PS: I posted some comic book opinions on the last page.
Okay, I've got a question for people here who have read Brian Vaughn's Ex Machina.
I have not read Ex Machina, but I have heard that it is an involving series that blends superheroism with contemporary politics, which sounds right up my alley. However, I felt that Vaughn's other series, Y: The Last Man, did a terrible job of representing women's issues. Simply put, the issues were just being quoted by the characters and did not play any real, affecting role in the story. I think that's an absolute cop-out direction to take, and I might as well be reading an actual book on women's issues.
So anyway, what I want to know is, are the political issues in Ex Machina just things for the characters to talk about, or do they actually affect the characters directly?
Funny you should say that about Superman: Secret Origins, I hadn't thought of picking it up [trying to put down some books] But I am so enjoying the current runs on Superman [all but Superman/Batman]. I wonder if I should be picking this up or if its gonna have no reflection on anything else, so I won't be missing out on anything. _________________ Itchy... Tasty
Funny you should say that about Superman: Secret Origins, I hadn't thought of picking it up [trying to put down some books] But I am so enjoying the current runs on Superman [all but Superman/Batman]. I wonder if I should be picking this up or if its gonna have no reflection on anything else, so I won't be missing out on anything.
It's really impossible to say after this one issue (and it doesn't help that I don't read the other Superman books), but there's certainly a lot of room for influence on the main series.
Ultimate Spider-man #3 arrived and I'm starting to wonder whether it would be worth continuing to read the series after this first Mysterio arc. The only moment I really enjoyed was the Bombshells fight last issue; it's been pretty boring otherwise.
Batman & Robin is in a weird place for me. It's not really any better than the other generic comic books on the stands, yet I keep picking it up for some reason. Perhaps it's the 3-issue arc system that keeps me saying "Just one more." Also, for anyone interested in knowing why Jason Todd now has red hair, that's apparently another Grant Morrison attempt to bring back pre-Crisis of Infinite Earths continuity.
Sweet Tooth #2 was also disappointing as I felt the only thing that distinguished the first issue from all the other generic apocalypse horror stories was the personality of the main character, Gus. But in this issue, Gus did very little and gave very little of his own opinions. I'm hoping it gets better.
BUT WAIT! There was a comic book that gave me a nice surprise!
Daredevil #501, in which Daredevil kills his sensei (or something), Izo. Since it so brilliantly breaks a tired 80s TV trope (i.e. hero with old chinese Kung Fu teacher), it has immediately jumped up on my awesome-o-meter.
The "World's Most Wanted" arc of Invincible Iron Man concluded this week with #19, and while I can't say I've been captivated by this story, the conclusion was absolutely fantastic. All the characters and plot points came together very satisfyingly and have set up the story for the next arc with an excellent twist. I look forward to continuing this series.
Spider-woman #2 was on more-or-less the same level of quality as the first issue. While it isn't as slow-paced as the first issue, we now have an annoying habit of Maleev showcasing close-ups of Jessica Drew's face in every other panel. It's a shame, because this frustrating repetition lets down what is, in my opinion, superior artwork to what I've seen of Maleev's Daredevil run.
And tragically, this week marks the final issue of the excellent reprints of Thor: Tales of Asgard. As significant as Stan Lee is to the comic book industry, his cheesiness puts me off most of his work. But this series was made for Stan Lee's cheesiness, and with Jack Kirby's excellent artwork (fantastically re-inked for the 21st Century), I've not seen a better representation of classic mythology.
Mate... i have just read the conclusion to worlds most wanted.
it f?@king rocked.
i don't want to say too much because i know some have not read it,
but this has got to be one of the best storylines in a long time. _________________
It should be no surprise that World's Most Wanted won an Eisner award for Best New Series. But anyway, new comics...
I want to start with Ultimate Avengers #3 just because it was such a fucking disappointment for me. Having already grown tired of Ultimate Spider-man (and Ultimate Armor Wars was never particularly enjoyable to begin with), I had hoped that Ultimate Avengers would keep me invested in the Marvel universe that got me into comics, and the first two issues were indeed fantastic. But this issue introduced the actual Avengers team, and Mark Millar did his absolute best to make them more unlikeable than the Ultimates under Jeph Loeb. The book has now degenerated to a dick-waving contest with horrible "bad-ass" dialogue. *sigh* And this is from the man who wrote Superman: Red Son, ladies and gentlemen. At least the art's still good, I guess.
I've been toying with the idea of dropping Ultimate Spider-man at the end of the first arc, but now that book looks awesome compared to Ultimate Avengers. Unless things improve, I will absolutely drop this.
In other news, Fantastic Four's new arc ended with an unsatisfying thud after some exciting build-up. It's a shame because I really felt that the concept could have held up six issues of plot.
The Spider-man Clone Saga mini-series has been interesting, given that I picked it up just as I started reading The Life of Reilly. The story is certainly much easier to understand and much more logical to boot.
Isn't it a little premature to start considing dropping a title because of one bad issue?
It depends on whether the faults play into future issues. But at least for the Ultimate titles, I'm determined to see both Spider-man and Avengers to the end of the first arc before I make a definite decision. Come to think of it, I do remember Mark Millar saying that each arc would feature different team rosters, and if that's still the case, future arcs might be more enjoyable. But considering that Millar also has the duty to set a good first impression for readers, choosing such a horrible roster for the first arc is nothing short of moronic.
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