Board 8 > Scarlet and Ed's really cool comics topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

I re-read Endgame today.

It is not a good ending for Batman as a character, and thank goodness it isn't. The Joker is just scattered as a character here, as is Batman himself. It's a fun and action-packed story, but when you start to think about it later, it loses all cohesion. Too much is happening here and too little is explained. The entire "immortal Joker" plot beat is introduced and not really given any exploration, so it feels useless.

On the flip side, the art from Capullo is fantastic. The scene with the Court of Owls is utterly hilarious. Dick Grayson is in prime form. And until the end, the story keeps you hooked. It's just when you walk away from the story that you're left missing... a piece of what would make this work.

Overall, a 68 out of 100.
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I remember enjoying Endgame a lot as it was coming out. Haven't gone back to it though. I really didn't like Superheavy though.
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DC officially announced their new cover design, which replaces the Rebirth banner.

https://13thdimension.com/dc-officially-launches-new-cover-design/

I dig it.
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Looks great!
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I like the bowtie look.

And yes this is better than it still being the NEW 52 5 years in
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I'm surprised you call DotF "great" despite the negativity in the writeup! I agree with what a lot of what you said, though I'm not as high on Snyder's Joker tales as you seem to be. He does a good job with the Joker's voice, and as you say, the take on Joker as obsessed with Batman is good, but none of the plotlines seem particularly "Jokery." I dunno, it feels off. And all the batfamily stuff is just the worst in DotF.

Honestly Greg Capullo's art is the main thing that keeps these stories better than just "ok." Extremely normal opinion warning: Capullo's art is fantastic. Zero Year and Superheavy are the highlights of Snyder's run for me, and I think a large part of that is Capullo's contribution to create all these striking and memorable moments in those arcs.
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I think the reason I call it great that I didn't highlight strongly enough is that as I was reading the story, it was great. It's just in immediate retrospect that I have problems with it.
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I was reading a couple preview pages I get in the shop owners' materials I get. Immortal Men looks really freaking good.
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Damn I gotta be blind or something as I just now discovered this topic.

Anyway, glad you were able to stick around @scarletspeed7 and nice topic @Eddv. This is my favorite side of you tbh. kinda surprised to see you diving into Marvel though since I thought you were a DC diehard for some reason.

I just recently started re-reading Preacher so I can get back to my review topic but speaking of that does anyone know what happened to @Jesse_Custer? I feel like I haven't seen him around in months.

I plan on moving right on to the complete collection of The Boys when I finish Preacher btw scarlet. Is that something I should make a topic for? Would you be interested in a readthrough topic dude? (I ask since you were the one who recommended that I get the series.)

In other things I've also recently purchased a couple more Spawn comics for my collection and today I'll be taking my oldest son to see Thor Ragnarok. I'm really looking forward to it even though I haven't seen the first two Thor movies yet.
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You could talk about The Boys here if you want!
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I re-read DC: The New Frontier today.

I think very few comics spin such unbridled optimism as New Frontier. Every time I finish it, I feel emotion well up inside of me, thinking that we as humans have such a capacity to harness our own destinies and be something truly magnificent. The Silver Age's dawn moves me. Darwyn Cooke weaves such a perfect little narrative here - and there are a lot of little moving pieces that make it work. Even the deaths in the story come with an ellipses because those stories aren't yet finished if you know DC lore. While it is an Elseworlds, I hate to think of it as such. I would have no problem with comics just giving all major characters magical longevity so a tale of this caliber can still exist within continuity.

And the art... my goodness do I love Cooke's art! It's phenomenal.

I think very few people have made so many characters resonate so much in such a small page count. I could go on and on about how this is Hal Jordan at his best, how this is the best send-off for The Losers, how Martian Manhunter is defined by this story, how King Faraday is exactly the kind of shade of gray that comic books need, how seamlessly the origin of Captain Atom is subtly weaved into the greater narrative... it's just fantastic.

Rating: 98 out of 100.
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I re-read The Black Mirror today.

I'm not a big fan of the art in this one; that said, I'm a huge fan of Dick as Batman. I think he really grew into the role and stories like this highlight exactly why he works in the role. He's similar enough to Bruce that there is no jarring change in tone for the adventures, but he's different enough that he feels fresh and that there's room to explore the character that didn't exist with Bruce.

As for James Gordon Jr., I think this story pretty much ran the gamut of the character. There is very little left to explore here. Unlike a great villain like the Scarecrow or Joker, there Jr. isn't a force of nature. This is an intimate tale with small stakes. And you can't tell stories like that too often in the Bat-mythos. In and amongst this tale are adventures with some decent enough concepts, such as Tony Zucco's daughter (which gets too little play, honestly) and the auction of Bat-villain paraphernalia (which also gets too little play).

Overall, it's an enjoyable romp through Gotham and a unique one to boot. Rating, 78 out of 100.
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I read The Black Mirror about a month ago, and thought it was solid. Anything with DickBats is okay in my book.

I should definitely read The New Frontier.
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I highly recommend it. It will make you wish it was canon.
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Tony Zuccos daughter was among the best things about Kyle Higgins run on Nightwing.
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You reading Nightwing: NEW WORLD ORDER BROTHER?
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I am - I sort of was eh about the Teen Titans section.

Ive always been sort of lukewarm about Korie and this was a really poor explanation of what should have been a super major about face for dick in regards to her.
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up for wednesday
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Is this topic about really cool comics? Or is it a really cool topic about comics?
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Both
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Grand Kirby posted...

Is this topic about really cool comics? Or is it a really cool topic about comics?

If you have to ask the question...
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I re-read Sinestro Corps War today.

I'm sure everyone who checks this stuff has read it before, so needless to say, it's Geoff at his best. A highwater mark for popcorn big budget sci fi action flicks.

Rating: 94 out of 100
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Got my comics for the week.

I nearly bought the DC holiday special but it would've cost be something like $12 and I couldn't justify that.
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Sleepless is off to a really good start. It's clearly high-fantasy, but not in that frustrating "huge exposition dump right at the beginning" way. It's not that "high" on the fantasy yet, but that's clearly the world they've set up without yet revealing all of it. There's an illegitimate princess, a sleepless knight, and a possible conspiracy following the crowning of a new king. The art was really good, and because there's relatively little dialogue, it carries more of the weight than a lot of other books. Check it out yo.
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Anyone else read Justice League this week? Priest is officially starting his run; much better than before.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Anyone else read Justice League this week? Priest is officially starting his run; much better than before.

I haven't gotten to it yet, but I'm excited for Priest.
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Oh, forgot to say that I re-read Justice League: New World Order yesterday.

Everyone always focuses on the Batman scene (which is totally fair), but there are a couple other amazing scenes here that deserve some attention. First of all, Aquaman defeats a Martian with a headache. It's amazing. How does this scene not get more love? And let's not forget that Metamorpho moment. It's fantastic. Honestly, the only character who doesn't really get a fair shake in this story is Wonder Woman. Everyone else gets a nice little highlight spotlight, but Diana is kind of left in the dust.

New World Order's art is just fantastic. Howard Porter has always been one of my favorite comic artists, and this story is just a great example of why. These designs for the Hyperclan are immediately memorable. Just great, great stuff.

Overall rating: 87 out of 100.
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I re-read The Return of Barry Allen again today. Mark Waid's writing hasn't aged as well as I would have hoped, but it's such a nice story that weaves itself so seemlessly into Flash history. I almost forgot that one of Waid's most important recurring characters makes his return here - Max Mercury. Overall, it's definitely the story that puts Wally over top Barry in every way.

Rating: 81 out of 100
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I also re-read The Golden Age. It's the perfect companion piece to The New Frontier. I've always loved the 40s heroes in DC lore - to me, they are in many ways larger-than-life, more true to the concept of a hero than the heroes that would come later. I always see Alan Scott as the "Big Guy". Of course, it's James Robinson, so he puts a lot of heart into the small nuances of these characters' lives. No one makes me give a shit about guys like Johnny Quick more than Robinson.

Rating: 96 out of 100
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Do you own all these books, Scarlet, or do you mostly just read from what's at the store you manage?

I've always wondered if those who work at comic shops actually ever buy weekly stuff or if they just read what's at the shop.
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davidponte posted...

Do you own all these books, Scarlet, or do you mostly just read from what's at the store you manage?

I've always wondered if those who work at comic shops actually ever buy weekly stuff or if they just read what's at the shop.

I've been reading stuff of my shelves for this. I mean, I do have all of this in my shop, but I'm not going to risk damaging those copies.
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Anyone read comics this week.
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I picked up Batman, Nightwing, Justice League, Deathstroke, and the Venom one-shot, but I haven't gotten a chance to get through them yet. I'm excited to see how Priest's start on JL goes.

I should have my thoughts up on Monday.
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I read Sleepless from above and Iron Fist, which continues to be good.
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I re-read Kingdom Come today.

Every time I pick up KC, I marvel at just how much painstaking attention to detail is put into this story. Almost every panel has some little tidbit that builds the story ever larger. Random cameos actually serve to reinforce the message of Kingdom Come - and what a message it is. The story of gods all coming together for a grand reckoning (loosely based on Revelations) is a tale that has always resonated strongly within me. I have such a passion for this comic - it was my first comic, and it remains my favorite comic.

I've always wanted to do a read-along with the Board of Kingdom Come. Point out all of the hidden secrets in it and explain why each of them matters so much in the grander tapestry of KC. But, alas, I likely never will. This is such a grand story. The Spectre faces a moral dilemma. Captain Marvel faces his greatest challenge. Wonder Woman and Superman both lose their ways. The world faces down its own iniquities in the heroes they've chosen. It's just a fantastic story that seems like it will never be duplicated. And, in the end, if nothing else, it demonstrates why Marvel's 90s-style X-Men suck and suck hard.

Rating: 100/100
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I get my comics on a two week rotation so i very sadly havent been able to contribute much lately.

I did just read Kingdom Come for the First time though. The message there is a solid one.

This does remind me of another of the ways Marvel is Stupid - they get the artist from KC to do portraits of their characters in an attrmpt to raise their level of dignity and iconicness in an effort that completely misses the message of KC and is accompanied by no shift in the writing.
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The writer is also at Marvel too, but he's working with D-Listers.
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Weekly Comic Thoughts (ranked from best to worst):

Batman #36

Im at the point where King can do no wrong in my eyes, and while thatd be an issue if I was objectively reviewing comics, I dont think theres a problem with me saying Hey that Batman issue was good every two weeks. Batman #37 could be twenty pages of black and Id say something like Wow, what an interesting take on the colour from King here, so yeah.

That doesnt mean that I dont think this issue isnt objectively good, though! For every action-packed Batman story that I enjoy, theres a story like this that I love. Maybe this isnt the type of stuff people want from Batman, but Im all for it. Lois introducing herself to Catwoman after all the build-up throughout the issue might be my favourite moment of the week, and if Superman was written like this, Id probably enjoy him more as well. (He probably is and I just havent seen it)

Justice League #34

Im just about ready to call this the best issue of JL since rebirth, which speaks more to how bad its been than the quality of this issue, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a 10/10 issue if were comparing it to any of the crap that Hitch put out. Priest is getting to levels of I will take anything you give me for me, so when I saw the same style he uses for Deathstroke right on page one I marked out a little bit. Im interested to see where this arc goes. Its looking to be more of a character story than a world-ending invasion arc that we saw literally every single time with Hitch, so I can appreciate that.

If you cant tell, I dont like Hitchs writing.

Deathstroke #26

Speaking of solid issues from Priest, Deathstroke continues to be consistently good. Im enjoying how, through 26 issues, it feels like one constant story is being told. Every issue a small thread from 10 issues back is picked back up, or a character gets an explanation for something that happened 5 issues ago. It really feels like Im reading one long epic. The final page caught me way off guard too, so I cant wait to see where that goes.

Venom Inc. Alpha #1

For most of the issue I had no idea what was going on. My only knowledge of Venom and what exactly Venom is comes from Spider-Man 3, which I watched 10 years ago at the age of 13. I have zero understanding of what a symbiote is in this context, but it's way more interesting than the idea of Venom being just a guy, which is what my unknowledgeable self initially thought.

I'm excited for this event though. The first issue was cool, and I'm interested in learning more about Venom and characters like Anti-Venom, who I've never heard of.

Nightwing #34

I know I talked about how much Ive enjoyed Seeleys time with Nightwing, all the way from Grayson until now, but Im glad that were getting a fresh start with the next issue. I dont think this arc was very good overall, and I didnt particularly enjoy this final issue. There were good parts to the arc, I really liked the issue with Raptor and Dick in the casino, but everything else was kind of mediocre. Im not really sure what to make of the Raptor reveal at the end of this issue either, but I guess theres a few ways it can be taken in the future. I think Raptor has been an interesting foil to Dick, but Id be okay with him going away for a while at this point.

Also I cant stand any of Dicks not-so-super friends that hes made in Bludhaven, so hopefully the new writer doesnt bring them along.
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I was a big fan of Defacer/Shaun but I knew she was never going to catch on with all the Babs and Kori shippers out there.
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I jumped on to JL since I saw the creative change. It's an interesting issue and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. Though it was a bit contrived that Wonder Woman lets a dude stab a nun despite being right there.

I also read the latest Batman even though I'm not caught up on King's run because I wanted some Batman/Superman interactions. Awesome issue and I loved the last few pages. It's an interesting take on their relationship that also gives depth to the characters.
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Eddv posted...

I was a big fan of Defacer/Shaun but I knew she was never going to catch on with all the Babs and Kori shippers out there.

Defacer isn't so bad, but the rest of them can go away.
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I just re-read The Great Darkness Saga.

I have a problem with this story as I do with a lot of older comics - too many exclamation points. It really wears on me after a while - no one shouts that much in the real world. At least no one who is supposed to be as together as the Legion. Still, there's a real high-stakes tale here, and most of the Legionnaires get a chance to shine. I've always enjoyed transplanting a character from one series to another and seeing how the new series reacts to the presence. However, this story has a tough time keeping the art from looking like tons of amoebous explosions, and there is a certain amount of exposition disguised as dialogue that prevents this from being a true favorite of mine.

I have a real soft spot for the Legion - I love it's long, unbroken continuity. If I could pick a team book to write, this would be the one.

Anyways, rating this one a 65 out of 100.
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I've been spoiled by bi-weekly comics, which makes waiting for the next issues of Metal, Mister Miracle, and Doomsday Clock feel like an eternity.
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Imagine being active when 52 came out!
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Oh shit, Booster's back! Jurgens Booster, but hey it's better than no Booster.
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I have a pretty little cover sitting here that I really want to read featuring my #2 comic character of all time.
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Also, Ragman has been really good. Highly recommend it.
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I re-read The Death of Superman today.

So, here's the thing - I'm not a fan of Dan Jurgens dialogue. Especially his early 90s style of dialogue. He gets better over time, of course, but it's so damned stilted and exposition-laden in this storyline. A great example is when a random irritating teenager comes home and yells at his mom for not having soda. The entire conversation feels so fake and forced that I cannot help but ponder on how this fucking loser somehow landed a role in three issues of what is supposed to be the most important story in Superman history (at least, that's what it was being billed as).

There is some good to this event. I love how the League jobs so dramatically. Jurgens wasn't afraid to offer up his team to the slaughter for this one. I love how Supergirl gets ONE PUNCHED out of the fracas. There are some great moments for Doomsday here - and it helps that Doomsday has no dialogue. That makes him stand head and shoulders above most of the Jurgens characters here. The final issue is suitably dramatic - especially for its time, and I do love that final spread in the last issue. But otherwise, this story always feels like a letdown for me in quality. I actually vastly prefer the coming Return of Superman over Death of.

Rating: 41 out of 100
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The intervening Reign of the Supermen is theplace where I started reading comics. Sich a good story and so many great character interactions.
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Hey, Ed. Are you a fan of Cyborg Superman? I'm curious what your thoughts are on him.
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