The Dark Horse, Vertigo, Image, Indie, & Miscellaneous Thread

[Talavar]

Marvel and DC both have threads (even if the latter sees little love), so why not one for everyone else?   

I'm not sure who else reads some of these titles, but I want to talk about them anyway.

The Great Fables crossover & Fables #86
I didn't really care for this, and I really think Fables has gone downhill since the war with the Adversary ended.  I know Bill Willingham has said that Fables could theoretically go on forever, like a superhero comic, but I'm thinking that may not be a good thing.  The crossover at least came out in a timely manner, being split between Fables, Jack of Fables & the Literals specials, so it's got that over the average big superhero event, but on the whole, it didn't seem to suit the tone of Fables at all, and the ending essentially wrapped it all up so that no one need ever mention the entire thing ever again.  It's not even referenced in Fables 86, which just resumes the Mr. Dark storyline from before the crossover began.  Anyway, my point is: it's sad to see something once great go on while the things that made it great slowly slip away.

Astro City: the Dark Age Book Three #1-3
It's great to have new Astro City again, after what seems like a dog's age since the last part of this story, and the issues have even been prompt and on time so far.  The 1970s-set story continues the back story of the setting, and revealing what exactly happened to the Silver Agent, while the two brothers work to infiltrate Pyramid and get their parent's killer.  It's quality stuff, though with Astro City coming out so sporadically, I'm really just wishing for more, and a return to Astro City's 'present.'  Someone pay Kurt Busiek outrageous sums of money so he can quit working for DC  and just publish his own stuff.

Locke & Key: Head Games
The second sequence of this story just concluded, and while I'm still enjoying it overall, and I know it's only one part in an overarching story, I just wish #6 had had a little more closure, like the first arc had.  If you've never heard of this book, check it out at your comic shop - it's a great little dark fantasy comic by Stephen King's son Joe Hill.

BPRD 1947 #1 & Witchfinder - In the Service of Angels #1
A pair of titles out by Mike Mignola in his 'Hellboy' universe, though neither with Mignola on art sadly.

1947 is a direct continuation from BPRD 1946, involving Trevor Bruttenholm as a young man trying to combat supernatural menaces with soldiers fresh from the horrors of WWII.  This first issue is all set-up, with the introduction of several 'new' BPRD agents, and the introduction of a vampire with a grudge.  It's solid stuff, but largely inconsequential to the overarching Hellboy setting (probably - it was just the first issue, after all).

Witchfinder - In the Service of Angels #1 takes up the story of Sir Edward Grey, a Victorian paranormal detective, who has appeared several times in very mysterious circumstances in Hellboy's present.  In this issue Grey takes on the ghost of some sort of pre-human creature that's preying on the explorers who disturbed it's bones.  This has the potential to relate more directly to the setting, with Grey's unexplained presence in the future, and his association with Hellboy's fate.

Invincible #63
So, this issue has Invincible taken to task by a Viltrumite agent sent to basically kill him and take over the earth, fast on the heels of the "Invincible War" one-issue mini-event, where large parts of the world are still heavily damaged, and Atom Eve is in the hospital.  The fight is fairly standard 'Invincible' at this point - ultraviolent and highly destructive, and now come spoiler tags:

Spoiler

And when Invincible looks to be losing, Atom Eve wakes from the hospital and goes to help him.  The Viltrumite agent easily overpowers and apparently kills her, prompting Invincible to promise to kill him - end of issue.

This bothered me for a number of reasons.  As a fan, killing Atom Eve upset me, but I can understand some of the motivation for doing so - tragic past of hero, he's too happy if he's got a great girlfriend and steady relationship, bla bla bla.  As a nitpicker though, the whole thing was just poorly handled.  First, Eve just nearly died about 2 issues ago, and only just woke from her coma, so the impact of her death is greatly muted.  It's 2 big events too close together.  Second, Eve was written stupidly.  The Viltrumite had a bionic arm, and Eve can rearrange and alter non-living matter - rather than trying to trap him in a bubble, why not turn that arm into vapour and let him start bleeding out?  That's just lazy thinking on display.

[murs47]

I'm very happy that you started this thread Talavar. I'll be looking to contribute to it. Especially 'cause my favorite book is a non DC/Marvel title.

[The Enigma]

Thanks Talavar. I tend to read but never contribute to the Marvel and DC threads, I'm still too poor to afford any kind of monthly pull list, but might make an exception if some of the recommendations are good enough. If not, there's always TPBs
Also, I expect most of us have seen this, but I am still desperately excited: http://wildstorm.blog.dccomics.com/files/2009/07/planetary27cover_logo-copy-1024x518.jpg

[Talavar]

murs, all my favourite books are non-Marvel/DC (well, Vertigo's kind of DC I guess).  What's your fav?

Enigma, if there's any trades you want to comment on or review, go for it.  Plus I find a lot of comics these days read better as TPBs anyway.

And I hope lots of people will contribute to this thread, though I doubt it'll see the popularity of the Marvel thread.  Here's hoping!

[Previsionary]

Murs's fave book is probably Scalped by Jason Aaron. And though I don't read much Indie these days, I'm currently stuck on Angel, Buffy, the newest Tick story, and I'm slowly trying to edge my way back into Savage Dragon... however, I think I might do a little mini-review on one of my fave mini-series from awhile back... The Freshmen Volumes 1 and 2.

[murs47]

Murs's fave book is probably Scalped by Jason Aaron.

That's the one.

[Jakew]

Scalped and Fear Agent are great. Walking Dead is improving again. I've also got to mention The Boys and Lone Ranger ... great stuff.

Fables has never really lived up to its potential after

Spoiler

the death of Bluebeard

in my opinion. However, I really like Jack of Fables for some reason, even though Jack himself is so unlikeable.

Robert Kirkman is starting to show his hand in his comics with the "unexpected" deaths in all his books. It's becoming his trademark gimmick.

I've also been picking up Veritgo's Sandman Mystery Theatre via trades. Wow, what a great detective book!

[Talavar]

Jakew, I agree that Fables hasn't been as good since when you mention, but in my opinion, it's been a continuing downward progression.  It's still pretty good, but at one time, I would have said it was great.

This week's issues for me:

Invincible #64 

Spoiler

So, Invincible fights with a modicum of sense and attacks the invading Viltrumite's bionic hand first, shattering it, then Eve comes back to life, scorches (?) the Viltrumite, who then gets his head caved in by Invincible through a series of headbutt attacks.

I'm glad Eve isn't dead, because I like the character, it lacked impact coming so soon on her grievous injuries, and because it happened in a poorly thought out manner, but I doubt this is going to be perfectly happy.  Since Eve apparently brought herself back to life and repaired her injuries, I'm guessing she's getting a dangerous new power upgrade.  Still, I'm happy Eve's not dead.

Jack of Fables #36 This issue sees Jack & Gary, the Pathetic Fallacy, talking in a diner in Alaska, and Jack relates his time living among fable apes in Africa.  It's a fun, little self-contained story after the Fables Crossover and before whatever arc is starting next, but not really a lot to discuss.

[Jakew]

Jakew, I agree that Fables hasn't been as good since when you mention, but in my opinion, it's been a continuing downward progression.  It's still pretty good, but at one time, I would have said it was great.

This week's issues for me:

Invincible #64  

Spoiler

So, Invincible fights with a modicum of sense and attacks the invading Viltrumite's bionic hand first, shattering it, then Eve comes back to life, scorches (?) the Viltrumite, who then gets his head caved in by Invincible through a series of headbutt attacks.

I'm glad Eve isn't dead, because I like the character, it lacked impact coming so soon on her grievous injuries, and because it happened in a poorly thought out manner, but I doubt this is going to be perfectly happy.  Since Eve apparently brought herself back to life and repaired her injuries, I'm guessing she's getting a dangerous new power upgrade.  Still, I'm happy Eve's not dead.

Jack of Fables #36 This issue sees Jack & Gary, the Pathetic Fallacy, talking in a diner in Alaska, and Jack relates his time living among fable apes in Africa.  It's a fun, little self-contained story after the Fables Crossover and before whatever arc is starting next, but not really a lot to discuss.

I totally agree re: Fables. I keep thinking "imagine what a better, riskier writer could do with this great concept!" As I mentioned on another thread, Invincible had his Ninja Scroll moment  = 

[marhawkman]

My fave from Dark Horse is Indiana Jones.

[murs47]

Synopsis:

In 2045, as Islam has overrun Europe and the West openly shuns monotheism, the Vatican funded, CERN Laboratories 'discover' that time travel is possible. The Pope orders the creation of a private army, and led by a few handpicked Cardinals and the finest graduates of selected war colleges, they travel back in time to 312AD - the reign of the first Christian Emperor, Constantine. Upon arrival, conflicting agendas, ideological differences, and personal greed see grand plans unravel. Pax Romana is the tale of 5,000 men sent on an impossible mission to change the past and save the future. At the end of the world, will they succeed, or will they fail?

--product information from Barnes & Nobles.com--

The Nightly News has put Jonathan Hickman on my radar(understatement ). Picking this up was inevitable but unlike Nightly News, my expectations were very high and Hickman doesn't disappoint.

What I thought was going to be an action oriented book (modern weaponry annihilating armies of the past) turned out to be a very cerebral and wordy story. Most of the "battles" were played out in a single page or spread. The book primarily dealt with the moral implications of the mission and long term effects of it's execution.

I don't want to say too much else, I feel the premise should be enough alone to generate interest. It was for me at least.

Negative points:
- Chapter 4(final) felt rushed and crammed to finish the storyline up. An extra issue would have made more sense for this story.
- Chapter 1 was a little slow to get into. The last few pages made me say: "Oh schnitzel!" I was all in after that.
- Action scenes were very brief and the details were re-capped through dialogue. While appropriate for a majority of this story, it would have been nice seeing tanks plow through the Roman Legion.

I give this book a 4.5 out 5. Great idea with good execution. Some small blemishes here and there. But overall....just wow. If you're looking for something fresh, this is it.

[murs47]

Anybody read the latest Scalped?

Spoiler

I honestly thought the Hmongs were gonna put Red Crow six feet under. But him and Shunka went berserk! Dash went all sadist. Probably one of the most exhilarating arcs I've ever read. I was on the edge of my seat during every issue.

[DrMike2000]

Thanks for starting this thread up.

I've been drifting back into Vertigo recently. I think I've already raved about Pete Milligan's Hellblazer, and lets just say I'm raving even louder about the current "India" arc. Solid art and writing.

The other big surprise for me was DayTripper written and drawn by the Fabio Moon/Gabriel Ba twins who illustrated Matt Fraction's Casanova (which I must review at some point...) I'm a superhero fan first and foremost over a comics fan, and expected this one might be a bit dull, but the first two issues have been fantastic. I highly recommend it. I'll do a proper review soon...

[lugaru]

Great thread!

BTW... does anyone here read comics from Avatar? I think they put out some of the best genre comics on the market... their horror stuff is real brutal but Absolution is really blowing my mind, especially the issue with the guy who makes nonesense inventions but so long as he believes they work, well, they work.

Other than that I keep up to date with Walking Dead, Chew and a bunch of other things. I would have to be at home where my issues are at but this is a great time for image and other indy publishers.

[detourne_me]

Just started reading Irredeemable and Atomic Robo myself. Gotta say, Irredeemable is amazing and feels almost like MiracleMan at times.
Atomic Robo is just plain fun. It's kind of like Hellboy in a way but much more lighthearted.
I've been able to get legal digital copies lately, something that the big two seem to be lacking in so I think I'll be reading more Red5, Boom! And other company stuff till they catch up.

I tried looking at the avatar library, but didn't see much to piqu? my interests.

Which publisher is Scalped? I've heard a lot about it and I really liked Aarons Ghost Rider. 

[murs47]

Which publisher is Scalped? I've heard a lot about it and I really liked Aarons Ghost Rider. 

Vertigo. Common description's of the book are it being like the "Sopranos" or "The Wire" on an Indian reservation. I've never watched Sopranos(which I need to do) so I can't say if it's true. But it being compared to The Wire, I agree.

[lugaru]

Which publisher is Scalped? I've heard a lot about it and I really liked Aarons Ghost Rider. 

Vertigo. Common description's of the book are it being like the "Sopranos" or "The Wire" on an Indian reservation. I've never watched Sopranos(which I need to do) so I can't say if it's true. But it being compared to The Wire, I agree.

Scalped is one of the best crime books on the shelves, which is funny given that vertigo is ignoring it with it's crime line. If you dig it pick up 100 bullets as well.

[Previsionary]

So, Green Hornet #1 came out this week written by Kevin Smith. I was wondering if anyone here has gotten it and can tell me whether or not I should invest any time or money in it.

[Previsionary]

So, Green Hornet #1 came out this week written by Kevin Smith. I was wondering if anyone here has gotten it and can tell me whether or not I should invest any time or money in it.

Since no one responded to my question, I checked out the book myself. It's a solid read with quite a few hiccups in it that brought my enjoyment of it down. The story is Kevin Smith's abandoned plot for the proposed movie, and he just formatted it for a comic setting. This issue certainly has good art, but some of the dialogue is quite forced and some of the jokes Kevin chose to use erred on the side of mean spirited. There was a particular scene that took place after Green Hornet's final mission which was very unrealistic even for a comic setting. It involved his wife, a gun, and some type of a joke these two apparently play on each other. Anyway, although much of the book hinges on the past (though I can't tell you specifically when this takes place... only that it's GH and Kato's last mission), it jumps into the future in the last few pages to focus on the NEXT GH. All in all, it's enjoyable up to a point, but the problem areas are really in your face. Tis a 3... out of 5.

Oh, I guess I should mention it's new reader friendly for those without much history on the character (like myself).

[DrMike2000]

This week's haul:

Joe the Barbarian #5 (I think its #5).
Haven't bothered reading it because I'm not really that enchanted with this series to be honest. I'm buying it purely out of Morrison-inertia, and anyway, I was too busy on my lunchbreak reading...

Hellblazer #267
I've made no secret that I'm a big fan of Milligan and Camuncoli's run. The last two-parter was a bit of a fizzer for me, partly due to Bisley's artwork, partly due to the rather idiosyncratic story about old punks and the Conservative Party. Bisley's a great artist, and blew me away with his early black and white work in 2000AD, but he really isnt playing to his strengths on this title. The story was kind of cool as a meditation on getting old, but may have been lost a bit on people who didn't grow up in the UK in the 80's. Even the lower points of this series have had something good to say.

Anyway, Camuncoli's back on art, with his scratchy style and crazy-faced John. That's good. The new story "Sectioned", picks up straight away with John going a  bit mental, I can't really say much more beyond that, because I don't know yet. It's an awesome beginning, feels like this arc may start wrapping up a lot of the threads Milligan's been laying down. All of this alone would have me excited and feeling like this series is getting properly back on track after a recent limp. But most importantly...

Spoiler

John starts to summon Shade the Changing Man!!!!

I'd heard rumours that this would happen soon, but it still came as a complete shock to me.

Any other hardcore Milligan fans should seriously give this a look.

[RTTingle]

So, Green Hornet #1 came out this week written by Kevin Smith. I was wondering if anyone here has gotten it and can tell me whether or not I should invest any time or money in it.

1 was ok --- to talky for my tastes, but thats Kevin Smith for ya'.

2 was better.

3 torch is passed and I just didn't care for it, but knew it was going to happen... since well --- the writing was on the wall from 1.  The ending of the book really makes up for everything else however.

Also picked up GH:Year One.  Enjoying that more.  Will pick up GH Strikes when that comes out.  Been loving the pulp resurgence lately.  Been picking up DC's First Wave line.  Don't care for Doc Savage #1, it was just --- I dunno... awkward.  Hoping it gets better as it goes.  I'll read it again, maybe its my mood at the time.  Picked up Spirit #1 too, but have yet to read it.

RTT

[Previsionary]

GH: Strike is out. I have it. I just haven't read it. I stopped reading KS's Green Hornet. That scene in issue 1 really did a number on my potential enjoyment of the book. I also bought Kato #1 and haven't read it. Ugh.

[RTTingle]

GH: Strike is out. I have it. I just haven't read it. I stopped reading KS's Green Hornet. That scene in issue 1 really did a number on my potential enjoyment of the book. I also bought Kato #1 and haven't read it. Ugh.

I understand.  My reaction to the scene in question was, WTF? 

Almost killed it for me too, but I decided to stick it out... judge the work as a whole.  Not impressed so far, its ok.  How #3 ended was a high note for me, so we'll see how it goes and I hope the momentum continues.

[Previsionary]

Killer of Demons #1 (3)

I just got around to reading this book despite the fact that I picked it up last year. Is that sad? Maybe, but it is what it is. This comic written by Chris Yost, drawn by Scott Wegener, and published by Image comics is one I picked up because of author alone. How does it stack up? Well, I liked it! Consider for a moment that you're a corporate worker for a company you're not really pleased with, you have a sidekick in the form of a foul mouth angel that tells you you're chosen to do "God's work," you're the only person that can see demons, and your job is to kill them although they appear as regular humans to everyone else. If that's not enough of a setup, also imagine that your brother is an FBI agent that tracks pedophiles in a W.O.W-esque game, you're dating a cop, and the majority of the world thinks you're a mass murderer. It's enough to make a normal man think he's insane, and that's exactly the state our main character, Dave Sloan, is in, constantly questioning whether or not he's lost his marbles while struggling with his responsibilities. In the first issue, you get the setup, action, exposition, and a few moments of humor that all seem to fit in naturally without being overwhelming. Having over 20 pages of content definitely helped. The art style isn't something you'd see very often in most current books, but it fits the tone and even the bright colors don't detract from the story being told. As of this issue, I'd recommend it. 3 out of 5. It's a light story, and can be fairly graphic in some of its violent scenes, but it's entertaining none-the-less, if it's your sort of thing.

[murs47]

My clones and I are one step closer to world domination.

[murs47]

Ryan Ottley and Jason Howard's Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark comes out this wednesday. It looks so absurd, but in a good way. Anyone else picking this up?

[electro]

Xerxes prequel to 300

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26481

[The Enigma]

So the final volume of Scott Pilgrim came out a few days ago. I think I kinda loved it, even if it wasn't the greatest ending. It seemed a little more serious, like Scott was finally starting to grow up. There were still a few loose ends that weren't quite explained fully, but I'm actually ok with that. And then there will be a film soon, which I am very cautiously optimistic about (huge Spaced fan. It practically defined moving towards adulthood for me).
I'd love to hear some other opinions.

[DrMike2000]

I found Scott Pilgrim #6 quite disappointing, but then I don't really know what it could have done. It was an ending, and they're very difficult to write, as the reader is already disengaging from the fiction by then, since they know its going to end.

I'd already figured out the likely endings: Scott and ramona get together. Scott and Kim get together. etc. Scott decides to spend a bit of time on his own growing up. etc.

One of them happened. The end.

Above that though, this one seemed to be missing any particulalry good non-sequitur fantasy elements that made the rest of the series. No bizarre band thing (the 0.4 second song, playing without instruments), no jarring magical realist elements (the introduction of subspace, the vegan academy) just re-use of the same old stuff. No surprises really.

So, it wasn't terrible, and the end to a great series, just nothing spectacular.

[The Hitman]

Just a head's up for all you webcomic fans - Dark Horse will be releasing a 3-issue miniseries of Axe Cop, starting this December!