cahubble09

November 6, 2011 10:36 pm Hmm ... I'm sure I've seen countless movies in which many minutes might go by before any character speaks a single word of dialogue. How long was the opening scene depicting the storming of Omaha Beach at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan? Five minutes? Ten minutes? Fifteen? It is a narrative device, plain and simple. To say there is "no story" is hyperbolic and nonsensical. So it didn't work for you. Fine. But lazy? Hickman? Please! We both know how talented he is. I guarantee there is a method to (t)his madness. Sheesh! He's put Weaver front and center and for that we should be giving him a standing O. I'd encourage you to stick it out, because if you've come this far, you might as well go all in (especially if there are only three issues left). My bet is the last three issues will be impactful. We already know there is a larger context that this fits into, because the Immortal City showed up near the end of Secret Warriors. It is at the very least, in my view, intriguing how two people can have such divergent reactions to the same work. You opened and 'read' this book and cried, "BS!" I opened the book and saw pages with no word balloons and, when I figured out that would be the case for the entire issue, said, "now THAT is FREAKIN' cool. I have to 'read' this just a tad bit differently to figure out what is going on." Often, I have to work very hard to pay attention to the artwork because I'm very much a text-based person, cognitively speaking. In this book, we were forced to pay incredibly close attention to the artwork in order to discern what was going on. My gut tells me I appreciated the artwork all the more because of the LACK of word balloons. This was a BRILLIANT issue ... absolutely BRILLIANT!

November 6, 2011 10:21 pm *slow clap*

November 6, 2011 10:21 pm

November 6, 2011 10:15 pm oh ... yeah ... I forgot ... there's a summary page just inside the front cover ...

November 6, 2011 10:10 pm We hear on the podcast not infrequently how comics have for a while been story driven and the art has been taking a back seat. Now we see a book where the art is clearly in the driver's seat (at least for one issue), and all some folks seem to want to do is whine about it. Goodness, this is an awesome book, and if you can't remember what happened in it two months ago, then maybe you shouldn't be reading it. Sorry ... I beg to differ with some of the esteemed fellows on this thread. This is a fantastic book and I'm on for the duration.

November 6, 2011 10:08 pm 5 of 5 ... all of those points go to Weaver.

November 6, 2011 8:23 am Well, technically, that is "a fraction of the price". My only point was if they don't think they'll earn a profit at a certain price point, they won't sell it there. ;)

November 5, 2011 2:31 pm I still don't get why so many people have their collective panties in a twist over this. Taken rationally, this series deserves at least 3 or 4 stars out of five. The art has been stellar. The story has been more cerebral, but that doesn't mean it has been a BAD story. It just hasn't been in most readers' wheelhouses. It moved several characters and the Marvel universe forward. Thor being dead makes sense, even if it has been done before. Cap's shield being healed with a crack in it is incredibly evocative imagery, in my opinion. It evokes the Liberty Bell and only adds to the character's gravitas. With that said, Journey Into Mystery felt like the main book to me ... and Home Front stunk to high heaven (except for the Speedball mini). Story = 3 / Art = 5 / Overall = 4

November 5, 2011 2:24 pm OK ... so parts of this issue just don't make sense to me. I can see how this is a final act designed to draw Matty's arc to a close, but ... Crimes against humanity? That is a phrase specific to international law ... Geneva Convention I believe. It only applies to STATES. At best, Matty could be considered a domestic terrorist. And that is questionable, in my view, since the country theoretically has just undergone a civil war. The United States certainly didn't "defeat" the Free States militarily in any sense, so the cease fire has to be a negotiated settlement. Did Matty piss off the Free States leadership at some point to such an extent that they'd throw him under the bus like this? In any event, why he hasn't been charged with treason I don't understand ... or maybe he was and I missed something. Matty wouldn't just walk into the lion's den without an ace up his sleeve. The reality is that the "United States" has behaved as abominably throughout as the Free States, the militias, Parco Nation or any other faction. They have no legitimate moral authority to "try" Matty for any crimes. They can claim that they do, but their supposed credibility is bunk. I have to believe there is some kind of a twist coming. Maybe they will try him and execute him and then his book will be published hanging the United States' dirty linen out to dry. And I was thinking again about Zee, in context with another earlier discussion about her character development ... if we think of the city as a itself a character and see her as a mouthpiece of sorts for the city, then her "development" is wrapped up with the story of the city. The city is changing and she's leaving, because she is a kind of metaphor for what the city has been throughout the course of the last 72 issues. Don't know if that makes sense or not. Overall, notwithstanding my questions about the specificity of whatever crimes Matty is being charged with, this feels to me so far like a satisfying conclusion.

November 5, 2011 1:46 pm There is a drop dead point though. There are books that I turn my nose up at precisely because of the price point. I only read the books that I REALLY enjoy. Or I'll come back to something a year later and buy a run cheap on Ebay ... or at any of a number of online sellers.