What Are You Reading?

Started by Dr. Insomniac, December 27, 2010, 04:55:59 PM

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Dr. Ensatsu-ken

Quote from: LumRanmaYasha on April 12, 2017, 04:17:16 PM
One Piece takes a while to grow on some people, and like many series, it's probably harder to fall in love with the older you get and the more exposure to similar stories you have. Many find Arlong Park to be the arc that sold them on the series, so I'm curious to see your reactions when you get to there (it would be around the 3rd omnibus).

Since I own the first 8 omnibi, I can tell you guys for certain that it starts in the third one but mostly takes place in the fourth omnibi and runs through a bit into the fifth one.

Avaitor

I'll give it until at least the fifth, but I won't get to reading it regularly. Like right now, I used a gift card I won for the local comic book store from their Disney trivia event to pick up the first Immortal Iron Fist set, and I just ordered the first Princess Knight set as well.

But I'm still interested in giving OP more of a shot. It's not my top priority right now, but I can do more than just read the first few volumes.
Life is not about the second chances. It's about a little mouse and his voyage to an exciting new land. That, my friend, is what life is.

Sir, do you have any Warrants?
I got their first CD, but you can't have it, motherfucker!

New blog!
http://avaitorsblog.blogspot.com/

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

Oh boy, read the latest chapter. Shit's about to go down! :shakeshakeshake:

Avaitor

So I have to admit, I'm not very familiar with Iron Fist. I've read some of his original run, but I was not impressed by it, and while his stuff with Luke is more appealing, I just never got around to checking and getting into much of his own stuff. I've read the first 7 issues of Immortal Iron Fist so far, and whatever doubts I've had with the character are removed here. I think this is terrific stuff.

Too bad that most of the people who worked on the show didn't seem to read it.
Life is not about the second chances. It's about a little mouse and his voyage to an exciting new land. That, my friend, is what life is.

Sir, do you have any Warrants?
I got their first CD, but you can't have it, motherfucker!

New blog!
http://avaitorsblog.blogspot.com/

gunswordfist

YAY!!! Immortal Iron Fist is the good shit! I nominated it years ago for a reason.
I have been thinking about how, funny enough, those comics are just as dark as the show. But of course with much better writing and just as much lighter elements. Iron Fist would be better off as a mystical big budget movie series. TV can't handle it. I wouldn't be surprised if we never saw K'un Lun or that Danny never gets more than a glowing skeleton fist in the show.
"Ryu is like the Hank Hill of Street Fighter." -BB_Hoody


Avaitor

We eventually get to see a little bit of K'un Lun, but it's basically too little too late at that point, and not too memorable. One of my biggest problems with the show was its refusal to delve into Danny's training or experiences until the very end. I understand that it wouldn't be cheap to bring a lot of this to screen, but you know what? In that case, don't make an Iron Fist show.

My copy of Vertical's first Princess Knight collection came in the mail. I was skimming through it, and I'm in awe of Tezuka's work here. His Disney influence is still felt, but you can tell that his style was in full effect here. But I'm kind of mad at myself for ordering it, since the second set is not cheap to order at all. Even Vertical's site has it sold out. So it's almost like I'm teasing myself.
Life is not about the second chances. It's about a little mouse and his voyage to an exciting new land. That, my friend, is what life is.

Sir, do you have any Warrants?
I got their first CD, but you can't have it, motherfucker!

New blog!
http://avaitorsblog.blogspot.com/

Avaitor

While I've been getting more into the world of manga, I've also been trying to keep up with modern comics. So I tend to buy an issue or two of a new title that crosses my eyes to see if it's worth investing into later, and here are some of my thoughts.

The Old Guard- I like the build-up that Rucka is doing here with the mythology and characters. It's early on and already feels fairly rich. The art matches the tone very well, and helps to contribute to a story that I definitely intend to check out in trade form when it hits.

Grass Kings- I like how smooth and painted the art style is. This is a little less intense than some of the other books I've been checking out, but the story is nonetheless interesting. Part of me wants to just collect it monthly instead of waiting for the trade.

Man-Thing- I have to admit, I checked this out for the novelty. R.L. Stine writing a comic! But then I remembered that Stine was never a great writer, and Man-Thing was never a great character... the Hollywood satire seems like a good fit for today's super hero climate, especially a purposefully-picked D-lister, but there's nothing really fresh or exciting here. Even Stine's side one-off story doesn't work as more than a half-assed EC throwback.

Galaxy of Brutality Space Riders- Pretty crazy, like a mix between Guardians, Space Dandy, and Lobo. If that sounds like something you're interested in, I don't think that I need to say anything more. I can see the art style not being for everyone, but I dig it, myself.

Namwolf- This one disappointed me, since I liked the concept, but the art style and general story didn't wow me. Maybe it'll get better as it goes along, but I'll just wait for word of mouth on it. Which is a shame, since I liked the idea of An American Werewolf in Wartime Vietnam.

God Country- I've been buying this monthly, and I don't regret it. The story is larger than life and wholly human all at once, and makes for an interesting parallel towards alzheimer's. Once this wraps up (unless it gets extended), I intend to do a fuller review for it.

Yeah, generally the smaller companies are making more exciting stuff. I also really wanted to check out the new Aliens book, but it's been selling rapidly. But the guy I caught at this comic shop sold me on the Batman/Flash/Watchmen crossover, so we'll see about that!

I also found a bunch of books in 50 cent piles, including some from a bunch of different series I've been wanting to try, like Southern Bastards, Black Science, and Rick and Morty, among others. I'll try to get to this soon as well.
Life is not about the second chances. It's about a little mouse and his voyage to an exciting new land. That, my friend, is what life is.

Sir, do you have any Warrants?
I got their first CD, but you can't have it, motherfucker!

New blog!
http://avaitorsblog.blogspot.com/

Dr. Insomniac

I'd be iffy on the Watchmen crossover if it weren't for Tom King writing it. King did a great job on Vision and Omega Men, and his Batman run so far has been fun.

Avaitor

I finally found a copy of Aliens: Dead Orbit, and I have to admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed. My big issue is that the human characters look kind of blah, and they don't mesh with the stronger set design in the comic. But I do kind of like the cast we have here, and when the Xenomorph finally appears... yeah, I think I'm going to buy the next issue.

I also got the first of the new Predator miniseries, Hunters. This one I actually liked better since I like the idea of the crew searching for the Predators having experience and actually knowing what they're looking for. It's a cool change of pace, and it's building into something awesome. The bit of action in the beginning is especially getting me pumped.

Back to manga, I finally found Vertical's second collection of Princess Knight for a reasonable price, so I ordered that. And I also went on a whim and ordered the first 4 volumes of Pluto from a charity-ran second-hand dealer on eBay. I only stopped there because their copy of volume 5 was already sold. But the first volume came in today, and I'm excited to reread it.

As for now, I'm on the second omnibus of One Piece. I think Usopp is my favorite character so far. I liked his introduction arc the best thus far, and I appreciate that as goofy as he is, the guy really wants to do good and to live up to or surpass his father. While I also appreciate how Zoro and Nami contrast with Luffy, I think it's similarly nice to see him relate to Usopp. It's a good balance thus far.
Life is not about the second chances. It's about a little mouse and his voyage to an exciting new land. That, my friend, is what life is.

Sir, do you have any Warrants?
I got their first CD, but you can't have it, motherfucker!

New blog!
http://avaitorsblog.blogspot.com/

LumRanmaYasha

Ussop's my favorite character too, and his introduction arc is what really started getting me hooked on OP early on. He's one of the weakest characters physically, is often cowardly, and has extremely low self-confidence beneath his bombastic facade, but when the chips are down he'll stand up for what's right and the honor of his friends more than anyone. His character development is arguably the strongest between all the Straw Hats and he's responsible for a good chunk of my favorite moments in the series.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

Usopp's a really fun character. My favorite Straw Hat is probably Zoro, though he may be surpassed by another character in the current manga if he officially joins the Straw Hats. I'll refrain from mentioning him for spoiler reasons, though, since his name does come up within a relatively early arc despite not making an actual appearance in the manga until hundreds of chapters later. As for Zoro, though, I like how Oda balances his goofy side with the fact that he can also be a legitimate bad-ass.

As for what I'm reading, I'm keeping up with a bunch of Shonen Jump manga, though I dropped Hungry Marie since what I have read is really unappealing to me and I figured that if I'm to read any gender-bender comedy with a main character who knows martial arts, it might as well be Ranma 1/2 instead.

I recently bought the first volume of Dragon Ball Super (because it's Dragon Ball and I just can't help but own any piece of official DB content that I can get my hands on) and Ichi-F, which is a documentary/memoir about working at the  Fukushima Power Plant after the 2011 earthquakes in Japan.

On the comic book side of things, I'm just about to start reading Ed Brubaker's Batman run, which I've had the first two volumes of sitting on my shelf for months despite not getting around to it until now.

VLordGTZ

#1361
I just read the first volume of Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai.  It's safe to say that Hiroyuki Takei is back on his absolute A-game, and this might be the best start to one of his series yet!  While their wasn't a ton of plot development until the last few chapters, the volume did a good job of depicting Norachiyo as an entertaining and interesting protagonist.  It's also filled with some superb action scenes and Takei's art looks even better than I remember.  Overall, I'm glad to see Takei hasn't lost his touch, and I'll definitely be checking out Volume 2 as well as keeping up with Kodansha USA's future releases of the series.

Dr. Insomniac



Sometimes, I remember that time Alan Moore wrote a comic where Harry Potter shot up Hogwarts and killed everybody.

Avaitor

I have volumes 8-10 of Slam Dunk to read here, but I haven't got to them because I only have volume 7 in its original Japanese. :sweat: The seller I ordered it from accidentally sent me that, and sent me a refund when they couldn't find a copy of the translation. So I tried it again elsewhere, and at least I have this if I want to start collecting it in its original Japanese.

I haven't really talked about Slam Dunk yet, but I'm really enjoying it. The pacing is great so far, even for someone who doesn't normally like sports. I'm also not one for second-hand embarrassment (it's one reason that The Office never clicked with me), but I do find it entertaining to see Sakuragi make an ass of himself. Part of what helps is that he's generally too proud to actually be embarrassed, so instead he jumps to his next stunt. He'd be a fun character on his own, but seeing that he actually does have a talent for basketball is what drives the story, and I hope to see him nourish that talent.

Mainly, I want to get to volume 7 already, since the sixth ends with introductions to a couple of characters who seem that they'll add more to the story.
Life is not about the second chances. It's about a little mouse and his voyage to an exciting new land. That, my friend, is what life is.

Sir, do you have any Warrants?
I got their first CD, but you can't have it, motherfucker!

New blog!
http://avaitorsblog.blogspot.com/

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

Slam Dunk is a great read. I have read and watched my fair share of sports manga and anime, and with the exception of Ashita no Joe, Slam Dunk is my personal favorite among them. It doesn't do anything radically different for the genre, even for its time, and it has its tropes, but the core cast of characters are so damn entertaining and easy to route for that you can't help but be endeared by their struggles.

For a point of record of how much this series meant to people, it's ending is ultimately what signaled the end of Shonen Jump's Golden Age. Dragon Ball, which ended about a year prior, saw the publication lose approximately half a million subscribers. Slam Dunk's departure, however, caused it to take a hit of approximately two million. That says a lot about its importance to the magazine, and you can still see its influence to thus day in any number of sports manga.