Weekly Image poll #6 - Return of the eagerly awaited

[TotalSnorefest]

Welcome to this week's Image round-up, where we vote on our favourite books or just sound off in general!

Last week saw a lot of discussion ranging from horror for beginners to accidental poop typos, but the long-awaited return of Velvet crushed the competition in terms of votes.

This week's another one of long-awaited returns, let's do the rundown. Chiefly, Autumnlands and Manhattan Projects are back in action. Low returns for a new storyline with a brand-new naming scheme to boot, Spread has been back on-schedule for a few issues in a row now and Limbo is also back (am I wrong in thinking this took a lil longer than normal?). Lastly, they're reprinting the Walking Dead #1 for a single dollar again - talk about good starting points for people new to horror!

With no new series beginning this week, I've once again assumed dictatorial control over which cover gets shown - this is from Injection #7 (sorry Low).

240967_s0.jpg

[Ragdoll]

Such a good week!
Black Science, Black Jack Ketchum, Descender, Low, Manhattan Projects, Limbo, Injection, Spread
Literally anyone's game here. I'm hoping Manhattan Projects earns the vote just for nostalgia, since I'll always remember that and Saga as the ones that got me into comics.

[TotalSnorefest]

I'm hoping Manhattan Projects earns the vote just for nostalgia, since I'll always remember that and Saga as the ones that got me into comics.

This is barely related, but that kinda makes you wonder how soon something can achieve nostalgic status? I mean think about it, those are both books from 2012. Saga's "only" turning four next month, not entirely comparable to how people tend to discuss nostalgia for like 80ies movies or their old childhood videogames.
If we happen to have any psych majors in the house; how much time removed from first exposure to something is the minimum for nostalgic feelings to kick in upon reunion?

[Ragdoll]

This is barely related, but that kinda makes you wonder how soon something can achieve nostalgic status? I mean think about it, those are both books from 2012. Saga's "only" turning four next month, not entirely comparable to how people tend to discuss nostalgia for like 80ies movies or their old childhood videogames.
If we happen to have any psych majors in the house; how much time removed from first exposure to something is the minimum for nostalgic feelings to kick in upon reunion?

I know it isn;t that long, I'm a massive comic newbie compared to most here. My nostalgia runs as deep as a kiddie pool. I had been reading Walking Dead for a while, but the ads for Saga and MP looked so cool that I finally buckled and started buying 3 monthly Image books instead of one. What a slippery slope I stepped into, what with 8 books I'm reading from Image this week alone now.

[Agent John Bishop]

I had to go Injection this week, and not just because that cover is gorgeous. This issue brought together the plot from last month with all the material from the first arc and built the momentum up nicely. It also has a sequence devoted to ectoplasmic vaginal fluids which is exactly the sort of gross creativity I want from an ellis book.

Also really enjoy the discussion of Image nostalgia. I had taken a long break from comics that ended in 2013 when a guy handed me East of West volume one. However, the book that really got me was Manhattan Projects. Something about the wild creativity, the red/blue coloring, and the constant craziness made me realize creator-owned was a force to be reckoned with. Sadly that book has really fallen in my estimations. I still love Hickman and the first three arcs are as good as anything from Image, but recently it's lost steam from a writing standpoint (while Pitarra's art continues to shine). The ending to this issue, which I won't spoil, made me feel really sad about how poorly the series is concluding and how the split into mini-series isn't working.

[sven]

Autumnlands, Black Science, Injection, and Spread for me this week.

[Joker]

Only Black Science this week. Guess I'll wait and see if it's good before I vote for it.

[cc008]

I'm curious as to why the title of LOW's arc is being used as a title of the book in solicitations and other places. Whatever. LOW and Descender for me. Two totally different, totally awesome, futuristic, sci-fi books.

[highlandhellboy]

Black Science, Low and Autumnlands for me this week Hopefully pick them up before the weekend

Also reading Abe Sapien and Harrow County from Dark Horse

[TotalSnorefest]

I'm curious as to why the title of LOW's arc is being used as a title of the book in solicitations and other places. Whatever. LOW and Descender for me. Two totally different, totally awesome, futuristic, sci-fi books.

Yeah I'm not sure to be honest. Might be they're trying to market this more as a jump-on point, or to get more interest from people who just occassionally pick up a mini-series? We'll see if they continue it beyond this issue, or if they'll just do this with every story arc?

There's something to be said for diminishing emphasis on issue numbers. Look at Usagi Yojimbo, that's well into the triple digits at this point, but remains accessible since issues tend to be presented as one-shots or small contained storylines. Meanwhile, who is going to get Low #11 if they weren't reading before? The market has really trained readers to only pay attention to jump-on points, relaunches or debut issues. It's worth trying to pursue new ways of increasing sales, because it seems like most Image books tend to slowly lose readers every month. If this works for them I wouldn't be surprised if this became more commonplace.

[Ragdoll]

Manhattan Projects. Something about the wild creativity, the red/blue coloring, and the constant craziness made me realize creator-owned was a force to be reckoned with. Sadly that book has really fallen in my estimations. I still love Hickman and the first three arcs are as good as anything from Image, but recently it's lost steam from a writing standpoint (while Pitarra's art continues to shine). The ending to this issue, which I won't spoil, made me feel really sad about how poorly the series is concluding and how the split into mini-series isn't working.

Sadly, I was just thinking the same thing. Stephen King often talks about how a writer needs to actively care about his story to let the flow feel natural. MP was glorious initially, but now it feels like the progression is no longer natural but forced. When you can tell the writer views your favorite book as a chore instead of fun, the reader will pick up on it. Why did he even bother starting The Dying And The Dead if he couldn't even muster the excitement to put out a 6 issue series? How do you lose steam that fast?

Anyways, smoking a bowl and then reading Manhattan Projects and over-analyzing Hickman's intentions some more.

Harrow County from Dark Horse

So ready for this new arc. I should have mentioned this book in last week's thread when I was naming the best horror comics.
---------------------------------

Not Image, but the new Batman just made me cry. It sucks Snyder is leaving it so Tom King can take over. Now DC has only book on par with Image, Gail Simone's Secret Six. Snyder gave that book the kind of feelings that Rick Remender books offer, DC should have payed him through the roof to stick around.

[Snidlefighter]

I just have Low and Descender this week. I stuck with Spread and Injection through their first arcs but ended up dropping both because they just didn't do anything for me story-wise. I am contemplating picking Injection back up because the art team is my all time favorite and Warren Ellis is one of my top writers. Is anyone who is reading Injection understanding it? One of the biggest reasons I dropped is because narrative and all the characters hard to follow and often had to re-read the previous months issue to remember what was going on.

[Joker]

because it seems like most Image books tend to slowly lose readers every month.

This is pretty much every comic from every publisher except TWD and Saga, for whatever reasons. This is why Marvel now constantly relaunch a series with a new #1 for mp actual story reasons.

[Agent John Bishop]

I just have Low and Descender this week. I stuck with Spread and Injection through their first arcs but ended up dropping both because they just didn't do anything for me story-wise. I am contemplating picking Injection back up because the art team is my all time favorite and Warren Ellis is one of my top writers. Is anyone who is reading Injection understanding it? One of the biggest reasons I dropped is because narrative and all the characters hard to follow and often had to re-read the previous months issue to remember what was going on.

I am reading it and loving it. I hope it won't seem condescending if I just give a rundown on the plot! I was super confused for the first three issues and then in the fourth and fifth it went from being a mediocre series to one that is at the top of my pull list (and better than 'Trees' or 'James Bond: VARGR').

spoilers:

Before the series began the five main characters were tasked with predicting the future of technology. They all discovered that technology and innovation was going to bottom out within twenty years as culture became stagnant. In an arrogant move to counter this, they created the Injection, a horrific mix of Bridget's artificial intelligence and Robin Morel's magic (resulting in an actual intelligence or, as Viv describes it, a haunted A.I.). The group has since split up, but the Injection is stalking them with a bizarre series of scientific/magical disasters. Maria Kilbride realized, as of the end of the first arc, that the Injection is behind her recent troubles. As of the second arc we are following Sherlock Holmes style detective Vivek Headland as he investigates a ghost-related case that may also have the Injection behind it

end of spoilers

Boom!

[FluffySheep]

Just Autumnlands for me this week. I'm really hoping this eventually gets the OHC treatment.