Welcome to the weekly roundup where I describe each of my pulled books in one paragraph or less!
Great set of books out this week. Some series begin, others end, and many still carry on. The world of comics is alive, and it’s my job to capture its essence in blurbs.
Action Comics #12: Morrison is back on his game with the introduction of the Myzxlkjxpwkldjxxslej family. Finally, Action Comics is both intriguing and comprehensible.
Animal Man #12: Rot World begins, and it is terrifying.
Avengers vs. X-Men #9: Spidey has his moment in the spotlight, and it hurts. A Colossus punch to the face is incredibly painful looking.
Avenging Spider-Man #10: Bleh.
Before Watchmen: Night Owl #2: Boo shock factor. It is forced, and it does not work.
Daredevil #16: Matt Murdock and Hank Pym share a rare and strange bonding moment. Creepy stuff goes down at Murdock’s law offices. Could Daredevil be losing it?
Detective Comics #12: The book is beautiful, but the story is awkward. But the book is just so beautiful.
Dial H #4: More exposition! Maybe that lizard guy isn’t so bad after all...
Earth-2 #4: The series is finally picking up steam after three issues of dull introductions. Grundy is rather reminiscent of the Rot in Swamp Thing and Animal Man.
Hawkeye #1: The most street level superhero book since Batman: Year One. Everything about it is amazing. Add this to your pull list.
Justice League International #12: The last issue of this book is probably the best so far. Still glad to have it off my pull list now. Maybe the Annual will be good.
Swamp Thing #12: Rot World begins, and it is terrifying.
Thief of Thieves #13: Brilliant plot twists. Redmond is a clever man.
World’s Finest #4: Boring. Generic. Bleh.
Stay tuned next week for more blurb-tastic blurbs!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Tales from the Long Box: Grant Morrison's Batman Retrospective #1
Every week Seth goes into his back issue bins, picks out a single issue, story arc, or creative run, pours through it and then writes about it. He calls it Tales from the Long Box. Though old and now either retconned out of existence or made irrelevant by the latest event, these books still share something in common... they're bagged, boarded, and a part of comics history.
Grant Morrison's Batman Retrospective
Issue one: Batman & Son
Let me start off by saying that over the last four or five years Grant Morrison has become my favorite superhero writer. He did this mostly through the strength of his work on the various Batman titles he's written. It could also be credited to the fact that I've taken in the bulk of his non-Batman superhero work in the last few years rather than spread out over the few decades that he's been writing comics. Basically I gorged myself on his entire back catalog of DC and Marvel fare. He has something to say and often he says it in the most intensely experimental way possible; other times it's surprisingly straight forward.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Weekly Roundup - July 25
Welcome to the weekly roundup where I describe each of my pulled books in one paragraph or less!
Last week did not see a Weekly Roundup, and for that I profusely apologize. Again, my only excuse is that I am a terrible, terrible person. However! Today is a new day, and these comics are some new comics, and we must rejoice in that. My rejoicing comes in the form of blurbs.
Aquaman #11: The story builds toward a confrontation between Aquaman and Black Manta while random Others continue to be superfluous.
Avengers #28: Red Hulk changes his role from tank to assassin and attempts to cut off the Phoenix Five’s head, Cyclops. An interesting look at General Ross apart from his Red Hulk persona.
Batman: The Dark Knight #11: Batman again tries to interrogate a little girl and finds that it is quite different from getting information from thugs.
FF #20: Good, but not as good as previous issues. It strangely lacks the charm that marks the series.
The Flash #11: Barry Allen pulls a Clark Kent and fakes his death to get a better street level view of Central City. Rumblings among the Rogues hint at big things in the future.
Green Lantern #11: Black Hand has a heart-chilling reunion with his family. Dude is creeeeeeepy.
Justice League Dark #11: The dark league continues to battle Felix Faust for the tesseract. Dark hints about dark things to come are darkly dropped by dark villains dark dark dark.
Superman #11: This book is a lead-in to Kryptonian vs. Predator. That thing is totally the predator, right? It looks just like the predator.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #12: The fight we’ve all been waiting for finally arrives: Turtles vs. Shredder. Pick of the week? Pick of the week.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries #6: Casey Jones: A very heartfelt story that solidifies Casey’s character as an upstanding dude.
Stay tuned next week for more blurbs!
Last week did not see a Weekly Roundup, and for that I profusely apologize. Again, my only excuse is that I am a terrible, terrible person. However! Today is a new day, and these comics are some new comics, and we must rejoice in that. My rejoicing comes in the form of blurbs.
Aquaman #11: The story builds toward a confrontation between Aquaman and Black Manta while random Others continue to be superfluous.
Avengers #28: Red Hulk changes his role from tank to assassin and attempts to cut off the Phoenix Five’s head, Cyclops. An interesting look at General Ross apart from his Red Hulk persona.
Batman: The Dark Knight #11: Batman again tries to interrogate a little girl and finds that it is quite different from getting information from thugs.
FF #20: Good, but not as good as previous issues. It strangely lacks the charm that marks the series.
The Flash #11: Barry Allen pulls a Clark Kent and fakes his death to get a better street level view of Central City. Rumblings among the Rogues hint at big things in the future.
Green Lantern #11: Black Hand has a heart-chilling reunion with his family. Dude is creeeeeeepy.
Justice League Dark #11: The dark league continues to battle Felix Faust for the tesseract. Dark hints about dark things to come are darkly dropped by dark villains dark dark dark.
Superman #11: This book is a lead-in to Kryptonian vs. Predator. That thing is totally the predator, right? It looks just like the predator.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #12: The fight we’ve all been waiting for finally arrives: Turtles vs. Shredder. Pick of the week? Pick of the week.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries #6: Casey Jones: A very heartfelt story that solidifies Casey’s character as an upstanding dude.
Stay tuned next week for more blurbs!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises: Review
Christopher Nolan's finale to his take on the Batman mythos is a giant, unwieldy thing, and it is for that reason amongst many others that I adore it. I've always felt like Nolan has an epic vision for these movies that is more reminiscent of David Lean than Frank Miller and with this chapter that opinion is forever cemented in my mind. This is Nolan doing Lawrence of Arabia with established comic book properties. Just like Lean's historical epic we have a battered, broken hero who rises, then falls and is again reborn as the man he needs to become to defeat a tremendous force.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Weekly Roundup - July 11
Welcome to the weekly roundup where I describe each of my pulled books in one paragraph or less!
Every month, this particular week--the one marked by the month’s second Wednesday--never fails to deliver. The books are all solid, and many fly high above the standard. This month’s second Wednesday books are no exception. Writing blurbs for bad books can be fun, but this edition shows that good book blurbs are rewarding as well.
Batgirl #11: The current plot is great, do not misunderstand, but the build up to the return of Barbara’s brother James is the most exciting part of this issue. The future holds good things.
Batman #11: Concluding the amazing Court of Owls saga, the eleventh issue of New 52 Batman satisfies. Batman and his alleged brother Lincoln March battle high in the Gotham skies. Many plot threads are put to rest while others are left open for future exploration by other writers.
Batman & Robin #11: Damian makes good on his threats to humiliate the other Robins. Meanwhile, a group of individuals under the command of the mysterious Terminus seek revenge on Batman by attacking innocents in his name, making the Bat a symbol of fear for the upstanding citizens of Gotham as well as the criminals. Tomasi is becoming a pretty awesome writer.
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2: Darwin Cook’s brilliantly written and beautifully drawn expose on Watchmen’s Minutemen continues to dazzle with its second issue. A rift develops in the team between those who care about crime fighting and those who care only for the fame and publicity associated with heroism. The cracks begin to show even as the group first comes together under a unified banner.
Demon Knights #11: The heroes are granted their deepest desires by a mysterious light, yet those desires are not without consequences. Zombie King Arthur is the only one who can save the Demon Knights in this issue.
New Avengers #28: Bleak. Hopeless. Destitute. Do not read this book if you are looking for encouragement or inspiration.
The Shade #10: Frazier Iriving continues to add an eerie touch to the Shade series while Robinson once more dazzles with his almost poetic dialog. Also giant glowing Egyptian gods. There are those too.
Spider-Men #3: Peter Parker and Miles Morales take on Mysterio’s Ultimate universe avatar. Is there witty dialog? There is witty dialog.
Superboy #11: Superboy robs a bank because he does not understand anything. He also gets a tattoo. What a rebel.
Swamp Thing #11: The battle between the Green and the Rot continues as Snyder leads the story into the upcoming Rot World crossover. The intricate tapestry woven by Snyder and Lemire finally begins to come together in a direct way.
Be sure to tune in next week for blurbs about Justice League, AvX, Wonder Woman, and more!
Every month, this particular week--the one marked by the month’s second Wednesday--never fails to deliver. The books are all solid, and many fly high above the standard. This month’s second Wednesday books are no exception. Writing blurbs for bad books can be fun, but this edition shows that good book blurbs are rewarding as well.
Batgirl #11: The current plot is great, do not misunderstand, but the build up to the return of Barbara’s brother James is the most exciting part of this issue. The future holds good things.
Batman #11: Concluding the amazing Court of Owls saga, the eleventh issue of New 52 Batman satisfies. Batman and his alleged brother Lincoln March battle high in the Gotham skies. Many plot threads are put to rest while others are left open for future exploration by other writers.
Batman & Robin #11: Damian makes good on his threats to humiliate the other Robins. Meanwhile, a group of individuals under the command of the mysterious Terminus seek revenge on Batman by attacking innocents in his name, making the Bat a symbol of fear for the upstanding citizens of Gotham as well as the criminals. Tomasi is becoming a pretty awesome writer.
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2: Darwin Cook’s brilliantly written and beautifully drawn expose on Watchmen’s Minutemen continues to dazzle with its second issue. A rift develops in the team between those who care about crime fighting and those who care only for the fame and publicity associated with heroism. The cracks begin to show even as the group first comes together under a unified banner.
Demon Knights #11: The heroes are granted their deepest desires by a mysterious light, yet those desires are not without consequences. Zombie King Arthur is the only one who can save the Demon Knights in this issue.
New Avengers #28: Bleak. Hopeless. Destitute. Do not read this book if you are looking for encouragement or inspiration.
The Shade #10: Frazier Iriving continues to add an eerie touch to the Shade series while Robinson once more dazzles with his almost poetic dialog. Also giant glowing Egyptian gods. There are those too.
Spider-Men #3: Peter Parker and Miles Morales take on Mysterio’s Ultimate universe avatar. Is there witty dialog? There is witty dialog.
Superboy #11: Superboy robs a bank because he does not understand anything. He also gets a tattoo. What a rebel.
Swamp Thing #11: The battle between the Green and the Rot continues as Snyder leads the story into the upcoming Rot World crossover. The intricate tapestry woven by Snyder and Lemire finally begins to come together in a direct way.
Be sure to tune in next week for blurbs about Justice League, AvX, Wonder Woman, and more!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Tales from the Long Box: Is Marvel Winning the Comic Book Wars?
Every week Seth goes into his back issue bins, picks out a single issue, story arc, or creative run, pours through it and then writes about it. He calls it Tales from the Long Box. Though old and now either retconned out of existence or made irrelevant by the latest event, these books still share something in common... they're bagged, boarded, and a part of comics history.
Is Marvel Winning the Comic Book Wars?
On the most recent episode of our podcast (out now) we were sent an e-mail by faithful listener Michael/@Ctcher asking us if we believed, like him, that Marvel is currently the better company. He mentioned the depth of Marvel's character roster as well as their stable of creative talent. Paul and I got into it a little bit on the show but I felt I had more to say on the subject. So here is me saying more on the subject.
For my part, the importance is always placed on the creators. Sure I love Batman but plenty of bad writers have written awful Batman stories. This was a lesson I learned when I first started reading comics regularly. It all comes down to the creators. When you look at the big guns at Marvel, names like Hickman, Bendis, Fraction, Brubaker, Aaron, Loeb (regardless of how you feel about his work, he's still a big draw for many people), Zeb Wells, Waid... I could go on. At DC you have Johns, Morrison, Lemire, Snyder... I guess you could toss Gail Simone in there but she's only writing one title currently. This isn't to say there aren't more solid writers at either company; there are. But these are the guys who will sell a comic based on name recognition alone.
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