Comic Book Coffee Break #44

Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break. Today I'm drinking Folgers' Coffeehouse Blend with Irish Creme syrup and a little creamer.  The best part of waking up...

Anyway, let's talk comic books. 

Archie Comics

Curveball! My hold on Archie V.3: Archie and Katy Keene came in at the library so I popped it to the top of the stack.  The series has been a little on the decline since the glory days of the Mark Waid relaunch, but I enjoyed the last volume (Archie & Sabrina) quite a bit. With this volume they pulled the old bait and switch. I might have been more open to this had it just been marketed as what it is, a Katy Keene mini series. Releasing it as Archie v.3 sets up different expectations that were not well met. (Though realistically I wouldn't have picked up a Katy Keene mini series so I guess touché.) Anyway, boring. I wanted more of Archie & Sabrina.

DC Comics

I made good on my Superman promises.  First, I finished Superman in the Seventies by Elliot S! Maggin, et al. What a nostalgic romp this was. Brought me back to the glory days of my childhood comic shop, a teal, windowless building filled with quarter bins. These were the kinds of issues I would dig for. Just beyond the extreme goofiness of the 60s Superman and before the Byrne "this is effing serious" relaunch in the 80s.  We got some Jack Kirby, the infamous Lois Lane vs. race issue and just a ton of goofy fun.  I'd read Superman in the Fifties forever ago and now I might just have to read all of the decade collections.  Good times.

On to New 52, where I was on Superman: Doomed.  I liked it the first time and I liked it now. A lot goes down in this book. Superman is bit by the Doomsday bug, there's a Braniac angle, Superman/Wonder Woman romance, Red Lantern Supergirl, and on and on.  It's impressive that this collection never loses the thread. It also does something that the DCEU never does.  It makes a case for Superman's goodness and sets him up to be this necessary figure in the world, something the characters seem to realize while stuff is going down.  I really liked it. This is where the New 52 Superman really starts to hit the mark. I'm looking forward to what's next.

Marvel

Quirky X-Men title?  Check. This week it was X-Men Ronin by J. Torres and Makoto Nakatsuka. This was a real win for me. I love when they set out to do a take on characters and actually succeed.  This wasn't a case where they changed the costume designs and called it good.  Conversely it wasn't just X-Men in name only. This was an honest to goodness reimaging of the characters in a very successful way. The redesigns are good and there's a ton of good character work, particularly with Jean (!) and Storm. Yes, the art gets a little fan servicey at times, but the overall story and tone are what really sell it here. I loved it.

Next time on Comic Book Coffee Break: 

Well, I do want to finish Secret Avengers as I'd planned, plus a little Black Panther to round out the Marvel side. I'll continue New 52 Superman and try to pick up where I left off in the Rebirth era. I think I'm on Nightwing which would be great!  See you then.

______________________

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.

The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 

You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 

I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.

Comic Book Coffee Break #43

 Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break.  Today, I'm drinking Charcoal Corral coffee with 2 creams and 4 sugars.  Not a great start.

Let's talk comic books.

This week didn't go exactly as planned comics-wise, but I did check a couple off my list. 

DC Comics

This week in DC I dug in to the Milestone Comics archive to read the first volume of Icon by Dwayne McDuffie and art by M.D. Bright/Mark Gustovich.  The basic premise is cool. What if is Superman-type landed in the south at the height of slavery. The problem is that that is not really explored in these first 8 issues.  The story follows Icon and his teenage sidekick Rocket, but it really feels like Rocket's story. While she is an interesting character with plenty of story to mine, I felt a little cheated of Icon's development. Hopefully this is explored further down the road.

As for Superman, I paused my New 52 reread to check out Superman in the Seventies.  I collected a lot of these from my comic stores quarter bin when I was a kid, but this era is largely uncollected and is only sporadically included on the app.  I'm still reading this one, so I'll save a full review for #44, but it starts with a story by Elliot S! Maggin that spoofs Captain Marvel. In the story Captain Thunder appears from another world and it's up to Superman to figure it out. I hadn't read this one before, but Elliot recounted the writing of this particular issue when Eric and I interviewed him for the All the Books Show. It was fun reading the story with that context in mind. 

Marvel Comics

For Marvel, I got back on track with the readthrough and picked up Uncanny Avengers V.1: The Red Shadow by Rick Remender and John Cassady.  I find that creative team a little hit and miss, but this one really worked for me.  Basically, Havok leads a team of Avengers and X-Men in the wake of the whole rumble between those two teams, and Red Skull gets psychic powers to menace them. It helps that I've been reading classic Cap/Red Skull stories, because this captured that retro, hot-mess energy well.  The plot is a little kooky, but in a 70s vibe, and I dig it. 

Finally for my weird X-Men pick of the week I resumed Exiles with V.2: A World Apart. While I found the first volume to be funny and off-beat. This one was more annoying and a little trashy. There's a whole issue where one of the characters goes lingerie shopping. Pass. Also, this version of Morph is just Deadpool lite.


Finally, and this is more an honorable mention, I read the junior novel Star-Lord: Knowhere to Run by Chris Wyatt. This was just right for a book club with my son. It's action-packed and the format and colors make for a very dynamic read. Plus, the characters felt right. Good times. (We interviewed Steve Engelhart, the creator of Star-Lord over on the All the Books Show.)

Next Time

I'll likely finish Remender's run on Secret Avengers and maybe take a look at X-Men Ronin. For DC, I will polish off Superman in the Seventies and for my New 52 reread, it's Superman: Doomed. 

As always, open to recommendations so let me know.

______________________

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.

The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 

You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 

I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.

Comic Book Coffee Break #42

Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break.  Today, I'm drinking an XL tea from Tim Horton's (4 sugars).

Let's talk comic books.

DC Comics

Starting in DC Comics this week, I got back on track with my reading of the post-Rebirth world.  I was on Teen Titans V.3: The Return of Kid Flash by Benjamin Percy and Khoi Pham. For the most part this is a pretty solid Teen Titans story. I like Robin having his weird hairy monster bat. It's a nice bit a continuity with that short-lived Robin series from awhile back. I guess the problem here is Kid Flash. And it's not his fault. Ever since Rebirth kicked off we've been dragging along this storyline with a new Kid Flash bumping up against the OG Kid Flash from the Pre-Rebirth days and it's just tired. If that's truly over and done with then I'm looking forward to the next volume.  I wasn't really down for a Damian fronted Teen Titans, but this book has surprised me. 

In my New 52 Superman reread I came to Action Comics v.5: What Lies Beneath by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder.  This was the first title in my reread where I changed my star rating. It actually went up.  I think by this point in my initial read I was just so over weird, edgy Superman stories that I had no patience left. This time, however, I was kinda in. It's primarily a Superman/Lana story.  Superman finds a little monster changeling who's probably a prince who lives in an underground city and Lana is a Lara Croft type... I should stop. I'm talking myself out of that star upgrade. The point is. It was kooky, but this time I found it fun.

Marvel

Over in Marvel, I continued my streak of X-Men side quests by reading Robert Kirkman's 5 issue Jubilee series. This came out in 2004 and I remember buying this in single issues for my girlfriend.  (We got married shortly after, so I'd say it worked!) She was (and is) the bigger X-Men fan out of the two of us. I absolutely love Kirkman's Invincible series, and didn't realize it was him until I started reading. Overall, I would mark this as okay.  I like the idea of spinning off Jubilee, but this rarely feels like her throughout the run. Little action, hardly any use of her powers. It's so far removed from the X world, that when Wolverine ultimately (and inevitably) shows up, it's actually a little jarring. If there were more I probably would have read it, but this ends nearly before it starts.  Extra points for the BTTF Easter Egg with "Twin Pines Mall" and the nod to Jack Kirby with the Kirby Puffs cereal.

Archie Comics

A few weeks back I did an interview with Jamie Lee Rotante over on Howe's Things.  We talked mostly about her Betty & Veronica books, but also briefly discussed Archie Comic's super hero line. I've read The Shield from The Golden Age and found it to be pretty on par with its Marvel counterparts. For this week a read a more modern take. New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes sees the Shield as the last remaining member of the old guard, prepping the way for a new batch of heroes.  While I did enjoy the book, I felt like it spent a little too much time on setup.  Because of that, the action felt forced and rushed.  I also was a little surprised by the violence mixed with Archie-style illustrations (though really Invincible) should have prepared me for that.  Even with the short comings, it did make me interested in the world.  I would read more.

For next week, I'm planning to get back to my Marvel readthrough, picking up Uncanny Avengers.  At this point, I figure I might as well lean in to weird X-Men so I'm going to pick up where I left off with Exiles. For DC, I'll be on to the next New 52 Superman and maybe even some Nightwing. See you then.

______________________

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.

The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 

You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 

I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.

Comic Book Coffee Break #41

 Thanks or joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break. Today I'm having Folger's Coffeehouse Blend with Irish Cream syrup.  Pretty good start.

Let's talk comic books. 

Marvel

This week I interviewed Alex Irvine for an upcoming episode of Howe's Things. I also sat in on the interview he was doing for Previously on X-Men, so I got to talk some Marvel with him as well. I really had a great time chatting with him, but I can't say the same thing for reading Iron Man: Rapture. It's a standalone, What-If kind of story and it just falls flat. However, I highly recommend his Daredevil: Noir.

Next, I picked up Generation X: Classic, V.1.  I'm inadvertently on a Scott Lobdell kick I guess. I read the Generation X novel he wrote with Elliot S! Maggin and was intrigued by the team so I decided to go to the source. The vibe is weird, but I really like the Banshee throws Emma Frost off of her game.  It works well to have this second branch of the Xavier school, and I like the showcase it gives to Jubilee.  I'm not sure that I will read it through to the end, but I do prefer it to Mutant X and New Mutants. I've read a lot of  X-Men offshoots lately, which reminds me that I need to get back to Exiles.

DC Comics

My New 52 Superman continues with Action Comics V.4, Hybrid; Superman V.4, Psi-War; Superboy V. 4, Blood & Steel, and Krypton Returns.  This is not a good bunch of comics. I remember at the time I was really excited about Andy Diggle taking over Action Comics.  I'd heard him speak of Superman in interviews and he seemed to get the thing that made Superman special.  Sadly, his tenure was only a few issues long.  And while it showed promise it was really about transitioning from the Grant Morrison era and didn't really have a chance to be it's own thing.  The rest of Hybrid and Psi-War make up this convoluted and ugly Hector Hammond story that is best forgotten. Weirdly, I kinda liked the Superboy volume.  That story got a little more grounded after the H'El on Earth storyline, only to be disrupted again and the messy retread that was Krypton Returns.  I was really hoping this reread would lead to me finding a new appreciation for this era, but so far my pereceptions haven't shifted even a little. 

Next, I got my hands on the Catwoman 80th Anniversary Special.  Unfortunately that's a bit of a misnomer because there wasn't much of anything special about it.  It was utterly forgettable to the point that I genuinely can't remember enough to even write about it... 

Justice League V. 7: Justice Lost.  Why do I do this to myself?  The Rebirth run of Justice League makes New 52 Superman look like an unrivaled masterpiece. 

Firestorm: The Nuclear Men: The Firestorm Protocols. Yeesh. Poor Jason Rusch can't catch a break (or a decent storyline). Really though, haven't we all thought at one time or another, "Yeah, Firestorm is cool, but what if there were 45 of them."

Mercifully, that was it for DC this week. Hard to pick a winner but I guess I'll go with Catwoman since that was harmless.

For next week, I'm at Action Comics v.5 in the great Superman reread.  Also, I feel like I'm on a hot streak with X-Men offshoots, so I might pick up the Jubilee standalone series. I'm open to suggestions as well. 

______________________

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.

The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 

You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 

I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.