Attempting to kick off a new version of this as Ben’s one disappeared.
A MW tradition, and the cause of many an empty wallet!
The Trades Thread
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Just got my copy of the final WicDiv OHC, so re-reading that’ll eat up some time:
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Rebellion have put up Judge Dredd Case Files vol 5 (including the Apocalypse War) digital edition for free.
https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/GRN281
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Talking of excellent value buys, this arrived today:
It’s a big, hefty volume at a bargain price and the art still looks gorgeous – I know I wondered about that given the size of the Hawk collection I have, but it looks fine.
Also, it has an intro from Liam Sharp – I didn’t know he and Chris Weston were apprentice artists to Lawrence.
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Ive been quite interested in the Trigan Empire. I might have to take the plunge on it depending on what you make of the storytelling Ben.
I bought the new Dredd trade from my local comic shop. Mechanismo: Machine Law only has teo stories in it but it’s a tight John Wagner scripting and John Macrae and Colin MacNeil on art so the result is just:
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Just got my copy of the final WicDiv OHC, so re-reading that’ll eat up some time:
Yep same here.
Dealer Alert
If you have a SpedyHen preorder for Batman: Creature of the Night HC, keep it because the RRP has gone up from the expected $24.99 to $29.99, meaning the SH price of £13.51 is a bargain!
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It’s a paperback Lorcan, albeit a very nice one.
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I though the Trigan Empire was just being sold via Treasury of British Comics / 2000AD’s webstore. I’m avoiding the comic shop but phoning them up every week to pay for what’s in my standing order (to contribute to their cash flow during a time when people are social distancing) and I think I’ll ask them to pop a copy of this aside for me too if stores are selling it.
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There was a limited edition hardback available through the 2000AD website but the paperback is available through bookstores (and is in stock on Amazon now).
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No, they have – they’re flogging it half price! It’ll go fast.
I’m inclined to not worry about £1.05 difference given the freed up cash by trades ceasing for the next month or so.
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Yes but it’s the principle!
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Associate link for Trigan Empire
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Talking of excellent value buys, this arrived today:
It’s a big, hefty volume at a bargain price and the art still looks gorgeous – I know I wondered about that given the size of the Hawk collection I have, but it looks fine.
Also, it has an intro from Liam Sharp – I didn’t know he and Chris Weston were apprentice artists to Lawrence.
I haven’t got this yet, but a friend has and is disappointed with the book’s dimensions and I think he said paper quality too. He was hoping for something much larger to show off the art nearer the original size.
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Little bit of Amazon fishing (with, I think, affiliate links for all the products. I think. You might want to check Gar. Feel free to edit if they’re not working).
Eternals by Kirby Complete Collection
Spider-Man The Gauntlet Complete Collection v2
Conan (original Marvel series) Epic Collection v1
Ditko Is Strange – “King size” OHC of Ditko’s Dr Strange run
Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing X-Men Omnibus
Avengers: Live Kree or Die – this is a mix of mid-90s and post-Heroes Return Avengers
Avengers by Hickman Complete Collection
X-Men: Reload (the Chuck Austen run)
The Many Lives Of Carol Danvers – basically a trade filling the gaps between the Epics they did of Ms Marvel and her later solo series.
Steranko Is Revolutionary King size OHC – his Nick Fury run.
Young Avengers by Gillen and McKelvia complete collection
Batman Brave and the Bold omnibus v3
Sandman Books of Magic Omnibus v1
Doomsday Clock Complete Collection
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen by Fraction and Leiber
DC Through the 80s: The Experiments
Nightwing New 52 Omnibus (don’t know why that warrants one, but ok).
Wonder Woman Golden Age Omnibus v5
Superman Golden Age Omnibus v7
Justice League by Scott Snyder Deluxe v2
EC Archives: Saddle Justice. What a great title.
Usagi Yojimbo Origins v1 – This is the IDW colouring in of the original Usagi stories. It’s 192, so it’s going to take a quite a while for them to get through all the material Fantagraphics, Mirage and Dark Horse published. (Still no sign of a final UY Saga from Dark Horse to finish their run
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I unpacked and disinfected the hardcover of Gillen’s Peter Cannon: Watch.
I don’t think the pen work suits the oversize edition, but it gave me big positive feels when reading it in digital single issues, so I’m looking forward to reading it in one go.
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I recently reread that in HC myself. I agree that the art looks chunky and thick in the oversized format but that also helps emphasise the differences with the art change later, so it still works for me.
I enjoyed it a second time but I think nothing can recapture the process of realisation that you go through as a reader the first time.
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Prepare to be annoyed…. For Hachette have just put up the listing for the long awaited Uncanny X-Men Omnibus 4:
COLLECTING:
UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 176-193,
UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL (1970) 8,
KITTY PRYDE AND WOLVERINE (1984) 1-6,
X-MEN AND ALPHA FLIGHT (1985) 1-2,
material from MARVEL FANFARE (1982) 40
So UXM #200? Have to be in Uncanny X-Men Omnibus 5, coming in…. who knows when?
No sign as yet of that expected New Mutants Omnibus either.
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Vol 5 has got to be the missing issues of Uncanny (leading up to Mutant Massacre), the return of Jean Grey, and the early issues of X-Factor then. Right?
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Other news, UK online shops status:
- BooksEtc / Amazon / Wordery / Book Depository – Operating at slower pace
- SpeedyHen – Temporary close, will reopen at a later date
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Prepare to be annoyed…. For Hachette have just put up the listing for the long awaited Uncanny X-Men Omnibus 4:
COLLECTING:
UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 176-193,
UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL (1970) 8,
KITTY PRYDE AND WOLVERINE (1984) 1-6,
X-MEN AND ALPHA FLIGHT (1985) 1-2,
material from MARVEL FANFARE (1982) 40
So UXM #200? Have to be in Uncanny X-Men Omnibus 5, coming in…. who knows when?
No sign as yet of that expected New Mutants Omnibus either.
Vol 5 has got to be the missing issues of Uncanny (leading up to Mutant Massacre), the return of Jean Grey, and the early issues of X-Factor then. Right?
Looks like they’re splitting up Asgardian Wars as well, it was X-Men/Alpha Flight, New Mutants Special (Annual 1, basically) and Uncanny Annual 9
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Given rather more home time, I’ve taken time to plan some reading material. I’ve been surprised how unavailable omnibuses and similar are, post release.
Even recent reprints like Daredevil seem to be out of stock and unavailable just over a month from when they got released?
Are these things like floppies now? Pre-order or pick up the week they come out or its aftermarket prices.
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I’ve been surprised how unavailable omnibuses and similar are, post release.
It’s always been pretty much that way and with some knowledge of publishing I know why. An omnibus or absolute addition will have:
1. Very high production costs
2. Very high storage costs due to size
3. A limited audience that is willing to shell out circa $100 for a book.
So basically if they print much beyond obvious demand there’s a real risk of posting heavy losses for the editors involved. So instead they tend to be very conservative in the numbers they put out compared to regular trades with much lower unit costs.
I’m not saying there isn’t room to improve in how they do it, they could go to 2nd prints faster but I don’t think anything will fundamentally change in these products being essentially designed to never be printed above demand.
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Well, that’s Marvel all over.
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True enough, for all of my logical defence of the omnibus thing they are rather piss poor at handling their back material anyway compared to the other publishers.
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This arrived today.
Been looking forward to this for a long time, what with all the delays.
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Bought the first softcover “definitive edition” of Queen & Country.
Damned good comics there.
Theres only one minor downer is the art change in the last third. It’s not a bad switch in terms of quality but the main character, changes from being a normal, average woman to one with a wasp waisted, big busted superhero physique – it’s quite jarring with the real world perspective the book tries to portray.5 users thanked author for this post.
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Just got the second trade of Kieron Gillen’s “Die”. This is such a nerd comic book. It’s about a group of fantasy rpg players whose pen-and-paper round of a game one of them developed himself turned, when they were teens, into reality for them – or more accurately, they were transported to this fantasy world, and had to fight their way out. But one of them was left behind, and years later, as adults, they have to go back now because they find out he’s still alive. And so on. You know the drill. But it’s a fun, somewhat meta, fantasy story by Kieran Gillen, who is by turns taking this seriously (with some extremely bleak moments) and just having fun with it. It’s good stuff. Also got the third trees, which I have to say I wasn’t exactly expecting to come out anymore :)
Isakai and RPG-lit is big in Japan. The idea of getting sucked into the world of a fantasy RPG usually tops the lists of the most popular anime, manga and light novels over there while here it is still very niche.
However, the original D&D Saturday morning cartoon was exactly that. A group of kids playing D&D get transported magically into the world of the game. Whoever is in charge of rebooting D&D on film would be an idiot not to go in that direction.
I caught up with Warren Ellis’ THE WILD STORM TPB #4. It’s fascinating but, like how he tried to reboot Marvel’s New Universe, is more about ideas than story (characters and action). His CEMETERY BEACH has some similar ideas and more action, but nothing he’s written lately has been much different and definitely no better than what he wrote a decade ago.
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Queen & Country.
If you decide to read the whole run don’t overlook the novels.
The first goes between trades 7 and 8 I think and the next two are after the comics end but tie some significant plots and character arcs.
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I caught up with Warren Ellis’ THE WILD STORM TPB #4. It’s fascinating but, like how he tried to reboot Marvel’s New Universe, is more about ideas than story (characters and action).
I think that’s deliberate in many ways. The original run was touted as the originator of widescreen comics, everything was huge in scope and double paged. It’s rippling muscles and striking designs.
The reboot is the exact opposite, it’s really small and internalised. Stuff happens in bedrooms, nobody outside the groups involved really knows anything is going in, it’s a spy story in many ways.
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Button Man: Get Harry Ex
Although I’d heard people talk for years about Button Man as being one of the high points of 2000AD’s output, it wasn’t until a recent conversation here about Arthur Ranson that I finally got the push I needed to check it out. And I’m glad I did, as I really enjoyed it and read through it very quickly. It deserves its reputation.What I found most interesting about it was the extent to which Ranson’s stunning art dictates the feel of the book. You could have this same script drawn by a more cartoonish illustrator and it would feel like a completely different comic – it wouldn’t take much to turn this story (about hired hit-men competing in a killing game for the pleasure of their rich backers) into a big, brash, outlandish action-fest featuring ridiculously exaggerated beefy tough-guy characters, a range of lazy stereotypes, and a raft of impossible action sequences. And some of the non-Ranson covers and illustrations collected at the back of this volume bear that out.But with Ranson as artist, the whole thing gains a much more grounded, realistic texture that turns it from what could have been yet another cartoonishly violent crime comic into something that feels more akin to a gritty 1970s thriller like Get Carter or Death Wish (Charles Bronson even gets a cheeky cameo here, among a few famous faces seemingly used as reference).Ranson’s detailed, textured art gives everything a lived-in, kitchen-sink quality that makes the characters feel like real people you could meet and makes the locations feel like places you almost feel you recognise. Whether it’s the UK environs of the first story or the more US-based locales of the second and third stories collected here, everything – the houses, the cars, the weapons, the people – feels so detailed and true-to-life that you feel like they could step off the page.I haven’t talked about Wagner’s writing much yet, but it’s a solidly-written story that moves at a pace and feels like it has very little fat on it. And unlike some collections of weekly 2000AD short strips, there isn’t a stop-start quality to it due to its episodic nature – it all flows really well when collected as a whole, and you can’t see the seams. I’d struggle to pick out where one episode ended and the next began for most of this book.And unlike some successful strips that return for follow-ups, the second and third stories collected here are pretty much just as good as the first. While the US setting of the sequels is a little jarring at first, it actually works to set the follow-ups apart from the first story, with all three having their own strengths and being enjoyable in their own right. So at a little over £12 for three great stories, this represents excellent value.It’s at this point that I have to ask about the fourth story, with Frazer Irving on art, which isn’t collected here. Is it worth picking up? Or is it only going to detract from what is a pretty perfect trilogy as it stands?Or to put it another way, is it Toy Story 4, or is it Kingdom Of the Crystal Skull? -
I haven’t talked about Wagner’s writing much yet, but it’s a solidly-written story that moves at a pace and feels like it has very little fat on it
This really is the skill that Wagner has. None of his stories are overtly clever or show off at all, he just has comics storytelling completely nailed down. I was discussing with Bruce the last run he did on Strontium Dog and in many ways you could argue it was just a fairly standard sci-fi adventure strip but along with Carlos Ezquerra (rest in peace) it just struck me how beautifully formed it was. Compared to all the other strips, many I liked a lot, they just didn’t have anywhere near the clarity of storytelling those two.
In a lot of comics there are clunky bits that don’t flow, or a bad piece of dialogue or confusion over what’s going on, never in a Wagner comic.
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In a lot of comics there are clunky bits that don’t flow, or a bad piece of dialogue or confusion over what’s going on, never in a Wagner comic.
I don’t have much experience of Wagner’s writing as I’ve only dipped in and out of 2000AD over the years, but this book definitely exemplifies what you’re saying here. The plot and action are always totally clear, you’re never lost or confused and so you stay totally engaged throughout.
He knows when to stay ‘quiet’ and let the art carry the story too. I don’t know how tightly he writes and how much latitude Ranson had to choreograph the action but it all feels very clear and there’s a strong sense of exactly where people and things are in relation to each other. Again it helps to make it feel cinematic and really move.
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So has anyone read the fourth story? Worth a look? I like Irving’s art but I imagine it would be quite a contrast to Ranson.
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So has anyone read the fourth story? Worth a look? I like Irving’s art but I imagine it would be quite a contrast to Ranson.
The fourth book is good but its not at the same standard as the Ranson ones. Worth reading but with the caveat that I’d agree with the decision not to include it in the edition you posted about.
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So has anyone read the fourth story? Worth a look? I like Irving’s art but I imagine it would be quite a contrast to Ranson.
Read it a long time ago, Bruce’s assessment sounds right.
It’s rare to read a bad Wagner comic, but sometimes you get a merely very good one.
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a solidly-written story that moves at a pace
Typical Wagner. Though, another thing that may help the first part keep the relentless pace is the fact it was originally written to be published one page at a time (i can’t remember where
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Ranson in the foreword though to the original printing doesn’t seem to agree with Bruce.
What the hell does Ranson know? I mean its not as thought I’ll have mis-remembered the foreword from a book I’ve packed away in storage. Is it…? 🤦♂️
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Put it like this, Marshall Law was one the subtler strips in the book.
One called ‘The Driver’ just had 6 pages, no dialogue, of a five mile long truck carrying toxic waste mowing down an entire town in graphic detail because the brakes had failed.
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In fairness, if Geof Darrow drew something like that I’d probably love it.
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I Hate Fairyland book 2
pretty much more of the same as volume 1, although Young is wise enough to know that it’s not a concept with long legs and so starts to build towards a conclusion from the start of this second OHC, wrapping everything up by the end.
It’s perfectly decent, but not particularly deep and I can’t see it holding much appeal for repeat readings. I had hoped the ending would surprise me more rather than going for the fairly obvious option of “Gert gets home and realises the real world sucks”, but at least it only took 20 issues to get there, long before the joke ran thin.
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Batman: Creature of the Night HC
Having always loved Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen’s Superman: Secret Identity, I was keen to see how this Batman-based counterpart turned out – but wanted to wait until the whole series was complete so I could read it through in one go.
Now that the HC is finally out, I was surprised to discover that, aside from some conceptual similarities (this story revolves around a kid in a more real world than the DCU who is aware of Batman as a comics character and who shares his name – well almost, this is Bruce Wainwright), this and Secret Identity are very different types of story altogether.
While the Superman book was all about growing up and coming to terms with yourself as a person and your own sense of identity, this is a slightly less universal and accessible story about the child of murdered parents growing up and being unable to live a well-balanced life, ultimately willing into existence a version of Batman who in many ways acts as the monster of the story.
I don’t want to say much more than that, as there are some interesting twists and turns here that are best left unspoiled, but it all makes for a slightly less accessible read than the Superman series – albeit one that still works well enough on its own terms.
Busiek being the thoughtful writer of superhero comics that he is, he finds a lot to mine from the story concept. There are some interesting musings here on Batman and his character and how it has evolved over the years; on the healthiness (or not) of Batman as an adolescent power fantasy, both for readers and for himself; and on what the character represents in terms of our psychological urges.
There are also plenty of cute touches throughout for Batman fans. As well as this story featuring an Alfred, a Robin and a Gordon of its very own (among other characters) there are also occasional fun references to specific Batman comics or movies that help to set this clearly apart from an in-universe Batman comic.
But it also tilts fairly heavily towards the supernatural and fantastical, so it isn’t like it’s hugely grounded either. This is just an alternate world that allows for a fresh take on Batman in a more psychologically plausible context.
It’s a world that’s brought to life very well by John Paul Leon’s art, which drips with atmosphere and darkness with its heavy inks and thick lines. That’s not to say it isn’t precise and detailed when it needs to be, but it’s a style that allows for a lot of oppressive darkness and black areas when necessary, and it serves Busiek’s story well. Batman here is a suitably demonic and imposing figure, and some of the compositions of him against the city backdrop (Boston, here, rather than Gotham) are pretty stunning.
This regular-sized HC collects all four issues of the series along with some nice bonus material in the form of a short afterword that includes the original series pitch, and also some penciled and inked pages of art and cover roughs.
While as a whole it didn’t blow me away like Secret Identity did, it’s still a very polished and well-conceived story that approaches Batman in a fresh and original way and actually has something to say about the character. I’m glad I picked it up.
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League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen IV: The Tempest HC
Having read this series as it came out and having also picked up the hardcover when it came out late last year, I’ve been waiting for the right moment to plough through it all in one go. And a quiet Easter Monday turned out to be the perfect opportunity.
This book is maybe the densest series of LOEG yet – despite being only six issues long it took me many hours to read today – but it’s also one of the most satisfying. Pretty much every major thread of the series is addressed in some way, and the whole thing builds and builds to such a climax of successive climaxes that it’s hard to imagine a way in which it could have gone out any bigger.
The flipside of that is that it would be borderline impenetrable for a newcomer, and can be pretty difficult to keep track of even for a fan. Certainly it was in individual issues at least, with the long gaps leading me to lose the thread of one or two of the subplots a little bit. Thankfully though it all joins up a lot more clearly when read as a single volume.
What I like about LOEG is that it’s always been unashamed pulp-y fun, and there’s some brilliantly silly and funny stuff here that can’t fail to raise a smile (Moore’s keen sense of humour is sorely underrated). And there’s also some formal experimentation that pulls the book in multiple different directions, with each issue apeing a different type of British comic. It feels like a return to the ethos of the Black Dossier book after the relatively ‘straight’ Century and Nemo trilogies.
O’Neill’s art is spectacular too, sometimes cramming the panels with cameos and gags and references, sometimes perfectly playing up to the joke (as with the scene-stealing appearance at one point of a character called Infinity) and sometimes providing genuinely spectacular visuals for big moments of action and incident, especially when aided by dazzling 3-D effects that really do enhance the reading experience and serve as far more than just a gimmick (and are very well executed – this works better to my eyes than most 3-D I’ve seen).
As Moore and O’Neill’s swansong, this was always going to be a somewhat bittersweet book, but they manage to make it feel more like euphoria than eulogy; a celebration of their careers, of LOEG and of comics in general, rather than just a curtain call and a farewell.
And this smart HC is a fitting format for that final celebration, collecting every single piece of content from the singles – the covers, the potted histories of famous creators, the back-cover pin-ups, the letters pages, even the barcodes – along with a short epilogue story that’s unique to this hardcover volume and caps everything off very nicely.
It’s also one of the few books for which I went out of my way to get a signed copy. And I’m glad I did – not only is it a lovely little bookplate, but it’s also nice to have a special version of a book that marks the end of two great comics careers.
Until their next comic, anyway…
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A couple of new arrivals today:
Sara has been on my list for a while, and it’s a nice big oversized softcover.
And I’ve never read Rising Stars but I found that the first couple of TPBs were dirt cheap online so I thought I’d give it a shot.
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Sara has been on my list for a while, and it’s a nice big oversized softcover.
That cover says SDRD.
Let us (me) know if it’s any good, I’m always keen on anything written by Ennis.
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Sara has been on my list for a while, and it’s a nice big oversized softcover.
That cover says SDRD.
Let us (me) know if it’s any good, I’m always keen on anything written by Ennis.
I read the first issue when they made it available for free and I really enjoyed it (it’s still free on TKO’s website if you want to have a look). Epting’s art doesn’t hurt either, it’s as good here as it was in Velvet.
The only reason it’s taken me this long to get around to reading it is that TKO’s distribution for physical books has been a little patchy outside the US.
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Very well done, with a cracking ending.
Sold!
Speaking of cracking endings, did anyone catch Punisher: Soviet by Ennis? I really, really, really loved the ending. Not only the skinning, but the drink at the end was really fitting. I don’t care that it breaks Ennis own continuity (Frank shared a bottle of whiskey with his mate from the SAS in the Man of Stone arc in Punisher: Max), it was so damn well done anyway. Ennis is the definitive Punisher writer, and it is going to take years and near-miracles for someone to take that away from him.
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The last issue of Punisher: Soviet is one of those books Diamond decided not to supply to comic book stores in the UK. So, unfortunately I still haven’t read it. I did order a copy from the US, which is on its way, but who knows when that will arrive given current circumstances.
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No probs, Anders.
There were a lot of great books due out that last week of March. It would have been far better if they had shipped before the shut down, so that everyone was on a level playing field globally.
I was due to pick up something like 8 or 9 books that week. I ordered 4 of them from the US, at a premium with international shipping; but, I wasn’t going to miss out on the last issues of Soviet and Curse of the White Knight, for example.
I’ll pick up the rest (and extra copies of the ones I ordered online too) from my local, if it ever reopens. Sadly, there’s no guarantee of that.
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It’s not a done deal, Ben. The last time I spoke to him John said he would try to stay open for as long as he can. But, who knows right? When will he be allowed to reopen? When will deliveries restart? Will any of his customers (other than me, obviously) come back?
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I think maybe a positive thing is most of the plans for phased lifting of lockdowns I’ve seen are starting with small shops below a certain amount of square feet, to avoid the kind of big crowds we see at shopping malls etc. Those have been proposed in Poland, France and Germany so far.
That should include all the comic shops if that approach is taken in the UK. There’s probably only 2 I can think of that could be counted as at all large (Forbidden Planet Shaftsbury Ave and Nostalgia and Comics) and they are pretty small relative to most chain stores.
I’m a little concerned that all the funds raised from #creators4comics though are going to a US only charity, even from the overseas creators. I hope the stores in places like the UK and Australia aren’t completely overlooked. They seem to be raising a decent amount of cash especially after some Hollywood comic fans like Lindelof and Patton Oswalt have chimed in and bids are in the thousands on single items.
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Reading Justice these days.
I like Alex Ross, but are all Ross’ material redeemed
by his artwork? Kingdom Come, some of the Paul Dini tabloid
material and now I am reading Justice.Does his artwork make up for that much?
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I finally got round to reading Planet Hulk in OHC. It is a page turner of an epic storyline, but funnily enough reading it in one hit robs it of something, I think. The Hulk’s journey from slave to gladiator to resistance fighter to king seems too short and truncated in just 14 parts. Read in real time over the course of a year, I think it would be far more effective.
Greg Pak’s story is very plot driven, and a little light on meaningful characterisation. I recognise that some of this was deliberate, as the focus was on the Hulk finally being let off the leash to smash his way across the planet. However it left me feeling detached from what was happening to him, and just biding my time until the next inevitable plot twist. Still, it was fun in a summer blockbuster kinda way.
The artwork by Pagulayan, Lopresti, and Frank held together nicely, with a consistent and cohesive look across all the artists.
The OHC was also quite impressive, with lovely thick paper. Unfortunately the end paper and back cover has come detached from the main book, so it will need a repair at some point in time.
I followed that up with re-reading World War Hulk for the first time since it was originally published (my first time in the OHC edition). It works a lot better as a sequel to Planet Hulk than it does as a standalone summer event. With all the heavy lifting of what, why and how covered by the earlier story, you can just sit back and enjoy the fireworks.
John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson are astonishing on this book. Their artwork is suitably epic and larger than life. The Hulk has never looked so imposing and the beat downs he gives the other heroes along the way are suitably earth shattering. The work looks especially good in the larger format of the OHC, with Christina Strain’s gorgeous colouring popping off the page.
The OHC is rounded off with a couple of great, insightful interviews with both Pak and Romita Jr. It’s a great package overall.
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I remember quite enjoying World War Hulk at the time for the art, although the story was a little bit lost on me as I hadn’t read Planet Hulk beforehand.
My main memory of it was that it used a sound effect that included the word “bathroom” in it.
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a sound effect that included the word “bathroom” in it.
Not only that, it says “krakk a bathroom”, I guess “krakk” is just like “crack” but very, very loud.
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Reading Justice these days.
I like Alex Ross, but are all Ross’ material redeemed
by his artwork? Kingdom Come, some of the Paul Dini tabloid
material and now I am reading Justice.Does his artwork make up for that much?
I found Braithwaite made the bigger impact on the art for Justice. Ross’ colours are good but its the former’s imagery that makes it fly.
The superhero one-shots with Dini are excellent single character examinations, where Ross’ can really go all out in the painting.
Ross has worked with skilled writers who know how to best use his skills – Busiek, Waid, Dini, is quite the set of collaborators.
It’s not a done deal, Ben. The last time I spoke to him John said he would try to stay open for as long as he can. But, who knows right? When will he be allowed to reopen? When will deliveries restart? Will any of his customers (other than me, obviously) come back?
Thanks Vik. Years ago circumstances stopped my buying monthlies and then later, when they receded? I just never restarted and that’s the challenge for the local comic shops. I don’t know what the answer is.
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A couple of new arrivals today:
Sara has been on my list for a while, and it’s a nice big oversized softcover.
And I’ve never read Rising Stars but I found that the first couple of TPBs were dirt cheap online so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Oh, where did you nab Sara from?
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Picked it up from FP.com, it was still a bit pricey at £14.99 but I was buying other stuff too which mitigated the extra postage cost that would have been added to it on its own.
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A couple more lockdown reads arrived today.
The second volume of Rising Stars, and Unstable Molecules which has been on my to-read list for years now.
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I may need to reread Rising Stars at some point. In my memory, it was very, very good at some points but didn’t quite become great in the end. (Plus, the art really wasn’t my cup of tea – too nineties Top Cow.) It’ll be interesting to hear what you say when you’ve read the entire thing.
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The finale of Rising Stars had Brent Anderson on art, so any accusations of flashy 90’s art can be forgotten about when you get to the third act.
I remember liking Midnight Nation a whole lot more.
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I read the first issue of his new Resistance book. It’s ok but it suffers from having to set up an entire line of books and doesn’t really have much in terms of story or characters to get hold of yet. Deodato’s art is quite nice though.
It’s partly what spurred me to check out Rising Stars for the first time, and also to reread this, which I just picked up again:
Resistance is broadly a similar concept of lots of super-powered people emerging into a realistic world, so it’s interesting to compare these variations on a theme from the same writer.
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How you do decide what trades to display in your bookshelves. I assume most of you, like me, have a lot of TPBs and HCs; if you’re like me, you have TOO many TPBs and HCs, certainly more than you can fit in your bookcase. So which books make the cut? Do you display your copies of WATCHMEN and KINGDOM COME because they are considered masterpieces? Or do you display your entire collection of THE WALKING DEAD because, well, you f*@#king loved that series?
Personally, I have about three shelves devoted to the books of Mike Mignola, including the Hellboy Library Editions, all the BPRD and Abe Sapien HCs, and various other TPBs, prose paperbacks and hardcovers. I also have half a shelf of Brubaker/Phillips HCs, and another half-shelf of HCs collecting Jack Kirby’s 1970s work at DC. But for one reason or another, my collection of books for other titles that I’m always raving about (Savage Dragon and various WildStorm books, for example) are still sitting in boxes in my basement. I suspect it is because those collections are incomplete, because the publishers didn’t bother to put all the printed issues into TPB or HC format.
Probably overthinking this waaaaay too much, but I’m curious how the rest of you deal with this.
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This conversation needs photos, Jerry.
My shelves are arranged so that my favourite creators are most easily accessible, so mostly Moore, Miller and Morrison (who almost fill a bookcase on their own). There’s also a separate Brubaker/Phillips shelf that has a few other bits and pieces on it too.
Then I have a load of other shelves dotted around the house for various bits and pieces by a wider range of creators, including a couple of shelves for my ‘to-read’ pile that seems to endlessly expand.
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Easy peasy Jerry. Build more bookcases. I just so happen to know a girl who’s a dab hand at making bookshelves from various odds and ends. There were also other attempts at carpentry but we don’t talk about that. If you’re still at a loss for space: chop up all non-essential furniture and make more shelves. You can always lounge around on beanbags or cushions or something. Kitchen cupboards too full of pots and pans – hang them from the ceiling.
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My shelves are organised by creator, by trim size, by character, chronologically.
For example, all the Brian Azzarello books are on the same shelf; within that Batman/ Deathblow, Luther, and Joker are all next to each other, before Broken City, First Wave, and so on.
But, it almost doesn’t matter. I also have doors on my cupboards to protect them from the sunshine, and the grubby mitts of curious visitors and children :)
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