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Superhero Comics!

Started by Skynet, July 27, 2020, 03:23:16 AM

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TheGrandAdmiral

I too loved the art of the new Batman! Miracle Molly is an interesting antagonist and I think Bruce kinda sympathized with her, I hope they won't turn her into another generic villain though.

Zenescope makes modern and adult fairy tale stories involving classical characters (and lots of gorgeous women in skimpy outfits  ;D ), but some stories are interesting and some nice characters. They make two main lines Grimm Fairy Tales (the Avengers/Justice League of that universe) and with short stories based on a titular character (e.g. Liesel van Helsing, Robyn Hood - female Robin Hood, Gretel, Belle, Cinderella - who is like Harley Quinn and Deadpool of that universe, etc.), Grimm Tales of Terror - based mostly on horror tropes, creepy pastas, urban myths. There are some stand-alone issues that are not tied to the main stories with some dark and usually horrifying twist. The stories can be very violent and brutal.

Forgot to mention other comic book series that I like - Red Sonja, Vampirella, John Carter and Dejah Thoris.

There are some nice European comic books based around Conan - adult themed as opposed to the Dark Horse and Marvel iterations.

Blacksad is also a nice series.

Dhi

Tynion is also writing Joker, which I keep hearing is very good. So I'm going to pick those up too.

What are some standout Vampirella stories? I would love to get into the character.

TheGrandAdmiral

Joker is interesting, worth the read.

Well I am new to the Vampirella stories, so can't really say. I liked her crossovers with Red Sonja, also Vampirella & Red Sonja meet Betty & Veronica from Archie.

Dhi

Harley & Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica was amazing. The Vampirella version sounds like something to check out. It looks like there are two trades for $20 a piece. Maybe I should just get one and see how it is first.

Since Stargirl season 2 is going to debut August 10th, I'm preparing to read the 1990s DC event The Darkness Within.



From what I remember, quite a few heroes get corrupted by Eclipso's black diamonds and explore their darker impulses.

All of the annuals involved are on DC Universe, except for the Eclipso Specials which began and ended the event. But I found both of those on ebay for a few bucks, because 1990s comic books are high supply, low demand.

If you were reading comic books in the 1990s might have a memory of a plastic black jewel being glued to the cover above, as I do. The one I bought does not have that- I don't know why. It was a weird gimmick, definitely an obstacle to storing the book.

Is anybody reading The Department of Truth? I keep hearing good things, and there's a cover for #9 I quite like, but the variant is $25.

Kadigan

I read the first trade of Dept. of Truth. The art takes some getting used to and the "rules" within the narrative can be a bit odd, but overall an enjoyable read. Overall...probably glad I didn't buy it, but glad I read it.

Currently I have DCUI and MU and use Hoopla (a library streaming svc) to get a lot of the none big two comics.

Not really superhero stuff but I also recently enjoyed on there Reckless by Brubaker as well as his Kill or be Killed series, and Pulp.

Recently I finished Batman: Their Dark Designs (I'd already read Joker War so I knew where it was going but I sort of dip in and out of Batman) and I rather enjoyed it, though I don't reallys ee the big love of Punchline. They're trying to recapture and make a HQ2 but, just fell flat to me...especially since they had to then say "Duela doesn't count!" during the thing, to, what, justify it to themselves?

Dhi

I haven't read any Batman apart from the current arc and Tom King's Poison Ivy arc, ~42-44. Tynion's current stuff has impressed, so I'll check out Their Dark Designs.

It looks like it begins here:
https://www.dcuniverseinfinite.com/comics/book/batman-2016-86/b1ee332d-e797-4853-8ec8-55a1d46479d7/

Trying to withhold judgement on Punchline. Folks have told me there's more than meets the eye, etc, but at first blush, it really does seem like trying to recapture the repugnant abuse kitten Harley era. It's all well and good to have big plans for the character, but once another writer steps in, what's to stop Punchline from being relegated to an inferior Harley? Between her series being met with indifference and Joker backups described as an unwelcome padding to the book, it seems like her star has faded already.

But I liked Mirka Andolfo's art in Shade: The Changing Girl and am interested in seeing more of her work, which right now is tied to Punchline.

I try to stay positive for the most part, but Future State: Gotham really feels like a bait and switch. DC is reaching for a manga audience here and both competing feebly on that front and failing to deliver on any cyberpunk Gotham potential. Some very dumb things happen in the first issue and it's clear it has no future.

One of the books I mentioned a few weeks ago, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, is heading into third printing due to "overwhelming support from retailers and fans," so that's cool. Issue #2 hits next week, but it's going to have tough competition from Yara Flor's debut, new Nightwing, Poison Ivy: Thorns, among other things- it's a big week.

Foxy DeVille

Cool little tidbit... looks like Lily Renée turned 100 this week and will be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. She was born into Austrian Jewish family and escaped the Nazis, eventually coming to America where she became an artist for Fiction House in the 40's. She didn't do super-hero stuff, mainly sci-fi, horror, and adventure stories. She was doing pretty well a few years ago so I'm glad she's still with us and getting a much deserved honor.

https://www.comicsbeat.com/2021-will-eisner-hall-of-fame-inductees-announced/

https://womenincomics.fandom.com/wiki/Lily_Ren%C3%A9e

Dhi

It looks like Lily Renée's public domain work is available to read on a site called Digital Comics Museum. I gave Fight Comics #47 a read, and it reminds me a lot of golden age adventure comic strips. There's nice attention to backgrounds and placement which gives the story a spatial sense I appreciate.




Both Marvel and DC are releasing Pride anthologies in June, each to debut a new character on the LGBT spectrum.

On the left is DC's Dreamer, and on the right is Marvel's Somnus.

 

Dreamer is said to be a trans woman, which I think has interesting potential for a character with precognitive abilities. She's meant to be an ancestor to the Legion of Superheroes' Dream Girl, a precog who was instrumental in many of the major stories and one of the mystic trinity against sorcerous threats like Mordru.



Somnus is a mutant with control over dreams. Give this character an anthology story about granting happy dreams to repressed or oppressed LGBT randos and you've probably just about explored his full potential.




I've been following Heroes Reborn, which is low key how the Marvel heroes might have developed if they inhabited the DC universe. The premise is great, and while most of the issues have fallen short of really delivering on that, Heroes Reborn #3 inspires so many ideas, combining the sci-fi of The Flash with the mysticism of Doctor Strange in the most gorgeous and creative ways- absolutely love it.

But I wanted to talk about a moment shared between Heroes Reborn #2, on the left, and Peter Parker, The Amazing Shutterbug, on the right.

 

On the left is written by Jason Aaron, who seems to be heading the Heroes Reborn story. On the right is by a Marc Bernardin, who does not seem to be on the same page at all. In the Heroes Reborn universe, Peter Parker is meant to be a parallel to Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen. These panels are a good demonstration of Marc instead writing Peter Parker as Peter Parker.

I understand Jason Aaron's run on Avengers has been pretty unpopular. If this is Bernardin taking shots at Aaron's writing, it seems especially ill-conceived since Bernardin did not embrace this alternate reality at all and in the end (spoilers)
Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide
Kills off Peter Parker, slamming the door behind him on any kind of continuity.




DC's Wonder Girl #1 is out now and after tremendous hype, most readers seem enthused. I adore everything about it and plan to continue reading.

One panel stood out to me as probably containing a bit of writer/artist Joelle Jones' voice.






Also, check out an upcoming September 2021 Spider-Man story on the left, and on the right, White Widow circa January 2019.

 

TheGrandAdmiral

So they are bringing Dreamer to the comic books universe, interesting.

Heroes Reborn is an interesting event, hope for a DC event where they bring Marvel stuff though in the tv series Legends of Tomorrow they referenced the MCU.

Also have seen White Widow before, is it interesting?

Dhi

White Widow is undeniably Spider-Man influenced. The homages are probably tongue in cheek, but the way the webbing is drawn for instance is explicitly Spider-Man. It's equal parts Witchblade, so I think if you like Bad Girl books like Vampirella, you're probably going to like White Widow. The story follows a lot of typical young hero beats, but there are some genuinely clever twists that took me by surprise. it plays to expectations as a strength, while subverting them enough to keep things engaging.

The Widowlings are a uniquely White Widow thing, so it's strange to see Marvel coopting them for Spider-Man. I don't know that the concept logically works for Spider-Man, and handwaving them as "Tony Stark did it" is especially strained.

Marvel is also bringing back Onslaught and Infinity Gauntlet stories for 2021. Maybe they are just dry on ideas?

 

( in truth, I'm genuinely enjoying Black Cat and dig the idea of her pulling off an infinity stone heist. I'm down for this. )

Foxy DeVille

Quote from: Dhi on May 21, 2021, 02:46:58 PM
It looks like Lily Renée's public domain work is available to read on a site called Digital Comics Museum. I gave Fight Comics #47 a read, and it reminds me a lot of golden age adventure comic strips. There's nice attention to backgrounds and placement which gives the story a spatial sense I appreciate.




Both Marvel and DC are releasing Pride anthologies in June, each to debut a new character on the LGBT spectrum.

On the left is DC's Dreamer, and on the right is Marvel's Somnus.


Lily Renée stuff kinda reminds me of Matt Baker (of Phantom Lady fame ) with how clean it is.

And fun fact about the Dreamer comic, it's written by Nicole Maines, the actress who plays her and all around awesome person.


Dhi

Absolute professional Elsa Charretier talks about using comic book layouts to build suspense, and improvises a brilliant page inspired by a scene from Chernobyl. Her channel is fascinating!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uegQPYAT0A0

Following an artist I like, Mirka Andolfo, today DC announced she's doing the art for a Superman vs. Lobo mini-series.

 

It's going to be very weird for me picking up two Lobo-related titles, this one and Crush & Lobo. The character is basically South Park poured into a person. But the writing team is responsible for Money Shots, a sex romp where scientists explore the galaxy making amateur porn with aliens. The addition of Mirka Andolfo's sexually charged art feels like something relevant to Elliquiy.

 

Foxy DeVille

Quote from: Dhi on May 24, 2021, 07:40:46 PMIt's going to be very weird for me picking up two Lobo-related titles, this one and Crush & Lobo. The character is basically South Park poured into a person. But the writing team is responsible for Money Shots, a sex romp where scientists explore the galaxy making amateur porn with aliens. The addition of Mirka Andolfo's sexually charged art feels like something relevant to Elliquiy.

 

I follow Sarah Beattie on Twitter and Instagram. She's hilariously crass (and easy on the eyes).

Dhi

DRAMA ALERT WOOP WOOP

CONTROVERSY IN COMICS

PUGSGATE 2021



Joelle Jones' unimpeachable artistic vision


DC editorial's censoring

Much-anticipated Yara Flor book marred by editorial politics! Where are the pugs, DC??? Release the Wonder Girl #1 Pugs Cut that fans DEMAND.

While we're waiting for this catastrophe to be the deathblow for comics as an industry, check out this great variant cover for Wonder Girl #4 by Jamal Campbell. I love it, I love everything about this book.



While I haven't found much to talk about on the Marvel side, the action in Beta Ray Bill is crazy and you will love it and I honestly think you ought to check it out.

 

I've been reading the new Robin series starring Damian Wayne, which debut the character Flatline as Lord Death Man's sidekick and obvious love interest for Damian. It's two issues deep in the Mortal Kombat style Tournament of Lazarus, and it's a lot of fun. Love the art by Gleb Melnikov.

(linked offsite because I believe Damian is around 15)
https://i.imgur.com/KVUXbyk.jpg

Tom King's Strange Adventures is delving a lot deeper into the world of Rann. I suspect we're going to see more of Rann and Thanagar in mainstream DC.



In this week's Justice League Dark backup, the team is scouring the Library of Babel containing all possible books, and writer Ram V plays with the fourth wall a bit by giving Ragman a peek behind the scenes.


Foxy DeVille

Quote from: Dhi on June 01, 2021, 05:29:27 PM
Tom King's Strange Adventures is delving a lot deeper into the world of Rann. I suspect we're going to see more of Rann and Thanagar in mainstream DC.

I had read the first issue and then the series totally slipped my mind. So I got caught up over the last couple days. Thanks, Dhi!

Dhi

That's awesome! Strange Adventures took a while to catch on, but I'm hearing a lot of excitement over issue 10, so it's turning out to be a sleeper hit. When I started reading on DCU, I had no idea I would be so into it, but it's such cool pulp fantasy. That map is straight up 1980s D&D. Mistylands! Moorm! Sea of Ybss!

And the mystery is very compelling, but what really sells me are the human moments between Adam and Alanna, neck deep in all this strangeness and dynamic as a married couple. Tom King is quite good at that.

So we've made it to Pride Month, and I've been really interested to know, what's up with our gay girls in the year 2021?

To my astonishment, Batman 109 is mostly about Harley and Ivy, right in the middle of this well-received story.

 

We now know who Gardener is, and I didn't see this coming. It's not terrific to both retcon gay relationships that happened offscreen and gaslight Harley and Ivy's canonical history, but, this is both clear intent that Ivy is at least bisexual, and suggests that there is a romance coming in canon. It's something. I really like Harley's look here.



Marvel's Black Cat has her first same sex kiss in this week's issue, with rival thief and long-time enemy Odessa Drake. Marvel is careful to establish that this is not the new status quo, and I've realized something about Marvel's lesbian relationships: although they give them much more freely, it's rare they amount to more than specific plot leverage.

Compare that to Renee Montoya's recollection of Batwoman from Other History of the DC Universe #4, and we're shown a surprisingly real couple.



I had a chance to read Poison Ivy: Thorns finally, which is a Young Adult graphic novel about a queer Pamela Isley in high school. The most interesting thing about it is that Ivy's mother is apparently named Lillian; this was not previously disclosed, but I assumed as much. Everything else struck me as tepid, from art to story to emotional stakes to stereotypical characters and dialog. Nothing about it resonated at all. Definitely do not recommend.

I wasn't expecting Ivy to be reinvented as gold star gay, and it's been established elsewhere that she didn't attend high school at all.

A couple of months ago when I got into Marauders, I mentioned that Kitty Pryde is now bisexual, I mentioned her new love interests Rachel Summers and Illyana Rasputina.

 

But increasingly, as Kitty comes into her own as a member of Hellfire Trading Company, Emma Frost is becoming more than a mentor.



Kitty and Emma together would be plenty daring. Did Professor X or Magneto ever date mentees? I don't know enough X-Men history to say. But I do know Emma's history is lush with decadence, and the mood in Krakoa is anything goes. I would like to see that relationship, both for Kitty's development as a character and to give Emma a chance to be wicked in a way that stems from the heart rather than Machiavellian wheel spinning.

Marvel will never do it!

Foxy DeVille

Quote from: Dhi on June 02, 2021, 11:24:04 PM
That's awesome! Strange Adventures took a while to catch on, but I'm hearing a lot of excitement over issue 10, so it's turning out to be a sleeper hit. When I started reading on DCU, I had no idea I would be so into it, but it's such cool pulp fantasy. That map is straight up 1980s D&D. Mistylands! Moorm! Sea of Ybss!

And the mystery is very compelling, but what really sells me are the human moments between Adam and Alanna, neck deep in all this strangeness and dynamic as a married couple. Tom King is quite good at that.

What I like about the mystery is that it's a lot like Adam Strange himself... at its core grounded in the real world. What made the character more than a Buck Roger/Flash Gordon knock-off in the Silver Age was how he used actual science to solve problems and the tragic undercurrent of being regularly whisked away from his loved ones. How the big deduction is made and the motivations behind it come down to humanity, even if its wrapped up in super-heroes and sci-fi. I also like how King can write very smart characters as very smart, not just as someone kinda clever surrounded by people inexplicably slow to catch onto things.

TheGrandAdmiral

The Black Cat and Odessa kiss gives so many plot ideas  ;D

As well as Emma and Kitty... Well Emma and almost every female from Marvel...

Heroes Reborn is a fun event. I hope DC would do something similar with the Avengers, but that is wishful thinking.

The latest Truth & Justice is interesting as this time features Kate Kane and the story has some potential. Hopefully they won't mess it up.

Foxy DeVille

Quote from: TheGrandAdmiral on June 03, 2021, 09:27:02 AM
Heroes Reborn is a fun event. I hope DC would do something similar with the Avengers, but that is wishful thinking.

Eh, never know. They've done some stealth crossovers before like Squadron Supreme and the Champions of Angor first appearing in the same month. Similar things happened with the Freedom Fighters and the Invaders as well as the New Teen Titans and DNAgents. So maybe DC can give a nod back.

TheGrandAdmiral

Well they do sometimes copy each other's events, so it is a possibility some time later.

I really hope they do a crossover.

Foxy DeVille


LunarSage


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Foxy DeVille

Quote from: LunarSage on June 04, 2021, 12:11:52 PM
True dat.

As a system for serious roleplayers, egads it had flaws. As the only way I could actually get my junior high buddies with the attention span of gnats to play an RPG, it was great.

LunarSage

Quote from: Foxy DeVille on June 04, 2021, 12:22:52 PM
As a system for serious roleplayers, egads it had flaws. As the only way I could actually get my junior high buddies with the attention span of gnats to play an RPG, it was great.

I was a longtime member of the classicmarvelforever.com forum, actually. 

But yep, it had it's flaws, though I figured out a few ways of streamlining it a bit.

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TheGrandAdmiral

Just started Linda Sejic's Swing comic book series. Loving the art so far, the story is okay, a bit rushed at places.