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Comic Reviews and discussions

Started by Faust, January 09, 2012, 12:32:30 AM

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Chelagoras The Boulder

I use cbr myself, read them through Comica or some similar app whenever i have a free moment. That's how i powered through twenty years of Hellblazer comics in the space of a few months
"It isn't who you know, it's who you know, if you know what I mean.  And I think you do."

Salty

I enjoy comics, but it's safe to say there many more I would like to read than ones I have read.

That said, regarding Marvel and DC longevity and such:
Yeah, part of the problem is those characters are mighty old, and their story-line are kinda convoluted. At the same time, they have pretty much already captured, IMO, the essence of what we are going to think of when it comes to superheros. By that I mean, what are the alternatives? Creating new superheros with new superpowers is going to be tricky since I think we have gotten the best that fits into our collective imagination, for the time being. The tropes created by Batman, Spiderman, Superman, etc. are pretty lasting. Some people play with those tropes well (Watchman). But they are still based off core ideas which are hard to reproduce in alternate ways and still capture people.

As to the ways in which those characters can seem original and new and interesting after all this time...
It's not just a matter of them being such long enduring characters.
It's a matter of our culture being so deeply steeped in those characters. They do not just live in comic books.
There are roughly one bajillion incarnations of all them. Legos and anime style and cartoons done in the 90s and many since then. It seems to me, at any one time, there are about three different cartoons on TV featuring the same exact characters, with different styles. Almost all of them written by Writers Guild Hacks who are mostly appeasing small children. Some of them aren' so bad. Batman, the Bave and the Bold, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond. Same goes for Spiderman, there are SO MANY Spiderman cartoons, with different animation techniques, styles, and focus.

Those characters are owned so fully by large coroprations doing their best to milk them for all they are worth. And commercials, commercials, commercials. Alfred drinking a diet coke, just for the taste of it.

This has, I think, completely oversaturated the market with what these stories are capable of. To be sure, there are those that push beyond. But much like Tolkein or motherfucking Star Wars, what was once original and new and exciting has been done and done and done TO DEATH.

Anyway, yeah, one guy's take.
The world is a car and you're the crash test dummy.

The Good Reverend Roger

My problem isn't with the superheroes, it's with the entire genre.

There's so much more out there.  Superheroes are just goofy.

Really good comics that involved no superheroes running around in tights:

1.  Transmet (Ellis).
2.  War Stories (Ennis).
3.  Preacher (Ennis).
4.  Locke & Key (Hill).
5.  Manhattan Projects (Hickman).
6.  Nightly News (Hickman).

I could go on and on, but what's the point?  Anything by Ben Templesmith is going to ring my buzzer way better than YET ANOTHER guy who thinks wearing spandex to fight crime is a good idea.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Faust

They are a genre with some great titles in them.
I think it's actually harder to write a superhero comic with layered and multifaceted characters and have the reader be able to connect to them.

Only a handful of writers can do it, and most of them did a long time ago.

Alan Moore as mentioned can do it. Hickman does them well though he cheats: His fantastic four is good science-fiction minimal superhero and his avengers run is a similar style.

Mark Waid can do it and really make a truly monstrous villain of a superhero really simpathetic.
Ennis tore what it is to be a superhero apart in the Boys but to do so he had to create compelling characters.

There's no point reading a genre of comics, for a start you can exhaust it in day or two, second, it gets really repetitious. The trick is to read the talented writers because they tend to hop from genre to genre but the quality of their work tends to stay consistent.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

Bobby Campbell


Quote from: Faust on February 23, 2014, 09:36:23 PM

I've been feeling really guilty about this, I wanted to get around to reading Testament before responding to you but a month has gone by and I haven't yet.


No need to feel guilty! I really appreciate that you're even interested at all  :fnord:

Quote from: Faust on February 23, 2014, 09:36:23 PM
That's really cool, I'd love to be able to just turn off the lettering and captions on a lot of pages and just breath in the raw material. I've always hated how much rubbish got dumped onto the covers of the singles, they are often the most beautiful part of the issue and it really irks me.

It's why planetary 26 is one of my favourite covers


Agree! The digital format may give way to more stuff like this. All the title copy is covered in the product listings these days, so really the cover clutter is pretty much redundant.

Quote from: Faust on February 23, 2014, 09:36:23 PM
I don't know enough about the art process to really ask proper questions, but do you get really high res versions of the original files, if so have you ever been tempted to blow any up for a poster sized image for your wall. Testament has some gorgeous artwork so I'd say that would be a treat.

The artwork really is extraordinarily far out! Though the original files aren't really that large, just big enough for comic book size. 


Quote from: Faust on February 23, 2014, 09:36:23 PM
What kind of conversion for the digital files do you have to do? I've seen some of these comic aps that bring you panel by panel through the issue, is it that kind of thing or is it the cbr full size page files? for the panel by panel  I find them a little disconcerting but my housemate loves them, he uses his phone to read them and says it works really well.

Initially I just did full size pages and then Comixology did the "guided view" formatting themselves, but now I'm prepping for iBooks & Kindle and digging into their formatting programs. I much prefer just getting full size .cbr files myself (which I also made), but different strokes! It's been an interesting learning experience getting acclimated to the storytelling elements of all the various digital formats.  I'm in the middle of doing the kindle panel by panel layout right now and the control you get over the pacing is really pretty cool. The format lends itself to composing these neat little cinematic sequences. The reader still controls the timeframe, but you get to direct their attention around the page.

Faust

#290
Just finished Room For Love by Ilya

With a name like room for love and a blurb like "Lonely Divorcé romance novelist starts affair with dangerous young rent boy" this sounded like it could be just a bad romance plot.

Both the name and the plot are lightly played up with satire within the story.

What this actually is, is an examination of two very broken people and their desire and isolation. Both characters have lost someone they love to the cruelty of others. Both characters utilise a symbiotic use of each other, Pamela feeding of raw sexuality and unpredictably for inspiration for her novels, Frank to avert a predictable dismal downward spiral in his life.

There's a lot of focus on the sexual powerplay between the two characters and how the two switch between passive and active assertion over each other with themes of abandonment and homosexuality explored along the way.



The use of colour and shading in this is interesting. At first it appears quite simple as a colour coding of blue for Pamela and murky yellow for Frank but is actually used to great effect and in complex ways throughout the story to convey the characters feelings; Where it expands in wild coronas around the characters upon their they interact on equal footing or contract into geometric cubes around them when they are being restricted by the other.

The Irish artist Francis Bacon was famous for drawing figures trapped within cubes and shapes and I only mention him because he is referenced shortly after a page where the colour is used to the same effect.

The story is bleak, primarily one of exploitation and heartbreak but it's lightly satirical of the romance genre and its dark themes never overpower the story so it comes away with a positive feeling.

Also not sure if it's a subgenius reference or not but the Stark Fist of Removal shows up during the stories climax.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

hirley0

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Faust

Sleepless nights at the chateau

Bobby Campbell

Quote from: Faust on March 08, 2014, 10:04:55 PM

The use of colour and shading in this is interesting. At first it appears quite simple as a colour coding of blue for Pamela and murky yellow for Frank but is actually used to great effect and in complex ways throughout the story to convey the characters feelings; Where it expands in wild coronas around the characters upon their they interact on equal footing or contract into geometric cubes around them when they are being restricted by the other.


That sounds really cool! I'll have to check that out. Sort of reminds me of the Red vs. Blue color motif in The Manhattan Projects.

I've been re-reading Sandman, because I enjoyed that first issue of the J.H. Williams drawn prequel so much that it was worth a refresher on the series mythos. It reads much better in my early 30's than it did in my early 20's, and I liked it even then, but I guess Sandman being a good comic is hardly a newsflash!

A short BBC documentary about Frank Quitely popped up today - What Do Artists Do All Day - Frank Quitely

FQ is one of my absolute favs. Hergé by way of R. Crumb, but uniquely energized.

Ended up reading the kindle version of GM's Final Crisis so I could have an example of how to apply the guided view formatting to a complex layout, and found it to be a strangely fascinating ride through an immersive cultural wasteland. High concept Kirbyesque psychedelia meets mainstream marketing cash grab w/ truly weird results! It's a pretty easy series to rag on, but if nothing else fighting against the Anti-Life equation going viral via digital/social media is a pretty cool premise.

The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Bobby Campbell on March 19, 2014, 12:34:05 AM
Quote from: Faust on March 08, 2014, 10:04:55 PM

The use of colour and shading in this is interesting. At first it appears quite simple as a colour coding of blue for Pamela and murky yellow for Frank but is actually used to great effect and in complex ways throughout the story to convey the characters feelings; Where it expands in wild coronas around the characters upon their they interact on equal footing or contract into geometric cubes around them when they are being restricted by the other.


That sounds really cool! I'll have to check that out. Sort of reminds me of the Red vs. Blue color motif in The Manhattan Projects.


Hickman does the same thing in Nightly News (only so effectively you don't even notice it unless it's pointed out) and Secrets.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

BadBeast

Re-reading FreakAngels. Because Warren Ellis told me not to in a dream.

http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23
"We need a plane for Bombing, Strafing, Assault and Battery, Interception, Ground Support, and Reconaissance,
NOT JUST A "FAIR WEATHER FIGHTER"!

"I kinda like him. It's like he sees inside my soul" ~ Nigel


Whoever puts their hand on me to govern me, is a usurper, and a tyrant, and I declare them my enemy!

"And when the clouds obscure the moon, and normal service is resumed. It wont. Mean. A. Thing"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpkCJDYxH-4

Faust

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 19, 2014, 12:36:17 AM
Quote from: Bobby Campbell on March 19, 2014, 12:34:05 AM
Quote from: Faust on March 08, 2014, 10:04:55 PM

The use of colour and shading in this is interesting. At first it appears quite simple as a colour coding of blue for Pamela and murky yellow for Frank but is actually used to great effect and in complex ways throughout the story to convey the characters feelings; Where it expands in wild coronas around the characters upon their they interact on equal footing or contract into geometric cubes around them when they are being restricted by the other.


That sounds really cool! I'll have to check that out. Sort of reminds me of the Red vs. Blue color motif in The Manhattan Projects.


Hickman does the same thing in Nightly News (only so effectively you don't even notice it unless it's pointed out) and Secrets.

I have to disagree with you there, I was as aware of it in the Nightly News because of the sense of oppression it generated, though moreso though the contrast of darks and white space, it as used very differently in that though. The pages of NN are highly detailed, there are infographic boarders and an amazing use of contrast in that gives this really wonderful sense of paranoia.

I haven't read Secrets but he did it in Pax Romana as well, the story was only ok but the art was stunning.

The art in this is a hell of a lot simpler, the line drawing characters are closer to a cartoon style like Persopolis and Tintin, it's nowhere near as beautiful as Hickmans stuff, and the colour is mostly a saturation that is applied liberally across a page. It's pretty basic from a colourists point of view as it's a large mask applied to most of each page. But when it's used to show the power play between the two characters then the colours interact a little and it's nicely done.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

Faust

Quote from: BadBeast on March 19, 2014, 04:04:17 AM
Re-reading FreakAngels. Because Warren Ellis told me not to in a dream.

http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23

I forget entirely about this, and its finished now. I should start reading it again. I followed it for a couple of weeks and then lost interest, I really didn't like the day to day couple of panels format.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

Faust

Quote from: Bobby Campbell on March 19, 2014, 12:34:05 AM
Quote from: Faust on March 08, 2014, 10:04:55 PM

The use of colour and shading in this is interesting. At first it appears quite simple as a colour coding of blue for Pamela and murky yellow for Frank but is actually used to great effect and in complex ways throughout the story to convey the characters feelings; Where it expands in wild coronas around the characters upon their they interact on equal footing or contract into geometric cubes around them when they are being restricted by the other.


That sounds really cool! I'll have to check that out. Sort of reminds me of the Red vs. Blue color motif in The Manhattan Projects.

I've been re-reading Sandman, because I enjoyed that first issue of the J.H. Williams drawn prequel so much that it was worth a refresher on the series mythos. It reads much better in my early 30's than it did in my early 20's, and I liked it even then, but I guess Sandman being a good comic is hardly a newsflash!

A short BBC documentary about Frank Quitely popped up today - What Do Artists Do All Day - Frank Quitely

FQ is one of my absolute favs. Hergé by way of R. Crumb, but uniquely energized.

Ended up reading the kindle version of GM's Final Crisis so I could have an example of how to apply the guided view formatting to a complex layout, and found it to be a strangely fascinating ride through an immersive cultural wasteland. High concept Kirbyesque psychedelia meets mainstream marketing cash grab w/ truly weird results! It's a pretty easy series to rag on, but if nothing else fighting against the Anti-Life equation going viral via digital/social media is a pretty cool premise.

Frank Quietly is a beautiful artist and he works really well with GM. As far as I'm concerned the pair did the best superman story in decades with All star superman. Unlike most of GM work it's a gentle and kind story.

Their batman stuff is good, I don't really count Final Crises as it's own story because it doesn't stand up well without reading the stuff that comes before and after it which stars with everything up from Batman and Son. If you loved the Kirby stuff check out Seven Soldiers of Victory, It's part of the same story to be honest, it deals with some of the dark side stuff, about the sexualisation and objectification of female superheros and all through this wonky silverage narrative.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

Bobby Campbell

Quote from: Faust on March 19, 2014, 07:31:24 AM
If you loved the Kirby stuff check out Seven Soldiers of Victory, It's part of the same story to be honest, it deals with some of the dark side stuff, about the sexualisation and objectification of female superheros and all through this wonky silverage narrative.

Seven Soldiers of Victory is one of my favorites.  I think Morrison writes the best eschatological conflicts.

Morrison and Rian Hughes just put out a really cool free mini comic on BBC: "The Key" - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26730067

I just read Nightly News and thought it was seriously excellent!  The infographic style storytelling was really well done. The limited palliate color schematics was really cool too. The possibilities for innovation in comics is pretty astounding. I can understand the frustration with the same old-same old in comics when there's obviously so much that can be done that's entirely new.

Sandman Overture #2 continued J.H. Williams virtuoso demonstration. People seem pretty upset that the series is off schedule, but man, if the book's going to look that good just let them have all the time they need!

Figure I'll dive back into Promethea this week.