The Comic Book Thread

[klen7]

[lhb412]

^Years ago I checked out his Drinky Crow work and, although I admired the artistry, the constant, extreme gross-out humor didn't click with me. I should check it out again now. Maybe liking his other work will give me a new perspective?

You can tell by that cover that Sock Monkey's Uncle Gabby and Crow are the 'mirror universe' versions of his comic strip's Uncle Gabby and Drinky Crow. There's even a Sock Monkey story where the styles of the two start bleeding together and it's pretty freaky.

[klen7]

Wool - I enjoyed this series. It has some fantastic world building. I would totally be onboard for more stories set in this world. The setting is most easily likened to the vaults in Fallout. Good political story with conspiracy and a mystery thrown in.

Memetic - Someone creates a weaponized meme and due to its viral nature it threatens to bring on the apocalypse. Very interesting execution and ending. I wouldn't recommend this to just anyone, but this mini series was a wild ride

[lhb412]

Hey! Today is the 30th anniversary of the very first Calvin and Hobbes strip!

http://time.com/4117307/calvin-and-hobbes-30/

A work of art that will truly stand the test of time. Despite Watterson's refusal to merchandise or otherwise license his characters they're still fixtures in every book store. Heck, I didn't even read it until a year or two after it ended and I began collecting the practically inescapable collected volumes.

[lhb412]

Shigeru Mizuki, who was in my opinion the world's greatest living cartoonist (and still working at that age!) has passed away at the age of 93.

http://kotaku.com/beloved-manga-artist- ... 1745194794

An overwhelming talent, and a fascinating human being who's own life story was just as epic as any fantasy adventure he dreamed up in his comics. Mizuki gets a lot of credit for reintroducing Japanese folklore back into modern Japanese society, and Mizuki really believed in folkloric spirits he wrote about. If he was right in his belief I can only hope that left arm he lost back in WWII was waiting for him on the other side. What a positively Kitaro-esque thing to happen.

[klen7]

It was sad to hear that. He was truly one of the most influential artists in Japan.

[lhb412]

I was very dissapointed to hear Mike Mignola say that Hellboy in Hell will wrap up with issue #10 this year. That means one more two-issue story! For those keeping track, Mike said this series was designed to run indefinitely before it premiered, then he said a story arc started to take shape and that it would become four trade paperbacks worth of material with two or three issues every year - and now he says that the story basically got away from him and the natural climax took shape sooner than expected. That means Hellboy in Hell would translate into only two paperbacks, or one hardcover Library Edition. Mike apparently will then take a year-log sabbatical to concentrate on personal work.

Hellboy in Hell had, in my opinion, some of Mike's strongest work, so I'll be sad to see it end. Thankfully, the wonderful Hellboy and the BPRD, which Mike writes or cowrites but doesn't draw, will continue... but the current BPRD: Hell on Earth and Abe Sapien series also happen to be ending this year! What will happen next? What climatic changes will take place?

Oh, but happily one of my favorite comics, Love and Rockets, will go back to being a quarterly comic book instead of an annual 100 page paperback as it's been for the past 8 years. That'll do something to help fill the empty space in my subscription box.

And the last few issues of Usagi Yojimbo have been completely terrific! They're self contained and perfect for new readers. Stan Sakai has been on fire since his return from haitus.

[tbeasley]

[klen7]

I love Ed Brubaker, but Fade Out just ended, and i'm not sure whats next since he's writing for HBO. I am now working through his run on Daredevil... so good.

[klen7]

I had heard a lot of good things about "Black River" on a number of 2015 best of lists, which intrigued me because it was classified as horror. .. I did not like it. I didn't care for the art, or the story or the content. Glad I got it on sale, because I was not a fan.

[lhb412]

^Have you read Through the Woods, or any of Emily Carroll's webcomics? Now that's horror in its purest form. I've been reading it the last few days and found it quiet unsettling. I don't really think gore is scary, but in her work those moments of shocking, bodily horror are like a release: justifying all of that dread you were already feeling!

http://www.emcarroll.com

[klen7]

I have! I love it! Been trying to get the Mrs to read Through the Woods. Fantastic stuff

[DannyBeane]

Yesterday I picked up The Totally Awesome Hulk #2 and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1,#2,#3. I haven't had a chance to read them yet but I'm excited. The Totally Awesome Hulk#1 was a fun read and I never thought Devil Dinosaur was going to mainline a series again so it caught me completely by surprise when I saw them staring at me in a rack at my local comic book shop.

[lhb412]

^Am I correct in thinking that the new Devil Dinosaur series effectively continues directly from Kirby's, with Marvel's kinda-sorta reboot erasing all the (almost all not very good) appearances since then with Devil and Moon Boy living the the modern Marvel universe?

Anyway, I'm sure everyone's heard about DC's new kinda-sorta reboot, err, "Rebirth" which promises to bring back the sense of legacy to the DC Universe along with a lineup of comics concentrating heavily on the bread-and-butter characters of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman (thank the stars you're Batman adjacent, Gotham Academy!). It's sure to be an interesting and exciting - oh, who am I kidding? You don't want that crap! There's only one upcoming comics event that's worth a damn and it's premiering in April:



That's right: The Beagle Boys, Magica de Spell, John J. Rockerduck, and Flintheart Glomgold (BOO! HISS!) are teaming up to take down Scrooge McDuck once and for all! Now that's what I call an event comic! This four part story is from Italy in 2013, and was voted best Duck story that year in the country (the world's highest volume Disney comic producer: a new, 100 page digest is released every week!). Apparently, this story was created partially to reestablish Glomgold as Scrooge's arch enemy in Italian comics. Despite being introduced in three stories by Scrooge creator Carl Barks and later prominantly used as Scrooge's arch in Don Rosa's comics and the DuckTales cartoon the Italian comics have rarely used Glomgold.

[klen7]

[lhb412]

[mr.negativity]

[klen7]

I was honestly expecting some nutty Alan Moore like responses, but he's pretty objective about his career which i found refreshing.

[lhb412]

^Agreed. Then again, is Miller known for outrageous statements in interviews and such? I think his reputation has been almost entirely extrapolated from his work.

[klen7]

Thanks to lbh412 (and Blacksad), I spent a good deal of Zootopia wishing the film was a bit more "hard boiled"

[lhb412]

^Ha!

Don't quote me on this, but I think the 6th Blacksad album should be coming out in Europe soon-ish (and hopefully it'll be a short wait for Dark Horse to bring it here).

[lhb412]

It may be one of the most covered comics in all history, but nevertheless I think the AV Club's new roundtable discussion of The Dark Knight Returns is essential for anyone interested in this sort of thing:

http://www.avclub.com/article/dark-knig ... sup-234457

The AV Club's comic coverage is pretty excellent overall. I've probably voiced my issues with DKR here before, but I still respect it as a work of art and I really, really dig Klaus Janson's inking. That's probably my favorite thing about it!

Also in comics: Usagi just had a run in with some kappa.

[mr.negativity]

[lhb412]

Just finished the fourth Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus. It was terrific, naturally, and it featured a lot of material that was adapted into the film series. I just wanted to mention how amazing Goseki Kojima is at drawing horses. They're overwhelming, huge beasts hurtling through space and it's just masterful how he manages to convey motion, weight, momentum... what a master!



This little pic was all I could find. Doesn't even begin to convey it!

[lhb412]

Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow! I recommend picking up the Love and Rockets sampler, as it's a fantastic series that's been running consistently for 30+ years so you've been avoiding it for too long.

In related news: we're finally getting some Leiji Matsumoto manga published here in the US! The first volume of Queen Emeraldas comes out in a few months.