Comic Day Week 8 - November 26, 2008

[DoctorFinger]

A nice, meaty week to lead into a nice, meaty holiday.

DC
Batman #681
Blue Beetle #33
JSA Special The Kingdom #1
Superman #682
Trinity #26
Wonder Woman #26

Marvel
Captain America #44
Daredevil #113
Guardians Of The Galaxy #7
Incredible Hercules #123
Ms Marvel #33
Nova #19
Runaways #4
Secret Invasion X-Men #4
She-Hulk 2 #35
Ultimate Spider-Man #128
X-Force #9

Indie
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #19
Star Wars Legacy #30
Transformers All Hail Megatron #5
Transhuman #4
Welcome To Hoxford #4

Picks of the Week

Batman #681 - You may want to avoid the papers and the morning news tomorrow, because there's going to be something of a media blitz about the happenings in this final chapter of Batman RIP. We know this for sure: the Batman mythos will be forever changed by this issue. And by 'forever' changed I probably mean 'until Morrison leaves the book.'

She-Hulk 2 #35 - Another book starring a strong female character, another book that won't be around by March. For the record this puts the total number of ongoing books with female leads or predominantly female casts in the Big Two universes at 3: Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman and Runaways. I could go on for hours about the reasons behind this, but I'm not so sure She-Hulk is the book to use as the rallying cry. The shift in tone from Dan Slott's continuity heavy wackiness, to Peter David's grimmer view of the Jade Giantess was pretty jarring. The book is just as good now as it was then, but the change may have been enough to turn away some readers. Which is a shame, if you think about it.

Transhuman #4 - Jonathan Hickman. Remember that name, because if you don't know it now, you will soon. He's writing the upcoming 'Secret Warriors' for Marvel, as well as continuing to write and draw 'Pax Romana' for Image. Then there is Transhuman, Hickman's hilariously dark documentary style look at corporate rivalries in the field of human enhancement. A tremendously cinematic book, but without any of the so called widescreen action you normally associate with that adjective.

Question of the Week - I realized this week that in this day and age, where just about every story finds it's way into some trade format or another, one of the truly groundbreaking stories of the last quarter century has been completely out of print since 1991 - Alan Moore's Miracleman/Marvelman. Go ahead and click that link to see exactly why it's so rare, but suffice it to say we likely won't be seeing an Absolute Edition of it anytime soon. And it's a damn shame, because by all accounts it's one of those stories every comic fan should have on their shelves. So in the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I ask you all :What stories or collections should every comic fan read in their lifetime?

[Xerxes]

I neeeeeeeed Batman #681 spoilers.

[Savok]

As do I, I need to know how outraged to be

*Just checked Newsarama forums, spoilers seem to be in and no one can make sense of them, even those with the book, so typical Morrison crap really

That everyone should read? I could say Watchmen, but that'd be wrong because I suspect it'd simply drown most readers in symbolism and turn them off comics altogether.

Walt Simonson's run on Thor, 337 to 382, the perfect blend of myth and superheroics. Yes the writing style is old where everyone describes everything in minute detail but it's so fucking good you don't care.

[muddi900]

Local. Every comic fan needs to read Local. And Demo.

POTW:
Batman #681
Jack of Fables #28
Buffy #19

Originally Posted by Savok

That everyone should read? I could say Watchmen, but that'd be wrong because I suspect it'd simply drown most readers in symbolism and turn them off comics altogether.

I would've said Watchmen, but that's too obvious. It was one of the first comic books I've ever read and I've never looked back. It's a disease now.

Assuming people are stupid, makes you look stupid as well.

[AgtFox]

Even Batman #681 won't answer everything I believe. Hasn't Morrison said Batman's ultimate fate rests in Final Crisis that may actually be done by the year 2025

[MosBen]

Wow, Watchmen was one of the first comics you read? Given how much it plays with the super hero genre, I would have figured that it'd be harder to appreciate Watchmen without having read super hero comics for a while. That's cool though.

[Spigot]

Hmm..> Not much for me this week.

Marvel
DAREDEVIL #113

Other
WELCOME TO HOXFORD #4

Wow...

QOTW: I'd probably give someone my entire collection of Cable & Deadpool trades and let the hilarity ensue. That, or something like the earlier Ultimate books or All Star Supes.

[muddi900]

Originally Posted by MosBen

Wow, Watchmen was one of the first comics you read? Given how much it plays with the super hero genre, I would have figured that it'd be harder to appreciate Watchmen without having read super hero comics for a while. That's cool though.

It wasn't the first. I was one of the first! I used to read odd comics that came my way as a kid.

Also, I am the child of the nineties, which had awesome animated series starring Batman, Superman and Spiderman. Then there were the the recent list mega superhero blockbusters. My disease is kinda recent. That's why I don't regularly follow any of the major superheroes, because they are inaccessible to a newcomer. If ask me my favorite superheroes, I'll say Invincible and Iron Fist, because both had series start in this decade.

Also, Watchmen had people with tights, but you can and will enjoy it regardless of knowledge of superhero mythos. What really baffles me is that it still feels so relevant(at least to me), even though it's set in the cold war!

EDIT: If you're into superheroes, you should go out and buy first the Iron Fist trade right NOW!

[MosBen]

muddi, child of the late 80s and early 90s over here, with lots of time spent watching the Batman and X-Men cartoons. I collected comics in the early 90s, but then dropped off with Onslaught. Watchmen brought me back around 2003 and it's really frightening looking at my bookshelf now and thinking about how much money all those trades represent.

As to what books every comic fan should read, I've got a bunch off the top of my head: Ex Machina, Y: The Last Man, Ultimate Spidey, The Ultimates vol. 1 & 2, Blankets, ...It's a bird, Secret Identity, Gotham Central, Hellboy, Planetary, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Welcome To Tranquility (at least the first volume, haven't read anything past that), James Robinson's Starman, Brubaker's Captain America, Frank Miller's Daredevil, Kevin Smith and Brad Metzler's Green Arrow, Identity Crisis, Walking Dead, Fell, and Exterminators.

Of course, in my opinion the best comic of all time is Gaiman's Sandman series. Forget comic fans, literally everyone should read this series. It's not just the best comic I've ever read, but among the best literature. If you haven't read it, go out now and pick up at least the first two volumes. The first volume is great, but you appreciate it more once the series has really started moving. Volume 2 is where I realized it was going to be a special series.

[MosBen]

Oh, and Fables. That's great too.

[MosBen]

I must say, I'm dissapointed that there aren't more people goofing off at work on the day before t-giving by talking about comics...

[muddi900]

Actually comics discussion here are kinda dead, with me, the doctor and Savok the only real constants.

And most of the trades you mention are kinda obvious. I can name Hellboy, Invincible, Walking Dead, Dark Knight Returns, etc.

But these are probably already on average comic book fans shelf. Local is a comic book that fits in the high brow Drawn & Quarterly stuff, except its a little pop. The hard cover of the whole 10-issue series is 20 bucks from amazon. You will love it.

[MosBen]

Yeah, I'm around for comics discussions here, but I usually don't have a ton to contribute because I only pick up trades once in a while. Well, hopefully as the community grows things will get more lively.

As to my picks, I guess they might be obvious, but I guess the question a little vague to me. On the one hand, the things I mentioned (ooh, and Invincible is a good one) should definitely be read by every comic fan. On the other, so does that mean that we're supposed to be suggesting things that every fan should read *but probably haven't*?

If it's the latter, then from my original list I'll stick with: Blankets, ...It's a Bird, and I think Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is pretty un-read by most fans, and maybe add Pride of Baghdad. Oh, and Understanding Comics. I guess Eisner's A Contract With God. but mostly because it's "important" and less because I got into it, which I didn't so much.

Related to the post, if Moore's Miracle Man is unavailable in print, is it available online? Not that I'd condone people breaking any kind of laws, but I'd just expect the nerd community to react to no print availability with scans.

[Panthera]

Originally Posted by MosBen

Oh, and Fables. That's great too.

I love Fables. And Sandman.

I never really collected or followed comic books, but I've been buying a ton of trades over the last couple years. Every one of them worth it.

[muddi900]

Originally Posted by MosBen

If it's the latter, then from my original list I'll stick with: Blankets, ...It's a Bird, and I think Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is pretty un-read by most fans, and maybe add Pride of Baghdad. Oh, and Understanding Comics. I guess Eisner's A Contract With God. but mostly because it's "important" and less because I got into it, which I didn't so much.

Emphasis mine


Necessary for anyone who wants to learn about the medium. Blankets is great too.

Somebody should compile the list!

[Spigot]

Yeah. Blankets is a must read for people who want to read a non-punching 'comic'.

Savok and I are usually in the comic threads. They have been winding down a little faster than usual and don't have as many people contributing to them, but I was noticing that even before the move from EvAv. Oh well. I wonder if it's because a lot of us have been sitting out the major events of late or some other reason.

[Rogue_hunter]

I'm waiting until next week to get Batman and Blue Beetle, mostly because UPS delivers the weekly shipment in the late afternoon.

[Xerxes]

I'll be the first to say Kingdom Come I guess. That was one that pulled me in. Seen it in the book store, I flipped through it and seen the angry Superman part, and I think Shazam beating him up and just got roped in. That was around the period I started paying attention to Alex Ross for the first time.

One that actually had me excited while reading though was Hush. Hush TPB was like a blockbuster movie on pages. It had everyone although it felt weird with the "twist" being thrown in your face from like page one. I figure "who is Hush" was supposed to be the twist at least.

Planet Hulk pretty much covers a lot of foundation in story telling but it handles it well for the most part. I think it's one of those books even Hulk haters can dig.

[Savok]

Originally Posted by Spigot

Yeah. Blankets is a must read for people who want to read a non-punching 'comic'.

Savok and I are usually in the comic threads. They have been winding down a little faster than usual and don't have as many people contributing to them, but I was noticing that even before the move from EvAv. Oh well. I wonder if it's because a lot of us have been sitting out the major events of late or some other reason.

Well between Anal Skrulls and Grant Morrison's latest ode to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas most things have indeed become unreadable.

[Spigot]

Originally Posted by Savok

Well between Anal Skrulls and Grant Morrison's latest ode to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas most things have indeed become unreadable.

I don't even want to know about Anal Skrulls, but I know that whoever decided to hand the reins of the DCU over to Morrison needs a slap. Ambiguous beginings, middles and ends are fine, if you only have one of them. Obfuscation for obfuscation's sake just sends people running.

No wonder I started reading manga lately. At least there I have an excuse if things don't make sense. I'll just blame the translator