The Comic Book Thread

I know there are at least a few comic book fans floating around these boards, so I think we ought to have some discussion and stuff about our favorite monthlies and graphic novels. So have at it!

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I've recently gained a rekindled interest in the comic books that I used to read as a kid. Going back and looking at some of the stuff that I still have around in boxes, I have to say that I'm just not really all that entertained by old Spiderman and Batman books.

I have to admit that I pretty much favor the X-Universe compared to any other. 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.

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. 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!

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Acro-nym

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.

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.

I'm also getting back issues of Uncanny, but there's a lot of them.

Quote:

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.

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

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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?

In some ways it's cool (especially if you weren't enjoying the style of art they had been using), but it's also kind of off-balancing the continuation of the story, for the art direction to switch (sometimes drastically). I don't remember this happening a lot when I used to read comics regularly back in the late 80's and early 90's. And then I came back to comics by reading Astonishing and the penciling has been all done by Cassaday since the get-go, so I was just a little curious about this.

How ya doing, buddy?

I've been reading some back issues from recent Marvel Universe storylines like House of M and and I'm just now starting in on the Civil War event, and I've gotta say that they're quite enjoyable. I loved the artwork in the House of M titles. And so far, Humberto Ramos' art in the Wolverine titles for the Civil War event is quite excellent too.

Although I imagine that I'm enjoying the titles more than a general comic book fan might just because I have a special fondness for the X-Men. Although I started reading some circa-1990s Uncanny and I really couldn't get in to them as much...I can see why people aren't really all that high on the series.

I've also been thinking about checking out Teen Titans, to get a taste of the DC world. It looks like it's one of the titles that could hold my attention better than the Justice League characters could.

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

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.

How ya doing, buddy?