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Underground > Comic Books >

100%

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11:26 / 13.06.02

Is it out this week?

Do tell me, because it would be darned awkward to just walk into the shop, see it's not there and walk straight back out again..

And once we've established whether or not it's out, we can use this convenient space to discuss it. Deal?

13:33 / 13.06.02

I got this yesterday. it was...kind of expensive ($5.95 US). And not all that remarkable, really. Maybe I need to read through it again, but I'd rather pour over 'the filth' some more...

15:26 / 13.06.02

I actually really really liked it - I thought this one issue alone was far more interesting and exciting than the entirety of Heavy Liquid.

Too expensive though, yes.

Regrettable Juvenilia

20:50 / 13.06.02

I think it's superb. Paul Pope has surpassed himself - the one problem I've often had with his other work is that the characters and story often come a poor second to the art (which as we probably all agree is stunning). But in 100% the characters - Kim, Strel (sp?), John and the girl who so far doesn't have a name - are immediate and alive and *real*... waahhh, I just love this. Love it. And yeah, it's £4.30 an issue, and that's a shame in some ways, but then again, if you spent that £4.30 on three pieces of disgusting crap about men in spandex hitting each other, printed on toilet paper and crammed with juvenile, offensive, moronic and ugly adverts, who'd get the better deal?

Really inspiring stuff. How good is that haggling scene?

21:43 / 13.06.02

The haggling scene is fantastic, and a reminder of why I love comics - you couldn't do that in any other medium. I also loved the scene after when the creepy guy in the car drives past them in the alley - there was a palpable feeling of terror coming off those pages.

I admire Pope's artwork but I generally find his stories a bit lacking - however this is brilliant stuff. Can't wait for issue 2.

21:59 / 13.06.02

I enjoyed this a lot. I really loved the art. I really really liked the mood of the comic, all nightclubs and back alleys. Yum!

23:52 / 13.06.02

It was OKay...

still that price...Yeaoch, not sure If I'll continue buying it though...

Regrettable Juvenilia

11:23 / 14.06.02

What else are you buying of a month, PATricky?

12:15 / 15.06.02

Assuming of course that this thread isn't going to descend into fatbeard oneupmanship....

14:36 / 15.06.02

I picked it up yesterday as a consolation prize for not getting to go to Heroes Con this weekend. (Daughter got sick.)

I must agree 100% with Cameron. It made me remember why I love comics.

100% was like a breath of fresh air for me. I love it. The art as always is amazing but the characters are more, I don't know, "down to earth" in this than his previous stuff and the storytelling is a bit more simple and easy to follow. (But still with plenty of his Bladerunner meets Tokyo sci-fi.) I can't wait to read it again today.

One thing I noticed is how well Paul Pope pulls off those "slice of life" moments so well without slowing down the movement of the story.
I've been checking out lots of "indie" and "alternative" comics (we will save the difference for that other thread) lately and so many of them are straight slice of life without any story whatsoever. A buddy of mine that I ran into while picking up 100% and I had a conversation about this and we both agreed that; we like our comics to be realistic and have real emotion but for fuck's sake, tell a story.

14:02 / 16.06.02

Need I bother saying that 100% is absolutely amazing?

It's got to be some of Paul Pope's best work yet .. the art is just .. well, shit, I was a fan before, but this stuff is just high-art comic book genius .. I just want to tear out every page and stick them up in a gallery.. and needless to say, the story's great too .. Pope's writing always has some absolutely beautiful moments that deserve at least as much praise as the art, imho..

It's a shame the next issue isn't out till October.

20:39 / 16.06.02

What else are you buying of a month, PATricky?

ohhh.. I go throuh a bunch of stuff, Morrison's, ABC, some vertigo, some superheroes. I spend way much money on comics in general, but as I work in the "publishing" industry it's justifiable.

Still not sure if I want to spend about $6.00 on a particular issue... The Sci-fi future aspect didn't seem all that significant. aside from the cool write-ups of imaginary future-tech... how was is significant to the story? did I miss something? seemed like that story could've taken place in the 70's disco scene as well...

Not that i found it to be bad... it ws cool, enjoyable... but hasn't quite convinced me to spend another $6 on the next chapter... I might anyway, if there's nothing else enticing...

03:43 / 17.06.02

um, what's it about?

05:07 / 17.06.02

About $6.50 after tax.

08:28 / 17.06.02

Hmmmm the 'quality' arguement just does't sit to well with me - does this mean that standard titles are inferior? but leaving aside the 'quality' of the work 100% didn't work as an art object - where Heavy Liquid had relatively expensive 3 colour pr inting 100% is black and white andthe number of pages threatens to overload the stables - not that i'm complaining at the number of pages - but to have them stapled rather than square bound makes for a less attractive, comic out of something which is already relatively over priced - How much does THB cost these days?

14:17 / 17.06.02

>>>where Heavy Liquid had relatively expensive 3 colour pr inting 100% is black and white <<<

What I heard about Heavy Liquid was that Pope wanted a low cover price, and so he volunteered to use only two colours so that the printing would be cheaper, but stupidly it was printed on a four-colour press so that the cost was high anyway. He wasn't too pleased with that.

I also heard that there was a similar situation with 100% - he wanted it to be cheap, hence the black and white, but somewhere along the way it got slapped with that exorbitant price tag...

15:29 / 17.06.02

ar, come on, who care about the price? One issue of this is surely the equal of a dozen lesser comics..

Regrettable Juvenilia

16:08 / 17.06.02

I quite agree Riz.

The Sci-fi future aspect didn't seem all that significant. aside from the cool write-ups of imaginary future-tech... how was is significant to the story? did I miss something? seemed like that story could've taken place in the 70's disco scene as well...

Yes. This is what makes it good. It's about people, not transpositational gravitators.

One of my favourite lines in the first issue has to be "You knew her, I think" - which appears when we don't yet know who is saying this to whom, so that it just seems to be a narrator talking to the reader. And that's very apt for 100%... It's about people who could be people that you know...

19:04 / 17.06.02

>>>ar, come on, who care about the price? One issue of this is surely the equal of a dozen lesser comics.. <<<

>>>I quite agree Riz<<<

Well, I know of at least three people who balked at buying this comic because of the cover price. Here in Canada it's over 10 dollars with taxes and quality of story and art aside, many people can't bring themselves to pay that much for a comic. Especially one that's only chapter one of a much longer work.

And I don't really blame them. Pope himself is displeased with the high price tag because he knows that the cheaper it is, the more people are likely to buy it...

23:03 / 17.06.02

true...

Still meaning to give it a second read...

& yeah, I like the these are people that you might know... or friend of friend.

I figure the future aspect of it will make itself evident as the story progresses...

08:21 / 18.06.02

and of the course the answer to the "its easily worth 10 of any lesser comic" is 'I don't buy lesser comics' as cameron says - people look at the comic and go cool then they look at the price tag-

The shame is that this comic could be a great comic for people who don't read comics if marketed correctly - but non-comic fans will be even less inclined to buy this with the high pricetag.

10:52 / 18.06.02

And even less inclined to buy it because non comic-fans don't go into comic shops...

11:21 / 18.06.02

well the inevitable collection will get out of the comic ghetto but of course will carry a heftier price tag.

13:37 / 20.06.02

Picked this up yesterday, mainly because it was mentioned here and I'd say I'd got my moneys worth. Its gorgeous.
The haggling scene and the scene on the stairs..not to mention the bit in the alleyway. Ah hell its all cool and with emotion and feeling too.
The front covers also very nice and makes me wonder what the inside would look like in colour.
Hmmm would be nice to get it in Graphic novel form, but ah well comics it is.

The Natural Way

14:45 / 20.06.02

Have to admit: the price put me off, but THB was ace and I'm all for supporting good comic books, so....

I love comics on the train home - I get a nice, tingly feeling when I can feel some suit glancing over my shoulder at the page and realising that he's never really seen a modern comic before and really has no idea what the fuck he's looking at. I like the idea of arousing people's curiosity. I so don't suffer from comics shame. I mean, they're all reading the Evening Standard, for God's sake.....

With their furrowed brows....

23:53 / 21.06.02

I was reading the new 100 Bullets collection today and noticed that Benito frequents a club that has a familiar kitty kat neon sign.

Matthew Fluxington

11:57 / 23.06.02

Ah, I just thought it was sort of average. The story and the characters didn't do anything to stimulate any interest in me, I sort of had to force myself to keep going, cos if this was a movie on tv, I would have probably changed the channel around the seventh page. Certainly not bad, but certainly not for me. I never dig this kind of stuff - selfconcious sleaze turns me off, and the characters were pretty typical.

I think the art would have looked a lot better if it were in color like the cover. The cover is really nice looking.

The Natural Way

10:18 / 24.06.02

Aaah, c'mon Flux, the art's really good - easily the best thing about it.

Matthew Fluxington

11:15 / 24.06.02

Yeah, sure, it's alright. I'll never say anything bad about Paul Pope the cartoonist, but it doesn't change that I think the story/writing was mediocre and could barely keep my attention enough for me to want to keep reading the thing. I had to stop myself from putting it down about three times reading it through.

I still think the interior art would have looked a lot better in color, though.

The Natural Way

13:10 / 24.06.02

I enjoyed what I read, but, yeah, it wasn't WHAM! "this is AMAZING!!!"

But s'only the first ish and I'm interested to see where he's gonna take this.

(Out of interest, Flux, do you like David Lapham?)

Matthew Fluxington

15:28 / 24.06.02

I respect David Lapham, but wouldn't read his work cos his subject matter bores me to tears.

Crime fiction and noir is a surefire way to remove me from your potential audience...

The Natural Way

12:23 / 25.06.02

I think 'Stray Bullets' is more about the people and the stories than the genre (which is only very loosely 'crime'). I think you should shut it and get the first two trades, read them, and then open yr mouth again when you can only sing the man's praises.

Matthew Fluxington

12:56 / 25.06.02

I'm a little too broke to be throwing that much money at things I don't really want. Too bad I can't just borrow stuff from you all.

The Natural Way

13:25 / 25.06.02

Well....for reasons too stupid and convoluted to explain, I've got two copies of then aforementioned Stary Bullets collections. So, just PM me w/ yr address and the crazy, rabid, stalker-style antics can begin!

13:48 / 25.06.02

or check it out here...

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