and awe of the characters. I read this because it was a Hoopla bonus borrow but I definitely intend to read volume 2.
Always Human ★★★★There isn't a plot outside of the relationship in this book but the relationship is pretty cute. I really enjoyed the art. There are some beautiful full page panels.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
I Read Comic Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Astronaut Down (other topics)Always Human (other topics)
Operation Sunshine #1 (other topics)
Oldboy 1 (other topics)
Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear (other topics)
More...
Tell us all about what you're reading this month in the thread below!
As always, if you'd like to check out what the IRCB crew is reading, take a peek at the Top of My Pile posts over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ircbpodcast