109 replies to this topic

[Bobby S]

As when the trade thread gets a bit long a new one is started, the back issue thread is jumping on that band wagon!

Next year I'll be doing a big Marvel Cosmic back issue bind so in preparation I thought I'd read the issues that will comprise it. Just finished what will be volume 1 this morning:

Thanos 7-12
Drax the Destroyer 1-4
Annihilation Prologue 1
Annihilation: Nova 1-4
Annihilation: Silver Surfer 1-4
Annihilation: Super-Skrull 1-4
Annihilation: Ronan 1-4
Annihilation 1-6

I thought this was a great overall story. Giffen sets things up in the Thanos issues by fleshing out Starlord, accounting for Gladiator and introduces Galactus' first herald, The Fallen. He employs his standard rat-a-tat 'Giffen' smart talk and here it works well. I should also mention these issues feature career best art from Ron Lim, who I'd never been over fussed with before this but he really knocks it out of the park.

Next up was the Drax series which reinvents him as an intelligent, cold and calculating killer. It's a nice series which is produced as a fairly low key affair. The action hots up in the four Annihilation mini series'. Nova features writing by DnA who try as they might to clone Giffen's writing style. It works in places but the story uses a few too many talking head pages. The destruction of the Nova Corps and the subsequent 'worldmind' being installed in Rich Rider's helmet is a plot device that works really well. Kev Walker produces some great splash pages amid all the talky-talky.


The Silver Surfer issues are fantastic. Galactus gets dragged into the conflict and the Surfer once again becomes his chosen herald. Giffen dials down the smart chat and sticks to solid no nonsense script that allows Renato Arlem be the star of the show. I find it truly hard to believe this is the same person that was impersonating J Scott Campbell on Stormwatch all those years ago.



The Super Skull story is solid but suffers due to the art style. Although the art is competent it is way too cartoony following on from the Surfer stuff. Ronan gets the good times back on track....at least for the first two issues. Furman puts the accuser in the spotlight and shows what an intriguing character he can be. Unfortunately it all goes downhill in issues 3 & 4 as the story spirals in complete nonsense. At least Lucas provides suitably nice art.

This first chapter is closed out by the main six issue Annihilation series. The focus is split between the resistance movement's battle with the annihilation wave and Drax's pursuit of Thanos. It's fairly non-stop, flows well and nails all the characters perfectly. My overall thoughts on this whole journey is that it just works so well. From the humble beginnings in the Thanos series the story slowly gains momentum all the way to a galaxy spanning war. Sure, there are lows points but I can't wait to dig into the next volume.

I forgot to mention that Gabriele D'ell Otto provides awesome covers throughout.

[Dave Wallace]

I just finished reading Grant Morrison's two issues of Hellblazer (#25 and #26) for the first time. It feels like one of the writer's most personal stories, touching on issues including Thatcherism, the decline suffered by towns in Northern Britain in the 1980s, and the psychological effect of living in the shadow of a nuclear base - all of which made an impact on Morrison as a young writer, and which are channeled into an otherwise fairly straightforward (but nonetheless quite spooky) story, which also carries a hint of 'the Wicker Man'.

A lot of that spookiness comes from the artwork of David Lloyd, making great use of shadow and an often almost monochrome colour pallette that makes everything look really eerie.





Is Gaiman's issue (#27) any good? Worth tracking down?

[Sanjay]

Yes, his and McKean's single issue is one of the highlights of the title.

I agree with your overview of those two Morrison/Lloyd issues, Dave. I didn't quite enjoy them as much at the time, but after coming back to them a few years later I really got into it, especially the impending doom and atmosphere of that short story.

[garjones]

Is Gaiman's issue (#27) any good? Worth tracking down?

It's great, yes.

[Dave Wallace]

I'll have to track it down, then. Looks like it's available in the Midnight Days collection.

[Kevin Bovy]

Nemesis #1 for the first time

[brucegray666]

I'll have to track it down, then. Looks like it's available in the Midnight Days collection.

It's available in the fourth volume of the new trades which are collecting all the comics in order - http://www.vertigoco...man-new-edition

HELLBLAZER VOL. 4: FAMILY MAN NEW EDITION

In this new volume collecting HELLBLAZER #23-33, a twist of fate sends John Constantine into the path of a serial killer called the Family Man, who forces the con man mage to make a shattering choice.



Written by:

Jamie Delano
Grant Morrison
Neil Gaiman
Dick Foreman

Art by:

David Lloyd
Dave McKean
Mark Buckingham
Sean Phillips

Cover by:

Brian Bolland

Color/B&W:

Color

Page Count:

288

U.S. Price:

19.99

On Sale Date:

Nov 14 2012

Trim Size:

Comic

[Dave Wallace]

Thanks for the info Bruce, but I'm more of a Gaiman fan than a Hellblazer fan so I'll probably opt for that route.

[brucegray666]

Fair enough, though I wonder what will be the cheapest option. I wonder how much Gaimen's Hellblazer issue goes for.

[Dave Wallace]

Quite a bit on its own - I checked ebay.

[Ben Denkinger]

I'm working my way through Annihilation right now, and it's been a fairly solid read so far.

I also somehow forgot that Morrison wrote two issues of Hellblazer! BLAAARG! Just when I thought I had every comic he'd ever written! Now I have yet to track down a single issue of Spawn and these two Hellblazer issues to complete the collection (not counting stuff like Dr. Who or Zenith, which I'll likely never be able to get my hands on).

Right now I'm re-reading one of the series that kept me interested in comics during what I saw as a very low point in the 90's - the Earth / Universe / Paradise X series by Ross & Krueger. I'm not as invested in it now that the "future" depicted in the series is so divergent from the 616 chronology (e.g, Bucky is really dead in this future), and the clever little surprises have lost their shock value (e.g., fat Wolvie, Galactus), but the book still holds up nicely after this time partly due to the excellent art in the majority of the books. And those connected covers by Ross? Oh so good.

Edited by Ben Denkinger, 11 December 2012 - 05:42 PM.

[Stephen G]

Yeah - I'm reading through Alan Moore's Tom Strong, for the first time. It's about a decade old, but still surprisingly relevant.

I wasn't sure what to make of it for the first few issues...but now, 17 issues (half way) through Moore's run, it's a thoroughly enjoyable book. Very different from Watchman, Marvel Man, and V. Almost hopeful. It reminds me of something Warren Ellis would write.

Anyway - I'm digging it.

[brucegray666]

It reminds me of something Warren Ellis would write.

Temptation to make a joke along the lines of "Like something Warren Ellis would write? Did Alan Moore start but never get around to finishing it." was fairly strong but it has passed now.

[Dave Wallace]

I'm working my way through Annihilation right now, and it's been a fairly solid read so far.

I also somehow forgot that Morrison wrote two issues of Hellblazer! BLAAARG! Just when I thought I had every comic he'd ever written! Now I have yet to track down a single issue of Spawn and these two Hellblazer issues to complete the collection (not counting stuff like Dr. Who or Zenith, which I'll likely never be able to get my hands on).

They put out some compilation issues of his Doctor Who stuff a while back, which might be worth checking out - although it depends how important it is for you to have the originals.

Anyway, I picked up those two Hellblazer issues for cover price on ebay, and you can get them in various TPB collections too. Ditto Morrison's Spawn!

Yeah - I'm reading through Alan Moore's Tom Strong, for the first time. It's about a decade old, but still surprisingly relevant.

I wasn't sure what to make of it for the first few issues...but now, 17 issues (half way) through Moore's run, it's a thoroughly enjoyable book. Very different from Watchman, Marvel Man, and V. Almost hopeful. It reminds me of something Warren Ellis would write.

Anyway - I'm digging it.

Yeah, I like Tom Strong very much - it's very much a golden age-y sort of book done today, but without the baggage and ironic distance that most people would probably apply to it.

[brucegray666]

They put out some compilation issues of his Doctor Who stuff a while back, which might be worth checking out - although it depends how important it is for you to have the originals.

I remember picking that up a few years ago. It had some Bryan Hitch art in it didn't it?

[Ben Denkinger]

They put out some compilation issues of his Doctor Who stuff a while back, which might be worth checking out - although it depends how important it is for you to have the originals.

Anyway, I picked up those two Hellblazer issues for cover price on ebay, and you can get them in various TPB collections too. Ditto Morrison's Spawn!

I am pretty dedicated to getting the originals. Hopefully the Hellblazer and Spawn issues will show up during my next trip to Half-Priced Books (got issues 1 - 8 of Hellblazer there for a buck each, so hope springs eternal!)

[Stephen G]

Temptation to make a joke along the lines of "Like something Warren Ellis would write? Did Alan Moore start but never get around to finishing it." was fairly strong but it has passed now.

I had no idea Moore didn't finish the book and took off somewhere in the 20's (I just did some quick, non-spoilery reading up as I'm still only 17 or so issues in), before returning for the final issue. A worthy joke to have been made there, Bruce .

[Dave Wallace]

I remember picking that up a few years ago. It had some Bryan Hitch art in it didn't it?

Yeah, that's right.

I am pretty dedicated to getting the originals. Hopefully the Hellblazer and Spawn issues will show up during my next trip to Half-Priced Books (got issues 1 - 8 of Hellblazer there for a buck each, so hope springs eternal!)

Here are the best current prices on ebay for Morrison's two Hellblazer issues - both from the same seller, as it happens:

#25

#26

[Bobby S]

So, with my first Marvel cosmic volume done and dusted I went onto volume 2 (with reading order)

Heralds of Galactus 1, 2
What if? Annihilation
Nova 1-3
Annihilation Conquest Prologue
Nova 4-7
Annihilation Conquest: Wraith 1-4
Annihilation Conquest: Starlord 1-4
Annihilation Conquest: Quasar 1-4
Nova 8-10
Nova Annual 1
Nova 11, 12
Annihilation Conquest 1-6

I really liked Annihilation and I think this set of issues is even better. Nova is a very strong title and I think it's some of the best stuff DnA have written. The dynamic between Rich Rider and the Worldmind is fantastic. Kind of reminiscent of Peter David's Captain Marvel series, only better. Art wise I've never seen much of Sean Chen previous to this but he does a great job of making all the action big and bold. Alves does a good job replacing him and Pellitier knocks it out of the park with his Technarchy issues.


New character Wraith gets his own mini and is an intriguing prospect who unfortunately gets very little coverage after this story wraps up. Wasted potential. I've never really been a fan of Kyle Hotz but he ups his game and delivers great visuals.


It's nice that Starlord is written by Keith Giffen who gets to add his two penneth to the DnA cosmic era. It features what would eventually become the Guardians of the Galaxy series and has lovely Tim Green art who does a great Chraest/Yu impression. I am Groot!


The Quasar mini isn't up to much and is fairly pointless apart from the last page of the last issue and the big reveal. Nice art though. The while thing is wrapped up with Annihilation Conquest 1-6. This is where everything is pulled together and the Ultron/Phallanx menace is confronted from multiple angles. A great paced mini that has a very cinematic feel to it. Again, an artist I wasn't high on, Tom Raney, does a career best job and contributes to a book full of great storytelling. Overall I'd advise reading all the issues listed rather than just AC 1-6 as enough plot threads and background material is present to really flesh everything out into a compelling story. The other theme that is present is the artists doing some of their best ever work.

[Bobby S]

Day off today so rambled through the long boxes for some old school reads. I guess I must have woken up grumpy as nothing I read today thrilled me at all.

Brass 1-3 (1996 Image) Terrible incomprehensible writing with a story I didn't truly understand about Japanese manga style robots but lovely, lovely Richard Bennett art.

Common Grounds 1-6 (2004 Image) This is an Astro City lite book that focuses on the lives of super heroes. It's all fairly hum drum and even guest spots by Bachelo, Perez and Keith can't save it. The only really good story was a Pacheco pencilled one that has a clever twist I didn't see coming.

Superman Confidential 1-5 (2007 DC) I like Darwyn Cooke and I don't mind Time Sale. What I don't like however are Superman stories that portray him as a timid mouse who is scared of everything. I guess that's a downside of these 'early years' tales. So, nice art and so-so writing but nothing memorable.