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Waterhaul posted:Also The Comics Reporter are running a series of all the good things that happened in 2013. One of the good things is "more comic book professionals will have health insurance finally". 
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Jan 1, 2014 23:34
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Soonmot posted:My year has started off wonderfully with a friend arguing on facebook that married heroes don't sell books, so it was okay that DC didn't let Batwoman get married. When I countered with the FF, Spider-Man (pre OMIT) and Superman (pre nu52) he responded that all those books dropped readers after the marriage. Does anyone have actual numbers for this? Well, correlation is not causation. Even if after a wedding, a comic drops in sales, that doesn't mean it was necessarily caused by the wedding. For example, the Superman Wedding Album was the 5th best-selling comic of 1996. If there were hard feelings, they didn't show when Superman became the Man of Teal in Superman #123, the 2nd best selling comic of 1997, though it plummets downward in 1998. Was it the marriage, or were people not thrilled with Superman's new look and powers? Or was the creative team just bad? Or maybe it was just that books like Darkness, Heroes Reborn, and the Onslaught storyline drew sales away from it? If Spider-Man sales dropped after the wedding in 1987, the drop was modest before it rockets up to getting its best sales ever in the early nineties. If the wedding had an impact, it was only for two years at most, and was very small. The weird thing about bringing up those books is at the time it's not like there was any question that Reed and Sue or Clark and Lois would get together someday in the books at the time. It's not like either character had major romantic subplots outside of that pairing (I mean, what else do you have? Sue and Namor? Superman and Maxima?)
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Jan 2, 2014 04:56
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Teenage Fansub posted:e: Marvel's reader at least on Android and computer browser is much worse, though. Yeah, I was wondering if it'd changed. I'd be a subscriber, but it was a pain in the rear end to read comics on my laptop when the first launched it since there was no way to truly fullscreen a comic, the interface insisted on taking up a portion of the bottom screen. If it was perfectly fullscreen it'd be readable, but as it was I had to scroll up and down if I wanted it at a viewable size.
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Jan 2, 2014 06:22
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Organic webshooters are just gross. Who wants to see Spider-Man expel stuff from an orifice at criminals? No thanks.
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Jan 7, 2014 00:49
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muscles like this? posted:Mechanical webshooters are stupid because Peter's "spider" abilities then boil down to able to climb walls. Spiders aren't exactly known for their strength or danger sense. There's a comic that's much more spergily accurate in its spider-powers. It's called Spinnerette. I think saying they're "stupid" is point-missing? Pretty much everything about Spider-Man (or, well, a majority of superheroes) is a bit nonsensical, but trying to make changes in the name of versimilitude mostly just exacerbates the nonsense more often than not. At least, from what I've seen in too many comics.
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Jan 7, 2014 02:14
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Hating Dan Slott? I love Young Avengers, but I really understand it's not to everyone's taste. Nova is... well, how've Zeb Wells and Gerry Duggan on that? I admit I didn't know Loeb was off it, and Loeb hadn't done much to sell me on the series.
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Jan 7, 2014 06:11
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Waterhaul posted:The Loeb issues were actually really good too and a fun kid in space story without the usual over reliance on "shocking" reveals. I found it very cookie-cutter, there were amusing moments but essentially any high school scene was  .Spider-Island was probably the last crossover I really enjoyed, it was just a fun premise and was structured really well with some really good side series. (ompare with AvX, which is a fun premise structured terribly, or Infinity, which is structured really well but wasn't at all fun.
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Jan 7, 2014 15:41
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It's still more respectable and reliable than DC proper, at least.
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Jan 9, 2014 21:33
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Timeless Appeal posted:I've never really understood the tone of Invincible. Rather relatedly: It's nineties Image. It hides it very well with its clean art style, but Invincible feels massively influenced by Savage Dragon to me and other Image comics of the time. The character exposition Kirkman does all the time sounds just like Larsen to me, and Dragon became a comic with goofy villains like Powerhouse but also with scenes where Officer Dragon accidentally punches off people's heads because whups he thought they were superhuman oopsie. I'm kind of surprised the similarities in style don't get brought up more often, and I guess that probably has something to do with the amount of people who read Savage Dragon.
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Jan 22, 2014 18:38
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Parkreiner posted:Didn't Kirkman get his start writing Savage Dragon spinoffs, too? It was pretty close to Battle Pope either way. He did a Superpatriot mini after Battle Pope. For those not hep, Superpatriot was a Captain America analogue who gets all of his limbs bit off by a shark villain in the first Savage Dragon series, and has them replaced with cyber-limbs that turn into guns. The nineties, yes.
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Jan 22, 2014 19:33
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Man, where has Mahfood been? We've needed him for so long.
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Jan 22, 2014 21:33
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Rhyno posted:I'm still bummed that he didn't get to do the final year of 3.0. Being a Wildstorm fan around 1998-2002 is the bummerest experiences I had as a comic fan, because it was seeing so much potential rise... and then die on the vine shortly after the sale to DC. It made me a lot more jaded about things like cancellations and mismanagement. A lot of it wasn't necessarily the fault of the people involved - it was a hard time for comics - but it was hard to see a company doing some groundbreaking stuff in the world of capes and then be reduced to The DC Try Out Book.
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Jan 24, 2014 14:36
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Halloween Jack posted:For me it was the Worldstorm event. Captain Atom: Armageddon is perhaps one of the most ill-conceived books I can recall. Captain Atom shows up in his hideous Kingdom Come outfit (because), loses control, and blows up the Wildstorm universe. Somehow they squeezed nine issues out of that premise.
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Jan 24, 2014 18:13
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I am buying ∞ more Image books than DC books. DC's just become a company I'm not interested in supporting at all.
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Jan 26, 2014 00:50
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Madkal posted:As much as everyone here thinks DC is the worstest thing ever and can only suck, there are some choice titles there (like Wonder Woman, Batman and Swamp Thing). It's certainly not all bad, don't get me wrong. There are good books. I've just always been on the fringes of DC readership and Nu52 (along with the bizarre behavior to follow) was enough to erode what investment I did have in the line. Dial H was my last holdout, and that at least lasted longer than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.
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Jan 26, 2014 08:29
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"People on the internet" is a tiny sampling of actual comic fandom, "people on SA" is a smaller sampling of that, and "comic fans who are on SA and are bothered by DC and say something about it" is barely perceptible.
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Jan 27, 2014 00:11
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Adam Hughes is leering at me.
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Jan 27, 2014 04:55
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prefect posted:It seems like artists/creative types are generally recognized as great after having completed their greatest works, doesn't it? Once they're done, you can look back and say "drat, that guy's awesome", even if his actual skill has declined since the peak of his abilities. I think part of it is is the "Superstar syndrome" where writers seem to facefault as soon as they become big names. Maybe it's that editors stop reigning in their worst successes, maybe it's that they're put on (or get the swagger to choose) big-name projects they aren't suited for, maybe they buy into their own hype, or maybe the assistant editors start poisoning their coffee with hallucinogens. Whatever the case, very few writers seem to make to the top and come out intact. I picked up Goldfish during a holiday sale, and it helped reminded me of why Bendis was a big deal once. It's really groundbreaking and thoughtfully done, and... well... when was the last time he did something you'd call "groundbreaking?" Ultimate Spider-Man, maybe? It's just kind of a bummer to think of all the promise a writer showed early on and look at their output now, all too often.
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Jan 27, 2014 14:29
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Unfortunately the time I lived in Columbus and the time I had money for comics are not two things that intersected.
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Jan 28, 2014 05:01
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Skwirl posted:New Avengers volume 1 was pretty drat amazing when it came out, even if in retrospect it seems a little fan-servicey (Let's put Spider-Man and Wolverine on the Avengers). I do love him for putting Luke Cage on the Avengers as well, and let's be honest, the only reason most of us know who Luke Cage is (outside of "Give me my money, honey"), is because of Bendis. Yeah, I'd have to reread it to really pass judgement, but that and Ultimates really turned the Avengers into something other than continuity flogging with b-listers.
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Jan 28, 2014 05:17
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I just bumped into an ancient Comics Journal interview with Todd McFarlane. Comics Journal interviews are often amazing because of how aggressive Gary Groth can be, but- McFarlane just comes across as dense.Todd McFarlane posted:I don’t know what you want me to read. I mean, if it’s technical stuff, you’re going to have a tough time, because unless it’s got pictures … I can’t read black and white, other than the box scores. I just don’t have that mentality. I’ve got to have pictures in front of me. I don’t read comics! I don’t read nothing really. I read the sports page … and then The Comics Journal — I’m going to give you a plug. Actually, that’s black and white. I do read that and whatever else. It’s not like I don’t have somewhat of a mild vocabulary out there. 
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Jan 30, 2014 15:11
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Rhyno posted:I have a TMNT mega thread half put together but I don't know if there's enough people actually reading the book to warrant a whole thread. I love the classic comics, and the current cartoon, but I've fallen off on the current comic. The new collections are radtabulous, tho.
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Jan 30, 2014 21:53
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Madkal posted:Seeing as all I really know is Marvel and DC and the people who/write draw for them, I am looking to expand my horizons a little bit. Usagi Yojimbo.
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Jan 30, 2014 22:02
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paulnewmanseyes posted:In Tom Strong it's a dude who gets raped, which is a change from the norm I guess There was once an entire pulp genre based around that sort of thing.
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Feb 5, 2014 06:30
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Mister Roboto posted:That ruined Fables for me, because then it spread and it became clear that some characters were meant to be strawmen and others meant to be virtuous examples of his political views. Senior Woodchuck posted:Snow's character arc is literally from independent, career-minded woman to homemaker. I had enjoyed- I- augh. How didn't I notice- dammit, knowledge- 
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Feb 6, 2014 15:58
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Mister Roboto posted:Yeah, that's basically what I went through. Yeah, I seem to recall some of that slipping into Shadowpact but I don't remember the details. Zachack posted:I thought it was a by and large entertaining read until the end of the Adversary War (issue 75?) at which point it starts a rapid decline until it hits the crossover and craters. I have no idea how it is now, I gave up long ago. Yeah, I concur Fables was pretty solid for me up to #75, but I haven't reread it with fresh eyes in about five years. After that it just persists, and starts to somehow feel like fanfiction by the original author. And yes, the Jack of Fables ending has got to probably one of the worst cappers to a comic. It's ballsy, but ultimately horrible and self-indulgent.
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Feb 8, 2014 02:58
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Hakkesshu posted:So exactly like Jack, then. I don't know, I thought that ending was really funny at the time - looking back it's pretty lazy, and a clear result of him having no idea where to go with the story, but I still think it's oddly fitting for how insane that book was in general. I felt more willing to roll with it when I first read it. The fact that's what I have to look back on when I remember it has lessened my forgiveness considerably.
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Feb 8, 2014 03:39
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bobkatt013 posted:Superman lost to Ali. To be fair, it was Ali.
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Feb 11, 2014 02:32
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But is it worth reading? I haven't gotten past the first story arc, and that was... like... when it came out.
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Feb 11, 2014 22:29
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itskage posted:At this point I just want to finish it out, but I don't think Whedon's part was much worse than the rest of volume 2. I just read the secret invasion cross over and I'm starting volume 3 now, but I doubt it gets any better (since it ends soon). Whedon's run isn't great but it feels like gold after reading Terry Moore's run. I actually like some of Terry Moore's indie work, but his work on Runaways is an absolute trainwreck. I think Kathryn Immonen might have been able to rehab the book, but it was cancelled out from under her and we'll never know.
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Feb 19, 2014 18:23
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I have to wonder if artists that reach the "covers only" status tend to stagnate. Like with JSC, he doesn't need to stretch himself, he often just needs to draw the same woman over and over and put a new hairdo and outfit on her, and call it a day. It should be noted that Ramos had a second series through Cliffhanger, Out There, which lasted 18 issues. There were actually a good number of books put out under Cliffhanger, but most of them are utterly forgotten... or a Ramos book. Guy literally put out over a third of the imprint's published books, or at least the art therein. I like Ramos' creator-owned stuff more, it's a little disappointing to see him doing company work again.
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Feb 20, 2014 14:41
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Kirby's output was so prolific, at times putting out five comics a month, that some misses are inevitable - nobody talks about those early X-Men issues in glowing terms, for example. But it's hard to understate just how powerful his art style it was in those early days of Marvel, where most DC books where drawn in wooden poses, Kirby was actively trying to do a more dynamic style that focused more on action than figures. And though that seems like the obvious thing to do now, it's because we grew up with it. Whether or not you think Kirby work holds up today, it has great historic importance to comic books and defined Marvel as a superhero comic book publisher. I mean, I'm trying to imagine what Marvel would have been without Kirby - I just can't.
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Feb 20, 2014 15:33
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Though it's not a news site per se, the House to Astonish podcast every two weeks is probably my most essential comic news update.
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Feb 24, 2014 13:06
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I like classic Legion stuff but am inclined to think the book has probably passed it's freshness date by several decades.
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Feb 28, 2014 17:13
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The DnA run of Legion was probably the last run of Legion that did not immediately evaporate from my brain after reading it.
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Feb 28, 2014 17:54
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Shameless posted:I like the Vision, but only when he's wearing a turtle-neck sweater for absolutely no reason at all (aside from looking cool as hell) Does this win Vision the award for "nerdiest Avenger"?
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Feb 28, 2014 20:38
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Graviton's gimmick is that he's insanely powerful but is wracked by too much self-doubt and personal issues to really make it. There's a Thunderbolts storyline where he gets his head on straight and manages to chump a lot of Earth's superhero teams simultaneously as a result... and then dies to stop alien invasion. And then came back in New Avengers without any explanation. Comics! "Projects of Evil", there's your next band name, tho. Alien Rope Burn fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Feb 28, 2014 |
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Feb 28, 2014 21:30
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StumblyWumbly posted:Robot trying to understand fashion beats the hell out of a robot trying to understand love. I agree but only if you're being sarcastic. I'm not much of a Vision fan, but there have been some really bad Avengers. Remember Starfox? Tigra? Rage?
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Feb 28, 2014 22:08
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I'll see your Red Tornado and raise you a Vibe, Tasmanian Devil, and Bloodwynd. Ed: Yeah, RT was a decent character in the YJ comics and cartoons. He can be good, he just usually is *beep boop cry*. Alien Rope Burn fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Feb 28, 2014 |
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Feb 28, 2014 23:39
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WickedHate posted:Did you mean Vibe, Tasmanian Devil, and Martian Manhunter? On reflection, I think I meant Vibe, Tasmanian Devil, and Jan & Zayna. Ed: I mean, how was I to realize somebody named "Bloodwynd" in the 90s actually looks kind of interesting on a closer look?
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Feb 28, 2014 23:47
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