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Yeah, I read the first Ultimate Collection and have no desire to read any more.
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Nov 16, 2012 01:37
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I definitely expected that bit with Bulletproof to be revealed as a joke or fantasy or something a Mysterio analogue made Bulletproof think. But, uh, nope, looks real.
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Nov 16, 2012 01:39
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Can't say I'm too surprised, the entire series was living on borrowed time ever since the whole virumilite issue was pretty much dealt with. Kirkman should have quit while he was ahead.
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Nov 16, 2012 03:33
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That whole issue summary sounds so much like something Mark Millar would write that it's not even funny. Well, it's kinda funny. Kirkman blows.
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Nov 16, 2012 03:41
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Endless Mike posted:Yeah, I read the first Ultimate Collection and have no desire to read any more.
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Nov 16, 2012 06:08
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Gavok posted:Out of nowhere, Zandale's girlfriend shouts, "SHUT UP YOU BITCH!" and nails the mom with a frying pan. And not in the cartoony way, but by slamming the edge into her skull so that her eyeball pops out. The dad throttles her, screaming that he'll kill her and Bulletproof accidentally and gorily snaps his father's neck trying to pull him off. Bulletproof shoves the bodies into a car, throws it off a cliff You think Kirkman has some issues to work out?
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Nov 16, 2012 06:31
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I was in the bookstore today and came across a beautiful art book called The Lost Art of Ah Pook is Here. It's a collaboration by novelist William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill, someone I've never heard of but judging by his work I need to dig some things up. They proposed a literal graphic novel in the early 70s that went over everyone's heads and never got published. The work here is raw but even in unfinished form the art tells an apocalyptic story of urban decay and moral corruption amidst detailed drawings of corporate advertisements and mass orgies. It's very frank in its presentation, completely unfiltered by any attempt to "clean it up" for an audience. And yet, it's very sincere in its presentation. This is two people trying to tell a story, not sell a story if that makes any sense. It certainly stands in stark contrast to Kirkman who has a woman brain an old lady with a loving frying pan. In light of Ware's Building Stories, a lot of the experimental storytelling present in that book was first proposed right here. Burroughs imagined the work as a single "fold-out" painting with images and text as appropriate. The art is presented in sweeping landscapes and it's head over heels of stuff back then (hell, it's better than most of the poo poo today). If you like art books and learning about comics history you can't do wrong with this book. Better preview at Fantagraphics al-azad fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Nov 16, 2012 |
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Nov 16, 2012 07:35
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LtKenFrankenstein posted:That whole issue summary sounds so much like something Mark Millar would write that it's not even funny. That's the unfortunate thing. Like, I've reached the point where I realize that Ultimates and Red Son were years ago and now Millar can only be Millar. Invincible has been consistently pretty good from the aftermath of the Vitrumite War (which itself was boring) to this issue. The previous arc was really good and the final scene reveals that one of the series' heroes committed an act of genocide on another world. Yet it's actually a well-done and natural development based on passion, frustration and a little bit of Ozymandias "ends justifies the means". It wasn't shocking for the sake of being shocking. Even the current issue is good up to a point. The backstory and even the parents' reaction work. It's the moment the frying pan shows up out of nowhere that I feel like, "Come on, Kirkman. You're loving up. You're better than this."
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Nov 16, 2012 14:09
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Gavok posted:That's the unfortunate thing. Like, I've reached the point where I realize that Ultimates and Red Son were years ago and now Millar can only be Millar. He's not better than this, though.
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Nov 16, 2012 18:44
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Dickeye posted:He's not better than this, though. He has been on Invincible. I don't know, I didn't think it was particularly well handled but I thought the point of the issue was actually quite clear and rather the opposite of the way it is being presented here. Gavok didn't really give the full context of the conversation with the Science Dog creator. The creator didn't really go all out "defending" his decision to go "heavy handed", "jarring", "overly dark" and "out of place" right before Science Dog #100. Instead he pointed out the reasons he would have wanted to do such a thing (desire to do spread his wings creatively, feeling pressure from upcoming 100th issue, wanting to shake things up) and then says that this naturally risks alienating readers so the only thing to do is to get back to the original light-hearted tone as quickly as possible before people decide that the changes to the comic were the new status quo rather than an "intriguing interlude." Mark then inquires "That's all very interesting Mr. Schaff. Did it work?" The reply is "Not really," in three identical panels that are a visual callback to the often criticized way he used to handle conversational pauses in earlier issues. This conversation takes place immediately in between a sequence where the Bulletproof story arc that has been being set up over the last few issues is rapidly accelerated and taken to an extreme conclusion and two of the other "dark" major plot events in recent issues are apparently swiftly resolved (Nolan reconciling with Allen the Alien and being released from space prison to return to Earth and Mark regaining his powers). I don't think it takes particularly deep literary insight to see what Kirkman is saying he's doing with this issue and the series going forward. I wish he'd been able to handle things more elegantly, but if he felt he'd been writing himself into a dead end and decided a fairly meta issue making a clean break was the best way to swiftly change the tone around I guess I can't fault him too much. The last few issues have been interesting but are definitely not what I started reading Invincible for. LGD fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Nov 19, 2012 |
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Nov 19, 2012 02:31
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Here's the thing: The changes have been happening since the beginning, since Eve got punched through the chest and Mark headbutted a guy's face until it was concave. This isn't some interlude, it's Kirkman being a lovely writer who covers up for it by constantly ramping up the level of violence and gore in order to stay "shocking".
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Nov 19, 2012 02:52
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Dickeye posted:Here's the thing: The changes have been happening since the beginning, since Eve got punched through the chest and Mark headbutted a guy's face until it was concave. This isn't some interlude, it's Kirkman being a lovely writer who covers up for it by constantly ramping up the level of violence and gore in order to stay "shocking". Yes that stuff definitely didn't exist before issue #64. It's definitely not like Nolan decapitated/eviscerated the world's explicit Justice League analogues in frame in issue 7, punched through the Immortal's chest and tore him in half in issue 10, and followed that up by beating the holy hell out of Mark for the next few issues, ultimately leaving him crippled and bleeding in a snowbank. Oh wait he totally did, and I suspect if you actually go back you'll find that the way the comic has depicted superhuman violence has been pretty consistent from the beginning. I think most of the perceived increase in violence come both from having more fights between people who can take having their internal organs ripped out and the great change in art quality/style. The tonal changes (at least as I'm assuming Kirkman perceives them) don't really have as much to do with the violence quotient of the series as they do with the dramatic arcs and interpersonal relationships of the characters the series has been focused on most recently.
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Nov 19, 2012 03:22
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Glory was real good this week, but either Joe Keatinge or Ross Campbell has an unhealthy obsession with arm-related violence.
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Nov 21, 2012 21:23
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Darth Nat posted:Glory was real good this week, but either Joe Keatinge or Ross Campbell has an unhealthy obsession with arm-related violence. Part of me wants to say it's Campbell if for no other reason than the fact that his art manages to put so much weight behind Glory's fighting. Either way that entire fight scene was pretty  and I'm curious if they manage to one up it before then end of the series.Richard Corben has a new book out this week if people want to fill up on "gross" art. It's an adaptation of Poe's The Conqueror Worm and a lot of Corben does best And while people are in a buying mood Comixology is doing a David Hine sale. Bulletproof Coffin is really, really good (and has a free issue up to get a taste).
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Nov 21, 2012 21:47
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al-azad posted:I was in the bookstore today and came across a beautiful art book called The Lost Art of Ah Pook is Here. It's a collaboration by novelist William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill, someone I've never heard of but judging by his work I need to dig some things up. They proposed a literal graphic novel in the early 70s that went over everyone's heads and never got published. And on the topic of comics and the cut-up method (and tying in to the David Hine sale) if you haven't done so you really should check out the Bullet Proof Coffin. Oh Shaky Kane... I wish I still had all my old Deadlines... 
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Nov 22, 2012 00:20
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Holeee poo poo, Frankenstein Alive Alive #2 came out today. When did I last post about it... May 11th. Yeah. It's still a fantastic comic. I've said in the past that I'm not fond of a writer picking up an established literary characters. I mean, I feel less ambivalent towards mythological characters, but public domain characters are in that realm of "why bother" for me. FAA shoves my foot in my mouth. It just wouldn't be the same if it was an original monster unrelated to the classic story.
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Nov 22, 2012 01:47
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Kieron Gillen's latest Decompressed podcast with Steven Sanders got me wondering, how good was Our Love is Real? I remember when it came out people were raving about it and it sold out pretty quickly so I was wondering whether I should pick it up from comixology? I really like Sanders' art (goat Beast 4lyfe) but not so much Humphries' writing, of which I've only read his Ultimates.
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Nov 24, 2012 14:07
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I really dig the first 24 issues of Invincible and it's a shame that they creatively don't know what they're doing now (I quit around issue #90). Also, the book really misses Crabtree on colors. When he left, the tone of the book really changed for the worse.
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Nov 24, 2012 23:18
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Starsnostars posted:Kieron Gillen's latest Decompressed podcast with Steven Sanders got me wondering, how good was Our Love is Real? I personally thought it was crap. One crude joke repeated over and over for 22 pages with no real point or punchline. Save your $2.99 for something else.
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Nov 24, 2012 23:51
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Kirkman is pretty great when he's not phoning it in, but my god does he phone it in most of the time.
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Nov 26, 2012 05:37
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WickedIcon posted:Kirkman is pretty great when he's not phoning it in, but my god does he phone it in most of the time.
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Nov 26, 2012 13:08
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I keep seeing Glory mentioned here on the forums and was just wondering a good place to start, also whats the appeal? Isn't she the sister of Supreme?
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Nov 26, 2012 16:23
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Hollis posted:I keep seeing Glory mentioned here on the forums and was just wondering a good place to start, also whats the appeal? Isn't she the sister of Supreme? Start with the current run, read until it's done if you like it (I think we've got a couple of issues left). Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell give you what could be the best Wonder Woman story on the stands if Azz weren't doing so drat well on the real book. Ignore everything you know about Extreme, you won't need it. Also, read Prophet.
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Nov 26, 2012 16:31
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The book starts with Glory #23, and nothing before that is needed. The first couple issues are basically "here's Glory, here's a brief version of her history, and here's where we're going with her." The first few issues are slow, but at least read to #25 since that's where things get interesting and you'll know if you want to keep reading or not. Glory is probably about what you'd get if DC put out a mature readers Wonder Woman title. And it's got wonderful Ross Campbell art. If there's one advantage it has over the Wonder Woman title, it's that the art is way more consistent and I think necessary to the book's tone.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:35
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Darth Nat posted:
Agreed. There's a pretty high level of violence, but it's actually warranted and is there since the start of the new run.
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Nov 26, 2012 20:25
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One of the many things I like about Glory is she's Wonder Woman if Wonder Woman was built like a tank and acted like so. By extension Campbell is great at drawing her as actually coming off as physically imposing to anything that gets in her way. Also again for anybody interested in it the first issue of the Keatinge/Campbell relaunch/reboot is up for free on Comixology.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:35
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Yes. Glory and Prohpet are both awesome. Buy them, read them, love them. Speaking of Keatinge what do you think of Hell Yeah!...? It's not bad but it pretty much fealt like one big extended prologue to me. If you love art-comix then you'll be glad to hear that PictureBox is having a sale. Picturebox Inc posted:Might I recommend a few items to buy during the PictureBox sale? Here we go: root fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 21:39
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root posted:Yes. Glory and Prohpet are both awesome. Buy them, read them, love them. Speaking of Keatinge what do you think of Hell Yeah!...? It's not bad but it pretty much fealt like one big extended prologue to me. Hello! I know what my Secret Santa is getting.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:28
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al-azad posted:Holeee poo poo, Frankenstein Alive Alive #2 came out today. When did I last post about it... May 11th. Yeah. I loved it but was sad at how short it was since they had that sneak peek of something else. What was the wait though, 6 months? That's a long time. Still, gorgeous artwork and I'm having a lot of fun with the monster's inner dialogue.
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Nov 27, 2012 04:58
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I'm sure it's been discussed but I've been away from this forum for a bit and just wanted to put in a major endorsement for Mind MGMT. If you love conspiracy theory poo poo like MKUltra it is really a fun and fascinating book that I really can't get any bead on what exactly is going to happen and who is working for who, etc. Especially because you sometimes see some 'hidden' things. The art might put people off but I think it works well given the schizo/surreal nature of it all.
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Nov 27, 2012 05:02
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Did anyone pick up Dynamite's "Masks"? I'm a fan of the current Spider series and I think I might give this one a shot, too, if I actually get to the comic store sometime this week.
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Nov 30, 2012 14:24
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Well, if this isn't depressing as poo poo and a good reason to encourage others to read indie books you love: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/11/30/skullkickers-writer-jim-zubkavich-financial-creator-owned-comics/
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Dec 2, 2012 01:56
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Is anybody reading Bedlam? I gave it a go just on the cover last month and really dug it as a one off. And then there's another this month and man did it not hold up.
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Dec 2, 2012 04:50
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bairfanx posted:Well, if this isn't depressing as poo poo and a good reason to encourage others to read indie books you love: I can't believe Comixology takes half after Apple's cut. The service they provide is a non-refundable distribution and reading platform and they have zero risks except quality assurance. Bandwidth costs are totally negligible for a company of that size. Comixology should be taking 30, not loving 50. If I was doing digital comics I would make my own reading app so I could keep that extra buck-fifty but the sad thing is that customers are apprehensive towards other subscription services. Just like people will pass up cheaper deals on Amazon or GMG because it doesn't come with a Steam key, people will pass up your service because it's not Comixology. It's a hosed business and you can't break into it without selling some kind of PDF directly from your own secured store.
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Dec 2, 2012 07:19
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Ominous Jazz posted:Is anybody reading Bedlam? I gave it a go just on the cover last month and really dug it as a one off. You know, that first issue was really hosed up and great, but yeah, the second one was a bit of a disappointment. I'll stick around because I like Rossmo, but I was not too happy. al-azad posted:If I was doing digital comics I would make my own reading app so I could keep that extra buck-fifty but the sad thing is that customers are apprehensive towards other subscription services. Honestly, I think they are apprehensive because of convenience more than anything else. bairfanx fucked around with this message at 08:21 on Dec 2, 2012 |
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Dec 2, 2012 08:19
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Maybe I'm alone in this but any goodwill I had for Nick Spencer from the third of the Jimmy Olsen backups that were somewhat amusing has been completely flushed away by every other thing I've read from him.
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Dec 2, 2012 08:32
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bairfanx posted:Honestly, I think they are apprehensive because of convenience more than anything else. Correct, and I'm one of those people who go to Steam before anything else. But I try to buy my indie stuff directly from the creators if the option is available and I'll be doing it more often now that I see how much creators are sapped on the cover price. I was always curious how Amazon could afford to charge next to nothing on their books and how creators are okay with their material going for 50% off MSRP day 1. Then I looked at Amazon's royalty service and it's either 70% royalties for the current list price (whatever Amazon sells it for) or 35% for the MSRP regardless of discounts. Comixology takes independent submissions, right? They need to cultivate indie goodwill. Indie books sell way fewer copies than the mainstream stuff so the profit margins between 30% and 50% aren't going to be that great. Might as well just make it 30% like every other distributor.
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Dec 2, 2012 09:10
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Ominous Jazz posted:Is anybody reading Bedlam? I gave it a go just on the cover last month and really dug it as a one off. Oh no. I really liked #1 and I've got #2 sitting on the island in my kitchen waiting for me to find the time to play it. Well, maybe lowered expectations will help me not be as disappointed.
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Dec 2, 2012 10:14
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edit: Found what I was looking for, it was Love Fights by Andi Watson published by Oni Press, hopefully it holds up after a second reading!
Levin fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Dec 2, 2012 |
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Dec 2, 2012 14:04
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al-azad posted:I can't believe Comixology takes half after Apple's cut. The service they provide is a non-refundable distribution and reading platform and they have zero risks except quality assurance. Bandwidth costs are totally negligible for a company of that size. Comixology should be taking 30, not loving 50. This is why people should buy via the web not the app.
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Dec 2, 2012 15:00
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