Comics I've Read Over The Past Few Weeks AND For The Record: Fuck The Laughing Ogre

This one deserves a bit of an introduction.

So my comic buying habits have slowed a bit lately. I'm now down to buying comics every 2 or 3 weeks, as opposed to buying them every week as I used to do. The reason for this is because I now buy my comics at Packrat Comics - a store that's about 15 miles from where I live. Weighing the price of gas and how painfully thin my monthly paychecks are, I figured it was best to reduce the number of trips to the store and come back with a thicker load each time.

The most sensible question to ask in response to this is why I would shop at a store so far from where I live when there are in fact two stores within a 4 mile radius of me. The answer is simple - those stores suck.

Most people would then point out the Laughing Ogre. Conveniently situated uptown, enormous selection, and frequent signings by well known writers like Jason Aaron and Brian Wood. Okay, okay - the store itself doesn't suck. It's got a pretty interior and has all the books I'd ever want to buy.

But there still remains one enormous deterring factor that keeps me from going there. The employees are complete and total assholes. Nearly every time I go there, there's about three or four of them working, and they only seem to talk to each other. Nearly every time I ask one of them a question or try to engage them in a conversation about comics, the question gets answered succinctly and they go back to their conversation as if I was merely an interruption.

Never, never in my life have I been to a comic book store where employees pretended the store was a record store, a setting where it's socially acceptable to act too cool around the customers. Most stores I've gone to, even the poorly lit ones with overweight workers too situated to get off their chairs, have employees that aren't just willing to converse with the customers about comics, they're eager to. Back home in Southern California, at Nuclear Comics I would usually go and shoot the breeze with whoever was working that day for at least an hour.

I love that. I love to be able to get all kinds of recommendations, to hear about all kinds of books I haven't read, and even to argue a little bit whenever contrary viewpoints are espoused. What makes the comic community unique is that the art form is so distant from mainstream audiences that everybody that reads comics is serious about them and usually loves to talk to others about them.

And to be honest - I don't even care that much for reading comics in issues. Trade paperbacks make for a smoother read, they're a self-contained work that you can loan to people, and they look sexier on a bookshelf. To boot, you can get them for much cheaper, especially if you order online or look for them used. The only real reason I buy comics in issues is to give me an excuse to go to comic book stores more frequently, hereby giving me more opportunities to shoot the breeze with comic book store owners and sometimes even other customers.

When I first walked into Packrat Comics, the owner greeted me enthusiastically, asked me if I needed help finding anything, and was more than eager to delve into a long, meandering conversation about comics. I didn't come back for another month and a half, but when I did, the guy remembered me from before. After a decent length chatterring about comics, I made my decision. This is the store I want to set up my comics subscription at.

So that's that. And for the record, fuck the Laughing Ogre.

A word before the three weeks of comics - I forgot to buy the newest issue of INVINCIBLE, so I'll have to pick that one up next time. Also, the store has been sold out of the newest FANTASTIC FOUR, so once they get in a new copy I'll post a review of it.

1. DEADPOOL #3
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Paco Medina

This issue surprised me quite a bit. So I've stated previously that what really makes Deadpool fun to read is the silliness and shenanigans in the book coupled with the extreme amounts of violence. All of that is still there, and the book is still making me laugh out loud a little while reading (a feat pretty rare for any print medium), the book is actually surprisingly plot-oriented. At first I thought the Secret Invasion tie-in was meant to be a little bit of a joke, but it looks like Deadpool's actions are going to be pretty integrally tied into other big players in the Marvel Universe. So the book is now three things in one - it's gritty, it's plotty, and it's funny.

I'm still waiting for Deadpool to use a samurai sword again, though. I've always got a craving for some katana.

By the way - I mentioned the last couple of times how much I wanted DEAR DEADPOOL back. Well, when I talked to Daniel Way (ironically, at The Laughing Ogre), he said he wouldn't mind writing it, but it's up to the editors whether or not it will get printed. We'll see!

2. ACTION COMICS #870
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
I think most would expect me to trash this issue after the pretty thorough rant I gave about the newest SUPERMAN issue.

But, truth be told, I liked it. Geoff Johns has been doing a good run on the book. I think he's one of the few writers that knows how to write Superman for the long-term, in that he a) introduces enough twists and originality into Superman's life b) he doesn't use these twists in a gritty, post-modern type way - the book feels fresh while still preserving what people like about the character and c) he brings out the sympathy in the character. When you read his work, you like the guy.

If nothing else, Superman is a guy you're supposed to like. You can read Wolverine without thinking Wolverine's a good guy, you can read Daredevil without empathizing with Daredevil, and you can even think Batman's a little bit off his rocker and still enjoy the book. But with Superman, you really cannot enjoy the book unless he's portrayed as a likeable, charitable guy. If the writer can't accomplish that, the book fails miserable.

This issue was by no means a great issue. And this storyline as well as the previous one hardly compare to Johns' wonderful Escape From Bizarro World, but nonetheless, it's a fun read. This issue had some confusing moments in it. Particularly, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, which seems to be leading heavily into the New Krypton 12 part arc coming right up. I'm being intentionally vague about this because I don't want to spoil anything.

Gary Frank's art is still awesome, by the way.

3. THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #6
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
I've made no bones about the fact that this is probably my favorite book on Marvel right now. Iron Man is a likable and witty guy for a change and it's been really wonderful to read a book about him that reminds me of how hard Tony Stark works to be a good guy and how hard he is on himself for his failures.

This was the final issue in the arc and had a big confrontation with Ezekiel Stane. While in some respects the resolution follows a rather predictable pattern, the nature of the confrontation itself does not. The book had some well paced action and an ending that really nailed the tone of the story arc.

I can't wait to read more.

4. THE WALKING DEAD #53
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Adlard
I'm really kicking myself for not having bought that Invincible issue. That way I could have reserved the whole latter half of this entry for a Kirkman Korner and shown that goofy picture of him wearing that Savage Dragon hat. Until next time...

I used to say that this was my favorite book to read in issues - that every issue had something major and climactic and it was always really well-paced and fun to read. Looking back, I think part of the reason I said that was because at the time I was reading the No One Is Safe arc, which was pretty damn incredible. Now that the pace has slowed down (back to its normal pace), the book is a bit sluggish in the single issue department.

This issue really felt like a transition issue. It was mostly dialogue, which is usually fine with me, except the dialogue didn't really speed the pace or advance the plot, it mostly was just normal chitter chatter. Small talk, even. There was a cool punchline at the end that piqued my interest, but naturally, I can't reveal it here.

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That's it for now. In a couple of days I'm probably going to have a fun X-Men corner activity. Bring the kids!

Comics I Read This Week 4: 10/01/08

It's New Comics Day! And I'm doing a Comics I Read This Week! Am I actually updating on time?

No.

These are all comics I read last week, minus the new Mark Millar/Bryan Hitch FANTASTIC FOUR issue I wanted which was sold out the store. Booooo.

I'm listening to the New York indie rock quartet The Forms sing about making plans and other mundane subjects and making it sound so good.

First up!

1. IMMORTAL IRON FIST: ORSON RANDALL AND THE DEATH QUEEN OF CALIFORNIA
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli

I wish I could say this was awesome. Or at least as awesome as ORSON RANDALL AND THE GREEN MIST OF DEATH from Matt Fraction's run was.

The story's of a seedy noir sort and set in Hollywood in the 20's. Unfortunately, the plot is rather dull and predictable. None of this seems to really tie into the current Iron Fist story arc, either, which isn't really a problem in and of itself. It's just that if the story's boring, what's the point?

2. RUNAWAYS #2
Writer: Terry Moore
Artist: Humberto Ramos
I am SO surprised at how little I'm liking this book.

I figured it was a shoe-in. A great concept, great characters, and a great creator handling the scripting duties that most likely has an editorial carte blanche with the story.

But what do we get?

Some kind of confusing story about alien lineages. Does anybody REALLY care? I always thought people read the book because it was a well-written adventure story that featured kids that actually act like kids for a change.

I'm not sure about what every Runaways reader wants, but this one doesn't want big sci-fi or a Secret Invasion tie-in. I want what Terry Moore does best - writing engaging characters that feel like realy people.

3. DEADPOOL #2
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Paco Medina
This one was fun. Much more fun than the last one, at least. We're seeing what this book is really about:

Shenanigans!

There's still no "Dear Deadpool" at the end, but hey - as long as this book can make me laugh, I'm going to keep buying it.

4. SUPERMAN #680
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Renato Guedes
Was this really written by the same James Robinson that did the acclaimed run on STARMAN?

Is there another James Robinson in comics?

Or by chance did he employ writers of the ghost variety on his critically acclaimed books?

The reason I'm asking is because man, did this book blow.

This is the closing issue of a 4 issue story arc that was almost entirely Superman and Atlas punching each other in the face. Through the first three issues, Atlas beats Superman to a pulp without Superman being able to do much in response at all. The question that lingered was how a pretty strong, but not EXTRAORDINARLY strong guy could so easily take on the big guy in blue.

So what was the reason revealed in this issue?

Atlas has magic.

Oh boy. I'm so glad I kept on reading.

There's also some lame shots of Krypto the Wonder Dog fighting Atlas while giving silly narration in the process like "BAD MAN, STOP BAD MAN".

Colossal multi-issue fights tend to be boring in superhero comics. Give us some plot. Give us some dialogue. Give us some character development. This was boring enough when the X-Men slugged it out for 5 or 6 issues in Messiah Complex. This ESPECIALLY doesn't work in a Superman comic.

Mr. Robinson, please consult Mr. Morrison on how to write a fun and engaging Superman comic. Thank you.

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Post-script:

Is it kind of bizarre that I mentioned in my Kirkman rant that most books I read are creator-owned, and these are entirely in the big-two? Yes, it is. In my defense, what I read in the floppies and what I read in the trades are two very different things. I'll post some reviews of collected creator-owned work pretty shortly.

Comics I Read This Week 1: 8/28/2008

First post!

I finally became presumptuous enough to think people care about my opinions about comic books. While the world has plenty of comic book blogs, I checked today, and there was a need for *one* more. So here we go.

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Comics I Read This Week:

1. NEW AVENGERS #44 - Secret Invasion Tie-In
   
   I should start by saying that I'm not even reading the main Secret Invasion storyline or reading any of the other-tie ins. Lately, I've decided to actually boycott big cross-overs altogether. The problem with the last three big cross-overs at Marvel, namely House of M, Civil War, and World War Hulk, is that there were many moments that they would forego with the story altogether in order to introduce some big status-quo shaking moments in the Marvel Universe. House of M said no more mutants from now on (a poor decision in retrospect), Civil War said everything is government controlled, and World War Hulk, well, introduced the Red Hulk and did some strange things to Bruce Banner that I can't even remember.
   
   I figured the same thing would happen with Secret Invasion. My prediction was there would be some major punch to the early issues, there would be a lot of suspense for the last few, and then the whole last issue would be a big trailer for 1o or 15 different Marvel books. Whoopee.
   
   So, why did I buy this issue? Simply becuase it pertains to The Illuminati. And ever since they've been introduced by Bendis, they've been pretty damn awesome. Their dialogue in the Sentry storyline was pretty much the only cool thing in that whole story, the pre-Civil War Illuminati discussions really hit on the "tough questions and tough solutions" angle that the whole main series should have been about, and the 5 issue Illuminati mini-series had awesome, well-written stories featured during the Kree-Skrull War or the Infinity Gauntlet eras of the Marvel U.
   
   The kicker? The Illuminati are cool in nearly every scenario, no matter how dull the main story is. This issue was no exception, doing a done-in-one story discussing a major unexplained facet of the Skrull invasion up to this point. Full of twists and turns, this issue was really Bendis on his game in the way he hasn't always been while writing New Avengers.
   
   Worth buying, even if you're not reading Secret Invasion.
   
   
2. RUNAWAYS #1
   
   Only bad people don't like The Runaways.
   
   Seriously. I don't understand how anybody could read Brian K. Vaughan's 40 issue run, in which he single handedly created an original action/adventure/sci-fi/romance/teen drama that is possibly Marvel's most accessible title. I'll go as far as to say that Runaways is my favorite Brian K Vaughan comic, easily going to toe-to-toe with Brian K. Vaughan's other should-be-mainstream hit drama Y: The Last Man. The comic created a cast that was a whole-new cast of teenagers turned superheroes after their discovery that their parents are supervillains bent on taking over the world. One's a mutant, one's a superpowered alien, one's a magician, one has a pet dinosaur, one uses a set of high-tech gloves... The assortment on the team is a smorgasboard sampling of all the corners of the Marvel universe, while the story simultaneously never hinged on convulted character histories or continuity.
   
   If you haven't read it, read Vaughan's 7 volume run on the story. It would rank easily in Marvel's Top 5 books of the last 10 years (a list I should make at some point). And with each trade ringing up at only 8 bucks a pop, I'll be insulted if you don't read it.
   
   This issue marks the introduction of Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos to the book, which is the second creative team to take over since Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. The first being Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan who did a fairly disappointing 6 issue run that didn't really hit on all storytelling cylinders the way Vaughan did with his writing. Freshly returned to present day Los Angeles after their sojourn to 1907's New York, the team is in their chronological and geographical home. Not much happened in the way of plot in this issue, and the pace was rather slow, but the dialogue was spot-on. Moore clearly has these characters down and could probably have some of them rally a conversation for 5 issues straight and still have it be engaging to read. I'm hoping the plot picks up in the next couple of issues. Terry Moore could still be one of those talents like Robert Kirkman who is just unable to adapt to writing the Marvel characters.
   
   Who knows? Buy it only if you've already everything up to this point, otherwise it won't make a lick of sense.
   
   
3. THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #18
   
   I started picking this one up in issues because the Fraction/Brubaker/Aja run of the book introduced a whole new appreciation of the character. Seriously - before those guys came in and revamped the book, character, and mythos, nobody really gave a shit about the character. He was some kind of lame, kung-fu superhero. Oooo! He can turn his fists to a fiery gold by focusing his chi! Who cares? Well, Matt Fraction made me care.
   
   This marks the second issue since the disheartening departure of the original team at issue 16. While the writing exemplified a lot of the qualities that made the Fraction run great, like peppy dialogue, fast pace, cool action - the new artist just can't make a lot of the action and motion cool. Couldn't David Aja at least have stuck around to draw the book? His action sequences were so good, they made me want to go out and kick some ass myself. That doesn't happen too often in action in American comics, where most fight sequences are represented by big splash pages showing every character locking horns with someone, but not really telling any story or revealing the pace of the battle. A lot of nothing going on, really. See the Bendi'ss Avengers books for examples.
   
   I'm buying it because I really want it to pick up and be really good. Maybe it will? It's continuing a cool storyline at least, investigating the mysterious deaths of all of the Iron Fists at the age of 33, after what event but Danny Rand's 33rd birthday! Heh. Picked a hell of a time to do that.
   
   
4. KICK-ASS #4
   
   Fuck yeah. Waited what, 2 or 3 months to get this?
   
   I can't talk about it without seriously spoiling what's going on. The third issue had such a big kick-in-the-face ending that the 3 month waiting period to the next issue was pretty gruesome and lonely.
   
   This issue was just as satisfying and violent as all of the ones up to this point in the continuing saga of this sick and twisted take on a superhero existing in a real world. Sure, jaw-dropping violence is easy to fill a comic with, but to do it within the context of a fast-paced, twist-laden, big emotional drama is icing on the cake.
   
   Notice how the katana girl's cape is held together by a padlock? What an awesome design. Frankly, seeing this cover should make you buy the issue. This is amounting to my favorite Mark Millar comic yet.
   
   
5. SUPERMAN #679
   
   Yeah, I probabably shouldn't buying this.
   
   It's just that something needs to tie me over until the next issue of All-Star Superman comes out. And what an issue that will be! Can't wait to read it (and review it)! Reading this issue made me really wonder why it couldn't be more like All-Star Superman. This 4 issue storyline about Atlas that this is 3 parts of the way through probably could have been told in less than one issue if Grant Morrison was writing it.
   
   James Robinson is the current writer of Superman. While I haven't read anything by him, I've heard nothing about pretty damn close to orgasming praise for his run of Starman, which I'm really anxious to read. I'm not sure if my boredom at his Superman writing is more due to his writing ability or due to DC's editorial decisions - I'm guessing it's more the latter.
   
   So yeah, Atlas is still beating up Superman. Somehow he's pretty helpless, and that hasn't really been explained. Supergirl apparently can't do anything either. Who comes to save him? Not the Green Lantern (who was around earlier in the story), not Batman, not the JLA, but KRYPTO, the WONDER DOG!
   
   Yep. The next issue is going to be about Krypto saving the day. Stay tuned and I'll review it. And yes, this is the only issue for which I revealed significant details about the story. That's because the story was so dull I figured most readers wouldn't mind it being revealed to them.
   

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I'm going to try to do this every week. If you're curious about how (badly) I spend my money, stay tuned!