Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Comic Books >

This weeks comics

Page: (1)2

The Knowledge +1

08:47 / 23.12.01

They were all brill.

DAREDEVIL

Nice!!! Silent issue, very simple, very engaging, very pretty, and BULLSEYES back. Can't fault this. Bendis should consider writing less words more often. 8/10

HULK

Silent issue. Alright. Didn't really grab me. Lovely visuals by Romita Jr. Missed the moral at the end somewhat, will need to re-read it, but that's not a bad thing in a comic I guess. Bruce Jones is making some very interesting observations about the Hulk and his relationship to Bruce Banner though. 6/10

QUEEN AND COUNTRY

Fucking brilliant. Brilliant, strong characterisation, brilliant art (especially in terms of page layout, and use of the black and white) and top-notch spy writing from Greg Rucka, who, along with Chuck Austen, has for me been one of the biggest comic-writing revelations of the year. You should be reading this!!! 9/10

ULTIMATE X-MEN

And on the topic of Chuck Austen, he writes this issue and the next, about Gambit no less, and with Essad Ribic providing some very stylish pencils the quality of his writing shines through unhindered. Makes Gambit lovable and sexy and heartfelt, just the way he should be written. Go gambit go!!!
A solid issue. Faultless. 8/10

NEW X-MEN

Great, great great, a nice end to a lackluster last few issues. Nice decent pencils, and cool dialouge abounds. Thing is, I can't remember much about it, so it can't have been that good. Or maybe I doth expect too much. 7/10

OUTLAW NATION

Why is this title being cancelled? It's fucking amazing. I've written a letter to DC this morning, pleading for its return at some point. Maybe Karen Berger has lost touch with reality. FAVE BOOK OF THE WEEK 9/10

Matthew Fluxington

12:26 / 23.12.01

Needless to say, Ultimate X-Men #13 was crap.
I bought it accidentally. I thought Millar wrote it. I was mistaken.

[ 23-12-2001: Message edited by: Flux = Chief Lotsadough ]

12:58 / 23.12.01

Man, I wish I could be so easily pleased.

The Knowledge +1

13:04 / 23.12.01

Ah! But you can!

13:48 / 23.12.01

Oh, I'm sure I can, if I just drill deep into my fucking skull liquefying all the bits of my brain responsible for reason and intelligence.

Matthew Fluxington

14:38 / 23.12.01

I still think that Knowledge + 1 is a spy from Wizard Magazine or something like that... I just got another copy of that magazine in the mail (I seem to be on some kind of eternal subscription or something...I cancelled this months ago...), and I swear, it seems like Knowledge is just spitting out their company line day in and day out here...right down to his writing style and behavior in the other non-comics threads, he is a Wizard fanboy, if not Gareb Shamus himself.

15:14 / 23.12.01

I normally never feel that Barbelith is anything like Usenet.

The exception is in the Comic Book threads with Knowledge -1 and Cameron fighting like dogs.

Not that I disagree with you Cameron just don't let him drag you down to that level.

Stay away from the morons and crazy people... they'll just drool on you and cause your blood pressure to rise.

(Which is probably easier said than done considering the personal potshots he takes at you.)

Maybe Knowledge IS Shamus.

15:18 / 23.12.01

Wise woids, Lothar.

I made a promise to myself a while ago to ignore him and keep breaking it.
This board doesn't have one of them "Ignore This User" features, does it?

[ 23-12-2001: Message edited by: CameronStewart ]

15:23 / 23.12.01

Maybe Tom can create a 'Plonk' button next to a poster's name.

17:48 / 23.12.01

I like the use of marks out of ten. If we're trying to promote the idea that comics should be considered an art form, individual and distinct from others, that's definitely the way to go.

Me, I always thought that Guernica deserved 8/10, but there you go.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

18:41 / 23.12.01

quote:Originally posted by The Knowledge +1:
OUTLAW NATION

Why is this title being cancelled? It's fucking amazing. I've written a letter to DC this morning, pleading for its return at some point. Maybe Karen Berger has lost touch with reality.

Is Karen still there? I though Heidi ran Vertigo whilst not at her day job hanging out on the Warren Ellis Forum...

20:47 / 23.12.01

hmmm funny how a 'fautless' issue only rates 8 out of 10...

03:40 / 24.12.01

quote:Originally posted by E. Randy Dupre:
Me, I always thought that Guernica deserved 8/10, but there you go.

yeah, i would have given Joyce's Ulysseus a perfect score, but the cover sucks. and that "bonus chapter" kinda seemed like a sellout. 7/10

06:03 / 24.12.01

quote:Not that I disagree with you Cameron just don't let him drag you down to that level.

Stay away from the morons and crazy people... they'll just drool on you and cause your blood pressure to rise.

"A wise man told me 'Don't argue with fools, cuz people from a distance can't tell who is who.'"

22:56 / 27.12.01

um... so what comes out this week?

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

00:05 / 28.12.01

OUTLAW NATION
Why is this title being cancelled? It's fucking amazing. I've written a letter to DC this morning, pleading for its return at some point. Maybe Karen Berger has lost touch with reality.

No, as I have reported before, sales of the book are less than 9,000 copies a month, and they don't lend themselves to trade paperbacks, so they can't make up the cost there. The book has been losing money since about issue #8.

20:56 / 28.12.01

Only a few this week that I've read.

Aria: The Soul Market #6 - the end of this story arc, and a little confusing. I think I'm going to have to go back and re-read them now.

Bloodstone #3 - ya like Buffy? Read this. It's excellent.

Glory #0 - reprint of the Awesome Comics #0 with some extra bits. Avatar are taking their fucking time putting this series out and it's pissing me off. I've been waiting for years to read it and it's coming out quarterly or something stupid like that. Grrr...
But this is nice, so go get it.

Ultimate MArvel TEam-Up #11 - who can resist Chynna Clugston-Major's art. It's sooooo cute. Good comic, no brawls, just some mutie teens meeting some normal teens.

I'm gonna go read Joe Kelly's JLA now. Oh, and I got a couple more copies of DK2 in today. The way Diamond solicited it was that you could order them for specific order weeks. So I got some when it came out, and some this week. The ones for this week have a modified cover. Same graphic as the first one, but there's a black border around it with Miller and Varley's names on it. Weird.

Zoom.

13:14 / 29.12.01

IMHO on Outlaw Nation:
Pros: I beleive it's sheer poetry in some of dialogue and runs like some ancient Greek/Classical struggle between father/corrupt establishment and son/outlaw/slacker. The writing in Outlaw Nation is brilliant in parts: the wrap-up with Kid Gloves, the encounter with Dolores, the perverse malevolence of Kid Gloves, the desrciptions of Big Buck Johnson.

Con:
On the surface it reads like another angry writer spewing whatever he can from low-brow American Cable television. Some of the characters are cartoon-goofy at points, (Hog, Reverend Hell?, Ruth/Jenni - Identical Girlfriends - sans 20 yrs?, 90% of the cops are slightly, pudgy good, ole boys, Kid Gloves is twisted but paperthin at best, Sheriff John Law). Story is a writer w/ 'magic' writing power but his ability to captivate the average adult comic book reader may be kinda lacking, as a protaganist that is.
This comic had the potential to start storylines bigger than the Sandman family, IMHO.

19:26 / 09.01.02

Alan Moore's Glory #1 - finally. this series started about 4 years ago when Awesome was in the process of folding. much like his supreme work, more uses the old comic device to illustrate Glory's past. really nice flashbacks courtesy of Melinda Gebbie. The Marat Mychels art is a little iffy, but I'll take it instead of nothing at all.

Amazing Spider-Man #37 - JMS and JRJR still going strong, if a little late. An excellent issue, though mainly a set-up for the big confrontation next issue. That's all I'll say, 'cause it's such a big thing. Highly recommended.

Transmet #52 - it feels like this title is picking up speed now, with only 8 issues left. This one was brutal and funny and the story line is called "The Cure". I think Ellis is setting us up with a little optimism only to let us down. I'm quite excited to see how this is all going to come together.

Zoom.

Matthew Fluxington

19:37 / 09.01.02

quote:Originally posted by Captain Zoom:

Amazing Spider-Man #37 - JMS and JRJR still going strong, if a little late. An excellent issue, though mainly a set-up for the big confrontation next issue. That's all I'll say, 'cause it's such a big thing. Highly recommended.

I actually bought that this week... I was looking at it in the shop, and I just folded, and bought it...it's pretty good, the story was a bit like an episode of Boston Public shoe-horned into a Spider-Man context... I'll ruin Captain Zoom's secrecy by just coming out and saying that I think that having Aunt May know that Peter is Spider-Man is lame, lame, lame.

I bought it mostly because I love the way John Romita Jr. draws these days...it's just brilliant. This man should be rescued from superhero comics and set to work on something really exciting... Why don't he and John Straczynski just go off and make there own little Boston Public-type comic? It would be so much better for them and everybody else...

19:57 / 09.01.02

Ruiner!

Zoom.

Matthew Fluxington

20:03 / 09.01.02

Well, I really fail to see how making Aunt May know that Peter is Spider-Man is any different from the full range of shock tactics and deaths that characterized that whole clone era... I thought that they were trying to make Spider-Man be, well, Spider-Man again?

What is gained from Aunt May knowing? It'll be dramatic for a while, but then what?

This comic certainly goes along with what Cameron was going on about a week ago...are kids supposed to enjoy this? Not really. But why does this comic have the flashy art (JRJR and J Scott Campbell) that is more attractive to kids, while Ultimate Spider-Man has drab artwork that will more likely turn kids off?

And who the hell designs those Ultimate covers? Those are the ugliest damn covers I've ever seen, it's just poor design, and whoever thought that those designs and illustrations would grab people must be out of their fucking minds...

23:48 / 09.01.02

BTW anybody know if New X-Men 122 ships next week ?. Or has this been delayed ?.

[ 10-01-2002: Message edited by: rexpop ]

05:35 / 10.01.02

I haven't been to the shop this week but Aunt May walked in on a bloodied Peter (in partial costume) in Amazing #35 so I don't know what the big spoiler is supposed to be...

Matthew Fluxington

15:20 / 10.01.02

NXM 122 won't be out til the beginning of February.

16:59 / 10.01.02

"Moment of Silence", the Marvel 9-11 tribute comic came out this week. I'm kind of ashamed to admit I only picked it up because it's got a Kevin Smith story in it and I like his stuff. It's actually quite good.

Also out is "9-11", a small-press collection of stories wrapped in a gorgeous Frank Cho painting. I've not read it yet, but I have hight hopes.

Zoom.

17:59 / 24.01.02

We haven't had this for a couple of weeks, so here's my 2 cents.

Establishment #5 - quite good. Interesting move for the book and I'll enjoy seeing how it all plays out. Good to see Arrows back.

Green Arrow #11 - I'm a sucker for Kevin Smith. This was a nice epilogue to the "Quiver" storyline. I like the character, I'm just hoping I like where he goes from here.

Howard The Duck #1 - why can't it be an ongoing series? Getting Gerber back to write the Duck is one of Marvel's best moves in years. Funny, silly and well-drawn. Loved it.

Zoom.

19:51 / 24.01.02

My picks of the week.

JSA - David Goyer returns and the comic sparkles again. Not that it went bad, mind you. But now, its like all the dust that was starting to gather has been brushed away. Can't wait for the next issue where the slugfest with the UltraHumanate begins...
...a new penciller might help though

Green Arrow - see above comments, I agree.

The Establishment - continues to be fun. Nice touch of the issue, the ministers name is Hacker (yes, minister)

Negative Exposure (Humanoid Publishing) - this comic is really fun. I'd recommend it to anyone.

22:44 / 25.01.02

JSA:
it was pretty good... however I must admit i'm totally into the peter Schniberg art!!!

Lucifer:This book is soooo excellent!!! easy to forget it's a Sandman spinoff. Art by Peter Gross... very nice as well!!!

Outlaw Nation:
Okay okay... maybe it's because I know it's ending but finnally I'm over the car crash curiosity & "into" this story.

the Marvel Manga:
picked up x-men & Spiderman... feh

Robot Man Reformed

23:40 / 25.01.02

quote:Originally posted by PATricky:
however I must admit i'm totally into the peter Schniberg art!!!

I'll try not to be anal. However, his last name is Snejberg. And his art totally fucks. Love it.

18:06 / 30.01.02

Sooooo....

Powers #17 - excellent as usual. I didn't expect the "Supergroup" storyline to be a long one, but the solicitation for #20 in this month's Previews says its the conclusion. The middle couple of stories haven't had the same affect on me as "Retro Girl", so I'm hoping for big things in the next few issues. Having said that, #17 had some cool little twists and turns.

Ultimates #1 - Hitch (drools all over shirt). Millar is going to draw this one out a bit I think. With the entire action taking place in WW2, we don't see much of the other "Ultimates", but I like his take on Cap. I'll stick with it a bit, of course, but I think the 6-part story arcs are a bit much (a la UXMen).

Zoom.

19:20 / 30.01.02

So... when does New X men come out??? thought is was this week?

20:03 / 30.01.02

It's not on the release list for next week either. No idea.

Zoom.

22:14 / 30.01.02

Havn't read any comics worth talking about recently but...

quote: Lucifer:This book is soooo excellent!!! easy to forget it's a Sandman spinoff. Art by Peter Gross... very nice as well!!!

..have to say that Mike Carey taught me at university about 7yrs ago and he's a lovely man...I havn't got round to reading Lucifer yet but it sounds like i should...

that's all because i'm an uninterestingnamedroppinnothingofqualitypostingonothertopicsworthlesskindofarse...

thats it...

ONLY NICE THINGS

23:06 / 30.01.02

Hang on....Cameron's back? And he battles the Knodge? For the cause of good?

Sort of like....Union?

Crikey.

Picking up comics tomorrow. I give my level of expectation 6/10, but my trousers 8/10. I like them.

Page: (1)2