Compilations and boxed sets count.

The second volume was all payoff to the first volume’s set-ups, so a thoroughly enjoyable read in the end.

Now what do I read next?

I am trying to get to Final Crisis in the most efficient way. Not a completist in any sense, just trying to understand the main through line. But I did like Booster Gold so would be keen to read whatever comes for him next.

Otherwise I have read Superman: Up, Up and Away, all of Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern, and a fair amount of Grant Morrison’s Batman (I got to the Final Crisis event which prompted me to go back and read from Identity Crisis onwards) which I presume comes directly after 52.

Any advice appreciated!

not affiliated, just a big fan

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tezuka/tezuka-god-of-manga

⚔️

Howdy all out there! I promised an update a few months ago since the last post, and here it finally is. Work has been CRAZY and time has been so limited for me to do anything else. So... I've been not only collecting TPBs, omnis, compendiums, and hardcovers/deluxe editions to fill in the gaps of major/minor events with their tie-ins... but also making my own custom bound books from single issues I've gathered or printed off for stories that were never collected. I still haven't done any work for dust jackets, but I'll get there eventually. The custom-made ones are either covered in basic colored book cloth or custom-made ones from material I've found. I've added a close-up of each shelf, in case anyone wanted a closer look at better quality. There are a couple of stories I'm still collecting for not there, namely Year of The Villain and TRUTH, as well as new ones being released in the future. As time goes by, I know I'm so close to finishing. For anyone curious, this is my retirement entertainment. Many stories have been read, but not all. That's my plan when relaxing for my retirement - to read them all.

Just finished reading the collected edition of CAPTAIN AMERICA CORPS. An Universal Elder, Tath Ki, assembles patriots from all over different universes—Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes (back when he was Cap), American Dreams, USAgent, & Commander A—to face a grave threat that affects them all. In one universe, Steve Rogers was never revived from suspended animation by the Avengers. And that created a ripple effect that horrifically altered the timeline.

They are sent to a dystopian future where they are branded as criminals by the aggressive police force known as the Americops. In this future, the Avengers have disbanded and in its place are the Americommand—a group of patriotic heroes that claimed to protect its citizens but ended up ushering in this totalitarian regime where they rounded up and imprisoned “enemies” (which included mutants & aliens), endorsed a corrupt senator, Miles Brickman, as president and even enacted violent action on those (including average citizens) who dared oppose them.

I know these days multiversal stories are kinda overdone, but I enjoyed this story. Compiling different “Cap” characters from different universes into one grand team was interesting to see, and Stern did a great job at keeping their own “voices” unique and I especially loved the dynamic between classic Cap & Bucky (back when he was Cap) with Bucky taking more of a guiding role to Steve.

The whole concept of the Corps works so well I’m surprised it hasn’t been revived in some force since this 2011 miniseries (at least as far as I know). If written well (either by Stern or somewhere else), the Corps could make for another great miniseries or comic event. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t give Marvel editorial any ideas.

For those who did read Captain America Corps, what did you think?

I loved this.

Dark crystal meets Good Omens meets Stranger things on Acid.

Very Psychedelic,

Real Arty like art school Arty

Thumbs up

Account of a young girl working in Male dominated mining industry to pay of college debt.

Funny , shocking , saddening , poignant , excellent , touching , reflective.

Really liked it

I've always had trouble getting into manga, but a friend gave me this collected edition of Dororo and I'd recently watched Matttt's video about Carl Barks, in which he speaks about his influence on Tezuka, so I figured that was a good way in for me since I've been reading a lot of Barks lately. The premise is as follows: during Japan's Sengoku era, an ambitious samurai sacrifices his unborn son to 48 yokai in order to obtain political power, and so when the child is born, he is missing 48 body parts. The child is abandoned and is found by a charitable doctor, who equips him with prostheses as the child, Hyakkimaru, embarks on a quest to slay the 48 yokai and recover his body parts. During his quest he meets Dororo, a thief, who is also the titular character.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about this series is the masterful use of black and white. Tezuka uses different kinds of crosshatching, puntillism and pattern designs to create contrasting textures that allow the reader's eyes to understand everything at a glance. This readability is also present in the characters and their actions, with clear movements and expressive faces. This made the reading experience super comfortable even for me, someone who's not used to reading comics from right to left.

However, as smooth and enjoyable as the reading experience was, the story itself left a lot to be desired. I mean that in a literal sense, as a reader you feel like the story never ended up fulfilling its narrative promise. The first few chapters present a premise of monster hunting, with each yokai being defeated within 1 to 3 chapters. These initial chapters in the first half of the series are great, they're engaging and a super enjoyable read. However, it's clear that the author lost motivation as the story went along, since the story suddenly shifts to a treasure hunt that also lacks a satisfying conclusion. By this point there are a handful of chapters left and it's clear that Tezuka was just doing by-the-numbers yokai tales that repeated a lot of the same beats as the initial portion of the series.

This all comes to a head in the ending, which is by far the worst part of the book. Tezuka explains in the epilogue that the magazine editorial had asked him to finish the story, and it shows, it's a just a race to the finish that doesn't offer any closure or narrative insight into the whole thing.

Weirdly enough, the art gets better as the story gets worse, and I think this is the first time I've seen this happen. Usually both story and art suffer when a creator loses motivation. Another interesting aspect of Dororo is its depiction of Sengoku-era Japan, which paints the whole samurai social class as the villains. This was the first time I'd seen this subject tackled like this and it made a lot of sense, and if anything, managed to condemn war throughout the entire series, this being the only consistent element that is there in the entire collection.

In the end, I enjoyed the art and graphic storytelling on display, but was disappointed with the overall direction of the entire collection. It's disappointing when a book shows promise at the start and then squanders it.

As a Ugandan reading Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli’s 2008 Vertigo run of Unknown Soldier, it’s a heavy and surprisingly authentic experience seeing this period depicted with so much care. Dysart’s extensive on-the-ground research in Northern Uganda truly shines and the art work mirrors the violence

Hey y'all,

I have been into comics for almost 6 months now. My physical collection is DC compacts and some trades of the absolute universe.

Digitally I got a bundle from image comics and have been reading all the volume 1s slowly.

I want to expand my horizons more, pick up hellboy, the energon universe, see more things. However I am on a budget. I want to pick up more physical comics but it's hard to justify it and to budget for them. Any tips ?

I buy gn and subscriptions, both digital because I don't have the physical room. I set my tablet settings so it's less blue light. It does wash out some of the graphics but I think it helps with longer reading.

Do you read in full color or adjust settings?

read all but the tomasi & action comics run and the marvel premiers

Favs are probably superman secret origin, Spiderman blue, the visions, woman of tomorrow, harleen

I got myself the first (recently) and second (a while back) edition of Frank Miller's & Dave Gibbons' masterpiece of The Life and Times of Martha Washington...(I got each of them for ~20,-- per, knowing both are money savers!)

...now I am heavily considering which one to keep...

I love the original white-red-blue calm design, i love the somewhat busy military design on the second...

...Martha looks gorgeous on both, but second edition Martha in her military outfit just kills it.

The first edition (2010) backcover sports minatures of the four trade cover illustrations...the second edit (2017) one sports of the initial mini covers...both compelling and representative.

the interior is pretty much the same on both of them despite some really minor changes in layout of intro pages...

...so which one would you keep? 😭

🤷 don't misunderstand me, but I really want to make a descicion on that...even if I savor the momentum of having both editions! 🙈

late edit: 🤪 maybe I should wait with a descision until the original HC shows up! * gets carried away in nonesmokers' jacket by very kind medical personal *

Some weeks ago I posted about finding Terminal City by Dean Motter in the wild and you lovely folk suggested I read Mister X as well.

Lo and Behold, I walk into my local used bookstore and I see this on the shelf. Even though I'm not a big fan of black and white comics, y'alls suggestion and the art itself was whacky enough to pull me in 😄

Can't wait to dive in after I finish my current Sandman run.

Also, for the Arrested Development fans like me "Mister X" is a whole different thing lol.

Has anyone read the graphic novel for this series? I love this show and saw they had one for it.