RoxyRollah

This exactly. I get them too, he was a cold motha****a. ...

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The Batlord

Used some birthday money to splurge at the comic store.

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RoxyRollah

Arkham Asylum is one of my favorites ....

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The Batlord

Well now that I've discovered I can look at comic books on the net I'm overloading. I've also discovered that apparently Hawkeye has one of the best series out right now. No idea how that happened but I'm about seven issues in and it's pretty fantastic. It's kind of hard to describe the vibe. It's low key stuff, no world threatening Great Foogles (I think that's the term used for those arbitrary uber-bosses that show up at the end of an rpg that have absolutely nothing to do with the overarching plot but somehow end being the focal point of the game, like the final boss in Chrono Trigger), no big super-powered baddies, and for the most part no Avengers, though he does have help from a young, female Hawkeye named Kate from the Young Avengers who gives him a charmingly hard time. For the most part it's just them going up against everything from crime bosses to douchey landlords. He even has a tough battle with his entertainment system at one point.

He's a fun character too, vaguely depressed, but without being broody. He kicks ass at times but others he's kind of a schlub of a superhero. The series certainly takes characterization seriously, but it's also playful. During one issue it mocks the idea of his endless series of trick arrows ("Boomerang arrow, Kate -- it comes back to you in the end. Boomerang. Respect it." "Why the hell do you need an arrow that comes back to you after you shoot it, Clint?" "Because... boomerangs.") while also showing him using them to awesome effect throughout the story.

But the most obvious star of the series is it's art. It kind of reminds me of the noir style of Batman's The Long Halloween with it's muted and deceptively simple-looking color palette, but without being as dark. I don't know why, but it also gives me a vague kind of Calvin and Hobbes feel too. Makes it just gritty enough to look serious and non-campy, but fun and stylish at the same time. Combined with the clever layout of the panels it's one of the most visually unique and impressive comics I've ever seen. And the covers are just fantastic. I'm definitely going to be keeping up with this title and looking out for it in trade paperbacks. If I'm gonna be jacking comics off the net I gotta make sure to keep supporting the local comic shops at the same time after all.

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bob.

i love the artwork on those Hawkeye covers....hows the story?

also how was that Green Lantern?

currently reading a few collections including






and re-reading this amazing Frank Miller book

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A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

The Batlord

Amazing. Like I said, great characterization. The characters are strong and you get a real sense of their personalities, while at the same time they're written subtlely and realistically enough that 19 issues in I'm still learning new things about them. For the most part the series is about Hawkeye and his quasi-sidekick Kate, also called Hawkeye BTW, but even side characters are strong and feel real. It's really as much of a compelling drama as it is a comic book. I seriously could not have given a crap about Hawkeye before, but now he's become a new fav. I was reading Loki's new series a few hours ago and he popped in for a cameo in the first issue and I actually smiled at seeing him. I'm also planning on getting into Young Avengers at some point which includes Kate/Hawkeye because of how much I loved her character. She could easily be a Joss Whedon character as she's written with a great quirky humor, but her relationship with Hawkeye fleshes her out and makes her as strong a character as him.

Oh yeah, as for the story it's just as strong as the art and the characters. It tends to switch between secret agent kinds of storylines, with Hawkeye as a sort of lovable loser version of James Bond, to street level stuff like a recurring storyline about Hawkeye's apartment building and all of the tenants that he sees day to day. The storytelling itself is pretty interesting too. At times it switches from past to future to present without much warning, making you wonder why that just happened, only to come back later in the issue, or even several issues later to finally let you know the context of this or that. It could be easily confusing, but it's cleverly done enough that it draws you in and makes every reveal, even seemingly innocuous ones, into fun "Aha!" moments that make you want to pay attention to every little detail that doesn't immediately make sense. They never make it impenetrable or anything, but they keeping you guessing. It's by far one of the most mature and well-written comic books I've ever read. Something I'd recommend to people who don't even like comics.

Haven't finished it yet. I'm starting to collect a stack of comics that I need to read, sort of like my book collection, and I sense that I'm going to end up falling behind on some of them. But it's pretty fantastic so far. Really trippy and surreal, almost Yellow Submarine-esque (as in the movie). There's a two page shot of a really bizarre city in the first few pages that's just stunning. Really need to get off my ass and pick that back up.

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bob.

SOLD

on the Hawkeye

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A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

Deviouz

Getting into The New 52: Batman Detective Series, and I love it! Tbh, this is the only DC comic I have ever followed.



I'm mostly into my Cable/Deadpool tho.

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bob.

there is something to be said about that artwork

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A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

The Batlord

I'm getting lucky as **** with the comics I'm reading. Almost done with the current issues of Thor: God of Thunder and it's another series totally worth the hype. The first eleven issues are just comic book mana from heaven. It switches between three different a young Thor who hasn't even gotten his hammer from 893 AD, the current day Thor, and an old Thor from many millenia in the future who is now king of Asgard. The story telling really adds to the character who isn't exactly the most three dimensional superhero, by showing different sides to his personality: the brash, arrogance of Thor's youth, the selfless hero of the modern era, and the wise but cantankerous Thor who has basically become his father.

Even more important is the slowly unfolding storyline that is told over the course of thousands of years from each of their perspectives to form an engrossing mystery. It's a fairly simple concept, but it's executed beautifully. And the evolution of the narrative keeps gives enough satisfying payoffs while asking even more questions that you're always been drawn further in. The villain is pretty awesome too, being suitably badass and horrifying yet surprisingly relatable and tragic.

And the artwork again elevates the material to the level of almost perfection. I was hoping for epicness from a comic about the Norse god of thunder, but I was not prepared for just how epic the art style itself would be. Every panel looks almost like the kind of detailed battle painting one might find in a museum, with slightly muted, faded-looking colors that give the impression of an ancient epic brought to life. Combined with the story it really feels like high fantasy, with dashes of sci fi thrown in for good measure.



After the first brilliant story arc there's a bit of a dip in quality, though it's still highly enjoyable. The original artist was replaced, and the vibe changed from high concept fantasy to a more light-hearted, dungeons and dragons kind of pulp fantasy. Still a lot of fun, but a definite step down. Thankfully five issues later the original artist returns and the series seems to pick up where it left off thematically, and is so far as amazing as ever. Old King Thor engaging in an epic battle with Galactus is certainly one of the high points of the series.




Edit: @ .bob - And apparently the same guy who wrote Thanos Rising, Jason Aaron, is also the writer for Thor: God of Thunder, if that means anything.

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