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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Comics fins
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Ikkyu
Shipmate
# 15207
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Posted
Forgot that I still have a lot of Elfquest somewhere. ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
Posts: 434 | From: Arizona | Registered: Oct 2009
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Elfquest is fun. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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JoannaP
Shipmate
# 4493
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Posted
It is MrP who is the comics fan in this household, but we recently went to see the Comics exhibition at the British Library and were very disappointed. The basic problem, I think, is that it completely ducked the question of defining "comics", so the contents seemed rather random. I had expected more historical stuff (mostly because it's what I would do with all the resources of the British Library at my disposal), but there was one Cruikshank print and that was pretty much it. Oh and John Dee's book, which was fascinating but I still don't understand why it was there. (Or the cheap paperbacks of Lovecraft.)
MrP had expected far more original artwork, rather than just books displayed at an angle, so that it was not easy to read them. There was very little discussion of the artwork and none of why one might choose this way of telling a story. We were also bemused by the number of models in Guy Fawkes masks standing around. The whole thing felt aimed at those wanting to be seen to be trendy rather than true comics fans who already knew the stuff.
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"Freedom for the pike is death for the minnow." R. H. Tawney (quoted by Isaiah Berlin)
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin
Posts: 1877 | From: England | Registered: May 2003
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
That's very disappointing, considering it was a library. What a missed opportunity!
In Downtown SF, we have a cartoon art museum, which is rather small, but nifty.
Linkage.
[ 29. June 2014, 21:40: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
And I might add that I was not especially happy at the way that the exhibition massively broadened the definition of comic to the extent that it eventually became 'any book with a picture in'. Yes, the Beardsley frontispiece was very nice, but what did it have to do with comics?
However, as Mrs P says, I felt that there was far too much attention paid to the self-consciously hip, or the dreadful sub-genre of the literary comic. And to find Grant Morrison's magisterial thesis on absolutely everything, The Invisibles passed off as an essay in class warfare and, specifically, the evil of fox-hunting, was simply ridiculous. I had, I must say, expected better.
So, anyway, lists seem to be in, so here goes:
- Anything penned by Giffen / DeMattheis (in particular their great '80s / '90s run on the Justice League, which was the only time anyone ever seemed to pay attention to the political / legal ramifications of the organisation)
- Anything penned by Grant Morrison, but especially The Filth and Doom Patrol - one has to love a super villain group called the Brotherhood of Dada
- Alan Moore up to about five years ago (or whenever he started Century) at which point he seemed to get far too much into the whole cross-references thing
- The Goon by Eric Powell is great - everyone should read it
- Also Madman by Mike Aldred
- Chew by Layman and Guillory with its wonderfully crazed world of food-based superpowers
- Bomb Queen by Jimmie Morrison provides, in the context of a raucously violent, near-pornographic comedy, an amazingly penetrating critique of the whole superhero concept, on a par with that in Watchmen
- The weird world of Ted McKeever - start with something like Mondo - reality simply falls apart until nothing is obvious
- Zombo the polite zombie / human hybrid, by Ewing and Flint, is one of 2000AD's proudest recent creations. His catchphrase is 'Hello, can I eat you please?'
- Hitman by Garth Ennis - with such superheroes as Bueno Excellente, who conquers with the power of perversion, or Dogwelder who, er, welds dead dogs to his enemies, plus zombie seals and dolphins, this one can't be missed
- And finally, but most important of all, anything anything starring the divine Miss Quinn, from Mad Love to her very own early '00s comic Harley Quinn, but NOT the blasphemous travesty of her shown in DC's Nu52 abomination.
And no, there's no Neil Gaiman in there. If I want to read incoherent, pretentious drivel I'll go for the London Review of Books any day.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I've never read him, but only because I don't want to give myself another reason to part with my cash. I put off reading Love and Rockets for a year for the same reason.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
...
The first taste is free.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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comet
Snowball in Hell
# 10353
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Posted
are we counting Heavy Metal? I used to get those regularly. loved them. are they still published?
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Evil Dragon Lady, Breaker of Men's Constitutions
"It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.” -Calvin
Posts: 17024 | From: halfway between Seduction and Peril | Registered: Sep 2005
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Yeah, I ran across some the other day-- used to sneak-read them in the local bookstore, when I was a kid.
[ 30. June 2014, 05:05: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917
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Posted
Kelly, come to the Dark Side and try Neil Gaiman's Black Orchid! I read it back when I had no idea who he was, and thought it was brilliant.
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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003
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ArachnidinElmet
Shipmate
# 17346
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Posted
Comics? Oh my yes.
I've have photographic evidence of my early start: a picture of a 21-month-old Arachnid sat on hands and knees and nose in a Fantastic Four.
I had access to my older brother's Marvel comics, mostly X-men, as a kid. Also the Beano and Eagle (Dan Dare, anyone?) Asterix and Tintin. Later, my own copies of X-Men, Vertigo titles and 2000AD (Judge Dredd or Pat Mills for preference, so ABC Warriors and Slaine).
I've worked my way through series including Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Y-The Last Man, Promethea and the Grandeville Series.
Shipmates, I must confess, I have an addiction to comics ![[Help]](graemlins/help.gif)
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'If a pleasant, straight-forward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle manoeuvres' - Kafka
Posts: 1887 | From: the rhubarb triangle | Registered: Sep 2012
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Mertseger
Faerie Bard
# 4534
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
Hi! Any other comics fans here? I'm mainly Marvel and DC with some Dark Horse and Dynamite, though this is kind of general, but I thought I'd see who else there is...
IIRC, the entire reason I discovered SoF is because you are a comics fan. Somehow SoF cropped up in your discussing of Moore's Promethea on some other board, lo these many years.
I still only read comics extremely selectively. I only worked my way through Gaiman's Sandman a couple of years ago. I do follow several web-comics, though. Do check out the now completed Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell, if you haven't already.
[ 30. June 2014, 19:23: Message edited by: Mertseger ]
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Go and be who you are:
The Body of Christ,
The Goddess of Body,
The Manifest Song of Faerie.
Posts: 1765 | From: Oakland, CA, USA | Registered: May 2003
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
ArachnidinElmet: quote:
Also the Beano and Eagle (Dan Dare, anyone?) Asterix and Tintin.
High five! We have the Dan Dare reprints (born too late, and too poor, for the originals) and have been collecting Beano and Eagle annuals for some time. Daughter loves Asterix and Tintin so we are also busy indoctrina- raising the next generation. And I pointed out to her that reading comic books in foreign languages not only counts as Work if your teachers catch you doing it (as one of mine did when I was studying for A-level French) but also allows you unrivalled opportunities to discover the French (or German) equivalents of POW! BAM! and find out how to ask for wild boar and say 'These Romans are crazy'.
Nobody has yet mentioned Hauteville House, which has not (yet) been translated into English AFAIK but which is absolutely brilliant (steampunk meets Victor Hugo).
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Oh, PROMETHEA was wonderful. I also loved TOM STRONG.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
And I pointed out to her that reading comic books in foreign languages not only counts as Work if your teachers catch you doing it (as one of mine did when I was studying for A-level French) but also allows you unrivalled opportunities to discover the French (or German) equivalents of POW! BAM! and find out how to ask for wild boar and say 'These Romans are crazy'.
Or the Italian. I remember reading the adventures of Topolino (that's Mickey Mouse to you) now and again.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Mertseger:
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
Hi! Any other comics fans here? I'm mainly Marvel and DC with some Dark Horse and Dynamite, though this is kind of general, but I thought I'd see who else there is...
IIRC, the entire reason I discovered SoF is because you are a comics fan. Somehow SoF cropped up in your discussing of Moore's Promethea on some other board, lo these many years.
OMG that's right, though I don't remember where anymore, LOL!
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I had a fat crush on Tintin when I was, like, nine. And I mean a heatrtrending, puppyeyed full- on crush. Figures he'd be a Nazi stooge.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
It worries me that after forty five years of happy comic reading I suddenly no longer enjoy most of them. Batman, and most of DC, has been actively repellent. I buy them and cannot be bothered to read them any more. Am I (great heavens) growing out of them, at long last?
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
After Googling, I did find this on Herge and Tinin in this article:
quote:
The story behind it is that Tintin had been appearing in the children's magazine of a paper called Le XXe Siècle. And the moment the Germans occupied Brussels in 1940 Le XXe Siècle was closed down, on the basis that it was a Catholic newspaper. Hergé was upset because he was out of work, but very soon afterwards he received a phone call from the editor of Le Soir, Belgium's leading newspaper, asking if he'd bring Tintin over to them. Hergé was of course delighted.
In a matter of weeks Le Soir had come under control of the Germans, and began to feature reports of Wehrmacht successes on the Eastern front and stuff like that. So Hergé was writing for a paper which was collaborating, and it was embarrassing. But a lot of Belgians in the resistance said they still read Tintin because it lifted their morale. That was why Raymond Leblanc, one of the leading resistance figures, set up Tintin magazine after the war. Talking with Hergé, he said of course that with hindsight he would have done things differently. But he only collaborated accidentally and certainly his politics were not of that kind. If you look through the Tintin books, you'll find German villains littering them.
Though it's more complex than that, as (Yes, I know it's Wikipedia) goes into detail about.
Herge does seem to have grown and matured over the years and moved to a more universal and anti-racist approach...
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
It worries me that after forty five years of happy comic reading I suddenly no longer enjoy most of them. Batman, and most of DC, has been actively repellent. I buy them and cannot be bothered to read them any more. Am I (great heavens) growing out of them, at long last?
No, they've just become repellent, at least in the case of much of the New 52. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I can recommend many (see my list above) which you might like more, if your tastes are like mine, anyway.
If you don't like the Bat-books (I do love Gail Simone in general so I suspect her Batgirl is good but it's on my "when I can afford" list), there are two more coming out to avoid in October. Yes, really. Indeed, we may be reaching "Batman Critical Mass," since I think there are about two million Bat titles right now.
(Oddly, Gotham Academy sounds like it could be fun, though since it's in the New 52 I expect doom and gloom.)
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
I know some people really like Snyder's Batman, but... honestly, the last page of the first New 52 issue of it, with the Joker's face ripped off and everything, made me so nauseated I wanted nothing more to do with it, and what I've encountered since has not encouraged me to return.
That's not outgrowing it. That's the comics changing. As a kid I'd have been even more aghast.
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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hen house
Apprentice
# 17252
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Posted
Big Marvel and DC fan over here.
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pax et bonum
Posts: 2 | From: California, USA | Registered: Aug 2012
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basso
Ship’s Crypt Keeper
# 4228
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Posted
One of the best things I've seen lately was in the daily paper, when Pearls Before Swine had a visit from a guest artist.
The banner ad gives the joke away, so try to imagine coming across that strip unprepared. And do click forward -- there are two more strips to see.
Posts: 4358 | From: Bay Area, Calif | Registered: Mar 2003
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Earwig
Pincered Beastie
# 12057
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
Ah, webcomics. I wasn't going to post on this thread, but then they came up! I avidly follow, and heartily recommend, all of the following (in no particular order):
Yuss. Webscomics. I concur with lots of these, but - wot no Scarygoround/ Bad Machinery?!
I got into webcomics 10 years or so ago, and the person I adore the most is John Allison. I read his strip Scarygoround for years, and he's now working on teen mystery detectives in Bad Machinery. Eccentric supernatural goings on solved by down-to-earth Northern British kids.
I also love Kate Beaton, Emi Lenox, Dustin Harbin, Kate Leth, Erica Moen, Jess Fink, Meredith Gran, Lucy Knisley... I love Adventure Time, and I'm just starting to get into Manga - One Piece is lots of piratey fun.
Does anyone go to Though Bubble, the comics convention in Leeds in the Autumn? I've been for the last couple of years and it's great.
Posts: 3120 | From: Yorkshire | Registered: Nov 2006
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
The Bat title that I did enjoy is Li'l Gotham, which is targeted for the younger reader. But they are so witty, so artistically innovative, that they're fascinating.
No, doom, violence and grimth do nothing for me, and I am not there for them on this. However, clearly they can do without me, since the doom and grimth proliferate like pumpkins.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
I know some people really like Snyder's Batman, but... honestly, the last page of the first New 52 issue of it, with the Joker's face ripped off and everything, made me so nauseated I wanted nothing more to do with it, and what I've encountered since has not encouraged me to return.
I thought that book stank, but the real clincher for me was the final page of the first Nu52 issue of Catwoman: Bruce and Selina caught in mid-shag in a state of rather unfortunate part-undress. It wasn't even well drawn, but, ooh, it was nasty.
I think that a lot of the problem is down to the gradual shift from comics being a thing in themselves, to comics being appendages to media companies. So Warner Brothers don't like comics, because they lose money, but they love the comics publishers' intellectual property, as a great source for movies. And then, of course, they realised that they could re-jig the comics, so instead of being imaginative literature, they were just tie-ins and promo materials for the movies. So the women are downgraded to ineffectual sex objects, and everything is about 'cinematic' action rather than plot, character or ideas. Thank heavens for Image and 2000AD.
Oh yes, I'm afraid that Simone's Batgirl was terrible. The premise was ridiculous, and the stories more so. Obviously the right thing to do would have been to retain Oracle and Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, but I suppose a paraplegic genius and a massively insecure superhero with a history of competence issues just wouldn't sell to the yahoos who fill the cinemas.
And let's not even mention what they did to Harley Quinn...
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
Yeah, the Catwoman thing was... ... awkward. Not happy with that either. Or with an array of other things.
DC Comics: Bad at Math
Gail didn't want Barbara to stop being Oracle either but she was stuck with it, and she loves Barbara, so she is staying with the book. She and other folks at DC have been trying for some time to bring back beloved characters but it's been against a lot of weird editorial ... stuff. The powers that be at DC have been alienating creators a LOT since the reboot. There's an actual website called Has DC Done Something Stupid Today? devoted to keeping track of those and other, ah, missteps. There's been a LOT of poor, top-down, heavy-handed decisions at DC. (Some of the fleeing creators have gone to other companies, including Marvel and Image and Boom and others...)
I love Li'l Gotham myself. Reading them as the relevant holidays come out. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Harley Quinn seems to be a bit more like her old self (and less... unclothed) in a new series by Palmiotti and Conner, which is on my "get when I can list" because of the creative team.
I enjoy some books in the current DCU, but it's really in spite of what I see as a pretty nasty Elseworlds universe, and I cannot wait for the next reboot, ideally after regime change.
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
That's the other infuriating thing. The constant reboots. At any given moment you know that what you are reading is written on sand at low tide. It becomes easier to say, gosh, let me skip the next five reboots and see if it improves.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
And even worse, when what started as an independent story, exploring some idea or other, deliberately outside the continuity (such as Kingdom Come, with its grim look at the fascism inherent in the superhero concept, or the visionary 1990's Starman) end up being co-opted into the continuity, and inevitably misunderstood and generally ruined as a result.
Basically, as Keith Giffen has argued with some vehemence, continuity is a bad thing and should be discouraged. What's wrong with bit of imagination?
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
As an infrequent visitor to the comic universe I am wondering if the dissatisfaction with the current DC/Marvel is a variation of the maxim that the Golden Age of Science Fiction is 12.
Are these Comics aimed at adults who don't find them satisfactory? Are there substantial younger readers or are they all off watching Adventure Time?
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by JoannaP:
It is MrP who is the comics fan in this household, but we recently went to see the Comics exhibition at the British Library and were very disappointed. The basic problem, I think, is that it completely ducked the question of defining "comics", so the contents seemed rather random. I had expected more historical stuff (mostly because it's what I would do with all the resources of the British Library at my disposal), but there was one Cruikshank print and that was pretty much it. Oh and John Dee's book, which was fascinating but I still don't understand why it was there. (Or the cheap paperbacks of Lovecraft.)
MrP had expected far more original artwork, rather than just books displayed at an angle, so that it was not easy to read them. There was very little discussion of the artwork and none of why one might choose this way of telling a story. We were also bemused by the number of models in Guy Fawkes masks standing around. The whole thing felt aimed at those wanting to be seen to be trendy rather than true comics fans who already knew the stuff.
Glad to see I'm not the only person who was disappointed with that exhibition. I'm not really into comics, so did think I might have missed the point: but clearly not. Frankly I thought that it was a disgrace that the BL had devoted so much time and space to an exhibition which seemed designed merely to flatter its curators' sense of their own hipness.
BTW intrigued by a reference upthread to Captain Midlands. This surely must be Marvin's alter ego, mustn't it?
[ 03. July 2014, 06:39: Message edited by: Albertus ]
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
As an infrequent visitor to the comic universe I am wondering if the dissatisfaction with the current DC/Marvel is a variation of the maxim that the Golden Age of Science Fiction is 12.
Are these Comics aimed at adults who don't find them satisfactory? Are there substantial younger readers or are they all off watching Adventure Time?
Well, let's start by observing that that maxim was almost certainly stated by somebody who had never actually read any SF. I suspect that very few 12 year olds would find Ubik or The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch or Solaris or Roadside Picnic especially satisfying.
Some parts of DC, particularly the egregious Dan Didio, are clearly in pursuit of the elusive teen reader, and seem reluctant to admit that the older readers form a substantial market and have more disposable income. Indeed, DC's recent actions with VERTIGO, it's deliberately adult-oriented imprint, which seem to be aimed at essentially winding it down, and transferring kid-friendly versions of its more popular lines to DC, would suggest this.
But, as I have said above, we have to remember that both of the big two are now owned by movie studios, who are in pursuit of the elusive teenaged male demographic. Hence fewer ideas, less interesting characterisation, more fights, more big muscles and big boobs.
On the other hand, other publishers, particularly Image and 2000AD, seem to have no trouble positioning themselves as aimed squarely at adult readers. Image happily combine standard superhero books with complex adult friendly books (check out the splendid Alex and Ada, running at the moment, which has no fights, no action scenes, and nothing at all in the way of unduly overstated anatomy, and is basically all talk) as well as utterly deranged books (like the immensely successful Bomb Queen franchise) that carry explicit age warnings, and out and out pornography like Howard Chaykin's The Black Kiss 2. 2000AD seem to have entirely given up on the teenaged market, and haven't compromised an inch of darkness or complexity.
So, in summary, DC (in particular) used to encourage thoughtful, adult oriented stories even in its headline books, so they were happy to explore the ethics of Superman's reign of good, or the question of Bruce Wayne's sanity, or to just let Grant Morrison do whatever it was he felt like doing this week. Since 2011 they have rejected this.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I am in my 50s, and somehow DC has contrived to alienate me, after 45 years of happy comics reading. That does take some doing.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I am in my 50s, and somehow DC has contrived to alienate me, after 45 years of happy comics reading. That does take some doing.
Oh, I've had it happen to me before. Marvel alienated me during that whole Civil War era, but they've gotten good again, and I'm sure DC will too. It may require regime change at DC, though.
(I'm 46, myself, and have been reading comics ever since at least the age of... six? Seven?)
I do heartily recommend the titles I listed above--if you note, many are not part of the New 52 DC universe.
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
The only Nu52 book I thought was even remotely worth reading, i.e. Larfleeze, the suits at DC have, with typical brilliance, cancelled. I have hopes for Justice League 3000, as it too is a product of the magic pairing of Giffen / DeMattheis, but then I suspect Didio will cancel it too.
Otherwise, the Nu52 is, well, pretty lousy. Supergirl with a costume that has a nice useful arrow pointing to the important bits? Power Girl as a man mad moron whose greatest regret is that she can't get a tattoo? Harley Quinn straight? Bah.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
No, it sounds repugnant. And as I say, the constant rebooting means it is easy to sit it out.
The other irritant is the constant crossovers and Mega Events of the Summer. If one bails out of those, then that again prunes the list down drastically.
Did anyone here read and enjoy the original Batman Adventures comic books? They were loosely based upon the cartoon series, and they were stellar. They got Paul Dini his start.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Did anyone here read and enjoy the original Batman Adventures comic books? They were loosely based upon the cartoon series, and they were stellar. They got Paul Dini his start.
Oh yes: they, and the follow-ups, were absolutely splendid - AND they gave Dr Quinn her start in the DCU too.
I don't know if you've seen, but Dini has recently done a Zatanna / Black Canary adventure which is absolutely definitely set in the old DCU...
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Robert Armin
All licens'd fool
# 182
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Posted
Is anyone else a LSH fan? I've been following the group since Adventure days, through the various titles they have had. Having been buggered about by some eccentric creators, as well as by being tied in to changes in the DC Universe that should have been irrelevant, the real LSH was finally back in the capable hands of Paul Levitz. And then it got cancelled - so what now?
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Keeping fit was an obsession with Fr Moity .... He did chin ups in the vestry, calisthenics in the pulpit, and had developed a series of Tai-Chi exercises to correspond with ritual movements of the Mass. The Antipope Robert Rankin
Posts: 8927 | From: In the pack | Registered: May 2001
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
I definitely enjoyed Keith Giffen's adventures with the Legion, though that might count as eccentric However, as you say, whenever he appeared to be getting anywhere interesting, along came DC Central with another 'event' forcing everything to reboot, so one moment we were dealing with the rather interesting 'what happened when they grew up?' story-line, and the next moment they're all teenagers again, and Matter Eater Lad is a . . . chef???
You'd have thought being 1000 years in the future would make them immune from this crap.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Figbash:
Well, let's start by observing that that maxim was almost certainly stated by somebody who had never actually read any SF. I suspect that very few 12 year olds would find Ubik or The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch or Solaris or Roadside Picnic especially satisfying.
I was reading Heinlein's Glory Road at 11 and Asimov, Clarke, and at 12 when the library would finally let me check out stuff in the YA room. I didn't get to Man in the High Castle till I was fourteen. Ubik wasn't published till later. I do remember my 8th grade English Class being dismayed by being assigned "Lord of the Rings" but I had other readers to talk to even then.
[ 05. July 2014, 01:51: Message edited by: Palimpsest ]
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Yes, one of the first comic books I ever read was the (first) death of Lightning Lad. The LSH in the glory days was a wonderful thing. But it hasn't been anywhere near as good in decades.
You have a title for the Dini Zatanna? Is it part of an ongoing series?n
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
The Dini Zatanna/BC story is a one-shot, alas.
Love Legion, though I did not like Five Years Later as I found it too grim.
I do like DeMatteis so I am getting his stuff. I have mixed feelings about Giffen's current output.
The stuff in the New 52 I recommend is listed above.
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
You have a title for the Dini Zatanna? Is it part of an ongoing series?n
It's Bloodspell and, though a bit light on story, is very sound on proper characterisation and remembering that 'heroes' are, in fact, people too. And not a breath of New 52 in sight.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Robert Armin
All licens'd fool
# 182
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Posted
Figbash: quote:
I definitely enjoyed Keith Giffen's adventures with the Legion, though that might count as eccentric [Smile]
NOOOOOO!!!!! His makeover was hideous, depressing and nonsensical. Giffen didn't just knife the Legion in the back, he danced on the grave as well.
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Keeping fit was an obsession with Fr Moity .... He did chin ups in the vestry, calisthenics in the pulpit, and had developed a series of Tai-Chi exercises to correspond with ritual movements of the Mass. The Antipope Robert Rankin
Posts: 8927 | From: In the pack | Registered: May 2001
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Armin:
Figbash: quote:
I definitely enjoyed Keith Giffen's adventures with the Legion, though that might count as eccentric [Smile]
NOOOOOO!!!!! His makeover was hideous, depressing and nonsensical. Giffen didn't just knife the Legion in the back, he danced on the grave as well.
That's what I liked about it. It was complex. And messy. And somewhat chaotic. And dark as hell. And not even remotely escapist. And had a wonderful conclusion to Giffen's ongoing remaking of Darkseid as a tragic hero.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Figbash:
And dark as hell. And not even remotely escapist.
Alas, to me, those are things which the Legion (as well as a lot of characters in DC's New 52) just should not be. We'll probably just have to disagree there...
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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