Marvel Comics

[SmileOfTheShadow]

i'm quite looking foward to thor i have to admit, one of the things i'd love to see jms tackle is x-men they have finally brought some continuity back to the x-men broken them into teams for each book and even metioned "sorry can't contact him he went off into space" in other books, the stories for them have been kinda meh but still its nice to see (well except for whedons astonishing, bad bad bad stories)
but i would love to see joe do say just 6 issues not a long run but just take a shot at em, so much more to work with then say FF (sorry joe your run on FF stunk but its difficult to make FF interesting)
though now i think about it, i'd really love to see joe work on the Ulitimate Universe, he could have alot of fun there and have a MAJOR impact on the way that world develops

Yeah, I think JMS is the only person who can really tackle thor. I liked Oemig's run though. Was the first good thor in a long long time. At the same time though, i've never had the love for that character that I had with the FF or Spidey, which is why I was so happy JMS was writing.

The x-men have gotten better as a whole, I agree. Brubaker's run has been decent, and I think it'll ramp up into something cool. I do like Joss' run though. I think it's lost a little focus after the first 12 issues though and it's lost me a bit.

As far as JMS' FF run. I think the first arc started well and was interesting. Cool concepts...Reed doing cool sciencey (I know that's not a word) things that is what the FF is about. And Ben's moments were hilarious. However, FF bled into the civil war crossover hell and you could tell JMS really didn't have an interest in writing that due to the quality (or lack of) in the stories. Which...is why he dropped the book there too I think.

I would like JMS to stay with ASM though. I think he could be a defining writer if they just stopped making him do crossovers and got the book back to his story arcs he was doing. He really made Peter into Peter again after Howard Mackie really botched the book for so long. It was almost unreadable for a long time after the clone thing. The best characterizations as of the last few years though are honestly done in Spider-Girl. I'd pick up the trades if you haven't. Good classic storytelling.

Ultimate universe is fine and dandy..but I hate having parellel universes with the same characters running like that. I'm not as attached to the ultimate versions of the characters as I am their originals. Something about it just doesn't feel right, even though it's usually better storytelling in those because of the freshness they have to work with.

That said..the last couple months I've really not been into comics so much. They're losing their appeal. Maybe I'm just crossovered out.

[Lunan]

That said..the last couple months I've really not been into comics so much. They're losing their appeal. Maybe I'm just crossovered out.

wait, i have a feeling world war hulk is going to be interesting, however i hear you on crossovers
Civil War could have been SO! much better, they had a good concept, they had bad writing and realization, the thor clone killing goliath was WOW but then they kinda let it go. i've always felt big crossovers shouldn't spill into books but replace them for the 3 or so months they take place, like Age of Apoc did for the BIG ones that is, like civil war, within books or sud books i don't mind, x-cutioner song for example. as to thor i really like the idea of "rebooting" him, say we know his back story but its not really there for him but i'll wait and see on that.

x-men has been on the up but the pay off seems to be lacking a bit (have to wait and see what happens in the shi'ar story) books like x-factor and new x-men have some great things going (really looking foward to Magik!)

thought the big thing i'm waiting for is Magneto's return, they frshadowed it very well in new avengers before the civil war with the whole "where di dthe mutant energy go" thing and i'm hoping its not just a pop up in 1 X title but a bigthing! taking place accross at least all the X books if not spilling over into other books. also i wasn't happy going striagt from house of m/decimation into civil war i think more time needs to be taken on the decimation and its continuing fallout

oh and on the not really conected to other x-books i'm rather enjoying clairmonts excalibur, its his normal pap but there is some fun there

[SmileOfTheShadow]

wait, i have a feeling world war hulk is going to be interesting, however i hear you on crossovers
Civil War could have been SO! much better, they had a good concept, they had bad writing and realization, the thor clone killing goliath was WOW but then they kinda let it go. i've always felt big crossovers shouldn't spill into books but replace them for the 3 or so months they take place, like Age of Apoc did for the BIG ones that is, like civil war, within books or sud books i don't mind, x-cutioner song for example. as to thor i really like the idea of "rebooting" him, say we know his back story but its not really there for him but i'll wait and see on that.

Yup. Thor showed up...then was discarded. Weird. I trust JMS

x-men has been on the up but the pay off seems to be lacking a bit (have to wait and see what happens in the shi'ar story) books like x-factor and new x-men have some great things going (really looking foward to Magik!)

Problem is x-men is soooo convoluted and there's a bagillion characters and I just can't get into it no matter what. It's on my "ehh...I guess I sorta care?" list to read, which a lot of books are dropping off of now. I like Kitty Pryde? lol

X-factor is soooooo freaking awesome. One of my top 5 comics I look forward to now. I love PAD.

thought the big thing i'm waiting for is Magneto's return, they frshadowed it very well in new avengers before the civil war with the whole "where di dthe mutant energy go" thing and i'm hoping its not just a pop up in 1 X title but a bigthing! taking place accross at least all the X books if not spilling over into other books. also i wasn't happy going striagt from house of m/decimation into civil war i think more time needs to be taken on the decimation and its continuing fallout

oh and on the not really conected to other x-books i'm rather enjoying clairmonts excalibur, its his normal pap but there is some fun there

I see you're more of an x-fan. I'm more of a marvel-u fan. They kinda bleed over but kinda don't. I'm reading Uncanny, Astonishing and X-factor and that's it from that world. There's just far too many books to keep up with there in a world where I'm finding myself dropping a lot that aren't my fav writers. Brubaker rocks though. Daredevil and Cap have been better than Uncanny thus far though.

[I love Lyta]

there's a bagillion characters

Same prob I had with the Justice League...

And to quote myself in the Off-Topic Thread:
I'm curious about Silver Surfer: Requiem.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

Same prob I had with the Justice League...

And to quote myself in the Off-Topic Thread:
I'm curious about Silver Surfer: Requiem.

Yup, that's why I'm like "huh?' in JL too and tend not to care about it. Sometimes I pick up trades. I'm very excited for the silver surfer deal. It's been talked about for a long time, and it's going to be painted! Which is why I think it's gone so slow.

Jon

[I love Lyta]

Yep, that's what I read too. But I saw some pics of it and I'd say the waiting was well worth it.

[Karachi Vyce]

I've discussed before just how monumental a failure Civil War was (not in terms of sales, I suppose, but as a simple work of literature) and just how much it has damaged the continuity and characterization of some of Marvel's major, iconic characters.

If I ever see Mark Millar on the street, I swear before god I'm knocking him, as Chris Tucker might say, "the fuck out."

[David Panzer]

I was a Marvel fan when I was a kid. Then in the nineties, comics took a nosedive. The quality of the Marvel comics, and superhero comics in general, also took a turn downward, as the writing was sub-par and attempted to be covered up by artwork from the guys who went on to form Image, and the people who drew in a similar style.

Now, the only stuff that's keeping me around as a comic fan are various tales from DC's Vertigo line, getting the rest of Dave Sim's Cerebus, and my goal of owning those hardcover books that collect The Spirit by Will Eisner.

As for superhero comics, I've given those up.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

I juuuuust caught up to the beginning of "The Initiative" storyline, and am going to start on "Back in Black", JMS' Spidey event tonight. Man...I'm really disappointed with how they handled the Cap deal on every level, from Civil War 7 to Captain America 25...it's just not right. Upsets me. I expected more from the event, honestly. Should have figured Marvel wouldn't come through.

I'm not so sure on the "initiiative" stuff yet. I just read the preview issue, so who knows. FF post JMS seems to have gone downhill too. At least I'll be spending less per month, yeah?

Spidey up to this point did present an interesting twist. Joe Q kept hinting about how he hates mary jane and how he's going to spllit them/kill her something like that..and boom! Aunt May gets shot. She's recovered from worse before, so I guess I'll just wait and see what happens in the next couple issues. I'll reserve judgment on the storyline til I read it.

Daredevil...is freaking sweet right now. Pick it up, pick up all the trades from the beginning of this 2nd series of Daredevil til now if you're a comics fan and haven't. Some of the best writing/art of all time in this book. I'm not as much a fan of the character as a lot of others, but I'm surprised at how well they've managed it. Exciting.

That's all I'm caught up on for now. I'll post again soon

[Jan]

Fallen Son

I just finished the last two issues of the five Fallen Son books and I've got to say...

I don't care what anybody thinks about Civil War or the death of Captain America or whether he'll stay dead or about Jeph Loeb or anything else except...

There were things said in these books that needed to be said. That make the whole thing worthwhile. That anybody who's suffered a loss needs to be told over and over. And that anybody who never has suffered a loss needs to know for the future when they have lost somebody.

I read that JMS suggested the five stages of grief for this mini and that Jeph Loeb drew on the loss of his son in the writing. All I know is that some good things, important things were said in these books.

Jan

[Joe Nazzaro]

It's interesting, I can't remember where I was read this, but it was pointed out that even if Steve Rogers/Captain America does eventually return (which I've always believed myself) that it doesn't have any bearing on the way these stories were told, because they still reflected the characters' feelings at the time.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

I just finished the last two issues of the five Fallen Son books and I've got to say...

I don't care what anybody thinks about Civil War or the death of Captain America or whether he'll stay dead or about Jeph Loeb or anything else except...

There were things said in these books that needed to be said. That make the whole thing worthwhile. That anybody who's suffered a loss needs to be told over and over. And that anybody who never has suffered a loss needs to know for the future when they have lost somebody.

I read that JMS suggested the five stages of grief for this mini and that Jeph Loeb drew on the loss of his son in the writing. All I know is that some good things, important things were said in these books.

Jan

I'm a big fan of Jeph Loeb, and yes, I'm enjoying the Fallen Son mini quite thoroughly. I don't like how *marvel* is handling one of their major heroes, Iron Man though. They've turned him into this big asshole, pardon the language.

I think some of Jeph's best work really does revolve around these emotional centerpieces. I think Superman/Batman #26 was a tribute issue to his son, with a super-star cast of artists working on it. Granted it's not too much storywise the same, but it definitely has a mood that's similar. One of the best comics I've read in a long time. Might want to check that out if you like this Jan.


Old interview on newsarama about it: http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Sams_story/jeph.html

[Lunan]

i have to say i REALLY hope marvel will give Jeff a mainline book with a decent amount of control for the stories on side books associated with the mainline book. the man can really do good stories, and while its callous to say, the loss of his son has deeply impacted his writing and i feel made it better

[Karachi Vyce]

I really can't stand Jeph Loeb. Sorry to hear about his son, but that doesn't really change the fact that I feel that he's pretty much an overhyped hack. The Michael Bay of comics if you will.

In unrelated news, I think I may love Sean McKeever's "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane" comic run more than pretty much any Spider-Man series of the last few years. And that's including JMS' work.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

I really can't stand Jeph Loeb. Sorry to hear about his son, but that doesn't really change the fact that I feel that he's pretty much an overhyped hack. The Michael Bay of comics if you will.

In unrelated news, I think I may love Sean McKeever's "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane" comic run more than pretty much any Spider-Man series of the last few years. And that's including JMS' work.

Why do you like that book so much Karachi? I haven't read it at all. Should I pick up the trades?