quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: [QB] Best of all are the articles in the back, the two here written by Professor Jess Nevins, who has written articles in the past for Criminal and Incognito. The articles are two pages, loaded with information and as fascinating and interesting as anything else I read all year. #4 dealt with "Operator #5" a pulp hero from the 30's I've never heard of and found fascinating, particularly because the series generally always had invasions in the US from foreigners resulting in massive casualties and destruction--something that was a major fear during that era. #5 deals with Fu Manchu, who I *am* familiar with--or at least, I thoguht I was but now feel like I've finally gotten some real history on the character/concept. What it really does is give some incredible insight into the "Yellow Peril" archtype of villainy in the pulp era that stretched on beyond WWII though never quite as ruthless as it was in pre-WWII days (and during of course).
Nevins has written several books laying out details of all the characters and background stuff in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books. He's also got websites listing many of the classic pulp and Victorian-era heroes. He knows his stuff.
posted
Another really refreshing comic I just read (hopefully you read my write-up of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? at the bottom of the previous page) was Immortal Weapons #1 featuring Fat Cobra.
Immortal Weapons features the other five Iron Fist equivalents introduced during the recently ended (and excellent) Immortal Iron Fist series. Each issue is written by a different writer and has a serialized Iron Fist backup by the team who was doing such excellent work on the ongoing.
Fat Cobra is a sumo-inspired character and probably the most popular of the five among fans. The writer is Jason Aarons who is the writer of Vertigo's Scalped, one of my favorite books on the market. The story centers on the long-lived Fat Cobra hearing his origin from a guy he paid to write his biography. Seems Cobra's been so long-lived and partied so hard that he forgot a lot about his own history.
It's a terrific story from start to finish with some beautiful art--even though there are about four different pencillers, each handling different sections of the story. The story runs the gamut between hilarious and tragic and all points in between. It's an entertaining standalone that requires absolutely no foreknowledge of the character! Quite a feat!
The Iron Fist back-up is entertaining as well. While it's not a complete story, it doesn't rely on whether you picked up the ongoing at all and looks to be an engaging street-level story.
I don't know if subsequent issues will be this good because of the different creative teams, but I can definitely recommend issue 1 to anyone looking for a good Kung Fu saga that's new reader-friendly. It's $3.99, but there's plenty of extra pages for the money, unlike most $4 Marvel comics.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Looks like those of us that are addicted to the crack that is the zombie sub-genre in comics have another must-read comic being published! This one is a miniseries published by IDW called The Last Resort and is written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (GrayPal). If you've enjoyed a lot of what GrayPal have done in the past, I don't think you'll be disappointed by this effort.
The premise of The Last Resort is that a zombielike plague has hit a fictional tropical island resort. In the first issue (only one out so far), we're given a glimpse of how this plague begins. The rest of the issue sets up our cast of potential victims, and we get to meet them as they prepare to board a plane which will eventually have to make an emergency landing on the resort island in question due to some really bad weather conditions.
The first issue sets up really well as what would be the opening act of a really cool horror movie. We get enough of a flavor for the characters to start rooting for and against each of them surviving to the end. The tone is mostly humorous. Even the zombie attack at the beginning is a little (literally!) tongue-in-cheek. I wouldn't say it's setting up as a laugh riot, exactly, but kinda in the same way that many horror films are fun while still delivering thrills and chills. I mean, you know that most of the characters are gonna bite it, so it's fun to anticipate which ones and how gruesome it will be, y'know?
The art is kinda cartoony and realistic at the same time. So far I think it works pretty well. The content is most definitely of the R-rated variety with gore, language and sexuality all being prominent. What's a zombie story without all those things?
Anyway, issue one ends with the plane only just arriving at the resort and ends with the plane itself in dire peril. So it doesn't really get down to counting down the victims by the end. I suspect that will begin in earnest next issue! I like that it took the time to paint the broad strokes of the characters, though, and I look forward to the carnage that's to come!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Reboot: I wouldn't. I really wouldn't...
Please phrase your dissent in the form of a recommendation in order to remain on-topic. Thank you.
The Management
Try some trades therough your local library first. Some of Amazing isn't that bad, I just cannot support the book after what they've done to him over the last few years.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by LardLad: Looks like those of us that are addicted to the crack that is the zombie sub-genre in comics have another must-read comic being published! This one is a miniseries published by IDW called The Last Resort and is written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (GrayPal). If you've enjoyed a lot of what GrayPal have done in the past, I don't think you'll be disappointed by this effort.
The premise of The Last Resort is that a zombielike plague has hit a fictional tropical island resort. In the first issue (only one out so far), we're given a glimpse of how this plague begins. The rest of the issue sets up our cast of potential victims, and we get to meet them as they prepare to board a plane which will eventually have to make an emergency landing on the resort island in question due to some really bad weather conditions.
The first issue sets up really well as what would be the opening act of a really cool horror movie. We get enough of a flavor for the characters to start rooting for and against each of them surviving to the end. The tone is mostly humorous. Even the zombie attack at the beginning is a little (literally!) tongue-in-cheek. I wouldn't say it's setting up as a laugh riot, exactly, but kinda in the same way that many horror films are fun while still delivering thrills and chills. I mean, you know that most of the characters are gonna bite it, so it's fun to anticipate which ones and how gruesome it will be, y'know?
The art is kinda cartoony and realistic at the same time. So far I think it works pretty well. The content is most definitely of the R-rated variety with gore, language and sexuality all being prominent. What's a zombie story without all those things?
Anyway, issue one ends with the plane only just arriving at the resort and ends with the plane itself in dire peril. So it doesn't really get down to counting down the victims by the end. I suspect that will begin in earnest next issue! I like that it took the time to paint the broad strokes of the characters, though, and I look forward to the carnage that's to come!
Is this a mini? If so, how many issues of carnage can we expect?
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
'Tis a mini, indeed. Not totally sure about how many issues, though. I'd guess four or five, though. They don't plaster this on the covers like they used to.
Here's a preview they had of issue number one, though.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Have not seen it mentioned so far but I would recommend North 40 a six issue mini-series by Wildstorm. It is a bit Lovecrafty in story and so far (at the half way point) has been very good indeed.
From: Dorset, England | Registered: Oct 2008
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posted
I picked up Deadpool Team-Up #899 because of three reasons: (A) Fred Van Lente is writing and he's doing some great stuff for Marvel right now, including some of the better Spider-Man stories; (B) Hercules is in it and his comic (co-written by Van Lente) is excellent; and (C) I've been wondering what the fuss over Deadpool is all about and up until now could not find a Deadpool comic in the CBS that looked even remotely good. Also, starting the numbering with #899 was a marketing ploy that worked on me because its amusing.
And you know what? I'm glad I picked it up. A solid, funny issue. Seeing Deadpool interact with Hercules was fun, and the issue had the right blend of humor with action. It was good enough to pick up the next issue (which I believe is traveling backwards in numbering?).
Wishful thinking: this title could be an outlet for the Van Lente / Greg Pak / Jeff Parker corner of the MU and we could see appearances by Agents of Atlas, Banner & Son of Hulk, the new Scorpion and some others.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
^^ Well, after I got bummed out that Van Lente was not the ongoing writer ( ), I didn’t pick up the next issue. I don’t like Deadpool *that* much… Meanwhile, maybe I’ll finally check out a Cable/Deadpool TPB…
Anyway, another comic I picked up that I’ll recommend is:
Murderer #1 by Kirkman and Top Cow. Its part of Top Cow’s “Pilot Season” which I guess means they’ll have 5 one-shots then the fans will vote on the best series and it’ll get a mini or ongoing. Which means I have no idea if there will be more stories and that’s why I didn’t give it its own thread. The idea seems great for fan interaction but I really hope this one wins because I liked it and I don’t know if I’ll maintain a level of curiosity to pick up the other contenders over the next few months (history tells me no, I won’t). Anyway, its by Kirkman, teaming with Marc Silvestri (though its obviously mostly Kirkman) and a pretty solid art team. Like “Haunt”, I wanted to get in on a Kirkman comic from the ground floor up because I came in late on everything else he’s done and really ended up liking most of it. He’s a great writer and that really shows here.
The concept of Murderer is one that could go either way—something really interesting or a one-trick pony to showcase some good ol’fashioned gore, and luckily it appears to be the former. The writing it top notch and the character is intriguing. Its most implied but there appears to be a whole heck of a lot going on in his head. The middle of the comic dealt with the inevitable murder but the ending sequences showcased Kirkman’s ability to provide a series with some really heart & soul, which I liked. I think Kirkman is getting much better at making his beginning issues have much more of an impact rather than his traditional slow build.
The art was pretty excellent all the way through by Nelson Blake, whom I’ve never heard of before. It had a very eerie feel to it, and I think that had a bit to do with the coloring job. My only complaint is the lack of backgrounds in the panels—something that is a major pet-peeve of mine, as I feel it’s the classic easy-way out for an artist to get pages out on time. That should be addressed.
Thinking about it, I’ve never really collected any comics from Top Cow. Other than Cyber Force #1 and #2 in the early 90’s, and a few issues of Hunter-Killer on Vee’s recommendation a few yaers aback, the only series I can recall was Wanted. Nothing against the company, I’ve just never really followed Witchblade or the Darkness and don’t really know anyone who does. Marc Silvestri gets roped into the category of other Image founders often, but I think he’s a fantastic artist—I recently reread his X-Men stories in the 80’s and his art was completely awesome back then. His recent Marvel stuff was as well. I think the man is majorly talented and criticisms on his art are often unfair. Sure, he likes to draw scantily clad women (and men too) but I think he’s dynamic enough in his interiors where its not all pin-ups but has a real energy. That’s all beside the point because his involvement here isn’t really noticeable. He’s co-creator with Kirkman, likely on a design basis, but you can tell the story is all Kirkman.
I wonder if any other Kirkman fans will check out? I thought it was totally worth the price of admission.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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