Spent Time Reading Comics This Past Weekend
Instead of blogging about comics, this weekend I actually read some! I’ve literally got stacks and stacks of comics I’m behind on reading. All together I flew through 44 comics this weekend. I really enjoyed immersing myself in the comic book world.
Here are the titles I read and some quick thoughts on them:
Infinite Crisis (7 issues) – re-read hoping to find redeeming qualities… and I did!
Outsiders (6 issues) – Writer Peter Tomasi is sooooo good! I never would have guessed who was under the Owlman mask. What an interesting pick, especially for us DC old school fans.
Teen Titans (4 issues) – Sad to see writer Sean McKeever off the main story, but I’m digging these Ravager co-features.
New Mutants (2 issues) – I’m so happy this book is back! Three issues in and it’s still great!
Avengers-related books (8 issues) – I can’t get enough Dark Reign! Seriously! Read: New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Avengers: Initiative, Ms. Marvel, Dark X-Men mini-series, and Utopia crossover with Uncanny X-Men. Every month these immediately go to the top of the pile. Considering I’m typically a DC guy, that says a lot. If you’ve never read Ms. Marvel, drop what you are doing right now and go find the trade paperbacks. It’s a really enjoyable and solid superhero comic every month. The writer Brian Reed had done an outstanding job with this book, and the art is always good.
Last Days of Animal Man (2 issues) – Buddy Baker and writer Gerry Conway = formula for awesome! Really enjoying this stand-alone mini-series. Cool idea for a Green Lantern, by the way.
Justice League-related books (6 issues) – Not bad. The main book had some good Firestorm moments. It’s really in a holding pattern until Robinson/Bagley take over. The first issue of the Cry for Justice mini-series was interesting. I liked the Congo Bill stuff and the text piece at the back. Read: Justice League of America, Faces of Evil: Prometheus, and Justice League: Cry for Justice.
Justice Society-related books (9 issues) – Writer Geoff John’s last issue was great! Really pulled at the heartstrings. Sad to see Johns leave, but optimistic about the new writers Willingham & Sturges. While I enjoyed Willingham & Sturges’ Shadowpact, it really wasn’t mainstream. Hope they can pull off mainstream for JSA. Read all three issues of Power Girl – Decent story with great art, but this book really wants to be what Ms. Marvel already is.
There you go! Have you read anything good lately? Feel free to share in the comments.
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Wow, Shag… I haven’t read any of those, with the exception of some of the early Dark Reign books (prompting me to drop everything except Ms Marvel and Mighty Avengers) and Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds (and that just for Perez).
I trust you are reading all the Blackest Night goings-on? And of course War of Kings. The real action in mainstream comics these days seems to be in outer space!
Van – Great to hear from you!
Yeah, I’m definitely up on the Blackest Night stuff. Those weren’t falling behind like everything else. 🙂
I’ve never read any of Marvel’s space stuff. I hear it’s phenomenal. I need to get in on it.
Thanks for stopping by!
I definitely need to take some time to do this. I’m not reading any of the books you listed here, but I’m waaay behind on Buffy and House of Mystery, a couple issues behind on Madame Xanadu, and I’ve got a bunch of miniseries that I’d been holding off on until I have a complete set…and have long since picked up the complete set!
I’ll read almost anything by Tomasi. Outsiders is great stuff, and I’m surprised by how much I liked the last two Titans comics. I lost interest in JSA a while back, but Willingham’s involvement persuaded me to pick it up again.
Outsiders has been great under Tomasi. The team dynamic just works really well — obviously Mike W. Barr (that magnificent bastard) knew what he was doing when he assembled the core of this team in the first place. Definitely looking forward to seeing the further adventures of this group.
I have been enjoying Justice League of America as well, even if it is not the “big guns” or anything. The Starbreaker/Dharma stuff I found to be really interesting, but admittedly I think the Milestone/Dakota folks were the more interesting aspect. The new issue with the Royal Flush Gang by Len Wein was cool as well. Very “old school” but still modern. Cry For Justice was intriguing but not intriguing enough for me to spend the money on it at the moment.
I liked Infinite Crisis when it first came out, but liked it even more when I re-read it in one sitting last year. Quality stuff.