The Chris Burnham art on the second half of the Leviathan Strikes one-shot is pretty awesome. He's a talented artist. He can draw a great action scene. For his more EXTREME stuff, check out Officer Downe...I"ll warn you though, it is rather graphic.Originally Posted by Loerwyn
Just ordered some more stuff today.
X-23 #19 & #20
Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes (One-shot)
Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom (trade)
Still got Fables Trade #1 and Jenny Finn: Doom Messiah to read
last one I read was Preacher. It is fantastic and has one of the greatest villain/antiheroes I have ever seen in The Saint of All Killers.
Hell yeah. I loved Preacher. Have you read the whole series?
I was able to find the three issue mini-series with the Saint of Killers in single issues. I sent them out to my brother who never reads comics but loves westerns, and he loved them.
The first half has one of the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. artists (Cameron Stewart?), I believe. And Steph is in it. Hurrah!
I amended the above order and added:
Supergirl #1 (2nd Printing)
Demon Knights #1 (2nd Printing)
Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 (2nd Printing)
I was going to order Justice League Dark #1, but it's sadly out of stock.
Demon Knights is fun. There is a connection, extremely minor at this point, to the other series Cornell is scripting, Stormwatch
Demon Knights did look a little fun, we'll have to see what I think of it though
Yeah, I've read the whole thing, it's been awhile so the details are hazy but I do remember thoroughly enjoying it.
Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom
A pretty funny, yet touching, romp. It's a little cheesy, especially in terms of the dialogue. Basically Maelstrom arrives on Earth, thrashes Kara (noooo), gets her butt handed to her by Superman, and then Superman and Kara go to Convenient Plot World #19, upon which they are powerless, and Superman tries to mentor Kara a bit. Then Maelstrom ends up back on Earth and Bob's your uncle.
Loved Noto's art, too, but I think there were moments where it faltered a bit. Kara is meant to be shouting in desperation at one point, but her expression is completely neutral, for example, and there's another moment where Superman got knocked into a river and it looks like he's smiling despite being whacked in the face without his powers.
Pretty good read for anyone who's never read Superman before (Hi!).
If you want some great Superman reading, you cant go wrong with All Star Superman. Quitely's art is incredible, and the story is great as well. Its the Superman story that made me like Superman a little bit.
That's the Morrison-penned one, isn't it CB? It's sort of floating around in my consciousness, but if I'm honest I was more into Supergirl, although in Maelstrom I must confess to finding him well written (and well drawn thanks to Noto).
Yup, that's the one. There's a review of it here at SFF World, or at my blog too.
For the most part I gave up reading comics, but was in a book store the other day and picked up the Criminal trade-The Last of The Innocent by Brubaker and Phillips. Also picked up the first issue of Fatale by the same creative team. Good stuff. Wish all comics were done so well.
Hey Quimby, I'm also a big fan of the Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips duo. I haven't gotten around to their Criminal stuff yet, but I loved Sleeper and the first issue of Fatale was very promising.
I just reviewed another of their works Incognito at my blog the other day. Here's a taste of that one...
Incognito stars, of all things, a dude named Zack Overkill. Zack was once a super villain, and is now in the witness protection program because he ratted out his old boss, an evil, powerful and connected man by the awesome name of The Black Death. The problem is that Zack, who formerly never played by the rules, is now forced to live out his life as a member of the 9 to 5 rat race. As Zack goes about his duties as a file clerk, he pines for his old days of terror, death and destruction. As Zack sinks into depression, he starts in on the drug abuse, and soon enough he realizes that the recreational drugs in his system have messed with the drugs that for the past few years have blocked him from using his super-abilities.
With his super strength back, Zack once again dons a mask, and goes around town tearing it up like the good ol' days. The difference is that this time he's more of a vigilante than a villain. It doesn't take long, before The Black Death's organization discovers that Overkill is still alive, and assassins are sent to finish him off. Now, Zack finds himself allied with his old enemies, the good guys; A tenuous allegiance at best.
If I had to point to one aspect of this graphic novel that stands out above all else, I'd point to the noir feel that Brubaker achieves with his writing, and is aided and abetted by Phillips' art. With Incognito it isn't just the visual style, there's a darkness to the characters, the dialog and the settings that fully delivers the noir feel to the title. There's a level of seediness, grit and sexiness that you don't often find in any kind of story these days, but Brubaker and Phillips drag it up from the depths and give it a home here, to great success.
In terms of writing, Brubaker is one of the best working in the comics medium. His characters are engaging, and his plots are full of all the things I love: twists, back-stabs, and double crosses. I couldn't ask for much more.
Phillips has an art style that is all his own, and stands out as unique and instantly recognizable. For my money, he's the perfect guy for super-powered crime story. Each panel is brimming with atmosphere, giving the reader a great sense of setting. On top of that, he can draw some pretty great super-powered battles too. Want to feel like you are being cornered in a dark alley? Phillips can deliver. Want to see what happens when a guy with super strength punches someone in the face? Yeah, he can handle that too.
Though I feel like overall, the writing and art in Incognito is more polished and sharper than my previous Brubaker/Phillips reading experience, Sleeper, I think I enjoyed the story more with the original. That said, Incognito is still great stuff, and definitely worth checking out. This is a great title for someone trying to bridge the gap between superheros and creator owned indie-style comics.
Cool man. Your review is pretty dead on.
I would imagine you would enjoy the Criminal series too since they are full of twists, back-stabs, and double crosses. The individual comics also have articles and other extras that the trades don't.
I got to about the halfway point in Leviathan Strikes and had to stop - I have a feeling I should have read Morrison's first trade at least.
I had absolutely no idea what was happening at any point. I liked seeing Steph again (and in a school uniform, no less), but I have no idea why that school was run by fetishists...
Edit: Also cancelled my Frankenstein issue - it was going to ship last, and separately, but I decided to drop it. I'll pick it up in trade, though.
Last edited by Loerwyn; January 18th, 2012 at 09:22 AM.
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