9||0|1218|0|yes
0|0|0|||1||Comics I don%27t hate|Gryphon||00:55:33|07/24/2006|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-24-06 AT 01:01 AM (EDT)]So it%27s on record %28in my LJ and on the %5Bi%5DCity of Heroes%5B%2Fi%5D community boards%2C among other places%29 that I think most of what both of the big two superhero comics outfits are troweling at us lately is the worst crap they%27ve ever shoveled.  %5Bi%5DIdentity Crisis%5B%2Fi%5D%2C %5Bi%5DCountdown to Infinite Crisis%5B%2Fi%5D%2C %5Bi%5DYet Still More Hype in Anticipation of Infinite Crisis%5B%2Fi%5D%2C %5Bi%5DInfinite Crisis%5B%2Fi%5D%2C %5Bi%5D52 Weeks of Milking You Further in the Wake of Infinite Crisis%5B%2Fi%5D%2C and the stylings of Geoff Johns in general have me about ready to take DC Comics off the On Notice board and move them over to Dead To Me.  Marvel%27s %5Bi%5DCivil War%5B%2Fi%5D is a lousy implementation of an even worse idea%2C and a thinly-veiled statement on the %5Bi%5Drealpolitik%5B%2Fi%5D I frankly don%27t need in my superhero comics%2C thanks.  The Ultimate Marvel Universe is just the Marvel Universe with the Gritty Crap Factor cranked up.  And so on.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo it%27s been asked%2C %22Is there anything you like%3F%22  And yeah%2C I had to think about that for a bit.  %5Bi%5DIs%5B%2Fi%5D there anything coming out of Marvel or DC that I like right now%3F  Has there been anything livable on that front in the last few %5Bi%5Dyears%5B%2Fi%5D%2C even%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AWell%2C yeah.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bi%5DDC%3A The New Frontier%5B%2Fi%5D is enthralling.  Some of the CoH board%27s kiddiez don%27t like the art style%2C I guess%2C perhaps because they%27re used to the latex-and-exaggerated-anatomy school of Jim Lee and his peers.  Me%2C I kinda like my cartoons to look cartoony%2C so I dig the hell out of it.  Beyond the art%2C the story%27s just amazing - a clever%2C canny retelling of the dawn of the Silver Age%2C placed against a historical context that it was missing at the time.  I guess this could be considered an intrusion of the %5Bi%5Drealpolitik%5B%2Fi%5D in the same way that %5Bi%5DCivil War%5B%2Fi%5D is just the polarized extremism of modern politics applied to comics%2C but to me the fact that %5Bi%5DThe New Frontier%5B%2Fi%5D is applying such context retroactively%2C as a form of history rather than real-time political comment%2C makes all the difference.  Plus%2C the dialogue is just plain snappy.%0D%0A%0D%0AFor similar reasons %28snappy dialogue%29%2C I%27m enjoying the new %5Bi%5DBlue Beetle%5B%2Fi%5D so far%2C even though I think the fact that the book was possible in the first place is abominable.  I try not to hold it against the replacements whenever a character I like gets blown away and replaced for no good reason.  It%27s a lesson a lot of the people who have been down on Kyle Rayner all these years could stand to learn.  So%2C looked at that way%2C yeah%2C I%27m liking the new Beetle so far - even if almost all the tropes in it are tired %28didn%27t I see almost all of this in %5Bi%5DInvincible%5B%2Fi%5D%2C %5Bi%5DGravity%5B%2Fi%5D%2C or %5Bi%5DArana%5B%2Fi%5D%2C to say nothing of the original old-school %5Bi%5DSpider-Man%5B%2Fi%5D stories%3F%29%2C the execution is clever and funny enough that I%27m sticking with it for the time being.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bi%5DBatman %26 the Monster Men%5B%2Fi%5D - Matt Wagner is apparently the only person left who knows how to tell a Batman story.  I never liked his early work much - %5Bi%5DGrendel%5B%2Fi%5D just never did anything at all for me - so my only real exposure to his work before this was %5Bi%5DTrinity%5B%2Fi%5D%2C his Superman%2FBatman%2FWonder Woman %22origin story%22 TPB.  I fell in love with the style in that%2C and %5Bi%5DMonster Men%5B%2Fi%5D is basically more of the same%2C focusing on the character I think is the most interesting of the three when done right.  Wagner does him right - making Batman equal parts brilliant detective%2C determined crimefighter%2C expert martial artist%2C and all-around bad-enough-to-rescue-the-president dude.  He%27s dark without being gawthick and two-fisted tough without being into gratuitous bone-breaking and blood spatter.  Perfect.%0D%0A%0D%0ASadly%2C there%27s nothing going on over on the Marvel side that appeals to me at all right now.  I say %22sadly%22 because if you had asked me during my really formative comics years%2C I%27d have identified myself as a Marvel Zombie first.  But%2C you know%2C go figure.  My top two Marvel heroes are Iron Man and Spider-Man%2C and they%27ve both been made into bizarro right-wing crypto-fascists for the sake of this dumbass crossover they%27re doing over there.  DC%27s latest crossover was just as bad%2C if not worse%2C but at least they have some side projects that are still livable.%0D%0A%0D%0AApart from that it%27s - and I still can%27t quite believe I%27m even able to say this%2C %27cause I %5Bi%5Dremember%5B%2Fi%5D the %2790s - Image that%27s keeping the superhero flame alive.  Or rather Kirkman is%2C all but singlehandedly%2C with %5Bi%5DInvincible%5B%2Fi%5D.  Also%2C the recent trade paperback by Matt Fraction and Steve Sanders%2C %5Bi%5DThe Five Fists of Science%5B%2Fi%5D%2C rocked my entire little world%2C but then%2C that%27s not really a superhero story%2C so it%27s a bit outside the scope of this document.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Admin%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0A
1|1|0|||1||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Ardaniel||03:19:52|07/24/2006|I have a soft spot for Tony Bedard%27s run on %5Bi%5DeXiles%5B%2Fi%5D%3B it%27s totally not in the mainstream MU except for short visits%2C so it sidesteps the %2Acrap%2A that Marvel%27s putting out%2C and it%27s got Longshot. And a Heather Hudson from another timeline playing Crosstime Cortana.  There%27s not much to love in it if you%27re not steeped in the lore%2C but it is fun.%0D%0A%0D%0AOf course%2C Chris Claremont%27s taking over the book this winter%2C so then it%27ll be Fetishes Galore for months on end%2C but until then%2C it%27s not bad.  I got to talk to Casey Jones briefly this afternoon at Comic-Con and he was delighted that people like their lame-duck run.  %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AArd Sumhenner%0D%0Athat Janice chick%0D%0AUsual Suspect and general menace
2|2|1|||||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|VA_Wanderer||10:09:30|07/24/2006|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-24-06 AT 10:10 AM (EDT)]Exiles is definitely one of those %22comics as comics%22 I bite on at the local comics shop. The GL-as-Spectre run did too- if only because it was an actual hope for good to come of things- that a hero I loved to read about could learn to be a hero again%2C rather than a broken killing machine. Going into that%2C the Green Lantern Corps has been a %22good read%22 by me as well. Good guys that don%27t always quite get along%2C but they go out there and -do good-. No mindwipes. No %22let%27s make established characters die in stupid ways%2Fget raped%2Fmurder half the cosmos%22 storyline. It%27s supercops in space%2C and it works. Even if the individual Lanterns have flaws and quirks...they%27re all Green Lanterns. Heroes.
3|3|2|||1||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Gryphon||13:32:52|07/24/2006|%3EGoing into that%2C the Green Lantern Corps has been a %0D%0A%3E%22good read%22 by me as well. Good guys that don%27t always quite get %0D%0A%3Ealong%2C but they go out there and -do good-. No mindwipes. No %22let%27s %0D%0A%3Emake established characters die in stupid ways%2Fget raped%2Fmurder half %0D%0A%3Ethe cosmos%22 storyline. It%27s supercops in space%2C and it works. Even if %0D%0A%3Ethe individual Lanterns have flaws and quirks...they%27re all Green %0D%0A%3ELanterns. Heroes. %0D%0A%0D%0AUnfortunately%2C Dave Gibbons likes him the death%2C and he already appears to have killed off the only new character in his version of GLC that I liked.  That pretty much leaves me with... hmm... the robot guy%2C who isn%27t even appearing in the post-%5Bi%5DRecharge%5B%2Fi%5D regular series.  Also%2C it has Guy Gardner in a prominent role%2C and of all the DC characters I wish could%27ve had their heads blown off and vanished forever in %5Bi%5DCountdown to Infinite Crisis%5B%2Fi%5D%2C Guy%27s at the top of the list.  Feh.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m still buying it and finding things to enjoy in it%2C and it should%27ve been at least cautiously on the list in my original post%2C but Gibbons and I have a warily adversarial relationship at best %28not that I know the man personally%2C but you know%29.  During the run-up to %5Bi%5DGLC%3A Recharge%5B%2Fi%5D%2C when people asked him what would be happening to Kyle Rayner%2C he got coy and said something to the effect of%2C %22Kyle does not have the soul of a Green Lantern.%22  That seems like a pretty cold and dismissive thing to say about the guy who kept the flame alive all those years and eventually made the return of the full Corps possible%3B I have to wonder if Dave wasn%27t maybe indulging in a little out-of-story waving of his dick in Ron Marz%27s face there.  Or maybe Geoff Johns was%2C with his hand stuck into the back of Dave%27s head.  They %22co-wrote%22 %5Bi%5DRecharge%5B%2Fi%5D%2C after all%2C and Dark Emperor Johns does seem to be the DC Universe%27s overall demi-urge at the moment.%0D%0A%0D%0ANow%2C of course%2C Kyle and Hal appear to have swapped roles%2C which makes as much sense as Hal%27s original fall did %28that is%2C none%29%2C so I%27m sure the Hezbollah-like anti-Kyle-at-all-costs faction is happy now.  Marz probably feels like he%27s writing revenge fic.%0D%0A%0D%0ASigh.%0D%0A%0D%0ASeriously%2C can Geoff Johns touch %5Bi%5Danything%5B%2Fi%5D without turning it at least partially to shit%3F  I have seen%2C at this point%2C pretty much zero evidence to the contrary.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Admin%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0A
4|4|3|||||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|BZArcher||15:11:46|07/24/2006|%3ESeriously%2C can Geoff Johns touch %5Bi%5Danything%5B%2Fi%5D without turning it at %0D%0A%3Eleast partially to shit%3F  I have seen%2C at this point%2C pretty much zero %0D%0A%3Eevidence to the contrary. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E--G. %0D%0A%0D%0ADepending on how you look at it%2C he%27s extremely good at killing Flashes.%0D%0A
5|5|4|||1||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Gryphon||15:22:39|07/24/2006|%3E%3ESeriously%2C can Geoff Johns touch %5Bi%5Danything%5B%2Fi%5D without turning it at %0D%0A%3E%3Eleast partially to shit%3F  I have seen%2C at this point%2C pretty much zero %0D%0A%3E%3Eevidence to the contrary. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EDepending on how you look at it%2C he%27s extremely good at killing %0D%0A%3EFlashes. %0D%0A%0D%0ASo that%27s a %22no%22%2C then.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Admin%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0A
7|4|3|||1||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Peter Eng||17:19:28|07/24/2006|%3E%0D%0A%3ENow%2C of course%2C Kyle and Hal appear to have swapped roles%2C which makes %0D%0A%3Eas much sense as Hal%27s original fall did %28that is%2C none%29%2C so I%27m sure %0D%0A%3Ethe Hezbollah-like anti-Kyle-at-all-costs faction is happy now.  Marz %0D%0A%3Eprobably feels like he%27s writing revenge fic. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AWell%2C the good news is that Kyle isn%27t going around killing people.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe bad news is that the explanation%2C as I understand it%2C involves an alternate dimension%2C an insane villain%2C and an villain impersonating the hero.%0D%0A%0D%0AI think those are in the Comic Book Plots Handbook under %22hackneyed clich%E9s.%22%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AI%27m only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade%2C and because there%27s no rank below %22Clueless F%21wit.%22
8|4|3|||1||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Ardaniel||17:57:22|07/24/2006|%3ESeriously%2C can Geoff Johns touch %5Bi%5Danything%5B%2Fi%5D without turning it at %0D%0A%3Eleast partially to shit%3F  I have seen%2C at this point%2C pretty much zero %0D%0A%3Eevidence to the contrary. %0D%0A%0D%0AI %2Aknow%2A he%27s at least shaken Tramm%27s hand a few times in the course of business%2C and maybe even engaged in the no-crotch-contact man-hug.  Tramm seems unaffected.  %3B%29%0D%0A%0D%0AArd Sumhenner%0D%0Athat Janice chick%0D%0AUsual Suspect and general menace
9|3|2|||||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Slarti||18:44:13|07/24/2006|%3Elocal comics shop. The GL-as-Spectre run did too- if only because it %0D%0A%3Ewas an actual hope for good to come of things- that a hero I loved to %0D%0A%0D%0AWhich would%27ve been nice%2C if it hadn%27t been trampled on by the fact that J.M. DeMatteis %2B mystical stuff %3D the story getting crammed chock-full of his personal philosophies%2C to the detriment of the actual story.%0D%0A%0D%0AAdmittedly%2C as a big fan of the Ostrander%2FMandrake %22Spectre%22 run%2C I was much more into the series for the Spectre end of things than the Hal stuff%2C especially since being a universe-scale murderer makes Hal %5Bi%5Dtotally%5B%2Fi%5D not qualified to be the Spectre. I don%27t particularly hate Hal%2C though%2C so I was willing to give it a go for the sake of Spectre-ness%2C and sure%2C a chance for redemption even if that%27s completely not the Spectre%27s gig.%0D%0A%0D%0AI should%27ve known to stay away when I got to the end of the %22Legends of the DCU%22 multi-part storyline that took place after %22Day of Judgment%22 but before the actual series started%2C with Hal%27s first major challenge... to find that the final resolution of the story required Hal to sit there and do nothing while God fixed the world up all by Himself%2C rather than something more sensible like being handed the task of doing the fixing while resisting the tempation to go beyond restoration.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut no%2C I decided to continue and pick up the series itself... and stopped at %235%2C where it was %22revealed%22 that Harvey Dent%27s transformation into Two-Face was a burden that his soul had chosen before birth to take on%2C described in such a way as to utterly gut any of the sense of the tragic that the Two-Face origin had previously held. Screw that.%0D%0A%0D%0ADeMatteis%27 personal spirituality could maybe be something interesting to see a comic done about... but not in any universe with a pre-existing cosmology that he has to waffle-stomp all over to get to it%2C which was what happened with his %22Spectre%22 run.
6|1|0|||||RE%3A Comics I don%27t hate|Meagen||16:47:37|07/24/2006|Since I%27m in the US for the summer I%27ve had access to more comic books than usual recently. While persuing the comics shelf in Half Price Books%2C I stumbled on three out of four issues of something called %5Bi%5DBall and Chain%5B%2Fi%5D. The cover has the names Lobdell%2C Garza and Bennet on it%2C which doesn%27t tell me much%2C but according to the boyfriend Scott Lobdell is a writer who is extremely good at writing snappy but realistic dialogue.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe comic tells the story of a married couple in severe straits who unexpectedly recieve superpowers. The characterisation is excellent%2C showing a pair who geniuinely love each other but can%27t seem to avoid arguing all the time. %0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m missing the last issue%2C which appears to be the last anyone heard of this. It%27s a pity%2C because the comic is funny and touching and action-packed all in the right amounts.%0D%0A%0D%0AI think issues 1%2C 2 and 4 are for sale somewhere online%2C and there%27s always E-bay. I reccomend this comic whole-heartedly.