1000 books in 2019

[comicscollector]

Last Readings:

History of th Marvel Universe#1 (2)
Marvels Epilogue (2)
Immortal Hulk:The best Defense (2)
Namor:The best Defense (2)
Doctor Strange:The best Defense (2)
Silver Surfer:The best Defense (2)
Defenders:The best Defense (2)
Thor (2018)#1-9 (10)
Crypt of Shadows#(2019) #1
Hulk Smash Avengers#1-5 (5)
Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #8-13(6)
Venom (2018) #7-10 (4)
Web of Spider-Man Vol.2 #1-12 (24)
West Coast Avengers (2018) #2-6 (5)
Return of the Wolverine#2-4 (3)
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol.2.#1 (2)


Total:453.

[Bloodbones]

Here are my reads for July 2019.


Aero #1 (1)
Amazing Spider-Man #32-41 (JMS Omni) (10)
Amazing Spider-Man Vol.3 #1-6 (7)
Amazing Spider-Man Vol.3 #1.1 (1)
Canto #1 (1)
Giant-Size Hulk #1 (Planet Hulk Omni) (1)
Joker by Azzarello (6)
Miles Morales Spider-Man #7 (1)
Naomi #6 (1)
Second Coming #1 (1)
Spider-Man/Deadpool #1-2 (2)
Stitched Terror #1 (1)
The Beauty #2-6 (5)
The Immortal Hulk #18-20 (3)
The Incredible Hulk #95-96 (Planet Hulk Omni) (2)
The Ride Burning Desire #1 (1)
Unnatural #9-10 (2)
Usagi Yojimbo #1 (1)
Y The Last Man #49-50 (2)


Total July 2019: 49

Total 2019: 396 (On pace for 682)

January: 67
February: 51
March: 41
April: 54
May: 80
June: 54
July: 49

[DamianWayne1]

July 8th-31st: 89 Books

• Gotham Central Book 4: Corrigan (10) - Real emotional gutpunch. Looking forward to checking out Infinite Crisis & 52 after this.
• Invisible Woman #1 (of 5) (1) - Never actually read any Fantastic Four but Sue's always seemed cool so I thought I'd check this out. Additionally, I'm always down for a good spy story. Good art, and I'll definitely check out the trade when it comes out, but a bit too slow for me in singles.
• Uncanny X-Men #11-22; Annual #1 (18) - Was looking forward to this after Rosenberg's Astonishing but this run just manages to get worse every issue. I don't think a single character is written well and the two Rosenberg claims are his favorites (Magik & Havok), might be written worst of all. The Annual's good though; nice coda to Extermination. Not surprisingly, it was written by Ed Brisson.
• Naomi #1-6 (6) - Loved this! Lots of heart! If Campbell isn't a rising star something's wrong, because his art is some of the best I've ever seen! I'll definitely keep my eye out for his name in the future.
• Ironheart #1-8 (8) - While I really enjoyed Bendis & Caselli's take on Riri, Eve Ewing is head and shoulders above them. Her Riri is so real and complex and I really like that she can tell a full story in 1 issue - a rarity these days. I'd put Ironheart in my 10 comics of the year easily.
• House of X #1 (of 6) (3) - Larraz always produces great art and I'm intrigued to see where Hickman's going with this.
• Uncanny X-Men #185-194 (11)
• X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2 (4) - Really enjoyed this! Need to go back and read Alpha Flight up to this point, because I've really enjoyed them whenever they've showed up in Claremont's X-Men.
• Lois Lane #1 (of 12) (1) - Also excellent. Greg Rucka rarely disappoints.
• Ultimate Spider-Man #1-7 (8)
• Daredevil #6-8 (3) - Zdarsky's Daredevil remains great. One of the best comics currently coming out.
• Hawkman #7-12 (6) - Another one of the best comics coming out now.
• East of West Volume 1 (6) - Wanted to see what Hickman's other stuff was like after liking House of X #1. Not really my cup of tea.
• New Mutants #21 (2)
• Powers of X #1 (of 6) (2) - Good as well, the best Silva's art's ever been.

Best Of: Gotham Central, Daredevil, Hawkman, & Ironheart

July Total: 188 Books

2019 Total: 1,593 Books

[Balakin]

latest:

Kiss number 8 12
Amazing coming out/coming of age story. Just right in the feels, great art, everyone should read it who is interested in the subject.
Batman war games book 1 21
Nostalgia read, this was one of the first events I've read when I had my first deep dive into DC. It's kind of like a guilty pleasure for me I guess.
Jason Aaron Doctor Strange 18
Starts well but seems like Aaron has one plot he just applies to everything (a mysterious force is killing all the gods/a mysterious force is killing all magic). It runs out of steam halfway through and he forgets to develop the side characters. I like his take on magic though and Bachallo on art was a treat (but might not be for everyone).
Charles Soule Daredevil 46
Half braindead superhero garbage, half pretty decent DD with an absolute bs, pseudo artsy ending. Garney is a good artist but it took him a while to really make DD become a distinct presence while some other fill in artists did a much better job straight away.
Also the chin strap on the black costume became my new pet peeve. I just hate it.
Sandman mystery theatre 45
I really like this grounded take on the old pulp character but whenever anyone else draws it other than Guy Davis, it's just not as good.
Still, love the world and this low key version of Wesley Dodds. The ending kinda felt rushed but I'm just glad I've finally read the whole series (no thanks to DC).

That's 142 issues
Total so far: 730

Best of the batch: Kiss number 8

[Fromper]

Previous read count: 448

Aquaman #3-7 (5) – Pretty good start to the run. I may actually want to pick up more of this run.
Superboy #0, 9, 11-15 (7) – Definitely better than first couple of issues, which I read earlier and wondered why I liked this series. I especially liked the kid joining the Suicide Squad for a mission in issues 13-15.
Xenobrood #0-6 (7) – Picked this up when it was new, just out curiosity. It’s ok, but nothing special. Given how slow it started, and needed a couple of issues to get interesting, I’m surprised I stuck with it.
Wonder Woman #0 (1) – Another of the #0 issues designed to attract new readers after Zero Hour. I remember that I bought this at the time, but then didn’t stick with the title. Years later, I couldn’t remember why. Now that I’ve reread it, I understand. This just isn’t a very good issue, and certainly not the type of thing to grab a new reader’s attention.
Wonder Woman #93-97 (5) – Picking up a couple of issues after the last one I own. #93 isn’t a very good story. The main story with Diana in 94-97 is a major improvement, but the secondary storyline with Artemis, the replacement Wonder Woman, are just cringeworthy. But with 3 issues in a row of such one dimensional villains, I’m beginning to think there’s something else going on besides just bad writing. I’m hoping that something will be revealed in the next couple of issues (which I do own) that will explain the stupidity. I really don’t remember any of this at all – I think I last read these issues when they were new in 1995.
Flash #101-102 (2) – Aftermath of the 6 part Terminal Velocity storyline, and setup for the Impulse ongoing. Pretty good “down time” issue, with an unexpected touching moment in the middle. Then a one shot fight against Mongul and a lead into next story arc.
Impulse #1-3 (3) – Very fun Flash spinoff series.

Read since last update: 30
Read so far this year: 478

Next up: Continuing read these runs of Wonder Woman, Flash, and Impulse. Have a couple of other comics from that time period I'll probably read in and around them (Black Lightning, Primal Force, more Superboy, etc).

[MRP]

Jan-July total-750

August week one:

Crimebusters #1 (self-published; 2019)
The Magic Order #1-6 (Image; 2018-2019)
Invisible Kingdom #4-5 (Dark Horse/Berger Books; 2019)
Excellence #2-3 (Image; 2019)
The Dreaming #6-11 (DC/Vertigo; 2019)
The Books of Magic #6-10 (DC/Vertigo; 2019)
At the Mountains of Madness Vol. 1 adapted by Gou Tanabe (288 pp. English translation; Dark Horse 2019)
Shadow Roads Vol. 1 (collects #1-5; Oni; 2018)
Lucifer #6-8 (DC/Vertigo; 2019)

total: 44; YTD: 794

-M

[Mister Mets]

Update on summer reading.

Batman (King) #41-47: Ambitious and solidly told "smaller" Batman stories in between the big events.

White Knight #1-8: Murphy sets up an interesting world with a Batman more flawed than we're used to, and a Joker heading in a different direction. Pretty good as reimaginings go.

DCU Decisions #1-4: Interesting experiment in exploring political questions in a non-partisan way, hindered by lame art.

X-Men #1/ Giant-Sized X-Men #1/ X-Men Grand Design #1-2/ Volume 2 #1-2: The oversized faux newsprint reprints give gravity to decent but important introductory issues, while in the main material Piskor does an exceptional job of turning the early X-Men adventures into a coherent narrative.

JSA #26-38: These aren't the best arcs of the Johns/ Goyer run, but it highlights the strengths of the run: a respect for history, a focus on the new generation and ambitious challenges.

Hawkman #1-7: Decent kickoff to the JSA spinoff, establishing the book's identity with a Louisiana locale and emphasis on reincarnation.

Conan #0-15/ 23/ 32/ 45-46: Busiek and Nord's Conan relaunch combines the early struggles with good storytelling and coherent world-building. A blueprint for a Conan TV show post-Game of Thrones.

Strange Fruit #1-4: Gorgeously illustrated superhero tale in the pre-Great Depression South.

Invisible Republic #1-15: Solid sci-fi story that tells an accessible story of the rise of a dictator and the aftermath of his fall, where the world-building doesn't get in the way of the narrative.

And the graphic novels...

Prince Valiant Volumes 1-2: The Fantagraphics reprint of Hal Foster's Sunday Strips is an exceptionally well-illustrated Sunday comic. The adventures vary in quality, but there are some clever twists.

Showa Volumes 2-3: This portion of Shigeru Mizuki's combination memoir/ history of the Showa era of Japan covers dramatic material with his experiences in World War 2 and in the aftermath as an unemployed struggling soldier.

Total So Far: 430 single issues, 7 graphic novels

Best of the bunch: X-Men Grand Design.

[comicscollector]

Last Readings:

Avengers#679-690 (13)
Doctor Strange#400 (2)
Journey into Unknown Worlds#1 (2019)
Marvel Graphic Novel#29 (3)
Incredible Hulk (1962) #1,218-226 (9)
Not Brand Echh#1,2. (2)
Carnage.Mind Bomb (2)
House of X#1 (3)
Powers of X#1 (3)
Spider-Man#Self Improvement (2)
Journey Into Mistery (1952)#83-114 (31)

Total:523.

[MRP]

YTD 794

August Week 2
Lucifer #9-10 (DC/Vertigo; 2019)
Dear Justice League GN (152 pp; DC/Zoom; 2019)
Power of X #1-2 (Marvel; 2019)
House of X #2 (Marvel; 2019)
Berserker Unbound #1 (Image; 2019)
Hope #2 (Source Point Press; 2019)
Conan the Barbarian #1 (Marvel; 1970)
Star Wars #1 (Marvel; 1977)
Elfquest #1-14 (Marvel/Epic; 1985-1986)

+31; new YTD: 825

-M

[JPAR]

January: 261
February: 59
March: 54
April: 105
May: 138
June: 121
July: 54
August:

Usagi Yojimbo saga 8 (26)
Grass Kings 2 (5)

Total: 823

[Fromper]

Previous read count: 478

Wonder Woman #98-100 (3) – The cringeworthy Artemis storyline is explained here. It’s less cringeworthy than originally presented, but still not very good. And there’s a similar reveal regarding Circe’s out of character behavior. All in all, I’m not impressed with what I saw of Messner-Loebs and Deodato’s run on WW – the stories or the art.
Flash #103-105 (3) – More good stuff from Waid’s run.
Impulse #4-5 (2) – Great series, lots of fun.
Flash Annual #8 (1) – Year One themed annual, featuring pretty good “untold stories” of Wally after becoming Flash in Crisis (before issue #1 of his series) and “Kid Flash, Day 2” as a backup story.
Green Lantern #66 (1) – GL and Flash meet for the first time. Yes, really. The first Kyle Raynor/Wally West team up. Unfortunately, I don’t have part 2 of this story from issue 67.
Flash #106 (1) – Ok issue.
Superboy #16, 18-20 (4) – Mediocre one shot issue #16, followed by post-Zero Hour Mon-El’s Legion origin story in #18-19. Then another mediocre one shot issue #20. This series had some fun moments, but was inconsistent.
Superboy Annual #2 (1) – Year One themed annual… without a single flashback or story set in the past. Why? And yet it stuck to the Year One theme perfectly. I didn’t like the substitute art quite as much as the regular series art, but it was good enough to convey the story. And the story itself was probably the best story yet for this character. Not that I read them all, but I’ve recently reread his introduction in Reign of the Supermen and Return of Superman, along with about half of the first 20 issues of this series.
Wonder Woman #101-104 (4) – Start of the John Byrne era. I can see why I stopped reading this series after these issues.
Impulse #6-7 (2) – Great serious issue #6, and good issue #7 with fill in writer and artists

Read since last update: 22
Read so far this year: 500

[Fromper]

Previous read count: 500

Underworld Unleased #1-3, Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear (4) – Miniseries and one of the related one shots for the 1995 summer crossover event. Fairly well done, though the ending seemed forced. I read the following tie-in issues in and around this:
Flash #107 (1) – Underworld Unleashed tie-in issue, guest starring Captain Marvel. I actually liked this one. Best part was seeing Wally thinking he’s saving a kid (Billy Batson) from getting hit by lightning.
Impulse #8 (1) – Another UU tie-in issue, featuring Batman villain Blockbuster, but with enhanced intelligence. Pretty good issue.
Superboy #22 (1) – Intentionally skipping issue 21, since that’s in with my Legion of Super-Heroes collection, that I intend to read separately later. This is the UU tie-in featuring guest villain Killer Frost.
Flash #108-111, Impulse #9-11 (7) – Dead Heat! Good crossover story bringing in ALL the speedsters. XS from the Legion meets her 20th century family, Johnny and Jesse Quick get some spotlight time, and Max Mercury’s secret mission is revealed.
Black Lightning #1-8 (8) – This struck me as an ok series for the first 4 issues, but nothing spectacular. Then I hit #5. Wow! That one really stood out as an amazing issue. The rest of the run was pretty good.
Flash #112-118 (7) – Race Against Time. Pretty good time travel story, but with one big, sappy flaw.
Impulse #12-19 (6) – Fun series, usually not overly serious, mostly with single issue storylines. Major issue #16 was an exception, as a more serious story, very well done.
Flash Annual #9 (1) – “Legends of the Dead Earth” annual. Only own it because I was being completionist about anything Flash in this time period. Added to the sell stack.
Justice League – Midsummer’s Nightmare (3) – Prequel to the “big 7” relaunch of the JLA a few months later. Not a bad miniseries, but nothing special. The real question is why there’s an AT-ST from Star Wars on page 5 of issue #3. No, really. It’s not just something that looks similar. It’s actually one of the two legged walkers from Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. No explanation or anything. It’s just there.

Read since last update: 39
Read so far this year: 539

[MRP]

August Week 3 YTD 825

Elfquest #15-32

+18 new YTD 843

-M

[comicscollector]

Last Readings:

Journey into Mistery#115-125 (11)
Thor#126-137 (12)
Not Brand Echh#3-6 (3)
Amazing Spider-Man#129,143-150 (9)
Giant Size Spider-Man#5 (2)
Not Brand Echh (2017)#1
Avengers:No Road Home #1,2 (2)
Fantastic Four#9 (#654)
Dead Man Logan#4,5.(2)
Guardians of the Galaxy#2 (#152)
Doctor Strange#11 (#401)
Symbiote Spider-Man#4,5(2)
Immortal Hulk#21,22 (2)
History of the Marvel Universe#2 (2)
House of X#2 (2)
Powers of X#2,3 (4)

Total:580.

[MRP]

Final August update, YTD 843

new reads...

Iron Man #1-20 (Marvel; 1968-1969)
The Power of Shazam #1-2 (DC; 1995)
Crusades: Urban Decree One-shot (DC/Vertigo; 2001)
Crusades #1-20 (DC/Vertigo; 2001-2002)
Silverblade #1-12 (DC;1987-1988)

+55

new YTD total: 898

-M