2/4/2016
Topic:
DC Elseworlds
shoggoth80
|
Hey all. New to the site. Checked the DC forum, saw two threads. Figured I would chime in, see if anyone wants to chatter back.
I've liked comics pretty much as long as I have been able to read (Superman was awesome when I was like 5). I still have some in my collection that I picked up when I was 10 or 11 or so. Some I've purchased recently were ones I read when I was younger, but never managed to pick up. I'm pretty casual, and tend to get things that just strike my fancy in one way or another.
I've been digging on the Elseworlds stuff lately. I know not all of it is considered good. What I have read so far is generally interesting. Neat to see a character that you are familiar with, and enjoy take on a slightly different form, and context.
Recent reads and acquisitions include:
Batman: Gotham By Gaslight
Batman: Master of the Future
Superman: Red Son
Superman: Speeding Bullets
Batman: I, Joker
Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham
Batman: Holy Terror
Batman: Year 100
Batman: Castle of the Bat
Yes. I like Batman. Lol. I like Superman well enough too. The Dark Knight Returns is probably one of my favorite all time Bats stories. My sister got that for me ages ago as a birthday gift (currently boxed up, because of anticipated move in the near future). I want to grab a copy of Kingdom Come. Also interested in Batman: Vampire (the collected volume), Batman: Nosferatu, Batman: Gotham Noir. Thrillkiller, and possibly Two Faces. I missed a lot of these as they were coming out, they seem creative, and not terribly difficult to acquire in terms of "completing" a collection. Interested in also reading The Nail, and Golden Age.
Anyone else dig these? Recommendations? Avoids? |
2/5/2016
Topic:
DC Elseworlds
shoggoth80
|
Yeah, The Nail seemed like an interesting enough premise to take a spin off of. I have to admit that I am partially tempted by Superman's Metropolis and Batman Nosferatu because I have seen, and like both of those movies, and early German expressionist film is cool in my book. I am glad this topic generated a bit of banter. Like I said, I've been pretty casual in terms of collecting, but I like the medium, and most of the stories well enough (superhero comics, graphic novels etc.). I did enjoy Kal-El as the Bat though... a fairly ruthless rendition, even for the Batman. |
2/6/2016
Topic:
DC Elseworlds
shoggoth80
|
Red Son was a really good one. Of all the alternate origin stories, that one was the most intriguing. As much a political commentary as it was a Superman story. I should go reread it again. It is very much a self contained story.
edited by shoggoth80 on 2/6/2016 |
2/6/2016
Topic:
Dark Horse Comics...Star Wars series
shoggoth80
|
I don't particularly care if they are cannon or not. Lol. I've got Dark Empire 1 and 2 graphic novels (though I have read the whole story before), Menace Revealed omnibus, and am keeping an eye out for the others (Heir, Legacy, Tales, Shadow of the Empire etc). Also highly interested in reading Marvel's Darth Vader and Vader Down. The art in Dark Empire is different, and in my own mind a little ambitious in general.
I don't think they can order anything that has already been printed, and in circulation destroyed. They could possibly put a halt on future printings, but I don't think that they could pull something like destroying what is already in circulation. That would mean coercing people to give up their private property.
A movie about Exar Kun, and Ulic Qel Droma would be pretty brute. Hell, one about the original Exiles would be kinda rad too. I tend to favor the Sith lore over the Jedi lore. Freedon Nad, Ajunta Pall etc.
edited by shoggoth80 on 2/6/2016
edited by shoggoth80 on 2/6/2016
edited by shoggoth80 on 2/6/2016 |
2/6/2016
Topic:
Any Graphic Novel Recommendations?
shoggoth80
|
Dude... Dark Knight Returns if you haven't gotten hands on it yet. That is one of my favorite Batman stories. I'll second Superman Earth One. I've only read the first volume, but it's a good clean start. V for Vendetta was a very good book. I really (no REALLY) like Hellblazer, and in particular Original Sins, and Highwater graphic novels. The Walking Dead volumes are pretty good too, but have gotten numerous (I've only got up to 13). Weapon X has always been pretty rad. I recently picked up, and read, and then re-read Superman Red Son. For Spiderman... I gotta toss out a recommendation for 2099. |
2/7/2016
Topic:
Deadpool movie
shoggoth80
|
Gonna go see it Saturday. Looking forward to it. |
2/7/2016
Topic:
DC Elseworlds
shoggoth80
|
I'm not sure which to pick up on payday. Lol. There's a lot of good stuff out there. Looking hard at Kingdom Come, The Nail, Golden Age in terms of Elseworlds. Also looking at titles that fall into what would have been traditional cannon, as well as the Earth One Batman volumes, and volumes 2 and 3 of Superman Earth One. I'm a pretty fast reader, so burning through volumes isn't a daunting task. Lol. |
2/7/2016
Topic:
Batman The Killing Joke
shoggoth80
|
Very nice. I'm not so into comics as to bother getting anything graded (yet), but that's still cool. Isn't pretty much anything above a 9 about as nice as you are gonna find out in the wild? |
2/8/2016
Topic:
Musing on Conan.
shoggoth80
|
Ok. I have the Robert E. Howard set of Conan books, and they are great. Have some of his other titles too (Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Almuric). I like the general world set with these tales. Looking for a jumping off point really. Do these follow the same "tales told around a campfire" feel that the Howard books do? In that you can pick them up mostly wherever and follow along? Is there a specific continuity?
It seems that Conan has been around for a long time in comic/graphic novel format, well before I was born. The Dark Horse stuff interests me. By that merit, I kinda want to read Red Sonja too (Dynamite). Anyone pick up the King Conan titles? I noticed Hour of the Dragon in there (which is a great story in and of itself, speaking on the original). Also, found a Conan of the Isles, which looks like a one shot story.
My local Half Price Books has some of the older issues in their comics bin, but I'm not betting on anything resembling completion in any way. It's a little daunting, simply because there is so much of it out there. I haven't checked the local-ish shops. Lots of Amazon wishlisting happening. I've been taking an hour or two a night to read lately, and flying through volumes, while fun, doesn't take too long. Lol. |
2/10/2016
Topic:
Musing on Conan.
shoggoth80
|
Ok, I dug these up at a local-ish book store. Chronicles of Conan Vol.4 and Movie Special #1. The movie special is a little more of a "just because." Price was right enough on both of them. |
2/16/2016
Topic:
Musing on Conan.
shoggoth80
|
Sooo much Conan! Lol.
That in fact is part of the issue of "Where to start?" I have the original stories, they're great. The sheer volume of collected Conan comics/graphic novels is staggering. |
2/16/2016
Topic:
Batman Year 100
shoggoth80
|
So, I finally read this title. I got it as the hardcover deluxe graphic novel. Now I kind of want to get the 4 individual issues for collection reasons. Lol.
The artwork is absolutely off the hook. I like it. The batsuit in this rendition strikes me as something that one would have put together on limited resources. This is a slightly gritty, resourceful Batman in a less than happy future. Pretty nifty premise. Also, Bats gets the crap knocked out of him more than once. Shows some vulnerability/humanity. I suppose that one could take the angle of expressing social concerns over waning privacy, and increasing police state in our current society. On the other hand, even if you remove the social commentary from it, it's just a fun story. I tend to like dystopian sci-fi type stuff.
I've never read anything by Pope before. This ranks up there as one of the more interesting Batman stories for me. I loved Frank Miller's Year One, and Dark Knight Returns. The Long Halloween, the Man Who Laughs, and Killing Joke were also very, very good. I have a number of others on my "to read" list.
Anyone else read this one? Anyone have theories on the identity of this Batman? I thought it was neat that this book referenced some of the other notable Batman stories over the years. Could Bruce's massive amounts of money bought him the ability to seriously slow down aging? Is it an adopted title? Is he the manifestation of Gotham's collective need? At the end he is called by Bruce. Legends never die? In this story the enigma seems to be more powerful, and more important than the man.
I also think the forums could stand to have a bit more discussion. Lol.
edited by shoggoth80 on 2/16/2016 |
2/17/2016
Topic:
Batman Year 100
shoggoth80
|
I believe he did. |
2/19/2016
Topic:
Dark Knight:The Master Race/DKIII
shoggoth80
|
I have to preface this with the fact that Frank MIller's Batman material heavily impacted my expectations of what makes a good Batman story. I first read Year One, and the Dark Knight Returns when I was 10 or 11. My sister gave me the really neat hardcover version of (what was then) The Complete Frank Miller Batman. Loved it. Still have it. So many years later. I've got The Dark Knight Strikes Again as digital, but I this is one I am gonna have to add hard copy.
Out of my collection, I have (I think) more Batman than anything else. Hellblazer might give it a run for the money though.
I've only recently found out about Dark Knight: The Master Race / DKIII. I ran out and bought books 1 and 2, and book 3 is on next week's pick up list. I'm pretty excited for this to be happening. I'm almost tempted to do the hardcover collector volumes...because.
Just had to let my inner fanboy jump out for a second. |
2/20/2016
Topic:
Rebirth 2016
shoggoth80
|
So, DC is admitting they screwed their continuity like crazy. Lol.
There's titles in there that I certainly wouldn't mind reading. Batman, Hellblazer, and Superman make up the bulk of my DC reading, but I also like characters like Green Arrow, Lantern, Flash, the JLA, Nightwing (haven't read much though. Fixable). If they do a good job on these, I'm in. Lol. |
2/22/2016
Topic:
Dark Knight:The Master Race/DKIII
shoggoth80
|
So, after burning through the first two issues (I think the third is on this week's list, if I remember what the guy at the local shop said), and I rather like it. The artwork in it is less, for a lack of better word, bombastic. DK2 was a bit out there at times. The story seems to have a good set up to drive the plot. I'm glad to see the return of Carrie Kelly. Seems like the world of Frank Miller's Batman is in a whole heap though. Lol. Anxious for the 3rd book to hit shelves. |
2/22/2016
Topic:
SPAM Question
shoggoth80
|
It is rather irritating. Seems to come from a handful of users. Is the best way to help (as a user) to report the various spam posts? I tried seeing if there was a way to report a user, but I didn't readily see one. |
2/22/2016
Topic:
Dark Knight:The Master Race/DKIII
shoggoth80
|
I have to admit that I am sorely tempted by the hardcover collector issues. I like hardcover as a general rule. Far more durable. |
2/25/2016
Topic:
Hello from one of the new guys...
shoggoth80
|
Having decided to re-indulge this hobby, I can somewhat empathize. I took a break, and a fairly lengthy one, from actively seeking out stuff. This means that there was plenty that I missed on. Lol. Catch up is expensive. There's a couple key titles that I've tossed on subscription...but the rest is mostly prestige format stuff, and collected graphic novels. It's all fun. |
2/25/2016
Topic:
Format Preference?
shoggoth80
|
I don't know if this was ever discussed on the old forums, because I wasn't a member at that point.
I can preface this with: I used to work in a library. Therefore I have a fondness for hard copy printed materials. I generally like my books analog. Lol.
However, there are some upsides that I see to the digital medium. They don't require box or shelf space. Organization is pretty quick and painless. I have been told that with the right tablet reading digital comics is easy and enjoyable. What gets me here is the idea of putting together a tablet with a fair amount of material on it for travel. When I last road tripped, and brought books... It was my whole stack of Hellblazer graphic novels. I wasn't the driver, and Kansas was boring. I read through the whole stack. However, an e-reader of some kind would have been a much smaller thing to pack along. This alone has merit.
Fast forward a bit, and I have re-indulged buying issues/graphic novels after a few years of mostly not. The collection grows, shelf space dwindles, and I still love the physical format. There is something gratifying about viewing your collection on the shelf, in hand etc. And plopping down in a chair with a book, or comic in hand is still a relaxing thing.
That said, I have several gigs of digital format books. Some of them are titles I own in hard copy, several are not, and some I would like to purchase both of, because I like the story enough to warrant that. I mostly read them at my computer, because my PC is my entertainment hub. So, my collection is probably a good 50-50 split between what I have read hard copy, and what I have read digitally. I don't want to fully embrace digital copy as the sole medium, as I believe it would be a sad day to see the elimination of printed material. I also do not want to embrace solely hard copy either, because I acknowledge the speed and convenience of digital delivery and subscription. I fall more into the hard copy camp than the digital camp when all is fleshed out though. Digital is convenient, but it also often feels like "settling for the next best thing" when it comes down to the volumes themselves.
What are the hive mind thoughts on this subject? Not trying to start any kind of flame war, or format bashing. Just trying to solicit some discussion, and insight of other members. Most new titles that I see available (say on Amazon) tend to have a Kindle/ComiXology delivery option. Curious on the prevalence of this method, other people's experiences with using digital, and overall standpoint on the topic.
edited by shoggoth80 on 2/25/2016 |
