999 Reading Challenge Review and Discussion Tread

[Purdie]

Some quick reviews...

Singles Catch-Up Section
When DC re-launched their line there were several series that I thought I would try for the first 6 and then decide whether I wanted to carry on with them: 

DCnU Batgirl #2 – 6
I’ve always liked Gail Simone’s writing especially on the Secret Six which was amazing.  This was one of the new DCU titles that I was concerned about.  Could taking Barbara Gordon, who was a great character as Oracle, and putting her back as Batgirl work?  I think it does, and if you squint a bit the Oracle stuff can kind of still exist.  It was a fun read and I’ll be sticking with this one for now. 

DCnU Blue Beetle #2 – 6
This is a strange one.  I liked the story and the art quite a bit but I feel like I’ve read it all before.  The first 25 issues of the previous Blue Beetle series by John Rogers, Keith Giffin, Cully Hamner et al, was great.  I really liked that series.  Do I really want to read that story (or one very similar) again?  Not really.  I might buy the following issues digitally if I hear good things but otherwise this is a pass for me. 

DCnU Green Lantern Corps #2 – 6
DCnU Green Lantern New Guardians #2 – 6
I think I’m having a bit of Green Lantern overload at the moment.  I thought both of these titles were pretty good and I’m a big fan of the different Green Lantern characters, Kyle especially who was GL when I started reading comics seriously, but... I think I need to take a break.  The decision was easier because I know I can pick them up digitally later, and I fully expect I will (during a sale most likely).
 

[heylook]

#2

Explorer: Mystery Boxes

The “Flight” comics anthology always grabbed my attention off the shelves at the library, but I never actually checked them out, despite the praise from the Eisner’s and people I respected. I didn’t know what they were about, and wasn’t big on anthologies (still am not really) – but when I saw this new series solicited many months ago, I thought I’d get in on the ground floor and check it out.

I’m not familiar with Kazu Kibuishi or any of the other creators involved and have a really miniscule knowledge in “all ages” and “young adult” comics…so I went in blindly, hoping that praise from their previous work and the theme of the series would win me over.

And in a way, it did. It’s massively short and simple, and though it’s a little too cute for my tastes in general, it’s enjoyable for what it is and can definitely see myself enjoying these stories if we rewound the years a couple of decades.

The basic premise of the “Explorer” series will be to introduce a new concept with each issue, I believe and the first one is “Mystery Boxes” – where we get 7 short comic stories that vary in tone and topic, but all deal with some sort of BOX. Most are silly, some have good morals, but they would all make nice animated shorts.

Anyway, there isn’t much to say, because there isn’t much substance. It reads incredibly fast and there is nothing groundbreaking, but the art is nice enough if you like stuff aimed at children and the stories are all pretty fun. I’ll recc it if you can find it at the library, but you probably don’t need to go out of your way to buy it.

3/5

[erikh42]

DCnU Green Lantern Corps #2 – 6

I think I’m having a bit of Green Lantern overload at the moment.  I thought both of these titles were pretty good and I’m a big fan of the different Green Lantern characters, Kyle especially who was GL when I started reading comics seriously, but... I think I need to take a break.  The decision was easier because I know I can pick them up digitally later, and I fully expect I will (during a sale most likely).
  

Green Lantern Corps has managed to remain fairly interesting IMO.  It feels like Stewart is on a bit of a downward trend after the War of the Lanterns and this most recent arc.  I'm curious to see if his descent continues.  Plus this is the only place to get the non-stop excitement that is Guy Gardner!

[Night (Travis) Nurse]

I was thinking a little more about the whole Empowered thing and I realized I should make it clear, that I'm not judging people who do enjoy it. It's really well drawn. The good Dr. was asking for opinions on the book. I think everyone articulated their sides well, and he has plenty of thoughts to consider. A better to response to David's statement about cheesecake relates to the actual dessert. I can't imagine sitting down by myself and eating a whole cheesecake in one sitting. I can't even imagine eating more than a small piece in one year. You stop when you've had enough. That's different for everyone.

No offense even remotely interpreted. Different strokes (no masturbation pun intended) make the world go around.

DCnU Green Lantern Corps #2 – 6
DCnU Green Lantern New Guardians #2 – 6
I think I’m having a bit of Green Lantern overload at the moment.  I thought both of these titles were pretty good and I’m a big fan of the different Green Lantern characters, Kyle especially who was GL when I started reading comics seriously, but... I think I need to take a break.  The decision was easier because I know I can pick them up digitally later, and I fully expect I will (during a sale most likely).
 

Corps is the only one that Ive stayed with. I feel the same way you do about Guardians, I really want to like it but Im on overload of GL and as Erikh said Guy brings the excitement.

I read Amulet Vol. 4 this week. Still continues to be such a great series. The art style and animation is beautiful. The story continues to unfold in a more elaborate manner. This is the kind of series I would love to see the creators of Avatar pick up and turn into something, it seems like it would translate to TV so well.

Travis

[Purdie]

Green Lantern Corps has managed to remain fairly interesting IMO.  It feels like Stewart is on a bit of a downward trend after the War of the Lanterns and this most recent arc.  I'm curious to see if his descent continues.  Plus this is the only place to get the non-stop excitement that is Guy Gardner!

Corps is the only one that Ive stayed with. I feel the same way you do about Guardians, I really want to like it but Im on overload of GL and as Erikh said Guy brings the excitement.

 

Yeah, I did like these 2 titles, and I agree GLC was the better of the two, but I didn’t like them enough to have to keep getting them monthly.  I’ve been able to be a bit more ruthless with cutting titles in the last 18 months.  I moved abroad so switched from getting my comics weekly from my LCS to getting them monthly from DCBS.  When I see my monthly order is 80+ comics, it makes me eager to cut some.  80+ a month is just too much, especially when you add hardbacks, OGN’s and all the great comics I want to re-read.  So titles like the ones above are necessary casualties for now. 

On a related note, seeing the full monthly order highlighted Marvel’s double shipping of late as well.  I’m not sure I would have noticed it as clearly if I was just picking my books up every week.  Again, when I’m trying to reach a manageable order, books that consistently come out twice a month are easier to cut too.  In the last 6 months I have dropped...

X-Men Legacy
Avengers Academy
Secret Avengers
Thunderbolts
Captain American and...
Mighty Thor
Journey Into Mystery
Hulk
Invincible Iron Man
Wolverine (jumped when Aaron left)

...which is a shame because most of them I enjoyed quite a bit and would likely buy once a month.  I know there has been a lot said on Marvel’s double shipping so I won’t go on too much, it just seems crazy to me.  And the quality and consistency of many of the books is really suffering. 

Enough of that, back to the 999 Challenge!!! 

[evaD]

New Mutants OGN - I've read this many times over the years and have always loved the characters and their introduction into the Marvel universe. The story is strong but wordy, in typical Claremont style. Reading it is like visiting a place you lived in years ago, familiar and strangely different at the same time. One thing is sure, I wish Marvel would have done more with some of those characters. I've always thought more could have been done with Danielle, Roberto and Shan.

Futurians Marvel OGN - Dave Cockrum goodness. I've often wondered if this comic was ghost written by Chris Claremont. That feeling was even stronger after reading the New Mutants and Futurians back to back. Word choice is different, as Claremont has many go to phrases, but there is something about the way the story is constructed and written that feels like Claremont X-Men. The art is crisp, clean, and classic. But everything about the book is like stepping back into the early 80s. Despite being text heavy it's a quick read with a really cool concept: In the future there are two groups battling for supremacy over the earth. One group decides to erase the other by going back in time. This damages the sun, threatening all remaining life on earth. The other group can't travel back in time but they can send genetic seeds back. These seeds go back in time, implanting into hosts and changing them physically. The leader of the people from the future has his consciousness sent back in time to orchestrate everything. The story is about the battle for the future in the present.

Stuff of Legend - I read this with my youngest son and he absolutely adores the book. The illustrations are beyond beautiful and the story is engaging for younger and older readers. I will simply say if you aren't reading this and haven't given it a look, you should check it out. It's comparable to Mouse Guard in terms of complexity and unique art style. This book should be receiving more attention than it does and winning awards.

[Tim H]

Stuff of Legend - I read this with my youngest son and he absolutely adores the book. The illustrations are beyond beautiful and the story is engaging for younger and older readers. I will simply say if you aren't reading this and haven't given it a look, you should check it out. It's comparable to Mouse Guard in terms of complexity and unique art style. This book should be receiving more attention than it does and winning awards.

Did you just read the first volume, or are you caught up now?  The reason that I ask, is that if you enjoyed the first trade this much then I can't wait for you to read the rest.  There are a few jaw dropping twist and turns that really took me by surprise.  This series just keeps getting better and better.  You are right, it should be winning awards. 

[Jeppe]

I will simply say if you aren't reading this and haven't given it a look, you should check it out. It's comparable to Mouse Guard in terms of complexity and unique art style. This book should be receiving more attention than it does and winning awards.

Couldn't agree more 

[heylook]

Yeah Stuff of Legend is one of my favorite series'...that being said, I believe all 3 of the collections (or the first two) were on the NYT bestsellers list, so it's not "unknown" so much as it's being read by a crowd different from the usual comics crowd.

The Jester story arc was definitely a step down for me, but yeah, the feel of the book is just great.

[heylook]

#3 and #4
Robotika Vol. 1 & Robotika Vol. 2: For a Few Rubles More by Alex Sheikman (Archaia)

I’ve been sitting on these two books for almost exactly a year, since I bought them at Wondercon 2011 at the (always) illustrious Archaia booth. If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know that I think Archaia puts out some of the best comic books out there, or at least most interesting  – but for whatever reason, though I’ve read my fair share of their books, I kept putting Robotika off, I got it on a whim and thus figured it probably wouldn’t really be my thing…

Little did I know that it sort of has the sub-headline of the “Steampunk Samurai” – when I thought it was primarily about robots. Oh and there’s a huge Old West/Cowboy influence too. Yeah, in premise it’s the ideal book for me.

Only, in content – it’s not quite there. Let’s be clear though. Alex Sheikman’s art in this book is fantastic. I’m not too familiar with him apart from his contribution to one of the Mouse Guard compilation books, but everything from his costume designs, backgrounds, action scenes and color is really amazingly awesome. It has a bit of a noir-y feel to it in place, his characters even have a passing resemblance to Sean Phillips’ work, but his colors are typically bright and his layouts are quite often mesmerizing. If you’re a fan of far-out artwork and big explosive fight scenes, you should get the books for that reason alone.

Where the books don’t quite match up is in the storytelling, pacing, and dialogue. The storytelling from page to page and issue from issue can be a bit confusing, the pacing and general story arc doesn’t quite make sense and the dialogue is dated and dull most of the time – like it can’t figure out it’s voice. As a mashup of different genres, it makes sense that there isn’t a true consistent voice, but the problem is that none of the voices are particularly strong. Add to that a supporting character, who through much of the books speaks in vertical word balloons (an interesting gimmick, but near impossible to read with any fluidity), and things just don’t really move in pace with the art.

I’m not entirely sure on what the story actually is – and I don’t know if you need to fully understand it or get into the characters to truly enjoy the book. Like I said, the premise, the design and the art are all wonderful and it’s fun. So it’s not an all-time classic or anything, but I’m sure there are some people who would dig it more than me and really vibe in the feel. Sheikman created an all-new world, and it’s a convincing one. Not many creators are able to do that.

Give it a shot.

3/5

[evaD]

Did you just read the first volume, or are you caught up now?  The reason that I ask, is that if you enjoyed the first trade this much then I can't wait for you to read the rest.  There are a few jaw dropping twist and turns that really took me by surprise.  This series just keeps getting better and better.  You are right, it should be winning awards. 

Oops sorry. It was volume 3 I just read. I loved the first two. I picked the first one up when Jason first talked about it on the show.

[Purdie]

EOC Host Picks Section
Wasteland Apocalyptic Edition Volume 1 by Anthony Johnson and Christopher Mitten
Continued from Section 2 Section
Wasteland Apocalyptic Edition Volume 2 by Anthony Johnson and Christopher Mitten

I read the first volume at the start of 999 but wanted to wait till I’d read the second volume as well before putting up my thoughts.  I’m a big fan of post apocalyptic stories and Wasteland is shaping up to be a good one.  I say ‘shaping up’ because even though these 2 volumes cover 25 issues of the series I think we’re only scratching the surface.  The pacing is quite slow which is fine when you are building a large world.  There are lots of characters and lots of detail.  But I am glad I read this in 2 big chunks though because I get the feeling it wouldn’t be as satisfying in single issues. 

The story?  World building is the name of the game here.  Characters, cultures, religions, towns and cities, the environment of the story is shown and described in detail.  I don’t want to spoil anything but it starts, as these stories often do, with a mysterious stranger arriving in a small impoverished town in the desert.  Through this stranger we are introduced to the world and some of the mysteries of it... and from there a tour of this new world begins.  If I was to compare it to other post apocalyptic stories I’d say it was in the vein of The Book of Eli (rather than The Road, or Mad Max, or Sweet Tooth) but with super powers and monsters. 

The art?  Hmm.  I’m in two minds about the art.  On the one hand I really like it, it’s emotive and expressive and it fits the bleak post apocalyptic world well but... I did find it hard to follow on several occasions.  Some of the characters are alike and I had to flick back and forth regularly to check who was who and what was going on.  So I suppose I’d split the art into 2, the art itself I liked, the storytelling was occasionally hard to follow.  For me.  But ultimately it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the 2 volumes.  Good stuff. 


Pre-Ordered and Finally Ordered Section
3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man by Matt Kindt

Just great.  Loved every page.  This book has obviously been talked about a lot here and I finally got round to buying and reading it.  Of course I wasn’t disappointed.  The art is fantastic and fits the story perfectly.  The hardback presentation is also very nice.  I don’t want to go into the story too much for people who haven’t read it but if you haven’t... buy it. 

[Jon O]

Love and Rockets

Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.

I'm really starting to enjoy the group of people that Jaime has created.  They are an eclectic bunch, and the first trade of their stories I had to kind of get to know everyone.  This book I just jumped right in and enjoyed living life with them.  The stories don't seem quite as heartfelt as the Gilbert stories I've read, but they're a lot more action packed and fast paced.  Maggie and Hopey are so freaking cute.

[Rustyautoparts (Russ Otto)]

I'm up to 10 books so far, but it's been a while since I've posted reviews. Here's some quick shots:

Fear Agent v. 1-3

Holy hell. This series deserves every bit of praise everyone heaps onto it. The art alone is magnificent. Sweet job by both Moore and Opena. The colors by Lee Loughridge make the art pop so perfectly. Simply stunning stuff. I'm loving how Remender is slowly revealing the world and everything happening in it. I started volume 1 planning on reading something else after it, but as soon as I got to the last page I ran to the bookshelf and grabbed the next 2 volumes. Couldn't put the damn thing down. I feel bad that I'm so late to the game on this one, but I didn't start buying comics til '09, so I just missed the boat. I'll be first in line for those omnibi.
5/5

American Vampire v. 2

Snyder's hitting it out of the park with this series. Another solid volume of vampires crossing with 20th Century Americana. Always a compelling read.
4/5

Empowered v. 2-3

This series has become a pleasure to read. It's just silly superhero sexy antics. However, the personalities of each character really shine as the series develops. I also love how Warren introduces something that seems completely off the wall and random, but when it's explained makes perfect sense. Similar to Stokoe and Graham in that respect. Great shit.
v.2: 4/5 v.3: 4.5/5

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War

I am a young(er) comics reader and DC fan, so older Marvel tales are out of my (very small) knowledge range. So it was with glee that I devoured the Kree/Skrull War. Some excellent art by three masters of the form, and excellent "Marvel Age" writing made me wish that comics were still written like this. If anyone has some recommendations for other vintage Marvel stories I should read next, I'd love to hear them.
4/5

I've really enjoyed every single thing I've read so far for the challenge. It makes me feel glad that I dropped a lot of the lack luster stuff from my pull list over the last few months because there's no shortage of awesome to be read. Next up, I'm tackling the Walt Simonson Thor Omnibus. Started last night, and Simonson sure knows how to write a first issue.

[Ryan 'gobo' C.]

Iron Council by China Mieville
It was interesting, lots of big ideas as is usual for Mieville but I never cared what happened to any of the main characters and the ending was more than a little unsatisfying. Cold.

13 down

[Night (Travis) Nurse]

I'm up to 10 books so far, but it's been a while since I've posted reviews. Here's some quick shots:

Fear Agent v. 1-3
Holy hell. This series deserves every bit of praise everyone heaps onto it. The art alone is magnificent. Sweet job by both Moore and Opena. The colors by Lee Loughridge make the art pop so perfectly. Simply stunning stuff. I'm loving how Remender is slowly revealing the world and everything happening in it. I started volume 1 planning on reading something else after it, but as soon as I got to the last page I ran to the bookshelf and grabbed the next 2 volumes. Couldn't put the damn thing down. I feel bad that I'm so late to the game on this one, but I didn't start buying comics til '09, so I just missed the boat. I'll be first in line for those omnibi.
5/5

Yea, after reading the first Im hooked. halfway through the second. Glad your new to this too and digging it as much as I am.

Empowered v. 2-3
This series has become a pleasure to read. It's just silly superhero sexy antics. However, the personalities of each character really shine as the series develops. I also love how Warren introduces something that seems completely off the wall and random, but when it's explained makes perfect sense. Similar to Stokoe and Graham in that respect. Great shit.
v.2: 4/5 v.3: 4.5/5

Also glad to see you enjoying the volumes more as the story progresses.

Travis

[Brian N.]

Been awhile since I’ve done reviews, but I have finished 15 books so far.  My pace has slowed down some since work has picked up the last few weeks.  I’ve got a work trip to San Fran next week (literal 24 hours there and coming right back) so I’ll have a lot of time in the air to catch up on some of this. 

Fallen Angel Omnibus 0

I love this series.  Peter David is brilliant and this is one of my favorite works of his.  This omnibus collects all of the issues that were published under DC, before it was moved to IDW.  David used some of the unused ideas from his previous Supergirl series in this mature readers epic about a possible angel that was cast down from heaven and offers help to those in need.  That said, Lee is not what you would picture in an angel.  She’s rude, crude, and can be a total bitch.  She’ll help people, but sometimes they regret it.  She deals with the dark side, and occasionally sleeps with it.  Basically, she’s a flawed character.  The supporting cast is almost exclusively made up of characters that would be the bad guys in any other series, and while they are here they often have redeeming qualities.  Bette Noir, the city and main setting of the book, takes on a life of its own and is as much of a character in the series as Lee herself is.  I don’t want to give away too much for anyone that’s interested in reading it, as there is a lot of mystery in the series, and much of it is answered in the IDW volumes. 

4.5/5

Saga of the Seven Suns

This is a prequel original graphic novel to the Kevin J Anderson series of the same name.  I originally read this comic before I read the series (it came out between book 2 and 3 of 7) and it colored some of my mental images while I was reading it.  This OGN was set several hundred years before the events of the book series, and fleshes out and shows some of the important historical events that impact the current story book series.  Anyone that loves Sci-Fi book series should give this one a try.  It is one of my all time favorite series.  It was nice to revisit this comic, as it has been a good six or seven years since I originally read it, if not more.  The art is awesome, and the story fits in perfectly with the book series and really enhances, which is all I can ask about a prequel. 

4/5

Wolverine Omnibus by Jason Aaron

This Marvel Omnibus collects all (or most) of Jason Aaron’s work on Wolverine.  I really don’t have much to say about it.  I didn’t think it was bad, but I really didn’t feel it added anything to the character or said anything new.  Aaron likes to point out that even though Logan heals, he feels pain (almost to the level of a Claremont tick of repeating certain sayings or phrases), tries to give him a relationship with a throw away reporter, and tries to make Mystique one of Wolverine’s main villains.  I did enjoy the storyline in a psych ward, and the Deathlock storyline was okay.  Again, I didn’t hate the book, didn’t love it.  I really felt like it was just there and didn’t add anything to Wolverine as a whole

2.5/5

Asterix

This just wasn’t my thing.  Glad I tried it, just not for me. 

2/5

[Tim H]

Saga of the Seven Suns

This is a prequel original graphic novel to the Kevin J Anderson series of the same name.  I originally read this comic before I read the series (it came out between book 2 and 3 of 7) and it colored some of my mental images while I was reading it.  This OGN was set several hundred years before the events of the book series, and fleshes out and shows some of the important historical events that impact the current story book series.  Anyone that loves Sci-Fi book series should give this one a try.  It is one of my all time favorite series.  It was nice to revisit this comic, as it has been a good six or seven years since I originally read it, if not more.  The art is awesome, and the story fits in perfectly with the book series and really enhances, which is all I can ask about a prequel. 

I think I read all of Kevin J. Anderson's Star Wars books when I was a kid and plowing through anything Star Wars related that I could get my hands on.  I'm going to have to check this out.  Amazon has it for less than $3 used, no reason not to.

[Ryan 'gobo' C.]

I Saw You - edited by Julia Wertz
There's a ton of stories in this, all based on/inspired by real-life Craigslist missed connections. Has a better batting average than most anthologies I read because they're mostly humor strips and even if they suck are very short. Surprised to see entries from Jeffrey Brown and Peter Bagge

[Night (Travis) Nurse]

Finished DC Legacies this morning, it was OK. I usually love these kinds of stories, any kind of history re-telling or year one books always sit well with me. I love the old heroes, especially pulp. Books like the Marvels Project are right up my alley. This started out strong but ended with a whimper. The book basically is a 10 issue series re telling the history of the DC universe from the perspective of a Metropolis cop who grew up watching the start from the Crimson Avenger to the modern heroes. The strongest thing this book does is switch artists for every era. The Golden Age is drawn by Kubert, the bronze by Perez and many others who were perfect fits. Where it falls flat is the ending decision. With the Marvels Project the clear ending was the rise of the modern SUPER hero. With legacies because they were telling the entire history it goes from the pulp hero to the Justice Society to the emergence of super powered beings, crises, parallax and the eventual rebirth of Hal as the Specter. There was no clear place to end the history lesson. Logically it would have made sense to end with Flash point but they didnt they just kind of ended it in an arbitrary place. The final story is told about the narrators life and I wasnt big how they ended his story.

Placing him in an old folks home with dementia where everyone thinkgs his stories about his life and the heroes are not real.

left a sour taste in my mouth. The other bonus with these issues are that each one has an 8 page backup story dealing with some character from that issues time period. Were given small stories about Challengers of the Unknown, The WWII army heroes, Adam Strange and many more that are drawn by some if the industries top talents. As pretty as they are the stories are not that interesting and I had trouble finishing them. All in all, a nice idea, poorly executed with some gem moments. 2/5

Travis