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Introduction

A few days ago, as we tend to do every now and then, Chris and I were talking about comics. This is only newsworthy because I haven’t been reading them for the last 6 months or so. You may remember last year that I had a 50 dollar a week habit that I had to quit because it was becoming financially untenable. I tried to go the same route as Chris and order from Midtown Comics, but I have been trained by Amazon to not pay anything for shipping and they charge. I then tried an alternate way of getting and reading them, but I didn’t have a good way to do that.

As a result, I have been out of the loop for quite a while. It’s not that I don’t like comics. In fact, I had been enjoying comics more than I had in a long time and more than many other fans seemed to have been enjoying them, Chris included. Oh, he’s solidly in DC’s corner, but has nothing but contempt for Marvel right now. I actually enjoyed most of the books from both companies when I was reading.

I was even in their corner through Secret Empire and Legacy. I may be faltering with their latest reboot of their most recent reboot of their reimagining of their lineup.

While we were talking, he mentioned that the final issue of the Dark Nights Metal series was imminent. I went into the series 100% on board, enjoyed all of the one shot tie in issues, and gave it a chance. However, as you will hear either in the “bonus” section of the podcast, we both got a bit tired of the series and the fact that it seemed to be getting a little out of hand. It isn’t explicitly why I stopped reading, but I did stop reading comics in the middle of the series. Chris assures me that it has gotten better and that I should give it another shot. As a result, in my words to Chris, “I’m acknowledging the existence of comics again.”

Marvel

Being an unabashed Marvel zombie for life (and it appears afterlife), I first checked out a couple of Marvel books. I went with two comics that I had really been enjoying in my most recent comics life, Dr. Strange and Old Man Logan. I don’t remember any of the other titles, but I think that there might have been a Spider-Man title in there and perhaps The Avengers (which Chris says is good). I looked into The Avengers, because I remember it being good before when Mark Waid was writing it and he still is, so it’s probably still a good title.

These guys. Perhaps not so much…

Dr. Strange was, as I said to Chris, Dr. Strange. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad, either. It was what Dr. Strange is supposed to be, I guess, and perhaps speaks to the holding pattern that Marvel comics is, and has been, for a few years now. They have not been able to translate the success of their movies and some of their TV shows into their comics. They keep trying things, but nothing is working.

The reason for this is obvious and both Chris and I have said it several times. It’s easy to get people into the movie theater. Every geek who’s ever gotten a girlfriend and had kids is an automatic audience. I speak from experience. I have taken my girlfriend, now my wife, to many Marvel movies. Now that my kids are getting older, I generally spare her and take them. She wants nothing to do with comic books other than for a while, she was reading Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Now, she just rewatches the shows with the kids.

All three kids did show an interest in the comics and they would read them after I was finished with them. Though, to be honest, Liam was only reading Secret Empire because he overheard me flippantly saying that Captain America is a Nazi and he’s at the age when he starts to learn about that part of history and was intrigued. Aiden only read Flash comics and much of what I got was too far above Quinn with the violence. But, and this is important, I only ever bought one copy of the books and rarely went out of my way to buy other books that I didn’t want to read.

Are we really going to discuss cover price again? You betcha!

Because, the fact of the matter is that the rate at which I was spending money on comics was absurd. I could not continue to drop that much money every week and I was at a minimum of books that I actually wanted to read. Truth of the matter is that I could have spent twice as much with all of the good content out there. Again, Chris had the idea of Midtown, which I probably should, but I haven’t taken the plunge yet. So, I just stopped buying.

I’m not completely back into comics, but I have taken that first step, so to speak. I think that’s usually in the context of quitting an addiction, but this is one from which I won’t ever be completely free. The other book that I read was Old Man Logan. Chris recommended it through his friend’s words, so I checked it out. This one was better than Dr. Strange and more in line with what I remember from last year when I was reading it. I’m not sure where the story is going, but it has an interesting take on the nature of reality and if it is just planned with no true free will. It’s always a question that has interested me, so I’m willing to keep giving it a read.

DC/Independent

After talking to Chris, I found the archives of one of my now defunct web pages. One of the articles was an article that I could have copied, done a fine and replace of “DC” with “Marvel” and released it as new content. It was during the time of the New 52 content and DC seemed just as rudderless and without direction as Marvel does now. I made the joke that in 3 years, if comics are still around, maybe Marvel will be good again.

Chris contends, and sales figures back him up, that DC is far superior to Marvel right now. I won’t argue that point. I will simply state that as I ease back into comics, I have not read a single DC title over the past two weeks. That is neither an endorsement nor a indictment. It simply is and I want to be intellectually honest about that. I haven’t read any independent books, either, but I hadn’t read nearly as many of them as DC and Marvel before the break.

What Does it all Mean?

Who knows? I should, but I don’t. I don’t have the money for comics. I don’t have the time for comics. I really enjoy comics and want to read them, but when? And, who is paying? I thought I found a way to solve both of those problems, but so far, it hasn’t worked as planned. I guess stay tuned to see if more review are forthcoming.

That, folks, it what we call a teaser.
Comics!, Snap *censored* Pop Culture

Comic Haul! #3

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This haul from the middle of December strays from my usual ordering habits as I usually don’t order runs of one title. Last summer Shawn had mentioned that the Aquaman series was pretty entertaining. Being the comic nut that I am I made a mental note to give it a shot once my pull list thinned out a bit. Once Secret Empire ended, I had the room but then those godamn Marvel Lenticular covers came out and I was suckered. Needless to say Aquaman was an afterthought until a coworker mentioned how he really liked the series. About a month ago I finally ordered the first seven issues since they were all on sale.

Note: I’m slightly tweaking the way I’m writing these posts to include the official solicitation for each comic followed by my thoughts about it. The reason being that I’m self critical and don’t believe that my previous overviews of the plot were giving you guys enough information.

Aquaman vol.6 #1 (DC Comics, 1st printing, Rebirth)

THE DROWNING’ Chapter one Black Manta returns, and as Aquaman attempts to broker lasting peace between Atlantis and the surface world, his greatest foe engineers a plan to destroy everything and everyone the undersea hero loves.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting too much to begin with as I’ve never been a big Aquaman fan, so my expectations were set low. Fortunately, this issue was fantastic. The Black Manta terrorism angle added a serious overtone to this otherwise fun issue. The art of Brad Walker really impressed me and the story was a solid start to the series. I’m hooked. Get it? Because it’s Aquaman…fish?..hooked? Eh, I’m not proud of that one either. 8/10

Aquaman vol.6 #2 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

THE DROWNING,’Chapter Two: In issue #2, unity between land and sea is Arthur Curry’s greatest dream. But Black Manta has a dream too: to destroy everything Aquaman stands for, starting with the sea king’s Atlantean embassy and everyone in it.

Again, another solid issue. The Drowning storyline is really good so far. *****SPOILER ALERT***** After the Black Mantis blows up the Atlantean Embassy (issue #1), Aquaman finds himself at odds with the United States military. 8/10

Aquaman vol.6 #3 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

THE DROWNING,’Chapter Three: In issue #3, Aquaman’s mission of peace is dealt a devastating blow when Atlantean terrorists attack the surface world in retribution for Black Manta’s deadly assault on their embassy.

****SPOILER ALERT**** The “twist” in this book was very predictable..clearly it wasn’t “Atlantean terrorists” that took out a navy ship. I mean, we just got through 2 issues where the Black Manta made it perfectly clear that he wanted to destroy Aquaman by any means necessary and we all know that he isn’t the only one who shares that sentiment. What better way to take Aquaman down? Frame the guy and let him get locked up or killed. 7/10

Aquaman vol.6 #4 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

The Drowning’part four. Aquaman is arrested for a war crime he didn’t commit: ordering an Atlantean terrorist attack on the surface, killing hundreds! The young king is willing to sit behind bars if it means peace between two worlds, but one ally is determined to break Aquaman out, no matter the cost: his girlfriend Mera!

I was really loving this Aquaman series until I hit this book. Pet peeve: switching artists in the middle of a storyline. The art fell flat in this issue, good thing the story is definitely pulling the weight. 7/10

Aquaman vol.6 #5 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

The Drowning’part five. Unjustly branded a murderer and a fugitive, Aquaman’s forced to defend himself against the might of America’s military. Meanwhile, Black Manta and the deadly underwater crime cabal known as N.E.M.O. advance their plan for revenge on Aquaman.

This one is basically one long action scene with Aquaman and Mera fighting the military to get back to the water. Also Black Mantis reminds us why he is not one you want to screw with after coming across fairly weak at the end of #2. No real surprises in the issue besides Black Mantis meeting the head of N.E.M.O. 7/10

Aquaman vol.6 #6 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

THE DROWNING’conclusion! As this first epic concludes, Aquaman and Mera are on the run for a crime they didn’t commit. They’ve fought through every kind of firepower the U.S. military has thrown. Now all that’s left between them and Atlantis is the Man of Steel.

This was a crazy issue! Who would win in a fight? Supes or Fishguy? It’s not as one-sided as you might think as Aquaman can hold his own. Right when he throws the first punch my jaw dropped and it stayed that way until the end. It didn’t feel like the usual superhero kind of fight though, more of a fight you would have with your brother in the backyard. It was really, really interesting to see how Aquaman views himself within the Justice League as his frustration bubbles to the surface (I swear I didn’t mean that pun). The ending was decent but didn’t feel like the true ending of the story, more of a direct bridge to the next arc. 9.5/10

Aquaman vol.6 #7 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

‘Who framed Aquaman?’The investigation into the Atlantean attack on American forces kicks off a mystery as the criminal collective N.E.M.O. unleashes a new and terrible weapon that threatens the existence of Atlantis itself.

This is the beginning of the next arc, where Mantis and N.E.M.O wake up a giant unstoppable creature to tear through Atlantis. Right when the creature wakes up it has a “Doomsday” feel to it as it smashes the Atlantean army flat. Entertaining issue and spoke to the B-monster movie guy in me. 8/10.

Ok, that’s it for the Aquaman portion of my order, I did grab a couple of other comics:

Hawkman Found#1 (DC Comics, 1st printing, Metal tie-in, foil cover)

One of DC’S greatest heroes is missing! No one has seen or heard from Carter Hall-a.k.a. Hawkman-in years. Reincarnated repeatedly since the dawn of humanity, Hawkman has spent his many lives uncovering history’s most fantastic mysteries, and now he has become one himself! Take a journey into the one of the darkest corners of the DC Universe as a mysterious man tries to piece together what happened to Hawkman, and how it all connects to the events of DARK NIGHTS: METAL!

I mentioned in one of my previous comic hauls that I felt “Metal” was kinda going off the rails and becoming convoluted. Thankfully, this book is more straightforward than the main Metal books. One of the main plot lines of Metal has been that Hawkman is incredibly important as he is the guardian of “The Forge” of the universe but he is awol. This one shot is focused on reintroducing Carter Hall as he fights to rediscover who he is in order to escape a psychic prison. It’s entertaining and worthwhile to check out but I didn’t feel like it added a ton to the overall story. It did make me think that there should be a Hawkman series though. 8/10

Avengers vol.6 #672 (Marvel Comics, Lenticular cover)

WORLDS COLLIDE Part 1
Following the events of GENERATIONS comes the long-promised clash between the Avengers and the Champions! The countdown has started as the High Evolutionary, a twisted scientist determined to create a better world at all costs, sets the Earth on a collision course with destruction! The Avengers and the Champions are ready to meet this threat – but will their first cataclysmic clash deter them from changing theworld?

Wow! Just look at the synopsis! Looks entertaining doesn’t it? Yeah, I liked the cover. Haven’t read this one yet. N/A

That’s it for this haul, as always thanks for reading! 

Comics!

Comic Haul! #2

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Comic Haul #2 (Midtown Comics -link to site below)

Hey gang! I’ve got another comic haul to share with you. As you know, I’m running behind on sharing my hauls so this one is from the beginning of December.

Batman Lost #1 (DC Comics, 1st printing, foil cover)

Gotta tell you, For the most part, I’m loving all of these Dark Nights Metal one shots. This one was really well done. It starts with an elderly Bruce Wayne reading a story from his past to his grand-daughter. The story she chooses is the first adventure he had as Batman. As he reads the story there are discrepancies from what he had originally wrote. I won’t give to much away but I’ll just say that it ties in nicely with the main Metal story. 9/10

Batman the Devastator #1 (DC Comics, 1st printing, foil cover)

Another Metal one-shot. This issue tells the origin story of the Batman-Doomsday hybrid baddie. Batoomsday? Doombat? Eh..you know who I’m talking about. Anyways..SPOILER ALERT……………………….On Earth 0, Batman is forced to infect himself with the Doomsday virus in order to put a beating down on Superman who has gone…batty. Heh. You see what I did there? I’m not proud of it. Pretty action-packed issue. 7/10

Batman the Merciless #1 (DC Comics, 1st printing, foil cover)

Metal one-shot. I’ll level with you, while this story was okay, it definitely wasn’t as good as the others. So what makes this one not as good as the others? Simply put, it’s wordy. Too wordy. Blocks of text friggin’ assault you on every page. Listen, I can understand that the writer has only one issue to fill in the backstory of the evil Batmen but this one felt too ambitious. Well if you’re curious…….SPOILER ALERT……………………………………..On Earth -11, Batman loses his woman, Wonder Woman to be exact. Ares kills her and Batman takes care of him..and then puts on his helmet, which he was warned not to do, and this turns him into The Merciless. Buy this issue if you’re trying to collect all of the one-shots, otherwise save yourself the money and be happy with my synopsis. 5/10

Mighty Thor vol. 2 #700 (Marvel Comics, 1st printing)

This issue starts the Death of the Mighty Thor storyline, which so far has been pretty good. Jane’s cancer is getting worse as a beast called Mangog shows up to unleash his final judgment on the gods of Asgard. War Thor, the blood thirsty badass that he is, decides that he can take it down and goes to fight it, leading to one of the biggest ass kickings I’ve seen in the pages of a comic book. I won’t tell you who is doing the kicking though. 8/10

Monsters Unleashed vol.2 #7 (Marvel Comics, Lenticular variant cover)

I..uh..I didn’t read it. I bought it for the lenticular cover that pays homage to Fantastic Four #1. Therefore I can’t give this a rating. N/ A

Spider-Gwen vol.2 #25 (Marvel Comics, Lenticular variant cover)

Ok, so this starts out with Spider-Gwen doing spidery stuff and..I…didn’t actually read the issue. I’m a mark for special covers!! Oh god, I grew up in the 90’s, I saw what all those prism, foil, and hologram covers did to the industry yet I cant stop myself! To be fair, this cover is the Lenticular version of one of my all time favorites, Amazing Spider-Man #316 so it was a no-brainer for me to pick it up. N/A

Batman White Knight #1 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

This is the first issue in a 7 part series. Batman, finally has enough of Joker and beats him half to death, the brutality of said beating is too much for Gotham City who now view Batman as a maniac and Joker, cured of insanity, as the hero. The Joker, now known as Jack, sets out to right his wrongs by trying to save the city from Batman. I really enjoyed this issue, it was a really fresh take on the Batman-Joker relationship and has become a must-read for me. 9/10

Batman White Knight #2 (DC Comics, 1st printing)

Issue 2 of 7. Jack (Joker) focuses on exposing corruption within the Gotham City PD, while he also forms an army of super villains. Meanwhile, public support is not on Batman’s side. This issue, while really good, didn’t quite have the pacing of #1, which made some parts feel slow. 8/10

Dark Nights Metal #3 (DC Comics, 1st printing, foil cover)

I’m going to catch a lot of flak for this but Dark Nights is getting confusing. I feel like there are too many side stories that Scott Snyder is trying to pull together into one cohesive story and it’s just not working. Listen, I loved the previous Batman series, even though it was very wordy (something I pointed out to Shawn a few times), but as Metal has progressed it feels like the overall story is suffocating in over-exposition. Is it awful? No, it’s still entertaining at times. To me, Capullo’s art is what is keeping me buying this series. It’s too bad that some of the art is getting covered up by huge text bubbles. 6/10

That’s it for this haul!

Midtown Comics:
www.midtowncomics.com

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2 Generations Gaming 2017 in Review

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Introduction

It’s the first day of 2018. This is the time every year that is traditionally set aside for reflection on the previous 365 (or 366) days. There are countdowns, marathons, and years in review. This article falls into the last category. While it has been difficult to maintain a consistent video or podcast schedule, I’ve done okay at updating the web page with at least one article a month. I’ve also kept busy with plenty of other geeky fun. Let’s reminisce on the best, the worst, and the ugliest.

The Good

APBA Baseball: I only recently rediscovered this game in one of my closets and I’m going to write an article this week about the couple of games I played last week. I know that others might prefer Strat-O-Matic or another simulator, but this is the only one I’ve played and it does what I want it to do. Overall, this has been a great addition to my gaming life again and I can’t wait to dive deeper into the baseball simulation greatness.

Mobile Gaming: Old school favorites like Candy Crush and Angry Birds. New favorites like Sim City Build It, Fallout Shelter, Magic the Gathering Puzzle Quest, and Pokemon Go. All of these games have been played with great regularity over the past year on my phone. In fact, most of my video game time has been spent on my phone. That’s saying something for a person who used to denigrate all mobile games as shovelware.

Eternal/Hearthstone: Yes, these are both games that could have technically been included in the mobile section. However, they’ve had more impact on me than the other games included in that list. I started playing Eternal during one of my rage quits from Hearthstone earlier in the year. I had seen Brian Kibler playing the game on stream and figured I’d give it a chance. I’m glad that I did. While I don’t play it as much as when I first started, it still has a place in my weekly rotation. I have had an up and down relationship with Hearthstone. However, as I said to Chris a couple of days ago, I seem to have found my comfort zone in the game. I have little to no interest in competitive play of any sort. I generally just log in every couple of days to do quests, earn gold, and every now and then win a pack that I won’t open.

Comics: 2017 was the year that saw me get back into comics. Marvel’s Secret Empire event led to a discovery of the well executed DC Rebirth titles. Following them for a few months led right into Metal and sticking with Secret Empire to the end let me experience the start of Legacy. Almost all of these events were well executed, but it wasn’t all good for comics this year. More on that later.

Magic the Gathering: You wouldn’t think that I’d rank this so highly in the good category. Given that Chris and I discussed a few times how little we had played the game this year. I wasn’t even watching streams. It just looked like the game had run its course for us. Then, a couple of things happened. Well, on my end, one major thing happened. During one of our summer trips, I played Magic with all three boys. First, we played a couple of two headed giant games with decks that I had built over the years. Then, I picked up the Nicol Bolas box set and finally the Explorers of Ixalan. We haven’t played the Explorers yet, but there is time. Any game that gets me closer to my kids is a great game.

The Best: I know that it came late in the year, but any time a Star Wars movie is released and it is half decent, that will be the best thing about my year. When it is one of the best of the franchise, it will be the best thing of the decade. When I get to experience it with my kids and father in law, it just might be one of the highlights of my life. I won’t say much more because I have an article planned to go into more detail, but I absolutely loved this movie and it was a perfect way to start my holiday break.

The Bad

No New Console: This is the first year in a few that we haven’t gotten a new console. I was going back and forth for a few weeks on whether or not to buy an XBox One Minecraft edition. I’ve had my eye on it for a while. Then, there seems to have been a mix up with my last December check and unless I sub in January, I won’t get paid at all, so economics won out. Liam did buy himself a Gamecube and we found the Dreamcast (but it needs to be repaired), so there are some “new” games being played right now, but no new hardware makes me feel a bit sad. We won’t be down for long, though. We are looking at a Switch and I’m almost positive that I’ll get an XBox in February.

The Worst: Only two for this one? Yep, and only two for the next one, too. By now, you should know my very positive outlook on things and this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Also, the fact that I just talked so much about how comics were a good thing this year might also make this choice for “the worst” seem weird at best and probably perplexing. But, I have a valid explanation. I loved the stories and art of the comics, but hated the cover prices. I was spending far too much money on them and I couldn’t justify doing so anymore. At least with games, I get massive replay value from them and they allow me to spend more time with my kids. Comics did neither of those. It was 3-7 dollars spent on 10-15 minutes of enjoyment. That’s just awful.

The Ugly

Our Podcast Lineup: I was just talking to a friend (and one of the first fans of the page) about the 2 Guys Gaming podcast. He said something about how he thought it was damn good and that it could have been something. Not one to take compliments very gracefully, I changed the subject quickly. However, the podcasts are fun for me to do and I really want to get back to doing them. There have been a few that I listen to that have taken long breaks and come back stronger. One, in particular, stopped and started a few times, but it is again one of my favorites. So, our planning is ugly, but hopefully by this time next year, it will be good.

Nerd on Nerd Violence: This is something that I’ve often spoken against. However, as nerd culture has become popular culture, the nerd on nerd violence has increased to an unacceptable level. It used to be that when you were picked on by somebody, you always had your nerd buddies to get your back. If there was an actual fight, you’d all get your butts kicked, but they were there to take your mind off of being the brunt of some sort of physical or psychological abuse. Now, some of the worst abuse of nerds is coming from other nerds. It isn’t just good-natured joke fights about whether Star Trek or Star Wars is better. It’s full on attacks of each other and the things we hold dear. I’m going to talk about this more in my Star Wars article and it might just be that all violence is increasing, but this makes me incredibly sad.

The Verdict

2017 wasn’t all fun and games. It wasn’t all poorly executed puns, either. It was a good bordering on great year that gives us an excellent foundation to make 2018 even better. Happy New Year, All! Make it the best one ever!

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The State of Comics

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Introduction

I guess you could say that I’m concerned about the future of comic books. Over the last few days, I’ve had two conversations with two different people (Chris and my cousin) about Marvel comics mostly. Neither conversation was completely out of context, but they were both initiated by me. I’m not usually one to fall into the trap of nostalgia, but there are a few things from my childhood that trigger it. As I have recently learned, comics are definitely in that category.

The Good

I mentioned that both conversations revolved around Marvel. I also wrote that I’m concerned about where comics are going. So, you can probably deduce that there might not be much in this section about Marvel. As you’re right, I will start there in an attempt to build some positive capital so that it doesn’t look like I’m piling on later.

First, other than the slightly (but understandable) disappointing ending, Secret Empire was a good story. Nick Spencer took what could have been a disaster and made it work. Then, while I didn’t like all of the titles that have come out of Legacy, I did like the idea of tying the past to the present and attempting to build a bridge to the future.

You can see from the cover that they had a slightly darker ending initially. However, apparently due to fan pressure, they succumbed to the obvious. More on that soon.

So, decent stories and characters, what’s the problem? Patience. I will get to the bad and ugly (in spite of my promise of possibly doing away with this format) in the net sections. For now, that is the good of Marvel. In contrast, DC not only has good stories (better than Marvel some would say), but their cover prices are so much less. I know that sounds odd when the difference is only one dollar, but a dollar per books adds up. At the standard prices of 2.99 v. 3.99, you get an extra DC book per $12 spent. If you were on a $50 a week habit like me, that’s four books a week.

As a result, even if the books are of equal quality, the DC books will have more value. That point, in fact, came up in my conversation with Chris. He said how he wasn’t buying Marvel anymore unless they were on clearance. He then went on to mention that he thought the DC books were of better quality. I initially agreed and probably still do.

However, the more that i thought about it, the more that I realized that might be a false narrative. At the least, it is an exaggeration. Sure, Batman is the best book currently and might be one of the best ever. Scott Snyder has blown it out of the stratosphere with Metal. After those and maybe Tom King’s other book, Mr. Miracle, there is a definite drop off in quality. I sense a turn for the negative here, so let’s trot out that by line.

The Bad

In contrast to the last section, I am going to start out with DC here to keep the thought going and then switch to Marvel, because as it stands, the only ugly is going to be Marvel, so that thread will continue from this section into that one. I’ve already said that most, if not all, of the DC books have good characters and stories. Their Rebirth has been a reboot that has worked on so many levels. However, it hasn’t all been completely positive. Other than the books mentioned in the last section, there isn’t much that is worth the cover price. Wonder Woman without Greg Rucka has been quite the drop off. No other book makes me want to shell out 2.99 for 32 pages worth of entertainment.

I get that creators need to do what they enjoy and I actually like Black Magick very much, but I selfishly want him back on WW.

Well, if there’s nothing in DC that I’m willing to pay 3 dollars for, then there’s certainly nothing that Marvel is putting out right now that I’d pay 4 dollars for. I liked Secret Empire and was willing to give Legacy a chance. I liked that, too, and especially liked that it wasn’t a reboot. However, all of this was secretly while hoping that they might come to their senses and drop their cover prices. They never did, so I’m officially out again from comic collecting. I just cannot justify the price for what I’m getting.

The Ugly

So, perhaps I’m part of the problem. The other major revelation came during the conversation with my cousin. It actually started while I was talking to Chris, but when combined with the subject matter of the conversation with my cousin, it crystallized into a more solid form.

My cousin and I were talking about the new Star Wars movie (impressions coming in a couple of days), and I said something about Star Wars fans being the worst, but Marvel comic fans giving them a run for their money. While talking to Chris, I made the point that comic fans have disproportionate power right now. Star Wars can tell each individual fan to go fly a kite because they’re still going to make a billion dollars on every movie.

The profit margin is so low for comics and the audience is so small that every fan they lose is a huge blow to the bottom line. I thought that Disney might allow the comics division to be a loss leader because the movies have proven to be a money printing machine. Perhaps that was true for a while, but there seems to be a turning tide and that they are putting pressure on the comic guys to deliver the goods.

This is how I imagine all the Broflakes who get mad about the changes to the Marvel universe.

The main driver for this train of thought is that they are killing the Guardians of the Galaxy (or that was the chatter a couple of weeks ago) book in January even though it is one of their better movies. Chris mentioned that Marvel just doesn’t have the talent that DC does and I reiterated my point that they could drop the price, try out some “new” talent, and take a chance. However, that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore and now they’re stuck with this mess of a situation and no good plan as how to proceed because their fans have dictated so much of their recent plans.

The Verdict

Things don’t look good for comics. Like I said to my cousin, because he’s not a comics fan, just a fan of the movies, “Who cares, right?” Well, I care. Comic books were an outlet for an awkward teenage me and they have been a steady force in my life ever since. Whenever things start to get a bit too chaotic in the real world, I can pull myself into the pretend world of Gotham or Wakanda and forget about it for an hour or so. Video games also became that for me, but it’s been harder and harder to sit down to play a video game now that I’m older.

I honestly like what comics are doing now. I don’t mind the new characters, enjoy most of the events that have happened in my time back in the books. What I don’t like is the cover price and it isn’t just because it’s prohibitive for me. I can find ways around that. It’s also prohibitive to new fans that they are courting with these new characters. Who is going to take a chance on something that is so obviously and grossly overpriced? I will be the first to admit that I don’t have answers, but I’m hoping that someone out there with the power to do something will figure it out.

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Comics Round Up: World’s Finest

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Introduction

At this point, I don’t think that I even have to mention that I’ve been back into comics since the Secret Empire event sucked me back in. However, even I am surprised that I’m still reading them now that the event is over. I didn’t last much past Civil War during my previous comics phase. We will obviously see if this current run continues, but I haven’t missed a week in nearly three months and getting a steady paycheck through December means that I probably won’t for the foreseeable future.

Justice League

The Good: I wasn’t terribly impressed with the first issue of this story arc. It wasn’t terrible. I just thought that they could do so much more with the premise. ranted, it was an introductory issue. I kept that in mind and I held out hope that it might get better. This is usually where I say, “I’m glad I did” or “I shouldn’t have bothered”. While I’m not sorry that I continued reading, I won’t quite say that I’m glad I did, either. Wow, what a weird good section, right? Don’t get me wrong. The story is decent. It’s just a bit too generic “coming back to the present to save the future” for me.

The Bad: Well, if that’s “the good”, then there must be plenty of bad. No, not necessarily. Overall, the story isn’t good more bad. It just sort of is. With both Marvel and DC playing with the idea of a multiverse, alternate history, and reinvention, this is one story that really didn’t need to be told right now. At least, it should have spent a little more time in development.

The Ugly: Loo, I get that I’m a frustrated writer. I also understand that critics are often failures in whatever they criticize. That is why I’m very careful and overly positive in my reviews. I’m not going to tear into this book. But, as you’ve seen, I haven’t been able to give it the full stamp of approval, either. For someone like me, that feels ugly and like it betrays my positive outlook on creative projects.

Justice League America

The Good: Similar title, similar heroes, vastly different results. This has been a much better book overall than the other Justice League title right now. That is in spite of not focusing too much on the main heroes. Maybe it is because they haven’t centered the story around them. I mean, the book has Lobo in it. The story revolves mainly around a character with size manipulation powers that travels to the “microverse” to find his mentor. It controls the narrative by itself and lets the JLA do theri things in the background. It plays much better than the Justice League title right now.

The Bad: This one, too, started off a bit slow. Like the other Justice League book, I almost didn’t give it more than one issue. Seeing as how this is a recurring theme, I suppose that I just have to realize that DC arcs–other than their big ones–use the first issue to set the stage. I will accept it, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The Ugly: Speaking of Lobo, I’m glad that he has only a small supporting role. Similar to Deadpool, I can only tolerate Lobo in small doses. Anything more and the schtick just gets tired. Kudos to DC for recognizing my aversion to the character and writing specifically for me. Otherwise, it could have gotten ugly.

Wonder Woman/Conan

The Good: As far as I know, this is an original story, which is hard to find in a medium that has been around for 70? 80? years. Furthermore, it is an entertaining blending of the two mythologies. Of course, I’m not a comic book scholar, so this might have been done before. Alsok if I’m being honest, the story is simply an alternate telling of the Wonder Woman origin in the context of the Conan world. Still, the first issue was good.

The Bad: As I jus wrote, they may have done this crossover before. Now that I think about it, I’m sure they must have done this a least one other time during the “wild and crazy” 90s. I’m too lazy to Google right now. If so, then there’s no shock here. If not, or if there are new fans due to the movie, then the retelling of the Wonder Woman origin might turn some away.

The Ugly: Look, I know the rather sordid background of Wonder Woman. More specifically, a few months ago, I read an article about some of the stuff that her creator wrote into the book because of his “preferences”. The end of this book, while not fully embracing the roost of the character, came uncomfortable close to those dated and ugly themes.

Wonder Woman

The Good: While the stand alone title has not been as good as it was in the beginning when Greg Rucka was writing it, the lastest storyline has grown on me over the last few issues. As mentioned earlier, an all too familar refrain with DC arcs is that the first issue is very weak. Since that introduction, the story has improved enough to keep me buying a book that I thought might end up only being “I bought this for Greg Rucka.”

The Bad: I hate to harp on a point over and over, but DC really has to work on their intro issues for new stories. As a frustrated writer, I understand that stories have a certain structure; introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. I also understand that ever since Brian Michael Bendis changed the format, comics are all about setting things up for the eventual trades. As a result, that first issues ends up being a throw away for the minor stories.

The Ugly; I guess that, ultimately, my quarrel is with the structure of comics in the current era. Since every story has to be a 5 or 6 story arc and there isn’t much room for the random one off issue. Although, I will say that Batman did a successful one of team up with Swamp Thing that I thought was going to span multiple issues. That’s how ingrained the thinking is. I just wish that there were more of those and less focus on dragging their feet to fill the issue quota. Oh well, something ugly that I’ll just have to live with for now.

Next: That’s all we have time for in this review. I’ll be back in a few days with my thoughts on how Aquaman is succeeding (or not) in taking back his throne, how Batman is dealing with a war between two of his worst enemies, and how another Batman is coming face to face with nightmares from other universes!

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Fail Hydra

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(Editors Note: We’ve reached the end of Secret Empire and, with it, comes my review of the overall event. I’ve already done at least 2 (maybe 3) reviews of the beginning and middle (so, I guess 2) and promised that when all was said and done, I’d be back for the big send off. Away we go…)

The Good: This was a good story. I remember when the event started that I wasn’t completely on board with the idea. It seemed to go against everything that the Captain America character has ever stood for. How are you going to make Captain America into a facist? I understand that comics maybe aren’t selling as well in the face of movies and television shows that provide the same entertainment value at a possibly reduced cost for the consumer. But, come on, there are some things that you just don’t do. Turning Captain America into Hydra is something that you just don’t do. There are numerous instances of him fighting facists. One of the most recognizable images in comic book history is Cap punching Hitler straight in the face. I’ve shared that very image on this page probably to prove a similar point.

And, if punching Nazis is wrong, I don’t ever want to be right. Give ’em hell, Cap.

I won’t say that I ever came to terms with Captain Hydra. However, this story did a decent to good job of explaining a situation that, for many (myself included), had no good explanation. Granted, they jumped through hoops and the suspension of disbelief was almost too much at times. Still, it got me back into reading and enjoying comics and that is the name of the game. Well played, Marvel. Well played.

Aside from all of that, the story was compelling. It followed a good, logical arc with plenty of all the good kinds of conflict that make me want to invest my time in the story. In fact, I became so invested in the story that I did what I told myself I wasn’t going to do and I bought all of the crossover issues for the event, too. The last time I fell for that trick was the first Civil War and some of those books just felt like filler. That wasn’t the case with this event. Every book, even the crossover books, told a piece of the story. When you put them all together, you get a well executed event.

The art, for the most part, was very good, too. In a previous review, I mentioned that one of the reasons I enjoyed Civil War was Steve McNiven’s art. He didn’t do all of the books, but there was only one or two that I didn’t care for the art because another one of my favorite artists, Leinil Yu filled in for a couple of issues.

The Bad: I already mentioned that there were a couple of issues that I didn’t like the art. Granted, in the issues that I didn’t care for the art, there was a reason to use that particular style. I understand that, but I just didn’t care for it. It took me out of the story and, for me, had the exact opposite of the intended effect.

By my understanding, the art is supposed to convey an otherworldly or dream feel. It does make sense as this is an alternate reality, so every once in a while, it was interesting to have the art break down into the gauzy and ephemeral which was a stark contrast to the hyperrealism of Steve McNiven. However, for me, it was a reminder that this was only temporary. Steve Rogers was not going to remain a Hydra agent and Marvel insisted that things weren’t just “going to magically go back to normal at the end” during the whole event.

The art isn’t bad. It’s just different. Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but it just didn’t fit well in my opinion.

I’ve recently heard rumors that initially, they meant for the Captain Hydra event to lead to another “Dark Reign” type storyline, at least temporarily. But, response to the change in Cap’s character was met with such resistance (probably the most out of any of the recent changes) that they had to figure out another way to wrap it all up. I don’t know about all of that, but I will say that another bad thing about this arc is that it got pretty dark in the middle. Granted, there were things happening in real life that probably exacerbated my feelings about Hydra ruling the country. But, I strongly considered not reading anymore.

The Ugly: Other than that middle “despair” arc of the story, the ending was not all that great. I think that we all agree that if they were going to end the story in this fashion that this was the only logical ending. Still, I’m a guy who likes a good ending and this one was just okay. It was what was supposed to happen and it happened.

So, why put this one in the ugly column? Well, it’s disappointing for one major reason. They said all along that this wasn’t going to be one of those stories where everything just gets fixed and we pretend that nothing happened after a few months. Before reading that, I was convinced that the cube would realize her mistake and work to fix what she broke. Then, I read that’s not how it would end and I was intrigued as to how they would end it. Chris suggested the old Dallas “it was just a dream” ridiculousness. While I didn’t have to make good on my threat and return all of the books that I bought if they actually went through with that, the ending was sort of along the lines of what I initially suspected. Okay, fine, but given everything that they said about it not being that ending, this deserves an ugly.

The Verdict: Similar to Civil War, this event will go down in history as bringing me back to comics. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as that one, but I did like the cohesiveness of this story with the crossover titles. So, this one might end up being more enduring and keep me in comics for at least the next year, if not more. Soon after Civil War ended, I found other things to spend my money on and quickly dropped comics.

Even though I complained to Chris about not having enough comics as the event wound down, I still found a way to spend almost 40 dollars this week. I’m back into comics in a big way. I have branched out from my almost 40 (well, with a few decades of breaks in between) year status as a Marvel zombie to read far more DC books that I’ve ever read. I have even picked up several independent books that aren’t Image while sticking with Spawn long enough to start to appreciate that book again. I have no idea what the future of comics holds but, I’m along for the ride no matter what.

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Comics Round Up: World’s Greatest

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(Editor’s Note: We postponed this edition of Comics Round Up to give me an opportuinity to actually read the latest Batman and first issue of Metal. As I said to Chris, I ration my books so that I have something to read the entire week. I could have moved the books up by a couple of days, but what are we if we aren’t true to ourselves?)

Aquaman

The Good: This is a well written and engaging story. I’ve never heard of the writer or the artist, but they work well together to bring this story to life.

The Bad: While the story is good, the narrative style is a bit dense. I’ve complained about Batman being a “talkie” recently and this book has action, but there are just so many words on some of the pages. It’s distracting.

The Ugly: Well, I’ve added another book to the monthly pull that I initially said that I was only going to experience in trades. DC knew exactly what they were doing with this Rebirth event. There are so many new jumping on points and all of the books are great. My wallet is going to suffer badly.

The Verdict: I had virtually no experience with Aquaman previous to his introduction in Batman vs. Superman. I’m sure that I watched the old Justice League cartoon and he might have even had cameos in others like Scooby Doo (?), but I was one of those guys who always derided him as the dude who can swim fast and talk to fish. This book has changed my tune completely. I like the “King is Dead, Long Live the King” story and they’ve done it in a way that makes it feel not quite so much of a retread. I might have to shelve it again after the conclusion of this story, but that’s only because my monthly comic budget is pushing 200 at this point.

Justice League

The Good: Another perfect jumping on point to get started with another comic book that I haven’t read before. This one even has an interesting premise.

The Bad: That premise doesn’t quite live up to my initial ideal. I know this next statement might seems strange as this is the “bad” section of this review. However, the story isn’t bad. It just seems very slow. The whole book is the set up for a story that honestly isn’t as interesting as I had hoped.

The Ugly: I don’t think that I want to keep reading this story. However, I’m not a quitter, either. I’ve started the arc and now I might just have to keep going, but I won’t be happy about it. Hopefully, it gets better. Otherwise, I’m going to be out about 20 bucks and it’s going to get ugly in here.

The Verdict: I was very excited to meet the “future children” of the Justice League. I also thought it was cool to see that future. However, the overall arc of the story and narrative was just too uneven. I will give it one more issue. After all, the Venomverse intro event had a similar feel and I got some enjoyment from sticking with it.

Mr. Miracle

The Good: Tom King is one of the best writers in comics today. His Batman has been as good as (and, blasphemy!, maybe even better than) Scott Snyder’s, but I can’t say that with confidence. I only know Snyder’s Batman from The New 52 and that was good, but it didn’t have me on the verge of applause as Tom King often does. This book was no different.

The Bad: As is rapidly becoming a theme, I arrived way too late at the Tom King party. Chris was much more versed in his work than I am, meaning that when we were discussing this book, he said that he liked both King’s Batman and his work with Vision, a book that I haven’t read. Still, art is supposed to be his thing and writing my thing, so it was a bit embarrassing.

The Ugly: That opening scene. My goodness! I know that it’s often good to go for shock value, but I’m becoming much more aware of these types of things since there are kids in the house. Aiden had a friend sleep over the other night and he grabbed a stack of comics. I had to stop him and he asked, “Oh, they’re not appropriate.” I had to admit that I hadn’t read them and I didn’t know if they were or not.

The Verdict: Initially, I didn’t care all that much about this title. It seemed interesting, but it wasn’t really something that ultimately grabbed my attention enough to buy it. For some reason that changed when I saw an ad in one of the DC books that connected it to Jack Kirby’s 100th birthday. I’m always a sucker for the origins of comics and the old guys. I’m glad that I followed Jack Kirby on this one. They steered me in the right direction. I’m hooked after only one issue and can’t wait to see what happens next. I might have to go back and read some Vision now.

Wonder Woman

The Good: This story has been decent and has continued the theme of Diana trying to balance the expectations of Wonder Woman with the fact that she is living with humans who can’t possibly understand her burden.

The Bad: The writing is not nearly as good as it was with Greg Rucka. I’m still interested in the story, but I’m not as engaged by the characters or the story. Maybe it will get better, but this might be one that gets cut for later reading as trades.

The Ugly: I’m majorly upset that it has come to this. I’m almost positive that my current comic budget is not sustainable, even if I am teaching 5 classes next semester, but this is one of the books that I was sure would survive the cut.

The Verdict: When we last left DC, Wonder Woman was one of my favorite comic books. Now that we’re back, things have changed a bit. The book is still decent, but it isn’t the same. Since I don’t have the same connection to the character, writer, or artist as some other books that I might give more of a chance, this might actually be the first book to go if I decide that my budget is getting out of control.

Batman

The Good: I’ve already fawned over Tom King in the Mr. Miracle review, so I won’t repeat myself here. However, this book is a prime example why he is such a great writer. He wrote an entire comic book around the premise that Bruce Wayne invited the two sides of the war to dinner and created a story that I couldn’t put down. Both the set up and the execution were perfect. Great book.

The Bad: I struggle to find anything wrong with this book. In the past, I said if I had to find a flaw, it would be that it was too much of a “talkie” and not enough action. I can’t even say that anymore. This book was just so well executed, even though there was absolutely no action, that I just don’t care.

The Ugly: I have no idea if this is the plan or not, but for a war between the Riddler and Joker, there has been surprisingly little action. If they are going to blow it out with one huge blowout finale, that’s exactly what it’s going to be. The streets of Gotham will run red with the blood of both armies. It’s going to be brutal.

The Verdict: Batman is still the best monthly book right now. I might be enjoying some of the event books just as much and maybe more, but this book is the best thing to happen to me every month when it comes to comics. The writing is fantastic. The art is amazing. The stories are engaging and entertaining. If, as I suspect is possible, we are in fact going through another golden age of comics, people will point to this book as one of the primary reasons why. Superman might get the headlines and Wonder Woman might grab the lady readers, but Batman is DC’s flagship title and they are absolutely doing right by it. Superb.

Dark Nights: Metal

The Good: Snyder and Capullo. Capullo and Snyder. The introductory books contained art from Jim Lee and JR JR, too, but this one is back to basics. While it was fun to see the influence of the other artists, less is definitely more here. Just two guys who are amazing at working together to make great comics doing just that. It’s still early to tell if the combination will continue to work, but previous experience and the pacing of this book suggest that it will.

The Bad: Scott Snyder is one of these “talkie” guys that are so prevalent in comics these days. I have no idea if he is one of the first, as I remember the push for the current state of comics coming in the 1990s with Brian Michael Bendis and his tendency to push narrative and dialogue over the usual super hero shenanigans of punching and kicking their way through a book. However, he fits in very well with that crowd and his books can get a bit tedious at times.

The Ugly: There are a ton of open threads in this story right now. Scott Snyder said himself in an interview that some of the references and stories come from his earlier Batman books and that he’s been dropping hints for years. This book does some to tie up a few of those threads, but it adds even more. I’d like to think that he can bring everything all together in a coherent and satisfying fashion, but I worry when stories get this spread out.

The Verdict: When I first saw the announcement of this series, I texted Chris with a picture of the talent and the simple message, “I’m going to end up going broke.” That was before: (a) I had even read an issue. Now that I have, I realize the size and scope of this event and realize that it is possibly on par with Secret Empire, if not bigger and (b) I saw that it was a cross over event. If Secret Empire has taught me anything, it’s that I buy every stupid book in the event. Given that the first issue already has me looking forward to what comes next and wondering how many books this might hook me into eventually buying on a weekly basis. Well played, DC. Well played, indeed.

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Comic Round Up: The Little Guys

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(Editor’s Note: We said something about plans in our previous article and how they easily go awry. We planned to do a Comic Round Up on Marvel next, so enjoy this article about few independent titles that I’ve (re)discovered since coming back to comic books again.)

It feels weird calling this article the “little guys” when I’m reviewing 2 Image books. I mean, they have some comics that have a definite “little engine that might” quality, but they also have the old gray mare in Spawn and the 900 lb. gorilla that is The Walking Dead. Still, they are considered independent, and with the rate I’m picking up titles, “the little guys” might soon outweigh even that 900 lb. gorilla, so I’m sticking with the title.

Chris and I were talking a few weeks (maybe a month) ago about our newly found interest in comics. I was still in my Wonder Woman trades only, Batman, and only books that had the Secret Empire flag on them phase. One of us mentioned that there were so many good books to read right now. If it was me who said that, I followed up with the following. If it was Chris, then it was my reply. In either case, I said, “I know, and I have barely even touched DC comics and haven’t even considered any of the independent books.”

Side note: I was still reading Spawn, a book that will be included in this independent book review. What can I say? I didn’t consider Spawn an independent book then and I’m changing my mind now to suit the theme. As if there’s no precedent for that around here.

Well, I’ve now ventured into the world of independent comics outside of Spawn and my poor budget is about to take even more of a hit. Similar to my adventures into both Marvel and DC, I have really enjoyed both of the new books that I’ve read and that will most likely lead to me spending more time with the independent rack. It’s either the best of times or the worst of times, too, as August promises to be light on volume each week due to the “extra” Wednesday. Oh well, more fodder for the next article!

When I picked up the latest issue of Spawn, the woman who owns the store that I’ve adopted as my LCS remarked something about a new Spawn in my pull.

Side Note: I’ve only started the pull, am not sure that I set it up the way that I wanted to get all of the issues I want, and am a little embarrassed by my “mainstream” tastes. The comic book store is in a very eclectic city and I always get the sense that the town itself is judging me for my comic book tastes.

Nonchalantly and trying not to let my embarrassment over my comic choices show, I replied, “Yeah, Spawn is a relic from my reckless youth.” It must have worked on some level because she chuckled and said, “Yeah, we all have those, don’t we.” Whew, crisis averted. She also continued the conversation by saying, “It’s about the art,” to which I nodded and then she continued, “and this cover is so cool.” That’s the cover up there and yes, it is cool.

As far as the story goes, it’s been a bit hit and miss. The first issue that I read felt very familiar as if it’s all been done before. I know that the book has been around for over 20 years, is about 2 years short of #300, and hasn’t experienced a full reboot or crisis in that time. So, it’s gotta be tough to keep coming up with new stories. Still, it was slightly disconcerting to come back to such a ho hum issue. I even considered just jettisoning Spawn to the trash bin of history. I did so with The Walking Dead and while I’ve recently considered a return, Chris talked me off of that ledge.

But, Spawn and I have history, Man. I was there from the beginning. I bought issue #1 off of the rack when it was released. I replaced the first 150 issues (because I threw them out during one of my moves) 20 years ago when I got back into comics again for the Civil War event. The Walking Dead was part of a phase. It was a college thing. I was curious, okay?! Spawn will have to get a lot worse for me to abandon the book completely. So far, that hasn’t happened. It’s actually steadily increased in quality as far as the writing goes. The latest arc, that’s starting with 276, isn’t great, but it’s good enough to keep me interested at least in the short run.

The Good – The art quality for this book has always been great and some amazing artists have worked on the book. That hasn’t changed. Todd McFarlane has an eye for what works visually on this book.

The Bad – The writing is uneven and was almost enough to turn me off from the book, but it has shown signs of improving.

The Ugly – I called Spawn the old grey mare. While she isn’t as long in the tooth as some of the Marvel or DC books (and they’ve even tried changing some of those books to loud and angry nerd shouts), but it is one of the longest running books not published by one of those two. It is showing it’s age.

The verdict: If you’re a fan, you know what you’re getting. If you’re not, there’s not really much here to recommend over some of the other books out there. I will say that if this current arc doesn’t pan out and I’m crunched for money, this will be the first book to go.

I was in line at the comic book store, waiting to pay for my latest haul of Secret Empire tie in books, when I overheard the guy in front of me talking to the owner of the store about Sam Kieth. I’ve already mentioned that I feel weird about not having as many “offbeat” comics in my reading list and Sam Kieth is as “offbeat” as they come. I’ve been a fan of his since discovering him during my first discovery of comic books as a teenager. Like Todd McFarlane, I wasn’t aware of Sam Kieth’s work with Marvel and DC. I found him through his Image book, The Maxx.

Side note: See, I used to be much more hip and with it. Image probably never was the “fringe” of comics, but it was alternative in a time when that word had a much more positive meaning. I suppose that I’m just getting safe in my old age, falling into patterns from my youth.

The Maxx was, and probably still is, my favorite comic book of all time. Like most Image books, it suffered from delays, but I always looked forward to every new issue. Also, like Spawn, I trashed my Maxx books, but bought the entire run again. Unlike Spawn, or any other book for that matter, all of the books are in a binder for safe keeping. I loved the weirdness of The Maxx and how it wasn’t typical comic book stuff. Now I might need to go back and read it again.

And, back to the present. After a casual conversation about the books in my hand, that ended with an awkward admission (as an attempt to gain some cred) by me that I thought Ultimates has been a really good book lately, I quickly changed the subject. “What’s Sam Kieth been up to?”The owner’s eye’s lit up, she mentioned the title, and took me over to the rack. Only issues 2 and 3 were available, but she said that she would try to get issue 1 for me. She was great about getting me issue #5 of Secret Empire, so I have no doubt that she will make good on it.

It might just be the bias of having read The Maxx, but similar themes run through Eleanor and the Egret. It is nowhere near a carbon copy of it, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t notice the similarities. Strong female protagonist accompanied by a non human ally. Weird creepy man in black. Flash backs (though in The Maxx, it was not always clear if they were flashbacks, flash forwards, or alternate realities) that serve to drive the story. Okay, so maybe there aren’t as many similarities as I thought and I’m just reaching here.

In any case, the book is very good. I don’t know the writer, but apparently he’s very well known for something that he did while I was away from comics. I will say that I’ve enjoyed this book so much that I might have to go back to read that series one of these days. Eleanor is not your typical comic book stuff, even more so than The Maxx wasn’t. It revolves around an artist turned art thief and her pet bird, who seem to have a bit of a bone to pick with another artist for some reason. They steal this other artist’s paintings and the bird eats them. I know. It sounds weird. And it is weird. In my opinion, it’s very good, too.

The Good: Sam Kieth’s art takes me back to the beginning and reminds me again why I love comic books. It isn’t always just about the beautiful photorealistic art. Sometimes, the fuzzy lines and muted colors work just as well, if not better.

The Bad: It’s not a book for everyone. If you are super hero only, avoid this book. There isn’t anything for you here.

The Ugly: As with any of these indy companies, I wonder how long they will last. I know that it isn’t the wild 1990s anymore, but I’d hate to get invested in a book only to see it killed due to low sales or delays.

This past week was light on the main books. There was no Secret Empire, only one or two tie ins, the Hulk generations book, and a new Batman. Instead of putting away the rest of my budget for next week, I started to wander through the independent titles. At first, I thought I might get suckered back into The Walking Dead, but the book just doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I also found myself looking at Kirkman’s other book, Outcast. That looked really good, but I had already committed to my new obsession. Maybe next time.

While looking at the racks, I noticed the name “WARREN ELLIS” on one of the books. I know him best from his insane super hero book Nextwave: Agents of HATE followed shortly after by my discovery of his work on Thunderbolts at the same time. He was somewhat restricted by the characters in Thunderbolts. However, at that time, it was a book with completely bonkers Green Goblin, off his rocker Venom, nutso Penance and Bullseye, and slightly less crazy, but still perfect for Ellis’ off the wall writing style, Moonstone, Radioactive Man, Songbird, and Swordsman. He faced less resistance from the roster in Nextwave, as it was mostly 3rd and 4th tier characters that nobody ever heard of and he could be much crazier with them. I read his Thunderbolts, but I loved Nextwave and it put Warren Ellis on my must buy list.

While checking out, I remarked what a slow week it was for books and the owner replied, “Going to be that way all month because of the 5 Wednesdays. Need to spread it out.” I talked about picking up Injection to fill the void because of my undying love for Warren Ellis. She said that she loved the book, but it could get a little hard to follow because it is vintage Ellis. And, boy is it ever. If you thought I had a tough time explaining the plot of Eleanor, this one is beyond words.

The Good: Nextwave was Warren Ellis with minor restrictions. This is Warren Ellis with the gloves completely off. She said that it might be difficult to follow. I didn’t find that to be true, but the story is absolutely insane in the best way possible.

The Bad: I blew through the first two TPB volumes in no time at all. That leaves only 4 issues and then I think I have to wait until October for Issue #15. Bummer.

The Ugly: It took me until the end of Volume 2 to realize that he’s writing the series to focus each 5 issue story arc on one of the 5 main characters. I’m not sure how he will handle it if it goes beyond 25 issues, but that was a bit embarrassing.

Okay, I’ve branched out and bought a few other DC books. I’m now entrenched into two independent books. I’ve admitted to Chris that I may go hunting for the Dale Keown variant cover for the Hulk Generations book even though I already bought the main cover. I’m deep into comic books again and there isn’t much hope for me now.

On the Tabletop

Quick Update: Looking Back and Going Forward

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(Editor’s Note: We are back from our many adventures on Cape Cod and ready to get back into the business of bringing fun and interesting content.)

There are two games around here that we really enjoy, but often get pushed to the back burner due to my interest in other games. Most notably, Magic the Gathering takes all of my money and time and we don’t get a chance to play much else. One of those games, Dicemasters, has been given much more coverage recently due to my purchase of a gravity feed of the World’s Finest set and our rainbow draft of the set. The other game is Heroclix, and it might be one of my favorite games. Shame, then, that I don’t get to play it often.

Unlike Dicemasters, where my history is murky and forgotten, I remember exactly when and how I was introduced to Heroclix. I’m positive that I’ve told the story before, so I will give the abridged version here. We were in one of our favorite local gaming stores to pick up something Pokemon card related for Liam. While in the store, Aiden noticed the Heroclix and asked about them. I had wanted to get into miniature games for a while, so we picked up an Avengers starter set and played a few rounds with very limited rules.

Am I the only one who imagines that the miniatures have squeaky little mouse voices when they talk?

To be fair, we are still playing with limited rules. However, we are much closer to playing the actual game than we were back then. There are still minor rules that we have changed or outright ignore. But, hey, we’re just playing around the kitchen table (sometimes literally), there’s no stakes to our games, and if we screw something up really badly, there’s always the option to take it back. So, what’s a little rules manipulation between friends and family?

At the same time that I purchased the World’s Finest Dicemasters gravity feed, I also bought a gravity feed of Wonder Woman Heroclix boosters. The idea was to play both games in June and report on them as part of a huge DC blowout in that month. But, it’s summer and the best laid plans and all that. The Heroclix lie, unopened, in the playroom. I know that it’s been promised before and there have been many false starts and I can’t say that this time won’t be different, but we have honestly gotten better about keeping a schedule and only really fell off the wagon for the month of July.

I wonder why podcasts and blogs haven’t been our top priority in July.

As mentioned in the editor’s note, we are back from our many adventures on Cape Cod and I’m ready to commit to the web page again. I already recorded the test pilot for my new one man show, “Snap, *censored*, Pop Culture” and I’ve put together a schedule for the month of August that we should be able to follow without issue and that will let us keep updating on a regular basis. Again, I promise nothing, but it has to happen eventually, right?

If nothing else, I’m ready to crack into that box and see what goodies we got. I don’t know if we will do a draft or any such thing or just throw the new characters into the box and build some teams, but I have been wanting to play some miniatures. So, we will definitely play Heroclix this weekend and I’ll be back with a report of some of my favorite minis from the Wonder Woman set. Hope you all enjoyed the time off as much as we did and we’ll see you in full force next week!