.Are you tired of reading comics in short, monthly instalments?
Do you yearn for nice, smart books with spines, dustjackets and no ads?
Are you willing to pay ridiculously inflated prices for hardcover reprints of comics you already own in three different editions, just because the page size in the new version is ½” bigger?
Then this is the thread for you!
New thread, new mindset. I’ve had a bit of a reorganisation of my collection in the past few weeks and realised there is a huge amount of stuff that I own and like, but realistically am never going to read again.
So I’m having a bit of a purge. I’ve been fairly ruthless with my collection – especially with books that I now own digitally as well as in hardcopy – and have stuck a load of books on ebay to try and shift them.
It’s good to do this every so often. I often find myself coming back to books I bought a while ago, fully expecting to keep forever, and realising that my enthusiasm for them isn’t quite the same any more.
It meant I re-read Y-The Last Man properly and got a very different perspective on the book. It’s still somewhat disappointing in the second half and the end is disappointed and too sad unless you decide the book is about Hero’s journey perhaps.
I bought it and read it as floppies when it first came out. I remember being disappointed in it from #50 to the end of the series. The last issue didn’t really connect with me.
Daredevil epic collection v20 – Purgatory and Paradise
This volume reminds me a lot of a Dr Strange epic, I think called Afterlife, that I read a year or so back. Both are composed of mid-90s comics and both see the series having to be soft rebooted after straying away from the light.
In this case, it’s JM DeMatteis having to deal with Daredevil wearing his armoured costume and living under the alias of conman Jack Battlin, a street hustler. This is from DG Chichester’s execrable run, of which I’ve read the start. That didn’t get to the Jack Battlin stuff, AFAIR, and I really don’t get the point of it, frankly. What benefit was there to having DD not be Matt Murdock any more?
Any, DeMatteis sweeps this aside and does a story, that while a bit evocative of Kraven’s Last Hunt, sees Matt descend into full on dissociative personality disorder and fight himself. It’s not an amazing story, but it’s one of those house-clearing things that is necessary at times in long running series.
It sets up for the run that mainly features in this volume, which is mainly by Karl Kesel and Cary Nord. And it’s pretty good.
There’s an old interview at the back where the editor tries to claim it’s not a retro set-up, but is really. DD is Matt again, working in the law firm with Foggy again and dating Karen. But it does give new twists to that: Foggy knows Matt’s secret identity, the firm merges with one run by Rosalind “Razor” Sharp. And that generally all works pretty well.
It is definitely a retro tone though, harkening back to the relatively light-hearted, two-fisted fun of the original Stan Lee run. And that’s fine – sure it’s a little sub-Spider-Man but it’s a good contrast to the interminable, impenetrable grim-dark of the previous run and that era of comics generally.
Cary Nord’s art is less successful, unfortunately. It’s not bad, by any means, but it largely feels like a tribute act to artists like Jae Lee. There are a fair few issues with other artists – usually old hands like Larry Hama – doing breakdowns and layouts too, which does track with some instances of poor story-telling that are indicative of novice artist.
It’s nice reading this how you can see the emergence of that bright, clean pseudo-retro style of the late 90s in the colouring and lettering. The colouring is initially by Malibu and has shading all done with the burn tool in photoshop, it seems. Eventually, Malibu disappears and the shading… well, doesn’t get any better, but all the shading is done with a very blocky moire pattern/halftoneish texture which looks awful. But the switch to lettering by Comicraft in the last couple of issues is a real step up and definitely feels like one of those dividing lines between the mid-90s and late-90s.
So overall this is a fun if unspectacular Daredevil run. Worth checking out.
Over a decade after I started it (my email says I bought the first volume in May 2009), I finally finished Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, with the 21st Century Boys Perfect Edition.
It’s a very good series! It’s too long, at 24 volumes, and there’s definitely too many characters to keep track of, but if you’re able to get hold of all of the series, it’s worth a read.
Now I need to finally finish Monster, which I started around the same time.
Reading the second volume of Once and Future. So much fun.
Talking of, it’s getting a deluxe hardback covering vols 1-2 in December.
Detective Comics – James Tynion IV – OHCs 1-4
Eye have read it, Eye approve…. <purging infection> ….. <running Get Tae Feck protocol…> …. Hmm, where was I? Oh yeah, Tynion’s ‘Tec run.
On one front OHCs beats Omnibuses easily, you can’t really have a lie-in and read an Omnibus in bed.
Having gone through the quartet, with the first being a re-read some four to five years later, a couple of things are quite apparent. One is this run is an argument for super tradewaiting, for holding off and reading the lot in one big bundle. The arc with Spoiler isn’t entirely reduced to being irritant free, it is still reduced to being a hollow critique because really taking it seriously kills the entire Bat-mythos, but reading in long form, it is both massively reduced and the story makes more sense. The longer playthrough of it is particularly interesting.
I am inclined to play the long game on his current Batman run, nab the hardbacks as they become available, but hold off reading, as it worked so well here.
There are so many clever uses, clever re-imaginings of 90s Batman but without resorting to the too frequent Knightfall re-run that both King, and before him, Morrison, resorted to. Sure, that kind of story of taking Batman apart has its place, but there’s been two big runs on the same ground over the last 15 years, time for something new, you know? Which is what Tynion does, there’s Cassandra Cass and Azrael, both play out in very interesting and well executed ways. Tynion’s take on Batwoman is intriguing, on the one hand she is physically and technically very proficient, but is far more psychologically fragile than she wishes to deal with.
There’s also more diversity in this run than I would have expected DC to permit, maybe they did learn something from the Batwoman fiasco of years earlier. Bi, trans characters, pronouns – it’s all here in an off-handed, casual way that makes it all the better. These are not foreground, centre of story details, they are character points. I’m sure some will be greatly hacked off by their being present at all, can’t say I care much abot those people.
Tynion even manages to do a link to the mess that was DC’s big Rebirth arc, leading to Doomsday Clock, but uses it to progress the overall run, not the big company story. That is something of an art and great to see when it is done well and it is here.
I had a damn good four hours or so reading this block. It did also highlight how much a shame it is that DC have moved away from issuing OHCs, the Rebirth ones were quality volumes.
The temptation to triple dip this run remains strong. The omnibus tempts me regularly but I’m trying to resist. Although the exclusion of the Batwoman tie in issue (#6) in both the OHC and Omnibus bugs me. I’d much rather have had that included than the random fill in issue that they threw in at the end (#982).
That being said, whilst I adore this run, it is a little annoying that DC, for once, decided to leave this as a self-contained run. The “Gotham Knights” team made a huge amount of sense to my mind, and had legs to continue indefinitely. Even if DC wanted to repurpose Detective Comics the way they did with Tomasi’s run.
I realise Tim was the lynchpin and it was his hubris that ultimately was the team’s downfall, but given the ties that bind these characters together it doesn’t make a huge amount of “in narrative” sense that they wouldn’t continue as a team.
I’m really hoping that this year’s Thought Bubble does go ahead so I can meet Tynion in person. Getting him to sign the page of original artwork I own from this run would be pretty sweet. Fingers crossed!
Death or Glory: Prestige Edition HC
I only picked this up on a whim, but over the course of these 11 issues I really ended up falling in love with these characters and their world.
Remender’s writing is harsh and unflinching at times, and doesn’t always give you the payoffs you want or expect, but the warmth and humanity shines through and there are some great messages and observations about life in there.
Beautiful art too, particularly the colours. And you’ve never read a more epic car chase.
This HC is also a really nice edition with some art and process extras and a load of variant covers (including a really nice one by Tula Lotay which is what drew me to the series in the first place). Good stuff.
I can meet Tynion in person.
I have met him a couple of times but this was back while he was writing Detec so he may be much busier these days. He was very cool to talk to and im glad to have met him.
It’s been a while since the Trades Thread sold me a couple of books so thanks for flagging these two.
Bog Bodies
Fucking hell, these boys like to fucking swear!
It’s a weird tale, but it has this lyrical sense to it that sweeps you along all the way to very bleak end.
In online previews the art looks less than great, but looks far better when you have the copy to hand.
Write It In Blood
It’s probably coincidence, but damn there have been a lot of stories set in Texas this last year. Fortunately, this one sets itself apart with a story of assassis that can’t help but fuck up, a messy conflict between crime familes and a total ruthlessness towards any of its characters.
In a story like this, dialogue is king and there is some very sharply excellent examples of it scattered throughout this crime tale.
____________________________
As a result of reading these, I now have Time Before Time on my future buy list.
Glad you enjoyed them!
As a result of reading these, I now have Time Before Time on my future buy list.
I’m only a couple of issues in but quite enjoying Time Before Time. It’s much more of a fantastical adventure romp though, albeit still with a rough edge.
For those of us who use SpeedyHen, they are moving to a new payment system. If you get cancellations for items due in Sept, it will be the likely cause.
They are taking PayPal for preorders, but that charges at point of order.
The new system is expected to be in place for October.
Also, Parker: Last Call Martini Edition is, according to Book Depository, due May 2022!
Bit of Amazon fishing and you know, I think there might be a Thor movie out next year!
Thor: War of the Gods epic collection (mid-#200s) 978-1302933647
Thor by Jason Aaron omnibus
reprint of Thor epic collection v1
Jane Foster: The Saga of Valkyrie OHC 978-1302934828
Jane Foster: The Saga of Mighty Thor paperback 
Thor by Matt Fraction omnibus
War of the Realms omnibus 978-1302934019 – is this a reprint?
She-Hulk by Peter David omnibus
Spider-Girl Complete Collection v4
Moon Knight Legacy complete collection
X-Factor: Afterlives epic collection (post PAD’s run)
Annihilation omnibus reprint/new edition
Incredible Hulk: Crossroads epic collection
Savage She-Hulk omnibus
Avengers/Defenders War epic collection reprint
Doctor Doom: Book of Doom omnibus which is:
COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (1961) 5-6, 39-40, 246-247, 258, 278-279, 350, 352; Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 5; Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) 20; Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up (1975) 1-2; Super-Villain Team-Up (1975) 13-14; Champions (1975) 16; Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) 14; Uncanny X-Men (1981) 145-147; Iron Man (1968) 149-150; Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984) 10-12; Marvel Graphic Novel (1982): Emperor Doom, Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom – Triumph and Torment; Fantastic Four (1998) 67-70, 500; Fantastic Four Special (2005) 1; Books of Doom (2005) 1-6; material from Fantastic Four (1961) 236, 358; Fantastic Four Annual (1963) 2; Astonishing Tales (1970) 1-3, 6-8; Marvel Double-Shot (2003) 2
Gold star to whoever had to work out what to put in that.
And from DC
Question by Denny O’Neill omnibus
Catwoman by Brubaker and Cooke omnibus
Legion: Five Years Later v2 omnibus
Gotham Central omnibus new edition
Milestone Compendium, which is a 1300 page tpb. 978-1779513106
new trade collection of Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle
and a Deluxe hardcover of Mark Russell’s Flintstones.
Can you still use debit/credit cards for pre-orders?
Yes, but the payment will be taken at the point of order.
Good bit of fishing.
Question omnibus could be good, depending in price.
War of the realms is a reprint. The first run sold incredibly fast.
Good to have dates for the others.
Edit:
Question Omnibus is $100 – unexpectedly good.
They are doing a complete collection for Batman: Fear State.
Also a OHC for Duggan’s Cable run plus Aaron’s Jane Foster Valkyrie.
For Marvel trades Feb and Apr 2022 are going to be expensive months.
Saw that the print edition of Brubaker and Martin’s Friday digital comic is now available to pre-order.
I’ll be picking this up.
Read this early Sean Murphy-drawn book. It’s four issues of a vaguely interesting Jekyll-and-Hyde story about a teenage girl who transforms into a monstrous brute whenever she bleeds. A bit Hulk-like with a bit more teenage angst thrown in.
The story never really goes anywhere interesting but hints at some larger mysteries that it doesn’t ultimately get to explore.
Decent enough art though – you can see Murphy’s style start to shape itself here.
Read the first two Something Is Killing the Children trades. They’re great.
My to-read pile has gotten out of hand.
My local library is at least in part to blame, since they reopened they must have someone new on staff who keeps on getting in GNs I want to read, which have deadlines on when they need to be returned.
Some of these are re-reads, a lot are books I’ve read in singles or digital, but not in collected form.
Mine’s pretty tame now, though I have had the same Thunderbolts trade sitting there for the best part of two years (in my defence, I’m holding off on it until I get the rest of the run to go with it, but they’re OOP and over-priced at the moment).
I’ve been on a bit of an Epic Collection kick lately. I read the Daredevil one I posted about a few weeks ago – which I’d had waiting for months – and then Iron Man: War Machine, which had also been waiting for months. That’s an… interesting collection. I had to double check the numbering on it at one point, as it immediately follows John Byrne’s run but feels barely connected to it (from my fading recollection of reading Byrne’s run a few years back). It’s definitely Iron Man’s attempt at getting all 90s and extreme, as everyone had to at the time I guess. There’s not really any story justification for why the armour is now covered in guns and stuff rather than built in energy weapons, nor why it’s black and white, but it’s interesting that the name “war machine” isn’t used in story, it’s just scrawled over the logo on the covers for a couple of issues. This volume also sees Tony die, sort of, and so there’s some interesting back matter where Marvel Age make a big list of all the medical conditions he’s had over the decades.
After that, I started re-reading the Iron Fist epic collection and have just got to the Claremont/Byrne run, which is pretty good. Claremont’s in his second person narration phase, which isn’t great, but in his defence, it’s a staple of the book from the start and he’s just continuing it. Claremont does have the sense of moving away from one of the series’ gimmicks of naming all the various martial arts moves Danny uses – which I guess was a way of establishing kung fu cred at the time, but just reads like someone’s cribbed a few names from reference material and regurgitating them (though I suspect Larry Hama knew what he was on about when he was briefly penciller and presumably put in notes).
I’ve put that on hold though as I’ve just got in X-Men: Fate of the Phoenix, which is the Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past (the latter of which I’ve somehow never read before). Unfortunately, I found out a day or so after I won it on eBay that the printing of this book is pretty bad – I saw a video review where loads of pages have fallen out from just the first reading. Which would explain how I won it so cheap on eBay. Thankfully, my copy seems bound securely, but it is shockingly flimsy for a 400+ page book. There’s no heft or weight to it and the pages are practically transparent:
That’s both the reverse of this page and the previous page visible there in the white space around Cyclops. It’s really distracting. The printer for this volume is Fry Communications and it seems like they’re the new Quad Printing in terms of being a by-word for cheap shite.
On top of those, I’ve got X-Factor: X-Aminations waiting (probably until I get the preceeding volume too) and the reprint of Doctor Strange v1 on the way too. Hopefully, that won’t be as shoddy as Fate of the Phoenix.
My to-read pile has gotten out of hand.
Thank you, Paul F, for making feel better about my own to-read pile. 
Thank you both for making me feel much worse about mine! 
My TPB/HC to read pile numbers in the 100’s, guys. Literally. My digital upwards of 1600. And, my physical back issues in the 1000’s. I know. I’ve just had to move house and have the joy of packing/ unpacking them all. You lot are amateurs in comparison!
You’re welcome 
It’s a few more than 1600 pages 👍🏼
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The Last God HC
This fantasy epic spanning a dozen issues was a deliberate change of pace for me, a genre I don’t normally love but a book that convinced me to try it out due a a combination of personal recommendation and eye-catching art.
Ultimately I would say it’s good but not great. The structure (with two parallel time periods) makes for some interesting interplay, the basic quest structure of the story is solid, and it’s fairly imaginative and well-designed throughout (albeit with a sense of familiarity and almost generic sword-and-sorcery fantasy quality to it all). And the art is great.
But there’s not quite enough here in terms of story or character to support the full 12 issues. You find yourself wishing you could get to know these characters as characters rather than just as standard archetypes – and then when the twists start to come later in the story, most of them have been so heavily telegraphed that they don’t feel like twists at all (with a couple of them I was genuinely confused as to whether I was meant to know all along after the early issues tipped their hand).
But having said that, it’s a great example of building a big, fully-realised fantasy world, and the backmatter for each issue really feels worthwhile and enhances the overall story a lot.
There’s also a side-story issue included here at the back that’s actually a pretty important part of the story overall. Although I didn’t bother delving into the lore material sourcebook stuff at the back (of which there is quite a bit) as it seems to mostly be geared towards tabletop RPG gamers, which isn’t me.
There’s also a fantastic dustjacket that’s double folded and folds out into a giant map of the world of the book, which is a lovely touch. My only real complaint is that the HC is standard, rather than deluxe, sized. The art here could have used a deluxe.
Overall the book this reminded me of most was Marvel’s Dark Tower series: a well-written and well-drawn fantasy comic that’s been put together with a lot of thought and care, but you sometimes find yourself wishing there was just a little more to it.
The Last Days Of American Crime
I really enjoyed this one. It’s a solid heist story with engaging characters (full of plenty of regular Remender character traits) and a fun twisty-turny plot – even if it does layer on one or two too many twists at the end.
I also liked Tocchini’s art a lot – it’s fairly loose and sketchy in places, tight in others, but always really clear in terms of what’s going on. And he makes Selby one of the most attractive femme fatale characters I’ve ever seen in comics.
It also has a fairly interesting approach to its high concept (a government mind-control device that will make it impossible for people to commit crimes) in that it keeps it fairly underplayed and in the background – which is probably a sound decision given how many logic gaps it throws up. As it is, it just adds an extra layer to what is already a very decent crime comic.
So another very solid Remender yarn overall.
Just saw that an Absolute edition of Morrison’s Multiversity is on the way next year. Took their time with that one, but good news.
If you haven’t got these already, now is the time. It’s only £30 on Amazon which is incredible value. All 5 graphic novels, hardback and with a commentary from Bryan Talbot.
Just £24.99 at Blackwells:
If you haven’t got these already, now is the time. It’s only £30 on Amazon which is incredible value. All 5 graphic novels, hardback and with a commentary from Bryan Talbot.
Just £24.99 at Blackwells:
My copy of this arrived today. Opened it up and it’s a special bookplate edition signed by Talbot. Are all copies like this or did I get lucky?
About Batman Universe.
Dear DC (and probably Marvel), if you want my money in the future, this is an example of what you should do. It is self contained, has a beginning a middle and an end. I do not have to read another book first to understand what happens, and I don’t have to read another book after to find out how it ends. All I need is a basic understanding of who the different characters are. Whatever happens in any other comic book you publish has no effect at all on this story.
And it is all done by one writer and one artist.
Thanks!
Sleeper v.1
This was quite a disappointment in the end.
A sci-fi police procedural involving conspiracies and murder and exploding space stations and new sources of clean energy and interplanetary travel with a strong, stoic mysterious hero at the centre of it all should be really exciting. But somehow this manages to make it all deadly dull.
Partly that’s down to the fairly flat art but also the writing is really leaden and lumpy and plain. There’s just nothing to get excited about and it ends up feeling like it’s just plodding through the motions.
There are also a few poorly-handled production aspects,ike the lettering, that mark the whole thing out as fairly amateurish.
And there’s barely any revelation or resolution here, with a cliffhanger ending that leaves it all wide open. Not that I care enough about any of it to carry on.
I don’t think Brubaker has anything to worry about here.
£107 for the Akira 35 anniversary box set looks like a killer price to me. I paid a lot more for mine.
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781632364616
Once & Future, v.3: The Parliament Of Magpies TPB
This was another cracking read.
The premise of the book is pretty well established by now and things don’t move forward a huge amount overall here (until the very end, anyway), but the scene-to-scene writing and Mora’s great art make it hugely entertaining throughout.
It’s a real page-turner, with momentum and energy that never lets up, even as the characters are running in circles to an extent.
It’s also a series with some great cliffhangers, including a fairly thrilling climax to this arc. I’m already looking forward to book 4.
Good to hear but I’m taking the longer road now it’s getting OHC’d.
For the SpeedyHen fans, looks like their new payment system is up and running.
They gave me a 10% off voucher for axing a load of preorders so will wait until payday and then do a major pre-order of items-unlikely-to-be-bumped, so probably books as opposed to comics.
Stray Dogs TPB
I picked this up from my LCS this week on recommendation and I enjoyed it.
The premise of telling such a dark story in such a cutesy Disney art style works well, but a couple of issues in I was starting to get slightly concerned that there wasn’t any more to it than that gimmick.
But then the story develops in ways I didn’t expect, and there are some genuinely shocking moments in the back half. Plus it sticks the landing in the final issue with some great payoffs. Good stuff.
The sense I have is they’re charging around a tenner extra for a slipcase.
I’ve just noticed a new printing of the Fourth World omnibus that includes all of Mister Miracle, omitted from the first edition.
This must be really annoying for everybody who bought the first edition. 
I can see no reason why MM wasn’t always included. The page count was stupidly large anyway, so they could have added MM and split it into two volumes easily.
So have I failed to spot a volume collecting #92-103?
Perfect Pitch – Collects issues 086-090, 092-095. Out of print, but still available for decent prices.
Blood and Circuits – Collects issues 096-103, omitting the back-up story “Keepsakes” from issue 100. Out of print, but still available for decent prices.
Yeah, sorry, I meant of the modern editions, rather than the ones contemporary to the series.
So I opened Gideon falls: Deluxe Edition Book One: The legend of the Black Barn today.
Wow! I absorbed that in one sitting. Great read and right in my wheelhouse.
The forward by Jack Thorn got my excited immediately. I knew nothing, and he’s making comparisons to Twin Peaks, saying how it defies easy labels. “It is horror, yes, but it is also a mystery, with a hint of science fiction and a dollop of noir…”
Couldn’t wait to read it, and this did not disappoint.
looking forward to more!
So I opened Gideon falls: Deluxe Edition Book One: The legend of the Black Barn today…Great read and right in my wheelhouse.
Sean, in case you weren’t aware, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino just released the first issue of a new series at Image, PRIMORDIAL. You may want to check it out now or at least keep it on your radar.
The Good Asian v.1 TPB
I enjoyed this quite a bit – it’s a good hard-boiled detective noir and the aspects around Chinese immigration and experiences in the US both give it a distinctive flavour and were quite educational for me, as I wasn’t aware of quite a few of the details discussed here.
Also the art is great, very expressive and clear with a nice clean style that reminded me of Darwyn Cooke in places.
There are also quite a few pages of text backmatter explaining some of the real-life historical aspects and providing a timeline, which I found quite useful to understand some aspects of the story.
It’s not a perfect book though – the storytelling is a little unclear in places, and the uneven pacing means that the plot gets doled out somewhat erratically and certain information isn’t conveyed very clearly.
Also it’s fairly inconclusive – this is very much the first volume of a larger story, so don’t expect any closure or real plot payoffs here.
But its strengths add up to enough that I’ll be back for volume two.
A couple of bits of Amazon fishing for Marvel
Marvel: June 1962 omnibus – 978-1302945046
This is the same thing they did for August 1961 this year (if you see what I mean) but for the month of publication for Amazing Fantasy #15, I think. Going by the cover at least. It’s got Spidey and Thor, so I don’t know why else you’d pick
She-Hulk epic collection: Breaking The Fourth Wall – 9781302945916
Unusual for a new Epic Collection series to not start with volume 1 now, but I guess that material’s going to be in omnibus form around the same time.
I am fascinated by the idea of single-month omnibuses, but I wouldn’t buy a one-off random month. I’d want a complete month-by-month series covering all of Marvel’s publications through the sixties and 70s.
Well, I mean I still wouldn’t buy that, as I already have the material in other collections. But you know what I mean. I think the concept of the entire Marvel U reprinted month-by-month so you could read everything in the order you’d have bought them would be awesome.
Anthrax: Among The Living
This was a slightly odd read.
A TPB collecting a bunch of original short stories inspired by the songs of a single Anthrax album is a decent enough high concept, and there are some good creators involved here.
But like all anthologies it’s hit and miss, and to be frank the misses outweigh the hits for me.
I quite enjoyed the Judge Dredd story and there are a couple of others that are at least interesting, including a nice little sci-fi tale with a twist by Azzarello and Dave Johnson, but I can’t really see myself ever returning to the book if I’m honest.
(I only really picked it up because I’m a bit of a Grant Morrison completist and his story is ok but not great.)
Here are the creators involved.
Dealer Alert
Far Sector is available to order at Blackwell’s for £15.99.
Also, in May 2022, there will be a three paperback OHC collection for Fire Power.
Also, in May 2022, there will be a three paperback OHC collection for Fire Power.
Ooh, I might go for that after Vikram’s positive comments on how the series develops.
Jupiter’s Legacy Netflix Special v.1 & v.2
I reread all 10 issues of this last night after picking up these new editions (which collect just the two Millar-Quitely JL miniseries, without the confusing renumbering and renaming of Circle) on the cheap.
To be honest it was more disjointed overall than I remember. At the time I think I put that down to the delayed release schedule for the singles and the long gaps between issues, but reading it all in one go you actually see the disconnect more clearly. It’s like being given pieces of a story without quite giving you the whole thing, with certain connective tissue missing.
There are also issues with wonky timelines that don’t match up (at one point the story jumps ahead from 2013 to 2022 but then continues on from that point with a datestamp of 2020) but I put that down to issues being worked on so far apart with the art delays.
It still has some very good individual moments, and Quitely’s art is decent throughout (although I noticed it getting a little looser towards the end) but overall it just didn’t hang together as well as I remembered.
Maybe that’s partly because I didn’t reread Circle between the two volumes, I don’t know. I didn’t feel like revisiting that though.
Dealer Alert
For those feeling patient, Blackwell’s are offering the new Reckless book for £14.63
Also looks like the fourth book is due end of April 2022.
My LCS sadly didn’t have the new Reckless in this week as they’ve been screwed about by their distributors a lot lately. I had gone in specifically to buy it on Wednesday too.
So rather than seek it out online instead, I’ve resolved to wait and buy it from them whenever they get it in, to somewhat mitigate (in a small way) them being dicked around so much by their suppliers.
Realise I haven’t done any reviews for a while despite reading stuff.
Shadowman Diggle OHC
This is a Valiant character I haven’t previously looked at despite it having a couple of creative runs. As a starting point, this works pretty well and, like most of Valiant’s OHC collections, concludes well.
Livewire OHC
In contrast, this collection ties off the story started in Secret Weapons, that ran into Harbinger Wars II and cropped up in Ninjak. It works well enough for what it is, which is a reset story for the character in effect.
The Collected Toppi: Volume 6: Japan
There should be more to say about this except there isn’t because it’s just that excellent. I won’t be getting the last volume, Sharaz-De, as I alreadsy own in a slightly smaller OHC format, but that edition came out years ago. If you like superb comic narratives, this volume – and all the others – are a masterclass in how to do it.
Radiant Black: Volume 1
What initially sets this apart is that it’s not a kid getting powers, but a washed-up mid 30s guy. Higgins does throw a rather interesting curveball later one, but the follow-through on it is rather weird and I’m not sure it works. 50-50 on continuing, despite the cliffhanger.
Two Moons: Volume 1
In contrast, this is a more conventional supernatural western that benefits from superb art. Will be nabbing Volume 2 next year.
Hershey: Disease: Volume 1
This is a good opening shot, with 2000AD doing loads with the space they have. Oh and Dirty Frank.
Fall of Deadworld OHC3
Not sure about this, fell a bit flat, might have been too long since the last volume.
Star Wars: High Republic: Volume 1
This entire project has been hugely fun and this is a well-executed starting volume for the comics, both from Marvel and IDW.
James Bond: Big Things HC
There’s not a lot of surprises here but the book really doesn’t need it. The foundation concept of Bond having to work with others is well done too. It’s another good Bond tale from Dynamite.
Old Haunts
Decided to give a load of AWA trades a go. Bought this one as it has Laurence Campbell art and he rarely ever supplies duff visuals. The story from Masters and Williams is quite good too – weaving the idea of a ghost story through aging mobsters being haunted by their past acts and kills.
Devil’s Highway:Volume 1
I really hope the creative team return to this, as while it’s a good opening shot, there’s fuel enough to keep this going.
Bad Mother
Yeah, it says Volume 1, but I’m not seeing the continuation for it. And that’s not a bad thing.
When’s thelast time you saw a story with a middle-aged female lead, who’s not in perfect physical condition, doesn’t possess “a special set of skills” and gets treated like crap by just about everyone? The correct answer is you haven’t seen a story like this. This isn’t either Kick Ass or Jennifer Blood and its far better for it.
Redemption
Another Faust-Deodato Jr team-up, this one is future dystopia western,with another majority female cast, in roles rarely occupied by women characters.
It’s a very well executed tale that spins a lot of established ideas into new form. Not really seeing how they can do a Volume 2 though.
Fall of Deadworld OHC3 Not sure about this, fell a bit flat, might have been too long since the last volume.
I’m not a big fan of this series, it is messy plotting, messy art, narratively pointless as we all know where it ends. For me it’s a waste of time.
Six From Sirius
I picked up this Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy TPB a while back, on recommendation from a friend, but knowing that it was fairly dense I saved it for when I’d have time to give it a proper read. And I’m glad I did as I really enjoyed it.
It’s an 80s book but is very much classic 70s sci-fi in terms of the look and feel – not just the fashions and art style but also the mixture of pulp sci-fi concepts with high-minded philosophical and spiritual aspects.
But at the same time it’s also very fast-moving and dynamic and doesn’t ever let itself get bogged down by these weightier concerns.
The plot is very clear and straightforward (essentially a sci-fi take on the Cuban missile crisis) and keeps things moving forward at all times, and the characters are quickly introduced and immediately distinctive. Some modern writers could learn a lot from the efficiency on show here, even despite the slightly dated wordy writing style.
And as for Gulacy’s art, it’s just wonderful – carefully rendered, detailed and textured but still very dynamic, and beautifully lit.
There’s also a real pop-art sensibility to some of it, which makes for some arresting pages.
While the ending of this story did feel a bit rushed and underwhelming (especially after the rest is so carefully written) I’d still read more of this, and I’ll plan to grab the individual issues of the sequel series as I don’t think it ever got a TPB.
Seeing Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection vol 4. I assume that wraps up the series? Would it be too much to ask for an Omnibus to follow? Probably a two volume set, I’d guess.
There’s enough for one more volume after this, I think.
Friday, Book One: The First Day Of Christmas
I was expecting to really enjoy this, but ended up with quite mixed feelings on it.
That’s partly because of the format, which for the price is quite slight. It’s a small, digest-size slim TPB, significantly smaller in page size than a standard comic, when for some reason I had been expecting a HC. And either way, a $14.99 RRP for a collection of just three issues feels a bit steep.
All that aside, I found the story a bit uneven in general -particularly the art, which has some great moments and some pretty poor ones too.
And I was also disappointed that, despite being billed as collecting the first arc, the story just ends midway through here, with no sense of a conclusion or end of an arc whatsoever.
I suspect they might have put this out to try and pick up readers for the digital version who want to find out what happens next, which is a bit sly if so.
Having said all that, there’s some good writing here, the concept works, it has a pretty unique vibe and when the art works it really works. I just wish it had been a full story in a decent format that was a little more readable.
(The slightly amateurish lettering doesn’t help. Maybe what works in digital doesn’t always translate to print – the colours printed quite overly dark too I think.)
I’ll probably pick up book two, but only to get the other half of what I thought I was already getting here.
Dealer Alert
Immortal Hulk OHC4 at BooksEtc for £18.59, probably won’t stay at that price for long.
![Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by [Eric Powell, Harold Schechter]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41MoUmaTucL.jpg)
