General omnibus & hardcover discussion vol. II

[Balakin]

I've heard about Locke and Key before, but never looked too closely at it. I may have to determine if it is something I may like because those hardcovers are beautiful. I've also been considering getting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hardcovers from IDW or the Morning Glories hardcovers from Image. So many tough choices!!

Locke and Key first! It's only 3 deluxes (3rd is coming in August) and if you like Stephen King like horror stories it's am must read. Also beautiful art! I was really hesitating picking it up but it quickly became one of my favourites from the last few years.

[wwise03]

Locke and Key first! It's only 3 deluxes (3rd is coming in August) and if you like Stephen King like horror stories it's am must read. Also beautiful art! I was really hesitating picking it up but it quickly became one of my favourites from the last few years.

Hellboy is also on my list. How would you measure that against Locke and key?

[Stargasm]

I just finished We Stand On Guard and I really enjoyed it too. Fast paced (perhaps too much so?) and great art. Very good read, kinda felt like a cool movie.

Yep, agree on the cool movie feeling - which is why, as you mention, I wouldn't have minded a few more pages to develop some characters.

Also, finished Patience, which was also really really good!!

And this afternoon I finished the first Morning Glories compendium. Went through it in a few days, it's quite good, but I have no clue how people are following this series on an on-going basis. The story goes in multiple directions, adding characters along, sometimes it's hard to keep up. I totally get the comparison with Lost (which I loved), so I'll definitely be getting the second and third compendium when they'll go out. Though I read that they planned 100 issues so it'll be a few years before we get the end of the story, and it really looks like they know where they're going (very first page makes sense some 30 issues later).

Re Locke and Key, I've got the slipcase (with TPB inside) and it was a great read indeed! I regret not going the deluxe HC route on this one, as the art is great.

[Paul_NL]

Hellboy is also on my list. How would you measure that against Locke and key?

Hellboy is a better series, and the hellboy library editions are gorgeous, and I own both those locke and key editios as well as the Hellboys. Go with Mignola.

[Balakin]

Hellboy is also on my list. How would you measure that against Locke and key?

LOVE HEllboy but can't compare them despite both of them being quite horror based. Hill's writing is very Stephen King like (which is not really a surprise since he is his son) and say what you want about King but he can write an engaging story and so can Hill. The mythology is also fascinating.

While Hellboy is more Lovecraft based (or at least in the first half) and also heavily influenced by old horrors and pulps, Mignola loves his ghosts and spooky places and his sense of threat and being overpowered by dark forces is great but the writing is very different to Hill's, doesn't have that tv show feel to it.
But that's not a bad thing at all, Mignola is a 100% comic book artist. But as much as I love it I think it doesn't start as strong as L&K (not a bad start but it gets better).

I say go with L&K first only because the IDW deluxes tend to go OOP and stay that way while the Hellboy LE-s seems to be evergreen.
But I would highly suggest to purchase HB as soon as you can, gorgeous books with a dark and epic story.

[pud333]

I've only read a couple Hellboy stories and wasn't impressed but I'll admit I have to give it another shot. That said, Locke and Key is fantastic. Great art and writing. Plus the series is only three deluxe books.

[Tigertemprr]

[OPINION] I'm probably in the minority here, but the main Hellboy series seemed OK - above average, not great/amazing/fantastic. The setup is fantastic and eerie (best part), the protagonist would see something shocking and say "crap", and get into a fist fight - repeat. A supernatural detective series starring supernatural detectives sounds amazing, but I think the movies captured the atmosphere/tone I was hoping for better, albeit with much more story limitations and mischaracterizations. Locke & Key is one of my favorite series largely due to it's episodic/TV-nature; it's about real characters that experienced a tragedy and try to live normally while being pulled into a horror/fantasy story.

I'd be lying if I said the art doesn't contribute significantly to how I feel about these books. I'm not a fan of Mike Mignola's art (blocky, cartoony, simple, etc.), nor was I of Locke & Key's at first. L&K just grew on me more than HB since it had more detail and consistency throughout (style vs realism, changing artists, etc.). The HB Library editions are slightly nicer than the L&K Master editions, but that won't matter if you don't like the series as much. The Mignola-verse is expansive, so there is a lot more to explore after reading.

[awayne83]

Some IDW fish:

https://www.amazon.com/G-I-JOE-IDW-C...n%3A7421494011

https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Mutan...n%3A7421494011

Glad to see IDW pumping out there TMNT collections, especially after the long delay between volumes 1 & 2. Also, like with the newer Transformers volumes, the page counts seem to be down on the the last couple GI Joe HC's as well. Getting harder to keep justifying that $50 price tag.

and 1 from Oni:

https://www.amazon.com/Stumptown-4-C...n%3A7421509011

You're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't checked this series out yet. It's fantastic.

[MartinNL]

And this afternoon I finished the first Morning Glories compendium. Went through it in a few days, it's quite good, but I have no clue how people are following this series on an on-going basis. The story goes in multiple directions, adding characters along, sometimes it's hard to keep up. I totally get the comparison with Lost (which I loved), so I'll definitely be getting the second and third compendium when they'll go out. Though I read that they planned 100 issues so it'll be a few years before we get the end of the story, and it really looks like they know where they're going (very first page makes sense some 30 issues later).

Not sure what's going on with the series though. I believe issue #50 is still not released, where issue #49 came out more than a year ago!!

[Balakin]

Some IDW fish:

https://www.amazon.com/G-I-JOE-IDW-C...n%3A7421494011

https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Mutan...n%3A7421494011

Glad to see IDW pumping out there TMNT collections, especially after the long delay between volumes 1 & 2. Also, like with the newer Transformers volumes, the page counts seem to be down on the the last couple GI Joe HC's as well. Getting harder to keep justifying that $50 price tag.

and 1 from Oni:

https://www.amazon.com/Stumptown-4-C...n%3A7421509011

You're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't checked this series out yet. It's fantastic.

great news for TMNT but let's see first if vol3 comes out in time.

Stop pushing Stumptown! I will end up buying it :P

[MartinNL]

Stop pushing Stumptown! I will end up buying it :P

It's really good!!

[seusilva]

Hellboy is also on my list. How would you measure that against Locke and key?

Locke and Key is amazing and engaging (i read the six TPBs in one weekend haha), but the Hellboy universe is more complex and rich, more than 20 years of stories, beginning with lovecraftian tales, mythological stories and now survival/apocalypse themes with Hell on Earth/Abe Sapien (ever time you read and reread the LE's, you learn new details about the current storylines, like a big puzzle). And the Hellboy storyline has a great end with In Hell, a minimalist and silent 10-issues epic.

[awayne83]

Not sure what's going on with the series though. I believe issue #50 is still not released, where issue #49 came out more than a year ago!!

#50 was released about 2 weeks ago. And it was about 7 months between issues, but i feel your pain!! lol. Expect that 4th HC to be solicited in the not to distant future now that season two has wrapped.

[MartinNL]

#50 was released about 2 weeks ago. And it was about 7 months between issues, but i feel your pain!! lol. Expect that 4th HC to be solicited in the not to distant future now that season two has wrapped.

Lol.. I guess exaggeration is my middle name now haha... thanks for the update though and can't wait for that 4th HC!!

[ReedRichards77]

Hellboy is also on my list. How would you measure that against Locke and key?

I don't like Stephen King, and i like Hellboy, but Locke & Key is better. One of the best graphic novel i heve ever read (next to the Preacher).