Comic Book Resources

I forgot "it" had even come out. Went home with Casanova instead. Half the price and thrice as nice!

My shop didn't carry any copies of the Kamandi reprint special, though. It turned my face into a frowny emoticon.

I don't know why you have such a mad-on for Archie #583, Greg.

I didn't buy any Secret Invasion stuff, but I did by the first trade of 52 yesterday.
I'm not sure why either.
Not much happened in those first few issues though.

Hey Greg, you should go get the first trade to the current Legion Of Super Heroes series.
I didn't like the idea of reading it either, but it's really damn good - I'm up to the fourth trade and it's still good.
I think you'd dig it.

You're talking about the Waid/Kitson trade, right, FGJ? Yeah, I liked it, and keep thinking I should get the rest of them. It's one of those things that is enjoyable enough, but I'm not dying to keep reading it. But I have heard plenty of good things about the rest of the Waid/Kitson part of the new series - maybe I'll have to check them out.

Yeah, that's the one.
I think it loses it a bit in the second trade* as it's all to do with their big giant threat, so the character work takes a back seat, but the third one picks it back up with their new status quo (shaky though it is) and is good fun - even Supergirl isn't too annoying.
I was just surprised by how fun and easy to get into it was - I'd never read a panel of legion before this one, and with such a large cast it keeps things moving along nice and fast.

*That said, I re-read the first two earlier this week, and it held up better on second read.

I have to agree with FunkyGreenJerusalem, Waid/Kitson Legion rocks!! And i'm a die hard Legion fan, reluctant at first about the threeboot. But man, was I wrong!! Best Legion since Levitz was at the wheel!

I don't think the new Ventriloquist is a preexisting character, but the reveal seems to suggest that somethng more was going on behind the scenes in Dini's first issue of Detective.

I think ClanDestine 3 links to a third Alan Davis work, too. If my guess is right, the world that Dominic and Excalibur have popped into is the one from his Killraven mini-series, or at least very similar to it.

Add me to the list of people reccomending the current Legion. Never read any Legion comics or even been interested in the team, but I've thoroughly enjoyed this series since the begininng. I was worried the Supergirl addition would be lame and gimmicky, but it worked really well. Bedard and Shooter so far have done a good job following Waid on the title.

where is your infinity inc. 8 review? i am waiting for this

Is that all?
You haven't even reviewed the books I bought!
Hmmph.

Yes, I just could not resist and went ahead and bought the dreaded Secret Invasion # 1, just to see what's all the fuss is all about. Sure HOPE that not only it's better than Civil War, but comes out ON time.

Haven't read it yet, tho'.

Sorry, suetkafa. I dropped Infinity Inc. It just wasn't doing it for me. I know that Woods is on the title now, so maybe I'll have to take a look at it, but I had to cut somewhere, and that was one place, unfortunately.

Yeah, I know it's a lean week, Tom. I didn't pick up anything for free this week, because I probably would have read Secret Invasion more closely than I did when I skimmed through it. Sorry to disappoint!

Best comic of the week is probably PS238. I haven't had a chance to read it yet -- these ishes are *dense*, in a very good way -- but going by its 29 predecessors, that's a pretty safe bet.

The new Buffy had some really fun moments.

Also looking forward to reading Clandestine #3. Having skipped the '90s (as well as the '80s & pretty much the first half of this decade, too), I had no idea these characters existed till #1 came out. I was inspired to go buy the original limited series off eBay as well & just finished #3 of that one. Really nice stuff.

Secret Invasion? C'mon ... really, who cares?

I have to ask, is it really fair to guilt people out over buying something solely on the basis of it being a big crossover event thingy? I know it's rare, but occasionally they can be entertaining, and in any case you can't judge it a priori awful before the first issue arrives.

But the way Wagner gets from Point A to Point B is a bit disappointing, because it involves what we might expect - tragedy visits the Hacienda de la Vega, and women bear the brunt of it, in two different ways, but both ways aren’t terribly interesting. We can figure out what Diego’s mother will do, and we can also figure out what Bernardo’s mother will do. I guess that there has to be tragedy in the boys’ lives (although I don’t completely agree with that), but does it have to come in so common-place a fashion?

He's following Isabel Allende's origin from the novel, beat-for-beat. That's why. Wagner noted it in #1, but it WAS in really tiny type.

'Tec only had one sour note for me: Bruce yelling at Zatanna to get down. It just seemed a bit... off, as the image of Bruce Wayne he tries to project wouldn't be that heroic, but Batman would assume that Z could take care of herself and get back to doing his job.

Other than that, very good stuff. Hopefully Catwoman can be extracted from all the Salvation Run-related silliness, because I can't see Dini resisting the potential of having her and Zatanna in an issue together at this point.

Other than that: well, Action was a nice way of ending the arc even if it underwhelmed a bit on the art side (Gary Frank seems to draw everyone BUT Superman well, but that might be me seeing too much of his Supreme Power work in this). Nightwing was fun, but felt like a bit of a repeat from last time (if they're trying to build a new status quo, they need more intermixing of elements from the other plotlines). That was about it for me.

The owner of LCS called Moon Knight "Dull, hysterical, and ugly. Like the worst tics of 90s comics in one tidy package!" - so you and I are two of the few enjoying it, Greg. I find it very compelling, and generally well done. You just know that in a world with costumed vigilantes you'd end up with the occasional Marc Spector. I hadn't read the original series in a while and am just re-reading it in Essential format. It really does add a layer to what Huston and now Benson are doing. I'm interested in what comes of the words exchanged between MK and Ray this issue. And I want more Profiler! Good stuff, and I figure we'll get one more arc after this one and then it's over.

Casanova deserves all the praise it gets and more. Just a heartbreakingly lovely issue. Fraction is my favorite writer right now: his ability to combine the big, mad ideas with a relatable, human core is amazing.

Metal Men was also pretty good this week, and gives me hope that it just might make sense when read all together. The art has been beautiful throughout, so at least it's easy on the eyes.

-- Sean

I'm waiting for the trade on Metal Men, because I'm sure it will read better all at once.

I'm just having some fun, Evan! I'm the last person to criticize people for their choices, so if everyone really wanted to read Secret Invasion, far be it from me to stop them. Read what you like, say I! I'm actually mulling over writing something about the whole idea, because something occurred to me about it this week. I have no interest in it, but I know a lot of people do. As usual, I just don't like people buying something because they only buy Marvel or really, really NEED the latest crossover. That's just silly. But if you like the issue, fine by me!

"I have to ask, is it really fair to guilt people out over buying something solely on the basis of it being a big crossover event thingy? I know it’s rare, but occasionally they can be entertaining, and in any case you can’t judge it a priori awful before the first issue arrives."

I thought it was pretty entertaining myself and I usually skip crossovers.

I bought both Secret Invasion and Moon Knight - and MK kicked its arse up and down the street.

And how can something be dull AND hysterical? Doesn' one automatically exclude the other?
Time to find a new LCS, methinks

Unless I'm mistaken, the new Ventriloquist was created by Dini and introduced in 'TEC... um.. 821? 827? I'm bad with issue numbers. Let me know if I'm wrong.

ZORRO is pushing all of my buttons right now. I'm loving Dynamite's "pulp rebirth" mojo. The backstory is simple and powerful and I enjoy the fact that the central theme is about the concept of HEROISM... yeah! In a comic book! These funny books aren't just for continuity-wank anymore.

Count me as another MOON KNIGHT supporter. While Huston's second arc kind of petered out, Benson's first story has me sold on him as the new ongoing writer. Plus, Black Spectre is awesome.

Honestly, I'm gonna admit that I'm a pretty big fan of the latest incarnation of Moon Knight too. Benson's done an admirable job of carrying the torch from Huston, and the character is as good as ever. My only problem is the art. Admittedly, Texeira and Saltares are a step up from Suayan, but after Finch and Coker, they could do better.

>>You bought it, didn’t you? You knew you shouldn’t have, but you did anyway. It made you feel dirty, but you didn’t care, did you? And now what? What will fill that empty feeling inside? You could have done so much more with that four dollars. <<

You got me dead to rights, Greg ... but as god as my witness, I will never buy Kick-Ass again. Millar's insistence on the ground-breakingness of this ... this ... thing is either a symptom of sheer delusion brought of by self-obsession *or* an elaborately cynical put-on.