Matthew on 24/8/2009 at 11:45
52 was a great spotlight on the B- and C-list characters of the DCU, as well as being a pretty big achievement in going back to the weekly format for issues for an entire year. But please don't read the next weekly series, Countdown to Final Crisis. It was neither linked to Final Crisis nor much of a countdown.
Edit: I'll get it out of the way right now: GRRRRR ONE MORE DAY MORE LIKE RAAAAAAAAAAAGE. The best Spider-Man comics on the shelves at the moment are Ultimate Spider-Man and the very kid- and adult-friendly Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man.
Chimpy Chompy on 24/8/2009 at 12:33
I'm not as clued up on comics as some of the people here but i'd definitely recommend the first two volumes of the Ultimates. (v3 sucked and i've not read anything related since)
Stitch on 24/8/2009 at 15:04
Quote Posted by Thirith
Do you mean "horribly" in the sense of "in a sad way", or do you think that the series, the writing or the story, get really bad towards the end?
It ends very poorly, from a writing and plotting and character development standpoint. Granted, the comic wasn't exactly at the head of the class during its prime, but for awhile there it at least was a decent breezy read.
Spoilerish for the series but nothing too bad, no specific details are mentioned:
The strength of the series was the world itself, and the thought and care writer Vaughan obviously put into it. The result of countless late night "what if?" brainstorming sessions is laid out on every page, although Vaughan
never digs too deep regarding the nihilism that would undoubtedly take root in a world without an obvious future (see Children of Men).Vaughan is a bit of a mixed bag of a writer, although about halfway through the series all the gears click in place and
Y the Last Man essentially turns into the literature equivalent of delicious fast food, which I mean as a compliment. Vaughan tends to move the plot too quickly--most setpieces feel like sketches to be expanded later--but the upside is nothing overstays its welcome. He manages to find the right balance between annoying and likable with protagonist Yorick, which was a relief as I spent the first few books hating him (
although it must be said that the Safeword plotline that works as the turning point for Yorick feels awkwardly grafted in from another series entirely).Holy shit spoilers for the last book, proceed with caution:
The fatal problem with the series is its utterly botched ending, with Yorick finally reuniting with Beth only to lose his shit like a teenager because he found out she had been planning on dumping him back when he was an utter tool. Yorick had been through quite a bit to reunite with Beth at this point, and you'd think he would have gained the maturity to handle the situation with more nuance than that. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have walked out on Beth, but the execution was cartoonish at best. Any human being would be a complex mix of emotions at that point, but Vaughan handles the scene like a guy attempting glasswork with a sledgehammer.
If the series ended there I'd still consider it to be a botched but decent read, but then Vaughan tacks on an unforgivably lazy epilogue that sums up who wound up with who, which is a hallmark of terrible writing (protip: what happens is not the story, how it happens is). Even if you ignore the sloppy execution, the denouement makes very little sense--why, exactly, would his sister and Beth suddenly go gay for each other, beyond the fact that it provides an easy tying of two disparate loose ends? Nothing that happens in this final chapter is supported by the rest of the series, it's unearned and insulting and borderline meanspirited.So yeah,
Y the Last Man isn't worth anyone's time.
EvaUnit02 on 29/8/2009 at 05:04
So I placed a order on Amazon for Batman: Cataclysm and the first three volumes of No Man's Land. I contemplating just starting with Grant Morrison's run, but decided it would be more rewarding to work my way through the last decade's worth of stories, that way I could read stuff like the Hush arc in the proper context. That and the No Man's Land arc sounds extremely interesting.
I also got the third volume of "30 Days of Night" for free from my regular videogame e-tailer. I haven't read it yet, but I like the art style, it seems reminiscent of Ashley Wood.
thefonz on 29/8/2009 at 06:01
Just back on the 52 subject; thats actually the book that got me interested in the comic genre - its very very good at explaining whats going on in the DC Universe and (despite) being easy to pick up and go through - you dont need to know much about whats gone on before.
Checkout Old Man Logan by Mark Millar (currently waiting on the final issue) - if you like the "fucked up-what if" storylines of the future - but obviously only if you know the background to XMen and the general Marvel Universe.
I just finished the most uptodate Captain America and a mate passed me his Daredevil volumes by Brian Bendis which are dark and somewhat shocking.
Is anyone with me on the Hellboy comics? I seem to pick one up everytime I wander into Forbidden Planet :thumb:
Stitch - totally agree on Y: The Last Man; dont believe the hype and I'll bet the only reason they want to make a movie with Shite Le Boof is because "omg! lesbians".
Few others that sit outside the DC/Marvel split:
* Sandman - fucking awesome storytelling and beautiful artwork but does take time to get through
* The Authority - again, really well played and interesting take on the superhero morality
* Scott Pilgrim - buy them all.now.read them.
* Unwritten - a newish comic series that promises alot; kind of a backwards, more adult Harry Potter - but not really.
* DeadSpace - surprisingly good game-tie-in that verges on the fucked up aswell as providing backstory to the game.
But yeah...Green Lantern...
Matthew on 29/8/2009 at 10:46
Agents of Atlas. Go. Buy it now.
ZylonBane on 29/8/2009 at 14:09
No mention of Alan Moore's run on
Swamp Thing? You guys are slipping.
Also, (
http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Girl Genius is technically a western comic book. It is also awesome.
Matthew on 29/8/2009 at 14:46
Zylon, I think I love you. Girl Genius is pretty damn awesome; its sister title Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire is reasonable too.
Chuck on 29/8/2009 at 15:31
Can't really call it Western, but Heavy Metal is still out there, though it's been trimmed to bi-monthly.
