The Watchtower - A thread for all comics

[Flub]

Interesting developments in the Green Lantern annual.

[Girth Certificate]

did he get a new hat? is there a new set of brown lanterns who have dominion over feelings of constipation?

[Flub]

Spoiler

Hal and Sinestro are dead (Looks like we're getting a new GL replacement from looking at the ads) and the Guardians have started an insane plan to conquer the universe

[SeanR]

again?

[Flub]

[Girth Certificate]

Lolz, this sounds well mental, maybe as nuts as Batman Odessy

This centuries-spanning original graphic novel from legendary writer/artist WALTER SIMONSON shows how one of the silver coins Judas was paid to betray Jesus has had an impact on the DC Universe, with chapters starring THE GOLDEN GLADIATOR (73 A.D.), THE VIKING PRINCE (1000 A.D.), CAPTAIN FEAR (1720) and BAT LASH (1881). In the centerpiece of the book BATMAN faces TWO-FACE in an epic, present-day battle before the story blasts into the future for a final chapter set in the year 2087 starring MANHUNTER 2070!

[Flub]

Green Lantern Issue 0. Oh there's a surprise. They couldn't even wait one fucking issue.

They aren't dead

[Tangent]

I read Grandville the other day. It's a steam punk fantasy with animals and a big dose of Tarantino-inspired action. Main character is a Michael Caine-esque badger. It was brilliant.

[Mercury]

There may be a thread elsewhere so apologies if there is but big news in the X-Men Universe:

Professor X killed off

[SeanR]

again?

[rumblecat]

Here's the scene in question (big Marvel SPOILERS) and a bit about why they did it from CBR.

Here we have the big death scene. What made you guys decide to kill Xavier? Why bring him back into the middle of things in such a big way only to have him struck down like this?

That question makes it sound a little more calculating than it actually was. We didn't start with the idea to kill Professor X. Killing Professor X kind of became a natural outgrowth of where the story went. It's the last line that Cyclops crosses to the dark side and becoming Dark Phoenix. He steps across that final division, making that one momentary choice from which there's no coming back. It's such a primal moment.

For all intents and purposes Professor X is his father. He's the man who rescued him from a life of homelessness, living with the affliction of optic beams that he could not control, and ultimately a lot of depression and hopelessness. Charles gave him a purpose and a direction in life and everything Scott has done has been living up to that and trying to carry through on it. Even beyond the point where Professor X was directly a factor.

Over the last couple of years the Professor has been off in space and out in the world. He's been dealing with a lot of things and in the aftermath of M-Day somebody had to step up and fill those shoes and Cyclops was the guy. That's really been the spine of his journey over the past several years.

So it became apparent once we came up with the notion of the Phoenix empowered X-Men that Professor X was going to have something to say about this, and at a certain point he was going to have to get involved. This inexorably led to the fact that there was going to have to be a confrontation between Professor X and Cyclops. It's the student and the master and the son and the father. That's a very primal emotional situation.

Once we decided Scott was going to become Dark Phoenix it just sort of lead us to the moment and there certainly was a lot of discussion about it. I believe one of our five writers is still regretful to this day about having to do this, but he was outvoted by all the rest who thought it was the right decision. So it wasn't done lightly. We didn't bring him back onto the stage just to pop him off. This is where the story naturally took us.

This was especially devastating for me as a reader because the tie-ins with Xavier were a lot of fun and got me excited about the character. So it was like "Awww."

[Laughs] That was the point, especially since he hadn't been around for a long time as a regular player. You want people to feel and really remember this moment. You want people to remember who he is, what he was about and show him at his best. I thought Brian Bendis in particular did some really nice work with him both in "Avengers" and "New Avengers" this month. Part of that was Brian also knew he was writing this comic and this scene and wanted to make sure it had the weight and the resonance that it needed to have. So it was necessary for him to take the time and focus to make that happen elsewhere.

You mentioned the magnitude of Scott's crime. This is essentially patricide correct?

Effectively, yeah. He just killed the guy who was basically his father and who founded the X-Men and now he's clearly become Dark Phoenix. So at this point it's a pretty safe bet that he's lost what little support he had left in the mutant world. Maybe there's somebody among the remaining mutants that feels, "Yeah burning the world down and starting from scratch would be a good idea," but I don't think there's a lot of support for that position.

So this scene is sort of like when Darth Vader struck down Obi Wan in the original Star Wars film?

Yes, very similar. It's the same sort of symbology and themes at play.

I'd never read the X-Men before but picked up the Grant Morrison trades the other week and really enjoyed it, up until the end where I still can't work out of his stuff with Magneto was utterly daft or borderline genius.

[Harsin]

These big events are so predictable now. They're more like reading a recipe than a story.

[moosegrinder]

Exactly, like he'll

stay dead

[SeanR]

LMD or clone

?

[Scruff]

Wait, what happened in those panels? I was distracted by Carol's arse

[sandman]

Started a run through of The Exterminators. I really like it - is it generally well thought of?

And what the heck happened to Simon Oliver - he seems to fallen off the face of the planet?

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Read the new Journey Into Mystery. Oh Loki

Kieron Gillen, you are one cruel bugger.

It's a long con it's a long con it's a long con it's a long con it *has to be* a long con

Please?

[BubbleFish]

Not an easy question but due to the need to downsize house and get some cash I'm looking to sell my collection of TPBs and hardcovers. It's mostly recent- last 10 to 15 years. I imagine eBay would be a nightmare so is there anywhere that buys collections that someone would recommend?

[KartoffelKopf]

Amazon Marketplace. Vertigo stuff flies out, superhero stuff not so much but I can't see you getting much for them in bulk from anywhere.

Watch out for postage on those HB fuckers though.

[Monkeyboy]

Just finished volume 9 of The Boys.

I can't believe...

Terror got killed.

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Well, in a surprising turn of events, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye is...really quite wonderful?

The premise is not your standard Transformers setup at all. The war is over, Cybertron's at peace, Prime and Megatron are missing presumed dead, everyone's trying to rebuild from the ashes. Rodimus convinces Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, Cyclonus(!) and a bunch of second and third stringers (we're talking the likes of Whirl, Swerve, Tailgate, etc) to join him on a crusade into space to search for some legendary, long, lost ancient dudes. Stuff ensues. And it's ace.

Not using any of the main regulars frees the writer up to focus the spotlight on a bunch of characters than never really get to spend much time in the spotlight, giving the cast a nice, fresh feel. It's also one of the funniest and verbose series around at the moment, it packs a lot of dialogue into most issues so it's far from being a 90 second flip through several splash pages like far too many series are these days.

I know what you're thinking, and I would have thought it too. I would have laughed in your face and pissed on your pets if you told me a series about the space adventures of post-peace era Transformers would be any good, especially with *this* cast but it actually is. Plus the latest issue even has a snazzy old school Marvel look section, complete with cosmic Kirby dots a-go-go, what's not to love?

Basically Magnus owns. Cyclonus owns. Ratchet owns. Swerve owns. Whirl really fucking owns. This series, somehow, owns.

[memories]

Not an easy question but due to the need to downsize house and get some cash I'm looking to sell my collection of TPBs and hardcovers. It's mostly recent- last 10 to 15 years. I imagine eBay would be a nightmare so is there anywhere that buys collections that someone would recommend?

What about the trading folder her? I would certainly be interested in seeing what you have going.

Postage could be the only issue.

[Girth Certificate]

you could see if there are any local comic marts or car boot sales you could get a table at.

[Nick R]

How not to write comics criticism

Good article aimed at anyone intending to write another one of those "Zam! Pow! Comics aren't just for kids any more!"-type graphic novel reviews.

[Nick R]

How not to write comics criticism

Good article aimed at anyone intending to write another one of those "Zam! Pow! Comics aren't just for kids any more!"-type graphic novel reviews.

[Zappster]

edit: wtf didn't even realize I'd dped.

[Zappster]

Well, in a surprising turn of events, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye is...really quite wonderful?

The premise is not your standard Transformers setup at all. The war is over, Cybertron's at peace, Prime and Megatron are missing presumed dead, everyone's trying to rebuild from the ashes. Rodimus convinces Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, Cyclonus(!) and a bunch of second and third stringers (we're talking the likes of Whirl, Swerve, Tailgate, etc) to join him on a crusade into space to search for some legendary, long, lost ancient dudes. Stuff ensues. And it's ace.

Not using any of the main regulars frees the writer up to focus the spotlight on a bunch of characters than never really get to spend much time in the spotlight, giving the cast a nice, fresh feel. It's also one of the funniest and verbose series around at the moment, it packs a lot of dialogue into most issues so it's far from being a 90 second flip through several splash pages like far too many series are these days.

I know what you're thinking, and I would have thought it too. I would have laughed in your face and pissed on your pets if you told me a series about the space adventures of post-peace era Transformers would be any good, especially with *this* cast but it actually is. Plus the latest issue even has a snazzy old school Marvel look section, complete with cosmic Kirby dots a-go-go, what's not to love?

Basically Magnus owns. Cyclonus owns. Ratchet owns. Swerve owns. Whirl really fucking owns. This series, somehow, owns.

Have a +1. You've articulated my feelings on the series far better than I probably could. The bolded bit in particular is one of the things that keeps me buying the issues every month. It's wonderful to have something with some meat to it. I particularly love how the writer juggles all the storylines that are in motion with each issue. The humour works wonderfully to contrast some of the darker moments as well. Who knew Transformers comics could be this funny?

It feels like I'm getting my money's worth with this, whereas other books are 4-5 minute reads. It's also worth re-reading as you pick out new details with each pass (or do as I do and go to some transformers forums to see what details someone has studiously teased out with each issue).

I'd say it's pretty easy to jump on to as well particularly if we're talking the 1st issue in the series. That's where I started and I've had zero problems so far. I should mention that I've got very little knowledge of Transformers beyond what I remember from childhood (not much) From what I gather though, it's a richer reading experience if you are familiar with Transformers comics and the IDW continuity.

Off the back of this series I've gone out and ordered the hardcover trade for Last Stand of the Wreckers which I believe was a miniseries by the same creative team that launched this new ongoing (Roberts and Roche). Have yet to read it though.

edit:

somehow missed this post earlier

And what the heck happened to Simon Oliver - he seems to fallen off the face of the planet?

Last I heard he was doing a new series for Vertigo called Collider. Not sure if a release date has been mentioned for the first issue yet.

[rumblecat]

I might check that out. Totally agree that so many comics now are flip throughs... I think a lot of it is to do with comics being written for the trade paperback edition in mind, rather than as single issues. Storylines get artificially stretched out... comparing Moore's Swamp Thing and Snyder's Swamp Thing really brought this home to me- writing quality aside, the Moore ones are pretty dense, there's a lot of story packed into each issue. The Snyder ones I could easily read in five minutes or under.

[Arn X Treme]

Right everybody i need your help, i'm hoping you can help identify a comic for me and in particular an issue or a storyline.

Basically i've just done a guest spot on my friends comic podcast, doing reviews and a bit about me being a comic collector etc.

Well one of the questions was "what was the first comic you read?"

Now this was a tough question because tbh i don't know what my first comic actually was, i know details but that's it.

This is where i'm hoping someone can help, i have never been able to find out what the comic was myself (even with nine years in a comic store) and online hasen't really helped either.

Here's the information:-

"It's a DC Comic"

"It has Batman and the Martin Manhunter"

"Batman is the classic blue and grey costume (Neil Adams) & Manhunter is in the classic cape and straps costume"

"Other DC Heroes are in it, i seem to think superman but i'm vague on this."

"The enemy makes a giant monster but they can't attack it as it's made out of innocent people from a shopping mall kind of stuck together"

And sadly that's all i remember

I think it maybe JLE or JLTF but hell it could be a DC crossover for all i know. It's around the late 80s, and was a British reprint of the usual American Stories.

Any help would be apreciated as i'd love to get a copy or at least read it again.

[Space Renegade Ulala]

The Nao of Brown

Quite possibly the most gorgeous graphic novel I've read in years, essentially just an everyday life tale of a London woman with OCD, except hers manifests in grim thoughts/urges to commit acts of violence and she hates herself for it. Funny, sweet and sad and amazingly beautiful, more people should use watercolours I tells ya.

Also this week:

The Mighty Thor - Oh man, Loki is so screwed

Revival - This new issue kinda dragged a bit, was hoping we'd get more of an exploration of the revived sister's state of mind

Jennifer Blood - Jesus Christ, Jen. There is no way this is going to end well.

Batwoman - Not really anything new here, just a condensed version of everything Kate went through before putting on the mask

You've articulated my feelings on the series far better than I probably could. The bolded bit in particular is one of the things that keeps me buying the issues every month. It's wonderful to have something with some meat to it. I particularly love how the writer juggles all the storylines that are in motion with each issue. The humour works wonderfully to contrast some of the darker moments as well. Who knew Transformers comics could be this funny?

It feels like I'm getting my money's worth with this, whereas other books are 4-5 minute reads. It's also worth re-reading as you pick out new details with each pass (or do as I do and go to some transformers forums to see what details someone has studiously teased out with each issue).

I'd say it's pretty easy to jump on to as well particularly if we're talking the 1st issue in the series. That's where I started and I've had zero problems so far. I should mention that I've got very little knowledge of Transformers beyond what I remember from childhood (not much) From what I gather though, it's a richer reading experience if you are familiar with Transformers comics and the IDW continuity.

Off the back of this series I've gone out and ordered the hardcover trade for Last Stand of the Wreckers which I believe was a miniseries by the same creative team that launched this new ongoing (Roberts and Roche). Have yet to read it though.

Funnily enough, when I bought it, it was last in the pile of stuff I was getting, the guy on the till got to it, put his finger down and straight up said "This has no business being as good as it is". We both enthused about it ridiculously and then he mentioned that IDW's licensed stuff in general just seems to be surprising great - apparently, their Ghostbusters book is equally something of a surprise package.