Joe Kubert Tarzan Vol. 1 – The first entry in this series is so good I want to lend it to my dad (he grew up reading his dad’s old copies of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars). Initially, I had a hard time getting into Kubert’s style, being so familiar with his work on war stories, but eventually I got into the groove. His line work is so dynamic it just kills me, and the Burroughs connection gets me right in whatever gland stores and distributes feelings of nostalgia. Excellent, excellent comics.

After The Cape – I am honestly unsure about this one. The plot – superhero loses everything because of drinking problem and ends up turning to crime to support his family – has potential, and there are moments of family drama and dischord that are really affecting. Reading it, though, I felt a little disconnected from it. I don’t know if it was the art, or maybe that the writing was a little stilted. It wasn’t bad. Just not great. Not sure if I am keeping it.

Unknown Soldier Vol. 1 – This series is REALLY good. It’s a cool Vertigo re-imagining of the Unknown Soldier concept: a pacifist doctor haunted by thoughts of violence that he doesn’t understand, returns to Uganda and becomes traumatized by the war there, transforming into the Unknown Soldier. It’s a good mystery story and a good horror story against the backdrop of an awful human condition. Dysart’s dialogue is great, and Ponticelli’s line is great for both the quiet and the terrible moments. A great, great series.

End League Vol. 1 – Rick Remender’s homage to/parody of the last days of DC and Marvel superhero comics. Sounds like something I’d be all over, but I was really disappointed. It read like a Mark Millar story; depressing, deconstructed, and slightly too-smart-for-its-own-good. I want to see how it ends, but I’m afraid it’s not going to be worth the effort. It’s reminding me of Wanted, and I did NOT like how that one ended. Not keeping it for a re-read.

Batman: Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul – Too many cooks on this project. One story spread over four different creative teams on four different titles, it’s generally not going to be as good as one singular vision. Honestly, I don’t know what the point of this story was: the Morrison stuff on Batman was cool, but the Dini stuff on Detective didn’t jive with it. Nicieza on Nightwing was good, but Milligan on Robin seemed like it was a completely different story. A mildly interesting Batman story, only worthwhile if it ties into the overarching Morrison “Batman RIP” saga. I could probably do without this on the shelf, but I might re-read it.

Superman: Strange Attractions – I’d heard a lot of lukewarm-to-negative reviews of this creative arc; how Byrne wasn’t visually interesting any more and how Simone didn’t understand how to write Superman. But when you take the fact that they were writing around Infinite Crisis plot points into account, what you actually have are a collection of cool Superman stories that really explore Superman’s relationship with the Earth in general, and Lois Lane in particular. I really liked how Simone “got” Lois & Clark’s relationship, and there was some REALLY strong John Byrne art (ably assisted by a handful of inkers) in this story. Some people won’t like it. But I think it’s a keeper.

Lone Ranger Vol. 1: Now & Forever – What a way to do an origin story! I only have the most basic knowledge of Lone Ranger lore, but the way that Brett Matthews put everything together in this story – the Ranger, Tonto, the silver bullets, Black Bart, Silver – was really engaging, and the adventure was fun and exhilarating. Great art from Sergio Cariello, with a great line and an eye for action; not a letdown at all (as it sometimes can be when you have John Cassaday covers). Well worth it.

Speak of the Devil – This was a surprise. I really like Gilbert Hernandez’s work on Love & Rockets – I actually prefer his Palomar stories to brother Jaime’s “Maggie & Hopey” stories. His stories deal with the crazy, dark stuff that happen in a small Latin American town. This, though, was a whole new level of darkness and depravity. Small-town secrets lead to a spiral of sex, death, and horror. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a good story. I just can’t say that I liked it.

Incredible Hercules: Love and Death – Yeah, still love Incredible Herc. Nice art this go-around, and I really liked the Femizon world: Pak and Van Lente obviously gave that a lot of thought, and I honestly wouldn’t mind another story set there. If Marvel did that kind of thing, I mean.

JLA/Avengers – This is the series that gave George Perez carpal tunnel syndrome because he was drawing too many characters. Yeah. It’s the most four-colour, most capes-and-cowls, most George Perez-ian comic there is. I think he drew every Justice League and Avengers character. TWICE. It’s a cool story, but mostly an exercise in fanboy over-excitement and, once again, the opportunity for Busiek and Perez to work with any and every character they ever wanted to. This is for superhero fans ONLY. Seeing as how I am a superhero fan, though, I will keep and re-read this for years to come. 3 years ago

Token – My love of Joelle Jones and my fascination for the short-lived Minx series of books meant I pretty much had to pick this one up. And while the story doesn’t speak to me the way it would a younger woman, the art is still fantastic. I’m keeping it purely on the strength of the art.

Popgun Vol. 1 – A great, great, GREAT comics anthology. All kinds of genres and styles put side by side and you just go along for the ride. Definitely worth owning.

Young Liars, Vol. 1 – It is sick and twisted and sexy and horrible and funny. Plus, a good mystery well-told. I am looking forward to reading more of this in the future. Definitely worth keeping around for at least one more re-read.

Incredible Hercules, Vol.3: Secret Invasion – Incredibly fun superhero action, that’s also thoughtful and funny and (usually) well-drawn. Hercules and a handful of Marvel gods (the God Squad) fight to kill the Skrull deities. It doesn’t make sense if you haven’t read any of the other Secret Invasion stories, but as part of a generally-interesting crossover, it really stands out.

Absolute Watchmen – If you like Watchmen and you are wondering if the Absolute version is worthwhile, the answer is DEFINITELY. (Especially if you get it for 50% off like I did.) I got so much out of the art in the oversized form, and the extra materials were great to read. Watchmen is brilliant; Absolute Watchmen is brilliant PLUS.

Batman: The Killing Joke – I read both the “original” version and the re-coloured hardcover release, and I honestly don’t know which one I like better. They’re both very different reads, and each is good in a similar but distinct way. I’m keeping both, but I don’t know which one I’ll re-read first.

Fantastic Four Hardcover, Vol. 3 – Oh my god. I love Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo on this book. I could back up and talk about the Frightful Four story that starts off this collection (some very good work from Waid, Karl Kesel, and Paco Medina), but the only reason I have this hardcover is to complete my Waid/Wieringo FF collection. It may hurt some purists, but they are my favourite FF creative team (with Kesel on inks), and it absolutely pains me that Wieringo will never be able to draw another FF comic. Hell, another comic of any kind, ever. Still: I have this to remember him by, and his work on this series is EXCEPTIONAL. One of the few times an artist has affected me more than a writer. I will hold on to this hardcover – and the two before it – for a long, long time.

City of Silence – Ugh. I love Warren Ellis, and I like Gary Erskine, and I picked this up for $8.50. But after reading it, I regret spending that $8.50. I don’t want to say anything terribly bad about it, but here’s what I was underwhelmed with: “these people are all unlikable and trendy and I defy you not to like and hate them” characterization in the stock Ellis style, late-80s/early-90s coloring, and a story that I didn’t care about. Normally, this constellation of creators would be something that I would be 100% behind; after reading it, I just want it off my bookshelf so I can make room for something good.

Spider-Man Noir – I didn’t expect this miniseries to be very good (a trendy “noir” re-imagining of Marvel heroes), but it actually was. Then again, co-writer David Hine had already won me over with his combination of superheroes and crime, and the Carmine Di Giandomenico is a really interesting combination of Ditko, Romita, and Templesmith. Surprisingly, I really liked it, and am looking forward to the second Spider-Man: Noir series.

Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 1 – Super cheesy and super-dated, but also kind of fun. You can tell that Lee & Kirby (in whatever ratio you’re comfortable with) are essentially making it up as they go along, but watching the characters, the storytelling, and the style change as you go from issue to issue is really interesting. They make little-to-no logical sense, and are sometimes painful to read, but if you were ever a kid who dreamed about something…something fantastic, then you would have loved this. Worth a read, but it would have been even better in colour. I may keep this for a while, but if I start running out of room on the shelf, I wouldn’t have a problem getting rid of it. 3 years ago

I’ve been reading a LOT of my trades lately. I don’t know what it is, but I think I’ve gone through at least three trades or OGNs per week for the past four weeks. I will write mini-reviews for them – and for the ones I read in January – tomorrow some time, when there’s a break from the OLYMPICS, but I’ve been feeling pretty good about my pace, actually. I might have most of them read by NYCC! 3 years ago

Recently reread all of the Hellboy (I tell a lie, there was one cross-over I couldn’t force myself back into) that GG dug out for me. This is all the major stories from Seed of Destruction_up to _Makoma (though GG has the most recent one’s somewhere).

Um, seriously, that’s some messed up stuff. You see why people wanted to make it into a movie and why they failed to capture what it’s actually about. Those movies: not scary, not creepy, not disturbing. The disturbing sacrifice in the iron maiden, the horror of the attack in Wolves of Saint August, the tragedy of The Third Wish – where was that? Hellboy is classic horror – like Lovecraft or Poe, but with humor and sadness as well.

Seems like Mignola’s kind of lost his way since Hellboy’s gone rogue. Or fallen into his own navel, like Moore in Promethea. And honestly, he’s not drawing anymore? WTF!

But, wow, what stories. 3 years ago

I said I’d eventually get to this, so I might as well just do it and stop making a liar of myself. Here are the comics I read for December (aside from the Geek Brunch ones):

Lone Wolf & Cub Vol. 1-3 – I love Lone Wolf & Cub. Mostly because I love samurai adventures and comics and good storytelling, and LW&C fits all three criteria to a T. Depending on your mood, you can burn through one volume in a half-hour or read at a leisurely pace and be done in an hour or an hour & a half. And they’re very re-readable. I have quite a few volumes sitting on my shelf, and I don’t see myself getting rid of them any time soon.

Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3 – Loved the first two volumes of this series, and while Vol. 3 wasn’t quite as good, but it’s still a collection of cool stories, exploring the FF’s adventures in the negative zone, Annihilus’ attempts to destroy the positive AND negative matter universes, and tying up a loose end from Stan & Jack’s run. My biggest complaint is that the last three stories in the collection are really poorly reproduced: splotchy and hard-to-read. Still, though: fun FF comics, some of the best.

Tales Designed To Thrizzle Vol. 1 – LOVE. EVERYTHING. ABOUT. THIS. From Twain & Einstein to The Amazing Nut Bra to Snake & Bacon and beyond. Really twisted humour and great design to boot. More people should read it! 3 years ago

So in the midst of the play, comics reading fell off a bit. But last Monday I took the day off, and my friend and I had Geek Brunch 2. We got Eggs Benedict from the New York Bagel Cafe, and read a lot of comics. I got through the following: Mysterius The Unfathomable #1-6 (VERY good!); Madame Mirage #1-6 (not great but better than I’d anticipated, not a bad deal for $12); Legends #1-6 (1980s DC comics drawn by John Byrne, so pretty good); and Asterios Polyp, an OGN by David Mazzucchelli which was BRILLIANT and EVERYONE SHOULD READ IT. Even if you think you don’t like comics, this is almost a master class on the subject.

That was a lot of reading, it’s true, but I still have a lot to get through. Maybe over holidays I’ll read more, make a giant page of mini-reviews, and fire those off by 2010. What? Stranger things have happened! 3 years ago

Seriously, since when is reading and having fun this hard?

So the whole Geek Brunch thing didn’t work past one weekend, and I keep acquiring comics faster than I can read them. But I have a new plan: I’m going to have a stack of ten trades/story arcs out on my desk at once, as a reminder; when I finish one, I’m going to write about it on AllConsuming, and then every couple of weeks I’m going to post a summary on here, with an additional rating: Permanent Collection, Possible Re-Read, or Jettison. That way I can hopefully become more accountable for my own reading habits as well as proving to my lovely wife (who doesn’t understand comics at all) that yes, I can get rid of comics. Sometimes. Maybe.

Let’s hope this new new plan works out okay… 3 years ago

I went over to my friend’s place on Sunday morning and we did nothing but read comics and eat breakfast for 2 hours. I thought I would be able to get through a lot of comics then, but I only re-read my Final Crisis (a recent series that broke my brain the first time through). Next month, though, there will be another brunch, and I will PLOW through those babies!

I’ve also started reading 5 trades/series of single issues over the past 2 weeks, thanks to my new system, so that’s going well too. Some (limited) progress, finally! 4 years ago

So, my 10 trades in 30 days plan didn’t work, and another plan for my friend and I to get together and do nothing but read comics for an afternoon didn’t fly either. I’m getting a little frustrated in my inability to get a good start on this goal, so I’m putting my foot down. I’m going to have a legitimate, serious plan, with a suggested timeline and a number of short-term goalposts, by the end of next week. Then I’ll take it from there. But considering how many new comics I got over Christmas holidays, I’m going one better: until I make this timeline and make some serious progress on it, I will buy no more back issues or trade paperbacks. I’ll still buy the new weekly stuff, because I’m still addicted, but I’m not going to make this goal any harder than it already is. 4 years ago

On one of the comics forums I frequent, one of the members suggested a reading challenge: read 10 collected editions or graphic novels in 30 days. I have more than 10 unread comics on my shelf, so I figured I should sign up. So that’ll help towards this goal.

(As for single issues, though…I need to work harder on it…) 4 years ago

According to my collecting software, I have nearly 3100 single comic issues. According to my ListsofBests, I have approximately 90 unread trades/hardcovers on my bookshelf. I thought a good challenge for myself would have been to get this all done by December 1 this year, because that way if I don’t like something I can give it away as a Christmas exchange or sell it and try and get Christmas money. That means that I would have 158 days, which I’ll round up to 160. That means that I would have had to read 20 comics a day and slightly more than two trades every three days. That is NOT enough time.

BUT. If I read a minimum of 8 single issues per day, plus a trade here and there, I will be done in a year. I will try to keep to that schedule. And try and get as many done as I can by December. 4 years ago

Manga short stories. Funny and cute but nothing stunning or amazing.

Ah, I remember the days when I would just buy books on impulse based on catalog descriptions… the 4+ shelves of TBR books have stopped that! 4 years ago

The two trade paperbacks I had of the early Nexus weren’t sequential. (Huh?) I had the first few issues and then somewhere in the 50s. Which was fine.

A well written book. Much more serious in these early days than the more wacky God Con and so on that I had read before.

I enjoyed it a lot but don’t feel an overwhelming urge to seek out the rest of it. 5 years ago

So in the two months that it’s been since I wrote an entry here I’ve probably read…114 of my old comics. And at the Comic & Toy Fair last weekend, I probably picked up at least 80 more. So I’m not really making much of a dent. I need to dedicate a lot of time to this, which a) shouldn’t be THAT hard and b) sounds RIDICULOUS when you think about it, but I have all these old comics just sitting there, and what good are they if you don’t read them? I should try pulling that excuse on my wife one of these days. She wants me to do some chores around the house, and I say, “Oh no, honey, I’m WAY behind on reading my comics. I don’t have time to do that.” I bet that would work really well. 5 years ago

There are times I question how much I limit what I expose myself too, how many movies or shows I just say “No way” too based on what I think they may contain. Am I overreacting?

And then something too disturbing for me gets through and the strength, the overpowering reaction, and the duration of the damage it does makes me say again, “No. I’m right to avoid this.”

This comic had some things in it that were too disturbing and too horrible for me. And, since it’s very well written, and very well done over all, it’s sticking with me in a painful way. That always seems to be the way of it, the better made it is, the harder it is to dismiss it. Why do I still carry the scars of AI and Pulp Fiction? Because they engaged me enough that they crossed the line where I couldn’t just dismiss it as fiction. Ah, art.

Anyway, This arc of League was more upsetting than the first and also a more predictable plot. I can’t think how there could be anymore after this.

Here’s the thing – the comic is great, if you aren’t bothered by things. But I am. So I wish I’d never read it. 5 years ago

New all ages graphic novel from Chynna Clugston. Got if for my birthday and read it in about 2 seconds

I love her art style and her point of view, but this is pretty derivative. It’s Mean Girls with psychokinesis. Great for tweens, but not so much for me. 5 years ago

I read Top Ten way way a long time ago and immediately put it on my mental list of favorite comics ever.

Smax is a spin-off miniseries and makes me want to reread Top Ten before I read it’s sequel. Because Smax is also really really good. Tragic and funny and scary in bits. Incredibly well drawn and well written. 5 years ago

• Moonshadow – 13 issues
• Electra Assasin – 6 issues
• Electra: Root of All Evil – 6 issues
• Interview with the Vampire – 12 issues, but I think I’m missing 1 or 2
• Dark Knight 2- 4 issues
• Top 10 Part 2 – 6 issues
• Smax – 5 issues
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Part 2 – 6 issues
• Promethea – last few issues
• Batman Thrillkiller and Thrillkiller ‘62
• A handful of America’s Best Comics non-series
• and the real mountain to climb – Strangers in Paradise – not sure how far back I stopped reading but I’m sure I have over 50 issues to read and I think it may be more.

• Astro City – Life in the Big City
• Astro City – Confessions
• Electra Lives Again
• Rumic World Trilogy – Volume 1
• Rumic World Trilogy – Volume 2
• Black Orchid 5 years ago

I have been having a really difficult time reading my old comic books, because I have so many NEW comics to read, and regular-type books to read as well, and movies to rent, and life to live. So I’ve gotten through 70 back issues. Yeah. Terrible. BUT, I’m not only re-discovering comics that I really like, but also discovering comics I can definitely get rid of. Or sell on eBay and buy in trades. So that’s not a bad thing.

Plus I’m developing an idea that will help me get through the giant backlog. So things might be looking up-ish. 5 years ago

Pretty awesome yet confusing.

In doing a bit of research before posting this, much became clear about these heroes and their origins. They are all based on some hero series from the 40’s with a lapsed copyright. That cleared up why I had the same feeling I had when reading a few issues of Fourth World – that I would never figure out the back stories, no matter how hard I tried.

Good stories though – bizarre and cool, just as one expects from Alan Moore. Sexy too, in places. Which I’m always in favor of. 5 years ago

Such a great hero comic. Alan Moore really did make “America’s Best Comics” when he set out to write all these hero books.

I love the Tom Strong stories – consistently well written, well drawn, surprising, and true to it’s characters. Plus a lot of moer challenging stuff thrown in.

Not sure if it’s still being published. Will have to get to the comic store before New Year’s and see. 5 years ago

My god, what a dirty and snarky teenage book.

Someone said it was like Archie on crack – but I’m not sure I’d agree with that – it’s more like the whole teen hormone lust and anger frenzy but to some exponential degree.

Add to that the fact that it’s a one woman show (very real-girl oriented), very cool manga inspired art, and filled with pop culture references for all those of us who took the anglophile road to outcastdom in the 80’s (Adam Ant, The Cure, The Kinks, The Who! Scooters!) and it’s a must read for me. Now if there were only some more… 5 years ago

Great book. So funny and gripping at the same time. The characters are interesting and seem like real kids too.

I stayed up far too late reading these back issues – couldn’t stop!

So with this big a dent made in the stack, I’m going to take a break from comics for a bit and focus on reading books again. I mean, except for whatever new issues I get of the comics I’m caught up on – but there aren’t that many left that are current… Nodwick seems to have ended since the last time I picked up my comics so I think that leaves me with Dork Tower, Runaways and ps238 as my only active books. Hmmm. We’ll see if that’s true when we go in later this week. 5 years ago

I think I’m about halfway through the back issues

Here’s the stack I’ve worked through so far. My foot is there for size comparison. 6 years ago

Decided based on Birds of Prey experience, the fact that I’m missing issues all over the place, and that my comics pretty much encompass a whole reboot of the character….. not to read these.

So bye. 6 years ago

This was a tall stack – maybe 30 issues. But I read them despite the occasional gap in sequence.

This seems to be the case – I read these back issues and I see why I get them. I mean, this is an interesting hero book. I like girls who kick ass and, since it’s written by a woman, there are these true female moments in the comic. And ultimately it’s based on a strong female friendship that has never descended into trashy girl fight territory. But…..

I think I’d rather save my limited time for books – or great comics. So I’ll stop getting this. 6 years ago

Consistently laugh-out-loud funny.

Need I say more? A great book. 6 years ago

Finished this now over series up. Ah, bizarreness. Interesting critique of our fame obsessed culture. Also very interesting to read a hero book where the main characters die so often and so randomly.

Plus – hey, Allred art – always amazing. 6 years ago

This comic makes me want to be gay. And supernatural.

It’s so beautifully drawn and the characters are all so sexy in their own individual ways…. I want to be Fairer Than – who wouldn’t?

I wish there were more of these, but I’m not sure how the plot would have kept it’s forward movement. Anyway, a great comic.

Also contains one of my favorite lines of dialog:
Teacher: “Explain thy rumpled clothing! Thy state of dishabille!”
Fairer Than: “I lead a rambunctious life”

Honey, don’t we all? 6 years ago

OK, so it’s a good comic and well-scripted and all. But I’m not 10. If i were 10 I would love it, it’s award winning for a reason and Amelia is such an awesome, real girl hero.

But I’m not 10 so I’m going to drop it. But emelle? You might want to pick it up – or if you want, I’ll send my back issues to your gang. 6 years ago