2012 what are you reading thread

the new finder omnibus

i'm not enjoying it as much as i'd like to, though

Nemesis The Warlock pretty much from the beginning though I skipped that Rock In Comics strip cos I'd read it.
So far up to book 4 where they're on the pseudo Victorian planet and Ro-jaws and Hammerstein have reappeared. I think these ABC warrior types just popped up again after a several year gap in their appearance in the comic.
This was foreshadowed by a different bodied Mekquake appearing in the previous book.

c.s. mcneil is more interesting when she's doing the 'aboriginal sci fi' line than when she's doing the 'here is a metaphor for the inner life of the artist' stuff, i think

"Radical Hollywood: The Untold Story Behind America's Favorite Movies." A bit dry, but an interesting explication of the role of leftist (commie) politics in the film industry and community, primarily from the 30s to 50s.

they made a comic book about that??

reading JLA: Rock of Ages.

Come back Kangarat Murder Society!

Just read the Morning Glories collection (issues 1-12). It's kind of a shameless Lost/Harry Potter hybrid, the art is generic, the characters aren't very interesting, and the scripting totally sub-BKV. But I'm sort of hooked on the story, nonethless. I just wish it was better.

Steve Ditko's Shade The Changing Man is kind of brilliant, I think, and probably better than any of the versions that come later.

Chuck puts his finger on a lot of why I run away screaming when cognoscenti of the comics blogosphere rhapsodize about whatever comic they currently love. I almost inevitably read it and find it "okay" at best, often showing its influences broadly on its rolled-up sleeves which are carefully ironed so that not even a stitch is out of place. It's just so goddamn dreary and uninspired most of the time. Shameless is right.

Oh yes, I'm in a bad mood today. Maybe I need to re-read KING CITY or something.

to see if the rhapsodic comics blogosphere cognoscenti were right to love it?

Nah, because I liked it.

Since Marvel is having a sale on their digital comics unlimited service, I took the plunge and the last couple of days I have been catching up on stuff I missed (X-FORCE/X-STATIX) or revisiting my youth (WHAT IF?). I've already got my money's worth and plan on digging deep on some of the 70s Cap and Avengers runs before long.

If anyone has must reads I might have missed I'm open to suggestions.

It's probably not a cool choice, but I get some chuckles on some Deadpool comics. It's pretty hit and miss, but he fights guys like this at times.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/53205/1215364-white_lightnin___copy.jpg

The Man Who Grew His Beard by Olivier Schrauwen is what I've been obsessed with most lately. Can't quite put it down. The drawing assignment piece with the cat, the mouse and Mr. Peters is priceless.

I should totally give Deadpool a go. I skipped most of the 90s.

It's pretty hit and miss, but there is some definite fun in there.

Deadpool shrank The Rhino around and then carried him around his neck on a chain.

He fought Bullseye a while back and all I have to say is "meat coat".

The whole Cable & Deadpool series is a fun read too. Really one of the better Marvel runs I have read since getting back into comics.

I like fun comics. Garth Ennis did a Punisher story with Wolverine and had a steam roller, 'little people gangsters' and great artwork by Darin Robertson that is a scream. Maybe the best Wolverine crossover ever and that is saying something.

I'm wanting to read Dan Slott's She Hulk as I guess that is supposed to be a real fun comic.

Incredible Hercules is a pretty fun series too.

that unlimited service don't work on iPad i assume?

I don't know. Probably not. But at $42 or something I'm cool with it on my desktop.

Apparently it's Flash based, so I guess not.

Just read What If #28 - "what if Daredevil was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" with art from Miller & Janson. Kinda stupid but quite fun.

A lot of the first WHAT IF series is indeed kinda stupid but quite fun, with some strange art matchups. I have fun re-imagining WHAT IF PHOENIX HADN'T DIED as a twelve-issue crossover maxi-series as written today. It's much more fun to imagine than it would actually be to read.

Fun fact: the first Marvel comic I bought that wasn't a licensed title was WHAT IF CAPTAIN AMERICA WERE ELECTED PRESIDENT.

I read that very What If? last night! Silly fun.

You should totally get the WHAT THE humor issue if they have that, though I wonder how well some of the jokes have aged.

I bought all those when they came out. Don't think I have them anymore and they aren't on the digital service. I'd love to see if they agd well. Should look for not brand ech too.

Re-reading a bunch of stuff that I've had in storage for 5+ years. Missed the hell out of my Frank and Rare Bit Fiends collections. I'm currently slowly working my way through all of the "Vertigo Universe" (Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Sandman, Books Of Magic, etc., etc.) stuff from the beginning. I'm up to about '96 now. Still surprisingly engaging and good value...except when it's pointedly not. Next up, maybe my Nocenti Daredevils? Human Target? There's too much good stuff to choose from.

Was just directed to this (it's a friend of mine presenting the segment, back in 1992).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJyEByvEMeM

Oh -- it's a BBC kids art show, a segment about comics with some 2000AD stuff.

my fave WHAT IF is totally the one where Kirby reimagines the early Marvel Bullpen as the FF!

http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/8/85/What_If%3F_Vol_1_11.jpg

Sol... Brodksy?

er Brodsky

yep, sol brodsky as the human torch. brodsky was stan's general troubleshooter, production manager etc at marvel in the 60s. he used to be one of the suspects for inking FF #1, but the smart money seems to be on George Klein, these days.

I like the segment where Peter Milligan and...who else, can't recall, were on a UK talkshow in the 80s, looking incredibly dapper.

Also, I just bought the first Carl Barks Fantagraphics book, which I'm curious/stoked to read, as I've never (knowingly) read any before

oh wow dude that's heavy

like seriously, i don't know if i'd rate anyone as a storyteller higher than barks. I'd put him ahead of the hernandii, eisner, tezuka, herge...

whaaaaat omg want did not even know those were out

they're supposed to be releasing the complete barks over time
the paper quality is AWESOME, it feels like reading a gold key issue.

Yeah, it's a beautiful book. There's some dorky essays at the back for the ahem, "serious fans," but it still looks like a proper kids' book. My partner went from "that's seriously the dorkiest thing you've ever bought" to "that's niiiiiiice" in like two seconds.

I've been catching up on the Kirby/Lee Captain America series from the mid-to-late 60s and absolutely loving it. I've read a lot of Kirby's return to Marvel Cap run from the late 70s, but never had a chance to read the Tales To Astonish/Captain America stories. There is something special about Cap in Jack's hands at his peak; never before or after has the visceral kineticism of Cap in action felt so muscular and punishing.

This Marvel online subscription this is blowing my mind. I wish DC would do the same.

convince me it's worth it? What are the particulars? Logistics/programs/cost/renewal options/what it gets you/media format/etc?

It's $60/year (though there is a code on their Facebook page for some % off through the end of the month that made it roughly $42). It allows you to go to their website and read flash converted scans of thousands of their comics, from the 40s through some time in the recent past (seems to vary by title, but looks to be around 12-24 months for most current runs). There are huge gaps and titles completely missing (like Power Man & Iron Fist from the 80s), but they are adding stuff every week, both new and old.

It all depends on how much you like reading comics on your computer. I wish I had a working laptop or that they'd make an ipod compatible version (it'd get me to finally pick one up), but for that price I feel like I'm getting a decent deal.

you can browse the collection and find FAQs and such here:

http://marvel.com/digital_comics/unlimited

okay, so they don't actually publish new comics online? that seems weird.

they do - you just have to buy them individually. Not part of the giant back catalog thing.

ahhhhhh. hm. seems like a "close the barndoor after the cow left" strategy on their part, especially without ipad support. It's still easier to pirate than to buy and far more convenient.

I think they sell new stuff through Comixology and other comic apps for ipad and the like. It's incredibly easy to buy digital comics if you want to do so. Services like the one I signed up for will keep me from scouring for downloads of old comics if they keep adding things.

What I don't think they've figured out is a pricing structure that works for new stuff because they don't want to kill brick and mortar comic book stores, even if they'd be better off doing so in the long run. I can't remember the last time I bought comics that weren't trades or hardcovers.

This MDCU thing is like netflix streaming for their comics; a great idea that will only get better as it grows. Really needs an iOS interface though.

yeah, i hear you. if they had an ipad interface i would buy literally right now and keep a sub going until i died.
i remember talking to an erstwhile ilxor and comic journalist about a year ago who had just written a piece about marvel's online plans and when i asked him what the hell they were thinking he said "they aren't"

I think that sums it up quite well. None of these publishers seem to know what to do with online besides go after the pirates, which is like killing an ant hive with your finger tip. You might get an impressive pile of dead ants but you ain't done shit.

Someone has to say, "Our periodicals are now digital. Print is for collections. Our periodicals are cheaper because we've eliminated a huge cost and discount structure. Our print editions will be nicer and with value added material. We will offer a discount on the collection if you have bought all the periodicals included and you purchase directly from us."

But they are deathly afraid of fucking over the retailers that kept them going the last 25 years so won't take that big a step. Instead they lurch around blindly hoping for something to magically work like the direct market did when the newsstands started to fade.