The Comic Book Thread (spoilers)

[Dr. Rated-R]

You guys were right on Detective Comics. Much better than Batman, which so far (I've read about 3-4 issues in the Batman & Son arc) is switching between above average and meh. Heck, I actually prefer Robin to it, too. Totally surprised me, given I've hated almost all interpretations of Robin in the movies and TV shows, and have avoided him almost entirely in comics up until today. It's pretty solid stuff.

That said, I'm looking for a few more suggestions for monthly stuff, mainly from Marvel. Favorite characters are Spidey, Iron Man, and Captain America. Anybody got any suggestions on where to start with each? I just don't want to pick up in the middle of any ongoing arcs.

[GhostMachine]

Morrison's writing on Batman so far has been more hit or miss - and if you're picking up back issues, I recommend skipping the 3-parter fill-in by Ostrander and Mandrake. Ostrander and Mandrake were great on the old Spectre series, but the Batman fill-in is fairly lame: you've got a villain who looks like Leatherface with a flamethrower arm, has an origin that is partially ripped off from Darkman, and a name ripped off from an obscure Marvel villain, even using the same spelling: Grotesk.

One minor spoiler: Batman #666 reveals Damien's origin. The old Son of the Demon graphic novel, where Batman knocked up Talia, is NOT canon.

Recommendations? Ummm.....you do know that the real Captain America is dead right now, right? Not a good time to be picking up the series. I'm avoiding Spider-Man until Brand New Day is eventually tossed out, and not too keen on Iron Man right now.

If you want to start on Captain America, the problem is that you need to pick up every issue from #24 on, due to it being all one long ongoing storyarc. (Current issue is....#41?)

Pick up the two Cap TPBs that cover the Winter Soldier storyarc. (You do know who WS is, right?)

Spoiler: Click here to view

BUCKY!!

Edited August 27, 2008 by GhostMachine

[Dr. Rated-R]

No problem going back that far on Caps. I'm already going back a ways on Batman stuff, so it works out pretty well. It keeps me swamped with stuff to read without getting too bored of any series, switching between them.

[TheRaySays]

No problem going back that far on Caps. I'm already going back a ways on Batman stuff, so it works out pretty well. It keeps me swamped with stuff to read without getting too bored of any series, switching between them.

If that's the case, and you already like Cap, I recommend you go all the way back to #1 of the current series and just catch up from there. It's been an awesome epic.

[TGC]

Which you can easily do via the Captain America Omnibus which collects the first 25 issues plus a few other one shots. Following that, yes pick up the two (soon to be three) trades that collect from 25 onwards. Cap gets my personal seal of approval and a Overall Grade A-.

[Dr. Rated-R]

I've got another trip to the, uh, "local" (about 65 miles away, but I have the misfortune of living in the rural south) comic book/D&D/fanboy store tomorrow in search of the awesome Spider-Man: Blue and a few SNES games, so I'll be sure to take a look for it while I'm there.

[Jimmy]

I really loved Spiderman:Blue, but I personally wasn't to keen on the last installment.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Something about it being Kraven the Hunter just felt wrong to me. It was built up beautifully, the narration was excellent, but the last villian was just dissapointing.

But no doubt I'd recomend you to buy Spiderman:Blue, overall I really loved it.

[Dr. Rated-R]

I really loved Spiderman:Blue, but I personally wasn't to keen on the last installment.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Something about it being Kraven the Hunter just felt wrong to me. It was built up beautifully, the narration was excellent, but the last villian was just dissapointing.

But no doubt I'd recomend you to buy Spiderman:Blue, overall I really loved it.

Meh, I've always been a fan of the person I'm too lazy to spoiler tag. I like his gimmick. With that in mind, it didn't bother me too much. Better choices could have been made, probably, but I was okay with it. Mainly because it was more of a Peter Parker story than a Spider-Man one, so it didn't matter as much, if that makes sense.

I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a TPB, too. Good for getting into Peter Parker as a character, I think. Blue is definitely a personal favorite, like all the other Loeb-Sale collabs I've read.

I just wish there were more good Spidey limited series'. Or at least more good ones I know about. I feel like one could waste his life away reading Batman oneshots and the like, but I've seen almost nothing from Spider-Man except Blue and uh, what was it again, Reign? I think.

[TGC]

I really loved Spiderman:Blue, but I personally wasn't to keen on the last installment.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Something about it being Kraven the Hunter just felt wrong to me. It was built up beautifully, the narration was excellent, but the last villian was just dissapointing.

But no doubt I'd recomend you to buy Spiderman:Blue, overall I really loved it.

Meh, I've always been a fan of the person I'm too lazy to spoiler tag. I like his gimmick. With that in mind, it didn't bother me too much. Better choices could have been made, probably, but I was okay with it. Mainly because it was more of a Peter Parker story than a Spider-Man one, so it didn't matter as much, if that makes sense.

I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a TPB, too. Good for getting into Peter Parker as a character, I think. Blue is definitely a personal favorite, like all the other Loeb-Sale collabs I've read.

I just wish there were more good Spidey limited series'. Or at least more good ones I know about. I feel like one could waste his life away reading Batman oneshots and the like, but I've seen almost nothing from Spider-Man except Blue and uh, what was it again, Reign? I think.

Kraven's Last Hunt comes to mind. It is awesome.

[Benji]

Kraven's Last Hunt comes to mind. It is awesome.

Damn, haven't read that in years and I don't have a copy any more, stupid Teej reminding me of it

[Johnny Latino Heat]

How about Death of Jean DeWolff? It's also an awesome read, IMO.

[RoyWill Rumble]

So, I'm re-reading Gotham Central, as I've said. I forgot some things, like HOLY SHIT

Spoiler: Click here to view

Allen getting fucking shot and murdered by Corrigan. I totally forgot about that, and that was definitely one of the HOLY SHIT moments in comics recently for me. It's too bad they never went the route of the squad finding out about Josie Mac's 'powers', though. I would have liked to have seen where that went, personally.

I will also continue to pimp the fuck out of Elephantmen and Fell until someone else decides to read them. =/

And just finished Gotham Central. Fuck if that last issue doesn't leave you feeling empty. You want the good guys to win so badly. There's a reason this won multiple awards. Absolutely brilliant.

Edited August 28, 2008 by Will.

[TGC]

How about Death of Jean DeWolff? It's also an awesome read, IMO.

That is right up there with Kraven's Last Hunt as one of my all time favorite Spidey stories.

[Dr. Rated-R]

Got my hands on Kraven's Last Hunt and almost all of the back issues I need to get up to date on Batman/Detective Comics/Robin yesterday. Cap comes next time I get payed.

Kraven's Last Hunt is a fun read so far, but the art style bugs me. That vintage look. I'm just so used to the uber-detailed style that Marvel and DC have adopted since the '90s that it's hard to get used to.

[Benji]

I find that the more you look at 'classic' art styles, the more you come to appreciate them, I find any new art is an adjustment, it's just a bit of a 'culture shock', when it's not as polished and shadowed as much modern art.

[Boogey131]

Cap. America Omnibus came today. I had no idea it was so massive. Any knowledge I should know before i take my first step into Steve Rogers' world? What I know is Red Skull is his main enemy, Bucky was his side-kick during the war, his origin story and I'm assuming tht he is a member of the Avengers(or was this run post-Disassembled?)

Edited August 29, 2008 by Boogey131

[Benji]

Cap. America Omnibus came today. I had no idea it was so massive. Any knowledge I should know before i take my first step into Steve Rogers' world? What I know is Red Skull is his main enemy, Bucky was his side-kick during the war, his origin story and I'm assuming tht he is a member of the Avengers(or was this run post-Disassembled?)

It's post-disassembled, you don't need to know much, it's pretty self-explanatory and well contained.

[the machine]

This week I picked up She-Hulk, Avengers, the Initiative, and Nova, among other things, and I have to say, this whole Invasion is making for some fun reading. I think the set up has been mediocre and I won't touch the Avengers titles until they're done filling in narrative gaps, but when it's just good guys fighting bad guys, absent any heavy-handed philosophical bullshit, it's great fun.

It's a real shame that Nova is considered a sci-fi comic, because it has consistently been better than about 95% of comics Marvel puts out, but is only doing okay in terms of sales.

[Dr. Rated-R]

Anybody got any thoughts on Gotham by Gaslight or any of the Batman & Dracula books? Hell, any Elseworld titles worth pimping in general, with or without Batman? I've read Batman: Nosferatu, which is beautifully drawn but not an especially great story. I'm looking to try more.

And, since I'm doing nothing but making idle requests, here's a random observation. I checked out DC's Space Ghost origin story a few days ago. As a fan of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Cartoon Network's syndication of the original series, I wanted to like it so much. Wound up being one of the dullest things I've ever read. In the unlikely event anybody's interested in checking these out, if only for their gimmick, don't.

[JairusCain]

Totally random, but I will be getting Year One and The Long Halloween on Thursday... I'm excited to say the least. I still need to finish Watchmen though, but I'm almost done. Once I finish those two, I will probably be ordering Dark Victory and The Dark Knight Returns.... although I may hold off on Dark Knight Returns and go with Hush Vol 1 & 2. Opinions?