What Collected Edition are you reading now?

[Ramsay Snow]

Finished the first two volumes of Berlin by Jason Lutes (waiting on the third to arrive). While waiting I started in on Strangehaven Vol. 1 Arcadia by Gary Spencer Millidge and Zot! The Complete Black and White issues omnibus by Scott McCloud.

-M

Berlin's pretty good. I have the complete hardcover but haven't read what constitutes the third volume yet.

I tried reading Zot! but couldn't get into it. Another Scott McCloud book I have is Sculptor, hopefully that'll appeal to me more.

I'm currently reading the rest of BPRD (Hellboy), currently on volume 3 of "Hell On Earth". It's a lot better than "Plague of Frogs", which I didn't care for at all.

[MRP]

Berlin's pretty good. I have the complete hardcover but haven't read what constitutes the third volume yet.

I tried reading Zot! but couldn't get into it. Another Scott McCloud book I have is Sculptor, hopefully that'll appeal to me more.

I'm currently reading the rest of BPRD (Hellboy), currently on volume 3 of "Hell On Earth". It's a lot better than "Plague of Frogs", which I didn't care for at all.

I really enjoyed the Sculptor as well. Zot! was really early work by McCloud and you can see him learning his craft as he goes along.

-M

[newparisian]

Read Sculptor ages ago and had liked it. Wish McCloud would make more OGNs.

[newparisian]

Celestia- translated book by Fantagraphics. 120 pages in and no idea what the hell I'm reading. No discernible plot or character motivations. It's about a bunch of telepaths living on an island in a post-apocalyptic world. But it's very "hmmm ok sure, but like why?". Dropping it for a reread of Brubaker's Marvels Project, which really should have been included in his Cap omnis.

[lodebone]

Rise and Fall of the Batmen Omnibus. Through the first 3 story arcs and loving it, especially the Batman/Wayne - Batwoman/Kane element.

[Chubistian]

In Comixology: These Savage Shores

[MRP]

Finished Zot! and read the first volume of Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower. On the second volume now.

-M

[Foxy]

Batman by Snyder and Capullo Omnibus volume 1. About one-third through and really enjoying it. The opening Court of Owls storyline was really great.

[newparisian]

Some Mignola-verse reads...

Baltimore omnibus v1-2: This was fine. Nothing new being done with the vampire/hunter genre. The issue I had with it was that the first omni was pretty one-note. Baltimore, motivated by single-minded revenge, goes from town to town and kills vamps. We never really get into his head, per se, beyond origin flashbacks. There's no arc there. Then in omni 2 he has a supporting cast, which he frankly should've had from the get-go, just so there's character variety. And of course there's hand-wringing about whether Baltimore has gone too far, etc. Meh. Then the entire saga ends the only way it could've for a character who's motivated solely by revenge. Again, it was competently done, but nothing I'd read twice. 5/10

Witchfinder omnibus v1-2: similarly to Baltimore, what I don't like is that we don't get an interior life for Edward Grey. Ok so he's the Queen's hunter, and most minis are like Law & Order, i.e. case/monster of the week. The trip to America or Unland could've been excised, to be honest. I clocked the Hellboy/BPRD connections. But you never get to know-know Grey. Like, does he have a life outside witch-hunting? Does he have friends (outside medical examiners colleagues)? Who's his long lost tragic love? Does he even try? Does he lament the lack of these things? Where did he learn witch-hunting? Like, did he go to Hogwarts? Is he like Hellblazer in that he sacrifices friends for the greater good? The sixth mini (the last story in omni 2) FINALLY has actual conflict where Grey bumps up against the Queen and shifts to being a more local community guy rather than an imperial agent guy, and that's great, but it comes too late in the narrative. I know he ends up in hell, but that's not touched upon here beyond the reference to Acheron. The last two minis also took a downturn in art, compared to the earlier Stanbeck/Crook/Severin linework. In the sixth mini the bad guy is drawn very similarly to Grey and it's hard to tell them apart. But yeah overall these were a fine enough read, but I don't feel I ever got to know Grey as a person (in what amounts to 30 issues of material) beyond being a stoic dude. And the overall narrative (brushing up against the HBR and now the monarchy) didn't really go anywhere. 5/10

The above noted issues I've had with these Mignola-verse books not really exploring their own leads also continues into Lobster Johnson, who is a cypher and we're meant to clock his supporting cast instead. This whole larger-universe-tapestry thing is fine and all, but I'm not really a mark for that kinda stuff. Not when Crossgen was coming out, not when DC has a crisis and we're meant to wonder who is Pandora and what continuity is in or out. That's all "plot"; what I care about is "story". Like, who are Grey and Baltimore as characters? What are the themes at work here? The Brotherhood of Ra and Hyperborea and Hecate stuff is just plot, they're not story. And I'll always care more about character work over plot.

[newparisian]

Pride of Baghdad- a reread. So fucking good. BKV was a master then and is an even greater one now. 10/10

Tuki v1- a Jeff Smith (Bone) joint. It was fine. Early humanoids getting into some supernatural stuff. A bit confusing and nothing really stood out. 5/10

Zita the Spacegirl box set + Mighty Jack & Zita- as YA stuff goes this skewed a bit too young for me. Still I don't regret reading it but nothing I'd read twice. 5/10

Brink v4- a Dan Abnett/INJ Culbard joint from 2000AD. I'd read v1-3 a few years ago. This was another excellent space cop noir with great art, coloring, and story. I'd recommend people check out the entire series. 10/10

The Marvels Project- a reread of the Brubaker/Epting mini. Great then, great now. Should've been included in the Brubaker Cap omnis. 10/10

[newparisian]

Superman: Kryptonite- a reread of the Cooke/Sale book. Great look at Superman's early days and a wonderful companion to For All Seasons. 10/10

Neil Gaiman Library editions v1-3- these collections underlined an earlier belief of mine that short stories as a format are just not for me. They never end satisfactorily and themes are usually not explored fully. Moreover, I'm just tired of Gaiman's "fantasy story but with a horror twist" thing that permeates a lot of the work here. I enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes riff, the murder in heaven one, and the talking to girls at parties one; the rest I honestly struggled to finish. 5/10

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader- reread of a fine enough Elseworlds that celebrates Batman in all his iterations. Great art by Andy Kubert. 6/10

Thunder Agents v1- this feels like such a truncated run; a lot of things are left unexplored or just rushed. Wish Spencer/Cafu/Dragotta had been able to do a long run. What's here (govt gives you powers but they kill you after a time) is great though. 8/10

Thor (Gillen) complete collection- a reread. After JMS' run this was a fine enough continuation but nothing really stands out here. You're not getting anything new about Thor as a character or Asgard. This did lead into Kid Loki by Fraction and then Gillen's excellent Journey into Mystery series though. 4/10

Hellblazer v4,v13,v16-18,v20- these are the thick softcovers. They were fine. Hellblazer, like a few other B level characters, suffers from the one-good-run syndrome, wherein a single run (Ennis', in this case) was just so damn definitive that everything else just feels like echoes of it. Daredevil was the same with Miller until it finally broke off with the extended Smith/Bendis/Brubaker/Waid runs. So here, Constantine is once again fighting the devil and his friends and family are dying or at risk. Variations of Ennis, really. 5/10

War Stories v1-3 and Complete Battlefields v1-3- Ennis war stories. Some better than others. Most were gut punches. War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. 7/10

[Balakin]

Curious what you think of the other Walden books. They look similar because of the art style but the stories are very different (one being autobiographical). I think I enjoyed Are you listening more than you did tho.
Also I'm glad someone feels the same about the Mignola verse and Brubaker/Phillips. Nothing against any of those books and readers who love them, I used to be a big fan but after Kill or be killed and the end of Hell on Earth I just had enough.

[newparisian]

Curious what you think of the other Walden books. They look similar because of the art style but the stories are very different (one being autobiographical). I think I enjoyed Are you listening more than you did tho.
Also I'm glad someone feels the same about the Mignola verse and Brubaker/Phillips. Nothing against any of those books and readers who love them, I used to be a big fan but after Kill or be killed and the end of Hell on Earth I just had enough.

What was your take on / understanding of the magical stuff in Are You Listening? To me it didn't make sense and didn't really synch up with the characters' inner struggles.

[Balakin]

It's been a hot minute and I have a horrible memory for details, but if I remember correctly they felt sorta dream like which made me except it more. I don't remember thinking it was the strongest metaphor ever but didn't bother me either.

[lodebone]

Big Damn Sin City. Wife got it for me for Christmas. Just finished “The Man in Yellow.” First time reading this and I’m just blown away. The art, the stories all of it. I can’t believe it took me so long.