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Thread: The Weekly Comics Grind

  1. Yesterday's haul -

    Silent War LS #1
    Punisher War Journal #3
    Fables #57
    Doctor Strange: The Oath #4
    Justice Society of America #2
    X-Factor #15
    Wolverine #50
    Ed Brubaker's Criminal #4
    Civil War: The Return
    Marvel Visionaries: John Buscema

    Of these, I've read the first 7 books, Silent War being my fave of the week. I nut over the Inhumans, and this book failed to disappoint. I don't like Gorgon very much, as he's so blasted headstrong, he accuses and rushes into battle with the first non-Inhuman he sees at every waking opportunity without assessing the situation. This time, however, it's a young Inhuman upstart under Gorgon's command, that makes a mess of things, in impressive fashion. The FF show up and put the kibosh on the Inhumans, who are taken away by the gov't (or SHIELD, forget which). Inside, an insidious scientist wonders what would happen if an Inhuman were exposed to the Terrigen mists twice. Well, we find out, sort of. The original Terrigen crystals have been artificially replicated, their mists used on one of the Inhuman terrorists, to horrifying effect.

    Punisher was hit or miss for me, because for the story to be really effective, Captain America has to play a role in this. Problem is, since Marvel modernized Cap's origin (the late '60s instead of the '40s), the flashback tale takes place at a time when Steve should've still been on ice. Frank himself muses that he might've imagined it or someone else was in the costume. Baloney. For this story to work, we have to believe it's Cap. I'm willing to let the editorial flub slip, because otherwise, Frank is portrayed HORRIBLY out of character.

    I haven't opened the Marvel Visionaries book yet, but I'm already in love with it, just from the cover alone. J.Buscema has always been one of my favorite all-time comic artists, even today, and I simply can't wait to see his dynamic artwork jumping off the pages. This guy is the epitome of a Marvel legend. Surely, everyone (fondly) remembers "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way!", entrusting Big John Buscema to transform mere readers into comic creators. If you're too young to know about the book, I urge you track it down. It's an invaluable tome of step-by-step tips on pencilling, inking, storytelling and much more. Hell, John's pencils are worth the price of admission alone. Of the Marvel Masters (artists), John arguably comes right after Kirby in terms of volume, importance and impact.

    There's some truly classic and brilliantly illustrated tales inside including Silver Surfer #4 (vs. Thor!), a Thing vs. Hulk tale, some classic Avengers tales and even a Western! The book is in Hardbound format, with bright glossy pages and rich colors, especially considering all the stories inside are from the 4-color '60s and '70s. It looks absolutely beautiful. The book costs $39.99, and is worth every penny. You don't have to be a Buscema-thrall like me to appreciate his work. It's solid, effective, dynamic comic art that is unequivocable insight on how comics should look, move and sound. And though the art is 30+ years old in some cases, it still looks as fresh as the day it was printed. Some of today's artists could really learn a thing about storytelling, perspective, anatomy and consistency by learning more about John Buscema. If your LCS or bookstore should happen to have a browsing copy lying about, take a look inside. You'll see why/how John Buscema earned the fitting title of Marvel Visionary.
    Last edited by bloodyarts; 25 Jan 2007 at 05:18 PM.

  2. I read the Civil War: Return one shit. Honestly I have no deep feelings for the suprise character, so maybe that's why I'm not pissed off about this issue. It told an interesting story and the implications unvieled could be really interesting.a series taking place solely in the negative zone prision. Coolness

  3. This was the third week in a row for me with hardly anything in it. Detective Chimp (left over from last week, when I missed it because they sold out before I got there), Fables, Eternals. It was all good reading, sure, but these light weeks just mean there's a few monsters ahead where I'll need a forklift to carry my stuff out of there.

    James

  4. A couple corrections to my previous post re: the (then-unopened) Marvel Visionaries: John Buscema book;

    1 - the book is $35.99, not $39.99
    2 - There's no Western inside. But there are some rare crime, romance and horror works.

    I have one gripe with the book; no inclusion of any of John's Conan work. As large an impact as he made on the Avengers, John Buscema is also famed for his masterful Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan work. Surely, Conan enjoyed great success in the mid to late '70s and early '80s in large part to John's work (and the 1981 Schwarzenegger flick).

    There's a clear progression of John's talent as the book goes on. The first (and oldest) entries in the volume look almost nothing like the John we know and love (partly due to overpowering inkers), but by the time Silver Surfer #4 (1968) is reached, John's style is clearly recognizable and established, with unerring composition, flawless storytelling and dynamic anatomy. Didn't know this before I opened it, but the last part of the classic "Avengers Under Siege" is included! Damn, I love this book. John Buscema's library of Marvel work is HUGE. Here's hoping for Marvel Visionaries: John Buscema Volume 2 featuring lots of Conan, Sub-Mariner, Westerns and black-and-white magazine material.

  5. Quote Originally Posted by bloodyarts View Post
    entries in the volume look almost nothing like the John we know and love (partly due to overpowering inkers
    Tom Palmer?
    I swear you could have Kirby, Quietly, and some manga guy all draw a picture of Captain America, and if Palmer inked them they'd all look the same.

  6. I buy my comics like clockwork every Wednesday but only talk about them with my brother, so I guess I'll participate in this thread:

    This week:

    Stars Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #13 - Dark Horse is really firing these issues out. Won't hear me complaining, as I really enjoy the series. Zayne's bad luck streak continues as he clears one situation and ends up in another one 10x times worse.

    X-Men #195 - Issue was kind of meh for me. It was interesting finding out just how far back Pan has been sampling various mutants, but the whole thing is a retread of what they did with Mr. Sinister in Gambit's first monthly series.

    Deathblow #3 - I only skimmed it, but man Cray is one nutty motherfucker. The art can be a little too gritty for me at times.

    Annihilation #6 - one of the highlights of the week for me. I enjoyed the mini because they finally used most of the cosmic characters that have just been sitting there. I read some negative impressions of the book prior to getting it myself, but it turns out most of them it seems didn't even read it and just looked at the pictures. I don't know how Nova's solo series will do, but this was a good launching point for it.

    52 #39 - All of the various plot threads that were set up from the beginning of the series are starting to come to a head, and this one in particular has me wondering if [spoiler]Natasha[\spoiler] will even survive to the end. Its about damn time they started doing this too. Stupid thing to complain about, as I knew going in what to expect, but still.

    Teen Titans #43 - this one is bittersweet, as I had just read that Geoff Johns is leaving the book after this arc. I'm not familiar with Adam Beechen's work, but he has large shoes to fill. I liked this because they jumped right into it, instead of the usual 1 or 2 issue setup. Wish more comics would do the same.

    Hunter Killer #12 - not that this has been coming out regularly due to a regular artist, I'm loving the shit out of it. The problem I've had with alot of Top Cow books is that they were slow to actually reveal anything to you, but this series does a good job of telling you just enough so that you don't feel cheated. I don't know if its because of mark waid or not, but whatever it is I hope they keep it up.
    www.classic-games.net updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

  7. Teen Titans #43 is good. It sucks that Geoff Johns is leaving.

  8. I mean, I know he was going to leave sooner or later, but damn, why now? I can't be too mad, as he's been with the book for 4 years, which nowadays is a feat in itself.
    www.classic-games.net updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

  9. I knew those weeks of 2-3 comics were going to bite me in the ass sooner or later, and this is the week it happened.

    Dark Tower #1- It's ok, I guess. I picked it up more out of curiosity than anything else, and I'll stick with it seeing as it's a seven issue series (with more to come later) but it feels like a knock-off.

    New Avengers #27- Will Civil War never end so we can finally have this series back? I've been enjoying the single-character one-offs, but it's time for them to end.

    Astro City: Dark Age #2- Late, but always a good read.

    Hulk #103- Only a few issues left on Planet Hulk.

    Punisher #44- Nice to see things pick back up after last issue's lackluster start to the new storyline.

    New Univeral #3- A good read, but very much a bridge between what's happened before and what's going to happen next.

    Fell #7- Still one of my favorite series right now, despite the wonky schedule. It's Ellis's best work right now.

    Haven't had time to read the rest yet, but-

    Wormwood #5
    Ant Man #5
    Fantastic Four: The End #5 (I sense a theme)
    Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil (Jeff Smith!)

    And I'd been really good about not spending money this week, too.

    James

  10. I think Batman fans need to pick up Issue #663, despite it's non-comicbook format.

    It looks like a comic, but open the book and you're treated to volumes of... TEXT! and some pretty paintings sprinkled thoughout.

    Still, it's by Grant Morrison, so if nothing else, it'll be interesting. This is the best Batman story I've read since Brubaker's, "The Man Who Laughs", coincidentally, also a Joker story.

    We all know Joker is a twisted soul, but this is just downright CREEPY, comparable almost to Hannibal Lechter. And Harley's love for the Joker is once again tested, in horrific manner.

    Oh yeah, and Batman's in it.

    Anyway, this is easily comic of the week, hell maybe comic of 2007, thus far. You know it's good when Grant pokes fun at "the goddamn Batman"...!

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