We all know that no comics are shipping tomorrow, although some stores will be selling just one new book, Blackest Night #6 (which we will be discussing on NEXT week's comics page and podcast). I've heard varying opinions on how people feel about this week. Some are breathing a sigh of relief that this is a week they don't need to spend money on comics, while others are moaning that there are no comics to fill their free time that's usually spent reading. How do I feel about this week? I see it as an opportunity, and I'll tell you why.
This is the perfect week to go to your comic book store on Wednesday as you normally do, maybe pick up Blackest Night #6 if your store is involved in the special week promotion, and then stop and look around. Browse the racks. Find a comic book that is NEW TO YOU, buy it, read it and then come back to iFanboy, come back to this post, and write a review of it and/or tell everyone what you bought, why and what you thought.
It's the iFanboy Skip Week Challenge 2009!
We're all limited by our budgets and the amount of comics we can read in a single week, but think of all the books you could be missing out on. So give a new book a try. Don't worry about continuity or back story or jumping on points or anything. Just pick something up and see if you like it.
Here are some recommendations if you need a hand:
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The Brave and The Bold (DC Comics) – J. Michael Straczynski has been writing one and done stories featuring unusual pairings of DC characters that have been pretty darn good. This features some fantastic art by Jesus Saiz.
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Beasts of Burden (Dark Horse) – Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin have been putting together what looks to be a great mini-series focusing on animals and the supernatural.
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Agents of Atlas (Marvel Comics) – There have been various series, one shots and mini series around this group of characters that Jeff Parker has poured his heart into. Guaranteed you can walk into any comic store and find an issue.
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The Sword (Image Comics) – The Luna Brothers story about a girl and a sword and some Greek gods has been a blast to read, with a story that has been full of action.
- Power Girl (DC Comics) – A funny, action-packed throwback style superhero book from writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray that is completely unconnected to any other event or story in the rest of the DC Universe. Amanda Conner should be one of the most popular artists in comics.
These are just a sampling of the wonderful comics you can find at your local comic book store tomorrow, so why not take the iFanboy Skip Week Challenge 2009 and in the process, help give your local comic store some business to celebrate the end of a great year of comics?
And while you're at the comic book store this week, keep your eye out for some local indy comics talent. A bunch of indy creators have banded together to take advantage of Diamond taking the week off. It is Indy Comic Book Week this week at the comic book store! Click on the link to see if your local store is particpating in the Indy Comic Book Week promotion.
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Batgirl should totally be on this list. It’s a fun book that I’ve been giving four and five stars to since it came out.
Our list is not all emcompassing – just some ideas to get the ball rolling – please take reg5000’s lead and add in your suggestions of books to check out!
I just thought of like 3 more books I’d recommend to everyone:
Phonogram (Image)
Cowboy Ninja Viking (Image)
Nova (Marvel)
I might try Beasts of Burden but I’m really really hoping my LCS is doing this indy comics thing. *crosses fingers*
Locke and Key (IDW?)
It might be hard to find but Jersey Gods is one of my recent favorites.
I think I might start reading Green Lantern. So where should I begin? Hmm…
I read Locke & Key in HC from IDW & enjoy it 1000%. I picked up Hellboy Bride of Hell one shot & X-Factor 200 for something different. I read Power Girl monthly & bought all 4 issues of Beasts of Burden. Also I bought Season 8 of Smallville iff Amazon since it was only 20 bucks. Finally, from Vertigo I bought House of Mystery 1st tpb.
Happy New Year to all!
Matthew
This is a great idea.
And for the ppl who have a few extra bucks because it’s a "dry" week, I’d suggest picking up a trade.
Ron recommended Second Thoughts (only $9.95) on the most recent video podcast, & I’d highly suggest picking up the first volume of Northlanders if you haven’t already. It’s only $9.99 and houses the first 8 issues of this great series. Maybe the best deal in comics for a trade right now.
Either way, I like this "new to you" challenge.
Also Anchor (Boom).
Those are the only two I’m reading that I really think people would enjoy that aren’t getting a ton of love.
@jackie – I started my lantern run starting from #42 – when the blackest night stuff was starting
Cowboy Ninja Viking?!?!?! I’m so on that this week. How have I not heard of that before? Thanks Ron!
Also, does iFanbo get $ if I sign up for that Geek 2 Geek ad? ‘Cause I’m gonna! I can always use a few more classy broads in my life.
I can’t recommend Agents of Atlas enough. Keep in mind, though, that the latest Agents of Atlas stories are now back-ups in Incredible Hercules.
You guys should try checking out Hack/Slash.
@CHUNK – I don’t think we get a direct pay out if you try that service – just if you click the banner – but hell, don’t let that stop you! go get some ladies!
I clicked the banner. All hell is about to break loose in online dating.
Batgirl
Anyone reading Power Girl should read Batgirl. They’re similar enough to appeal to the same taste without feeling like you’re scratching the same itch twice.
If I do this, I’ll probably get Supergirl. I dropped it when it crossed over with Action (which I can’t stand) and forgot to pick it up after that ended. Maybe I’ll pick up Streets of Gotham or Deadpool which I enjoyed, but not enough for a second issue. Who knows, maybe I’ll give this Frankencastle thing a shot.
But I’ll probably just end up staying home, reading some trades (either 3 Story, Freddie & Me, Blankets, or pick up where I left off in Strangers in Paradise). My store is 20-30 minutes away, so I can’t really justify making a the trip for 2-3 comics. I might do the challenge later in the week if I’m in the area.
I bought the Mighty trade vol 1 so that’ll be my new pick.
I would second cowboy ninja Viking. Issue one was good but I felt like two was the real homerun hitter!
My reccomendation would have to be sweet tooth (vertigo). There is not a negative thing to be said about this book!
Ok, think I’m gona go for Cowboy Ninja Vicking, Power Girl and Locke and Key.
Seconds on Beasts of Burden. Great suggestion. Great book.Cowboy Ninja Viking is very good too.
Also:
Empowered. That one-shot should still be on the shelves and the OGNs are sitting there too. Adam Warren is God.
Wildcats and/or The Authority. The Wildstorm U. is good again. Who’da thought? And if you need more convincing, Abnett and Lanning on Authority and Christos Gage on Wildcats.
Last Days of American Crime. Remender. High concept meets street level. And a bunch of content for five bucks.
Finally, grab a Mavel Adventures trade. Any one. Continutiy free Marvel heroes. Fun stuff, and you can give it to your little cousin once you’re done.
Merry New Year!
I’ld recommend Northlanders by Brian Wood. Two trades out at the minute. I particularly loved the second volume as it was set in Ireland. As someone Irish who has had the Viking invasion be such a huge part of our history and our culture it was hugely take on the mythology. Brian’s Wood’s DMZ is another must read – seven (I think) trades of it out now. I know I got the first trade online for less than€5 so it’s definitely worth checking out.
The first Agents Of Atlas mini was very very good. Wasn’t as sure about the ongoing – I felt it tied a bit too much to the Marvel Universe as a whole while the first one was very much stand-alone. If Agents doesn’t appeal I’ld also recommend Captain Britain also by Cornell – It has Dracula and Dr Doom launching a vampire invasion from the moon – if that doesn’t appeal you’re dead inside! 😉 And if you have read Captain Britain try and get a copy of Wisdom. This was the mini in which Paul Cornell introduced us to many of the English characters who would later appear in the Captain Britain series.
Still haven’t picked up the Sword yet. I figure there’s gonna be a complete collection like what they did with Girls so I’m waiting on that. Marvel fans should definitely try to read the Spider-woman origin story the Luna’s did with Bendis and Brian Reed a couple years back. A really strong story which ties in with everything that’s been going on in the Marvel Universe for the past few years and sets up Jessica Drew’s ongoing series excellently.
way ahead of you iFanboy but I went for Youngblood
"We all know that no comics are shipping tomorow". Who’s we?
I’d recently tried Power Girl and really enjoyed it. How about Chimichanga?
@Ruo21: Anyone who frequents this website. It’s been mentioned in multiple posts and on every Pick of the Week show this month.
Suggestions:
All Hail Megatron
Star Wars Legacy
Nostalgia is a hell of a thing.
@Ron – great suggestion!
@stuclach – I might checkout some star wars stuff … 🙂
My Suggestions:
Jonah Hex (DC) -I know, but more people should be reading it.
Ignition city (Avatar Press) Nice work by Ellis
The Boys (Dynamite) Nice work by Ennis
Incognito/Criminal (Icon) Come on … its awesome
Popgun Vol. 1-4 (Image)Best wy to get exposed to awesome indie comics/artists FAST!
Proof (Image) – time catch-up in the series!
Transhuman/Pax Romana/Nightly News (Image) Hickman goodness
Stumptown #1 (Oni) – #2 comes out next week!
Anything Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf/Vertigo)
@stuclach: Legacy is excellent. Just finished the latest trade this week. Probably the best licensed property at the moment.
Great suggestions! I especially want to try Power Girl cause practically everyone else tells me I should.
My recomendations for the slow week:
Deadpool (Daniel Way and Paco Medina has given us a soild Deadpool series for almost two years now. Avoid the other *bad to medicore* ongoings and try out this series. Especially the last two arcs of Deadpool as a Pirate, and as a member of X-Men)
Thor (JMS’s run has ended and you could totally find the other trades to read an amazing series. But K. Gillen and Billy Tan has already shown, in two issues mind you, that the series has not lost it’s step)
Transmetropolitan (The brillaint Vertigo series by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. It’s basically Hunter S. Thompson in the future in a nutshell. Nothing but pure hilarity and comic book bliss from this series. A must have for anyone looking for a laugh, a good Ellis comic, and just fun times all around)
Not wanting to add to my pull list, I decided to do this in a slightly different way.
Grabbed the comlete Girls. This is the first time I’ve checked out the Luna brothers. Also grabbed the first Spirit hardcover from Cooke (again, first exposure, though in this case with the character).
Good call on Empowered Rob. Ron suggested int months back and I picked it up, because I needed a good humor book. Its a little slow to get into initially, but once it warms up it really is funny as hell.
I think this is a great week to do this, and it’s fun trying new things, and everything on this list so far is pretty much fantastic!
Cowboy Ninja Viking is amazingly fun and terrificly drawn, colored and lettered and everything.
The new Daredevil by Andy Diggle has honestly not been a major drop off, and it’s great to see a somewhat seasoned creator feel out a book. The art is not by a Tan.
Is there any kind of teenage angsty book like Ultimate Spiderman and Spiderman loves Mary Jane? It does not have to be Marvel or really superheroes.
I’m going to my LCS but I’m not sure what I’ll buy. I will check out the 5 dollar used trades (if you buy more than one it 4 dollars a peice) and the single issue collected arc bins. I might get a Trade that catches my eye or just spend my money on bags, boards and a box. But I will be there ready to buy something.
I’ve heard a ton of good things about The Mighty so I’ll probably pick this up…
also, I jumped on the CHEW bandwagon with the first trade($9 c’mon) and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ll follow this going into 2010
I was in a small town over Christmas and the store didn’t get all the comics I wanted last week, so along with Blackest Night, I intend to pick up New Avengers #60, Criminal #3, Powers #2, Last Days of American Crime #1, and Zorro #18. In a way I am lucky that the only store in Lubbock, TX didn’t get these awesome books.
I had planned to pick up Underground #1-4, but last weeks podcast led me to believe 1-3 weren’t very good, but 4 was. I’ll make a game time decision. I may try Power Girl, too.
Thanks for the recommendations, iFanboy!
Hey everyone, if you haven’t already and if your LCS has a copy, pick up anyone of the six "FLIGHT" anthology books! They’re amazing, and feature some amazing talent whose work you’ll wanna seek out even after only reading a few pages (maybe thirty, at the most) of their work!
😀
Supergod from Ellis is a good one to check out since it’s just started. I’d also recommend Black Summer and No Hero.
But if you don’t read Locke & Key, do yourself a favour and pick up the 1st trade this week. I recommended it for my sis to buy for her boyfriend for xmas this year as his first comic and he read it all in one sitting, loved it.
I’m picking up Local – it’s long overdue.
Not to beat a dead horse, but everyone really should pick up Power Girl. It’s so much fun and the art is gorgeous!
I’m probably going to be reading more this week than on a normal week. I have a Hellboy Library Edition, both Irredeemable trades, George Sprott (If you like Asterios Polyp to have to be reading this!!!!) and well i get the time I’ll re-read Parker:The Hunter.
Just my two cents, but Dynamo 5 and Atomic Robo are excellent series. There are also trades available for these two titles.
Wasteland and House of Mystery.
Unknown Soldier(Vertigo/DC) is one of the best series published right now. If you can find any copies, buy the Alberto Ponticelli-drawn issues.
My LCS is giving $10 of store credit for every $40 you spend, so I’ll be sampling Scott Pilgrim, Marvel’s recent Wizard of Oz, and anything else that piques my interest to get me up to $80. I am really interested in Beasts of Burden, so if I can find all the issues on the shelf, I’ll snag those too.
I’m thinking of maybe actually giving this challenge a try afterall as an excuse to check out this shop across town… I’d like to get about five or six books (a light weeks worth)
How accessible is Cosmic Marvel to someone who has absolutely no knowledge of the characters/background etc? I know they’re in the middle of a crossover, so I’m thinking I should just wait?
I might pick up some back issues of Invincible, I’ve read most of the trades but donet really know whats happened in the last couple of months
I’d recommend The Incredible Hercule. Great Super Hero comics. Funny and great charcter development. I started because I was reading The Incredible Hulk but dodn’t know Herc at all, and Amadeus Cho was really annoying when he was first introduced. The thing is his development is fantastic, I’ve grown to care for him and the relationship between him and Herc is priceless,
Great sound effects as well and sweet re-cap pages
@slockhart
cosmic is pretty accesible and damn enjoyable! especially guardians (although I like nova better). The last Issue deals with some aftermath from the issue before so you may want to jump back two issues.
My shop is having a huge sale today, so I’ll definitley be meeting this challenge. Also, I still have last week’s comics to get because I was out of town, so this will be a heavenly comic book day!
I recommend picking up Avengers Initiative the Siege Cabal tie-in.
It extrapolates on what everyone was thinking about why the Taskmaster should have a seat at the Cabal table.
It is a well-written book (see comments section from last week).
Love this idea, and am so on board with the alternative comics taking advantage of this week. Unfortunately, only one shop in my area is doing this, and it’s going to be tough to get out there this week what with holidays and all. I’ll have to check there next week when things get back to normal.
Beasts of Burden just wrapped up and it was a good series. Not great, but definitely worth a look. I just wish Dorkin would do more Dork or Milk and Cheese. Thompson’s art, however, was astonishing.
Last Days of American Crime, if you can find it, was also awesome. Nice set-up to what looks like it could be a great crime story. The bi-monthly schedule is going to be tough for me to wait out.
I’ll throw two Garth Ennis titles out there – Crossed and The Boys.
Crossed, while certainly not for everyone, is a great cross (ha!) between Walking Dead and 28 Days Later. It’s an Avatar book, so it may be tough to come across all the issues unless you have a good shop. It’s violent, depraved and disgusting, but there is so much character work and story building that it’s just amazing. The sick stuff was mainly in the beginning of the book, mostly to show just how bad and how different these "zombies" (which they aren’t in the classical sense) are and has slowly built into a great survivors tale. If you like The Walking Dead, this one is highly recommended.
The Boys has been amazing the last 6 or 7 months. There were issues before that where things moved at a snail’s pace and Ennis wasn’t on top of his game and it was just sick gags for sick gags sake. But the "The Self Preservation Society" storyline and everything after it has been just great. Tight, wacked-out storytelling with some great art by Darick Robertson and Carlos Ezquerra (filled in for TSPS storyline) has bought the book back to the promise it showed in those first few issues. The origins of the members of the team (the last 3 or 4 issues) have just been truly phenomenal, so definitely pick those up if you want a cheap taste of where the title is at this moment.
Personally, I’m not sure what I’m going to try, but there’ll be at least one new book I bring home from the shop this week.
Garth Ennis Battlefields
Power Girl is well worth picking up if you can spare the cash.
It’s an uncomplicated, sassy, feel good romp through a tongue in cheek superhero get-up.
It’s awesome and quenches a thirst that I never knew I had.
…And it’s not all ‘dark’ like everything else.
Oh and it’d be nothing without Amanda Conner. She rocks it. 🙂
I’d recommend two books from completely opposite ends of the spectrum i.e. Incredible Hercules and Unknown Soldier. They couldn’t be more different, except in their consistent excellence. And the first Mighty trade gets my vote, it feels like a fresh take on some now well used ideas, and there is this incredible sense of dread built in that gradually builds through this first 6 issues. Exceptionally well written.
Again, everyone should buy Batgirl
@PeterParker and anyone else reading Cosmic
I planned on starting at the beginning of Realm of Kings, but are either of the minis worth it?
Hey iFanboy, I just came back from my LCS (Midtown Comics, NYC), and they had a sale of 25 percent everything in stock, and I wanted to tell you guys what I got:
1) Path of the Assassin Vol. 1: Serving in the Dark
2) Samurai Executioner Vol. 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds
3) Lady Snowblood Vol.1: The Deep-Seated Grudge
4) Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest
5) Fantastic Four: The Master of Doom
6) Unthinkable
7) The Mighty Vol.1
8) Chew Vol.1
9) Batgirl: Year One.
Sadly, they didn’t have Parker’s The Hunter in stock.
Hopefully this will keep me busy for sometime now.
My LCS is has half priced back issues right now so I just went and filled in some holes in my Amazing Spider-man and Spectacular Spider-man collections…..also, I agree with the recomendation for Power Girl, based on the reviews on here and other sites I went and picked up all of the issues and it is very well done and a lot of fun to read.
I went with Hunter’s Fortune for the Challenge. It’s a book published by BOOM! studios and from the creator of Eureka. I was rather impressed with it. The story is of a slacker hero named Hunter who is given a rather larger fortune (They were rather creative with this title, No?). There is a catch though, he has to find the legendary sword Excalibur before he can spend the money on what he wants. Its like Indiana Jones and Brewster’s Millions had a weird, awesome, flipper baby comic love child. The first two issues are out and I picked them up. The first issue is a little slow but the second issue is just flat out awesome and accomplishes a lot. Sadly, the series is only a 4 issue limited so the adventure is going to have to start wrapping up in the next issue. I definitely recommend it and I would like to thank the ifanboys for offering this challenge, without it I would have never found this book.
R.E.B.E.L.S. (DC)
Big fun sci-fi epic with Vril Dox and almost every other DC cosmic character that doesn’t wear a power ring. The Omega Men, Captain Comet and Adam Strange come in just before the Blackest Night crossover. Friggin’ awesome.
I got Battlefields Happy Valley #1 and a Lone ranger hardcover from dynamite, both were really good. glad I bought them.
The shop I went to ended up not having most of what I wanted (the first RoK issue of Nova or Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Streak, whatever issue of Deadpool was the next one in the arc i decided to drop, Daytripper, or Forgetless)
I ended up getting Supergirl 48, Streets of Gotham 7, Punisher 11, and Guardians of the Galaxy #21.
I figure that if I need holes filled in GoG, I can always see if my normal shop has #20 next week. Supergirl I accidently dropped a few months ago and didnt notice, and Streets of Gotham was something I dropped after the first issue but always wanted to revisit. As for Punisher? I don’t know…
Ron is now my favorite for giving me a reason to get comics this week as well as try new things. However, he is currently my wallet’s least favorite.
Picked up the Mighty and going to tackle the Killing Joke.
Also, since it wasn’t my normal store, I didn’t get Blackest Night, but I opened it up real quick… and it happened to be a two-page splash page that I kinda wish I didn’t see, but it did make me yelp out loud in the middle of a quiet store.
http://www.indycomicbookweek.com/index.html
Go there, click on "Contributors" for a list of some of the people making comics for Indy Comic Week. If your store isnt selling them you can order direct from the creators.
I finally got around to picking up the 12th Fables trade and GI Joe: Cobra. I’ll wait for February when DC releases the Power Girl trade to check it out.
@slockhart
you know I skipped the minis in rok. DNA themselves have said the minis are kind of anncilary to the universe. I think by reading gog and nova you are getting enough of the picture.
Also if you do get nova and and enjoy the first couple arcs of that series were awesome! And worth checking out.
Anyway back from the shop and ended up with a nice haul
mighty avengers 28-31 (picked up 32 last week, dug it and my brother got me the trade that had up to issue 26 so trying to get up to speed) neither of the 2 lcs I use had 27! I hate when that happens!
Transmetropolitan trades 5,6,7.
Locke and key book 1 (looks good!)
and echo books one and two
@Conor- On this website quite a bit, guess I just never saw it. Also I save up podcasts for my drives from Sacramento to the Bay Area, and just never caught it.
Always fun to think you guys are F’n up. "Why the hell aren’t the comics posted yet, it’s Tuesday and still nothing. The boys must be getting hammered for the holidays." Yet you guys never mess up, good on you.
i thought about trying something new and then i realised i could keep the money i would have spent and use it to buy booze tonight.
@Ruo21: No problem. Just for your edification, it’s mentioned right up there at the top of the page in the holiday schedule red post.
I concur with the Cowboy Ninja Viking recommendation. It’s filled with awesome. Just take some time with it and it is rewarding. Also, don’t forget to get caught up on PROOF!!
My shop had a BOGO sale instead of new books. I got a bunch of trades and a couple HCs: The Sword 1-3, Echo 1, Dynamo 5 #2, Maus II, Mouse Guard Winter, Bone and Beyond.
bought three issues of old Jonah Hex
R.E.B.E.L.S., S.W.O.R.D., and/or Incredible Hercules for superhero books. I’ve recently dug into The Ghoul and The Anchor and am (still?) digging them a lot.
My shop took advantage of today with a huge sale, and because you good people reminded me I picked up the entire run of The Mighty thus far as well as Red Herring. Can’t wait to dive in! Thanks for the prompting.
My Pick of the Challenge goes to Streets of Gotham #7. Just a good Batman story which I haven’t gotten in quite awhile.
Punisher #11 took itself a -little- too seriously for what it was, so I won’t be getting part 2 of Frankencastle
Supergirl #48 was pretty good… I wish I hadn’t accidently dropped the title a few months ago.
Guardians of the Galaxy #21? I couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t very user friendly for someone with no knowledge of the Cosmic Marvel U, but it did seem like it could hook me… I might try to get #20 (Part one of the arc) next week to help me out a little.
Best I could get today was:
Unwritten #2-6 (I remember being a bit ‘meh’ with the first issue. But with almost everyone saying how incredible the series has become, I just had to try it again. Shame my LCS didnt have issues #7 and #8)
Chimichanga #1 (Never read a Goon issue in my life. But with Eric Powell doing a brand new series, and apparently anyone who picked it up made it their POTW; this seemed like an interesting and new experiment)
Picked up the hardcover of Ex Machina and I am really enjoying it, also grabbed The Mighty trade, Ron already turned me on to Phonogram: The Singles Club, so I picked up the first Phonogram trade, and placed an advanced order for the next Absolute Planetary. And Power Girl. So many here think highly of it I will give it a spin.
I bought the Darkness 80 and 81. It was a nice two-story arc and I thought it was pretty good. The book seems to be about Jackie and a small group of criminals hunting down artifacts related to the big bad. I had fun reading it and liked that the "hero" of the book isn’t the best role-model around.
I just ordered all 3 issues of Dead Man Holiday and One Night Stand which are both part of Indy Comic Book Week. Also ordered 4 indy/diy comics from a small distro website here in the UK.
Did anyone here at all pick up any of the indy comics that were put out this week? I’d be interested in hearing what they’re like.
Nova? Brave and the bold? These are different? pfft!
Fun Home. Now that is different. Has been sitting on my desk for so long.
Incredible Hercules: Love & War. Yes, you may’ve been turned off the book before, but this trade is some of the most hilarious writing you’ll read and will totally turn you on to it.
really thinking about jumping onto Phonogram.
My LSC was having a sale so I picked up the first four trades of Jonah Hex, can’t wait to dive in.
I read the first Jonah Hex trade recently and loved it. I gotta get more!
OK – picked up all 11 issues (so far) of The Mighty. It took a bit of the X-Mas cash I was hoping to save up, but they were 25% off cover, so every fourth one was free (right?). It’s sitting in a stack waiting to be read. If it lives up to the hype, it’s gonna be a happy new year after all.
Ok, not as off the wall as I wanted but choice was limited at my LCS, as it’s a small community and they have to try and make sure they sell through as much as possible on stock. Still, I followed the challenge and picked up Mighty Avengers # 32 along with Blackest Night (which had some really "Oh Cool!" moments, but did it really move the story along??? I’m in two minds…). I haven’t read the book for the better part of a year. I guess that doesn’t make it a new read as such, but I got the urge to kind of "check in" with the title and, well, it wasn’t bad. It was kind of old school Avengering, which I think is a good thing, as this is the only book that really feels like the Avengers I grew up with. It’s lightly humorous, almost the JLI of the Marvel line, but not quite. Also there’s plenty of plot and action, along with a classic villain (the Absorbing Man, who absorbs the power of the cosmic cube, which was nice). Will I pick up next month’s issue? That would depend on budget I guess, but, as I say, not bad at all. Also Pham’s art is improving a lot.
Bought Power Girl 2-7 but can’t find issue 1 anywhere…meh. However my LCS is having 50% off on all back issues and I just went to town on about 20 early 200s Uncanny X-Men (Claremont/ Silvestri), some Louise Simonson X-Factor, issues 2-5 of Exit and a few issues of Rasl. Should keep me busy…
I picked up the trade of Chew, Unknown Soldier, and the first trade of Scalped. They have been awesome. Since finding iFanboy I have found myself moving further away from traditional "caped" comic books.
Thanks iFanboy! Happy New Year!
Brave and the Bold #29 starring Batman and Brother Power the Geek
JMS has a real knack for making me care about a character from almost the first line of dialogue he speaks. As a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson, especially his political writing and counter culture work, this was an amzing surprise. JMS nails the 60s culture and the art is equally as vivid. Saiz is my new artist to watch in 2010. Real glad I ventured to the comic shop yesterday.
I bought the first RASL trade by Jeff Smith, went with the Hardcover Collectors Edition…hope I like it! 🙂
And the first trade of Powers, from Bendis and Deming.
I bought the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil Omnibus Vol 2 cuz they didn’t have vol 1. I’ve kindf of been eyeing them for a while.
So reading update. Locke and key 1 delivered on my first impression! Good stuff!
The mighty books were also a great fun read. Hercules is a blast when working in the team dynamic!
I picked up "New York Four" and "I Kill Giants"; I finished "Giants" already and it was incredible; looking forward to reading "New York Four"
My shop was having a sale and I picked up the first volume of PLUTO. I flipped through and it looked pretty. I still need to figure out how to read it (since it’s Japanese-style — not sure if it’s considered manga, but you read it backwards). Anyway, everybody is saying great stuff about it so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Let me be the first to say, "HAPP-PY NEW YEAR, IFANBOY!"
"BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WOULD CELEBRATE BY LOGGING ONTO A WEB SITE! ANYWHERE! EVER!"
@ ohcaroline: Good on ya — Pluto’s great; I just plowed through volumes 2-4. And yes, it’s manga. If you like it, you should also try Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, my favorite ongoing of 2009. This from a guy who had read NO manga until about two years ago.
Seconded on underappreciated books: Power Girl, Locke and Key, Ex Machina and Cowboy Ninja Viking. All buzz books of some stripe, all low-ish in sales, all with fantastic artwork (and always the same artist; coincidence?).
Happy 2010 to the iFanbase!
In answer to the challenge I picked up Power Girl 7 and… it was a lot of fun, might even pick up the next one…Happy New Year (!)
Just preordered Power Girl trade from Amazon, because of all the rave reviews for the book.
hey forgive my ignorance, but why was there a skip week? i’ve been out of the loop.
My Recs:
1)Gaurdians of the Galaxy-the best thing Marvel is putting out. Funny, interesting – the whole deal
2)Greg Pak Hulk stuff – I just re-connected with the whole bag (even New Savage She-Hulk) – Hulk, Incredible Hulk, Son of Hulk. It’s this whole cosmic world going on that’s almost as good as the Abnett and Lanning -verse.
3)Daredevil – Diggle is doing a great job
4)Astonishing X-Men – I always forget that Ellis is one of the best in the business
5)X-Factor – I always forget that Peter David is one of the best in the business
I finally picked up Invincible Iron Man which is fun and flirty and beat me with the "badass" stick and The Escapists by Brian K Vaughn, which is a beautiful coda/sidecar to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I also gave some serious eyeball time to my book book that I have been neglecting, Dashiel Hammett’s "The Red Harvest"
Happy New Years everybody!
@FluffNFluff: Red Harvest is one of my favorite novels of all time. If it’s your first reading, you’re in for a bloody great time.
I am loving all the Power Girl love on this thread. Hope it translates into increased sales…
In the spirit of Skip Week, I’m trying three new things: The first trades of Madame Xanadu and House of Mystery, and the first Whiteout story, which I can’t believe I’ve never read.
I tried. I walked up and down the racks three times trying to find something that I wanted to buy outside of what I already read and didn’t see anything I wanted.
I guess I’m reading everything I want to read already. Buying a trade would have been a better idea.
Results:
Chimichanga (Pretty funny, a good start for me in the works of Eric Powell. I might prefer to read it in trade though. It is a very quick read, but the art is still very good)
Unwritten (The art by Carey is very very good. Sorta looks like a disney film to be honest, or Will Eisner lite. But the story is just so boring to me. The mystery is uninteresting, the characters are unlikable, the plot moves at a snails pace. I think it was a good idea to not keep following this series the first time)
So I didn’t like Unwritten all that much…..but at least I tried with this quiet week.
I got Devi trades 1-4 and the Marquis graphic novel.
I’ve always heard good things about Queen & Country. I read the first trade and it just wasn’t a fit.
The story was great, but I didn’t like the drastic art changes. It completely changed the character for me and I found myself not liking it nearly as much the further I read.
@TNC – Good on ya, for giving Unwritten a shot. Sorry you didn’t like it. The Rudyard Kipling issue (5?) was one of my favorite single issues of the YEAR.
I didn’t know about this challenge, but I knew i was taking a trip to Mexico for a week of relaxation on the beach, so I picked up about four graphic novels/trades before heading down.
I read:
The Mighty Vol. 1
Locke and Key Vol. 1
Beast by Marian Churchyard
The Light Brigade by Tomasi and Snejberg
Really dug ’em all. Gave all but Locke and Key four stars over on Goodreads. L&K got five stars – fantastic stuff. Beast was close to five stars, but something in the narrative just didn’t click and couldn’t give it that fifth star… 😉
@daccampo: I think that issue made me realize I wasn’t liking it all that much. Cause there’s this big mystery/adventure going on and then they decide to stop that to show this story about Rudyard Kipling. I had no doubt it is probably important to the overall story, but I was so uninterested in it that I actually just skipped it halfway threw. I never do that in a comic, but it just wasn’t worth reading.
The covers are amazing though. If anything I would love to see more work by Yuko Shimizu cause her work is absolutely gorgeous.
@deadspace: I picked up copies of Life (With Friends) #1, Green Monk, and the Americans UK starter pack. All three of them are definitely worth picking up.
Then I also grabbed Freddy and Me by Mike Dawson and Northworld by Lars Brown which were both amazing.
Yes, that Kipling issue was among the best of the year.
I used the time to catch up on reading books I already buy. And go back a read some of my favorite daredevil issues from the past year.