Full post at FantasyRantz.wordpress.com.
A 2012 look at Acclaim/Armada‘s 4-issue mini-series from 1995, introducing Magic: The Gathering to comic books for the first time.
Filed under: Fantasy Rantz, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: Acclaim, Armada, comics, fantasyrantz, Jared Carthalion, Magic, magic: the gathering, Ravidel, reviews, Shadow Mage | 1 Comment »
I started watching Falling Skies last year, and found that I enjoyed it overall. Granted, I “lost track” of it along the way and have yet to finish the first season, but look forward to catching up on both seasons on DVD in the not-to-distant future. I mention that because in a way, I think this title could be (in broad strokes) described as Falling Skies with super-heroes.
We open with a character that fits the Batman archetype, Nox. Human, no powers, self-made and all that; even has the dark uniform and cowl/mask. With him is the Red Reaper, a science-based villain…yet the two are working together. Of course, in a world overrun by aliens that have practically exterminated humanity and are trying to finish the job, the whole “hero vs. villain” thing doesn’t hold up–after all, even the villain bent on ruling the world, accumulating vast financial gain or pretty much any goal that’s roughly sane doesn’t want the world destroyed by a third party.
By the second issue, we have a bit more camaraderie between the two–they’ve survived some alien attacks and had some setbacks. When they find a band of survivors, they’re put to the test. Reaper is quite happy to throw in with the survivors…but Nox can’t get over the fact that he recognizes their leader as a former villainess.
The third issue involves more characters in the story as we continue to learn about this world past and present–what it was like before the invasion and where things sit at present. Particularly memorable is what we learn about Nox and where his motivation may not actually be what it seems to be, which could be trouble for the survivors.
I particularly like the story so far. There’s plenty of the familiar–especially in the flashbacks–with heroes and villains fighting, and even some in-fighting with the heroes. But the post-apocalyptic “present” holds a lot of potential and details a situation that I haven’t seen all that often for an ongoing series. Obviously a post-apocalyptic future setting isn’t new; even forcing a hero to work with his enemy isn’t new. But as the status quo for an ongoing series, I like it, and it actually seems a bit fresh…particularly compared to the standardish fare from DC and Marvel of late that just isn’t doing it for me anymore.
The art’s good, and nicely captures both the past and present settings. I also (once I picked up on it) like the way the “present” is conveyed with full-bleed pages while the flashbacks maintain the blank white borders. The story often compares and contrasts the two time periods, and the art drives it home without the need for captioning to describe which is which or when.
As with Higher Earth, I find myself giving this title a “pass” when it comes to the variant covers and $3.99 price point. While this could easily be just one of a number of titles exploring the after-effects of some temporary-status-quo-changing “event” that ties in with other titles to give a full picture…this is just one title, isolated to itself, telling THE story. That there’s room for so much more makes it feel that much more epic, but as of present, it’s a single title that doesn’t require any other series to “complete” the current/ongoing story. As to the variant covers, I’ve simply requested the “A” cover for consistency, and ignore as best I can the solicits and advertising and such that show other covers.
I look forward to seeing the progression of the relationship between Nox and Red Reaper, as well as what becomes of the survivors. In that regard, I definitely hope that this becomes something comparable to The Walking Dead in that it’s a superhero story, a story of characters interacting, and the aliens trying to exterminate humanity become background in the setting. While I have little hope , really, of any new comic making it even past a full year, I would love to see this last awhile…at least long enough for the creative team to tell their story in full, if this proves a finite series.
Also: My thoughts on Higher Earth #s 1-3 at Fantasy Rantz.
Filed under: Extermination (Boom! Studios) | Tagged: Boom!, Boom! Studios, Comic Reviews, comics, extermination, Jeffrey Edwards, Nox, Red Reaper, Simon Spurrier | 1 Comment »
So other than books … what periodicals do you read? Magazines? Newspapers? Newsletters? Journals?
Do you subscribe? Or do you buy them on the newsstand when they look interesting?
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had any real patience for a magazine. Used to be (back in the ’90s and early 2000s) I’d fairly regularly read Wizard (self-billed “The Guide to Comics”). But Wizard ceased print publication a couple years ago, and I’ve never gotten into any of the other comics-related publications. The closest to a replacement for me, for present, may be Bleeding Cool, which had a preview issue recently and begins official sequential publication later this year.
(There’s also “the Comic-Con issue” of something I’m blanking on at present…yet I’ve come to be quite disgusted at what the [San Diego] Comic Con has become and try to mostly avoid the hype).
Newspapers I also rarely read–I’ll flip through the paper at my parents’ when I visit, but overall that’s really my only exposure these days TO a newspaper. For the most part I tend to get my news from the radio, Facebook, and Twitter.
I can’t remember the last time I saw an actual newsletter.
And it’s been years since seeking a journal…half a decade, probably; not since grad school.
But we’re talking “periodicals,” and the list in the prompt neglects the most obvious response from me:
Comic books.
Filed under: Booking Through Thursday, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: booking through thursday, comics, periodicals, reading | 2 Comments »
It’s taken me awhile, but I do believe I’ve largely “come around” to a certain acceptance of digital comics. I have not wholly EMBRACED digital, but I’ve come to see some definite perks to “going digital.”
A few months ago, I decided to try the nook app on my phone for reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest and found that I loved being able to read prose on my phone. Rather than lugging around this large hardback, I could simply read from my phone’s screen, and since I always carry my phone, I’d always have my book on-hand as well without having to adjust for (physical) space.
Comics have been a much different thing for me, given the tiny size of this phone’s screen. So I’ve been resistant, occasionally downloading a freebie “just to have it” on the phone, but never purchasing any comics. I did purchase several issues of Batwing digitally, to try out the format, though I’m almost certain as of this typing that I’ve yet to read beyond #2 and quit buying after #7 (hey, once I catch up on the reading, the later issues’ll still be there!).
But a few weeks back, I jumped on the Batman sale from Comixology to purchase the single issues of A Death in the Family, for the sheer principle of having (in SOME form) the individual issues of this story after all these years. $4 for the set when a single issue of anything new is the same price…it was like paying for one comic, and these are in my phone so I can read ’em or refer to ’em whenever…and conveniently. Continue reading
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: atomic robo, Batwing, comics, DC Comics, digital, digital comics, Marvel Comics | Leave a comment »
I do not feel that I should HAVE TO do RESEARCH on comics that I buy. Whether about story content, or the comics themselves.
Yesterday, I went to a second comic shop for the first time in a few weeks (lately sticking with my pull list at the “main” shop I go to) and browsed their rack. Bloodstrike #1st issue….er…#26 kinda stood out to me. I physically picked it up to look closer, being struck by the blurb across the top of being a 1st issue…but then I saw the #26.
I remember the “Images of Tomorrow” thing from the 1990s where a number of books put out a #25 being where the creators planned to have their books by then, but never got around to seeing how that worked out (and I believe most of those titles never actually made it to their 20s?).
Bloodstrike was one I do remember buying the #25 for, so this struck me as curious.
This #26, a first issue in a brand new era or whatever the blurb said–did I miss 25 issues the last few years? Is this picking up the numbering of the original series?
I put it back on the shelf, as I had no interest at the time of “gambling.” Is there a “ten year gap” in-story? Other than being the first issue published in years, what incentive makes it a good jump-on issue or not? Is it even aimed at a new/casual reader or is it aimed at fans of the old issues in particular?
This is the sort of case where I truly feel that “a new #1” or “relaunch” or whatever IS appropriate. The title, the property/character(s) have been gone for years (that I’m aware of), so give me a #1 as at least some overt declaration that this is new, fresh material that is at least supposedly geared for the new reader (if, indeed, that’s the case).
Where new #1s and ‘relaunches’ are NOT justified in my eyes are one month to the next, or even an intentional several month hiatus where those involved in the “final issue” of one iteration are already gearing up for the “first issue” of the next iteration. (Such as putting out #544 one month and then in the next 4-6 weeks putting out #1 with the same ongoing continuity.)
While Bloodstrike missed my sale this week, plenty of others have missed my sale when I opt to pass on something “on principle,” such as avoiding the high-number-this-month-#1-next-month stuff. (Or not buying solely because of the $3.99 instead of $2.99-or-less on the cover, etc).
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Bloodstrike, comics, marketing, relaunch, renumbering | Leave a comment »
As I’ve not been blogging regularly lately, there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about, had thoughts about, and generally considered blogging about/retreading, but haven’t. I sat down Saturday morning for awhile and typed a lot more than I intended. So I’ve broken that into several posts (this is one of those posts).
DC NATION AND COMIC-BASED ANIMATED SERIES’ SCHEDULING
I watched the premiere of Young Justice when it started, and the next couple episodes. I enjoyed it for the most part. But it was so darned INCONSISTENT with new episodes.
I have encountered this issue with the Avengers series and Wolverine & the X-Men. I don’t like “mid-season breaks,” but I’m not gonna chase a series, and when they’re a “half-hour” per episode (about 22-24 minutes of actual content), I’m not gonna “keep up” when there’s a couple new episodes then reruns; several more new episodes then reruns, etc.
Most recently, I watched the premiere of the new Green Lantern animated series…NEARLY THREE MONTHS AGO. I figured I’d missed the rest of the series…only to find out that that one episode was the only one out so far, apparently. So probably not gonna bother.
Then there’s the way these things get “collected” on DVD. Putting out 4-5+ releases for a single season SUCKS, and I’ll wait for the single-set releases, if at all (by waiting instead of paying $50+ for the individual Wolverine and the X-Men releases, I got the full season for $25.
DISTRACTIONS FROM ACTUAL COMICS
Last year, I picked up the first of the Walking Dead novels, The Rise of the Governor. I went pretty much from that into Grisham’s newest, The Litigators. From there I went to Stephen King’s newest, 11/22/63. I went from that right into the “Millennium Trilogy”–The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. From that I gave Game of Thrones a try (George R. R. Martin’s first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series). After a slow start, Game of Thrones had my full attention. Even planning to give some time between books, I ended up buying the ebook of Clash of Kings the same day I finished GoT.
A few months ago, I swore that my iPhone’s screen was too tiny to support me “going digital.” However, I’m now into my third book AS an ebook, and first that I do not own a physical copy of the book.
I’m also looking forward to the release of the first season of the live-action tv adaptation of Game of Thrones…and half-considering subscribing to HBO for the new season if I can do so short-term and discontinue as soon as the finale airs.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: animated series, comic cartoons, comics, distractions | Leave a comment »
As I’ve not been blogging regularly lately, there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about, had thoughts about, and generally considered blogging about/retreading, but haven’t. I sat down Saturday morning for awhile and typed a lot more than I intended. So I’ve broken that into several posts (this is one of those posts).
DIGITAL COMICS & PRICING
I’ve bought a few issues of Batwing digitally a month “late” for the discounted price DC offers. However, I think I’ve only actually READ through issue 2, so I may look for some other series to try this way. Where DC’s got it right is that these are rather new issues, BUT I’m not paying the full identical price as the PRINT EDITION. Marvel doesn’t seem to do this discount only a month later. They have the Netflix-style subscription to “stream” comics (not actually buying/downloading them) or full price matching the print edition (or paying $3.99 for the print and getting a code to ALSO get a digital edition, but that’s a different thing). 
Marvels are more expensive ANYway, which has put me off more of their books than I could probably list.
I cannot justify paying the same exact price for an electronic file as I’d pay for a physical comic. I’ve caved and see it moreso with ebooks, for convenience: but the primary reason for me for buying a digital comic WOULD be that it’s cheaper than the print, so I’m sacrificing convenience (of size/etc) in favor of a savings from DC. If the digital price is the same, I’m simply sacrificing convenience for the digital experience.
MARVEL $3.99 STANDARD PRICING
A couple years ago, I was all set to jump in on all the new Avengers books for the Heroic Age “relaunch.” BUT…I refused then and continue to refuse to pay $3.99 as a standard price. 4 Avengers titles at $3.99 each was NOT an investment I was willing to make. $2.99 each ($12/month) was within my tolerance…$3.99 each ($16/month) was beyond my tolerance.
More recently, I picked up X-Men: Regenesis and Uncanny X-Men #1 and Wolverine & the X-Men #1, just to try ’em (and because I’d spent a half hour in a comic shop that didn’t have whatever I’d walked in looking for, and I wanted to justify to myself the time/effort of going). But while I probably would’ve given both series (and some of the other X-books) more of a chance, I refuse to pay $3.99/issue (especially as I believe Uncanny was $2.99 before the renumbering). I enjoyed Gischler’s X-Men series, 
but even that I finally gave up on because it just didn’t seem worth $3.99/issue.
I dropped Iron Man for the same reason: at $2.99, it was a solid enough title (down from my loving it after reading the 19-issue hardcover). But $3.99 is more than I’m willing to pay.
I’m somewhat “grudgingly” continuing with Uncanny X-Force, because it hooked me with the Age of Apocalypse stuff, and scratching the X-itch as well as Deadpool. But I’m looking for an excuse to drop it, and may just as soon drop it spur-of-the-moment sometime as not.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Age of Apocalypse, comic pricing, comics, digital comics, Regenesis, x-force | Leave a comment »
As I’ve not been blogging regularly lately, there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about, had thoughts about, and generally considered blogging about/retreading, but haven’t. I sat down Saturday morning for awhile and typed a lot more than I intended. So I’ve broken that into several posts (this is one of those posts).
NEW 52 IN GENERAL
I gave the “New 52” a much bigger chance than I’d intended to–I think I’d ultimately picked up 28-30 of the books. Dropped sharply for the #2s going down to only about a dozen, then I cut to Superman, Batman, Animal Man, and Swamp Thing; now I’ll be down to Animal Man and Swamp Thing…and even those are honestly on shaky ground with me. I don’t know if this “environment” of all these titles is anything like early post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DCU, but right now I’m not “sold” long-term for DC. I suppose I’m looking at the reboots of the entire Wildstorm line and wondering (still) if there’ll be another reboot, or a regression back to the “old” DCU (despite DC’s current protestations to the contrary). With the addition of the Earth-2 stuff, at the least there seems to be enough of a breakup of things that I don’t really “get” a feel of a “unified whole” for the current DCU…more a vehicle for various creators to tie in or not to stuff.
And frankly, rather than grudgingly purchase monthly titles and grouse that this isn’t “MY” DCU…since I’m so entrenched in the 1980s/90s/00s DCU, I may as well put my efforts toward tracking down runs of the Bat-books, and reading those instead.
I’m not actively opposed to the New 52/etc…but it seems to me DC should have gone “all the way” and fully relaunched even the Batman and Green Lantern books, such that the New 52 would be a truly full start. Because of the mixed bag of stuff, it creates a sense of half-assedness for me. I’m not actively opposed to giving parts of the New 52 a chance; the problem is that I am not all that actively INTERESTED in much of the New 52.
COMIC BOOK MEN
I watched Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men last Sunday, and will probably watch again this week. I’m not all that enamored with it…but it’s tv involving an actual comic store with actual comics and such. As so many others have said…it’s like Pawn Stars meets Comic Shop. I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t really it. Still, it’s on immediately following The Walking Dead which I’m going to be watching anyway…so CBM has a prime timeslot to retain me as part of its audience.
UNINTERESTING SPIDEY
Two years after a friend loaned me a stack of comics (which I’ve been remiss in taking so long, but that’s another issue) I still can’t get myself truly interested in Spider-Man. It’s taken several spurts of self-forced reading to make any real headway into the “Brand New Day era” and even any positives I’m finding are pretty incidental. Initially I stayed away specifically because of Marvel doing away with the Peter/MJ marriage. But however solid the writing for the BND stuff may be, I’m just finding myself having a problem connecting with any of the characters; even if I don’t miss the marriage itself amidst the stories so far, this take on Spidey is just NOT INTERESTING to me.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Brand New Day, Comic Book Men, comics, DC Comics, New 52, Spider-Man | Leave a comment »
As I’ve not been blogging regularly lately, there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about, had thoughts about, and generally considered blogging about/retreading, but haven’t. I sat down Saturday morning for awhile and typed a lot more than I intended. So I’ve broken that into several posts (this is one of those posts).
BATMAN: FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS
Though I’ve had it on my mind for a couple years now, I think this year may be my “Year of the Bat” in terms of back-issue focus. A few weeks back, I acquired a near-complete (missing 1 issue) run of Batman: Shadow of the Bat. This week I acquired near-complete runs of Batman: Gotham Knights and the ongoing (original) Birds of Prey. I already have (scattered through dozens of longboxes over the years) a complete run of Robin. With the acquisitions this year, that already puts me a long way toward the goal of having the complete ongoing series of Bat-books for the “From Crisis to Crisis” era, and I may just add a few years and aim for the “From Crisis to Flashpoint” era in general.
1990s DC COMPLETE SERIES
I’ve also acquired several other runs this year: 3 complete JSA minis from the 1990s, Blue Beetle (Post-Infinite Crisis) 1-20, a complete run of The Power of Shazam!, and a complete run of Hawkworld. Which means I have LOADS to read even before I’d even be in position to dig in on a lengthy Batman reading project.
PULL-LIST MAINTENANCE
I’ve been pruning my pull-list, and about to prune even further. I’m dropping Batman as of #6, though I’m interested enough I plan to pick up the Mr. Freeze Annual (Batman Annual #1). I’m just not buying into the hype over the Court of Owls. Had it been a single arc, it would’ve been good. But the fact that Batman #6 (spoiler alert! I’m about to spoil the end of #6!) ends with a kick-off into an “event” just REALLY turns me off. I imagine I’ll eventually read the story–whether grabbing issues later in the year from bargain bins or such, or a year from now whenever DC actually puts out a collected volume. I just don’t feel inclined to pay $2.99 (soon $3.99!) an issue for monthly installments, 
nor do I feel like buying multiple other series to get a COMPLETE story. (I’m not buying into the hype, and I’m not buying into reading only one title when this thing’s being pushed as an event rather than just characters showing up in other tiles).
I’m also dropping Superman after #6. I’ve given it an arc; but the whole new creative team makes for essentially a new title, and again, I’m just not interested in paying $2.99 for monthly installments of bigger stories right now. I loved the first issue, but I never read 3 & 4 until a couple weeks ago after #5 had come out, and that was a conscious decision to “force” myself to “catch up.” So, I’ll wait to catch up on even buying the issues when there are a few out I can get in one go, ideally from a bargain bin, or perhaps a collected volume next year.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Batman, comics, pull list, Superman, year of the bat | Leave a comment »
After a long hiatus, I’m back for a fluff post, sharing some of the goodies I just snagged from a bargain bin. 63 comics for less than the price of 4 Marvels.
I’d read Green Arrow: The Wonder Year almost a decade ago for a comics class I took. That was in a collected-edition, though. And come to think of it, this MIGHT be the second time I’ve purchased this mini from a quarter-bin; I have most of the first 30ish issues of the ongoing Green Arrow series this led into.
And I recognized this Cap mini-series from around that time, as well…I may have bought the first issue as a new issue back in the day…maybe the whole mini, but not being sure, and certainly to avoid the issue of rummaging through dozens of boxes, snagged all three issues:
Realized there was a full run of the 8-issue Green Lantern Corps Quarterly, and given the sheer size of the issues and being a run…right up my alley:
While NOT QUITE a full run, Blue Beetle 1-20 were all present, and given this price for the singles, far FAR cheaper than trying to get the trades:
Then I noticed some Justice Society stuff. And sure enough, speaking of full runs…the 1991 JSA series:
And the 1992 series:
And of course the characters’ return in the 1999 “mini-event” or whatever it was:
…plus a handful of other random issues I neglected to put back. As it was, I put back probably another 40+ issues that I now regret: a lot of the “Secret Files and Origins” type specials from throughout the mid/late 90s and early 2000s for Batman, Flash, and JLA. But considering I walked away with such a significant run of Blue Beetle, and the three JSA series and whatnot…I’m a pretty happy camper.
‘course, I’m only vaguely aware that Batman #5 was part of my stack of new comics and Ghostbusters #5.
Wondering more and more what it might be like to just drop new comics altogether, and instead raid quarter bins and such. Far better value on the older stuff…especially from this comic shop!
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: bargain bins, Captain America, comics, Green Arrow, JSA, Justice Society, Justice Society of America | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 