Sperg about comic books here

[Tor Lugosi]

Wasn't 60s Spider-Man mostly Ditko's doing?

People think this but I disagree -- there's too much goofy stuff and the quality remains very consistent even after Ditko leaves.

Is there someplace that properly consolidates the reading order in an easily-referenced way?

This is probably the best way. I remember it missing a few things but nothing major. You can skip to page 4 and start with Giant Size X-Men, if you want. The original X-Men by Lee and later Roy Thomas is kinda shit, to be honest.

 

[A Grey Cat]

Sold off my comic collection this week. Not that I wanted to more that I had too. All that's left is wolverine omnibus vol 1, two spiderman mini trades from the late 90s and 01, frank miller's daredevil vol 1 (70s/80s) tomb of Dracula vol 1 savage wolverine vol 1, vemon carnage unleashed, and rocket raccoon by scottie young vol 1. And my one single issue left is the print edition of the tie in to marvel rivals.

Didn't know where else to say this. Was gonna put it in the "how are doing?" thread but, I just don't know.

 

[Liquid Kent]

Sold off my comic collection this week.

Didn't know where else to say this. Was gonna put it in the "how are doing?" thread but, I just don't know.

Mine was the total opposite... I had sold a majority of my collection to support an ex-girlfriend who eventually cheated on me in a separate country altogether.

My current girlfriend got me a huge chunk of Morrison's Batman run (in hardcover!) and it turned out they were all first prints. So of course I sourced some other missing hardcovers and the Morrison-Batman saga is almost complete (again)

@Anonitolia for the thread I will recommend the following Marvel and DC titles (I'm a DC dude but I appreciate Marvel since working at the comic shop growing up. All recommended titles are before 2010, promise)

Spoiler: Marvel

- Marvel Boy (Grant Morrison and JG Jones mini) This miniseries is plain zany and it plays to Morrison's strengths. The problem was that the character was then co-opted by Bendis post Civil War and none of the belligerent nature of it remains.

- Silver Surfer: Requiem (J Michael Straczynski, he wrote a very poignant story of the Silver Surfer's death. One-and-done and very heartfelt. A tour of Marvel with the who's who that we know and how they're affected by his passing.)


- Planet Hulk (Greg Pak wrote a Gladiator + Stranger in an even stranger land story for the Hulk after space exile before Civil War and it works. Marvel should have kept him as Cosmic Conan/Kull but what the fuck do I know)


- Wolverine: Enemy of the State (Millar and JRJR, although you disliked Civil War, this is action-packed and reads like an actual action movie, it's just plain escalation to an ending that goes "damn why didn't anybody think of that!")

- AGE OF APOCALYPSE (this one is a no-brainer, it's an event but it encapsulated the very best of the 90s and it's played very straight, the stakes are fucking astronomical. It takes place over multiple issues and miniseries but I assure you it is well worth it. AoA is the reason we have sprawling mega-events because within the story they were trying to tell it was really larger-than-life. Clone Saga was artificially dragged out to increase sales because they saw it worked with AoA. You can't strike lightning in a bottle twice, and that's why AoA is a Hallmark of comic books (and I'm a DC dude!)

Spoiler: DC

- Batman - Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (Morrison and McKean. Just read it, you won't be sorry. 1989.)

- All-Star Superman (another Morrison recommend but it's a modern classic for a reason. Art is not for everyone though)

- Tangent Comics (I recommend this as an alternative universe that's fun. Creator Dan Jurgens got his own universe to play with and each one-shot issue stands on its own, but connects in a larger and broader scope when read together. The names of the characters are reused, but are just so wildly different- Tangent Atom is this world's Superman and Joker is a cross between Harley Quinn and V for Vendetta in a Sonic the Hedgehog hijinks way. It's 1997 baby!)

- Nightwing Year One (This is one of Chuck Dixon's best stories to give an uninitiated reader for them to have a controlled deep dive into the street-level DC Universe. It's 2004 I believe.)

- Infinite Crisis (a sequel to the now-classic Crisis on Infinite Earths. You can read this on its own and the nature of superhero good-and-evil is explored at face value. This is basically Civil War but done right without virtue-signaling and trying to be smart. 2005-2006. Is a stepping stone before the equally incredible Sinestro Corps War storyline in Green Lantern.)

Hope this helps @Anonitolia

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

X-Men interviewed by newspeople.....are you thinking of the reporter lady who interviewed depowered mutants after House of M?

 

[Humble Architect]

The “Filoni method” is when one of these large universe, multimedia brands is hijacked by a little freak who twists it to focus on “his” characters and desired plot elements instead of what the paying customers want.

For example, twisting the last pulse of a once-legendary brand to reintroduce characters from a children’s cartoon and cuck the protagonist while refusing to ever let death apply to these protected characters and in doing so, piss off the normies who jumped on the autistic armored cowboy show cause their girlfriends found the green puppet cute.

 

[Anon88]

Have you got any issue numbers for me to go off of? Might be easier to find that way (especially X-Factor/New Mutants since there seem to be a lot of those?). I'll try and find these regardless; I'm just asking for the sake of convenience.

Just start with number 1 for both of them. It should be the X-Factor series from 1986 and the New Mutant series from 1982.

 

[Anonitolia]

This is probably the best way. I remember it missing a few things but nothing major. You can skip to page 4 and start with Giant Size X-Men, if you want.

Just start with number 1 for both of them. It should be the X-Factor series from 1986 and the New Mutant series from 1982.

Thank you for the extra info! I'll throw it down in my notes.

@Anonitolia for the thread I will recommend the following

Hope this helps @Anonitolia

It does, quite a bit! Thank you muchly.

X-Men interviewed by newspeople.....are you thinking of the reporter lady who interviewed depowered mutants after House of M?

Hmm, maybe? The comic was definitely published somewhere in the late 90s/early 2000s (pre-Civil War, I know that for sure) so it would line up. I remember the art being very dark and muddy, or otherwise just unpleasant to look at.
There was definitely a lady doing the reporting, but I'm pretty sure she either had a guy tagging along or was part of a duo that carried the comic viewpoint from time to time. I know Gambit and Rogue didn't have powers, and Storm was doing some kind of strength training alongside Wolverine after an injury (I think I thought the two were in a relationship for some reason, but I'm pretty sure I was misinterpreting). Pretty sure Storm was fighting some kind of muscle memory, so she probably didn't have powers, but I think Wolverine still did? Or at least wasn't taking things poorly or something. My memory's muddy, sorry. You're probably close, though.

The “Filoni method” is when one of these large universe, multimedia brands is hijacked by a little freak who twists it to focus on “his” characters and desired plot elements instead of what the paying customers want.

Ah, I was thinking of a much more generous interpretation. Got it.

twisting the last pulse of a once-legendary brand to reintroduce characters from a children’s cartoon and cuck the protagonist while refusing to ever let death apply to these protected characters and in doing so, piss off the normies who jumped on the autistic armored cowboy show cause their girlfriends found the green puppet cute.

Do I dare ask?

 

[Stab You in the Back]

How about Punisher? Most people say Ennis's run is the peak, but I've also heard good things about Circle of Blood and War Zone.

- AGE OF APOCALYPSE (this one is a no-brainer, it's an event but it encapsulated the very best of the 90s and it's played very straight, the stakes are fucking astronomical. It takes place over multiple issues and miniseries but I assure you it is well worth it. AoA is the reason we have sprawling mega-events because within the story they were trying to tell it was really larger-than-life. Clone Saga was artificially dragged out to increase sales because they saw it worked with AoA. You can't strike lightning in a bottle twice, and that's why AoA is a Hallmark of comic books (and I'm a DC dude!)

I haven't read AoA since the 90s. Is it better to read the mini-series separately, or shuffled together as they are in modern trades?

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

OH you are thinking about X-Treme X-Men. They had a 2 issue mini called X-Posse during the schism arc.

 

[Liquid Kent]

I haven't read AoA since the 90s. Is it better to read the mini-series separately, or shuffled together as they are in modern trades?

I am biased and say read them separately (These are the individual gold-dress trades I have) because in the modern trade collections it follows a "recommended reading order" that is arbitrary, whereas the gold-trades simply collect each miniseries and you have more control over which series you want to read in a sequence of your choice.

The AoA Alpha (Dawn) and Omega (Twilight) one shots are the bookends of the event, so whichever way you read the miniseries themselves, the beginning and ending is a very clear-cut culmination of everything. Legionquest is extra prologue which fills in the X-Men status quo before the big change, but when AoA ends you find yourself wanting this version to be the mainline universe.

That's great stuff right here.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

How about Punisher? Most people say Ennis's run is the peak, but I've also heard good things about Circle of Blood and War Zone.

The mainstream Punisher run Ennis did was just him recycling his Preacher and Hitman bits for Marvel, but he was able to branch out by having Frank as a protagonist, and not yet another clone of his interpretation of John Constantine. The MAX run he did is what you want to check out, and I would also recommend the Fury mini-series he did with Darrick Robertson and also the thirteen issue Fury series he did with Goran Parlov.

Peter David is usually my go to recommendation for Marvel, but he's been mentioned, so I'll say check out his Fallen Angel run if you can get it, the initial 'volume zero' he did under DC and the later revival he did under IDW.

The first volume of Runaways (The initial 18 issues before it was made into an ongoing) is also pretty good, but don't bother after that. I also like what Daniel Way did with Deadpool, but before then check out Fabian Nicieza's Cable and Deadpool run. And I still love Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America.

I'm not really a Marvel guy, I'm more DC and indies, but there's some solid stuff that's been recommended here.

 

[Newcomer 42]

I wasn't sure where to write this, but I believe it belongs here since it's a bit of a rant about modern DC. The first number of the newest series of Batman is out! Meant to be a fresh start for newcomers, it's self-explanatory, it has good art and objectively is okay... But there are a LOT of unexplained things consequence of previous events that will leave those who do not religiously follow the comic scratching their heads. To start, Commissar Gordon is now a beatcop at his 70s because Vandal Save somehow got his position (what). Vandal also bought the Wayne Mansion from under Bruce's nose (WHAT), which means Bats lost some money and now lives in a regular flat of sorts. Last but not least, Alfred Pennyworth is fucking dead (WHAT???). All of those things you'll notice immediately and they're not explained anywhere. Worse, they go against the usual status of Batman and some feel pointless. Killing Alfred, a secondary character whose help is priceless to Bruce, was killed by Bane by neck-break in one comic 5 years ago or so (I dunno if Bane was consequently headshotted by Jason Todd, as he absolutely would if given the chance). Killing Al was a terrible idea, one this latest comic noticed, because now Bruce is walking around with an holographic AI of his butler, which felt jarring.
There was no woke stuff in this comic surprisingly enough, but all of these changes feel really strange to someone who's not a fanatic of the franchise, nevermind a newcomer.

 

[strumpets exeunt]

Bruce is walking around with an holographic AI of his butler, which felt jarring.

I agree with your points. Particularly the one about Jim being a beat cop, because A) he's too damn old and B) he RETIRED even back before he went on that globe trotting adventure after the Joker. I do think the Alfred thing isn't supposed to be a hologram - it's just Bruce talking to his imaginary friend and/or having a bit of a schizo break. But I may be proven wrong in the future.

 

[Prehistoric Jazz]

I don't understand why Vandal Savage would want to be commissioner of gotham, I've been getting the comics but I can't remember what reasoning was vomited forth.

 

[Newcomer 42]

Alfred thing isn't supposed to be a hologram - it's just Bruce talking to his imaginary friend and/or having a bit of a schizo break. But I may be proven wrong in the future.

I think it's an AI because he has the same blue brightness that now Bats and his gadgets have, and he appears in the car first, initially giving you the impression something is odd, until you notice he's probably dead and now meant to be an AI or worse, a hallucination. Either way, I hope it's retconned in the next crisis as you can't have Alfred stay dead. That's why this replacement was made to begin with.
Also, a bit of an OOC moment for Bake, as he killed a perp for assaulting an old priest, and Alfred is in his late years too.

 

[strumpets exeunt]

I think it's an AI because he has the same blue brightness that now Bats and his gadgets have, and he appears in the car first, initially giving you the impression something is odd, until you notice he's probably dead and now meant to be an AI or worse, a hallucination. Either way, I hope it's retconned in the next crisis as you can't have Alfred stay dead. That's why this replacement was made to begin with.
Also, a bit of an OOC moment for Bake, as he killed a perp for assaulting an old priest, and Alfred is in his late years too.

The Bane character assassination was egregious under King. He always had his own code of honor, and it was actually kind of weirdly inspiring to watch him beat venom (though that seems to have been undone) and go on to be a surrogate father figure for Scandal Savage. Hopefully they continue to pursue that dynamic with his new "daughter" which I was shocked to see people actually acknowledge after that Joker series.

I don't understand why Vandal Savage would want to be commissioner of gotham, I've been getting the comics but I can't remember what reasoning was vomited forth.

For whatever reason, Vandal's immortality has become localized to Gotham. I think him becoming commissioner is him trying to figure out a way to "rule" in a modern society. Not saying it's a logical move for the character, but it's something, I guess.

 

[The Feline Solution 2]

Danny Ketch Ghost Rider vol. 1 - "Vengeance Reborn"

Oh wow, that cover unearthed some long-forgotten childhood memories. First time i saw Ghost Rider on the shelves in a comic shop, never actually read it.

 

[Clyde Cash's Left Teste]

For whatever reason, Vandal's immortality has become localized to Gotham. I think him becoming commissioner is him trying to figure out a way to "rule" in a modern society. Not saying it's a logical move for the character, but it's something, I guess.

Least the Vandal being commissioner stuff could be entertaining.

Though they really need to bring back Alfred

 

[Anonitolia]

OH you are thinking about X-Treme X-Men. They had a 2 issue mini called X-Posse during the schism arc.

Bingo, thank you!

...yeah, really not a good way to be introduced to the cast. I don't know why I thought it'd be an okay starting point. Maybe because I figured it wasn't connected to anything else? What a confusing introduction

 

[Newcomer 42]

The Bane character assassination was egregious under King. He always had his own code of honor, and it was actually kind of weirdly inspiring to watch him beat venom (though that seems to have been undone) and go on to be a surrogate father figure for Scandal Savage.

Fucking Tom King. That explains everything. I read his Rorscharch book after being told it was awesome. It's... Not. It has good art, yes, but it meanders, is full of padding, retcons or outright contradicts stuff from Watchmen, and it ends in a TRUMPF BAD! HE MUST DIE!!! retarded take. Oh, and there's literal character assassination of Frank Miller's stand-in. I checked and it seems that kind of inane subversion is a thing Tom does all the time.
Raping Bane is expected, but a better writer would have Bane suffer extreme retaliation from such act, such as Jason Todd "accidentally" shooting him.
Or Bats going ape on him.

For whatever reason, Vandal's immortality has become localized to Gotham. I think him becoming commissioner is him trying to figure out a way to "rule" in a modern society. Not saying it's a logical move for the character, but it's something, I guess.

Sounds dumb and it's clearly an excuse to tie Vandal to Batman. Wasn't he a Green Lantern villain? Vand is a bit of a "generalist" due to his immortal status, and tying him to Bats makes Raz's at Ghul redundant. Lastly, if he wants to rule, being a major makes more sense than a commissioner (not that it matters, considering his rep file includes "attempted world domination" multiple times over, which would stop him dead on his tracks).