Comic Book Coffee Break: Giant Sized Annual #3

 Well now it's officially a tradition.  For the third year in a row, Eric and I reunited to talk favorite comics of 2023. Listen to Giant Sized Annual #3 on youtube or in the feed for Previously on X-Men. Here are some of my picks: 

• Movies/TV/Games

• The Marvels

• The Flash

• Shazam Fury of the Gods

• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

• Marvel 

• Storm by Greg Pak

• Dark Web by Zeb Wells and Adam Kubert

• Amazing Spider-Man Beyond by Zeb Wells and Kelly Thompson

• Amazing X-Men: World War Wendigo by Craig Kyle and  Carlo Babiery

• DC

• Nightwing: Leaping Into the Night by Tom Taylor

• Superman: Son of Kal-El by Tom Taylor, Nicole Maines and Cian Tormey

• Infinite Frontier by Josh Williamson and Alitha Martinez

• Wonder Woman: The Four Horsewomen by Steve Orlando, Jesus Marino and Keiran McKowan

• Others

• TMNT: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink by Brendan Fletcher

• Star Trek Discovery: Adventures in the 32nd Century by Mike Johnson and Angel Hernandez

• Quarter Bin: Action Comics #444 from 1975: “The Black Canary is Dead” art and story by Mike Grell, written by Elliot S! Maggin

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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 and This Endorian Life, both 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 #52

 Thanks for joining me no my Comic Book Coffee Break!  Today I grabbed coffee at Dunkin' on my way in for an early meeting. Pretty solid coffee.

Let's talk comic books!

This week I was guest-hosting Previously on X-Men and the focus was on The First X-Men, a 2012 limited series from Neal Adams and Christos Gage.  Because of that you get an all Neal Adams issue.  Let's do it.

Marvel 

I'd already read The First X-Men a while back so I jumped back to Adams' early X-Men stuff as collected in X-Men Visionaries: Neal Adams.  This collects several issues from '69-'70 illustrated and plotted by Adams.  I always like the original team so it was fun to dive into this mess of a story and revisit the characters. The story dealt with Havok and then with the Sentinels, but I was primarily focusing on the art, which did live up to the hype.  It's bright, clever and delightfully chaotic. I can see why it got the "Visionaries" treatment. 

On to The First X-Men.  I guess I'd categorize this as... harmless?  It's fine.  It's a relatively entertaining story about Wolverine and Sabertooth setting up a proto X-Men team. It doesn't provide much in the way of new insights into the characters, but it does tell a very serviceable story.  We really picked it apart in the episode. 

DC Comics

I've read a lot of books with Neal Adams art, Green Lantern/Green Arrow and classic Batman comes to mind.  But I've only recently read some of the stuff we wrote as well. Let's talk The Coming of the Supermen. This feels to me like something that was written in the 80s, forgotten for a few decades, then dusted off and printed with no changes.  And I mean that as a compliment. It's kooky, it's weird, and I had a great time. 

Batman: Odyssey on the other hand, is every bit as bad as you've heard.  Despite the negative reviews, I went in to this slightly optimistic. After all, I'd enjoyed the Superman story, so I thought maybe. 

No. Everything about this is bad.

For starters, the plot is impossible to follow.  Not difficult, IMPOSSIBLE. The character designs are clunky and the overall look of the book is unappealing. I've read a lot of bad graphic novels, but this might actually be the worst mainstream graphic novel ever assembled.  I can't believe it went to print. 

There was one section with Robin and a dinosaur that I enjoyed, but it was brief. That's as close to a compliment as I can get. 

Here's the thing though, I do think you should read it, as least part of it anyway. It's worse than you think.

Next Time

I'm finishing up Superman Savage Dawn, then that's only leaves Final Days.  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 and This Endorian Life, both 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 #50

Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break! I was in Utah last week, so now I'm playing catch-up!  This morning I had a small Tim Horton's Coffee with cream and sugar.  I don't really care for their coffee, which is why I usually get tea. Anyway...

Let's talk comic books!

We were doing a Fairy Tale episode for Howe's Things so I finally read Fables V.1 by Bill Wyndam.  My friend Kendra has been recommending it for years.  Legends in Exile is basically a murder mystery looking into the death of Snow White's sister Rose Red.  I get the appeal and it really sticks to its groove, but I don't expect to check back in.  I find the premise a little hard to get past and it never quite got over that hump in my mind. 

Next, I read Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye V.1 by James Roberts.  I don't know why, but I have a fondness for the Transformers, and yet I never seem to settle on a version of them that I like.  (I loved the Transformers/Star Trek crossover, but that hardly counts.) This version looks great, but don't let that V.1 confuse you.  This is not a very good hopping on point.

Marvel

I'm doing a guest-spot on Previously on X-Men so I picked up some Deadpool.  This week was Deadpool vs. X-Force by Duane Swierczynski and Pepe Laraz.  This was harmless, but not particularly intriguing. It's a time travel story where Deadpool is going back and messing things up so Cable assembles a proto X-Force and goes after him.  It's fun how it intersects with Deadpool's first appearance. 

DC

I'm rounding the corner on my New 52 Superman reread. I read Superman: Before Truth and Action Comics: Truth. This is setting up the fall of New 52 Superman.  Oddly enough the actual Truth story wasn't as impactful as I remember. Some of the villains and side plots drag down the story.  It works best when we get an introspective Superman, but he keeps having to rumble. I'll looking forward to the grand conclusion. 

Next Time...

I'm reading the Batman/Superman and Superman/Wonder Woman volumes to complete the Truth story, and then finally getting back to the vintage Cap reading. 

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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 and This Endorian Life, both 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 #46

 Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break! It's Mother's Day so went out and got some Starbucks.  I'm having an iced coffee, black.  Good stuff.

Let's talk Comic Books!

So May is Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage and I decided to let that steer the ship this week.  

Marvel Comics

I finally got my hands on the original 3-issue run of Sunfire & the Big Hero 6.  I only saw the movie a few years back, and I really liked it.  I read the Chris Claremont redo (as discussed on the All the Books Show), then the 2 part manga (which we detailed in issue 11 of CBCB), but this original story remained illusive. It was fun to read. It's really Hiro's story with Sunfire's journey playing out in the background of the 3 issues. My experience with Sunfire is really limited to playing him in the X-Men Legends game on Gamecube. ("I require additional energy to do that.") I found myself rooting for his resurgence and curious about the events that got him here.  I really liked the story and would read more.  But alas, I've read all of Big Hero 6. It did make we want to track down for Sunfire stories though. 

Next came Agents of Atlas by Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk. I was only familiar with Jimmy Woo from his appearances in Ant-Man & the Wasp and WandaVision. I don't remember having bumped into him in comics ever. Atlas sees and aging Jimmy Woo rebooted as his younger, 1950s-era self. The story is entertaining enough, and I do like the 50s callbacks, but it still feels a little like if Doom Patrol was a network television series in 2003. It didn't grab me, but the premise is interesting. I might check back in later on.

DC Comics

I picked up the Cassandra Cain Batgirl series with v.3, Death Wish by Kelly Puckett & Chuck Dixon, art by Damion Scott. I read v.2, A Knight Alone, a full 10 years ago, but I was able to pick it right up. I like the character, but this art was rough. It's done in a very purposeful style and is very consistent, but it just doesn't work for me. I know that's subjective, but it really sort of ruined the story for me. My favorite issue was the Spoiler team-up, but that was not enough to raise it a star.

Finally, and I feel like this is a wild card among wild cards, I read Beware the Batman.  This is a 6-issue series based on the short-lived cartoon of the same name. In it, a younger Batman is partnered with Katana rather on one of the various Robins or Batgirls.  It's an unusual pairing that really brings out a new vibe for a Batman title. Katana is used well, particularly in issue 5 which is written by Katana creator, Mike W. Barr. There's also an issue that features Barbara Gordon/Oracle and Tim Drake. I don't recall these characters appearing in the show, but I don't think I ever finished it. 

I really like the Katana in this book.  I wish both the series and the comic had been given more time to grow. It feels incredibly original which is hard to do in a Batman story anymore.

Next time...

I plan to read some of the Ryan Choi/Atom series by Gail Simone and I might pick up Wolverine & the Agents of Atlas as well. What about you?

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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 #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.

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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 #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.

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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 #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.

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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 #39

No coffee today. We swung into Tim Horton's and I don't love their coffee so I got tea, which I do like. XL, 4 sugars.

Let's talk comic books. 

DC Comics

So in the last issue I said I was planning to re-read the Superman Truth arc from the New 52. As I was looking for the right place to start I decided to just do a whole reread of New 52 Superman.  This era of Superman has a pretty notorious rep and I hadn't read it since it dropped the first time and I really couldn't remember. I started with Grant Morrison's Action Comics Omnibus. This comprises the first 18 issues plus an annual and a #0.  The art is primarily by Rags Morales. Right away were are off to a weird start.  As I recall the lead up to the New 52 was a streamlined, back to basics kind of take on DC Comics. If that's really the goal, who in the world thought Grant Morrison was the one? I do have to admit the first 5 or so issues where we have t-shirt Superman doing some street level stuff, I was a pretty in. But then that vanishes and we go on the typical trippy, Quaalude-fueled ride that is a Grant Morrison story.  And there's no transition.  It's just suddenly aliens and demons and time travel and Mxyzptlk. I don't get it. 

Then there's the art. I guess that's a place where I would have gone with a classic, shiny, spit-curled kind of vibe.  Instead it feels very loose and inconsistent. Superman is unrecognizable from panel to panel.  It's weird and I found it to be very unpleasant. What's more, nothing from this run made any lasting impact on the character.

Over on the mainline title we have two volumes, Superman: What Price Tomorrow? and Secrets and Lies. While the art feels better and the clear shake up in status quo with Lois, Clark and Jimmy is there, nothing feels fresh about it. Again, if you are going for a shiny, modern take why dust off old guard writers like George Perez and Dan Jurgens. I don't say that to throw shade, it's just an odd choice, one that doesn't pay off.  Neither lasts long and I think that's for the best. My estimation of these volumes hasn't changed with this reread.  They are utterly skippable and ultimately inconsequential, but the art in Secrets and Lies is pretty great.

Next comes the big H'El on Earth storyline which features crossover issues from the Superboy (just awful) and Supergirl (my favorite of the New 52) series.

Marvel Comics

Over in Marvel, I finally sat down and read the two issues that make up X-Men: Days of Future Past.  I feel like this is one of those rare situations where the later adaptations really make the story. I found these two issues to be relatively brief and not particularly exciting. I am, of course, familiar with the animated adaption from the 90s and the later Fox film (Rogue Cut, all the way), but for whatever reason I had never read this. I'm a sucker for time travel and those adaptations were some of my favorites from their respective series. 

Next, I read Daredevil: Noir by Alex Irvine in preparation for my upcoming interview. My first experience with the Noir line came a few years ago when I was prepping to interview author Fred van Lente. He had written X-Men: Noir and while I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Fred, I can't say the same for X-Men Noir.  More recently I read Luke Cage: Noir and that was a real standout. I think Cage just works in that setting and the same is true for Daredevil. 

It makes sense that this would be a good spotlight for the character. Saying Daredevil: Noir is practically redundant. I haven't read a ton of Daredevil comics, but I recognized the changes from the source and found it worked really well in this standalone story.

This is cheating because it isn't a comic, but I read the prose novel Generation X. What a weird one this was. I loved the old X-Men prose novels and typically enjoy the writing of Elliot S! Maggin and Scott Lobdell.  This was a little wacky though. They did a good job of establishing this team as connected, but separate from the X-Men proper. It didn't have that feel of X-Men without the X-Men as these types of things so often do. It also made me want to read the Generation X comics, so that's a win all around. 

 (Fun fact: I interviewed author Elliot S! Maggin over on the All the Books Show.)

Everything Else

Finally, I read The Comic Book Story of Baseball, also by Alex Irvine. I likely wouldn't have picked this up had it not been for my upcoming interview with the author, but I'm glad I did. It was an incredibly thorough history, but still managed to be fun and engaging. I learned a lot and it made me want to pick up some more Baseball books.  We'll see.

For next time, I'm planning to pick up Alex Irvine's Iron Man run, continue my New 52 Superman re-read and maybe pick up an X-Men book. I'm in the mood.

P.S. Another feature of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break was the Quarter Bin segment.  Each week I would drag a random issue out of my childhood longbox and revisit. Look for that dropping on Wednesday. 

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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.