Board 8 > Board 8 Comic Book Club #2: Where We All Have Issues

(+) Yeah! (+)

Reposted from previous topic:

All right, this week is Marvel Cosmic week.

I'm keeping it simple.

Did you like Infinity War? Cool. We're reading the even better Infinity Gauntlet this week.

Did you like Rise of the Silver Surfer? Of course not. We're reading the infinitely better Silver Surfer: Parable this week. It's a graphic novel written by Stan Lee and art from Moebius. It's good stuff.

Enjoy!
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Tag
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Hype
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Tag
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I'm surprised how much of the first issue is recaping other series.

I also think the resurrections of Warlock, Pip, and Gamora is handled sloppy, although the payoff is worth it.

I vastly prefer death obsessed Thanos over how the MCU portrayed him, even though I still liked him in the MCU.

Dr. Strange, I don't feel so good didn't really have the same impact that Spidey had
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Remember that Infinity War is a hard ending cliffhanger and issue #1 is really just a chapter. I agree, but yeah, the pacing is appropriate because they are using the disappearances as a plot device and not an ending curtain jerk.
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True. I just thought Wong had a lot of similarities to Spidey in his disappearing so the comparisson jumped to mind.
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Tag

Didn't get around to reading the Moore story last week but I'll get around to it. I am looking forward to reading Infinity War, I skipped it when getting into Annihilation so I'll be interesting to go back.
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Infinity Gauntlet.

We... probably don't want to read Infinity War.
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Looks like quite a few people weren't feeling so good after that first issue. Really enjoying it so far!

I knew that this series started with the snap, but I always assumed it was the very first thing to happen, so I'm glad we got some background to explain why the snap happens and some of Thanos' motives before that big scene.
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I really like the variety of views the destruction gets in issue 2. From street level heroes to cosmic heroes to villains to Galactus to gods. Everyone is impacted by Thanos and it shows.

I love Death and her sassy attitude despite not talking.

I love/hate how the Kree and Skrulls just instantly blame each other for what's happening
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Issue 3 - I love how everyone at Dr. Strange's just leaves Rintrah behind with no acknowledgement.
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I'm at issue #2, but I want to stop and say this.

Motherfuckers hate the Fantastic Four.

What were the odds that the ENTIRE team gets wiped in one snap?
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scarletspeed7 posted...

I'm at issue #2, but I want to stop and say this.

Motherfuckers hate the Fantastic Four.

What were the odds that the ENTIRE team gets wiped in one snap?

Studying the list of those snapped I was like yeah, okay, B team people (at least in terms of 90s comics).

But I really think the FF is fairly popular in the 90s so the whole team there is weird
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It's also the entire original line up of the X-Men minus Scott.
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Also a big complaint In have with the Marvel events is how little character pieces there are. They gather all these heroes for battle and it should be really cool but only like 4 of them get any meaningful lines and it is very apparent they are just trying to look cool by including all these heroes.
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Yeah but at this time they were X Factor and not X Men and X Factor (when it was just those 5) was lame.

So I'll allow it.
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This one is interesting in that it's mostly the non-group-of-heroes getting development. I love the little moments with Death, Nebula, Thanos, Starfox, Mephisto, etc. I think in big events either you go full DC and have 500 issues involved so everyone gets a piece or you go Marvel and everyone gets one line of dialogue and you accept that they are mostly there to build stakes and create urgency and kayfabe strength.
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TotallyNotMI posted...

Yeah but at this time they were X Factor and not X Men and X Factor (when it was just those 5) was lame.

So I'll allow it.

Yeah but X-Factor sold as well as X-Men at this point. Not quite the insane numbers, but... yeah those insane numbers.

Way more than stuff like Iron Man!
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I hate Celestials.

I like everyone else who gathered for the Cosmic Powers meeting.

But any time Celestials show up I dread it.
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TotallyNotMI posted...

I hate Celestials.

I like everyone else who gathered for the Cosmic Powers meeting.

But any time Celestials show up I dread it.

We're reading Earth X next now.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

TotallyNotMI posted...

Yeah but at this time they were X Factor and not X Men and X Factor (when it was just those 5) was lame.

So I'll allow it.

Yeah but X-Factor sold as well as X-Men at this point. Not quite the insane numbers, but... yeah those insane numbers.

Way more than stuff like Iron Man!

Did it? That surprises me! When I got to X Factor I was excited because I like those 5 characters but I found it really dull. When the team line up changed it picked it.
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The line-up changes when people want the originals back in the X-Men mainline book because of writer changes in X-Factor and the fact that fans were starting to switch titles.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

TotallyNotMI posted...

I hate Celestials.

I like everyone else who gathered for the Cosmic Powers meeting.

But any time Celestials show up I dread it.

We're reading Earth X next now.

Based on context I assume this is not DC Nazi Earth X. I've never heard of Marvel Earth X!
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Marvel Earth X is way cooler.

How often do I say that?
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Whoa.

I'd be willing to deal with Celestials to see this then!
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I love in Issue 4 during the big battle Nebula just wandering around oblivious to what's happening
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In Issue 5 I can see and hear the heart break in Thanos when Death turns on him.
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I love Nebula getting the gauntlet but I don't love how quickly they get Thanos to side with helping them. And then Thanos helping spills into the next two Infinity events too!

(Random side note, but I really enjoyed The Goddess in Infinity Crusade)
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And done!

First time I read this I found a reading order and read all the tie in issues alongside the main series. It felt bloated that way. Reading just these core issues made it flow better. I will probably read other big crossovers this way in the future, read the main story then go back to read the side stories
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TotallyNotMI posted...

And done!

First time I read this I found a reading order and read all the tie in issues alongside the main series. It felt bloated that way. Reading just these core issues made it flow better. I will probably read other big crossovers this way in the future, read the main story then go back to read the side stories

That works for a lot of the old crossovers. There are a few crossovers were you do really have to read the crossovers in and amongst the other comics in at least some form of combined order though:

Civil War. Definitely requires a lot of the crossovers in and amongst each issue to make that story have stakes or make sense.

Blackest Night. It reads completely like it all goes together minus one or two truly standalone titles.

Final Crisis. If you just read Final Crisis by itself, it makes much less sense.

Infinite Crisis. You don't have to, but Infinite Crisis actually reads REALLY well with big chunks of crossovers.

Most others though, you're totally right.
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Probably gonna do some reading tomorrow!
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Glad to hear it.
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tag

i fell off of this club immediately in week 2 when i started a CPA module and it took over my life. my test is on wednesday tho then christmas comic book season begins
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You're more than welcome to still talk about the previous weeks! I'm always up for some good conversation.
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I'm still enjoying Infinity Gauntlet. I'll have some complete thoughts when I finish it all rather than posting my feelings on each issue.
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Finished Infinity Gauntlet. Really enjoyed it! It was a little slow to start but once it hit the battle I think it picked significantly and didn't slow down. My favorite part was definitely the fight between all the superheroes and Thanos. I really liked all the crazy deaths and creative fights, which I guess they had a lot more liberty with knowing they weren't going to stick. Oh, and I liked the art. It had its ups and downs due to the 90s style, but the Perez issues had some great shots.

Comics Thanos is super entertaining to watch. I can't really say he's more likable than they made him in the MCU, since he's a way more pathetic character. But he makes for a great show and oozes personality.
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Speaking of the Perez art, I just have to point out that he has the most consistent rubble designs in comics. I kept reading Infinity Gauntlet and thinking of how much of it looks like Crisis on Infinite Earths. Thanos' shrine to Death is totally different from Qward, but somehow they have the same building materials.
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Also this really made want to read JLA/Avengers again.

Anyone read Parable yet?
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I haven't even heard of Parable.
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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

he's a way more pathetic character.

I think that's why i like comic Thanos! He is smart and keeps grabbing crazy amount of power... for a lady. A lady who represents all death sure, but still a lady. And she despises him.

It's weird but I love it
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Oh it's our other reading this week lmao

I just opened it!

I thought you were asking about something for a future week...
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Parable had some good ideas going for it but didn't really present them as well as it could have.

Like having a religion devoted to the worship of Galactus, that is great.

But having the entire world suddenly drop their cherished beliefs overnight so they could suck off some giant purple spaceman, that is really dumb and unbelievable.

And god, the lettering. I don't usually talk about this aspect of comics, but what the hell happened here? This has got to be the most sloppy and amateurish lettering job I have ever seen in a mainstream comic.


Yikes.

It literally slowed down my reading to have to constantly pause to decipher particularly squishy words, and I don't think my eyes could have taken more than two issues of reading this.

Infinity Gauntlet I have already read and it is of course great.
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Okay i already hate this art in Parable.

Look at the guys finger on page 7.

Why is it so obscenely long
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I wasn't a fan of Parable. It felt a little too bluntly preachy for my tastes.
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Wow hatred for Stan Lee!
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Yeah, I hated it.

The lettering was atrocious, the art was bizarre and the story was really heavy handed.

And i don't know if i'm just dumb but is this some alternate world story? Why did no one know who Galactus was? He comes to Earth quite often!

And then the writing at the back (by Moebius I assume?) made it sound like even he didn't like it, he was critiquing his own lettering which was just wild.

Really weird all around.
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This wasn't Earth.
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Thats what i thought at first but then Surfer said that you promised not to destroy Earth!
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It's not the Silver Surfer either.
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