Monday, October 22, 2007

Random Comic Musings

I have spent a lot of money in the past five days.Between my weekly trip to my LCS,two trips to Borders, and my order from Midtown Comics I ended my week with 20 comics and 6 TPBs added to my collection.That's just a shade under $200 being spent.I read a lot.I read fast.I'm insatiable.There's a seemingly infinite amount of choices out there.Good for me.Bad for my wallet.Anyway,here's a run-down of some of what I got.

1)Mighty Avengers #5 :This one took a little while to come out.I'm glad I read a lot.If this was one of only 5 or 6 items on my pull list I'd be pissed.I'm ready for this Ultron story to end.I normally don't mind decompression,but this story really feels dragged out.Does the trade really need to be six issues long?I hope this at least ends with a bang.

2)Captain America:The Chosen #3 :I think this story would work just as well without the whole "Captain America is dying and using mental telepthy"angle.I like the idea of a soldier imagining that all of his brave acts are being performed by Cap.It lends a "was he there or not" kind of mystery to the story.Having him use his best Dr. Strange powers is really a distraction.I still like the story,just not so much that one part.The art,on the other hand, is amazing.Mr. Breitweiser would fit perfectly on Cap's monthly book if the need ever arose.

3)All Star Superman #1,5,6 :I wanted to try this book again without the barrier of translating Bizarro-speak.I'm glad I did.(I just got a solicit call from a chiropractor for a free visit.Please.Why not just go to a witch doctor?Back to the topic...)I'm glad they didn't spend the whole first issue on his origin.Thank you for your assumption that we know the story already.Also, the thing about Superman is that he is so friggin powerful that it is hard for me to get into any story where he's fighting bad guys because I know he'll win.He's Superman,you know?.But seeing him selflessly save the common people and also seeing him deal with the values instilled in him by his upbring add a layer to the character that I can read about all day.I groaned when I saw Krypto in #6,but then seeing how much Supes loves his dog and how he plays with him and how the dog protects him just reinforced that human side and all was forgiven.There really is a deep character in there if the writers care enough to explore it.

4)Marvel Comics Presents #2 :It's all about Hellcat folks.The first story with the police detectives and the Watcher is pretty good as well.

5)Walking Dead Vol 7:The Calm Before :Not much happens in this volume.Everyone settles into the prison and the mood lightens a bit.Carol finally finds a way to commit suicide,but at this point seeing main characters die isn't too shocking.The ending just killed me.Not because I hated it, but rather because I'm trade-waiting this book and now the anticipation is killing me.I somehow just knew the Governor wasn't dead.A man with no cock AND a tank equals a lot of fucking trouble.Seeing Rick's group tortured and forced to bounce around all the time just kills me.I find myself reading and going "Just give them ten minutes of peace!!!Damn you Kirkman!!"That said, it's still a fantastic,gripping read.

6)JLA:Earth 2 :I bought this because it was on some 100 greatest TPB list that I found.This was just silly.I'm not a fan of DC's having multiple versions of the same character interacting with each other.I thought maybe seeing the evil versions would be different,but it wasn't.It's still annoying.Martian Manhunter came off pretty good here though.

7)Nextwave :Agents of HATE #5(Crayon Butchery variant) :I could not wait for this one to arrive.I got two copies.One gets bagged and boardded and goes straight into my long boxes.The other I am tackling with a box of 72 colored pencils.I know the contest is over, but I still would like to tackle coloring the whole issue.I started yesterday and spent about 4 or 5 hours on it.My hand was so fucking cramped by the end.I'm no artist.My coloring job will not be even half as good as what was originally published.But I do have to say that so far, it doesn't look too bad.The flat coloring just makes the book seem a little retro and even psychedelic.I keep the original on hand for reference for costumes, but other than that I'm winging it.I don't want an exact copy.

8)DMZ Vol 1:On The Ground :I've seen this at the bookstore for months now and havbe always been tempted to grab it since it's only $10.I like the idea of a second American civil war with NY as the front line,so I finally picked it up.I have to say that after reading it I don't know anything more about the story than I did by reading the back of the book.Five issues worth of reading and nothing to show for it.I'm not even sure if I like the main character.This doesn't seem up to Vertigo's normal level of quality.I know there's at least a second volume,but I'll be skipping it.This book joins Ex Machina in the "failed-to-grab-me" pile.

9)Deadpool (Various):I'm still in the process of collecting all of Deadpool's first full-length series.I'd guess that I'm probably about halfway there by now.It's a little inconsistent,depending on who's doing the writing,but overall I'm really enjoying the whole series.There are more than a few great moments,such as Loki cursing Deadpool with the face of famous actor "Thom Cruz" not to mention his whole ordeal with Typhoid Mary.Oh yeah.Deadpool was able to lift Thor's hammer and become a Deadpool/Thor.It's not what it sounds like when it's all over,but it was still a great issue.

That's it for now.


2 comments:

Wendy Withers said...

You're so lucky. Lately, I haven't even had time to read the free books I got from The Tampa Trib to review. And, I've been spending all of my money on Super Serious Goth Superstar clothes and clothes I can wear to the Renaissance Festival and Pirate Faire. I think the next comic I'm going to get is Zombies. It's calling to me. Or, maybe The Sandman. I love Gaiman's books, but every time I go to buy his comics, I get distracted by something shiny and end up buying other books instead. Damned Lovecraft.

GeneralBobby said...

I got a Gaiman book too.I got Death:The Time Of Your Life,but didn't talk about it because I had to finish my post at work.I also have the Eternals HC but that's about it from him.And at least you spend money on fun things.All of my fun money and a good portion of my free time goes to comics.My other hobbies are mostly free.I haven't read Zombies yet.I'm sure I will eventually, considering the way I've been blowing through books recently.