The Comic Book Thread

Originally Posted by Guru

I've been doing some research on Wiki and other corners of the web and I've unfortunately found that the resounding opinion of many comic-book connoisseurs is that the X-Universe is also one of the most muddled and inconsistent, which has me pretty sad.

That's a fairly accurate statement. It's for that reason, and others, that I haven't really enjoyed the X-Men in a long time.

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I've read through all 21 issues that are currently available of Astonishing X-Men and I'm more than blown away with how great the storyline and artwork is.

Well, I wasn't blown away by it. In fact, I think only the first arc was great. But perhaps if you like that, you might enjoy Whedon writing Runaways or perhaps some of Cassaday's past work, such as Planetary.

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Unfortunately it seems that the run is likely to end soon, but I want to continue with the X-Men particularly (and I wouldn't mind seeing some of my other favorite X-Men, like Nightcrawler and Storm). I've come to the conclusion that I likely ought to start with the New X-Men series, which is what I intend to do ... unless anyone has a better suggestion!

Whedon and Cassaday are leaving Astonishing X-Men after the current arc. Nightcrawler and Storm will both be appearing in a soon-to-start Morlocks-related arc in Uncanny X-Men. I hear good things about the standard X-Men title and X-Factor, but the characters and premises don't do much for me. Maybe you should check them out. As for New X-Men, it mainly focuses on teams of students at the school, like an expanded New Mutants. So, if that's what you want to read, then I'd definitely go for it. And I might also suggest Avengers: Initiative, since it's a simiar idea, but it's fairly bogged-down in Civil War fallout.

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I'm also willing to take any other suggestions for some good monthlies or graphic novels that I should read that don't require years of back-knowledge to understand. Some of these stories have been going on for so long that it's just tough to get back into the game.

My favorite monthlies right now are Dynamo 5, Justice Society of America, and Brave and the Bold. If you want titles "that don't require years of back-knowledge", I highly suggest the first and somewhat recommend the third.

But really, it depends on what kinds of stories you like. Generally, the well-liked graphic novels and trade paperbacks are gritty or metaphysical stories.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Guru

I've picked up some CBRs of New X-Men starting arouned issue 110, and it basically is focusing on Jean Grey, Beast, Cyclops, Emma Frost and Professor X around when Genosha is destroyed, at least so far. Is it the later issues that turn focus away from the main team, or is it just focusing on these characters now because of the Genosha thing? So far really nothing about new students or anything like that.

There was a time when the title "X-Men" was renamed "New X-Men" for as long as Grant Morrison was writing it. When he left, the comic returned to the name "X-Men". Soon thereafter, Marvel relaunched the series New Mutants as New X-Men: Academy X. When the current creative team came on, the "Academy X" was dropped, making it the current, ongoing New X-Men. Sorry for the confusion.

But reading Morrison's New X-Men is probably a good idea considering it involves many of the same characters as Astonishing, which is sometimes considered a continuation of New X-Men.

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Dynamo 5 looks like its pretty good. Thanks for the suggestion ^^

It's a litte more expensive than regular titles, but it's worth it.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Guru

I'm noticing that as I read through New X-Men (which is actually, just X-Men, I guess), that about every 6-9-12 issues, the art style is changing pretty drastically. Sometimes the penciler is changing, but sometimes it's not. Is this pretty typical of most comics? I can understand the actual artist changing, so therefore the art style changes. But do pencilers often explore different varieties of drawing when they're working on a long-running title?

I going to say that that is definitely not typical. There are cases where an artist didn't quite work like normal, leaving the art incomplete or sketchy, but it's rare that an artist changes their actual drawing style in the middle of a story.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Guru

I was out and about today and I stopped by the comics shop and picked up issues 1-4 of Dynamo 5. This is really a good book, the characters are all very interesting and it's going to be quite enjoyable seeing them grow up and evolve into their roles more. I'm also pretty curious to see where Maddie's interests lie and what her motivation is behind spearheading the group.

Plus, Scrap is totally hot.

Thanks again for the recco, acronym.

I'm just glad that you're enjoying it!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?