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.

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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 #40

 For 37 weeks I co-hosted Comic Book Coffee Break with Eric Mikols for the Radio Meanwhile Network.

You can find the early video episodes here and the 37th and final episode here.  While that version of the show came to a restful end, I'm still reading comic books.  So welcome to Comic Book Coffee Break: The Text Adventure. 

Still not a fan of Tim Horton's coffee so whenever I find myself at one,  I go for tea. XL, 4 sugars.

Let's talk comic books. 

DC Comics

I've finally reached the first stage of  my New 52 Superman re-read where I can say I enjoyed it. I read the major crossover event, H'El on Earth.  This includes issues from the mainline Superman title, plus Superboy and Supergirl.  (If you are reading this in grade avoid the collections of the individual titles and go for the bulkly H'El on Earth collection.)  The art here is great and that goes a long way.  Plus, I like Scott Lobdell's take on Superman as well. (By coincidence, last week I was discussion Lobdell's Generation X novel.)  This story isn't particularly groundbreaking (rogue Kryptonian shows up and havoc ensues), but it is a lot of fun. A It's a good showcase for the tenuous relationship among Super Man/Boy/Girl.  It's exciting and splashy and does manage to feel like an event.  There are downsides though. For starters it seems to come out of nowhere and resolve almost as quickly. (It does end on a cliffhanger in the epilogue, and if that's resolved it has been completely wiped from my memory.) Also, Supergirl's role in this is to fall for H'El and go along with his scheme. While, that does make some sense considering the fragile place she's at in the Supergirl title, it does feel dated and sexist. Especially considering Superboy's role as a sort of faux Kryptonian would play right into H'El's whole thing as a faux member of the El clan. I would have much preferred that Superboy be the pawn, giving Clark and Kara an opportunity to team up. That's a missed opportunity. Still, this has been the brightest spot of New 52 Superman so far. Onward to vols 4 of both the mainline title and Action Comics.

Next, I read the Green Lantern 80th Anniversary special. I'm a sucker for these, though I have to admit this was not nearly as good as the one they put out for Robin last year.  For starters, Alan Scott, who is actually the character celebrating 80 years, gets very little to do.  He has the lead story, but we only see him in costume for one panel. The rest of the stories are relatively forgettable, though I did love the Denny O'Neill/Mike Grell Green Lantern/Green Arrow story.  It felt and looked just right. I also really enjoyed the various splash pages and covers from artists across Lantern history.  I have the Catwoman 80th to read for next time.

Marvel Comics

Over in the world of Marvel I picked Marvel Masterworks: Captain America & Falcon vol. 9. Reading this story in rapid succession was not beneficial. In these pages we see Cap drop the mantle to start a new superhero career as Nomad.  I actually kinda liked that, but it felt like it went by in a flash.  Then Sam Wilson is giving a pretty awful retcon thanks in part of the Red Skull.  I don't really understand the point of giving him a criminal past and I wasn't a fan. As the Steve Engelhart run ends there's a bit of a vacuum where other creative teams spin some wheels. Overall, there was a lot I enjoyed, but the collection as a whole feels a little disjointed.  I'm soon running out of track with the Masterworks series and will have to switch to single issues.

In the world of prose fiction I read Alex Irvine's adaptation of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Last week, I'd read the comic for the first time and found it a little lacking.  This extended novel format gave a lot of insight and was particularly good at fleshing out both version of Kitty Pride.  That gave the story a little more bite.  I recommend it.

IDW Comics

This week I read a recent Star Trek comic, Picard: Countdown by Mike Johnson and Kirsten Beyer.  Back when they were announcing these book and comics leading up to the series, we debated on The All the Books Show whether or not I should read them in advance. I opted not to, but in hindsight, wish I had.  This is good setup for the series, focusing on Picard's Romulan staff from the series. You could read it as a standalone, but it does lead right into the series and probably works best that way. 

For Next Week

I didn't get to Alex Irvine's Iron Man: Rapture as I'd hoped so I plan for that as well as his graphic novel adaptation of James Patterson's The Murder of King Tut.  I'm interviewing the author for Howe's Things this coming week.  I also intend to get in to that Catwoman 80th as well as some more New 52 Superman and maybe some Black Lightning.  I'm open to suggest, so let me know if I'm not reading something I should be.

______________________

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.