I know you’ve all been wondering, “Why the hell hasn’t Pariah followed through on his promise to start a comic book thread?” Well, wonder no more. Believe it or not, it was because I had better things to do. (If you follow that statement logically through to the next step, you’ll find that it means that I don’t have anything better to do now, thus, the comic book thread).
Here’s what I picked up at my local comic book store (Highlander Comix on Colfax in Denver…shameless plug for a dying retail genre) last week to the best of my recollection. I think rather than try to give a recap of storylines, I’ll just keeps the comments limited to opinions and let discussion flow from there.
I’m still curious to see if see have enough “comic book geeks” on the board to sustain a thread like this one, so it’ll be interesting.
Anyway, “excelsior” and “’nuff said;” here we go:
Conan #5 (Darkhorse): This is turning into one of my favorites. Kurt Busiek is writing the hell out of this first story arc, IMO, and is keeping Conan pretty faithful to the un-PC character I remember from my youth.
Ex Machina #1 (Darkhorse): Interesting first issue, decent art. I’ll probably stick around for at least the first story arc, but I suspect this one will begin to really grow on me, too.
Flash #211 (DC): There might not be a better super-hero writer in the business right now than Jeff Johns. He’s doing a good job with this series.
Teen Titans #12 (DC): A lot of people are falling all over themselves to heap praise on this title so far, but I think it’s just okay. This coming after I just praised Johns so highly…hmm, maybe he’s not so good afterall? Nah, he’s that good, but even the greats lay a stinker sometimes.
Amazing Spider-Man #509 (Marvel): This is the first issue with a new creative team. I liked it. The last big story arc was pretty “big,” so it’ll be interesting to see where the title goes from there. This is a good issue to pick up if you’re looking to get into (or back into) comics—it’s a “fresh” beginning,” so to speak.
Avengers # 84 (Marvel): I’m just riding this title out for now. I think it kinda stinks, and has for a few months. But, supposedly next month (or the following month? Not exactly sure), the Avengers are going to go through a MAJOR overhaul. One can only hope that Chuck Austin (writer) doesn’t have anything to do with it. He stinks. Anyway, if you’re a geek in semi-retirement, the “Avengers Disassembled” storyline would be a good place to jump back in when it begins.
Captain America # 28 (Marvel): Eh. It’s okay. The art is awful, the story is bad. Nevermind, it’s not okay. It stinks. Again, I’m riding this one out until the new creative team takes over. The previews have been nothing short of amazing. For a while, Captian America has been published under the “Marvel Knights” banner; meaning that it’s supposed to be a little grittier and more “realistic” than the other titles. IMO, that’s not Cap, that’s the Punisher (who’s been published under the “MAX” banner, but more on that the next time it ships) or Wolverine, not Cap. Cap is apple pie and baseball. Let him beat up Nazi’s. I don’t want to read about him sitting on a military tribunal at Guantanimo Bay. Anyway, when the next arc begins, that would also be a good place to jump on. But, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you pick up this issue. It’ll turn you off comics for good if you’re on the fence.
Astonishing X-Men #2 (Marvel): This is a new “x-title” written by Josh Whedon of Buffy fame. He writes some great dialogue, for that alone it’s probably worth it. But, it’s supposed to be significant for another reason, too. It’s taking the X-Men back to their spandex super-hero ways—putting them back in their flashy hero uniforms that have been mostly missing since the first movie came out (since then they’ve been decked out in a lot of leather just like in the flick). It’s also pairing down the team from the cast of hundreds that have graced the pages over the last couple of years. X-titles became pretty intimidating because of the number of characters you had to keep track of—that wasn’t good for business, I don’t think, so Marvel is trying to make it easier for people to jump on. #1 is probably still in a lot of the comic book shops and is a good place to start.
Image: Cover of Astonishing X-Men #2
Here’s what I picked up at my local comic book store (Highlander Comix on Colfax in Denver…shameless plug for a dying retail genre) last week to the best of my recollection. I think rather than try to give a recap of storylines, I’ll just keeps the comments limited to opinions and let discussion flow from there.
I’m still curious to see if see have enough “comic book geeks” on the board to sustain a thread like this one, so it’ll be interesting.
Anyway, “excelsior” and “’nuff said;” here we go:
Conan #5 (Darkhorse): This is turning into one of my favorites. Kurt Busiek is writing the hell out of this first story arc, IMO, and is keeping Conan pretty faithful to the un-PC character I remember from my youth.
Ex Machina #1 (Darkhorse): Interesting first issue, decent art. I’ll probably stick around for at least the first story arc, but I suspect this one will begin to really grow on me, too.
Flash #211 (DC): There might not be a better super-hero writer in the business right now than Jeff Johns. He’s doing a good job with this series.
Teen Titans #12 (DC): A lot of people are falling all over themselves to heap praise on this title so far, but I think it’s just okay. This coming after I just praised Johns so highly…hmm, maybe he’s not so good afterall? Nah, he’s that good, but even the greats lay a stinker sometimes.
Amazing Spider-Man #509 (Marvel): This is the first issue with a new creative team. I liked it. The last big story arc was pretty “big,” so it’ll be interesting to see where the title goes from there. This is a good issue to pick up if you’re looking to get into (or back into) comics—it’s a “fresh” beginning,” so to speak.
Avengers # 84 (Marvel): I’m just riding this title out for now. I think it kinda stinks, and has for a few months. But, supposedly next month (or the following month? Not exactly sure), the Avengers are going to go through a MAJOR overhaul. One can only hope that Chuck Austin (writer) doesn’t have anything to do with it. He stinks. Anyway, if you’re a geek in semi-retirement, the “Avengers Disassembled” storyline would be a good place to jump back in when it begins.
Captain America # 28 (Marvel): Eh. It’s okay. The art is awful, the story is bad. Nevermind, it’s not okay. It stinks. Again, I’m riding this one out until the new creative team takes over. The previews have been nothing short of amazing. For a while, Captian America has been published under the “Marvel Knights” banner; meaning that it’s supposed to be a little grittier and more “realistic” than the other titles. IMO, that’s not Cap, that’s the Punisher (who’s been published under the “MAX” banner, but more on that the next time it ships) or Wolverine, not Cap. Cap is apple pie and baseball. Let him beat up Nazi’s. I don’t want to read about him sitting on a military tribunal at Guantanimo Bay. Anyway, when the next arc begins, that would also be a good place to jump on. But, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you pick up this issue. It’ll turn you off comics for good if you’re on the fence.
Astonishing X-Men #2 (Marvel): This is a new “x-title” written by Josh Whedon of Buffy fame. He writes some great dialogue, for that alone it’s probably worth it. But, it’s supposed to be significant for another reason, too. It’s taking the X-Men back to their spandex super-hero ways—putting them back in their flashy hero uniforms that have been mostly missing since the first movie came out (since then they’ve been decked out in a lot of leather just like in the flick). It’s also pairing down the team from the cast of hundreds that have graced the pages over the last couple of years. X-titles became pretty intimidating because of the number of characters you had to keep track of—that wasn’t good for business, I don’t think, so Marvel is trying to make it easier for people to jump on. #1 is probably still in a lot of the comic book shops and is a good place to start.
Image: Cover of Astonishing X-Men #2
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