There are a lot of folks here who are comic fans. I'm not 100% sure who reads the comics or are just fans of the films, but for the most part there seems to be some pretty knowledgeable people here when it comes to the funny books. Figured this thread would work nicely for the overall discussion.
Post what you're reading too!
What I'm Reading:
PREACHER Book Three
Select Reviews: Once in a while I'll actually post a review to the "What I'm Reading" book. Here they are in "nsfw" tags due to length but, I assure you, they're safe for work
We Stand On Guard - 6.5/10:
Plowed through this in like an hour or less. Pretty good read and the art is magnificent, but it wasn't Brian K. Vaughan's best work by any means. He seems to work better in the serialized story genre, which this technically was, but it was a planned 6-issue miniseries, so it read more like a film in comic form. His character work is still on key, but in the limited story-space, some of them kind of fizzle out as opposed to have a satisfying end to their arc. And then there are some characters who don't fizzle out, but whose fates still leave a lot to be desired. Our main character is among that list.
Regardless, the overall story was strong enough and the concept of portraying the US' foreign policy as terrorism in a hypothetical 100-year time-jump was as interesting as it was bold - if a little awkward to read, being an American and all. Though it's easy enough to admit that this sort of wartime scenario wouldn't be difficult to imagine breaking out the exact way it does in this story, if the real-life situations mirrored the fantasy of this book. Which is a scary thought - as I'm assuming was the point: if we start warring as opposed to discussing over everything (water being the culprit here), where does it end?
So it was an interesting concept with extraordinary art, nearly perfect characterizations and some very memorable scenes, but the end was a bit of a disappointment and not many character arcs ended in any interesting way. I feel like this would have benefited if it were an on-going that ended after 2 or 3 years. It could have at least used 2 or 3 more issues to give proper time to all the characters. It was a cool concept, but a rare flub from Vaughan when it comes to a proper ending. image
Paper Girls: Volume 1 - 8.5/10:
I had already read the first 2 issues of Paper Girls before snagging the TPB, so the rest of the book was a breeze. This is another super strong story by Brian K Vaughan (LOST, Y The Last Man, Saga, Ex Machina, etc). It's very reminiscent of the nostalgic 80's "coming of age" movies - just with a sci-fi twist to keep it from straying too close. It's like a mix of Stand By Me, Gunther & The Paper Brigade, E.T. and, for a more modern comparison, the J.J. Abrams film Super 8. 4 bike-riding girls who deliver newspapers wake up early the morning after Halloween to find the town is in a real odd state. It's a plot that eventually delves into time travel, high-concept time wars and monster-ridden landscapes - but it does so in a way that is immediately reminiscent of the straight-forward coming of age stories we loved as kids. There are lots of pop-culture references - including one big one that actually acts as a really smart plot device to tease why things are going so crazy. This volume leaves you with the possible understanding of what drove certain characters to do what they did, while also not really over-indulging us with reveal after reveal.
I'd say definitely give it a shot if you're interested in that sort of thing. I can't wait until the next batch of issues is released.
Absolute Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison - 8.5/10:
Firstly, this hardcover is gorgeous. It comes in a thick slipcover and the book itself is great quality. The art looks great on the bigger pages, and this book really is super big. I'm about two thirds done at this point and I've already read the 8 issues from the New 52, but the whole epic has just been a great read through. The ending is one I can look forward to as I read like when watching a favorite movie. This was Morrison's brain child and it ran alongside his now legendary 7-year run on Batman. While some of that run lacked the quality of a top notch Morrison story, Batman Incorporated does not. While the idea of a franchised international bat-team, especially one run by Bruce Wayne, is kind of a contrived premise, Morrison is able to work little bits of Batman's past and spin the folks he'd met over the years (even the obscure ones) into the tale to make it something really worth checking out.
I dug the first half of the book just fine - but it was mostly all exposition issues for what was to come. I know Morrison spread this series out to run alongside the rest of his run, but the early chapters really seem to drag a bit. Probably wouldn't have been my favorite Bat-title if I were subscribed. While at the same time, those issues re-establish the bits of Batman's mythos that you'll need to know for this story via mostly self-contained issues featuring small-time villains and small-time allies alike. Once you get past the set-up, the book really gets incredibly good. It pays off the slower earlier issues in the best ways, connecting the dots between each early chapter. The "New 52" era issues are the best however, as this story's ending is one of the better pulled-off endings I've seen in recent years, It's very satisfying despite a tragedy or two along the way. image
Inhumans by Paul Jenkins & Jae Lee - 9/10:
This is one of my all-time favorite superhero stories ever written. It's a very cinematic self-contained story that ran for, I believe, 12 issues. It's some of the best character work a Marvel team-up book has ever had. Strong lead characters, a very memorable villain and a fascinating plot makes this one worth picking up again every once in a while. Think this will be my 3rd or 4th read-through of it, but it's always a great time. This is also the book that my avatar is inspired by. It's the "Relax" narration panel from this book - advice Black Bolt (the Inhumans' king) would give his people if he could speak without risking his voice killing everyone around him. It's advice I constantly try to remember. image
The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1 - 7/10 The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 2 - 8.5/10
So I put a halt to my Walking Dead comic marathon that I started in time for the new season in October. I plowed through the first 2 Compendiums but with the holidays, so many new books that I was eager to read fell into my lap. So while I do intend on starting the Volume 3 back up in February to coincide with the return of Season 7 of the TV show, I figured I'd move this out of the "What I'm Reading Now" section. My review: It's real good. About 2/3 of Volume 1 are very hard to read at times due to the characters talking far too much, over-explaining situations and sometimes long-monologuing (not a word) about the same events in 2 or 3 different scenes. However about halfway through the Prison arc, when the Governor becomes a pivotal character, the series really hit its stride. Volume 2 is non-stop great, featuring many of the most memorable moments from the comics. I am indeed looking forward to Compendium Vol. 3 when the mood strikes, because that's where the series hits "legendary" status in my eyes. image
Kingdom Come - 7/10
This was a real fun story with a neat concept that kind of got muddled with the art. While the artist has done great work on very similar stories, this one featured a few panels that were hard to follow. I'm not sure if it was lazy art or the script wasn't the easiest to follow, but some things got lost in translation throughout. Regardless it was very cool to see older, grizzled versions of the golden age superheroes pulled out of retirement to deal with the "new generation" of heroes who were fine with casualties and chaos anytime they fought. This story also pulled off yet another new take on the Superman/Batman relationship that pays off real dramatically toward the end. All in all, a great Secret Santa gift and a fun story worth the read. image
Paper Girls: Volume 2 - 8/10
This was a great follow up to Volume 1 even if the 80's setting was sorely missed. Our characters find themselves in modern day and on a journey to find their friend after being chased by some humans from the far future with a technology-rooted culture. This series keeps things intriguing by having the main character Erin interact with her 2016-self and the dynamic there is a highlight of the book. There is some very witty banter between the Erins. Some twists (both tragic and very interesting) are thrown along the way - but this is a series that should be read as spoiler-free as possible. It has as satisfying of a cliffhanger as Volume 1, so I'm very much looking forward to Volume 3. image
Redwall: The Graphic Novel - 7.5/10
While I've only ever read a couple of the Redwall novels, I've always been fascinated by the series and its lore. I'd never read the first novel so the fact that it was in graphic novel form really enticed me. I was a little disappointed in the lack of color, as the novels always painted the settings with lush colors, but I was able to look past it for the memorable characters and villains.. Kluny the Scourge is classic. However some of the art, especially when it came to the Abbey Mice, was too similar. It was a little difficult to tell the main characters apart. This gets a bump up in points because while the first half of the book plays as a fantasy-by-numbers book starring animal characters, it eventually becomes a story about a legendary knight being reborn in an abbey monk. It was a cool little plot twist that, while telegraphed, I really didn't see coming. It makes me want to read the Martin the Warrior novel soon. image
Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman - 9/10
Really great stuff from this creative team. Having not kept up with the Thor comics the past few years (much longer actually), I got this for Christmas. I have to say, I was blown away by what I read. A great mystery (that isn't a mystery anymore but for me it was) of who IS the new Thor, and Odinson (the OG male Thor) gets a real nice new complexity to his character as the "Unworthy Thor." It seems despite the MCU, Thor's comic line has been able to avoid the mainstream issues that other Marvel comics have lately. This book made me rush to snag the next couple books from the duo: Battleworld: Thors & The Mighty Thor Vol.1 and it also reminded me to check out Journey Into Mystery by Kieron Gillen Vol. 1. image
Batman: The Court of Owls - 8/10 Batman: The City of Owls - 7/10 Batman: Death of the Family - 6/10
The Court of Owls - Court is a classic Batman story. It features new lore for the city of Gotham (something Snyder is great at), a new group of villains that were as intriguing as they were creepy, and a new threat that really made Batman seem like he was in an uphill battle. Hell, it even featured a climactic issue taking place in a giant death maze. Batman grew as a character, thinking he knew about Gotham better than anyone only to find out he can still learn new secrets. It also ended with a great cliffhanger if you were reading solely via trade paperback. It's too bad Snyder had a little trouble sticking the dismount. The City of Owls - This story starts up with the fun and memorable "Night of Owls" issue that features the Court's army of Talons (undead assassins) laying siege on Gotham and, most notably, Wayne Manor. It was a fun start to what would end up being an overly-telegraphed ending to what was set up in "Court of Owls." It also featured a reveal that left a bit to be desired - as it left a lot of ambiguity on the table. Which would have been a little more acceptable if the character involved played a larger role in Snyder's Batman, but having not appeared since, it kind of puts a damper on what could have been a little more menacing of an ending. Death of the Family - This is the story that got me back into collecting - and reading it without all the hype, it's really not that special. Nowhere near a top Joker story by any means. It featured a slasher-film version of Joker, not just in appearance (with his strapped on face-skin that had been removed a few months earlier) but also in character mechanics. Joker killed people a little too easily during the first issues, including snapping a bunch of cops necks in the dark somehow and drowning a bunch of rich kids. Which was the point, admittedly - to have an even more unhinged Joker. But as the story progressed it fell into cliche territory, with a bunch of well-tread Batman tropes: Joker trying to convince Batman he's weak due to the Bat-family, Batman and Nightwing arguing, Joker hosting a villain-fest for Batman (my #1 least favorite plot device in a Batman story is when the writer piles a bunch of high-profile villains into one issue), and Joker feeling some sort of misplaced "love" for Batman. And then there's the whole question of if the Joker knows who they all are or not. These are all themes I can get behind, but they've been presented far more accurately in better Joker stories - and not all crammed into 5 or 6 issues. There are some good moments in this story, with the highlight being the climactic Batcave chase that capped off the last issue, but that just wasn't enough to save the whole convoluted, almost try-hard story from being anything more than mediocre. This was a disappointment because Snyder had written one of the most memorable Joker scenes in modern Batman stories (in my opinion) just a few years earlier during his "Black Mirror" story. It was short and sweet and just perfect. His Joker in this story spoke in too many monologues about the same thing and just wasn't too funny. Capullo's art fudging ruled throughout all these books though.
However, Snyder took a much better whack at a Joker story with "Endgame," which is one of my favorite modern Joker stories, but that's not for another few volumes. Thankfully Snyder picked up his slack for the New 52 Batman origin which he told in epic fashion over the next 2 volumes. His run remained fun from that point on, and these books were still fun to read, but aside from "Court," the other ones are just average.
From Hell by Alan Moore - 7.5/10
After finally getting around to reading this book after getting it for Christmas 2 years ago, I can say it was worth the wait. Or has been. This book is a (fictionalized) investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders of the 1800's that suggests the string of homicides was an elaborate conspiracy pulled off by the Royal Family in order to keep the news of the Prince having an illegitimate child with a shopkeeper. This is based off a real theory but it has been debunked many times, even Moore himself. However, it's an interesting tale of what could have been all the same, while still managing to give an extremely accurate portrayal of the heinous acts and the aftermath they had on London at the time. The story of Sir William Gull is certainly intriguing to say the least. image
Uzumaki: Volume 1 - 7/10
Admittedly, I'm not the biggest manga reader - but I'm always willing to give interesting premises a shot. Dorohedoro Volume 1 is on deck, but I've been feeling a bit of a horror vibe lately and have been wanting to read this. Snagging it in a $15 lot with Revival Vol 1, Outcast Vol 1 and Wytches by Scott Snyder was just a bonus. Anyhow, this was a sort of starkly fun tale about a girl who lives in a town that's cursed by spirals. The shape. This is only Volume 1, so I'm not sure what the origin of these spirals are yet (if it's ever even revealed). This left me a little in the dark, but I decided to just go with it.
There were a few genuinely creepy moments in this one, but quite a few goofy moments that just didn't work for me. One example of something creepy was when two star-crossed lovers had somehow discovered a way to spiral into each other and opted for a life as intertwined spirals over their families keeping them apart. The imagery here, and at an earlier part of the book including a spiral-corpse, really hit home. One example of too goofy, however, was the two-girl showdown decided by who could get more attention based on the whacky spirals in their hair.
Unfortunately that second example was the story that ended Volume 1 so it kind of left off on an air fart, but the rest of the book has at least persuaded me to eventually check out Volume 2. image
Revival: Volume 1 - 7.5/10
I went into Revival completely in the dark and was pleasantly surprised. It was a quick read (a little too quick to be honest) but there were some really memorable characters. Many creepy moments too, and these first 5 issues really open up a few mysteries that I imagine the series tackles further down the road. Like Uzumaki, this first volume has gotten me interested in checking out volume 2.
There are some real questions presented about characters in this story that make me sort of anxious to read more, but these didn't really come until the last 2 issues. The first 3 were the standard "dead are coming back and the town doesn't know how to deal with it" situations with underlying tones of what was to come. My favorite aspect of the comic was the dynamic between a psychopath who claims to have met the devil and devotes his life to exercising demons by any fudgeed up means necessary, and a "revived" main character named Em who he claims is the devil incarnate. It's interesting because she definitely does some semi-dastardly things, and her actions within this first volume could easily fit the "devil in disguise" routine. The "demon" had a neat, simple and disturbing design too so I'm interested what more the series does with these entities moving forward. image
Wytches by Scott Snyder - 8/10
Real creepy, atmospheric tale about a girl who was "pledged" to the ancient Wytches that haunt a New Hampshire town. Great use of foreshadowing in this one, and the characters really worked. There is some clunky dialogue and silly character moments but otherwise, they all stand up.
I love the study of witches in general that this book features. Lots of lore - the "wytches" are portrayed as genetically "evolved" beings whose magic can grant anyone who pledges somebody to them their wildest dreams. They mark the portal to their world with ginger - thus the old "witches live in a gingerbread house" schtick. It's real fun the way Snyder presents the creatures as grounded in some sort of reality that is able to explain away a bunch of real-life myths about witches. image
Saga: Deluxe Edition Volume 1 - 10/10 Saga: Deluxe Edition Volume 2 - 10/10 Saga Volume 7: The War for Phang - 7.5/10
Image just dropped the Deluxe Edition Volume 2, so I re-read Deluxe Edition Volume 1 in anticipation. Plowed through both within a day or two, and then read where the story left off with the trade-paperback for Saga Volume 7, dubbed "The War for Phang". My "Phang" write-up contains spoilers, so beware.
The first book is an exercise in world-building, character development and story-telling. There's so much to this story that it's hard to want to type about it, but it's a fantasy epic that spans different planets over the course of one child, Hazel's life. She narrates it as we, the reader, get to watch her parents (two former soldiers of warring homeworlds) sacrifice everything to keep her hidden. Being a "hybrid" of two races, she is a highly sought-after person when news breaks of her existence.
The second book is more of the same - but better, if possible. Lots of incredible visuals, the characters are taken in directions that are genuinely surprising and the story progresses at exactly the right pace. Brian K Vaughn has a way of creating very personal moments on an epic sci-fi backdrop. This book just furthers the fun of the story, even if some major gore and violence occurs along the way. It's always done in a surprising and honestly interesting way.
Volume 7: The War for Phang was a noticeable step down in my opinion, but still a strong entry into the series compared to most comics. My issue with this portion of the story was its overly-bleak atmosphere. Saga can absolutely get bleak and tragic at times, but most of the time there is another character's plot to add some levity or color. In "The War for Phang", just about all the characters are brought to the lowest we've ever seen them. Some of the tragic nature seems a little forced, to be honest. One moment when a drugged out Prince Robot insinuates that he is either going to rape Alana (Hazel's mother) or kill himself was a little out-of-nowhere considering their relationship up to that point. Then the big twist in the last issue was fittingly tragic, but just seemed like another tack in this overly-bleak tale. There was also a 2-headed villain introduced in this batch of issues that, for the first time since Saga started, left me underwhelmed with the design of a character. And what makes that character worse, is that they (two heads) leave devastating effects in their wake for our main characters - but, having been killed at the end, ultimately won't play a huge part going forward. It felt a little too quick - to bring our characters so far low only to have the threat eliminated quickly, like they just needed an excuse to torture the characters.
I'm hoping all this leads to some real good character development in the issues to come ("Phang" was about 50/50 in that department) or else this volume will always sort of stick out as needlessly bleak portion of the story. image
I've grabbed quite a few of the old school Marvel Conan stuff, and the magazines. I had some great deals. There are some pretty good stories there for some simple adventure.
I'm also only 2 or 3 issues short of having the entire Dark Horse Conan run.
> Never even heard of it. Although it looks like Seth McFarland ripped off the character
> design for Stewie from this.
Chris Ware, creator of Jimmy Corrigan, even assumes this to be the case. Said the similarities are a little too coincidental to be "well, coincidental" and that he didn't want 7 years of his work to be available only to be accused of ripping off Family Guy. McFarlane claimed he had never seen the comic before creating Stewie but admitted the similarities were "shocking" and understands why Ware feels the way he does.
So do any of you collect a specific series or run?
For me it's Aliens, Predator, Star Wars, Robocop, Conan, Red Sonja, and Terminator. I haven't bought superhero stuff other than the occasional book in many years.
> So do any of you collect a specific series or run?
>
> For me it's Aliens, Predator, Star Wars, Robocop, Conan, Red Sonja, and Terminator.
> I haven't bought superhero stuff other than the occasional book in many years.
My main collection is Green Lantern. I have everything from 1959's Showcase 22 (first appearance) up until ... one of the Geoff John's run. I stopped right before Hal Jordan grew long hair and wore a trench coat and had a gauntlet and looked like a 1990's Rob Liefield character. No thanks.
When I was in high school I would pick up all kinds of crap each week. Mostly DC; Justice League, lots of garbage late 80's stuff like Manhunter, Power of the Atom, crap like that.
My father used to help pick up older stuff when we would go to conventions. We have a large run of Amazing Spider-man including issue #9 and sporadic issues up to 40 and then we have a complete run until after I stopped buying when Erik Larson stopped drawing it.
We have two boxes of core stuff: original X-Men 2, 5, 7, Iron Man 2, 4 and then 10-50, Amazing Spidey 129, Hulk 180, Green Lantern, early Batman, Justice League, etc. Lots of good stuff.
I stopped buying monthly books years ago. I've been picking up TPB's when the interest is there.
I did buy the Grant Morrison Green Lantern monthly issues but stopped after "Season 1".
I've got about 15 long boxes of stuff that I've collected since the early 80's.
> So do any of you collect a specific series or run?
>
> For me it's Aliens, Predator, Star Wars, Robocop, Conan, Red Sonja, and Terminator.
> I haven't bought superhero stuff other than the occasional book in many years.
Mainly just collect the Saga hardcovers and that's not really "active collecting" because they only come out once every 3 years or so. Guess you could say I collect Peanuts collections too.
I do have a complete collection of Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman run + a few variants and whatnot, so that's pretty neat. My boy @cliffsteele sent me an issue signed by artist Greg Capullo a few years back. The man.
Otherwise I just snag trade paperbacks of what interests me for the most part.
I have a small collection of comics signed by artists aren writers.
I have a first printing of Killing Joke by Brian Bolland.
I also have a first print hardcover of Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told that is signed by Marshall Rogers and ... I *think* Brian Bolland but I can't remember.
I've got the first three issues of the 80's Justice League signed by Kevin Maguire.
I've got Spiderman 298 and 299 signed by McFarlane. Also a bunch of Dirty Pair issues signed by Adam Warren.
I was recently talking about this with another comic collector who told me I was full of crap because I don't have any COA's or visual proof. I was a kid in the 80's. Nobody was issuing COA's or any of that bullcrap back then.
I've got more signatures but I'd have to dig into them all.
McFarlane was the worst. This was right after his Spider-Man series launched. Signings were standing in rows and he would just walk by and sign. It was assembly line. It was nuts.
My best is first appearance of Barbara Gordon Batgirl. Its probably a 5-6. I have like 5000 comics total, but mostly 80s-90s. I have decent stack of 12 cent cover Superman and Batman, but only a few of any significance other than the age. I bought like 300 or so in the 90s, then a several batches from yard sales etc. I have semi-focused on the Dark Horse stuff for years though. I really need to downsize.
An issue of the ORIGINAL Daredevil, the issue is older than my father. Fun note: Image brought this particular Daredevil back to be in Savage Dragon during the 90s: image
> @theJaw Death of the Family was really good. Cool one to have signed.
I definitely dug it, but I dug it a bit more when I was actively reading it month-to-month. Going back, I feel like it went a little too "slasher horror" with its treatment of Joker (police department scene seemed straight out of a Scream movie) and I tend to hate it when a bunch of famous rogues are crammed into an arc (and in this case, just one issue). Still an alright time though for sure, even if Scott Snyder's "Endgame" is his superior Joker story (and one of my favorites). "Endgame" just ties so well into the first part of "Zero Year" that was released about a year prior, where we see the New 52 Red Hood/Joker origin (which is another favorite of mine).
But as far as history goes, Death of the Family is when New 52's Batman really started getting eyes on it so I'm definitely happy to have an issue from that arc signed by the artist.
Yeah definitely a play on that title, but trying to make it seem more "epic" in that Joker could actually cause Batman to lose even more than just Robin at any given time.
I wasn't even born yet when Death IN the Family came out (I would be a year later), but that was one of the first Batman stories that I actually read front-to-back when I was a kid and helped hook me to the character forever. I had none of the baggage that readers of the time had against Jason Todd so I was legit devastated to see those death panels on the pages (even if the main one was spoiled on the cover). I probably just wasn't aware there was ever more than one Robin when I was that age, so it has stuck with me ever since.
Pretty great story in how much it feels like a legit detective drama with set pieces outside of Gotham, and then obviously the ending is iconic.
@razeak & @Sid_Ceaser Did you guys vote kill or no kill?
I have several signed books, but only a few have Certificates of Authenticity.
The neatest is probably a first edition TPB of The Death of Superman signed by the writer Dan Jurgens. It reads "For Hayden", so if anyone has a friend named Hayden that they want to get a nice gift for, please let me know.
What is everyone's opinion on TPBs? When there is a storyline that crosses over several titles, do you prefer the TPBs to contain only their original title, or complete the storyline in order? For example: Endgame. Batman (2013-2017) Vol. 7 collects Batman issues 35-40. Joker Endgame collects those same issues and includes the other one shots and crossover issues that complete the storyline.
My preference is the latter. I prefer to read a storyline in the order they were meant to be read. Without a reading chronology list, this is difficult with TPBs that simply compile consecutive issues from a single title. Without such a TPB, some of the one shots would not be included anywhere.
I'm currently bingeing DC's Metal and Death Metal TPBs, and I can't find a decent reading chronology anywhere. Once or twice there has been a note at the beginning of a story saying "read XXX first", but there haven't been enough of them.
@Tony I approach TPBs sort of the same way I approach seasons of TV. Sure some TV shows have different writers for different episodes, but all have show-runners that keep track of the actual story to keep it consistent. If you were to switch out a show-runner for another in between episodes and mix-and-match, it'd probably come out pretty uneven. I feel like that's the case with TPBs and comic runs too. When reading stories, I tend to stick to the primary writer as to keep the same consistent quality all the way through. For example, the other crossover issues in that Joker Endgame book (tbh I think they're just the backup stories included in the original issues) are written by other writers (in this case, probably James Tynion IV). Those are fun to have in the single issues but I feel including them in just one straight read-through of the main story would be distracting.
If they're included just in the back of the book then no harm no foul, I'm just always far less interested in the backup stories and will likely just skip them. And I do know DC tends to mash the work of the different writing teams together from time-to-time when compiling crossovers via omnibus - that's just not for me. I know for Death of the Family, they tied in all the Bat-family books for an issue or two to deal with what was going on in the main Batman story and I started collecting a bunch of them. They were fine but really did nothing to add to the main narrative at all, so they were pretty unnecessary looking back.
Damn, Jason Todd really was despised eh? Or was it just the desire to have some small say toward something that monumental? I would have felt terrible haha.
And yah, that take on the Joker is so menacing despite being so prim and proper for the most part. Like, I find that version of the Joker infinitely more terrifying than the "face mask" Joker from Death of the Family. So unsettling to look at and imagine as a real person, as opposed to looking at as a slasher horror monster.
That's true, Under the Red Hood is a classic Batman story at this point and I LOVE the animated adaptation (Death in the Family's adaptation, not so much).
Grant Morrision's wacky red headed Jason Todd was pretty fun too, whenever he'd show up in that run.
> Damn, Jason Todd really was despised eh? Or was it just the desire to have some small
> say toward something that monumental? I would have felt terrible haha.
>
I don't know if it was that he was really despised - this was at a time when comic characters weren't killed off all that often, so the novelty of readers voting one way or the other was kinda cool. I don't care either way about Jason Todd, I was more curious that if I voted for "die" if they would actually do it or if they'd find a way to keep him alive. Or kill him and bring him right back or something.
And it felt kinda neat to be involved somehow. But, still, after the issue came out I felt kinda guilty.
I liked how in the first issues of the Morrison "Batman" title Jason Todd was commenting on how wearing the red hood caused his face to break out. That was funny.
From what I can recall from the fan press at the time, Jason was pretty hated. Or at least that version of him.
When he was first introduced, he was basically a Dick Grayson clone. Circus kid, parents killed, the whole thing.
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, we got a new origin for Jason. Batman catches him trying to steal the hubcaps off the Batmobile. His father is a two-bit criminal, and Jason is living on the streets, in Crime Alley in fact. Bats basically tries to save him, figuring he will become another career criminal otherwise. This version of Jason is the hated one, as he displays a violent streak, and it is implied he kills a rapist who has diplomatic immunity. So I'm thinking people voted for him to die simply because he had it coming by that point.
Giving a few volumes of Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman run a re-read. After talking about it in here a bit and since The Batman reintroduced The Riddler, I figured I'd give "Zero Year" another look. In all honesty, I think this is my personal favorite Batman origin story. Year One rules, and is a great arc, but I dug how Zero Year spanned 3 full arcs (a full year) of the book and really delved into the evolution of Batman's positioning in the hierarchy of Gotham. It also featured a Bruce Wayne who was younger and more willing to joke around a bit. Similar to Dick Grayson but not quite to that extent - he has a dark humor about him which is more-or-less gone by the time we meet him in the first arc of Snyder's run, The Court of Owls.
It's broken down into 3 parts:
Secret City - Ultimately a story of pre-Batman Bruce Wayne acting as a disguised vigilante attempting to take down the Red Hood Gang but failing. That is, until he realizes he needs to become the Batman when an old piece of tech reveals a 360 scan of what will become the Batcave super imposed over the room of Wayne Manor where Bruce keeps a bust of his father. A nice side plot in this is Edward Nygma, before becoming The Riddler, pulling the strings behind Bruce's uncle's involvement with the Red Hood Gang and we see how he organically gets mixed up in Batman's story. Dark City - Starts with Batman vs. The Red Hood Gang (featuring Red Hood #1, the Joker before he's the Joker) which ends with a mash up of The Killing Joke's Joker origin and Batman 89's Joker origin to result in my personal favorite Joker origin. Even though we know it's him, the series does a good job in keeping it ambiguous (especially with the Joker stuff that comes later in Snyder's run). During that part, Batman blacked out a portion of the city to look like a Bat signal, but then after the Red Hood stuff, Riddler blacks the entire city out and Batman has to deal with a decently horrifying new take on villain Doctor Death. THIS is the Snyder horror I prefer over Death of the Family. Even with the crazy villain and Junji Ito-inspired depictions of Death's victims, it comes off way more subtle a "scary story" than DITF. Savage City - Batman has to save the now-flooded and overgrown Gotham city from The Riddler in the big finale.
Once again loved Secret City, and I'm starting in on the Doctor Death story line right now. I'm liking it a lot more than the first time I read it. I always dug the horror elements but it seemed like sort of a "side quest" after the Red Hood and on the road to The Riddler. I just didn't think Doctor Death belonged sandwiched between those two classic villains, but then realized Doctor Death is historically the first "super" villain Batman ever faced in Detective Comics #29 from 1939 and is arguably more "classic" than either of them.
ALSO finally spending off the last of my gift cards to order Books Five and Six of Preacher because I just remembered I have 4 but only got a bit of a way through it. Now I can read the back half of the series in one go. Hopefully. For some reason, for as much as I love the story and what they're building in Preacher, I always take extended breaks from it for some reason. Oh well, at least I'll have it all for when I'm ready to finish up.
Got Books Five and Six of Preacher, so I'm finally approaching the end game.
Gotta say, and this is just about the least important aspect of the comic, but I hate that Jesse got a new dog companion because this is the type of series where I could see just awful things happening to it. I mean they already showed what happened to Jesse's childhood dog and Cassidy straight up throws another dog through a pharmacy window at one point... so I don't have high hopes for the pup. No spoilers please, but I'm hoping this dog makes it out okay.
I wouldn’t freak out, just think the whole “create an attachment to a pet just to kill them off” is one of the cheaper storytelling tropes one can possibly implement. But I mean that said, human or animal, it’s a character regardless and you’re supposed to feel something for characters in a story.
...a Cassidy sacrificial redemption somewhere in the endgame. Been a dick his whole life, feels guilty about Tulip/Jesse and finally comes to his senses to save them somehow. At least that’s what I can see happening, but this book has thrown a few curveballs over its run. Starting the issue now where the homeless lady(?) fills Jesse in on how she knows Cassidy from the bar.
Ennis certainly did sorta swerve Cassidy into a real piece of crap these last two arcs. For a while he just came off as a compulsive weirdo who maybe felt loyalty a little too quickly, but after essentially keeping Tulip drugged up to make sure she stayed with him, he certainly comes off far worse. I know he was somewhat conflicted at first but after that month he seemed fine with their situation, and even forced her to kiss him like a real creep.
I am definitely digging the direction it's taking. There are a few lulls throughout the series but this last book is doing a good job of building toward the endgame. Just read the issue where...
...Jesse digs up the Saint of Killers' bones and gets him to realize that taking out God is necessary. Seeing the Saint acknowledge how he felt like there was "somethin' behind him waiting for him to become it" and then asking Jesse what his "damn plan" is was badass. Jesse ultimately made this dude realize he needed to become the devil in order to help him carry out his "job". Don't know if I'm interpreting that incorrectly or if the story is going to switch it up on me, but that issue was great.
So my earlier prediction was soooort of accurate, just presented in a way I hadn't imagined. I enjoyed that ending a bunch. At first I thought it was a bit of a cop out but the way the reveals were laid out, it made plenty of sense. I was gearing up for a mega depressing ending for a little bit there.
First 2 episodes of Preacher down. They're already remixing the story in big ways compared to the comics (already delving into the Saint of Killers' backstory even), which is fine. As usual, I know to hold the book and its adaptation as two entirely separate things so no worries there. Though I will say despite that, I probably could have given it a week or two before starting the show just to get some space between both versions of the story/characters.
I imagined Jesse with a much deeper drawl like the old-timey cowboy movies, but I've gotten used to this portrayal and am digging it enough. Cassidy is spot on as far as looks go, feels like they ripped the actor right out of the comics. Lack of sunglasses doesn't bother me, although I did love the scene at the end of the comics where you finally do see his eyes. It made that scene a lot more visceral, but whatev. He's also much more capable in huge fight scenarios than he was in the comics, but whatev. I figure since @Kommie mentioned him being more likeable in the show, the ending will probably be different in major ways as far as Jesse and Cassidy's relationship goes.
Tulip is the only one who's an entirely different character, and it's not just because of her appearance. She was fierce and capable in the comic (loved her bit in the endgame ps) but she's a lot more conniving and generally "criminal" in the show. Her and Jesse's relationship was clearly re-worked for the show.
Arseface looks too... clean. But I suppose it works best for live action. Fudging love that W. Earl Jones is the Sheriff, will always be a fan of his thanks to Deadwood. Also the red headed kid from the first episode with his abusive father was in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and he has a line that my gf and I always quote so it was neat to see him pop up here.
All in all, I know to take this as its own "thing" and will do my best not to hold it to the comics moving forward, this was just my adjustment phase haha. I'm definitely along for the ride and will enjoy what comic callbacks we do end up getting.
No sunglasses Cassidy works for the show, as the actor does a great job with his eyes. Acting would probably be worse with the sunglasses. Season 1 from what I remember was very slow and set-up-like, but the rest isn't. Season 1 also adapts the part of the comic where Jesse goes back to his hometown, so they kinda combine that part with the beginning. There is no meat-wife, but there is a small nod of sorts to it at the end. Odin Quincannon appears in season 1 played by Jackie Earle Haley. Humperdoo is great too when he shows up. The addition of Hitler was cool. The Preacher style humor definitely picks up in later seasons.
Herr Starr is great in the show, and all the wacky Allfather crap is still there. But if you watch it like an adaptation and not a pure 1:1 comic adaptation, it's fun once through.
Yah I saw Quincannon in one scene, surprised he showed up so early. Obv haven't gotten to Hitler yet, but that could probably go either way for me. I'll have to see how they do it. Glad we're getting the hometown stuff this season, that's one of my favorite arcs of the comics.
Also, is meat wife like... an iconic part of the comic to some people or something? You keep mentioning that it isn't in the show but considering it was only in one panel of the comic, I wouldn't really expect it to be & can't imagine anyone would care all that much haha
There are definitely some cool things that they directly take from the comics like:
"You gotta be one of the good guys, son:"
I know Ennis gets criticized a lot for the vulgarity and toilet humor/edgelord crap but there is still some great crap he does even in his vulgar stuff. Aside from Crossed that is, that crap's just vulgar for the sake of it.
