The Comic Book Thread

[opa]

I've been reading Target Vader. It's about some bounty hunters going after Darth Vader. Gee, I wonder how this is gonna turn out. It's good so far; currently only two issues are published. I'm not really into mainline Star Wars comics but I enjoy these side stories about bounty hunters, jabba, etc.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'm not liking all the rumors swirling around D.C. right now. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to find out what is happening, but it's a bit frustrating.

[bmoc]

https://www.polygon.com/comics/2020/7/15/21325429/new-rorschach-comic-watchmen-tom-king-october-release

I'm always down for more Watchmen content. I liked Doomsday Clock and the new Rorschach they introduced. I'll definitely give this one a go.

On a related topic, can anyone recommend an online comic subscription service? I'd like to avoid going to my local-ish comic shop because of covid. I've looked at tfaw.com's subscription service as I've ordered singles from them in the past. Should I look at a different vendor?

[Sload Soap]

I was always with grumpy old Alan Moore that Watchman remain its own thing but DC has completely broken that seal now so it's no use arguing. I preferred to imagine the Watchmen universe as being somewhat adjacent to the main DCU but not a place Superman could just fly to. A bit like the realms of Dream and the Endless in that regard. However, in Death Metal both Wally West and The Batman Who Laughs have Dr Manhattan powers so that universe has as much prestige as Earth-3 nowadays so, whatever.

Doomsday Clock I thought was quite flawed in the end but not totally without merit unlike the Before Watchmen series they ran a few years prior. But if we are to get a spin-off then Tom King is exactly the right person to do Rorschach. He didn't work out on Batman and Heroes in Crisis blows but he does excel in those mini-series runs. Mister Miracle and Vision were great and his current Strange Adventures is shaping up well.

[CFFJR]

On a related topic, can anyone recommend an online comic subscription service? I'd like to avoid going to my local-ish comic shop because of covid. I've looked at tfaw.com's subscription service as I've ordered singles from them in the past. Should I look at a different vendor?

I've never used tfaw, but I have been using Atomic Empire for years and can recommend them with confidence. Super easy to add or drop titles at any moment including events (they'll send you everything related to it), you can place extra orders and have them ship with your regular subscription shipments, and you can choose any shipping schedule you like. If you care about acquiring specific covers you can easily choose those as well. They package everything safely too.

It's just ridiculously convenient and easy and I've always been very happy with the service.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I was always with grumpy old Alan Moore that Watchman remain its own thing but DC has completely broken that seal now so it's no use arguing. I preferred to imagine the Watchmen universe as being somewhat adjacent to the main DCU but not a place Superman could just fly to. A bit like the realms of Dream and the Endless in that regard. However, in Death Metal both Wally West and The Batman Who Laughs have Dr Manhattan powers so that universe has as much prestige as Earth-3 nowadays so, whatever.

Doomsday Clock I thought was quite flawed in the end but not totally without merit unlike the Before Watchmen series they ran a few years prior. But if we are to get a spin-off then Tom King is exactly the right person to do Rorschach. He didn't work out on Batman and Heroes in Crisis blows but he does excel in those mini-series runs. Mister Miracle and Vision were great and his current Strange Adventures is shaping up well.

Did you happen to read King’s run on Batman? I need to start working on rebirth era Batman, and I was curious if anyone thought there was any parts of that run that were actually good. I’ve had cold days seriously suggested, but that’s about it.

[bmoc]

I've never used tfaw, but I have been using Atomic Empire for years and can recommend them with confidence. Super easy to add or drop titles at any moment including events (they'll send you everything related to it), you can place extra orders and have them ship with your regular subscription shipments, and you can choose any shipping schedule you like. If you care about acquiring specific covers you can easily choose those as well. They package everything safely too.

It's just ridiculously convenient and easy and I've always been very happy with the service.

I'm definitely going to give them a look. They are physically much closer to my location so I'd likely get my items much quicker. Thanks!

[Sload Soap]

Did you happen to read King’s run on Batman? I need to start working on rebirth era Batman, and I was curious if anyone thought there was any parts of that run that were actually good. I’ve had cold days seriously suggested, but that’s about it.

I did read all of Tom King's run in the end. It's very much a case of your mileage will vary as King's portrayal of Batman makes Bruce a massive prick. I am Gotham and I am Suicide are both pretty fun reads on their own. War of Jokes and Riddles is okay, it's really a Kite-Man story (seriously) but I do like how King doesn't just turn the whole thing into a massive punch up. The Wedding stuff has some lame issues and some great single issues (the one with Swamp Thing and the double date with Superman/Lois are good). Cold Days as it's collected is one part good Freeze story and one part lead in to Dick Grayson's new status quo. Both tie heavily to the wedding so might not be the best jump in point. The later stuff is the more contentious content, Nightmares is a slog and the City of Bane is quite anti-climatic considering the build up. None of it is as bad as people make out but none of it is as transformative as Year One, Killing Joke or Dark Knight Returns. So start at the beginning and if you like his take you can move from there would be my advice.

[bmoc]

This thread hasn't seen much action in a while.

I just backed a Vampire Hunter D graphic novel Kickstarter. It is an English adaptation of a Japanese-only audiobook by the original Vampire Hunter D author. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/19 ... phic-novel

It ends on Saturday so check it out if it is something you might be interested in.

[Ziggy]

Can anyone recommend me some comics?

I've always wanted to check out a classic super hero comics, but they all seem kind of daunting to get into. Ideally I would like to pick up a series that was released as a collection so I don't have to go hunting down individual issues. A physical book would be nice, but I wouldn't mind purchasing on Kindle. I'm just not looking to spend an arm and a leg. I think I would mostly be interested in Batman and Superman. Possibly Spiderman. I suppose I'm looking for a more modern series. I'm not crazy about the artwork of comics from the 40's, I think I'd prefer a more modern artwork. Or if that opinion is wrong, please feel free to school me. I'm really a comic newb.

I've also wanted to check out something more in the horror genre. Something like Creepshow or Tales from the Crypt has always interested me, but I don't know of anything else. Are there any collected works that can be had for cheap? Or I suppose I wouldn't be totally against getting individual issues if they were cheap enough.