(No stickers, please.)
Here’s where we can discuss the new books that come out each Wednesday.
The Ongoing New Comics Thread
- This topic has 989 replies, 38 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 1 month ago by
.
Author
-
Bump bumpety fuck fuck fuck.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
C’mon man. Grifter is just like Gambit. But, you know, good.
So he’s awful in everything from design to accent to character, but somehow… good?
Yep. Exactly.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
You’ll have to wait, probably until the middle of March or maybe later. My government will not allow me to pick up my comics at the moment
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
You’ll have to wait, probably until the middle of March or maybe later. My government will not allow me to pick up my comics at the moment
Other shops are still doing click and collect so I don’t think the government prevents it at the moment.
-
-
You’ll have to wait, probably until the middle of March or maybe later. My government will not allow me to pick up my comics at the moment
So there is an upside to Brexit?
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Future State Wonder Woman # 1
by Joelle Jones
I thought this was great. Mostly for the art, although the story was still a level above other 2 books I mentioned earlier. Lot of fun and a nice bit of world building. But I’m there for the art. The design of Yara Flor is absolute fantastic, and the other creations are also very good.
The body language is outstanding throughout as are the bits of personality Jones conveys in both the writing and the art. There’s a scene where she is trying to get through an airport barrier and gets frustrated and the way the whole thing is put together through the choice of visuals, panel layouts and sound effects is absolutely terrific – it conveys the scene so well.
Having Jordie Bellaire on colours takes it up a notch.
I feel I could have a new favourite character.
Story 7/10
Art 9/10
Future State: The Flash # 1
By Brandon Vietti & Dale Eaglesham
This was a lot of fun, a really classic looking and feeling book in the tone of some of the lighter JSA stories. The art is great as can be expected and I didn’t know who Vietti was until I googled him but I hope they have more lined up from him.
A bunch of speedsters to enjoy and some good banter, although I’m not sure Vik will like what they have done with Wally 😂
I’m really disappointed this is not the creative team for the The Flash from March
8/10
-
-
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Final 2 books from week 1 of future state.
Future State: Superman of Metropolis
2 very uninspired strips from Lewis & Timm, Easton & Can’t remember, the main one starring Jon Kent and ridiculous, horribly designed new character created just for this and a Mister Miracle back up that could have worked had they upped the escapist angle of it, instead of having him as just a random superhero. The 3rd strip is slightly better, again by Sean Lewis, who doesn’t appear to write better superheroes than he does his bland creator owned books, with Culley Hammer on art. It’s better in that it’s readable.
The whole thing is a bit of a chore.
6/10
<b>Future State: Swamp Thing </b>
The best for last.
Ram V and Mike Perkins, like Joëlle Jones on Wonder Woman, clearly put some time into this and it’s obvious from the very first page.
If you are going to build an event around possible new futures and new worlds then spend some time on building those worlds. It’s painfully blatant when you do not, and by contrast here it stands out when you do.
Id already preordered Swamp Thing as I had a good feeling about Ram V, who just gets better and better. I’m looking forward to the main series and I think I’ll pick up his Catwoman book too. I’m getting a similar dependable buzz about him as I did when Tynion IV was starting to fulfil his potential.
I don’t want to give the plot away because it’s only 2 issues long, and the plot is part of what makes it enjoyable. I’d just say if you were considering picking this up and you are a Swamp thing fan, then you should.
Really good writing and art.
8.5/10
and that’s it from me until next month on future state as my box won’t be here until February with the rest of the month’s books
its a mixed bag but not at all without merit. It’s clear what books have been crafted with care and attention and what books have been cobbled together with crappy, lazy writing. The art across the board is very strong with the exception of the HQ book which should have been sorted by editorial after the first couple of pages landed.
In summary
Swamp Thing & Wonder Woman I heartily recommend.
The Flash I recommend to folk who have not lost their sense of enjoyment of fun, old school superhero comics.
The next Batman & Superman of Metropolis are mediocre and probably for hardcore only.
Harley Quinn would get comics stopped.
-
-
Other shops are still doing click and collect so I don’t think the government prevents it at the moment.
The police are fining people who travel beyond a certain distance, and we are only supposed to do essential shopping.
Forbidden Planet is over 10 miles from home, and even I would struggle to convince a court that the Legion of Super-Heroes is essential.
-
Chris – did you get to finish Death Metal? How did you find the conclusion?
I enjoyed it. I really liked what they did with Wonder Woman. There was a lot of meta in there, both a bit of commentary on fandom and also I’m assume aimed at the running of DC and DC going forward. Few analogies to certain people, I’m sure, as well as groups of people. ‘The Hands’ are obviously the big one.
It’s quite a complex book, as most of the crisis repeated books are. The reader is required to get their head around some pretty difficult and abstract stuff. This will lend itself to a lot of reading.
I think a lot of credit needs to be given to Snyder and Capullo for the number of ideas in here, almost so much going on that you don’t really appreciate it. It’s kinda the opposite of a Bendis comic. They aimed to go out as big as they could and I think they achieved that, and there was a lot of fun moments along the way.
I think in terms of a line shaper, it’s very clever as it leaves DC open to anything. No limitations on stories going forward and no erasure of past stories for those of us who hold the continuity dear.
I think it’s the best they can do for a line of comics that’s been running for 80 years.
-
I agree with a lot of that. I like a lot of what they achieved in terms of consolidating the disparate DCU continuities. I found the narrative underwhelming though when I read it. Suspect that I should give it a full reread, of just the main series this time (rather than the whole event including tie in specials). I think that may help it gel together better.
-
I like a lot of what they achieved in terms of consolidating the disparate DCU continuities.
I just wish they’d stop bothering. I know some like it but it just seems at DC like a 35 year circle of ‘this counts’, ‘this doesn’t’ to ‘it all does’ which I read as the point of Rebirth but seemingly has to be established again a few years later and probably will again in 3 years.
When Quasada and Jemas re-invigorated Marvel in the early 2000s (outside of the Ultimate line) nothing was changed in continuity. They just told better stories using the bits they chose to use.
-
That’s fair. I’m hoping for better stories myself, and we got a lot of that during Rebirth. But, DC can’t seem to help shooting itself in the foot and messing with things. This is the inevitable reset after that happens, and it gets repetitive with diminishing returns.
A lot of this can be blamed on the Didio era of DC Comics (the cycle really started with Infinite Crisis shortly after he took over). Death Metal started under his tenure, and now that he’s gone is hopefully the last time they’ll do this. If I never hear the word Crisis again it will be too soon!
I hope DC will now just focus on telling great stories too, but given their current creative bench I’m not confident that they can. But, that’s a different rant altogether.
-
I read Jesse Lonergan’s wordless one-shot Hedra after it was recommended in the best of 2020 thread. It’s a great story about a space traveller searching distant planets for the means of restoring plant and animal life on a war-ravaged Earth. Not only is the story easy to follow even without words but there are ingenuous page designs on every page. The action often moves back and forth along the page in a zigzag pattern yet is always crystal clear. A real triumph of comics storytelling and a great showcase of the things only comics can do.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
who will DC hack off most? Place your bets now! Add Vikram to the competition. I believe DC has done some stuff lately that hasn’t sat well with him.
These are all a bunch of Johnny-come-latelys. I was carving up DC years ago. Didio, King, Wally, Death Metal, it all fell before my words. I got so hacked off I stopped reading any of their trash. That is why you don’t see me writing about them anymore.
-
I’ve enjoyed a lot of what DC have done the past few years, do I don’t fit into the same bracket – I’m just concerned about the lack of quality on the writing staff going forward and big books being handed to individuals that I don’t think have what it takes to carry them.
Time will tell but recently it feels disappointing to read the solicits each month.
Perhaps are the year goes on this will improve but the flagship titles are extremely underwhelming other than keeping Tynion on Batman
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
Been catching up on Department of Truth after letting it simmer since I read the first issue when it came out.
It’s damn good. Tynion isn’t fucking around with his comments on the times we live in. As far as I’m in I’m noting a certain lack of anti-semitic conspiracy theories which feels strange considering how ubiquitous anti-semitism are in those circles but then again that would probably have made this into a completely different story.
Simmonds art is gorgeous. I’m loving it.
Surprised how they got away with very, very obvious Alex Jones comments and imagery. A blind person wearing a paper bag over their head in a dark room can still clearly see that that is clearly a drawing of Alex Jones. Then again, I’m more surprised Alex Jones gets away with his bullshit…
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Yes, it’s excellent. Tynion’s script is very smart and the ideas really grab you, but the art is a big part of why it works too. It reminds me of the Moore/Sienkiewicz book Brought To Light, there’s a real nightmarish quality to it.
Surprised how they got away with very, very obvious Alex Jones comments and imagery.
That issue is the most powerful of the lot. Really striking.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
I’m a bit behind on my reading, because of uni and the lockdown. Trying to catch up on a few things this week.
The Batman Annual #5 came out at the end of December. It’s by James Tynion IV and Janes Stokoe, and tells the origin story of new teen vigilante Clownhunter. It is a work of art.
Chronologically it continues on from Batman #105, and flashes back to the events of “Joker War”. It’s a pretty moving story, that brought a lump to my throat by the end.
The artwork is fantastic. Very different from DC’s norm, but so very atmospheric and immersive.
Seriously blown away by this issue. Should be high up on any best of 2020 single issues lists.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I’m going to eat a little slice of humble pie now too. Having previously said that Future State was an irrelevance, I did end up buying a couple of issues and I really enjoyed them both.
Dark Detective #1 features two full length stories. The first by new Detective Comics creative team Tamaki and Mora. It’s a fairly quick read but definitely fun as Bruce tries to survive in a near future world that he’s ill equipped to handle. There are shades of Dark Knight Returns here, in a good way, and I’m definitely intrigued enough to stick around for the rest of this story.
That being said, I really picked this book up for the Grifter back up, by Rosenberg and Di Giandemenico. I’m an old skool Wildstorm fan and always liked Cole Cash – a superhero who could barely keep his shit together outside of his mask; the guns are cool, but the humanity and fallibility made him relatable. Rosenberg captured all of that really well here, and the idea of transplanting him into Gotham works where other attempts at incorporating Wildstorm characters into the DCU have failed beforehand.
Robin Eternal #1 was the other book, a Tim Drake focused story by Fitzmartin and Barrows. Never heard of the writer beforehand, but she captured Tim’s character and voice well. It’s always good to see Tim at the centre of the action, even if the story didn’t quite flow from scene to scene all that fluidly at times.
Barrows’ artwork was great. He managed to make the “grown up” Tim look familiar yet clearly more experienced than his current day version. I liked this, although this may be one with more limited appeal.
-
This week I got a package from my LCS of a dozen comics from the last few weeks.
Capsule review time!
Crossover #3: This was good fun and felt a lot more eventful than last issue. The final couple of pages provided a great moment when a certain character showed up. Great twist.
Department of Truth #5: Another cracker of an issue here – this is going to be the last issue of the first collection, and it’s a good one. Feels like one of the X-Files “mythology” episodes that suddenly cast the story you’ve been following in a new light. Smart stuff and brilliantly executed.
Post Americana #1: I picked this up on a whim after enjoying Skroce’s Maestros series and thought it was alright. Post-apocalyptic US adventures seem to be in vogue at the moment and this doesn’t have a huge amount that’s original to offer, but it’s solid enough and the art is good.
Batman: Black and White #2: Still enjoying this. A decent mix of art/story styles this issue, with some fairly big names involved (King/Gerads, Aja, Dustin Weaver) as well as a few I’m less familiar with. Anthologies are always hit and miss but this has a decent average so far.
Blade Runner 2029 #2: Not much more to say about this series than I’ve said before. It’s just very solid stuff, with a decent quality feel across the board. Good plotting and characterisation and really consistent art.
Batman White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #4: This has turned out a bit better than I thought. It flips the dynamic of the other WK books by being a Harley story with Bruce in a supporting role, and it works well enough with a decent take on Harley. I can’t say I care that much about the central plot but the art is nice, a Tim Sale vibe to some of it.
Strange Adventures #8: This book is doing some interesting stuff but it continues to feel piecemeal in single issues. Overall the story is coming into focus though. Yes, it’s another King book about war and soldiers and trauma and moral grey areas, but it’s interesting stuff. I don’t know Adam Strange very well so I don’t know to what extent this violates his character but in its own right this is an interesting take. Also the art is really excellent, with the two art styles complementing each other really well.
Rorschach #4: This book is kind of the opposite of Strange Adventures. Individually the issues are quite interesting stories, but I’m not really getting the connection of how it all fits together yet. This issue is quite an imaginative take on how certain aspects of the modern world might react to/grow out of the events of Watchmen. The art is fine if fairly functional. My shop sent me the Charest variant cover which is quite a break from the style of the interior art.
Moving on to the DC Future State books…
Future State: Nightwing #1 was ok but a fairly generic feeling dystopian future story about Nightwing, elevated to a certain extent by Nicola Scott’s art. Not very memorable but I don’t regret reading it, and at two issues it shouldn’t outstay its welcome.
I quite liked Future State: Dark Detective #1. Again mainly due to the art – Dan Mora is really solid, as good here as on Once & Future – but the story is a little more fully-formed than Nightwing and I liked the neon nightmare take on Gotham. What I didn’t like so much was paying $6 for a regular 22-page main story and then a second full issue of something else (a Grifter story) bolted onto it. The second story wasn’t terrible but I wouldn’t have sought it out and paid for it separately.
Dark Detective #2 was a good continuation that fleshes out the plot of the main story quite a bit. Also the backup Red Hood story was a bit more interesting than Grifter – quite loose and dynamic art, and obviously heavily influenced by Akira. I wonder what happened to the Grifter story though as that ended on a cliffhanger. Will that be revisited in a later issue of this book or in a different series? Who knows.
Future State: Swamp Thing #1 was probably the best of the Future State issues I read. I usually dislike the term World-Building as it feels like lazy shorthand for a lot of different things, but that’s essentially what this issue does well. Sets up the characters and situations and fleshes it all out with interesting details and a good core plot. Shades of The Anatomy Lesson in places too, which I found interesting.
3 users thanked author for this post.
-
Grifter continues in #3 and Red Hood in #4. Before both are featured in the Urban Legends anthology starring in March.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
I’ve read the first issue of IDW’s new Beast Wars comic.
It’s… it’s not good. Like 90s George Lucas decided to remake the Beast Wars cartoon.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I will be reading it later today, I am curious but I would have prefered a new story in the BW/BM world, not a retelling… but that’s the norm in the Transformers Universe, retellings everywhere (at least it is not G1 again).
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Mmm, but at least, say, Furman’s initial G1 style comic for IDW and the current reboot are distinct reinterpretations of the concept. This is just straight up “the cartoon with some window dressing and nuance-destroying foreknowledge”.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
I liked it more than you guys, but it’s like the best Beast Wars comic to date and that’s not a high bar to cross. I’m hoping it moves on to do its own thing after the initial setup as opposed to a slight remake of the cartoon though.
Given that, in the back matter, Burnham mentioned his original draft for this issue was even closer to the cartoon and the mentions of Blackarachnia showing up, floating islands and the Vok I’m not convinced it will. It just feels like the greatest hits of Beast Wars but not as well written – Rhinox, Primal and Dinobot all feel off (Burnham seems to have skipped to the end of Dinobot’s character arc from the off, same way he’s made a big deal of time travel immediately) and why is Megatron a) renaming himself in a Zoom call and b) telling his plan to some of the people most able to stop him?
I read that over-sized first issue, which is so bereft of new ideas and then thought back to the first issue of MTMTE – which was stuck in a flagging continuity with some mistreated and tired characters, yet felt so vibrant and vital and fresh – and it just drove home how unambitious and pointless an exercise it is.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Finally read it, it was okay, there were some interesting tidibts and minor changes that may work or not (Rhinox’s tension with Primal), the art style is not to my liking but I may get used to it.
As Lorcan says, yeah, it is the best BW comic by far, Furman’s two miniseries were OVERLOADED with every character from the toyline that didn’t make it into the series, and the rest of the comics produced by the convention people are fanwank of the highest caliber. Heh, I used to torture Lorcan with tidbits from Dawn of the Predacus, which IDW finally reprinted last year as part of the Transformers 100-Page Giant: Power of the Predacons (I hope IDW finally releases The Gathering and The Ascending in comixology).
Mmm, but at least, say, Furman’s initial G1 style comic for IDW and the current reboot are distinct reinterpretations of the concept. This is just straight up “the cartoon with some window dressing and nuance-destroying foreknowledge”.
To clarify, I was refering to the entire franchise and not just the comics. Between the comics, the Netflix series, etc I am REALLY tired of the rise of Optimus and Megatron.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
To clarify, I was refering to the entire franchise and not just the comics. Between the comics, the Netflix series, etc I am REALLY tired of the rise of Optimus and Megatron.
I totally get that. It isn’t helped by the toyline now being so repetitive, with one (or more) new Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream every year.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
Speaking of Beast Wars reboots, I just found out (yesterday) that the UK reprints by Hachette include a proposal for a third BW series by Furman, Went looking for it and found it online here: https://tmukhub.proboards.com/post/426411/thread
It is something…
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
MTMTE – which was stuck in a flagging continuity with some mistreated and tired characters, yet felt so vibrant and vital and fresh
How many years has it been and does anyone know what Roberts is doing these days?
Beast Wars- MTMTE style maybe?
-
King in Black: Black Knight
This is the most unexpected fun I’ve had reading a marvel comic in a while. It’s just so fan. I don’t know if die-hard fans of Dane Whitman would agree, but I’m not exactly sure such fans exist either.
I don’t know how essential this is to King In Black or how essential King In Black is to this title apart from some obvious Knull-connecting and symbiote-slashing, so pick this one up if you just want to have some fun.
I need to keep this Simon Spurrier guy in mind for future reference. I like his writing.
-
I enjoyed the first volume of Spurrier’s Hellblazer. Well worth a look.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
MTMTE – which was stuck in a flagging continuity with some mistreated and tired characters, yet felt so vibrant and vital and fresh
How many years has it been and does anyone know what Roberts is doing these days?
Beast Wars- MTMTE style maybe?
Roberts did a Starcadia Quest mini for IDW soon after Lost Light but I didn’t read it and I don’t really remember hearing anything much about it. He doesn’t seem to have written anything else but he did just announce he’s chairing a new political debate TV show for local Guernsey politics.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
I need to keep this Simon Spurrier guy in mind for future reference. I like his writing.
His post-apocalyptic fantasy series “Coda” is pretty great. It’s equal parts satire and serious, I’d say, and it’s about a bard/rogue kind of character who lives in a D&D kind of world after its magic has gone away and cilivisation has collapsed. Good fun.
That does sound like it’s going to be right up my alley.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Future State: Wonder Woman #2 was great, maybe even better than issue #1 and as a whole it sets up the character really nicely. Amazing art too – not just Jones but also Bellaire’s colouring, which really breathes life into the whole thing. Hopefully there’s more of this on the way.
And Future State: Swamp Thing #2 was even better. Still in the same vein as #1 but without the burden of all the setup. As a whole this was a really nice short story with a very satisfying ending, and again I’d read an ongoing with this team.
As for Post Americana #2, I actually liked this a bit better than issue #1, which I wasn’t sure about. I think I get the darkly comedic vibe of the book a little more clearly now. And the art is still great – not just Skroce’s side of things but also Dave Stewart’s colours. I’ll stick with it for now.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
Literally announced it in the last couple of days. Starts in May, I think.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
The Swamp Thing is a 10 issue series
I listened to Ram V on Word Balloon the other day and he says DC are now approaching these as TV seasons, if the 10 issues sell well they’ll renew it for another 10.
-
So they’ll tell him he’s got 10 issues and then axe it at #7 without warning.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
So they’ll tell him he’s got 10 issues and then axe it at #7 without warning.
..or start shipping it on Friday nights at 10pm so no one can find it.
3 users thanked author for this post.
-
The Swamp Thing is a 10 issue series
I listened to Ram V on Word Balloon the other day and he says DC are now approaching these as TV seasons, if the 10 issues sell well they’ll renew it for another 10.
This seems the most sensible approach.
I wonder if it would also make sense to collect them in 10 issue length books then if the book is struggling for sales, wait and see how the reader gets on, and if it does well enough and doing the singles isn’t making a loss, commission the next 10 issues.
I do think they should factor the trade sales in. Although maybe they do and the trades are not selling well enough either.
Again, with a niche character like Swamp Thing, the best thing for passionate fans to do is to pre-order the issues or add them to a pull list, depending on how you buy your books. The next best thing is picking it up monthly in the shop or digitally.
I suspect that Swamp Thing will need the support.
-
I didn’t have a lot of time for Tom King’s Batman run, but I am really enjoying Batman/ Catwoman so far. The three concurrent interweaving timelines produce an interesting narrative, backed up by excellent production values and gorgeous artwork from Clay Mann. This is good stuff, and reminiscent of Loeb/ Sales’ maxi-series.
King and Fornes’ Rorschach #5 continues to entertain issue to issue. There are some vague hints here of the overarching story, but it’s still pretty intangible. I’m liking it a lot though.
Future State: Dark Detective #2 was less enjoyable than #1, primarily because I’ve never had much time for Jason Todd. But, Tamaki and Mora’s lead story is pretty great stuff, presenting an intriguing potential future for Gotham that should provide lots of material to mine going forwards in their run on the regular book. Happy to be eating my earlier words here at least.
-
https://mailchi.mp/awastudios.net/5cog1c1fjg
Here’s s link to the first issue of Peter Milligan’s brilliant American Ronin mini series at AWA for free
-
The first issue of Jeff Lemire and Jock’s Snow Angels is a pretty great debut issue.
It’s a ComiXology Original 10 issue mini, priced at $3 an issue. I assume there will be a physical TPB at some point too.
The story starts in a SnowPiercer like post- apocalyptic future. The world has frozen over and pockets of humanity shelter together out of the elements in the mysterious Trench.
Jock does an outstanding job setting all this up. The artwork is fantastic. He’s colouring his own work here too, I believe.
Lemire’s story treads on familiar ground as he introduces the family at the heart of this story – a recurring theme in most of his work. But, it’s engagingly written and you end up feeling like you know these characters already after just a few pages in their presence.
Very much a scene setting issue, before ending on a great cliffhanger that promises to make the next issue feel very different.
Good stuff, from an impressive creative team. Worth checking out.
-
Sounds good. It’s a bit above my price threshold for digital comics but I’ll look out for a price drop in future.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
Jesus, Lemire’s output is ridiculous. Just got myself the last Ascender and Gideon Falls trades.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Lemire is a must buy for me but I’m holding out for a collection on this. If one never appears the good thing i suppose is I can always go back and do digital.
I’m pretty sure I remember reading from Jock that they would be making a print edition, even though Comixology are the publishers in this case.
By the way if you have Amazon Prime membership you can read it for free.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
-
I did not know it was a novella first. Interesting.
The prose book is apparently a prologue to go with the comic.
In addition to penning the ten-issue comic book series, Lemire has written a 21-page prose prologue to Snow Angels, introducing readers to the world that he and Jock have created. The prologue is available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers throughAmazon Original Stories.
I didn’t spot the difference at first but it’s showing the comic as free for Prime customers too.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
The Green Lantern, Season Two #11
This was interesting. The penultimate issue of the Morrison/Sharp GL run, it has all the ridiculous cosmic epic finale build-up you’d expect (remember way back at the start when Morrison said his run was going to avoid all that cosmic stuff and stay low-key, like a police procedural in space? That didn’t last long).
But there’s also some interesting subtext herr about inter-generation conflict and millenials and cancel culture, with characters referring to Hal’s “problematic” attitude and his likely replacement with a more diverse GL. It’s not quite focused enough to have teeth and it’s a bit unclear whether it’s a rant at DC specifically or culture more widely, but it made for a fun aside.
And Sharp’s art is as great as ever – there’s a real Heavy Metal/Simon Bisley vibe to some of the painted-looking epic images this issue.
Looking forward to seeing how it all wraps up.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Future State: Nightwing #1 & #2
This was an ok story but nothing to write home about. Nicola Scott’s art (the reason I bought it) was nice enough but not a patch on her Black Magick or even Wonder Woman work.
On the plus side though I think these two-issue stories are a good length for an event like Future State. A middling story like this would have outstayed its welcome at six or even four issues, but two issues gives it a nice quick setup-cliffhanger-resolution structure that keeps things moving.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Rorschach #5
This book is really trying my patience.
The latest issue is the comics equivalent of watching a lead guitarist endlessly noodling away at a guitar solo for ten minutes while the crowd gets restless and everyone goes to the bar. You get the sense that Tom King is probably enjoying writing it a lot more than I’m enjoying reading it.
There’s a pointed first page that recaps the story so far, such as it is, but overall there’s no real sense of where it’s going and why we should care.
This issue was mainly a lot of incredibly flat dialogue peppered with a couple of brief flashbacks to the Comedian Vietnam scenes of Watchmen. But mostly just flat dialogue and dull, drab interior scenes.
For $4.99 I feel like a mug. The variant cover is the best thing about it.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
This book is really trying my patience.
gee whiz who is the writer on this book?
That is a great cover though. -
Luna #1
This was ok but very much in the standard Llovet mould – wide-eyed ingenue gets introduced to a secret magical world she didn’t know existed, with a bit of sex and nudity thrown in and a lot of intrigue as to what’s really going on.
It’s fine as an opening chapter, and there’s some nice art for the more out-there trippy moments, but I’m starting to feel that a lot of her work is pretty samey.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Future State: Dark Detective #3
I’m still enjoying this book – for the art mainly, but the story isn’t bad either. A stripped-down Batman with few resources is always interesting and the idea of there being another Batman in play adds a bit of extra interest.
It’s still Dan Mora’s art that makes it though, with a neon futuristic Gotham that gives the book a distinctive vibe. Bellaire’s colours add a lot here too.
But the Grifter backup does nothing for me – it seemed a bit go-nowhere and unfinished and I skipped over it in about five minutes.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Transformers/Back To The Future #2
This book is just a load of guff. I know it’s a silly concept in the first place but I was expecting it to be more fun.
It feels very much like a Transformers story that needs to use the Delorean and so also feels obliged to chuck the BTTF characters in there too, but they don’t really feel like themselves – more like pretty generic character types used to fill those roles in the story – and in general it doesn’t make the most of all the fun stuff BTTF has to offer. It all feels a bit tossed off and pointless.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Transformers Beast Wars 2 – Now this is more what I expected. I liked the interaction between the Predacons, but not sure about the treatment of the Vok.
James Bond Agent of SPECTRE 1 – Interesting first issue, setting the premise, the inevitable betrayals and referencing one of Ellis’ arcs.
-
Dark Detective #3 & 4 – in the lead story Bruce’s confrontation with the Magistrates comes to an explosive conclusion. It was a pretty fun mini-series overall, and I would have been quite happy for this creative team to keep going in this future state rather than returning to the present day.
Tamaki’s panel to panel storytelling can be a little disjointed. There were a few pages I had to read multiple times to make sure I followed what was going on. But she wrote an entertaining “Old Man Bruce”.
Mora and Bellaire’s neon cityscape was pretty gorgeous to look at. You could almost feel the tense, humidity of the city at night. Great stuff.
Unlike Dave though, I enjoyed the heck out of the Grifter backup. He’s a character I’ve always had a lot of affection for, and Rosenberg hits the right balance in making him a little too kool for skool yet perpetually fallible at the same time.
The Red Hood story happened too, I suppose 🤷🏽♂️
Over in the pages of Robin Eternal #2 Tim Drake got a major power up due to the Larazus Pit, in a story that improved on the storytelling of the first issue, but ultimately feels inconsequential and inconclusive. At least Barrows’ artwork was gorgeous as always.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
In the fallout of the Scott Allie allegations and the virus related hiatus, the Mignolaverse books from Dark Horse took quite a hit. They’ve been published 2-3 books a month for a few years now. I think there were only a handful published in the whole of 2020. I finally got round to reading three of them earlier.
Hellboy & the BPRD: The Return of Effie Kolb #1 & 2 was a Mignola penned short, drawn by Zach Howard. An atmospheric and spooky two parter, that is a follow up to an earlier mini by the great Richard Corben. Reading it after Corben’s death, even though it was published beforehand, leant it extra gravitas and it felt like a nice way of honouring his legacy.
Hellboy & the BPRD: Her Fatal Hour is likewise a sequel to an earlier one shot (The Beast of Vargu). In this case the artwork was by the excellent Tiernen Trevallion, an artist whose work I only just discovered in the pages of 2000AD, but is rapidly becoming a favourite. This issue contained two short stories, both of which were entertaining, but inconclusive. I’d certainly be happy to see this creative team back for a follow up to either or both.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
There’s two more big Mignolaverse hardbacks for June too.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
read Infinite Frontier#0– It was meaningless. The beginning was not bad. it was a good set up. Justice League was Bendis at his worse. Not a complete sentence in sight. people call him Shazadam which is strange because Supes still calls him Black Adam and there is no way he would call himself that. there is a Joker gassing at Arkham, Gotham mayor tries to arrest Bats. Roy reappears ,Ollie puts him on ignore. Hippolyta steps down as Queen of Themyscira, Yara uses sign language, We find out the new Spectre is Obsidian, Jon Kent has a dark future, Barry gives Wally a pat on the back(so sick of that), Diana turns down the Quintesessence and then Darkseid kills them.
Thanks DC for saving me SO much $ by showing me the drek you plan on producing. Its weird that one of their most anticipated books(Nightwing) was nowhere to seen. Dick is in Bludhaven not Gotham. Tom Taylor is producing some really good work but hey lets still give Bendis control of the DCU
-
If you’re looking to try something other than the Big Two, I’d like to recommend a couple of new books that just debuted.
DEAD DOG’S BITE, a 4-issue mini from Dark Horse, written and drawn by Tyler Boss, is about the search for a missing 18-year-old girl in a small town. The writing and art both have a very appealing style, including a Rod-Serling-like narrator who climbs out of a manhole to begin setting up the story. Quirky but endearing, much like the female protagonist Joe who is a close friend of the missing girl.
TWO MOONS, a new ongoing from Image Comics, is a Civil War-based horror story featuring a Native American raised by a white family who downplays his heritage and now fights for the Union Army, until the day he encounters something evil. It’s written by John Arcudi, who has worked with Mike Mignola for 20+ years and is no stranger to horror books. The artist is Valerio Giangiordano, whose work I am unfamiliar but very impressed with; he seems to have done a lot of historical research to get the visuals of that time right.
-
-
Swamp Thing #1 is a great debut issue. It’s as good as the Ram V/Perkins pair of Future State issues were, but it’s quite different in terms of its setting and story.
It’s proper grown-up horror that introduces an interesting (and I presume brand new) lead character, creates an unsettling, disturbing mood through both writing and art, draws you in, and doesn’t let you look away.
I’ll look forward to more of this.
-
-
Last issue of Morrison’s Green Lantern this week too. And then that’s him done at DC, at least for now. Interesting – it feels like he’s had something going on there for a long time now.
1 user thanked author for this post.
