* The Comic Book and Graphic Novel thread *

[shorttricky]

I read The Dying and The Dead that came as part of a recent humble bundle. Utterly brilliant and couldn't put it down. Stopped abruptly at issue 6 and can't find further issues on comixology.

Good luck . Hickman is getting quite a near Frank Miller reputation for delays - I'm treating his stuff much like Miller's, in that I'll start it when it is 100% done (which is why Manhattan Projects is sat on my wishlist and will move no further for a while). I seem to remember a vague "next year" promise in 2019, but bearing in mind Dying and the Dead, Black Monday Murders and Manhattan Projects are all sat in limbo atm, I wouldn't get too excited. Even his Marvel stuff has had delays, and I'm guessing Marvel are pretty high on the list of companies you don't want to **** off .

I've been working through the indie pile - read a bunch of Aftershock published comics. Everything was OK, but it's obvious why they weren't snapped up by one of the big 4 - it's a bunch of half-ideas and what-ifs that don't really justify your time. Think the only thing I would recommend was Dark Ark, which was great - essentially, what if Noah didn't have the only ark, but there was another one full of demons and monsters. Well worth a read, second series is running at the minute.

I finally got my hands on some more of The Tick - adore the first series. Have so far absolutely hated Karma Tornado. I'm really hoping the quality picks up with other series.

Also dragged the old Lobo comics out - definitely not one to binge read. Lobo is great, Lobo's Back is greater, Infanticide is good and it's down all the way after that. The only other highlight is the Lobo/Authority crossover.

Next up - Saga deluxe bk 2 and Black Hammer deluxe bk 1 (forbidden planet had 20% off books instore, seemed rude not to) and then I will almost certainly definitely probably get round to American Vampire...maybe . @Sean34 I have borrowed the books off a friend, so the excuses for not reading are getting harder to come up with

 

[SixTwoSix]

Massive sale on old Star Wars graphic novels at comixology right now, reduced from £20 to 79p for most at around 300-500 pages each, absolute bargain.

It's the pinnacle of Star Wars comic writing with Knights of the Old Republic being a huge standout.

https://www.comixology.co.uk/comics-sale?list_id=37374

 

[Sean34]

What's everyone reading?

Me? I've not read anything in over a year. Not even the new issues of American Vampire.

I intend to stop the rot, so have the following ready to check out:

• Army of Darkness/Xena: Warrior Princess Omnibus
• Alien(2021)
• Batman - The World
• American Vampire 1976

That should keep me busy for a while.

 

[shorttricky]

Me? I've not read anything in over a year

Don't worry, I've been picking up your slack

Some highlights:

• Black Hammer - both main story volumes and the 3 "world of" books. Main story is exceptional, the spin offs are good
• Black Science deluxe vol 1 - absolutely loved this, it's like a really weird Fantastic Four. Unfortunately the books have been plagued by production issues (bindings tearing apart), so they're real pigs to find - hopefully they can sort those out at some point
• Saga - finished the first half (issues 1-54) (I recommend the 3 very lovely Deluxe editions) - absolutely in my top 10 favourite stories ever. Funny, rude, violent, heart-breaking, sweet and nuts. I loved everything about it. Hopefully Brian K Vaughan will get the second half started sooner rather than later
• Sex Criminals - halfway through book 2 of the Big Hard collections. I'm enjoying this so far, but it deserves bonus points for the alternate covers under the dust jacket, which are meant to remove the embarrassment of reading a book called Sex Criminals - they (very deliberately) do not
• Death Metal / Dark Metal - I love that DC takes big crazy swings. Did not love either of these, although they did introduce some amazing characters
• Future State - alternate time line spinoffs from Death Metal - finished Justice League and Suicide Squad, just starting Batman. Good fun so far, but you need to be a pretty die-hard DC fan I'm guessing
• Tales from the Dark Multiverse - takes some of the seminal moments from big DC stories and twists them. Pretty good all round, but again, not for non-DC fans - although the OG stories are included in the book, if you didn't read them previously it's like watching the end of a film you haven't seen
• Revival bk 1 - if you've seen Resurrection or The Returned, it's kinda like that - dead people come back to life, but not like zombies. Revival is weirder (and better) than either of the TV shows (neither of which is based on Revival, but will feel like they are)
• Lady Killers deluxe - unassuming 50s/60s stereotype housewife is actually a kick-ass hitwoman. Great art, fun story, but does feel like it stops halfway through
• Rick and Morty deluxe 1-4 - Like Rick and Morty? You'd enjoy these. Don't like Rick and Morty? Move along
• DCeased (everything) - it's Marvel Zombies, but DC. Loved it - especially because it moves more minor characters to the fore, rather than focusing on the a-list heroes
• Darkseid War - had the deluxe edition for ages, never got round to reading it. It's much odder than I expected. I enjoyed it, but not one I'd recommend to a lot of people
• Three Jokers - Absolute fan service to Joker fans - kind of a sequel to Killing Joke
• Doomsday Clock - sequel to Watchmen. I adored it, but if you agree with Alan Moore that only things he writes have any merit, this should be a HARD pass
• Promethea bk 1 - college student accidentally binds herself to a goddess who has been passed between human hosts through the years, all of whom put their own spin on her. Stunning art, interesting story by Alan Moore that does like to indulge itself
• Animal Man - read the entire Vertigo run. So much weirder than I expected. Good, but drags towards the end, and does wander a little bit up its own backside. I much preferred the new52 version over this
• Absolute Authority 1/2 - they finally reprinted these, and they were waaaay too cheap to pass on. Weirder, nastier version of Justice League. Amazing books, well deserving of the Absolute treatment
• Paper Girls - loved the first half, second half wanders off the quality and then does not stick the landing. Big disappointment for how well it starts
• Heroes Reborn / Secret Invasion / Civil War 2 - my friend says I'm a DC fanboy and need to read more Marvel, so he sent me these. Heroes Reborn tries to recapture the 80s Marvel spirit, and fails miserably (and has some of the dullest artwork I have ever seen). Secret Invasion was just irritating once you realise every interesting thing that happens is going to be undone by saying "SURPRISE - THEY WERE A SKRULL". Civil War 2 was easily the worst, simply because it's really boring - they've tried to recreate the brilliance of the first one, but it's just long and duuuuuuuuuuuuuull - and Minority Report did basically the same story but better and in 2 hours

Planning on finishing Future State, then Joker War, then it'll be time to settle down with the Akira 35th anniversary boxset - which should keep me out of trouble for a while.

@Sean34 I did also finally get to book 2 of American Vampire. Still hate vampire stories

 

[SixTwoSix]

Haven't got a lot to add except that I caught up with the first 6 issues of Marvel's Alien run last night, it's well, ummm, don't want to say anything bad...art work is nice I guess.

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

Hi lads. Any recommendations for an app for an 11 year old who wants to get into comics? He's only expressing an interest in DC and Marvel stuff so far. Either iPad or Windows would be fine.

 

[shorttricky]

Hi lads. Any recommendations for an app for an 11 year old who wants to get into comics? He's only expressing an interest in DC and Marvel stuff so far. Either iPad or Windows would be fine.

Comixology works great if you want to buy individual books/comics (they do have freebies, and some really good sales)

Marvel unlimited is essentially Netflix for Marvel comics - afaik you can download and read offline, and the selection is pretty huge, although they withhold recent stuff for a while.

There's also DC Universe and Comixology unlimited that have the same library feel as Marvel unlimited, although these are only available in the US atm - apparently they both plan to launch elsewhere, but who knows when

 

[Random Guy Esq.]

Comixology works great if you want to buy individual books/comics (they do have freebies, and some really good sales)

Marvel unlimited is essentially Netflix for Marvel comics - afaik you can download and read offline, and the selection is pretty huge, although they withhold recent stuff for a while.

There's also DC Universe and Comixology unlimited that have the same library feel as Marvel unlimited, although these are only available in the US atm - apparently they both plan to launch elsewhere, but who knows when

Awesome. Great info, thanks!

 

[SixTwoSix]

Anyone been using the Comixology app since the amazon merge, they've absolutely ruined what was a great app that i've had many years of use from.

I've scrolled through most of the "free prime" stuff and it's a pretty poor offering.

Really quite annoyed with the change, can't even find the typical weekly sale stuff on the app which is where most of my purchases come from.

 

[PC777]

I have Kindle Unlimited and the comic or manga offerings aren't great there either, they rarely give the full series or even a good chunk of it as they obviously want you to buy it instead.

I'll definitely cancel it next time round, but I have probably read at least a hundred different comic types on it. Another good place for getting into comics is Humble Bundle, been some amazing deals on comics and manga like the whole The Boys series and most of Attack on Titan for less than £20 each.

 

[SixTwoSix]

I've bought a lot off Humble bundle over the years, there is a lot of repeat stuff on there now sadly, think i've seen the Boys bundle 3 times already.

Comixology was great with the sales, the discounts were always significant, quite often 70% or more off collected editions, that's where the lions share of my digital collection came from, still have massive backlogs to get through.

I just can't wrap my head around the changes, a little googling shows that the comic creator community is in an uproar about it, it was literally a case of fixing something that wasn't remotely broken.

 

[Ourphil]

I haven't used the Comixology lately so thought I'd just check it out and all I get is a blank page with the Comixology logo in the middle and no way to access any of my comics, what a fantastic improvement. This is on my tablet which is the only way I read my digital comics so I'm stuffed if I can't get it to work.

 

[SixTwoSix]

I haven't used the Comixology lately so thought I'd just check it out and all I get is a blank page with the Comixology logo in the middle and no way to access any of my comics, what a fantastic improvement. This is on my tablet which is the only way I read my digital comics so I'm stuffed if I can't get it to work.

I'd do a re-install, should fix it.

All my downloaded content vanished, all the previously installed stuff is still taking room up on the tablet though, need to navigate and get it removed. If I go to read anything that was installed, it downloads again.

 

[Ourphil]

I'd do a re-install, should fix it.

All my downloaded content vanished, all the previously installed stuff is still taking room up on the tablet though, need to navigate and get it removed. If I go to read anything that was installed, it downloads again.

Cheers, that did the trick. I can now see my library although so far I'm not keen on the new interface, I'm hoping it's just a case of getting used to it and getting it set up.

 

[Sean34]

What's everyone reading?

Me? I've not read anything in over a year. Not even the new issues of American Vampire.

I intend to stop the rot, so have the following ready to check out:

• Army of Darkness/Xena: Warrior Princess Omnibus
• Alien(2021)
• Batman - The World
• American Vampire 1976

That should keep me busy for a while.

American Vampire 1976 was a great addition to the series. Alien(Issues 1-6) was OK, couldn't finish Army of Darkness/Xena, and never started Batman - The World.




Decided to re-read "Chew" - so good. Great setting, writing, and artwork.

 

[alexakasloth]

Chew is such an entertaining read, I really need to have a reread of that. Have bought Ed Brubakers Cruel Summer to read next, I enjoy reading noir and his style is really cool.

 

[PlacidCasual]

Usage Yojimbo volumes 1 - 8 are on sale on Comixology. What are peoples thoughts is it a good series? Also confused is Volume 1 the starting place because their is a Special Edition not in the sale.

 

[aardvark]

i love usagi yojimbo, read it all. I dont think there has been a bad issue, and we must be getting close to 300 by now.
although the special edition does have a bit of background you can start at volume 1 - there are some loose threads that span throughout the series but you can really start almost anywhere for usagi

 

[Bluecube]

Usage Yojimbo volumes 1 - 8 are on sale on Comixology. What are peoples thoughts is it a good series? Also confused is Volume 1 the starting place because their is a Special Edition not in the sale.

Absolutely superb books. A must buy

 

[alexakasloth]

Started reading Undiscovered Country last night, great artwork and the plot is very intriguing where it will go.
I have some comics to send to CGC via their London office, has anyone had any experience with this? Any problems along the way?

[Edit] Looking into sending them to CBCS instead, apparently their reputation has improved quite a bit as they are consistent with their gradings.

Also have ASM #24 and The Joker #1 on the way now.