State the Last Comic Book You Read and Rate It

[Foxy]

B.P.R.D. 1948 #1-5. What can I say, it continues as excellently as it started. It's not only world bulding and telling in-between stories (i.e. between teh arrival of Hellboy and the modern day), these are really great stories.

The next book is actually a spin-off of one of the arcs in this omnibus, B.P.R.D. Vampire and when I took the book off the shelf I saw that I'm in for more Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon art

[DanMad1977]

X-Men 11

Magneto crashing that satellite on his enemy. Damn!

[Foxy]

X-Men 11

Magneto crashing that satellite on his enemy. Damn!

That sounds interesting - is that from the current series?

[Foxy]

Read a lot over the weekend. I just cannot stop reading through the Mignola-verse, I think this is my favourite universe now.

B.P.R.D. Vampire TPB - a 5 issue series continuing on from one of the arcs in the BPRD 1946-1948 Omnibus, this time both art and writing duties went to Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon and I think they did a terrific job. Given that the colours in almost all the books are done by Dave Stewart, there is consistency and familiarity throughout, even if the art styles vary greatly. The strength of this universe is also that secondary or even tertiary characters' stories are explored and add to the overall world-building.

Hellboy the Midnight Circus HC - a nice short graphic novel about young Hellboy sneaking out of the BPRD compound for a smoke, only to be lured into the titular Midnight Circus, where not all is as it seems. More ominous foreshadowing and overall a sweet little story.

Hellboy in Mexico TPB - normal people have a lost weekend when they go on a binge, Hellboy has a lost couple of years Cool stories collected in here, with a variety of artists. Richard Corben's art is not my favourite but it has grown on me since The Crooked Man and it fits the story.

Frankenstein Underground TPB - another series where I normally would have thought "how can this arc about a secondary character be possibly interesting" but every time I thought that before, Mignola has proven me wrong. So I just trusted him and went with it. And surprise (not really): it was a great little story and actually added again to the overall mythology, i.e. also to Hellboy's arc.

Abe Sapien The Drowning and other Stories Omnibus - This was really great, giving us some insight into The Abe Sapien character and what makes him tick.

B.P.R.D. Being Human TPB - an assortment of stories that each focus on one of the more contemporary BPRD members, i.e. Liz, Abe, Johann Krauss and Roger. very enjoyable.

Hellboy Library Edition 6 The Storm and The Fury - one word: fantastic. The Storm and The Fury give us the closure of the long-running Hellboy story arc that started in Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil and it's amazing. It did not go as I thought it would and Mignola cleverly takes the more personal route and focuses on Hellboy instead of armies clashing (which happens mostly off-page). The shorter stories in the back of this collection were good but overall felt a bit anticlimactic after the amazing first half.

Starting on B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus 1 tonight to see what happened after Plague of Frogs and whether the Hellboy developments affect the BPRD world as well.

[Crazy Diamond]

Michael Jordan: Running of the Bulls - If you're expecting the typical take on the 90s Chicago Bulls and how the dynasty came to be you'd be better off reading something like Playing for Keeps. But if you want to read a graphic take on Michael Jordan, how a superstar is created (and how the media brings them up and breaks them down), then I would say check this comic out. The art is rather lovely and very surreal - it looked a bit like Kevin O'Neil combined with Bill Sienciwiz which I wasn't expecting for a comic dealing with a sports star. It's also interesting it in what it covers (ex. Jordan's lack of politics during the 90s and his personal life). It's not a long read and honestly could've used some more pages (why have that surreal depiction of the Bad Boys Pistons only to only show parts of Game 4?).

[DanMad1977]

That sounds interesting - is that from the current series?

Yes, current series.

[Foxy]

Yes, current series.

Ah ok, thanks! I have read the House of X / Powers of X hardcover (loved it!) and am really hoping for more OHCs or an omnibus to come out.

[Foxy]

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus 1 - this picks up where Plague of Frogs left off with the planet being shaken by what was awakened during PoF and it also shows the effects of what happened in Hellboy The Storm and The Fury. A very promising start.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus 2 - this continues the Hell on Earth stories but there are also some nice character-focused stories in there, especially focusing on some of the human characters / agents. This also involves a flashback that includes Hellboy.

Hellboy in Hell Library Edition - great ending if a bit confusing. I hope we will see more Hellboy in the future although I think I saw him on the cover of the The Devil You Know Omnibus. Very nice to have Mignola art and writing back and I have missed his style even though the other artists have been very good to great.

[Foxy]

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus 3 - the situation is gettin bleaker by the page. The book focuses on various characters and Liz is finally back. The stories are great and the art mostly as well. But I am not convinced that Tyler Crook's art is a good fit for this book. I was ok with his sometimes more cartoony facial expressions in Harrow County but here it's just not fitting. What I am referring to in particular is how he draws faces from a distance - eyes are reduced to simple dots with a half circle line beneath them to represent the cheeks. I don't know, just not my thing. Also the monster with a pair of extra eyes that he did in Harrow County was great there. Here, it was a bit overused.

[Foxy]

Abe Sapien Dark and Terrible Omnibus 1 - well the name's the game. It's dark and terrible Actually it starts out quite promising but as soon as Scott Allie takes over, you notice a considerable drop in the quality of the writing. The idea of having Abe traverse the US and experiencing the horrors of the Ogdru Hem as they affect normal people, it just feels like a bit of a pointless journey. Bit of a shame because I really enjoy the character. Yes there are hints at the bigger story and some teasers about his own mysterious past but when you compare this to the story in the main BPRD book, it just feels like the story is grinding to a halt. I read this in between BPRD Hell on Earth volumes 3 and 4 and it is very noticeable. Goodreads tells me that the second Abe Sapien omnibus is much better and I hope that's true.

[DanMad1977]

Ultraman 1 from Marvel

I didnt know anything about the Ultraman mythology, and this issue didn't help. For a first issue it wasn't enough to keep me buying the second one.

[Foxy]

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus Volume 4 - Strong and actually moving the main story forward, unlike the Abe Sapien omnibus. I did enjoy the Ashley Strode character and her exorcism adventures but what really interested me most is of course the main narrative of teh BPRD fighting against the Ogdru Hem. Also very intriguing was the interaction between the Black Flame and the Ogdru Jahad. I hope there is more to come and I really hope we do get to see the Ogdru Jahad in full horrific glory.

[Foxy]

Abe Sapien Dark and Terrible Omnibus 2 - much better than the first one! Finally the focus is firmly on Abe and we get some long-awaited answers.

Now on to finish Hell on Earth.

[Foxy]

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus Volume 5 - Fantastic conclusion to the story cycle. Cannot wait until the Devil You Know omnibus comes out so that I can continue the Mignolaverse readthrough. For now I am done but what a journey it was. Amazing - my favourite universe now.

[spideyguy211]

I'm re-reading ASM #1-#100 and just finished #39 and 40, the two part story which concludes with "The End of The Green Goblin".
They are, so far, my favorite two books in the series.
Very exciting waiting to see how the story would end once Spidey and Goblin each knew the others' secret identity.

As I'm going through them I realize once again why Spider-Man was and is my all time favorite super hero.
His trials and tribulations regarding relationships with girls and other aspects of his life never seeming to go in his favor are something I could relate to when I first read them in my childhood and teen years.