|
Post by spoon on Sept 14, 2020 21:06:46 GMT -5
Continuing on my Doom Patrol binge read, since my last post, I've read Doom Patrol #21-33 of the Morrison run. There's way too much to discuss. The Red Jack two-parter was very good. Still waiting to find out what happens to Rhea Jones (Lodestone). She gets an unconscious cameo at the end of #33. I like how the members of the Brotherhood of Dada were assembled in interludes in prior issues. And because of my binge read, I actually knew who Mr. Morden was. I actually knew to look out for him because early in my binge read I watched the premiere of the Doom Patrol TV series, which was available as a free preview of YouTube. When a I read Morden's appearance in the Silver Age Doom Patrol as an ordinary looking guy who operates a giant robot as part of the Brotherhood of Evil who never showed up again in that run, I knew there was more in store for him. Morrison's dialect with Frenzy as a narrator was a little cringey and the Brotherhood of Dada end up more conventional than anticipate, but The Painting that Ate Paris story was very cool. Morrison's use of characters with very broad sets of powers (like The Quiz) is somewhate reiminiscent of the Drake/Premiani DP, which had villains like the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man and Mr. 103.
I thought there would be a bigger team roster, so I was surprised that the field team is just Robotman, Rebis, and Crazy Jane at that point. This is another thing that's reminiscent in a way of the early days of the team. With Rebis as a transformed Negative Man, Crazy Jane in place of Elasti-Girl, and Robotman as the constant, it's like a return to a classic formula. And yes, I know that Rebis is Larry combined with Dr. Poole and the Negative Spirit (as it's now called), but we really don't get much of a sense of what Poole contributes to the synthesis thus far. Although Robotman was the most popular character, it actually seemed like Larry and Rita were more useful in a fight in the early DP stories, and that's also replicated in a lot of these stories. Rebis and Crazy Jane seem to have key knowledge and Robotman is a POV character for the reader in a sense.
I'm surprised Josh Clay is still around. As I noted, I've never read Morrison's DP before, but I assumed the "housecleaning" at the end of Kupperberg was going to write him out, too. The Chief seems to get little digs in at Josh throughout the run so far. Very uncomfortable and unlike the pre-Crisis Chief. I'd think he's like Josh as another man of science.
Sometimes Morrison is show-offy with all the allusion, but now I really want to visit the Sagrada Familia. Nicely done there.
I've previously been dedicated almost purely to the DP binge read, just read one or two other comics occasionally every week or two. But I've now decided to do two simultaneously binge reads. The other one right now is the Essential Marvel Horror vol. 1 TPB. That volume reprints the early appearances of Daimon Hellstrom and his sister Satana in black and white. The book has all the Hellstrom's stories at the beginning and the Satana stories at the end, so I was surprised to learn that their first appearances actually happened the same month. So far I've read Ghost Rider #1-2 and Marvel Spotlight #12. It seems like Spotlight was largely focused on try-outs for supernatural characters. Ghost Rider had just finished a run there before launching his eponymous series, and Hellstrom (Son of Satan) took Spotlight over the next month. The stories cross over from GR #2 to Hellstrom's first Spotlight story. I haven't read much of 1970s Ghost Rider so I was surprised that he seemed so cautious rather than a grim spirit of vengeance. And it seems like there was a rapid move from restricting horror (like zuvembies instead of zombies) to going all in on characters pledging themselves to Satan. I can only imagine what parents thought. I haven't read many stories that dealt with Hellstrom in detail, so I'm just learning about his powers and background.
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 15, 2020 4:34:44 GMT -5
Astro City: Life in the Big City (1996) Collecting #1-6 of the first Astro City series in 1995. Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Alex Ross, et al. First time reading this; I knew I would like it, because previously I'd read an Astro City special issue and a back-up story or two a long time ago on the Scans Daily site. What can I say about Astro City that hasn't already been said more eloquently a zillion times by many others before me? I very thoroughly enjoyed this: the individual stories, the world-building, the art... Busiek is really one of the those writers (like Alan Brennert) who joyfully accepts the superhero genre and uses it to write very mature, adult stories that can be read and appreciated by anyone (i.e., no over-the-top violence, no gratutious sex or oversexualized portrayals of women, etc.). The only problem now is that I want to read every single other Astro City story, but that's way out of my budget right now - as it is, I bought this tpb from a dealer at a local comics show a few years ago for the equivalent of about $10. I may go the digital route for the rest of them. I mentioned before that I'd also read one of the specials, which is the only other Astro City book I have, and I read it again last night after finishing the above book: Asto City Special featuring the Samaritan (2006) Another great story. The main focus is on, and the narration provided by, the Samaritan's archnemesis, the Infidel, a sort of Kang/Immortus-like figure who has fought the Samaritan many, many times. His plans usually get foiled, but neither one of them really comes out on top in these confrontations, and the Infidel now lives as a sort of exile in a realm outside of time. Every year, he and the Samaritan share a cordial meal and size each other up - and this is the story of one of those meals. They meet in the Infidel's palace, and as usual, he lays out a sumptuous feast with the finest cuisine. Otherwise, when it's the Samaritan's turn to host, they usually meet in some random historical era, and the Samaritan doesn't invest as much effort into the quality of the meal... The story is just a perfect combination of thought-provoking moments and lighter bits like this. Yeah, I really want to read more Astro City...
|
|
|
Post by MDG on Sept 15, 2020 9:09:02 GMT -5
Probably a third of the wy through each of these: Enjoying them a lot more than I expected. You get a bit of the "sameness" factor as with any of these collections, but a lot less than in superhero books. Two takeaways: - A bit surprised at how violent Jonah Hex is--comparing it to other DC books at the time, the level is comparable to the difference between Roy Rogers and Sergio Leonie.
- I had a poor impression of Gerry Talaocs's art before, and looking at this, I don't know why. He does a really good job.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 15, 2020 9:42:24 GMT -5
Probably a third of the wy through each of these: Enjoying them a lot more than I expected. You get a bit of the "sameness" factor as with any of these collections, but a lot less than in superhero books. Two takeaways: - A bit surprised at how violent Jonah Hex is--comparing it to other DC books at the time, the level is comparable to the difference between Roy Rogers and Sergio Leonie.
- I had a poor impression of Gerry Talaocs's art before, and looking at this, I don't know why. He does a really good job.
It's been a while since I've read Jonah Hex, but that's my recollection as well. I know that the Code had been significantly relaxed by the issues in that volume. I wonder if they got a little slack from the Code because the book was pretty clearly aimed at an older audience than the superhero books. I do think that Hex was the most consistently high quality book that DC had over the length of its run. Other books may have had short runs that outshone it, but that book was quality pretty much the entire run. I too used to dislike Talaoc but have turned around my thinking. Unknown Soldier in the hands of Michelinie and Talaoc was a high quality book.
|
|
|
Post by beccabear67 on Sept 15, 2020 13:47:14 GMT -5
Checked A-Next and J2 off the to read pile up to #10 each. There's a good Man In The High Castle type alternate world story where Captain America has been all along and American Dream gets to meet her inspiration. J2 teams with Wolverine for an inconsequential story with Wild Thing, and his Mom gets in a punch on a baddie in another story. Still a fun read. Also Spider-Girl #5 with Venom appearing, not crazy about the character but it's well done and moves the situation with her parents along. Now I find out there was a Darkdevil and a The Buzz mini-series in the MC-2 line but I haven't even seen The Buzz yet to know if I'd be interested.
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 15, 2020 15:00:47 GMT -5
(...) Now I find out there was a Darkdevil and a The Buzz mini-series in the MC-2 line but I haven't even seen The Buzz yet to know if I'd be interested. Yep, two minis for each character. They're collected in this digest... ...which I bought really cheap some years ago. So far, it's the only M2 material I've read, and I rather liked it.
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Sept 15, 2020 20:07:13 GMT -5
This afternoon relaxed with a pair of ERB inspired mini-series: Tarzan/John Carter; Warlords of Mars and Tarzan vs Predator. I think ERB would be amazed and proud in knowing his characters and stories are still inspiring others. Both mini's are incredible, both in their writing and artwork. Wish Warlords could have had Blevins for the entire run but 2 out of 4 isn't bad.
Both Bret Blevins and Lee Weeks deliver a lean mean jungle machine in their depiction of Tarzan. Blevins Mars work is spectacular as well while Weeks Predators are monstrous and powerful. If you haven't read either of these then you have surely been missing out on some wondrous adventure comic books.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 1:38:59 GMT -5
Son of Sinbad #1 (St. John; 1950) Finally has a chance to sit down and read this. The book contains 4 stories, 2 Son of Sinbad stories with art by Kubert, a third son of Sinbad story with art attributed to Carmine Infantino by the GCD, but not confirmed, and a story featuring Omar of the Magic Robes that is uncredited and not given an artist attribution by GCD. There is also a text story featuring the Son of Sinbad that runs on the two inside covers. All four are adventure stories set in the era of the Baghdad Caliphate (technically the Abbasid Caliphate of the 8th-9th century) that Sinbad's adventures are set in. The text story features the Son of Sinbad taking on a pirate (Chang Yan) with a flaming sword near the coast of Madagascar. The first Kubert story (Ransom of Shipwreck Shoals) features the Son of Sinbad following a copy of a map to a treasure lost by his father given to him by an escaped slave girl. The second Kubert story (Curse of the Caliph's Dancer) features the Son of Sinbad in a competition against a court favorite of the caliph to acquire a prized pearl and features encounters with giant clams, sharks and an octopus. The last Son of Sinbad story (the Merchant's Menace) features the Son of Sinbad (also named Sinbad it seems) taking on a mission for the caliph to recover a lost caravan of goods, and much of the action revolves around a series of camel races. The last story (A Kiss Unmasks a Killer) features the spy Omar and his magic clothes that can take on any appearance he wishes making him a master of disguise, as he sets out to capture a vicious killer to win the right to court the caliph's daughter. All four are pretty standard adventure fare, but wonderful fun. The art on the Kubert stories are typical early Kubert (i.e. resembling more his stuff on the Golden Age Hawkman than the more recognizable signature style seen in his later stuff like Sgt. Rock and Tarzan-the transition of styles as far as I can tell from the stuff I have read is shortly after this when he was doing Tor for St. Johns), which is a little looser and more towards the cartoony spectrum than his later work, but still dynamic in its story telling and action sequences, and quite enjoyable. The art on Merchant of Menace, if it is Infantino's, is also very good. I have to say if it is Carmine, I like his early stuff much more than the style he had developed by the 70s. The Omar story is also well rendered with some dynamic action, but I do not recognize the style It is not too far off the style of the Kubert or Infantino stuff, but it is recognizably different from them. I really dug this issue overall, and it left me with a hankering to seek out some of the original Sinbad tales or track down a copy of the 1955 Son of Sinbad movie to watch or to revisit Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad. For as much as I have had this comic as a grail for years, finally reading it did not disappoint. It's not groundbreaking excellence, but it is a hell of a lot of fun. -M
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,549
Member is Online
|
Post by Confessor on Sept 16, 2020 7:28:26 GMT -5
Yeah, I really want to read more Astro City... Astro City is amazingly good. I've been on board since issue #2, back in 1995, and it hardly ever disappoints. It's probably one of the most consistantly excellent comic series I've ever collected.
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Sept 17, 2020 11:31:16 GMT -5
I'm reading through The Flash (1987) and JLA (1997). I'm at the Messner-Loebs run in Flash and the Waid run in JLA, and both are really good!
|
|
|
Post by spoon on Sept 19, 2020 19:48:16 GMT -5
Continuing two binge reads, I read Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #34-38. There's a one-off that apparently kisses off the Brain and Monsiuer Mallah, and also reveals they were secretly in love. It's an ignominous send-off, as they are portrayed as idiots. The Brotherhood of Evil was weird, not pathetic. Ironically, given the genderbending aspects of Rebis, Crazy Jane having some male personalities, and Danny the Street, with the Brain/Mallah story, homosexuality seems to be played for laughs.
The Danny the Street/Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. story was pretty good, and a message can be derived under all the surrealism.
Rhea finally awakes from her coma, and thus far her metamorphosis is . . . icky, I guess. She's another character that takes on a different persona. So I'm sort of glad she back, but sort of not. I liked the young members that were added to the post-Crisis Kupperberg DP, and things have not turned out well for any of them. Morrison's run has been intriguing so far, but it's often plot-driven at the expense of character in the sense that characters can take on an inhuman opacity in service of the plot. Rebis, for example, does a lot of exposition about supernatural phenomena, and it's hard to get a sense of who he/she is. Dr. Poole continues to really be subsumed, though, almost as an afterthought. Jane has so many personalities, so it's hard to determine what's really her. She seems to have a crush on Cliff, but is that just one personality out of many? Dorothy Spinner is perhaps the most defined new character as a human. Yes, she's a Kupperberg creation, but with only one pre-Morrison appearance, Morrison gets to construct her personality.
The transformation of characters mostly works because the plot and world-building are the stars. The one part where it really irks me, though, is with the Chief. In the Silver Age, he was a benevolent figure. He was also remarkably egalitarian and kind toward the DP members, despite being the leader and significantly older. Morrison's Chief is none of this. I've been spoiled enough to know Morrison takes the Chief in a darker direction, but I wonder whether he'll have an ino-story explanation or just ignore the change. What bothers me is that he has the characters ignore the change. Shouldn't Cliff be disturbed that the nice guy he knew is suddenly a jackass? Doesn't anyone question the arbitrariness of moving from Kansas City to Rhode Island to wherever they've moved to now?
In Essential Marvel Horror vol. 1, I've continued by reading Marvel Spotlight #13-17. Fun fact: Daimon Hellstrom's birthday is Groundhog's Day. Not kidding. It's canon. Stever Gerber and Jim Mooney take over as creative team from Gary Friedrich and Herb Trimpe, and it's a definite improvement. Gerber dumps the restriction that Hellstrom takes on his Son of Satan persona only at night. I figure he must have thought it was an unnecessary, arbitrary constraint on the stories. I was wondering how it was going to work if he was constantly constrained by daylight. Daimon goes to St. Louis at the request of a psychology professor, Dr. Katherine Reynolds, to investigate a haunting. He's been there for a few issues, and Reynolds has joined the supporting cast. Given that the CCF Podcast is currently covering the Fall of Yellowjacket storyline, I was surprised to see a similar moment taken in a different direction. At the end of one issue, Hellstrom smacks Dr. Katharine Reynolds in the face for disobeying his instructions, thus worsening a danger. The next issue Katharine apologizes to Daimon and asks him out to dinner (albeit with one of her students as a chaperone/third-wheel). I'm not kidding; that happens.
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Sept 21, 2020 15:12:30 GMT -5
I decided to read my Elson's Presents DC Superheroes collections. I finished #1 over the weekend. Elson's presents basically takes 3 DC comics (all with a January, 1981 cover date) and sticks them into one paperback volume. There were 6 volumes in all. Elson's was a chain of newsstands, so I'm sure there were sold there, but I don't remember ever seeing an Elson's so perhaps these were sold somewhere else. I remember that I got these back in the early 80's, probably 1981, but I don't remember exactly where. Anyway, these things are great. It's got every page from the comics - ads, letters pages, everything. I think they just took coverless copies of the actual comics and stuck them in these volumes. I've read #1 so far and it has Batman #331, The Flash #293, and DC Comics Presents #29.
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Sept 21, 2020 16:04:08 GMT -5
I also read Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe #8. It covers the history of the Marvel Universe from Fantastic Four #1 and goes up through some point in the 60's. Anyway, each issue covers a few months (our time) and in this particular issue, three different women were taken hostage - Invisible Girl, Jane Foster, and Betty Ross! That's about all women were good for in those days in the Marvel Universe. Sad.
|
|
|
Post by tartanphantom on Sept 21, 2020 16:39:28 GMT -5
I decided to read my Elson's Presents DC Superheroes collections. I finished #1 over the weekend. Elson's presents basically takes 3 DC comics (all with a January, 1981 cover date) and sticks them into one paperback volume. There were 6 volumes in all. Elson's was a chain of newsstands, so I'm sure there were sold there, but I don't remember ever seeing an Elson's so perhaps these were sold somewhere else. I remember that I got these back in the early 80's, probably 1981, but I don't remember exactly where. Anyway, these things are great. It's got every page from the comics - ads, letters pages, everything. I think they just took coverless copies of the actual comics and stuck them in these volumes. I've read #1 so far and it has Batman #331, The Flash #293, and DC Comics Presents #29. I only have issue #3, which I distinctly remember buying at an Elson's in an airport. Wish I had bought them all.
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Sept 21, 2020 18:08:34 GMT -5
I decided to read my Elson's Presents DC Superheroes collections. I finished #1 over the weekend. Elson's presents basically takes 3 DC comics (all with a January, 1981 cover date) and sticks them into one paperback volume. There were 6 volumes in all. Elson's was a chain of newsstands, so I'm sure there were sold there, but I don't remember ever seeing an Elson's so perhaps these were sold somewhere else. I remember that I got these back in the early 80's, probably 1981, but I don't remember exactly where. Anyway, these things are great. It's got every page from the comics - ads, letters pages, everything. I think they just took coverless copies of the actual comics and stuck them in these volumes. I've read #1 so far and it has Batman #331, The Flash #293, and DC Comics Presents #29. I only have issue #3, which I distinctly remember buying at an Elson's in an airport. Wish I had bought them all.
Luckily, I have all six.
|
|