Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

Dude, Superboy and Resurrection Man look real promising. Superboy has a pretty different art style and I think they're moving it towards a Titans link in the near future but the story was pretty clean.

 

Resurrection Man is fantastic concept. The art was very good, as was the writing.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

I got back a few hours ago and they only got me Green Lantern! WTF!

 

So I didn't get to read Batwoman or Demon Knights. Everyone is saying Batwoman was as incredible as predicted, too.

 

I also got to read Deathstroke and Batman & Robin. Stroke was good but I wouldn't buy it, and BnR was pretty fucking brilliant.

 

I might try to get that superboy. You got me intrigued to give it a second look.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

I'm leaving work early today so I'll be getting my comics early today. Hopefully that fucker actually has the stuff I want, too. Gah.

 

Alright! John, you and I barely talked about this on aim since we were both playing LR so I'll post my thoughts and questions here.

 

All in all, a surprising week for me, in a good way. I got a total of 6 books this week and none of them let me down. I'd recommend all of them to someone looking to read a comic, but for different reasons:

 

Blue Beetle - probably the most accessable of the 6 books, aside from Batman probably. Awesome opening, cool looking and original villains, fun dialogue. Just a fun book overall and as strong a start as I could possibly have hoped for our lone Hispanic superhero.

 

Captain Atom - this one was trippy and fantastic. The exploration of a guy slowly discovering and testing out the limits of his godhood is intriguing, and the inherent problems being presented in his status are equally well-represented.

 

Birds of Prey - Convincingly badass. They seem like a roided up version of Charlie's Angels, they aren't acting like idiots so far, there's almost no cheesecake, and Black Canary is a personal favorite of mine. I'm all in.

 

Supergirl - I think they did a great job of presenting Kara's bewilderment and the danger and scariness of the situation she finds herself in (waking up on some planet she's never been to and surrounded by evil looking doods).

 

Wonder Woman - The weakest of the group for me (that being said it was really good). My dad felt the beginning was a confusing setup and it didn't really clear up enough from there, whereas I felt the ending sequence and dialogues were confusing and didn't clear up anything. Knowing Brian Azzarello's work, it will become clear as his story progresses, but he's a slow burn type. Luckily the art was insanely good. Probably the 2nd best book to look at out of the 6 imo.

 

Batman - Wow! The 2nd strongest book of the entire New 52 that I've read so far. I hate this book so much because it made me wish I was Bruce Wayne. Fuck you, Bruce Wayne! Clark Kent 4 life!

 

I have to note now this was all on 1 read plus some discussion with my pops and some thinking on the books on my own this morning in the shower. I suspect if I read them again things will change. I've found that just about every book got a little to a lot better on the 2nd reading and on. As it stands, Batman was my favorite, BB my 2nd favorite, and WW my least favorite. Even the least favorite was quite enjoyable for me (that art!). I'm for sure getting all 6 next month.

 

Next week is the last week of the New 52 opening offers. I'll be getting All-Star Western, Aquaman, Flash, Superman, Savage Hawkman, Fury of Firestorm, and Voodoo. I'll keep my eye on Blackhawks, as well, since it was one of my dad's old favorite series. If they capture any of the magic of before I think he (and I) will thoroughly enjoy it.

 

Hey John, how was Catwoman? It's getting wildly different reviews all over the place. Also, did you get WW on download? I saw some pics of the book and it looks even better on a computer screen and blown up. Holy Jesus.

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

I thought Catwoman was good. I don't know what everyone else was expecting because it was exactly what I thought it'd be: Catwoman being hot, stealing things, beating up dudes, and sexing bats. I think her inner monologues are good. Like I said, it's exactly what I expected. Good eye candy and an interesting character who will be probably be doing some awesome heists in the future. It's not Batman, AC, JL, or any of those top-tiers that have come out but I'd say it's on par with some of the other ones where it's just setting up the character for future events. Think Supergirl but not quite as good.

 

Nightwing was pretty decent. I'd say about the same as Catwoman. The art was great in the action parts but felt a little plain during the calm parts. I like Nightwing though and the story was good enough that I'll be picking up #2.

 

I think I liked Wonder Woman more because it had a lot going on to mull over. I read it a couple of times just to confirm who some of the characters were. You're right though, art was amazing. WW is hot and Zola's face in her last panel cracked me up.

 

We agree 100% on Cap'n At 'em.

 

Batman was incredible but I don't like how young Bruce Wayne looks. Other than that little peeve, the art was stellar. Same goes for the story and characters. Best of the week.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

Interesting takes. Here read this it'll have you dying: http://www.savagecritic.com/reviews/7-ques...-of-catwoman-1/

 

The Bane thing made me laugh the most.

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

When I read that complaint I was like "this guy hasn't had a lot of sex, huh?" That's pretty normal behavior from my experience. Not that I've ever worn bat ears but you know what I mean.

 

btw for anyone reading this who wants to buy a comic, I'd recommend Action Comics, Batman, and Blue Beetle. Those three are by far the most accessible and straight-up clean fun out of the 3. I think I'd include Animal Man on the list if you're a horror fan.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Penguin Deus

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

You know, reading through Batwing again, I have to agree with all of the people that ragged on the artist about his backgrounds. It's true, the guy just avoids them altogether wherever he can and the ones he does draw are nothing special. He's also got this penchant for bright spots where it doesn't really make sense for it to be bright. Like this. Why are bats' feet glowing? Where are all these lights coming from? That one's also a good example of the background work.

 

The character looks like he could have some good things coming up though and I enjoyed the issue. I like the art as far as his foreground work is concerned but I think he needs to develop his backgrounds and dial down the lens flare. It's probably not going to change in the next few issues since they're already done but maybe he'll read the reviews and change things up in the stuff coming down the pipe.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

Yeah you're right I am inclined to agree. That lens flare is absurd. It's a shame cuz the paint style art he is employing on his characters looks stunning.

 

Btw as predicted the second reading of WW raised it's stock in my book by an enormous amount. Phenomenal book. Layers about layers, John.

 

My buddy finally got to read all of the issues I bought and we agree that so far it's been a really strong showing by DC, and that only two issues were "merely" okay to good: Stormwatch and Green Lantern. The rest were great to godly. He also has Animal Man as #1, Action as #2, and then Blue Beetle, Justice League, and Batman as 3-5 in some order. He also felt Birds of Prey could make a case to be in his top 5 since he really loved that comic.

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

I think I will pick up BB and BoP today. I agree with the GL verdict too. The Sinestro parts were good but Hal just seemed like a fuckup and a doofus. No wonder his ring left him. I'll be getting #2 though. Really, I'm set for #2s in pretty much all of my purchases this month. Grifter is a toss-up. It depends on what I see in the previews.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

http://cdn.the-gutters.com/comics/bc397a99621f17ba31eb0d0d105684ebaf39b4a9.jpg

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

Ok, so my cart for today was Superman, All Star Western, Aquaman, Flash, Teen Titans, Voodoo, and I, Vampire. Aquaman is the only one I've run through so far and it was every bit as good as I've been hoping. Oh momma it was just hot, gooey delight. I'll do fuller reviews after I've read through all the others.

 

Anyone looking to read these on their ipod/iphone/ipad, skip the DC Comics app and get the Comixology one instead. The DC app never synced my purchases and it crashed a lot and was generally bad. Comixology is exactly what I wanted. I don't really recommend reading on ipod/iphone though. The screen just isn't big enough. iPad looks sick though.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

I'm gonna try to pick up I, Vampire. Otherwise I'm still onboard to get what I pre-ordered at the store. Hopefully it all arrived.

 

I can't wait to read Aquaman everyone is swearing it's god tier.

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

My ranking for the week is as follows:

 

1. Aquaman
   
2. Superman
   
3. I, Vampire
   
4. All Star Western
   
5. Voodoo
   
6. Teen Titans
   
7. The Flash
   

 

I was back and forth between Vampire and Western for #3. Aquaman easily took #1 from Superman. It probably made it into my top 5 for the month. I cannot express just how godly this comic is. Voodoo has a really sick style and is full of hot half-naked chicks. She's a really cool character too. I, Vampire was another with really slick art and built up the relationship between the two main characters really well. I was a little disappointed in Flash. I'm not sure exactly what I expected but I guess this wasn't it. It wasn't a bad comic so maybe it's just being outshined by everything else I read today. Titans was pretty cool. It looks like it's going to be almost a straight tie-in to Superboy, sort of like Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

I had to pick up dog poop so I got delayed, but I'm about to start right now. Man everywhere is swearing Aquaman, Flash, and I, Vampire are god tier. I'm surprised you didn't like Flash but I haven't read it so I can't really say anything yet...but I'm REALLY surprised Vamp was so good. Surprised and disgusted with myself for not getting it. I should have known a book about hot teenage twilight vampires would sell out. Fuck.

 

I also just realized I didn't get Savage Hawkman. :'(

 

So to date, I've missed out on Swamp Thing, Batwoman, I, Vampire, The Savage Hawkman, and Demon Knights. I'm gonna get those on second printings, but still. So gay.

 

And you're right. You're so right. Aquaman was really fucking good. Son of a bitch. What just happened?

 

My only problem with Aquaman, and this is uber-nitpicky, but aren't squids actually super-intelligent? Whatever, Ivan Reis' pencils were fucking extraordinary. Christ. It's like the most straight-forward, standard, superhero style art but sakes alive does it look great.

 

Superman was fantastic, a bit talky, but still great. Solid stuff. I thought Jesus Merino's art might bug me but all I kept thinking was, "man Kal-El looks rad."

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

Like I said, I don't think Flash was a bad comic. I think it just suffered from being in the middle of my readings. Opinions will probably change on second readings like they have pretty much every week, haha.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

Just finished Voodoo. Really liked it. My only issue is that with Samri Basri's art you sometimes don't get enough of a sense of movement. It's just his style. That's probably more of a stylistic problem for me, but still, it keeps it from being uber, imo. I really liked the dialogue and the methods he used for conveying information and moving the plot. Really clever stuff.

 

OMG Flash was incredible. That's the most ambitious panelling of the entire 52, by far. Man I feel like I just spent 30 minutes in the Impressionist section of LACMA. Unbelievable.

 

Okay, done reading everything. Jesus, what a strong week:

 

1. The Flash

2. Aquaman

3. All-Star Western

4. Superman

5. Voodoo

6. The Fury of Firestorm

 

3 and 4 were hard to decide on but I think I'd give the edge to All-Star Western, mainly because Moritat's art is just too brilliant. I really dig this Jonah Hex fellow. Way better than that awful movie. Firestorm is the only one I wouldn't say was great. It was good though. The dialogue was a little weird for me on several parts, and I don't know how they understood the transformation after it happened, but otherwise it was pretty good. Everything else was great though and I'd recommend them to anyone.

 

Flash's art blew me away. Aquaman is every bit as good as John is saying, but I think Flash is slightly better even than that. I thought this would be a weaker week compared to last, but I was proven completely wrong.

 

I think we need to revisit out top 5 for the month, too.

 

I think this is mine:

 

1. Action Comics

2. Animal Man

T3. Aquaman or The Flash

5. Justice League

 

That's right, Batman and BB both got nudged out, and WW didn't quite make the cut but she could have imo.

 

I'm not even sure I'd put Animal ahead of Aquaman or Flash, either.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

Hey John this was an interesting read: http://www.komplicated.com/comics-the-blac...-algorithm.html

[Ethos]

How long ago was the DCU relaunch? It's fairly recent, right? I'm thinking about looking into some back issues. While I normally prefer marvel over the two, I feel like I don't know what the hell marvel is thinking half the time. It just reminds me of that one statement that joe quesada made about him making sure that people that get killed off should stay dead or at least have their deaths mean something and how he does a 180 and ok's the exact opposite half the time.

 

Anywho, there's a bunch of DC heroes I like that I never really known much about and this relaunch proves to be the perfect way for me to catch up on that and not deal with wikipedia. I might check out flash, and green lantern has a book, right? I always thought supes was kinda weak, but I might check the book out. I'm trying to get back into comics again.

 

It doesn't pertain to DCU exactly, but I was getting into Lady Mechanika not too long ago. The artist/writer has not been producing much and last I heard, he'd only done issues 0 and 1. It's a shame too, I don't think there's many steampunk books out there. I also wanna get into the walking dead. Bought the first novel a while ago. the art is awesome.

 

EDIT: Is this Voodoo you guys talking bout the Voodoo from WildStorm? I know that DC bought WildStorm or became partners a while back, so that's why I ask.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Ethos

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

Reboot was a little over a month ago.

 

Flash was excellent (it was better second readthrough, Mike). I liked GL but didn't get any of the other lantern books. If you want Superman, get Action Comics and pass on Superman. Supes is awesome in AC. Batman is amazing. Batman and Robin was pretty good. Animal Man and Swamp Thing are two of the best in the reboot. Swamp Thing's art is just magnificent. Same goes for Batwoman. Aquaman is in my top 3 books, possibly at number one. Wonder Woman is probably a must-buy. Superboy and Supergirl were good but you might want to pass on Superboy if you're not interested in getting Teen Titans. They look like they're going to tie very closely together. If you can find a copy of Batwing in a store, I'd take a look through it. The artwork for the characters is really cool. Backgrounds are lacking though and he abuses lens flare. Oh, Justice League is another good one.

 

Action Comics, Aquaman, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Batman, Flash, and Wonder Woman I'd say are must-buys. You can add Batwoman in there if you like since the art is incredible.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Ninety

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

How long ago was the DCU relaunch? It's fairly recent, right? I'm thinking about looking into some back issues. While I normally prefer marvel over the two, I feel like I don't know what the hell marvel is thinking half the time. It just reminds me of that one statement that joe quesada made about him making sure that people that get killed off should stay dead or at least have their deaths mean something and how he does a 180 and ok's the exact opposite half the time.

 

Anywho, there's a bunch of DC heroes I like that I never really known much about and this relaunch proves to be the perfect way for me to catch up on that and not deal with wikipedia. I might check out flash, and green lantern has a book, right? I always thought supes was kinda weak, but I might check the book out. I'm trying to get back into comics again.

 

It doesn't pertain to DCU exactly, but I was getting into Lady Mechanika not too long ago. The artist/writer has not been producing much and last I heard, he'd only done issues 0 and 1. It's a shame too, I don't think there's many steampunk books out there. I also wanna get into the walking dead. Bought the first novel a while ago. the art is awesome.

 

EDIT: Is this Voodoo you guys talking bout the Voodoo from WildStorm? I know that DC bought WildStorm or became partners a while back, so that's why I ask.

 

Yes Voodoo from Wildstorm.

 

Lady Mechanika is fucking GREAT but yeah...I think issue 2 is actually out and 3 is due out in like a month or two...I forget. I remembered a solicit came out for it though just before I had left for Peru. Let me get back to you when I get home though, if 2 is out I have it. Aspen site is saying it is out, as well.

 

Yeah I've dropped every Marvel book I was reading. I just couldn't handle it anymore. I mean I don't have a bias really since I read Marvel as a kid, but yeah I just don't know. Those stories get on my nerves and I don't like the heroes much.

 

Yeah bro DC relaunch just got underway. The 52 #1s are out, and we're into the 2nd week of #2s right now. So perfect time to get on. You want recommendations on what to read or what, and what's your budget looking like per month? Oh and yeah Flash and Green Lantern both got books. Personally I felt Flash was one of the illest comics I've ever read, mainly cuz the panelling had me feeling like I was back at the MOMA looking at Impressionist shit. Green Lantern got a ton of praise, although I felt it was one of the weaker #1s I bought. That being said I still liked it quite a bit.

 

As a quick recommendation, I'd say Flash, Action Comics, Animal Man, Aquaman, and Justice League are the way to go. If you could push it out to 10 comics, I'd add in Blue Beetle, Wonder Woman, Batwoman (probably, I haven't read it yet, stupid store), Batman, and either Supergirl/Birds of Prey/Swamp Thing/All-Star Western. I know you like horror stuff though so Swamp Thing is probably the way to go.

 

Go fucking read All Star Superman! The trade paperback collected version just came out and every household in the world should own a copy.

 

Let us know though John me and Franko are all buying a bunch of these so we can prolly give an opinion on just about any book.

[Ethos]

Well off the bat, I'm interested in Flash, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Birds of Prey (black canary is on it, right? that's pretty much the only reason I want to read it. I also liked Batgirl/Oracle, but I hear she's off the wheelchair cause I'm assuming she never got shot, so I doubt she'll still be in Birds of Prey and prob put back her batgirl outfit) and Supergirl. I'm less enthused about but still wanna read Justice League, Batgirl/woman, Wonder Woman and Batman. I always kinda hated Superman, but seems like I'll have to check out Action Comics since it's so recommended.

 

What's All-Star Western? is that like Jonah Hex or something? I read earlier about the Men of War or whatever is called. Concept sounds interesting, so might be checking em out. I'm surprised about seeing Aquaman as a recommendation. I always get the feeling that ppl hate on the water dude.

 

I'm a dumbass honestly. I was trying to figure out when I can make a trip to the comic book store, but then realized I'll be going to comic con on friday. I'll check all of these out once I buy em. I'll take advantage of the cheap prices in the con to check a bunch of these out. Man, DC is making moves. I feel that it was a pretty ballsy thing to do with this whole reboot.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Ethos

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

Word it definitely was ballsy.

 

Flash, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Birds of Prey, and Supergirl are all worth it. Cop them if you got the funds. Justice League, Batwoman WW, Batman, and Action I'd all recommend as well. I heard varying takes on Batgirl, and idk if you're a Gail Simone fan but her writing can be pretty hit or miss, although generally I do like her style, especially cuz its so unique. I'd really push for Aquaman and Animal Man on your list though. They are sik. Men of War is kinda dope too actually.

 

Really it comes down to how many you trying to buy. If money isn't an object grab all those.

 

My list so far looks like this (I'm adding in the ones my sister is getting since I pick them up for her):

 

Action Comics

Animal Man

Stormwatch

Swamp Thing

Men of War

Huntress*

Green Lantern

Batwoman

Demon Knights

Batman

Wonder Woman (my sister)

Birds of Prey (my sister)

Supergirl

Blue Beetle

Captain Atom

Justice League

Flash

Aquaman

All-Star Western

Superman

Voodoo (my sister)

The Savage Hawkman**

 

* this is a mini-series

**I haven't read the first issue yet so if I don't get it when I get issue two I'm gonna just drop it

 

...and I think that's the full list. I'm getting 19 I think, my sister is getting 3. I was getting The Fury of Firestorm but I dropped it after the first issue. idk it just didn't grab me.

 

Oh and yeah, All-Star Western is basically Jonah Hex except now it's set in the DC Universe proper. It happens in Gotham. A big focus on this relaunch is tying everything together properly so that it's all one big world instead of just a bunch of different stories/properties that can cross-over whenever.

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

Well off the bat, I'm interested in Flash, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Birds of Prey (black canary is on it, right? that's pretty much the only reason I want to read it. I also liked Batgirl/Oracle, but I hear she's off the wheelchair cause I'm assuming she never got shot, so I doubt she'll still be in Birds of Prey and prob put back her batgirl outfit) and Supergirl. I'm less enthused about but still wanna read Justice League, Batgirl/woman, Wonder Woman and Batman. I always kinda hated Superman, but seems like I'll have to check out Action Comics since it's so recommended.

 

What's All-Star Western? is that like Jonah Hex or something? I read earlier about the Men of War or whatever is called. Concept sounds interesting, so might be checking em out. I'm surprised about seeing Aquaman as a recommendation. I always get the feeling that ppl hate on the water dude.

 

I'm a dumbass honestly. I was trying to figure out when I can make a trip to the comic book store, but then realized I'll be going to comic con on friday. I'll check all of these out once I buy em. I'll take advantage of the cheap prices in the con to check a bunch of these out. Man, DC is making moves. I feel that it was a pretty ballsy thing to do with this whole reboot.

 

I haven't read Batgirl but I do know that she was shot and that it's set a few years after and she has recovered somehow. The guys in this podcast Mike linked me to liked it but I didn't pick it up. She is Batgirl and not in Birds of Prey. Well, she appears in BoP but isn't part of the team. Black Canary is in Birds of Prey, yes. It was a pretty good book.

 

All-Star Western is Jonah Hex right now but it's not going to focus solely on him, as far as I know. Just for right now. I really dug that one. The art is kind of sepia'd out and sort of watercolor in places. Very neat.

 

Aquaman is ridiculously good, dude.

 

Since Mike put up his list, I'll do mine. I'll do it alphabetically since I don't want to take the time to decide what's better than what.

 

Action Comics

All-Star Western

Animal Man

Aquaman

Batman

Batman and Robin

Batwing

Batwoman

Birds of Prey

Blue Beetle

Captain Atom

Catwoman

Detective Comics

Flash

Green Lantern

Grifter (possibly dropping this one)

I, Vampire

Justice League

Men of War

Nightwing

Resurrection Man

Suicide Squad

Superboy

Supergirl

Superman

Swamp Thing

Teen Titans

Voodoo

Wonder Woman

 

 

Wow, 29 comics. I'll have to trim that down. Probably drop Grifter, maybe Suicide Squad. Maybe Men of War or tec too.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Ninety