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Main Junction: [Closed] Tell Ellis Of Your New Comics

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  1.  (2572.1)
    Because you demanded it (months ago), every week I open a thread for discussion of the comics you bought this week. I don't want a list of what you bought. I want to know what you thought about what you bought. Use the "hide" button to disguise spoiler material, if you can, please -- people use this thread to decide what comics to buy on a weekend visit.

    This week, please divide your purchases into the following categories:

    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR

    and

    DROWNING IN BERLIN

    -- w
    •  
      CommentAuthorLil Jerry
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008 edited
     (2572.2)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR:

    B.P.R.D. War on Frogs #1: I guess this mini is finally gonna wrap up the continuing "frog plague" story, which is great. I'm kinda sick of seeing them... The art was wonderful as usual, Guy Davis continues his excellent run. The fact that Abe still insists on not being a field agent hopefully changes during the course of the upcoming issues.

    Kick-Ass #3: I love this book. The main character has worse luck than Peter Parker could ever imagine. The rumor floating around school as to why he has all the bruises is hilarious, not to mentioon the fact that he embraces them in order to talk to girls...

    Goon #25: "Happiness is for pussies." Spectacular.

    DROWNING IN BERLIN

    Green Lantern Corps #25: I'm sure the issue is fine, I'm just really bored with it. The whole issue was basically a plant telling its origin...

    That's all I've had time to read since yesterday... also, my shop doesn't carry Avatar books even though I repeatedly request them, so once again I'll have to grab Doc Sleepless when I'm out of town...
    •  
      CommentAuthorAndre
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008
     (2572.3)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR

    Invincible #50
    This is just a fun comic. The art is amazing and the story has an old school feel with current overtones. Kirkman’s dialogue can often take you out of the story, sometimes it’s static and unrealistic but overall this issue makes for a tight package. Mark learns about how the world really works and that not everything is as cut and dry, as young minds often think. The conflict was well drawn and seeing Mark and Eve
    finally get together
    was gratifying. The back ups were fun but the science dog one was really needless

    Amazing Spider-Man #562:
    Gale has certainly stepped up his game in the dialogue department. This was a light hearted romp through the world of a very obscure Spider-man villain. It was interesting to see “The Bookie” get some front and centre time and seeing his personal life was quite entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading this issue and eagerly look forward to the next one.

    Eternals #1:
    I’ll admit I was uneasy about this. I thought without Neil Gaiman involved this would be a flop. I was pleasantly mistaken. The new dynamic is interesting and the characters aren’t far removed from the intial mini’s depiction of them. The race to unlock Eternals makes for fast paced reading and the newest Preacher character was very interesting indeed. I’d suggest this for anyone who was a fan of Neil’s Series.

    Newuniversal: Shockfront #2:
    A clapping of hands for another excellent issue. This series reminds me of how fun the show Heroes can be and that written correctly real world settings make for an excellent playground when it comes to superhuman characters. I’ loving the characterization of Spitfire and the investigative work of Starbrand and Nightmask. The last few pages were great and the set-up involing Jack Magnitcore was superb. A great read.

    Twelve#6:
    This title has certainly brought it’s A-game for this issue. Seeing the truth come to light about Rock-mnan was quite satisfying. I never truly believed his story and the horrifying truth was heart wrenching to say the least. I actually felt bad for the guy and any comic that actually makes me feel anything is good in my books. This issue very much sets up something bad coming down the pipeline and it’s good to see some more solid characterization happening. This book is certainly picking up.

    Doktor Sleepless #7:
    Another great issue. Warren is taking the wool from my eyes and lifting me up so that I can stand tall and cry to the heaven’s “Where’s my fucking Jet-pack?”, the dystopian future Mr. Ellis provides isn’t really the future, it’s right now, the statistics that Reinhardt rattles off are mind blowing and eye opening to say the least. The line about the world if it was any kind of a buyable system would be considered fundamentally flawed and taken back, really hit home with me. Warren is doing some amazing things here and as we all know, it’s only going to get better.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAndre
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008
     (2572.4)
    DROWNING IN BERLIN

    Trinity #2:
    Not Much in the way of progression. Nothing overly interesting or awe-inspiring happened. Just an average read that was a little under whelming. The back-story wasn’t bad for an old school hero v.s. villain feel, but I just wasn’t clicking in this issue. The art was pretty solid though, thumbs up for Bagley.

    Secret Invasion: Who do you trust?:
    This is only for the Marvel complete-ist. These are all back-ups to plot threads in other books which really wouldn’t matter to anyone who hadn’t or had read them. A waste of time and shameless cash-in.
    •  
      CommentAuthorjoe.distort
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008 edited
     (2572.5)
    this may be the best week for comics all year so far, quality-wise. also, my girlfriend is slowly staring to dig through my weekly books with me more and more, which is both awesome and mildly annoying at the same time, haha.

    IM IN LOVE:
    DOKTOR SLEEPLESS: my favorite opening of the series so far, and it doesnt really let up. the masks are fucking brilliant and as a zine kid, i was happy to see them mentioned. i would imagine that the concept of doing a zine and just dropping them off randomly at places is pretty foreign to a lot of normal people, so i liked the reaction being so matter of factly. now that CASANOVA is on indefinite hiatus, this is definitely my favorite ongoing.

    LOCAL: an ending a long time coming, and while the "guest stars" were pretty transparent and couldve been hugely cheesy in their execution it came out seriously fucking good. the final three pages sum up something i think about in my own life all of the time: as much as i hated my fucked up childhood/teenage years, would i be in the situation i am in now with my life if i was raised differently? and would i change it if i lived it again, knowing that? probably not-my life right now is great. this comic almost brought me to tears.

    BOOSTER GOLD: how did this end up so great? this issues had the biggest "HOLY SHIT!!!!!!" reveal ive read in a long time and not only was it totally unexpected, but it made perfect sense in every aspect of the past year of stories. this is what superheroes are supposed to be like, and i am going to be very sad to see misters johns and katz leave.

    YOUNG LIARS: more insight into the past while seeing the fucked up present of how these people treat each other. sadie is a disaster, in the kind of way how i totally understand how he would love her like an idiot. although i probably dont know anything that is really going on yet and am an idiot, judging by the random revelations of truth and snippets of lies in this issue....

    RED MASS FOR MARS: hickman can do no wrong as far as im concerned, and this looks to continue that. jumping back and forth between settings, feeding us a shit ton of information, letting us put together whatever we can about whats going on and saving the (apparent) thematic reveal of the series for the last page cliffhanger. you know those things you read and figure it out while its happening while others ask questions, not quite knowing how to do that on the fly? this is that new overload of sci fi information. hooked.

    INVINCIBLE: i cant believe this is the fiftieth issue- having been with it for the whole thing, there has really been character and world growth in this book the whole way. i will not be dropping this ever, if the direction keeps going the way it appears to be...but that wouldnt be the first red herring in this series, now would it? a soap opera in every way, just with a lot more face punching.

    NUMBER OF THE BEAST: the wildstorm crisis plows along nicely- its bi-weekly, so ive pretty much run out of things to say about at this point but its like a dark event book with actual reprecussions because wildstorm is willing to make real, long lasting changes to their characters. my favorite: the seemingly evil methods that the high is forced into to "wake up" his peers. that and "you'll love this- i told them you're the anti-christ!".

    PROJECT SUPERIOR: three short stories in this b+w anthology, the first being a street angel tale. this is the first time ive read anything with these characters and its genuinely funny. i love the one panel throwaway concept of the hospital being a neutral zone for warring ninja clans. the middle story is a sweetly heartbreaking one off starring a brother and sister , where the saddest part is left mostly unaddressed but theres really no way to miss it. i also got pretty choked up at this simple story. it ends with the weakest part, a juvenile mentalist facing off with a bully. if you think the concept of a child using mental power to make his teacher fart repeatedly is funny, have at it. there are a few cute parts, but this whole section is just, i dunno, cutesy in an ironic way? that sounds right.

    DROWNING:

    nothing for me, but i read SECRET INVASION: WHO DO YOU TRUST in the store, haha. wow. this would be funnier if not for the fact that it, through multiple printings and such, will probably sell more than all the books i bought this week combined.
  6.  (2572.6)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR

    Red Mass for Mars 1: Beautiful. I think I've jibbered this before. Jonathan Hickman is the future of comics. Every project I've read of his feels newer and more future-facing. What a great book

    Local #12: There's a bit where Megan wakes and runs up a hill desperate to get someone on the line, just to see if they're alive. Like many moments in this series I've lived just that instance. I will miss this book. I'm very glad to see it's getting a hardcover. It's my christmas gift for everyone this year.

    Goon#25: Eric Powell can really do no wrong here. Frankie's line "Amateur" made me laugh quite hard.

    Tiny Titans: Just a joyful kiddie book. Such beautiful, simple art. Again, I have no ideas what the "grown-up titans" books are like. And don't care to.

    The Programme Tpb: Missed this the first run through. The art is spectacular. I love Cold War Superheroes.


    Newuniversal: Shockfront #2: I tried to watch Heroes recently. I think I fell asleep when the scientist guy starting yammering on about his daddy. This book is what I want from the "Real World meet Capes" genre. It's mean and funny and smart.

    DROWNING IN BERLIN
    Invincible #50: I followed this book early on. I liked Walking Dead and Kirkman seemed to be having some fun with the super-tropes. I fell off around issue 30 or so. Picking up this issue I remember why. Lots of wheel-spinning. The story seems telegraphed like a punch-drunk fighter's weak jab. The ocean of back-up material is cute, but it's choppily written. Walking Dead's a great book, think I'll stick to that.
    •  
      CommentAuthorzoem
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008 edited
     (2572.7)
    I'm always a day late and a dollar short as I only go to the comic shop every couple weeks. Despite the cute girls and the nice cat and the good smelling comics there. Am I the only one who loves the smell of rich bright possibly carcinogenic ink?

    Onward:

    I'M IN LOVE WITH HEDY LAMARR

    Doktor Sleepless 7 : Very quickly becoming a favorite series. Honestly I wasn't sure, but the momentum is working in a direction that pleases me.
    The Programme 11 : I like anti-heros, what can I say.
    The Vinyl Underground : Continues to amuse. I don't know for how long, though - we'll see how this story arc furls.
    Burn 1&2 : Got these on the strength of their cover art, and wasn't disappointed. Black and white comics can be really hard to follow at times - I find them to often be overly dense. But this is nice. Where "nice" is "grim skynet future and forced cyberneticism"
    Narcopolis 3 : Both vinyl suits and underground psychotropic fungus. Everything else is just gravy.
    Arkham Asylum : I have no idea why I never picked this up, it's clearly been out long enough, considering this is the 15th anniversary edition. But then, ya'll know it's good. So 'nuff said.

    SPUTTERING IN BERLIN

    Project: Kalki 1 : From the interesting Virgin Comics imprint. Haven't gotten to reading it yet because it has some tiny fucking text in the first few panels. Letterists, I am old and blind, PLEASE stop this. The comic might be good but if I can't read it I'll never know.
  8.  (2572.8)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR

    UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP - I haven't read this whole thing yet, so I don't have too many thoughts on the story as a whole, but couldn't you just look at Dave Stewart's colors for fucking hours? Everything he does is just hypnotizing to me. I just want to stare at these pages until I understand better how he does what he does.

    DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #7 - It may just be a function of me not being as well-read in many of the areas of thought on which Sleepless touches, but I am continually so very pleased that I have no idea where this book is going. It's a joy to watch it unfold.

    SKAAR SON OF HULK #1 - This book is nothing but alien barbarians killing the shit out of each other. It is therefore AWESOME. And it has a monstrous evil barbarian who rides a dinosaur and is named AXEMAN BONE. Done. Sold. Gimme.

    DROWNING IN BERLIN

    HULK: RAGING THUNDER, which I bought for a review-a-bunch-of-Hulk-comics project on my blog. The lead story was fairly anemic and pointless, and was very short. Most of the book is actually taken up by a reprint of a bland Gerry Conway Fantastic Four story. The only redeeming feature is Ramona Fradon's art in the reprint (from the early '70s, I think) - she pulls off some really lovely sequences. Very cartoony, very fun, with a unique personality in some of the layouts and facial expressions. I knew the name "Ramona Fradon" but I couldn't think of where I knew it from. The internet reminds me that she co-created Metamorpho and drew his first four appearances, which I'll have to track down, since I think Fradon working on something other than a Gerry Conway script is something I'd very much like to see.

    SPRECHEN SIE DEUSTCH?

    I'm torn on LOCAL #12. There are things I really like about it, but I think I would have preferred it if Wood and Kelly had gone for a subtler note, rather than the pretty explicit "explanation of what this series ended up being about" narration. My favorite issue of this series is still #3, which barely showcases the main character at all, and that might be indicative of the problem lying with me, and not with the book. But there was a lot that felt sort of...sloppy? That sounds harsher than I mean it to. But for example, there are a couple of pages where Kelly clearly looks rushed, and in one panel screws up his proportion to give Megan a teeny-tiny little head. Which, y'know, it happens, but it's jarring in a book where the art has been so consistently solid. Likewise, Wood seems to rush through a lot of straightforward telling-not-showing, which goes against the grain of how the rest of the series functioned, and not in a way that worked for me. Still, this book has been so good - one of my favorites - that I don't want to judge the end too quickly. I'll probably set it aside and re-read it in a few weeks and see if I come to it any differently.

    My local shop didn't get Red Mass for Mars, or Narcopolis. I really need to get on top of my pre-orders.
  9.  (2572.9)
    UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP


    i love everything about this book, too bad most people ignored it because of who the writer was....
  10.  (2572.10)
    UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP - I haven't read this whole thing yet, so I don't have too many thoughts on the story as a whole, but couldn't you just look at Dave Stewart's colors for fucking hours? Everything he does is just hypnotizing to me. I just want to stare at these pages until I understand better how he does what he does.


    Shit. I didn't know this was out this week. I really want to check it out.

    I didn't get to the comic shop this week, but I did get two comic/design books.

    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR

    AKIRA CLUB - otomo - awesome.

    UNCREDITED (Graphic design & opening titles in movies) - 312 pages of progressive stills from title sequences - it also comes with a DVD of all the titles. Sound great? It is.
    • CommentAuthorScottS
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008
     (2572.11)
    I was hooked on Umbrella Academy when the Free Comic Day edition came out and I devoured the mini series and thought it was, to use a much overused phrase, "Full of WIN". Like the disturbing yet gorgeous lovechild of an unholy Fraction/Mignola union.
  12.  (2572.12)
    UMBRELLA ACADEMY...too bad most people ignored it because of who the writer was....


    Did they really? I was hearing all sorts of praise for it, and I think each issue was in the icv2 Top 100. The last issue had more orders than Fables which is considered Vertigo's rock right now. I know there are all sorts of problems with direct comparisons of icv2 numbers, but that seems to at least indicate some healthy demand. Healthy for comics, anyway.

    I'm fairly sure this is something that was always meant to find a wider audience in trade, as well.
  13.  (2572.13)
    i meant people that i actually talked to, so i guess i phrased my other post kinda half assed. whoops...
    • CommentAuthorDonburiBoy
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008
     (2572.14)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN FILM STAR

    ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL 3 HC by Neil Gaiman and various. I haven't even opened it, yet I am in love with it, as I am all the lovely Absolute Editions. They are very pretty and so very, very heavy. I should really stop putting them on the highest shelf in my house, because one day I'm going to drop in on my own face and die.

    NUMBER OF THE BEAST #5 of 8 by Scott Beatty & Chris Sprouse. I am still digging this, as I still have a Wrong Love for all that is the WildStorm Universe, so I can ignore the fact that this is a very, very decompressed book. The bi-weekly schedule kind of makes up for it. And, you know, having new Chris Sprouse art to look at every couple of weeks is not a bad thing. It's also a nice little hiding spot away from the other big summer events.

    DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #7 by Ellis & Ivan Rodriguez. Although I enjoy it, I find this book to be very depressing.

    and

    DROWNING IN BERLIN

    THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA: DEATH OF THE DREAM TP by Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting. It's not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but it's only half the story. I would really prefer if Marvel released Brubaker's Captain America & Daredevil arcs in those lovely, oversized hardcovers. I realize this is my problem, and not in the control of the creative team.
    •  
      CommentAuthorchris g
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008
     (2572.15)
    DROWNING IN BERLIN (kind of)

    Angel: After the Fall #8 - This is the end of the "First Night" installments detailing what went down after "Not Fade Away" in season 5. I liked it but I wasn't as overjoyed as I wished I was. Must have been the lack of Angel for the past couple of issues. Next issue is back to the present though! YAY!

    @ScottS - Hell yeah, Umbrella Academy filled me with gooey joy! It filled the void left by NExtwave.
    • CommentAuthorKeagan
    • CommentTimeJun 12th 2008 edited
     (2572.16)
    Drowing in Berlin:
    Tiny Titans : I love children's comics..just not children.
    Umbrella Academy : I can't get anyone to read it..but I love it.
    Simon Dark : Is a great story.
  17.  (2572.17)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH LILI VON SHTUPP

    Starman Omnibus Vol. 1 - Finally, finally came.

    Starman and Bone were the first time I picked up something that wasn't X-Men or The Avengers. This was in...8th grade, or maybe a little before? In any case, Starman was one of those Comics That Changed My Life, and still holds up.

    And I still fucking love the line, "You know, I grow a goatee sometimes. And I have to look in the mirror to shave it off."

    (And I still maintain that all those gangsters in that vaguely-forced Sondheim debate are wrong. A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum is the best Sondheim musical.)
    •  
      CommentAuthortexture
    • CommentTimeJun 13th 2008
     (2572.18)
    I'M IN LOVE WITH A GERMAN ASTROPHYCISIST:

    Doktor Sleepless 7     - Did that last panel say 'To be concluded?' As in, no more? Please, say it ain't so... Say it just means the arc, right? RIGHT? This comic is so brilliant it hurts. Whereas Transmet was the culminated, accelerated hyper-future, this is the Sneaky Future (as Shaviro properly identifies in the backmatter). I won't echo Shaviro too much, I just want to emphasise why I love Dok. The comic seems to react not to a distant technological point in the future, but to the now that is happening while I read... The Anonymiser masks made me think of the Anon protests against Scientology (of course), but they were tied in to ideas about surveillance and privatisation which have yet to be immanentized (at least, not here in Scotland - I'm sure they have BurgerCops in the good ol' US of A). This is what Hard Sci-Fi is FOR, peoples, and Warren is one of its' greatest proponents... perhaps significantly because he writes in a monthly format, and can therefore react to stuff in a more 'real time' way than sci-fi novelists. Pointing the way to Hakim Bey was a nice touch too... I think Dok will be seen as a seminal work, I love the slithery, sinuous way it is curled around our present. I love the manifesto, too - If TransMet screamed 'Destroy', then this screams 'Create'. Superlative.

    The Goon 25 - There's this thing that happens to creator-owned series like The Goon and Fear Agent, whereby the writers seem to realise about a year or two into the book that they want to do a huge, over-arching story that explains the mythology and world of the protagonists. An uber-story, if you will. In the case of The Goon, I'm kind of half-sold - I dont think we as the audience need to be told that the Goon is a hero, or that the town is what causes his misery... I think it's already implicit in the comic. That said, Powell seems to be building to some sort of muckty-big zombie fight, so I really am not going to complain. Yet again, Dave Stewart's colours take Powell's art to another level. The panel where Goon busts into the warehouse as a silhouette was fantastic. But as a long-time Goon fan, I miss some of the more crass plots that used to preoccupy our heroes. I just hope that when the uber-story ends, The Goon will have somehwere to go, you feel me? However, I don't want to give you the impression that this book was anything other than completely, insanely awesome, cos it is.

    Fear Agent 21 - This book always pretended that it didn't have an uber-story going on... Vols 1 & 2 (the fabulous Ignition and My War - buy buy buy) had various alien-filled romps and gently introduced the time-travel tropes, along with Huston's love interests and so on... but as Remender builds towards a huge revelation in the next arc (I think I've guessed it, but my lips are sealed), he has gently eased me into a state where I care more about the uber-story than I do about the rollicking alien-bashing fun. This comic is such value for money - Jerome Opena's art is lush: it's almost as if he and Moore are upping the stakes with each arc, trying to better each other. And the dialogue from Remender is just classic - finely pitched between whiskey-sodden philosophy and old-school Boys Own adventure. Seriously, Fear Agent is the bomb.

    New Universal Shockfront 2 - I'm enjoying this more than the first arc, I think... Particularly enjoyed the scene with the two chicks watching the bank of TV screens. That there's some classic Ellis. A question for other readers - would I enjoy this even more if I had read the old New Universe titles? Just curious.

    Narcopolis 3 - Okay so sometimes this book's difficult to read - the newspeak is quite laboured (although it all works, some of it doesnt scan so well), the world-building is so intricate that it can feel overwhelming, and the central character is elliptical as fuck. Nonetheless it's a masterpiece IMHO - philosophically complex, with a truly alien feel, and some beautiful artwork. What I like best is it's ambiguity, the subtle way in which every character is both repellant and attractive. It makes my brain hurt deliciously, and in terms of a speculation on the future of drug abuse, I think it sits up there with A Clockwork Orange and Transmet. Delano has knocked this one out of the park.
    •  
      CommentAuthortexture
    • CommentTimeJun 13th 2008
     (2572.19)
    DROWNING IN BERLIN:

    Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs 2     - A guilty pleasure. Enjoyed it, but the artwork is a touch bland. Would have been waaaay cooler if the inside looked like the cover. Good ideas though, way to resurrect a franchise. I'll buy the rest of the mini and hide it in the bathroom.

    X-Force: Aint No Dog One-shot - Some nice Frank Miller / John Romita Jr.-style artwork in the Wolverine story, but I wasn't feeling Charlie Huston's take on Wolverine. "I can't spell innocent without I got a dictionary to look it up." Sorry, I don't buy that - he's been alive for decades and decades, he's smart and ruthless... not a hick with claws. An overly simplistic take. Jason Aaron's take on Warpath was marginally more interesting, but this comic was far from essential reading.
    •  
      CommentAuthortexture
    • CommentTimeJun 13th 2008
     (2572.20)
    ALSO -

    Re - The Umbrella Academy TPB - I read this in singles when it came out and I've got to say I was stunned. Can't wait for more. I even went out and listened to My Chemical Romance out of admiration for Way's work on the comic. Boy, as a rock singer he sure makes a good comic writer if you see what I mean. That band both suck and blow, unlike the comic, which is sheer gorgeous-ness upon gorgeous-ity. It's got everything - chimps, time-travel, killer robots, mad scientists and covers by James Jean. I would wholeheartedly recommend picking up the TPB (I may do so myself, so I can lend it to folks.)

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