Dr.Finger
09-02-2008, 08:32 PM
Comic Day! Not as fun as PAX, more fun than a hurricane. Remember, because of the Labor Day holiday, comics won't be in stores until Thursday the 4th. And what better way to console yourselves over that bad news than heading into the forums and discussing it (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62827)! While you're at it, check out what'll be in stores this Thursday over at Diamond's new release list (http://previewsworld.com/public/default.asp?t=2&m=1&c=6&s=428)
This week, on the trenchant Johnny Gigawatt & the Tiger Men from Mars (http://johnnygigawatt.com): the drive to save the house where Superman was born, Grant Morrison on where Final Crisis meets RIP, and more PAX shennanigans. What more could you ask for?
Picks of the Week
Fables #75 - One of the best ongoing titles on the market reaches a milestone issue, one which promises some huge, long lasting changes to the status quo. The momentum of this book has been hurt by a recent spate of delays (due mostly to creator Bill Willingham's illness) but it remains a shining example of what's great about this industry: telling a long form, serialized story in a mature manner but in a manner that could never, ever be done on a live-action TV show. I'm usually a little wary of the 'this issue changes everything' conept, but Willingham has shown a willingness to shake things up over the course of the series, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here.
Secret Six #1 - I miss Gail Simone. While I've liked her current run on Wonder Woman, it hasn't blown me away, mostly because she seems to be trying to move away from her trademark humor. It's also forced her to curtail her output, going from 3-4 books a month at the beginning of last summer to just a single title for most of this year. That's coming to an end with the re-debut of the Secret Six, the team of lovable bad guys she first assembled in 2005's Villains United. The core lineup remains Deadshot, Catman, Scandal Savage and Ragdoll, with a new character and a 'brand name' Bat-villain joining the crew.
X-Men Manifest Destiny #1 - Another title I have mixed feelings about. It's done by creators I'm fond of - Mike Carey, Skottie Young, Michael Ryan - but it also feels like deja vu. Just a few months ago we got a pair books sporting the same concept: spotlighting some of the X-Men that aren't going to get a whole lot of spotlight in the coming months. That last effort, X-Men: Divided We Stand, produced a couple of good stories, but overall felt unsatisfying. I'm a bit of an X-Men whore, so I'll at least be picking up the first issue, but my expectations are not that high for this one.
Question of the Week - While researching an unrelated topic, I happened across a reference to a storyline I'd never really heard much about called Avengers: The Crossing, from late 1995. Dropping by my local comic shop, I grabbed pretty much the whole story from the back issue bins for $12. What's so special about it? As near as I can tell it's considered one of, if not the, worst major storylines of all time (this thread (http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=22515) is the most cogent synopsis I could find of the story), and frankly it earns that title. It was, in short, everything wrong about comics in the 90s: chromium covers, capricious and frankly dumb changes to random characters (they made the Wasp into an actual Wasp, and they have people running around as Avengers I've never, ever heard of) a huge body count and a ridiculously convoluted storyline involving time travel, alternate realities, alternate futures and some of the most hideous costumes of all time. It was so bad, that not only did they do away with almost all of the changes less than 6 months later (with the awesome by comparison Onslaught storyline) that Marvel ended up producing a miniseries a few years later - Avengers Forever - whose main goal seemed to be obliterating any hint of The Crossing from continuity. So, in that spirit I ask this week's question: What's the most awful (or awesomely bad) story you've ever read all (or at least most) of the way through? Bonus points if it's laughably bad
This week, on the trenchant Johnny Gigawatt & the Tiger Men from Mars (http://johnnygigawatt.com): the drive to save the house where Superman was born, Grant Morrison on where Final Crisis meets RIP, and more PAX shennanigans. What more could you ask for?
Picks of the Week
Fables #75 - One of the best ongoing titles on the market reaches a milestone issue, one which promises some huge, long lasting changes to the status quo. The momentum of this book has been hurt by a recent spate of delays (due mostly to creator Bill Willingham's illness) but it remains a shining example of what's great about this industry: telling a long form, serialized story in a mature manner but in a manner that could never, ever be done on a live-action TV show. I'm usually a little wary of the 'this issue changes everything' conept, but Willingham has shown a willingness to shake things up over the course of the series, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here.
Secret Six #1 - I miss Gail Simone. While I've liked her current run on Wonder Woman, it hasn't blown me away, mostly because she seems to be trying to move away from her trademark humor. It's also forced her to curtail her output, going from 3-4 books a month at the beginning of last summer to just a single title for most of this year. That's coming to an end with the re-debut of the Secret Six, the team of lovable bad guys she first assembled in 2005's Villains United. The core lineup remains Deadshot, Catman, Scandal Savage and Ragdoll, with a new character and a 'brand name' Bat-villain joining the crew.
X-Men Manifest Destiny #1 - Another title I have mixed feelings about. It's done by creators I'm fond of - Mike Carey, Skottie Young, Michael Ryan - but it also feels like deja vu. Just a few months ago we got a pair books sporting the same concept: spotlighting some of the X-Men that aren't going to get a whole lot of spotlight in the coming months. That last effort, X-Men: Divided We Stand, produced a couple of good stories, but overall felt unsatisfying. I'm a bit of an X-Men whore, so I'll at least be picking up the first issue, but my expectations are not that high for this one.
Question of the Week - While researching an unrelated topic, I happened across a reference to a storyline I'd never really heard much about called Avengers: The Crossing, from late 1995. Dropping by my local comic shop, I grabbed pretty much the whole story from the back issue bins for $12. What's so special about it? As near as I can tell it's considered one of, if not the, worst major storylines of all time (this thread (http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=22515) is the most cogent synopsis I could find of the story), and frankly it earns that title. It was, in short, everything wrong about comics in the 90s: chromium covers, capricious and frankly dumb changes to random characters (they made the Wasp into an actual Wasp, and they have people running around as Avengers I've never, ever heard of) a huge body count and a ridiculously convoluted storyline involving time travel, alternate realities, alternate futures and some of the most hideous costumes of all time. It was so bad, that not only did they do away with almost all of the changes less than 6 months later (with the awesome by comparison Onslaught storyline) that Marvel ended up producing a miniseries a few years later - Avengers Forever - whose main goal seemed to be obliterating any hint of The Crossing from continuity. So, in that spirit I ask this week's question: What's the most awful (or awesomely bad) story you've ever read all (or at least most) of the way through? Bonus points if it's laughably bad