Well, this is a hell of a good week for comics. There was a brand new issue of Invincible. I was thinking to myself that it hadn't been long since the last and maybe it was even on time. Nope. It was still six weeks between issues, I've just grown so used to having two-three months between issues that six weeks seemed like nothing. I still love it, even though it takes forever to come out.
Anyway, here's the obligatory picture of my stack for the week
And here we go, diving in:
Invincible #109
Of course this was the first comic I read, I'm not going to wait for it for six weeks and then let it drift down towards the bottom of my stack, especially given the crazy cliffhanger we were left with last time. I need to find the proper etiquette for how long I have to go without spoiling things. Is it one month? That seems fair, I think...maybe. Otherwise, my blogs will be riddled with spoiler panels and "click to see more." But regardless, this issue was quite excellent.
I can't wait for another issue to come out. This was just too good!
East of West #10
Who's not reading this series? Seriously? It's amazing! This issue finds Death continuing on the hunt for his son, however it seems someone else may get there first. I really can't get enough of this series. The world that Hickman and Dragotta have created is so familiar but in many ways a very different earth than ours. The story is super engaging and the art is beautiful. What's not to love?
Coffin Hill #6
Man, this week is shaping up to be such an awesome week for comics. This issue I believe wraps up the first story arc for Coffin Hill. This series has been great, especially since I haven't found much from Vertigo lately that I've really loved. This story is well thought out and executed and the art is really gorgeous. This issue is a wonderful tying off point to the first arc and jumps in nicely to what will be the initial problem in the second arc. This has been a consistently great read so far and I'm really interested to see what will come next for Miss Coffin.
Walking Dead #123
I think it's safe to say that it is now officially "All Out War," which is the name of this particular 12-issue arc. Last issue, Negan came up with a nasty idea that may turn the tide in his favor against the people on the Hilltop. Man, these a lot to say about this issue but it's all very spoilery. Let's just say, shit's hitting the fan and I doubt everyone will make it out alive. It wouldn't be a Robert Kirkman story if they did, now would it?
Batman #29
This issue brings us back into Zero Year with Batman facing off against the Riddler. This is also another of the $4.99 issues, which is just another bite out of the wallet. I really dig the fact that they have Bruce in the purple gloves, that really helps sell the Year Zero for me. I've listened to a few interviews with Grant Morrison where he looks like the entire history of Batman as one complete story, all in the same continuity. Sure, they change things but he views the Golden Age Batman as young Bruce in his 20s and then as the years went on and we got the Silver and the Modern Age, it is showing Batman all just at different stages in his life. I like this idea a great deal. Obviously some things have been retconned and others can't exist side by side because of contradictions, but it is a nice idea and I do like that they're taking things back to early Batman while still playing homage to the Batman of years past. This issue also throws in one of the most fan quoted lines from Batman and even though they had to censor it, it did still make me laugh. This issue is filled with really cool panels that I would love to share with you all but I wouldn't want to ruin the fun for when you read it.
Batgirl #29
Batgirl and Strix are trying to find a kidnapped young girl who happens to be mute. However, they're being foiled by this guy who calls himself Silver. Silver is heavily deluded and thinks Batman and all of the Batfamily are actually vampires. Batgirl finally is able to track down the little girl but there are some very interesting plot twists...
Batman: Li'l Gotham #12
I'm really sad to see this come to an end. This comic has been so fun and it's my last link to Damian at the moment. It's Thanksgiving / Sandwich Day in Gotham and Damian has lost his pet turkey, Jerry. The second part of this is a Christmas issue and Alfred is sharing photos with Damian, talking about the whole Batfamily. It was a fun last issue and Dustin Nguyen was able to sneak in this:
Behind Tim is Stephanie Brown. This is at least Nguyen's third attempt to put a reference to her in Li'l Gotham. Maybe this time they let him keep it because now she's actually back in the comics. Who knows? It was a good read. I'm a little sad now, to be honest with it all over.
Stray Bullets: Killers #1
This is a triple whammy week for Stray Bullets. They recollected the first 41 issues in a giant omnibus-style paperback, reprinted issue #41 and put out this new #1. I've never actually read Stray Bullets, but my boyfriend has and he enjoys it. I'm enjoying what Lapham is doing with Juice Squeezers so I thought I'd give it a try. I actually really enjoyed it. My basic understanding is that each issue is a stand-alone story showing in some way the dark side of humanity. However, while all of the issues can be read individually, together they add up to more. I think I shall go back and read the Uber Alles giant book that came out because I do enjoy Lapham's art style and his storytelling.
Revelations #3
Charlie is still investigating the death of the cardinal, which was initially ruled as a suicide. However, the witnesses' stories are all starting to come apart and it's very clear something fishy is going on, possibly even there being a devil worshipping cult within the vatican. I really am enjoying Ramos' art on this series. Some people don't like him because he's too cartoony, but that's exactly why I do like him. His style is incredibly distinctive and in this serious, he's really taking it up to eleven.
Captain Marvel #1 (ANMN)
I read the first few issues of the Marvel now Captain Marvel and I actually really enjoyed it. The only reason I stopped reading it was because there was one issue with a printing error that made all of the pages blurry and hard to read and I kind of lost track of the story. I'm really wishing I had gone back and read it though because I think I missed a lot. Apparently Captain Marvel and the Iron Patriot have some sort of a thing going on? But anyway, it seems Carol may have a new job which could be cool...
FBP (Collider) #8
This issue marks the first part of a new story arc entitled "Wish You Were Here." The new partners find themselves in a remote moose-filled area to take down a FBP lab. While the issue seems pretty straightforward with the few exceptions of physics, there's actually a lot more going on than at first glance.
The Returning #1
This is another of those "I'll give it a shot" number ones. This is a Boom! title written by Jason Starr, drawn by Andrea Mutti. I'm not really familiar with either of them beyond seeing Mutti's name on books here or there. The Returning is a four issue mini-series. Apparently in this story, people who have NDEs (Near Death Experiences) or who are technically dead for a short time end up coming back and committing violent crimes and killing people. The main chracter, Beth, wakes from a coma at the beginning of the story, restrained and being told that she had died for five minutes. This was an interesting first issue. At first, given the description I thought it might be like Revival, but it does tell its own story and is really nothing like the other title. I'm going to keep picking this one up as it's pretty interesting and it had a great cliffhanger of an ending to the first issue.
Woo! I made it with seven minutes to spare. I really try to get this up before midnight so it's still technically Tuesday. I don't know why, since for everybody outside of PST, it's already Wednesday...oh well. I'm off to go catch up here on SG. Sorry if I haven't responded to you yet, I've been super busy.
Question of the week: How long do you need to wait to reveal part of the plot without it being considered a spoiler? I mean, if I tell you the end to Return of the Jedi, you can't get mad at mean if you haven't seen it. But if I tell you how a comic I read tonight ended, that is a massive no no. What's the point where it becomes okay to you?
