Board 8 > Board 8 Comic Book Club #1

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hoping people get to Public Enemies soon. I love Ed McGuinness' depiction of Captain Atom.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Oh, Lex infiltrated the Fortress of Solitude. The Brainiac Ship was in Washington D.C. before Superman pulled it into space. Lex is thousands of miles away.

Ahhhh. That makes sense.
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I read the first issue!

I have no idea who any of the silhouettes were at the end and am looking forward to finding out.
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I think I'll have time to read these the day the next batch is out. Better late than never I guess.
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That's okay! At this point, I'm thrilled with any interaction. Thank goodness for MI and david's consistent reading.
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Finished issue 3 of batman/superman.

This issue was a lot of enjoyable. The battle through the rogues was just fun!

Know most of the silhouette now.

My understanding of Power Girl is Kara from alternate Earth. Yes?

Captain Atom and Major Force are unknown to me.

Will read more in 3 hours when I have to feed my son again!
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Finished!

That was a pretty great series.

All the cameos were a lot of fun. Not being well versed in DC I recognized a lot of them (Mr. Terrific! Huntress! Black Lightning!) and a lot of them I did not (Captain Marvel? Captain Atom? Major Force?).

One that I did not recognize and I do not think the ever named was the person with the hammer that was with Superboy, Supergirl and the dog (I don't know the dogs name). I thought she looked really cool.

The internal monologues of Clark and Bruce showing their mutual admirations for each other, how they were similar and how they were different was a definite high point of the series. Those alone were a great primer of the personality of these heroes.

Watching Lex descend into madness is always enjoyable. I was having some issues with people accepting his "I have proof Superman is behind this but I won't show it" but then I thought about our current political climate and, well. I can see it. When was Lex elected? What year did that happen? Seems... kind of prescient.

All in all I really enjoyed this miniseries.
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I'm glad you enjoyed that one so much.

Captain Marvel is also known as Shazam, so you might recognize his recent movie trailer.

Captain Atom is a major DC Comics player, so you'll see him again in these packets, and Major Force is especially known as the guy who killed Green Lantern's girlfriend and stuffed her in a fridge (it was the 90s).

Oh, and Lex was elected president in 2000. It's totally relevant nowadays, but back then it was almost entirely done for entertainment value and it had no relevancy on the world of that time. That said, I absolutely love Lex as President of the United States. It's no coincidence that every story in this week's packet features him in that role.
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I know whem Rebirth launched Lex was acting as a hero. Is that still ongoing?
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He's back to villainy.
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Can't say I am surprised.
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Oh something I thought of

In Issue 3 when Grodd is controlling the rogues, no one speaks.

Except for Solomon Grundy.

Why could Grodd speak through him but no one else.
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Grodd talks through Nightshade also.

But the tip-off is that Grundy is actually speaking in complete sentences. Normally he recites his poem or says his name or speaks in really simplistic phrases. To a longer time fan, they would know something is amiss. It's a nice little detail.
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So Grodd just chose not to speak through most of them. Got it. I thought perhaps Grodd couldn't normally speak through people but Grundy is a simpler mind so he could.

I forgot Nightshade also spoke though.
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That could have been a cool wrinkle, but in the past he can speak through anyone.

It's an interesting change also to not see Mongul pontificating in his quasi-Shakespearean.
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What did you think of Toyman, MI?
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He was interesting. I kept wondering who 'the boy' was going to be and then it was someone I didn't know. Is he strictly a hero or is he someone who plays both sides of the aisle (which is the feeling I got from him) -- seemed like he's an "I'll build anything for anyone, as long as they pay" character.
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I also assume since he is Asian he is of no relation to the adult Toyman?
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No relation.

He's had mischevious run-ins with heroes, but never for anything serious. He's also an honorary Justice League member. And, of course, he got Power Girl's phone number.
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Oh I did really like when they were talking about keeping him distracted and that Power Girl would have to do it. And Power Girl didn't understand how she would possible distract a 13 year old boy.

That made me laugh.
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I love that part too.

Oh, I noticed you asked who the armored girl was earlier and forgot to tell you that she is Natasha Irons, Steel's daughter.

And Krypto the Super Dog.
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Krypto! I knew that on some level. I kept thinking Cosmo but I knew that was Marvel's dog with powers.

Natasha Irons seemed really cool to me. I liked the little bit of her that there was.
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We might do 52 at some point if you like her.
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I want spoilers, what week is tomorrow???
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We're in November, so I was thinking about doing a bit of a CREATOR MONTH.

First up will be Brian K. Vaughan, a definite favorite among comic readers of the 21st century.
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Oh interesting. I know nothing of specific people outside a few names but even those names I don't really know what they are responsible for.

(Aside from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)
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I think the first story is one about which you will have strong opinions.
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I do tend to have strong feelings on things!
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I hope Ex Machina is part of the line-up.
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I am still reading! I assumed I would have a good chunk of time at my placement today to read through Red Son at the very least, but then I got busy with a bunch of marking.

Tomorrow though!
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I'll still be happy to discuss any previous reading as we move forward, so no worries.
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Finished up everything for Superman week today. I was definitely not in the "Superman is boring" camp previously, but I feel like I have a better appreciation for him now. His stories seem to be at his best when his morals or methods are questioned.

I enjoyed What's so Funny, but thought it was too short. I would have preferred giving it a bit more room to breathe, although I suppose the specific details about the Elite aren't important. It doesn't matter who they are, what's important are their actions and how they carry them out. The confrontation at the end was tense, and did seem genuinely futile for Superman for a bit.

Red Son was absolutely my favorite this week, and I would like to read more What-If stories like this. The entire arc went on much longer than I expected. It was legitimately exhausting as I read it all in one sitting, there was just so much happening over such a long time frame. Communist Superman is just such a wonderfully interesting idea to explore. I was also a fan of this incarnation of Batman.

Finally, I once again enjoyed the B/S interactions in Public Enemies. They really do work well with each other, in the story and as characters. I was also pleasantly surprised at how many heroes made an appearance in this one. I recognized most of them thanks to the Justice League cartoon.
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I'll keep in mind the Elseworlds being popular. There are a handful of truly excellent alternate realities stories I can throw at the group.
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Cody11533 posted...

I was also pleasantly surprised at how many heroes made an appearance in this one. I recognized most of them thanks to the Justice League cartoon.

Do people like large groups of characters? I was trying to avoid too much of a deluge of continuity in any given story because it might put off people with a steep learning curve.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Do people like large groups of characters?

Yes! More heroes, more fun!
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Although nothing wrong with very focused character tales either.
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I know I'm late but Slayride is a perfect story and you're right, it's a great first issue. The toy car gag us my favorite, but everything about it is great.

Hear One waa one of my first Batman stories, which makes me feel good about my tastes.

I will read the rest of the topic and catch up latet
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Hello, this is Week 4 of Comic Book Club a la Board 8, and I'm your host scarletspeed7. This month we're playing up creators in a big way, and our first contestant is the well-regarded writer of Saga and Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan.

We won't be reading any of those two mammoth epics, however. Instead, I pulled two stories that I think are very different from anything else we've read so far. First up, we'll take a look at Pride of Baghdad, a graphic novel published by DC imprint Vertigo. It's the story of a family of lions in Iraq during the Iraq war, and in terms of great mainstream graphic novels, it's one of the standards. I hope you'll all share your thoughts with me on it.

Secondly (and unrelated to Snake's mention of it yesterday - I plan these readings on Sundays or earlier), we'll be reading the first arc of Ex Machina, entitled The First Hundred Days (Ex Machina #1-6). Ex Machina posits a theorum on what would happen if a superhero was elected mayor of a major city (in this case, New York). It's got a little West Wing, a little of the last season of Arrow, and a lot of great art from one of my favorite guys in the business, Tony Harris.

And with that, I'm not forcing a third story on you this week. It seems like the number of readings has been catching up to people, so I'm laying it a little light this week. Whether he's working on Runaways or Y, Brian K. Vaughan is a fantastic writer, however, and a fixture in the last 15 years of comics, so check out these stories crafted by a master!

As always, hit me up on Discord if you're having difficulty finding a copy of these comics.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

And with that, I'm not forcing a third story on you this week.

Boo!

But I get it.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

little of the last season of Arrow

Aaaaaand I am out.

(As long as it doesn't have anyone as dumb as Dinah I might be okay)
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TotallyNotMI posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

little of the last season of Arrow

Aaaaaand I am out.

(As long as it doesn't have anyone as dumb as Dinah I might be okay)

As in it's got a superhero mayor.
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TotallyNotMI posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

And with that, I'm not forcing a third story on you this week.

Boo!

But I get it.

This lion one is the size of like 6 comics so maybe this was a good choice!
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scarletspeed7 posted...

TotallyNotMI posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

little of the last season of Arrow

Aaaaaand I am out.

(As long as it doesn't have anyone as dumb as Dinah I might be okay)

As in it's got a superhero mayor.

I just wanted to be sassy over how much I hate Dinah.
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TotallyNotMI posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

TotallyNotMI posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

little of the last season of Arrow

Aaaaaand I am out.

(As long as it doesn't have anyone as dumb as Dinah I might be okay)

As in it's got a superhero mayor.

I just wanted to be sassy over how much I hate Dinah.

I just wanted to no-sell you to be snotty. I promise you that there is no Dinah-tier character.
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TotallyNotMI posted...

Boo!

But I get it.

If you want more you should read Saga!

note: I am sorry for the emotional journey you will undergo if you choose to read Saga.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

I think the first story is one about which you will have strong opinions.

I finished Pride already.

Before I say anything though i'm curious what you think my strong opinions will be!
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I think you'll really, really like it.

EDIT: Or maybe you'll hate it in the end. I don't know.
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You are correct! I really fucking loved it.

I knew early on it wouldn't be a happy story but the ending still was a punch to the gut.

There were multiple times throughout I felt disturbed or uncomfortable but in a good way if that makes sense.

All of the characters were surprisingly developed with different personalities for such little time they had to be developed

The art was amazing.

I honestly want to reread it and it's the first issue of this club that I have wanted to reread.

It was just stellar and I am glad that I have read this. Next time I am at a comic book shop I will be looking for a copy to own.
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Just saw your edit.

I certainly won't say I liked the ending. But it didn't tarnish it.
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TotallyNotMI posted...

You are correct! I really fucking loved it.

I knew early on it wouldn't be a happy story but the ending still was a punch to the gut.

There were multiple times throughout I felt disturbed or uncomfortable but in a good way if that makes sense.

All of the characters were surprisingly developed with different personalities for such little time they had to be developed

The art was amazing.

I honestly want to reread it and it's the first issue of this club that I have wanted to reread.

It was just stellar and I am glad that I have read this. Next time I am at a comic book shop I will be looking for a copy to own.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it so much. I agree at the surprising amount of development done so quickly. I think Vaughan has such a knack for writing sort of timeless, transcendent dialogue that very much embodies certain timeless archetypes in this story. It's a lot like Aesop's fables.
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