I just received the second Green Lantern Corps Omnibus. Love having them on my bookshelf, but the mapping is so strange. Thankfully all the Tomasi written issues are included but there’s a seemingly random selection of issues by other writers too. Some but not all the crossover issues, for example. Literally one issue of Blackest Night. Guest written issues by Sterling Gates but not issues by regular writer Dave Gibbons. Bizarre. Just bizarre.
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I’m guessing that was probably me.
The book felt like it lost its way after #100, but I really enjoyed “Fallen Grayson” too – it was a nice return to form for the series and a fun conclusion to the Taylor/ Redondo run on the book.
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Yes. It’s good, if messy, and bittersweet, and confusing, and funny, and sad, and sexy, and scary, … I could go on, but you get the idea.
I enjoyed it. It’s got a great set of artists. Be forewarned though that it doesn’t give you much in the way of answers at the end. Which you may or may not find annoying.
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Sad news. Whilst not a prolific artist, I’ll always fondly remember his Buffy related work on Fray.
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Disney and Amazon have suspended production on The Graveyard Shift and Good Omens Season 3 respectively. Maybe indefinitely. It all appears related. I don’t see a route back for Gaiman now, tbh. This seems career ending.
I do wonder what this will all mean for DC and Marvel. I guess we’ll never see Miracleman: The Dark Age now, but DC in particular have benefitted hugely from his work over the years, and still have ongoing titles that bear his name. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with Sandman going forwards.
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Woke up this morning to the news that John Cassaday has passed on at the ridiculously young age of 52. Just three years older than me.
This one hits hard. I remember seeing his art for the first time, on a fill in issue of Ka-Zar. I remember thinking it was different, but certainly nothing special.
Over the years though his style evolved into something unique – bold and cinematic. Planetary was his masterpiece. A tour de force of everything that makes comics special.
Gone far, far too soon 😢
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Don’t know if anyone’s interested, but #181 of the 2000AD Ultimate Collection part works (the new issue out this week) collects the first three volumes of The Out.
A nice way to catch up with the series, as the tpb only reprints the first two books. Book four starts in the Prog in September.
The Out is absolutely amazing, btw.
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I wasn’t going to pick up the Robin: Tim Drake Compendium Volume 1 because I still have all these comics, dog earred though they may be, stored in long boxes in my collection, and I have qualms about the selection of stories collected herein. Not including his first appearance in “A Lonely Place of Dying” seems crazy, along with Tim’s subsequent appearances in New Titans, Batman and Detective Comics. Okay, the resulting chronology might have been a bit mad, but we’re not talking about dozens of issues and to exclude those, but include a random Superman crossover (albeit a fun crossover) is a strange editorial choice. It also, more worryingly, didn’t include Detective Comics #644-649, which is effectively Robin Vol 2.5 by the same creative team as the three mini-series reprinted within, and also happens to include the first appearance of Spoiler. whose second appearance is reprinted. Like I said, it’s not a perfect book.
But, in a weird coincidence, FP had a recent sale on their website that included Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol 8 for a steep discount, which reprinted those Detective Comics issues and perfectly complements the Compendium. I took that as a sign from the universe and stumped up my cash.
The Compendium arrived this morning, and it’s a thing of beauty. I haven’t picked up any of DC’s compendium’s beforehand, but if this is their usual standard of printing I think that might change going forwards. It feels surprisingly robust. Lightweight, and flexible, yet with decent paper stock. I can imagine this being far easier to read lying down in bed than an Omnibus or other deluxe hardcover edition, or even the heavier Image compendium editions I have previously picked up (e.g. Spawn or Saga).
It’s impossible for me to be impartial about the comics reprinted within. These are “core memory” comics for me. I was literally the target demographic for these when they originally came out back in the 1990’s – the character and these stories spoke to me directly in ways that no other comic had before or frankly since. They left an indelible imprint on my psyche. I keep picking up the book and flipping through it to random pages and reliving the magic. So very cool to have these on my bookshelf.
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Wolverine: Sabretooth War Omnibus
Fair warning, as per my review elsewhere, this isn’t great. It’s by no means bad, but it’s far from the perfect ending I would have liked to read.
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Ten “legendary” (Loeb’s words, but considering his track record in artistic collaborators I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt) artists who inspired or were admired by Tim Sale; all of whom signed up to join this tribute project. Loeb himself came “out of retirement” for this. I think it all sounds great.
Circling back round to this. The full artistic list for The Last Halloween has been announced, and it makes me pretty happy: Risso, Janson, Chiarello, Chiang, Sienkiewicz, Marini, Johnson, Cloonan, Samnee, and Scalera on #10. I think that’s quite a strong line up.
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I don’t think I’ve ever read any TMNT comics beforehand, other than their crossovers with Batman that Tynion wrote a few years ago, so I’m coming into the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 pretty cold. I am familiar with the Turtles from the various movies and cartoons, although I was a just a smidge too old for the cartoons to hook me back in the day. There’s some nostalgia here, certainly, but not as much as I have for Transformers, for example.
Jason Aaron writes and Joelle Jones is on art for #1. It’s not a perfect first issue, but it’s suitably tense, action packed and intriguing enough to make me want to read more. The eponymous turtles are separated after previous events, scattered to the four winds, with this first issue focused on Raphael who is stuck in a high security prison for reasons thus far unknown (the prelude issue that came out a month or so ago shows, with art by Chris Burnham, showed where Donatello is). There’s a cliched bit of storytelling towards the end that feels jarring, and some slightly confusing storytelling doesn’t help, but overall this is a fine first issue from a great creative team. I’ll be picking this up regularly.
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Just got the G.O.D.S. tpb collection. Haven’t read it, but it’s a nice looking book. It collects all 8 issues of the series along with the 10 single page stories that were sprinkled throughout various titles before the series’ launched. I love Hickman’s work, but Marvel’s entire launch strategy for this book was so off putting that I waited for the trade instead. Glad that gamble paid off. Hoping the book is worth the wait. Heard good things about it so have high hopes.
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It’s not looking good. There’s been a somewhat surprising lack of pick up from more mainstream media though (unless I’ve completely missed it). That’s weird given Gaiman’s profile.
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I saw that. I also saw that Act 4 (the name of Scott Dunbier’s new comic company) will also be publishing a hardcover collection of Darwyn Cooke’s Spirit run. Very cool.
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Batman & Robin: Year One by Waid and Samnee is amazing news.
I’m still less enthused by DC All In, but I’m curious to see what the October solicitations will bring.
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Something else I know nothing of. Any thoughts and opinions are appreciated.
I read The Woods digitally a few years ago, as Tynion’s star was rising at DC. I enjoyed it a lot. It’s his first long form story, so not as polished as his current work, but it’s an accomplished piece of work for a relatively young and inexperienced writer. It’s a sci-fi piece so there are some plot points that didn’t quite make sense, from what I recall, but the structure, the pacing, the characters and characterisation? It’s all good.
Each 12 issues is more or less a season, with time jumps in between. There are shades of Lost throughout, given the similarities in subject matter. I’d recommend it, especially if you like Tynion’s work, but be warned. It’s a bit like reading early Morrison after reading latter day Morrison – still fun, but you’ll probably notice the recurring themes and patterns a lot clearer than if you read this first.
Chris was a big fan of this too, IIRC.
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Garth Ennis’ arc on James Bond 007 #1-6, “Your Cold, Cold Heart”, was pretty decent Bond story. A Cold War tinged action adventure with an interesting MacGuffin of weaponised water, the only thing it really lacked was a decent villain.
I half expected Garth to play it for laughs, a la Jimmy’s Bastards, but he didn’t really. What humour there is is subtle and understated. Nor is it as dark as his Punisher Max work, although there are moments where his Bond is a cold bastard.
In interviews before the series came out, Garth mentioned that he really had no affection for the character until he read Warren Ellis’ run, and from there went back to the source material. This mini reads very much in that vein. I like it. I hope there’s at least a sequel to look forward to next year.
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Yes, I agree. There’s a definite ick-factor to the whole thing regardless.
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Yeah. Who am I kidding here? I’m highly likely to be doing similar. I always do 😆
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I love many of those creators but I’m just so so so tired of DC, in particular, doing this sort of thing. I recognise, of course, the irony of that statement given how much I’m enjoying the new Ultimate titles. I wait to see what comes out of SDCC in a couple of weeks time, but I’m not enthused at the moment.
Far more excited about the rumoured return of Starman by Robinson and Harris no less. Hopefully there’s some truth to that one.
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Despite a similar premise, Marvel’s Blood Hunt is no DC vs Vampires. Maybe because it’s a sprawling event, set in continuity, and I’m only reading a handful of titles, but it just seems boring in comparison. Almost by the numbers. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not all bad. The artwork is phenomenal (Larraz and Gracia), and there are some exciting set pieces, but the stakes (excuse the pun) don’t seem as real or as scary.
I have been checking out the Avengers and Dr Strange tie ins, also written by Jed MacKay, and those have been fun. Tangential stories, almost entirely self contained. The Avengers subs team in particular is a brilliant line up that I wish could be around for a longer time than just these three issues. And, I’ve missed seeing Pascual Ferry’s artwork regularly.
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Wonder Woman #8-10 “Sacrifice”, by King, Sampere and Morey, is the story of how the Sovereign tries and ultimately fails to break his captive. It’s an uncomfortable read. If you’ve seen TNG’s “Chain of Command” or B5’s “Intersections in Real Time” you know how this is going to go, but there’s something of a twist at the end that was unexpected. Loving this book. I hope that the Absolute Power crossover coming up in the next few issues doesn’t derail it too much.
Speaking of which, Absolute Power #1 was a fine debut issue from Waid and Mora. It’s fast paced and exciting, although very much just set up. Waller finally makes her big move and catches everyone with their proverbial pants down. Things look really bad for our heroes by the end of the issue, with a betrayal that does appear a little out of character. But, I trust Waid to deliver on this. I’ve been reading his work for almost 30 years now. He believes. And, if there’s a recurring motif to his work, it’s that it is always darkest before the dawn. Look forward to seeing how this plays out.
I’m not planning on buying any of the tie-in issues (I’ll just catch them on DCU Infinite instead), but I did get the Absolute Power: Ground Zero one shot by Waid, Zdarsky, Williamson and Maines. I wouldn’t say that it’s an essential read, but does bridge the gap between recent DC storylines and the first issue – it tells you how Failsafe is reactivated from the end of “Dark Prisons”, for example. Nice if you’re a continuity nerd worried about connecting the dots.
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I, on the other hand, am still waiting for my constituency results (Basildon South & East Thurrock). Looking like Reform has taken it, but they’re going to do a full recount this morning as it appears to be on a knife’s edge. FFS 🤦🏽♂️
I just saw that this seat turned Reform (by a margin of less than 100 votes). Commiserations.
Thanks. Deeply embarrassing. Not entirely unexpected given the socio-demographics of the area, but depressing as hell.
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I, on the other hand, am still waiting for my constituency results (Basildon South & East Thurrock). Looking like Reform has taken it, but they’re going to do a full recount this morning as it appears to be on a knife’s edge. FFS 🤦🏽♂️
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Rees-Mogg and Truss losing is just fantastic. Truss throwing a strop was hysterical. Braverman’s going to be the new leader now though. So that’s going to be fun.
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Sorry (not sorry). I’m mid-way through my first bottle of red for the night. Loving the exit poll, but, … seriously … Reform … WTAF …
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Fuck Reform.
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In advance of Absolute Power kicking off in anger this week, I thought I’d read the last Zdarsky/ Jimenez arc of Batman “Dark Prisons” (#145 – 148). This effectively ties up the creative team’s long running Failsafe/ Zur En Arrh arc before it segues into the upcoming event crossover. It’s effectively the third act in the story after “Failsafe” and “Mind Bomb” (it does include a few references to the other non-Jimenez arcs too, but I think you can safely skip those without missing out on too much). It’s a fun and exciting conclusion, with some nice character bits for Bat-family fans. I enjoyed it but I’m ready for something else now. A new creative team and/or a change in direction once Absolute Power is over.
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The X-Tinction Agenda Omnibus is a difficult one for me. Jim Lee’s artwork on his three issues of that crossover were amazing, but I really struggled with the other six parts. Arthur Adams’ annual in the four part “Days of Future Present” was likewise brilliant, but the other three parts much less so. The rest of the omni is filled with random stuff that I have litte to no interest in. It’s awfully tempting to get it for completeness, but a handful of issues for £80 (or so) is a bit rich, especially when I have them in tpb already.
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Wolverine #50 wrapped up the big “Sabretooth War” storyline, with a pretty intense showdown. Whilst the fight was fun I do wish it hadn’t taken 10 issues to get here – there were moments of brilliance in there but lots of dross that I could have done without too, especially at $5 an issue. There is a nice epilogue from Percy to his run though which brought a smile to my face.
Gillen tried his best with Rise of the Powers of X, but couldn’t quite hit it out of the park the way Hickman did at the start of this whole affair. I didn’t read his X-Men Forever though so feel like I might have missed a few pieces of his storyline that may have made it more coherent overall.
Whilst Duggan’s Fall of the House of X was a bit of a disjointed mess, I did enjoy his run on X-Men throughout the Fall (and his Uncanny Avengers mini-series was fun too). Short 1 or 2 parters, with a variety of different artists, telling stories focused on a handful of characters whilst the big events were occuring in the various mini-series. It was a good approach. The big #35 proved to be a nice captstone on the run, tying up some loose ends and effectively saying goodbye to Krakoa.
And, with that, I’m done with the X-Books for the time being (other than a few outstanding mini-series that still need to wrap up). I’ll never say never cos I do love the mutant books when they’re on form, but I’ve little interest in what Brevoort’s team are serving up. Maybe it’s finally time to hit Claremont’s original run on Uncanny (plus New Mutants, Wolverine, X-Factor, Excalibur) that I’ve been super mega trade waiting on in Omnibus format.
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That was a disappointing finale. Barely coherent and anti-climactic. Landed with a solid thud at my house.
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And what’s with the flickering images throughout the series? I assume that’s building up to something. I do hope we’re not the only ones to have noticed those, and it’s not just my TV being possessed!
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I haven’t kept up with the series (or discussions here) to date. Not out of distaste, but because my daughter really wanted to watch Ncuti’s Doctor and she’s had A-Levels and other stuff going on so we had to wait for her to finish. The end result being we’ve binged the first six episodes of the series over the last week. It has been good fun overall, I think, carried along by the actors’ charisma more than the brilliance of the writing.
I thought Space Babies was a terrible debut, and Rogue didn’t particularly work for me (but was liked a lot by my Bridgerton watching daughter).
Dot & Bubble was a bit “on the nose” but I was left physically angry by the twist at the end, which was magnificently done. Interestingly my kids didn’t get it, which hopefully says something about society today versus the one I grew up in, but maybe that’s wishful thinking.
The Devil’s Chord, Boom and 73 Yards were all fantastic. Really enjoyed them.
Looking forward to the season finale two parter.
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Hadn’t seen this announced before but massively excited for it. Their first series was brilliant.
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Once Upon a Time At The End of the World #15 wraps up Jason Aaron’s post-apocalyptic love story from Boom. It’s a confusing ending, leaving many things deliberately vague and inconclusive, but the MacGuffin was never the point of the series. The relationship between the protagonists is what this series was about and the last few issues hit you right in the feels. Hard.
Love is messy from beginning to end, and I think this story will resonate with anyone who is or has been in a long term relationship. At times joyous and at others uncomfortable. It’s a very real depiction of one couple’s journey from star struck adolescence to bitter old age.
It’s a thought provoking tale with lovely art from Tefenkgi, Del Luca, and Nick Dragotta who brings it all home in the final arc.
I enjoyed this.
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As Krakoa was wrapping up this week, Gerry Duggan and Garry Brown (The Massive) were launching their new creator owned title – Falling in Love on the Path to Hell #1. Who can resist that cover, eh? It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, I think. Cinematic, evocative, and immediately compelling. The debut issue starts with the death of the main protagonists, before launching into the mysterious events that will form the crux of the series. It’s a fairly quick read, despite being extra long, and I think barely scratches the surface of what the book is about, but I’m intrigued enough to continue reading. It feels a lot like the start of an old style Vertigo book.
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As someone who has read Transformers comics off and on as long as I’ve been reading comics (picking up Target: 2006 from the newsstands each week is a core memory for me), I recognise that this new iteration is not as inventive as others. Nor is it trying to be. It’s just creators having fun playing with action figures, and I think that comes across on the page. Which is why I find it so infectious and joyful.
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There were some rumours that Sorrentino’s art on this was AI generated. I can see why. I’m a huge fan of his stuff (from all the way back on I, Vampire) but this really doesn’t feel a lot like his work. It’s a horrid mish mash of a story with inconsistent artwork.
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Didn’t even know there had been a last Loeb-Sale Batman one-shot!
I’m really not sure about that project, Sale is such a major part of The Long Halloween books. 10 artists says styles will vary which I’m not sure fits this.
Talking of Batman, how is the post-Gotham War Zdarsky run doing? I was looking at the Joker: Year One trade due August but its pitch of a more sadistic than ever Joker doesn’t do much for me after the last few years of getting exactly that.
Wow. Tough crowd. Ten “legendary” (Loeb’s words, but considering his track record in artistic collaborators I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt) artists who inspired or were admired by Tim Sale; all of whom signed up to join this tribute project. Loeb himself came “out of retirement” for this. I think it all sounds great. YMMV though, clearly.
Joker: Year One was a total train wreck, btw. Skip it.
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Jeph Loeb announced Batman: The Last Halloween today. A 10 part final chapter starting in September. Every issue to be drawn by a different artist as a tribute to Tim Sale. They’re reprinting the last Loeb/ Sale special as a #0 just beforehand. I might wait for the inevitable hardcover on this (Absolute preferably) but it sounds like a wonderful idea.
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Am I the only one seeing phantom posts on the board? Literally all the time.
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Something is Killing the Children #36 is something of a departure from the norm for this book. It’s a done in one issue monster hunt, rather than a big 15 issue super arc. It flashes back to a younger Erica still working for the House. There’s an interesting twist to this story that will either warm your cockles or leave you cold.
It’s the first of 4 or 5 single issue flashbacks before the next arc kicks off. If you’re interested in checking the book out, without worrying about the complex mythology that has built up around it over the last 5 years, these one shots seem like the perfect opportunity to do so.
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I wasn’t keen on King’s Batman run at all, to be fair. I also read his earlier Grayson run recently, and found that lacking too. I think he’s definitely improved as a writer in the years since then.
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Reading Hellblazer: Dead In America #1-4 I found myself wondering why this isn’t connecting with me in the same way as the earlier run.
The series so far has been a string of four loosely connected tales of Americana, a la “American Gothic”. They’re all well told tales, from a fine creative team, but not one has solicited an emotional reaction.
Then it struck me that I know what’s missing. It’s the anger. The seething anger at Boris Johnson and the fucked up path that the U.K. has been on for the last decade or so. Each page of the original run oozed with that, and it was almost cathartic reading those stories and seeing Constantine wring at least a modicum of justice out of that hopelessness.
Whilst clearly there are similarities in political climate both sides of the Atlantic, I don’t feel Spurrier or myself have that same visceral connection to what’s happening Stateside.
Don’t let that put you off though. This is still a great book from a fine creative team. But, lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice, as they say.
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Geiger #1 & 2 – returns to the desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland of the original mini-series, picking up where that left off a few years ago. Tariq and Barney are wandering around trying to find the other glowing man, as an ominous figure hunts them in turn. Gary Frank and Brad Anderson on art elevate what would otherwise be a pretty run of the mill story with their art. The return of Junkyard Joe next issue, however, is promising.
Redcoat #1, by Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch, is a double sized debut issue. It’s set in the same universe as Geiger and Junkyard Joe, and features the adventures of an immortal British soldier from the American war of independence. The title character, Simon, is basically Spike from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer as written by Geoff Johns. It’s a fun book.
The last of the three Ghost Machine launch books was Rook: Exodus, by Geoff Johns (again) and Jason Fabok. It’s the book with the most ambitious concept and scope of the three. This is a stand-alone series that has no connection to the others.
I really liked this. Probably my favourite of them all so far, because it sings to the sci-fi nerd in me. Set in the far future on an alien world where the terraforming efforts of the human race have started to go awry. There’s lots of world building in this double sized first issue, alongside some crazy action. Fabok’s artwork is beautiful too. Very much looking forward to more of this one.
I’m not a Johns fanatic by any means. He’s done a lot of stuff previously that I’ve enjoyed, but also a lot of hum drum stuff too. I wouldn’t say that he’s a radically better writer here than he was at DC, but his Ghost Machine work has all been consistently readable. Worth checking out, I think.
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Nice little interview with Tom King here re: his Wonder Woman run – https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/dc-comics/tom-king-wonder-woman-9-interview/ – arguably my favourite ongoing superhero book since it launched. I really like what he’s doing here, and Sampere’s artwork is gorgeous.
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This week’s issue of Transformers is fantastic, it’s well worth keeping up with even with Johnston off art.
Thanks. Sadly my LCS didn’t have it in this week. Hopefully next.
I thought the Energon Universe one was okay, but Ottley felt like he was actively trying to imitate DWJ’s art style when something more distinct might have worked better.
That was probably my favourite of the FCBD issues this year (although I haven’t read the Doctor Who or Hellboy ones yet). There was a lot of bang for your proverbial buck in this issue. Fantastic cover too. I suspect Ottley is probably being lined up as an artist on a future arc after this.
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Batman: White Knight Presents Generation Joker – having really enjoyed the Harley Quinn mini-series a couple of years ago, I went into this with high expectations that sadly it didn’t meet. It was quite boring, frankly. Mirka Andolfo’s artwork was quite fun, to be fair, matching the aesthetic set previously by Murphy and Scalera. But, the story of Joker’s kids taking a road trip in the Batmobile was rather uneventful. There’s a bit of world building to support Murphy’s Justice League mini-series, but I think you could skip that easily enough and not really care. Disappointing.
I did greatly enjoy Zorro: Man of the Dead #1-4 on the other hand. The first issue was a bit of a cliche, but twists in subsequent issues brought the series to life. Be warned that this isn’t a period piece, but a more modern day spin on the character. Murphy’s artwork was brilliant. It’s a little more violent in nature than White Knight has allowed him to be, but very much in that mold of storytelling. I’m glad that I didn’t pay over the odds for the Kickstarter project, but this was a fun little mini. I’d be happy to buy more in the future. Watch out for Danny Trejo’s appearance!
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That’s fair. It’s a lot like how Bendis’ characters all tend to sound the same too.
And, to be clear I wasn’t talking about the plot, which is a fairly straightforward setup for a classic revenge western, but the scene to scene (and sometimes panel to panel) storytelling that can be confusing at times, if you’re not paying attention.
Wasn’t calling you stoopid or anything!
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I’d like to think it would be on the cheaper side if it materialises, given that it’s less than 30 issues, but who knows.
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As we get closer to the end of Fall of X the storytelling seems to be getting increasingly patchy and plot driven. As I’ve made it this far I’ll ride it out to the end, but I’m disappointed in some of the choices being made both creatively and narratively “in universe”.
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Lol! I think you & I have had this exact discussion before about a prior Azzarello book. I really enjoy his style. Its lyrical quality and cadence. How so much of it is interpretive and relies on the artist to do the heavy lifting with body language and panel composition (and when artists like Risso and Bermejo are involved, it’s wonderful to see them step up to that).
All of that can make his books unnecessarily challenging to read, I’ll concede, but also extra rewarding I feel. A lot of the story isn’t explicitly spelt out and you need to put in the effort as a reader to connect the dots. Which you may or may not feel enhances or detracts from your enjoyment.
I did have to stop and re-read sections of The Blood Brothers Mother #1 a couple of times to make sure I followed what was going on. Which wasn’t helped by the annoying over use of cursive in the narration. I’m getting too old to read that tiny ass font non-digitally.
I have also noticed that Azzarello does seem to be leaning into this writing style harder on his creator owned books than his more mainstream DC content. I guess editorial have played a role previously in smoothing out his eccentricities for the reader’s benefit.
But, overall, Azzarello is a writer who I’ve found consistently delivers. There’s no fat. Everything is there for a reason. And his books tend to be filled with a wide variety of grotesquely formed side characters that you want to know more about, even as you enjoy seeing them get theirs in the end.
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I’m not a big Valiant reader but Liam Sharp on X-O Manowar: Unconquered was quite the draw so I picked up that series as it came out over the course of the last year and a half. I recently read all 6 issues, and the hardcover collection comes out imminently.
To my mind, Sharp’s painted artwork was the main attraction of the book. It’s very muscular, intense and bold. Very heavy metal.
Given my lack of familiarity with the title, I don’t know how Cloonan and Conrad’s story stacks up, but I enjoyed it well enough. It wasn’t anything revolutionary but fairly self contained.
There’s a sequel coming up soon that I’m tempted to get so I can see what happens next. Although Sharp isn’t continuing on art so I may wait a while for a cheaper TPB or digital collection for that.
Talking of Sharp, has anyone heard anything about a potential Morrison & Sharp Green Lantern Omnibus? I’d definitely buy that.
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A new Azzarello/ Risso book is always reason to celebrate and the first issue of The Blood Brothers Mother from DSTLRY doesn’t disappoint. It’s the start of a grim and gritty revenge fuelled western.
Marvel vs Vampires #1 gets off to a bloody action packed start. There’s no time to stop and smell the roses here. It gets straight into it. The action is intense and pretty gruesome (at least in the polybagged red band edition). There’s a twist in the tale that makes little to no sense so it will be interesting to see how that pans out.
Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia are the stars of the show though, with some stunning artwork throughout. It’s a great looking book.
The FCBD issue is a little extra scene that expands on the events of the first issue. By no means essential but it looks to be a nice lead in to #2.
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The Winning Card is great. I read it on DCU Infinite and ended up buying the TPB anyway because it was so good. An actual scary Joker story. If you liked this creative team’s work on the Riddler “One Bad Day” special previously this is more of the same, if not quite as tight or lean a story.
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When you get it I would be interested to know if they even have the Universe one shot in that trade, Ben?
The heist that opens the first issue is fantastic. Probably the finest example of that I’ve seen in a comic book. Very cool.
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Oh, and an interesting observation I had, all of the new Ultimate books seem to be happening in “real time.” A month passed between the last page of one issue and the start of the next. That makes each issue more or less a stand alone. There are no traditional cliffhangers. I’m unclear of the purpose, but it certainly changes the pace of the storytelling. I assume it’s done to act as a countdown to the upcoming big showdown that was promised at the end of Invasion. Maybe.
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Ultimate Invasion #1-4 + Ultimate Universe – I unintentionally managed to buy two copies of Ultimate Spider-man #1 a few months ago, and seeing the buzz for it, sold one copy for a ridiculous profit. I invested that at my LCS picking up back issues of the preceding mini-series that I had mostly ignored. Finally read them yesterday, and really enjoyed them.
I think I was expecting a bit of a continuity w@nk-fest but I didn’t get that. Exactly. I found it quite clever as the opening salvo of a new line of titles. Not quite up there with Hickman’s House of/ Powers of duology, but enough to make me invested in what would happen next.
Hitch’s artwork was the main highlight, to be fair. Given that he’s going to be tied up at Ghost Machine for the next few years, I assume, it was nice to see him have a final hurrah with the Marvel superheroes.
The Universe one shot read like an awkward epilogue. It doesn’t really stand alone on its own, yet doesn’t really flow from the end of the mini-series either. Bit weird. I suspect the story got away from Hickman and they couldn’t get Hitch to stick around for a fifth issue, so it got hastily re-written to try and make it work as a separate thing. Oh well.
Ultimate Black Panther #1-3 – I think Bryan Hill is a pretty underrated writer. He suffers the same way that Christopher Priest did before him in that he seems relegated to always be writing the marginalised PoC books. Which is a shame. I was hoping that this could be his big break, giving him the exposure he’s not had before. And, it does sort of work that way.
This feels very much like the MCU Black Panther set in the new Ultimate Universe. There are a lot of similarities in style and tonality.
Which is great if you liked those films, but I didn’t really, so I think I’m going to drop out of this series after this. It’s good, but not for me.
Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men #1 was a bit of a surprise though. A totally new, ground up reinvention of the series. I’ve never read any of her material before, and I’m not much of a manga reader, but found a lot to like here. It’s creepy and weird, and beautifully drawn. I can see why some people have had issues with this book, but I really liked it. Will be back again.
And, finally, no costumed characters even showed up in Ultimate Spider-man #4. The whole issue was a talking heads story of a double date over dinner. A bold choice, entertaining for someone already invested in the series, but I suspect this wouldn’t work at all for a new reader.
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Just chiming in to concur the praise for The One Hand and The Six Fingers. Intriguing story, great art, and cleverly done craft. I’m interested to see how intertwined the books will become (I’ve only read the first issues of each so far) and whether or not they can actually stand alone as individual stories at the end of the day. If they manage to achieve both in a satisfactory manner that would be quite the feat.
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If they don’t call it Absolute Comics Detective Comics I will cry.
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I mentioned here at the time that Scott Snyder and Hayden Sherman’s Dark Spaces: Wildfire was one of my favourite comics of 2022. Well, their follow up, Dark Spaces: Dungeon just concluded, and it was quite brilliant. So very different in tone than their first story, but equally engrossing. I only planned to read the first issue after tea this evening, but was so hooked I blitzed all five issues straight through. It grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.
I don’t want to say too much about the story, because I think that would risk robbing it of its impact, but it’s a twisted and creepy tale that unsettles. Very effective storytelling.
Extra kudos for the colouring on this mini series, by Patricio Delpeche. Using a far more subdued palate than what was used on Wildfire, it felt almost painted at times, adding tremendously to the overall mood and atmosphere of the mini.
I hope this creative team comes back and does another series in the future. This was good stuff.
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He’s been my favourite ‘Bot since 1986 so I’m hopeful that this heralds good things. Although, to your earlier point, it could just be more characters to bump off gratuitously further down the line!
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Here’s hoping for a Transformers UK Compendium down the line too
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As to X-Force, hopefully, eventually, there will be an OHC4 to finish the run. Ditto for Wolverine.
When I had met him at NYCC, Percy hoped that they’d eventually print both X-Force and Wolverine together in Omnibus format, intertwining the stories from one title to another. In his eyes they were one series. I don’t quite see it that way, but they definitely compliment each other, and for my money, Wolverine has never been better than it has been under his pen.
Also, if you’ve never seen or heard him speak, Percy embodies Logan almost literally. It’s uncanny.
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Transformers 7 is the first issue with the new artist, and they’re heweing very close to Johnson’s look and feel. The story is still moving at a good pace, but I’m wondering how much longer they can keep up the slaughter of recognisable characters before they’re left with the survivors of the main cast plus like… Aquafend or someone
I was pleasantly surprised by Corona’s art in this issue. It’s not as purely imaginative as Johnson’s, but it’s really effective, and tells the story well. I still got a huge kick out of the issue and will stay on board for a while yet. Btw, do you think that was Ultra Magnus’ remains in the first few pages?
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If you haven’t been reading both Ben Percy titles, X-Force #47 – 50 is basically Wolverine #40.1 – 40.4. It’s where the final confrontation with Beast occurs and sets up some of the stuff that happens in the “Sabretooth War”. So whilst in isolation it feels like a very anti-climatic final story to end this book on it’s not really.
The story arc itself is a bit of a non-event. It feels very much like a story where Percy is tying up some of his last few dangling plot threads, as he puts the toys away before leaving. There’s no big dramatic confrontation or resolution. There’s a bit of intentional ambiguity at the end – a did they or didn’t they moment that is quite clever – but beyond that it’s very much just going through the motions towards a big red reset button. Done with style, certainly, but not much more than that.
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Point of dispatch, normally – when they have the items in stock.
P&P isn’t free but neither is it exorbitant. It’s £5.95 on an Omnibus if I recall correctly.
It does eat into the discount on cheaper books but they have a far higher hit rate of actually getting those books in on time, I find.
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Whilst a double length first issue, it’s still unclear what exactly Remender and Bengal’s new title – Napalm Lullaby – is really about. There’s a Superman homage in the first few pages that takes a chilling turn, and then the book fast forwards to “the present day” where you get introduced to a heist featuring the two characters on the cover. There are echoes of Injustice here and, bizarrely, Millar’s Chosen as well.
It’s an exciting and fast paced opening act of the story. I look forward to seeing how this develops. Remender’s always good with dark, dystopic fiction.
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The Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow‘s creative team, Tom King and Bilquis Evely, have a new creator owned book coming out from Dark Horse – Helen of Wyndhorn – the first issue of which came out a couple of weeks ago. Evely’s fine artwork delivers a truly beautiful book, accompanying a story very much inspired by Robert E. Howard – both biographically and fictionally. This might have flown under your radar. I almost overlooked it too, but my LCS guy dropped it in my bag unsolicited and I decided I’d give it a go. I think you should too.
Tom King’s Wonder Woman continues to impress as well. #6 is a huge all action issue as the Sovereign makes a super-powered move to capture Diana. It’s a brutal issue long fight scene, beautifully drawn, demonstrating the power and grace of WW better than I’ve ever seen done beforehand. It’s a fantastic issue. On th other hand, #7 is an interlude where WW and Superman go shopping to buy Batman a birthday present. It’s a wacky issue, that is a bit jarring with the ongoing narrative, yet provides moments of cute sentimentality. Loving this book.
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Ultimate Spider-man #2 and #3, however, were still a lot of fun. I like how this Peter Parker is fumbling things. He might be an adult, but he’s a bit of a dick; which I think’s a nice extrapolation of the Peter Parker we knew as a teenager, who could also be a little dickish at times, even after he learnt his famous lesson about responsibility. The dynamic between Ben and Jonah continues to be fun to watch, and it will be interesting to see how things with Harry evolve – there’s definitely some ambigiuity over his actions so far.
Ironically, given the attention the media has given to Peter’s familial situation at home, the book has spent surprisingly little time with MJ. It feels like there’s more (or maybe less) going on there than the hype may have portrayed to begin with.
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Sigh.
Amazing Spider-man #39 – 44 – “Gang War” by Wells, Romita Jr and Hanna – was pretty disappointing. The story was an “everything but the kitchen sink” type affair, as these events tend to be, with many events happening off screen in the various tie in books, but it never felt like anything of any real consequence was taking place. It was all so BIG and, at times, more than a little ridiculous.
The artwork was nice though.
This was such a good book to begin with. The whole first 13 or 14 issues were really intense. But, it’s become increasingly schizophrenic since “Dark Web”. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. A comedy. A gangland drama. A superhero blockbuster. I’m spinning.
And, at $5 an issue now I just can’t afford to keep going with it. I’ll be back for the Romita issues/ storyarcs, but otherwise this is dropped.
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Junkyard Joe, by Johns, Frank and Anderson, was a great read. It’s notionally part of the whole Unnamed universe that Johns is building in his Ghost Machine books like Geiger, but this first volume pretty much stands alone except for a couple of pages in the epilogue. It features some of Frank’s best artwork in a long while and Johns’ tells a strong story that isn’t afraid to pluck on your heartstrings. I would say it’s very much an “all ages” book, but there’s some gruesome violence at times and a few of the character’s struggle with PTSD so I’m not sure it would be suitable for a younger audience. Which is a shame because there’s a lot of potential here for wider appeal. I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to.
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Transformers #6: This was again fun and a good end to the first arc, but I’ve ended up feeling pretty happy that DWJ is just doing these six issues of art and then moving on to something else.
It’s a great, dynamic comic but after six issues I think I’ve seen all I need to of it, and I don’t have any interest in continuing on with another artist.
I’m torn on continuing. This title has been a lot of crazy nostalgic fun since it started, and I’m not sure that I’m ready for that to end. But Johnson‘s art was a big part of the appeal, and they’re playing it awfully coy about whether or not he’ll be back in a future arc.
I also noticed whilst reading the last couple of issues that I could have finished reading this whole 6 issue arc in a half hour. Comparing that to the original Marvel run from Furman or even the recent IDW stuff this is really, really slight reading.
Maybe I’ll give it another issue or two and see what happens.
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Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ The Ribbon Queen (#1-8) was a haunting and quite disconcerting tale of man’s propensity for the subjugation of women, and the avenging force of retribution that is brought about in response. It’s quite horrific and unsettling. It’s not an easy read, but an engrossing one, from a creative team on fine form. Recommended.
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Catching up on Fall Of X, we’re at the point of the story where the tide is turning in the favour of our heroes. It’s fun to see this happening, although as I am once again only reading a handful of titles as opposed to the whole shebang it feels a bit haphazard and disjointed.
Duggan and Gillen are clearly not the writers that Hickman is, but they are doing an admirable job of bringing the story home. I just wish Fall of The House of X and Rise of The Powers of X had been left to stand on their own two feet as a conclusion, instead of having a whole line of tie in issues. It’s hard to keep track of it all and it hurts the readability of the duology.
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I agree. It’s pretty much exactly what I would have expected from Brevoort’s office though.
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The second arc of Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard’s Damn Them All (#7-12) was a bit of a step down from the first, albeit still a great read overall. The story was more apocalyptic in nature, and Ellie, therefore, ended up feeling less consequential to events. It’s a little disappointing that they went so big so quickly, as it’s the quieter more intimate stories that made Spurrier’s Hellblazer so compelling, and they seem to have squandered all that potential far too quickly here. I don’t know if this book is continuing, as there has been no solicitation for #13 thus far. If it’s not, then they wrapped up the main storyline nicely, with some clever twists and turns. But, if it does come back, I hope they narrow the focus back down again for future storylines.
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Fire Power #30 brings Kirkman, Samnee and Wilson’s mystical kung fu epic to a close, with a giant sized finale that wraps up the ongoing conflict with the dragon and brings things full circle with the debut OGN.
For a series that started out as a barely concealed Iron Fist analogue, it morphed into an all-ages family adventure as it went along. There’s enough gloriously drawn action to keep things moving forwards, but it was always the familial interactions between the Johnson clan that were the highlight of the book. Those are the bits that I’ll miss the most.
Now that the series is done, I think I’m going to dig out the back issues from storage and hand the lot over to my teenage son. I think he’ll get a big kick (no pun intended) out of the book.
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The NML tie ins were completely unnecessary. None of those added anything to the story. Although I did like the Dixon/ McDaniel Nightwing issues, just because I enjoyed their run tremendously.
Bob Gale wrote the whole of the first arc with Maleev on art, and (I think) maybe one or two other issues a bit later on.
The main 52 part run in the “core 4” Bat-books were great, although some of the creative teams were less up to snuff than others. I remember it starting well, sagging in the middle, and ending pretty awesomely. Rucka and Grayson definitely were the MVPs.
I read it in singles rather than the TPBs, so I think that may have compounded the timeline issues you notice somewhat. I don’t remember them being that messy at the time. Although there were a few instances of stories being told “out of order” as they were revealed in the Batman Chronicles books or what have you.
If they had done an Omnibus splitting the core story from the irrelevant tie ins I’d have definitely considered double dipping.
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All in for Marvel vs Vampires
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still need to read Judgment Day and Sins of Sinister
I found Sins of Sinister a bit of a chore, Ben. Much like X Lives/ X Deaths before it, it feels inconsequential and a needless distraction from the main narrative thrust of the books. Some important stuff happens in it so it should be read, but I found it far less enjoyable than the rest of Gillen’s Krakoa era work.
I really liked Judgment Day, although if you haven’t already I would strongly recommend reading Gillen’s run on Eternals beforehand (I think it’s a crime that this hasn’t been put out in an OHC so far). A lot of Judgment Day builds off the back of that run and, I think, will resonate far less strongly without reading that first.
I also only read the Gillen written issues (and the tie-in issues of my ongoing titles). I can’t vouch for the quality of everything else, but suspect that it will be variable as these things tend to be. I’m hoping that at some point there will be an Immortal X-Men Omnibus put out with just the Gillen written issues of Judgment Day included. I’d definitely pick that up.
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Waid & Mora’s ABSOLUTE POWER changes the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe – Comics Beat
The new DC summer event series ABSOLUTE POWER finds all metahumans stripped of their powers by Amanda Waller.
The superpowered heroes and villains of the DC Universe are about to find themselves powerless – literally. As part of their ComicsPro presentation today DC Comics announced Absolute Power, a new four-issue summer event series from writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora. The series finds all metahumans in the DCU stripped of their powers by the Dawn of DC’s overarching antagonist, Amanda Waller.
Here’s how DC describes Absolute Power:
Helmed by the critically-acclaimed duo of writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora, this four-issue series launches July 2 and shows how Waller will use the strategic and military might of Failsafe and the otherworldly technology of the Brainiac Queen to steal all metahuman abilities from every super hero and super-villain around the globe, a threat so dire it will take the combined efforts of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Super Heroes of the DC Universe to defeat it.
Ahead of the July launch of the four-issue miniseries, one of DC’s Free Comic Book Day offerings in May will feature a 12-page prelude story to the event, written by Waid and illustrated by Mikel Janín. In June DC will also release Absolute Power: Ground Zero, a one-shot written by Waid that, according to DC, “will bridge the shocking conclusion of the Superman story ‘House of Brainiac’ with Amanda Waller’s machinations in Absolute Power.”
Absolute Power is the latest DC event series to be written by Waid, who also spearheaded 2022’s Batman vs. Robin and its larger spinoff event, 2023’s Lazarus Planet. That story featured a number of tie-in one-shots, and it’s a safe bet Absolute Power will follow suit. It’s the first event series to feature Mora on art, and it’s the latest collaboration between the artist and Waid, along with their work on Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and Shazam!.
While the Titans were at the center of the most recent DC event, Beast World, the description of this story sounds like the focus will be more on Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and that generation of heroes. The Justice League has been absent from the DCU since the team’s apparent death in 2022’s Justice League #75 – could this new event herald their return? Waid and Mora would make a pretty amazing creative team for the world’s greatest heroes.
Check out a few in-progress pages from the upcoming event below. The Absolute Power Free Comic Book Day Special Edition is due out on Saturday, May 4th. The Ground Zero one-shot will follow in June, and the first issue of the series proper lands in stores and digitally on Tuesday, July 2nd.
Great creative team, pity the concept is so boring.
Maybe they’ll liven things up by having Waller jailed at the end instead of escaping to do the same crap again and again.
A definitive full stop at the end of this would be nice. Unlikely. But, nice.
It wasn’t reported here, but BC talks about Waid writing 25 issues of Absolute Power over the summer – FCBD, the one shot, the four issue mini, 3x three issue mini’s (or maybe tie in issues of their regular ongoings) for Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, a 3 issue Origins mini, and a seven issue “Task Force 7” mini.
I love Waid, but that’s a lot to commit to. Especially on a pretty tiresome premise. The rationale part of me says just read it on DCUI instead and pick up a hardcover or something down the road if it’s really good.
Not that I’m always rationale when it comes to comic books. I’ve just pre-ordered the DC/Marvel Omnibus books even though I own most of the content already
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I tend to agree that JLA/ Avengers isn’t the masterpiece that it’s reputation may have you believe. It does, however, have some really clever little bits and pieces that demonstrate the clear love and care that went into it from the creative team. My personal favourite bit was the throwaway line about the DC Earth being bigger than Marvel’s – accommodating the plethorea of fictional cities that are its hallmark. And, who can forget the buzz of seeing Superman with the shield and hammer? A “hell, yeah!” moment if ever there was one.
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I still have most of these in long boxes, but these books will be mighty tempting
The crossovers much more so than the Amalgam one, but lots of fond memories either way.https://www.cbr.com/dc-marvel-unite-crossover-omnibuses/
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I wasn’t planning on getting this. I enjoyed the series a lot back in the day, but I felt like I’d outgrown it. Then I met Todd Nauck and his wife at NYCC last year, who were both lovely and charming, and reminded me that I fraggin’ love these kids. So, here it is. Hope vol 2 isn’t too far away.
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I read the omnibus of The Immortal Iron Fist, a series I loved at the time (almost 20 years ago now). The first half of it, by Fraction, Brubaker, Aja, etc, is fantastic, but I’d forgotten that it limped on for another year after they all left.
Duane Swierczynski was never a writer I cared much for, and following on from an all-time great run just shows how he wasn’t close to that level. I’ve loved Travel Foreman’s art on other books, but it’s not a great fit on the later issues.
The Immortal Weapons one-shots that close out the series are pretty good, compared to the Swierczynski run, but the magic had definitely been lost by then.
I had almost the opposite reaction. Whilst a clear step down from Brubaker/ Fraction/ Aja et al, I did enjoy Swierczynski and Foreman’s continuation. I was very disappointed when the series was cancelled. I found Immortal Weapons pretty tedious in comparison, with the exception of Aaron’s brilliant Fat Cobra issue (and his guest starring role in Wolverine a little later on).
I greatly enjoyed Kaare Andrew’s follow on Living Weapon series though. Surprised that hasn’t made it into an OHC honestly.
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Cataclysm, those Aftershocks issues, and Road To No Man’s Land broke my heart back in the day. I loved the 1990’s Bat-books so much, and this was the ignoble end to the Grant/ Moench/ Dixon era. I was so livid I almost didn’t keep reading into No Man’s Land itself. Which, I would have kicked myself for because that heralded the Rucka/ Brubaker renaissance. And that was definitely worth sticking around for!
