What Are You Reading?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I found that the first volume of Punisher Max is available to read for free on Comixology Unlimited, so I'll give it a look at some point later on.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Comixology Unlimited has been having a big SDCC sale, and I found that a lot of Hellboy books were available for a massive discount (some up to 75% off) and managed to get digital copies of the first two omnibi for $4 each. Seems like a pretty good deal.

[Avaitor]

I'm already trying to read and order a bunch of different series, but a friend of mine is showing me the current releases of the original W.I.T.C.H. comics. While she's not a fan of the series, and I was a bit too old to have childhood attachments to it, I'm having a bit of a nostalgia overload for when I used to DVR the show from Jetix, and I'm considering ordering them.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I read the first volume of X-Men Grand Design, a comic miniseries that tries to distill all of the X-Men mythos into one cohesive whole through pulp art. While it's basically a recap, it captures how weird the X-Men, especially the pre-Claremont era, can be.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Volume 3 of Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man finally came in the mail. It's at times like this that I'm reminded that the interconnectivity of superhero comics means that individual series don't necessarily read as cohesive stories all of the way through. The first two volumes stood fine on their own but volume three pretty much starts out with the Cataclysm event from Ultimate Spider-Man and then skips the actual event to get to the next solo Miles Morales story. This in and of itself is fine but the drastic change in tone and implied time-skip make it painfully obvious that I'm missing some important events that happened with the character. Additionally, I feel like certain plot points had to be either rushed or left underdeveloped in order to tie in with this event. Like, I feel as though Miles revealing his identity to his father lacked the proper build-up, and I was enjoying the little team that he had formed with Spider-Woman, Bombshell, Cloak, and Dagger, so it was a bit disappointing to see that come to an abrupt end (especially since Champions apparently isn't that great). It also just feels like a bunch of character relationships inexplicably changed off screen.

At the same time I'm not too keen to go out and read Cataclysm since other than being weary of event comics, I'm not sure if I'll really comprehend what's going on with all of the other characters from other series. Now I suppose I know what people who skipped some important Marvel crossover movies would feel like going into the next installment of a solo series.

That said, it's still an enjoyable read, just feeling like a huge chunk of story and character development is missing from it.

Anyways, I'll be moving onto Spider-Verse right after this volume.

[VLordGTZ]

So I finally got around to finishing Shaman King, and damn was it fantastic!  I go into my thoughts a bit more in a upcoming Manga Mavericks ep about it (shameless plug  ), but it really was entertaining from beginning to end, and Yoh and co's development as characters is wholeheartedly satisfying.  I had already viewed Takei as a fantastic mangaka because of Karakuri Doji Ultimo and Nekogahara, but this just further cemented his talents for me.

As far as other things I've been reading, I'm still slowly making my way through Whistle, and it continues to surprise me with its creativity and unique flair as a sports manga.  It's a real shame that the series isn't talked about more nowadays, because it's definitely a standout sports series within Jump's history. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I've started reading James Robinson's Starman run, and holy shit is it good. I'm only a few issues in, but I'm just amazed at the quality of the writing and how seamlessly the story flows from issue to issue. And mind you, this is from a series written during the dark age of comics in the 90's, so it's amazing how ahead of its time it feels compared to most of its contemporaries. I also really dig the artwork, and Jack Knight is quickly becoming one of my favorite DC characters. Considering how long this run is, I'm not sure if it can hold this level of quality over the entire thing, but if at least the first few books are as good as the first few issues that I've read, then it'll be well worth the praise that it has garnered over the years. I just find it a bit hard to believe that this is written by the same guy who wrote Cry for Justice, but then again, a lot of really good writers have written their share of garbage stuff too, so I guess that it makes sense in that regard.

I had already viewed Takei as a fantastic mangaka because of Karakuri Doji Ultimo and Nekogahara, but this just further cemented his talents for me.

Speaking of Nekogara, is it just me or are these volume releases for it ridiculously slow? I collected the first two volumes last year, the third volume this year, and am still waiting until next month for the fourth volume to release. Hell, by the time I had collected the third volume I had to go back and re-read the first two because it had already been several months since I had last visited them and I didn't remember a good chunk of the story details up to that point.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So, I've started reading James Robinson's Starman run, and holy shit is it good. I'm only a few issues in, but I'm just amazed at the quality of the writing and how seamlessly the story flows from issue to issue. And mind you, this is from a series written during the dark age of comics in the 90's, so it's amazing how ahead of its time it feels compared to most of its contemporaries. I also really dig the artwork, and Jack Knight is quickly becoming one of my favorite DC characters. Considering how long this run is, I'm not sure if it can hold this level of quality over the entire thing, but if at least the first few books are as good as the first few issues that I've read, then it'll be well worth the praise that it has garnered over the years.

I love those types of comics DC/Vertigo does. Where a writer takes a previously D-list comic character, and twists them into a completely new person while playing with decades of comic book history. Starman does that just as well as many of the other examples like Doom Patrol. And I understand DC and James Robinson made an agreement about it, but it's a shame Jack Knight hasn't shown up in ages.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah (speaking of Doom Patrol, I finally have volume 3 coming in the mail this week), as far as DC/Vertigo comics go, these re-imaginings have been among my favorites.

As for not using the Jack Knight character in any modern stories, I suppose that it's a bit of a double-edged sword. He's a great character that it'd be awesome to see more of, however if he were handed off to bad or even mediocre writers, it could easily ruin the great and complex character that Robinson set up in his run. In that regard, I've been soured on Batman a bit by his oversaturarion and numerous really bad takes on him. I also feel kind of similarly about some of the Watchmen characters from the bits that I've read of Before Watchmen, as other writers seem to miss the point of them entirely, even though apparently Dave Gibbons still had some contributions or at least a part to play in the writing process for those comics from what I've heard.

[Dr. Insomniac]

In that regard, I've been soured on Batman a bit by his oversaturarion and numerous really bad takes on him. I also feel kind of similarly about some of the Watchmen characters from the bits that I've read of Before Watchmen, as other writers seem to miss the point of them entirely, even though apparently Dave Gibbons still had some contributions or at least a part to play in the writing process for those comics from what I've heard.

Yeah, even though I've come to terms with Batman essentially being a neverending character, I get that. It's why I have cold feet over that new Sandman Universe comic, even if Gaiman is overseeing it. As for Before Watchmen or Doomsday Clock or whatever, Gibbons had nothing to do with either and doesn't consider them canon, which was still less acidic than Moore's reaction.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh, that's good to know. Looks like I had read some misinformation. Sadly that happens quite a bit.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I read the Adventures of Luther Arkwright a couple days ago. It's a really cerebral book where every panel is filled with tons of detail. Like if someone took the best parts of The Invisibles and V For Vendetta and taped them together.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, is the Sandman in Starman supposed to be the Sandman from Neil Gaiman's comic or is it a completely different interpretation of that character or just a different character with the same name altogether? I really liked the Sand and Stars arc, and that character was a standout for me, but I get the feeling that it's a completely different character than Gaiman's Sandman.

Speaking of Starman, I can't seem to find the third omnibus in stock anywhere for a reasonable price. Amazon has it at $200+ and up, which is ludicrous, and other sites that I've looked at don't currently have it in stock. I may just have to buy the rest of the series digitally at this point, which is a real shame since I actually do enjoy the bonus content in the physical releases, especially getting to read about James Robinson's detailed thought process in writing this series.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So, is the Sandman in Starman supposed to be the Sandman from Neil Gaiman's comic or is it a completely different interpretation of that character or just a different character with the same name altogether? I really liked the Sand and Stars arc, and that character was a standout for me, but I get the feeling that it's a completely different character than Gaiman's Sandman.

He's Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman. The Sandman in Neil Gaiman's run is Dream of the Endless. But like Dream, he also has his own Vertigo series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandman_Mystery_Theatre

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've just started reading J. Michael Straczynski's run on Thor, and I have to say that it's super satisfying to see him knock the ass-hole version of post-Civil War Tony Stark down a peg. I can't fucking stand this take on the character, especially because he has no remorse for anything that he's done and is treated by Millar like he's completely in the right. Meanwhile, far better writers cleverly make it clear just what their stance is on Stark after the events of Civil War by how they portray him as well as how other characters react to him. Thor essentially tells him to go fuck-off in the most bad-ass and intimidating way ever, and in Gaiman's Eternals mini-series he basically showcases Stark as little more than an ignorant tool for the government. Ed Brubaker interestingly tries to redeem him at least a little bit by showing him as being more sympathetic to Captain America's side after Cap's death, having at least a little bit of regret about their falling out, but every other post-Civil War story that I've read so far largely seems to ignore this characterization.

That's why I find it so odd when comic book purists bitch about the movie version of Civil War. I'm not saying that it's a perfect movie by any means (of the three Russo Brothers' MCU movies so far, it's easily the weakest for me), but it does a far better job than the comic book of handling its core characters, and in this version Tony's actions, while clearly wrong, are at least more understandable due to his clearly defined motivations of guilt after Age of Ultron. The comic book version of Tony Stark in and after Civil War is complete character assassination that basically makes him act like a fucking prick with no real development whatsoever, and again, somehow we're genuinely meant to see him as the hero of that story. It just blows my mind how some people can legitimately claim to prefer that version of the story.