It is not all bolter fire, spinning chain swords and unending fight scenes. This is solid gothic science fiction written by someone who has as much affection for the subject matter as his audience. I'm in the for next 18 books!
Abnett is a master! I’ve always been passionate about 40k, but whenever I read their fiction outside of the core rule books, most authors left me flat. Abnett changed my mind with the Eisenhorn books, and I have been a devotee of his 40k work ever since. It only gets better from here!
But in a world that has a million super hero titles we can easily read 5+ without having to PICK a favorite. However, if there are two mouse books there must be a winner. Both books are set up completely different with largely different plots and mythos so there should be no problem reading both. Im going to continue reading Mouse Guard because it is beautiful and I think reading it to my kids will be grand. And I would never say your wrong Jeppe ... but your wrong
I totally agree, weird how we polarize our views with these two books as if they were political parties… though for the record I think the
Guard will have more resonance getting future generations into comics than
Templar ever could. Take from that what you will knowing I love both!
I wonder how Bendis' of earth 2 evolved, when he stuck with drawing as opposed to writing. There was a gem of something really special in his crime comics artwork.
The work Bendis did with photo ref and the darkness of it all really had a cool look. I think on said earth two he would be the art partner/collaborator for Brubaker’s comic empire…
Dove right into the middle of my list and started with
Flashpoint: The world of Flashpoint featuring Batman.
The first story Knight of Vengeance from Azzarello and Risso was awesome. I think it gives us an unexpected dimension to the Wayne lineage. When we think of Bruces origin, we enoble Thomas for stepping up, but we always imagine him as having this perfect moment of heroism that ends in tragedy. To see him driven and determined, almost embittered by flashpoints twisting of the events we know so well tells us a lot about Bruce’s propensity for obsession that had never really been explored before (in my eyes anyway). I also think his reasoning for changing the world , the surprise reveal of the joker, and the note he passes across the time stream make for amazing closure for Bruce’s original war on crime and open him up to a new and invigorated pursuit of justice without the burden of chasing forgiveness or vengeance. Now there is only the mission. Only justice, and I dig that!
Deadman and the Flying Graysons, was an interesting if all too short exploration of Haley’s circus and the life Dick leaves behind. I thought the art was surprisingly fitting, and had this very circus poster style that really fit, but once the obvious deaths happened, I think Krul and Jani started off with a cool premise, but Krul failed to deliver on an ending with any real closure or meaning.
Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager had a lot of promise. Palmiotti and Bennett were definite draws for me, but this was another occasion where the premise was attractive, but the execution didn’t have enough time to find its voice because the story was so – for lack of a better word – obvious. Slade is a pirate, which is super cool. He has a mercenary crew which will obviously betray him in his quest for his daughter, and he is a heartless bastard who will prevail with unexpected brutality. Felt like a filler issue for Jonah Hex that got reworked and found a home here.
Secret Seven. I loved this mini, went out and bought the Ditko Shade Omnibus, cause the concept seems so out there (and foreign to me character wise), that I am eager to know the history so I can really acknowledge what changed and what didn’t for the Flashpoint event. Miligan’s story was tight and full of twists and turns, and while I wasn’t feeling Perez at first, by midway through the second issue he had me. Very cool all around. I want to know more about what may, or may not be a sentient madness vest!
I am a little over half way through Armor by John Steakly. The first hundred or so pages were really fun and action packed (once you get passed the writers obvious desire to tell a story in the Starship Troopers universe). The second part which so far has no connection to the first is also fun and intriguing, but such a change of pace from the first section's offering, that the transition was a little jarring at the jump. Looking forward to seeing how Jack Crowe’s heist on Sanction in the second section is related to Felix and his Engine’s combat drop on an Ant infested world in the first!
Once that’s done I’m planning on diving into all of Xombi and the new Felx Mentallo hardcover which I just got in the mail. Can’t wait!
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