999 Reading Challenge Review and Discussion Tread

[Purdie]

Category 4 - Grant Morrison

I read Flex Mentallo 1 – 4 in time for this week’s discussion on the show.  Short review, I LOVED it.  I’m a massive fan of Morrison and Quitely individually but when you put them together it’s just magic. 

I don’t want to spoil it, it’s too good and you need to go in fresh.  I’ll just say that it’s a highly meta-textual and autobiographical work and says as much about Morrison as it does about comic books.  It’s a turn everything off, no distractions comic and I can’t wait to read it again when the hardcover arrives. 

I saw Vince tweet that the key to understanding Flex Mentallo was Morrison’s Supergods book.  I haven’t read that yet but having finished Flex Mentallo I can see what he means.  From what I’ve read, Supergods is a Morrison autobiography as well as a history of comics... Flex Mentallo could be described the same way. 

And if you’re asking yourself if the Wally Sage is supposed to be Grant Morrison... my favourite clue is that Wally Sage is Scottish.  When he’s lying in the kitchen there are Tennant’s lager cans all over the place.  No one other than a Scot would drink Tennant’s lager. 

[Ryan 'gobo' C.]

Finished up my third 9 with Acme Novelty Library (the collection from Pantheon) by Chris Ware

I think doing two Chris Ware books in the last couple weeks broke my brain, he's kinda overwhelming. I'm sure I missed some stuff (and I definitely skipped some stuff) but I think it's something I'm going to go back to repeatedly. Really genius comicbookery

Next 9
I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett
Maggie the Mechanic - Hernandez Bros
Storyteller - Archaia
Vampire Boy - Trillo & Risso
Pyongyang - Guy Delisle
Shade - Peter Milligan & Bachalo
Hey Buddy - Peter Bagge
Someday Funnies - Various
Alien Legion

[Rustyautoparts (Russ Otto)]

Morrison's JLA Deluxe v. 2
Full of the bombastic, mind-bending concepts we've come to expect from Morrison, JLA is a lot of fun when all the pieces are working. The only drawback to the series is the editorial meddling that stops the story from standing on its own. It's Morrison trying to run full speed ahead while there's a giant screaming gorilla hanging off his back. It just distracts and detracts from the whole thing. Rock of Ages is the standout in this volume, and I look forward to continuing on.

3.5/5

[PaulSharkey]

Category 4 - Grant Morrison

And if you’re asking yourself if the Wally Sage is supposed to be Grant Morrison... my favourite clue is that Wally Sage is Scottish.  When he’s lying in the kitchen there are Tennant’s lager cans all over the place.  No one other than a Scot would drink Tennant’s lager. 

 

[Brian N.]

No time for reviews right now, but I'm 21 down.  I think I'm going to wrap up my manga category this week or early next week.  I only have 2 and a half books to read on that one. 

What I've read so far:
Astrix
Memories of Outer Space
Skydoll
Ender's Game
Mega Man: Time Keeps Slipping
Saga of the Seven Suns
Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis
The Stand - Captain Trips
Bleach
Death Note
Gantz
One Piece
Scott Pilgrim
Evolutionary War
Wolverine by Jason Aaron
Night Circus
Serpent's Shadow
Justice League Europe 1 - 4
Magik
Mephisto Vs.
Fallen Angel Omnibus 0

[Night (Travis) Nurse]

Finished Hellboy Library edition 2 last night. In my attempt to catch up on this universe Im now 2 deep in both B.P.R.D. and Hellboy and Im liking B.P.R.D. much better. The second library edition contains chained coffin and other stories as well as the Right Hand of Doom trades. The first half of the library edition was mainly short stories that were good but very few are going to memorable in the long run. We then get a little more continuity story in the Chained Coffin and Right had of Doom arc. But really only about 5 issues of this HC are part of the overall story. Hellboy continues to be a great character with a fantastic supporting cast but the amount of short 2-3 page stories in the edition left me a little cold. Well see what happens in the 3rd book. 3.5/5

Travis

[Tim H]

Finished Hellboy Library edition 2 last night. In my attempt to catch up on this universe Im now 2 deep in both B.P.R.D. and Hellboy and Im liking B.P.R.D. much better. The second library edition contains chained coffin and other stories as well as the Right Hand of Doom trades. The first half of the library edition was mainly short stories that were good but very few are going to memorable in the long run. We then get a little more continuity story in the Chained Coffin and Right had of Doom arc. But really only about 5 issues of this HC are part of the overall story. Hellboy continues to be a great character with a fantastic supporting cast but the amount of short 2-3 page stories in the edition left me a little cold. Well see what happens in the 3rd book. 3.5/5

Travis

Wait until you get to the 3rd B.P.R.D. hc.  That is the one where the series really took off for me.  The second collection got better and better as it went and ended super strongly.  The third one though was what I was looking for out of the series.  I loved it.

[whirlwindx]

Numbers 13 and 14 down in the challenge.

20th Century Boys vol.18 & 19

So good! Big happenings. I don't have Vol.20 in my reading challenge but I'm going to read it shortly after I finish Flex Mentallo.

[Night (Travis) Nurse]

Wait until you get to the 3rd B.P.R.D. hc.  That is the one where the series really took off for me.  The second collection got better and better as it went and ended super strongly.  The third one though was what I was looking for out of the series.  I loved it.

Good to know, I had a feeling based on everything I know about Hellboy that Ill love this book.

I finished up Fear Agent Vol. 2 today. More of the same goodness. I'm really grooving on the art and story choices here. Jarome took over art duties for Moore on this volume and although hes not as detailed on the sci fi stiff as Moore it still works very well and they're similar enough to not break the vibe of the book. Looking forward to more.

Travis

[RickV]

A Dance With Dragons
I guess due to the current nature of this property I will split this into two sections.

General:
I am part of the small group of Ice and Fire fans whose favorite book is the 4th one. Personally it is where Martin's writing style really becomes apparent and the books change from character creation/studies to mood/atmospheric pieces which go really well and the whole book seems to share a theme that is linked to the titles. This continues in Book 5 and while I did not enjoy as much for reasons I will go into below I did come out of that book eagerly awaiting how in only two more books he will tie a bow around it.

Not

I still think the Aegon reveal is an 11th hour ass pull and not set up well enough for me to buy, everything else though works really well except for a couple characters who I really don't need to follow as much, what happened to Snow was perfect because that character was acting way more naive than he realized and got properly punished for it, as well as Kevan and Pycelle and Quentyn

[S. Earl]

Akira Books 1-6

Jesus Christ that was alot of pages, so many that I forgot half of the events from my previous reads. Dense. I think I actually like the ending of the movie better, at least the final scene, but everything else is obviously superior in the Manga pages. As I said before, it deserves it's own thread so I'll save my thoughts for there. ONWARD TO USAGI YOJIMBO.

A Dance With Dragons
I guess due to the current nature of this property I will split this into two sections.

General:
I am part of the small group of Ice and Fire fans whose favorite book is the 4th one. Personally it is where Martin's writing style really becomes apparent and the books change from character creation/studies to mood/atmospheric pieces which go really well and the whole book seems to share a theme that is linked to the titles. This continues in Book 5 and while I did not enjoy as much for reasons I will go into below I did come out of that book eagerly awaiting how in only two more books he will tie a bow around it.

Not

I still think the Aegon reveal is an 11th hour ass pull and not set up well enough for me to buy, everything else though works really well except for a couple characters who I really don't need to follow as much, what happened to Snow was perfect because that character was acting way more naive than he realized and got properly punished for it, as well as Kevan and Pycelle and Quentyn

Pretty much agree. 4 isn't my favorite, but I don't get the hate. It's a solid read. In regards, to Dance, I quite liked it with the exception of the endless pages devoted to Dany.

[Andrew a.k.a. Fist-of-Khonshu]

I'm 2/3 of the way through Stray Toasters by Bill Sienkiewicz. This is one weird and trippy book. Love the art, but it is a little all over the place storywise. A little hard to follow, but I have understood most of it so far.

[Jon O]

Stray Toasters is so fucked.

[Lesson_25]

20th Century Boys
Vols 1 & 2
1999

My manga reading has been limited to Lone Wolf and Cub for a very long time, but that has finally changed thanks to forum recommendations and this challenge.

This book is spectacular. Absolutely first rate. I usually rank books based on how much I am emotionally affected during the read. With that being said, these two volumes easily earn 5 stars. 20th Century Boys creates a sense of nostalgia, wonder, anticipation, and suspense unlike most anything I've ever read, comics or otherwise. I fully expected to be disappointed with Volume 2 after falling in love with Volume 1, but instead became even more engrossed with the unfolding epic set before me. Naoki Urasawa's storytelling is absolutely top notch. The art is so very good, but the storytelling is just a joy to behold.

I'm excited that there are 20 more volumes ahead of me, but disappointed that it has taken me so long to read this story. This will be a re-read for sure. Thanks to the forum for the recommendation.

5/5


G.I. Joe: Frontline
Issues 1 - 18
2002

I picked up this full run off of eBay for a binding project (it hit my under $0.50/issue eBay threshold). Not having read any G.I. Joe since picking up the first few issues at a local drugstore as a kid, I wasn't sure what to expect. Overall, the trip down 18 issues varied between painful and entertaining. I know, not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I expected a lot from the first story arc, considering it was written by Mr. G.I. Joe himself, Larry Hama. I was extremely disappointed and it was pretty tough to get through these first 4 issues of Frontline. I know he was trying to capture the feel of the original series, but it just didn't work. The remainder of the series had its ups and downs, but the gem of the run was #17, written by Paul Jenkins and penciled by Tim Seeley. This issue featured a very entertaining story entitled "Training Day" and was what I expected out of the series when I initially picked it up. It's a shame the rest of the series was not of the same caliber as this issue.

2.5/5

[Ryan 'gobo' C.]

Hey Buddy by Peter Bagge

This is the first Bagge I've read but sure as hell not the last. I want the rest of Hate in my hands right now. This was fantastic.

[Night (Travis) Nurse]

Had some time over the last 4 days with the family at the ocean. And when I wasnt playing in the sand or the pool I read

Sweet Tooth Vol. 4This volume was the one that I had been dreading. As great as the last 3 trades were I knew that eventually we would get here.

In most distopion or apocalyptic stories the survivors always meet someone who offers them a place to stay and its always to good to be true. Having read so many of these I saw it coming a mile away that the new character is not to be trusted but here we are anyway.

Even with that, there's still great character development and characters that I want to see finish the story so Im there for the long haul. I'm sure this is just a small speed bump on whats to come. 4/5

Scalped Vol. 7 Just amazing work by Aarona and crew. We get more back story on Dashiels family and red crow. An amazing stand alone story about an old Native American couple and an amazing AMAZING look into unwanted pregnancies and the character study that goes into it. It amazes me how well Aaron writes this world. If this were a prose novel I would stand by it as a great modern day piece of Americana literature. And just because its a comic I know it will never be seen as such. Aaron has tapped a knowledge of characters and humanity that is missing from most all media of entertainment. 5/5

Fables Vol. 16I really enjoyed that most recent Fables trade. It was interesting to see what they did with the Super Team.

I was afraid they were going to bring in Fables who were from the Hero genera but instead it was interesting to see them create their own team using the belief int he Hero mythos as extra magic.

Fables will never be as great as it once was just because of the amazing climax of the main story arc. But it continues to be fun and beautiful. 4/5

Travis

[Wood]

Man! You all are HANDLING YOUR BUSINESS 

[RickV]

So to line up with the Avatar and while watching movies that were not doing it for me I was reading a very specific comic that is so very special to me. The best thing Marvel has ever published, the most out on a limb either Marvel or DC have ever gotten. A Marvel Method of scripting that is so much more insane that it will never happen again, two creators working together and at the same time clashing like they were having the Samurai battle that is sometimes in this comic. Such a perfect encapsulation of the time even more so than its more well known contemporaries. Cyberpunk, Ninjas, Reagen, JFK, satire, the fashion and every other piece of it.

I have been reading Daredevil Love & War + ELEKTRA ASSASSIN by two of the undisputed masters Bill Sienkiewicz and Frank Miller.

There is so much going on in this comic with both the writing the art and the many layers that I could talk about it at length for a LONG TIME, from the Romantic Comedy / Chase mash up in Issue #4, to how stepped and thick the atmosphere of paranoia and nihilism is created, to how Sienkiewicz learned how to sew for a panel of this comic. There is so much to go into that is brilliant that I will only say that it is to this day a true unique object that came out of Big Two comics and if you have not (they just reprinted the collection recently) you OWE it to yourself to get lost in the 80s haze that is this book.

[whirlwindx]

15 down.

Green Wake Vol.1
This was a bit weird but I like the concept.

[evaD]

Let's see, it's been a long time since I posted an update. I finished DMZ vol. 1 and loved it. I'll be diving in for more at some later point. The art suits the writing perfectly. Great book. I also finished Creepy volume 2 and think I enjoyed it even more than volume 1. I don't think there's a single miss in the whole volume. I really enjoy the Adam Link chapters, it's a nice break from the general theme of the book. The Neal Adams X-Men Visionaries book was great, but that goes without saying. I wish I had more to read of that.