Board 8 > What's hot at DC Comics right now?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I also like parts of his Wonder Woman, but it's all the parts where it's very much not being a superhero book!

I've been meaning to go back and read Simone's Wonder Woman, honestly. The most Diana ever felt like a grounded character on earth to me, and not like some epic being.

I like the idea of Diana being peculiarly wise. I think that balance is well struck under Rucka's first run especially, where the weaknesses and sticking points come in Diana understanding Man's World's intricacies. In my DC campaign I host, I always try to present Diana in that context - she's probably the savviest of the League, and outside of Superman, the most capable of inspiring others. I think epic Diana stories still present her as an underdog - Golden Perfect, League of One, etc. But making her out to be an out-and-out goddess sort of detaches her from her best qualities, imo.

I thought Azzarello had some really interesting stories to present, but I'd much rather have him piddling around with the Ennis-type characters - give him something like Deadshot or Suicide Squad. To me, few comics were as amazing beginning to end as 100 Bullets, and I think that's the flavor he functions best with. Probably why Hush is as good as it is - it fits into that mold, one step removed.

Man Marvel just seems SO much harder to jump into a random book than DC.

Especially the new X Men universe stuff, so much of it assumes you're reading everything.

I may have started on too high of a note with Hulk.

I've also been hitting some independants which all seem to have some body to them. This is the opposite problem where I'm too hooked after 1 issue of each and don't know where to start.

Monstress, The Wicked + The Divine, Paper Girls, Home Sick Pilots, Descender, Gideon Falls, Astro City, Black Hammer.

All just...fantastic first issues.

And I have nearly a decade of Saga to read, but it sounds like that's been a 3 or 4 issues a year kind of thing.

Man what are they doin' over here?

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So yeah I can't read any of this. Newest volumes of New Mutants, X-23, Generation X....its all just completely wrapped up in ongoing cross series events and they all have these pages listing every ongoing X-men book telling you what you have to read, and they're all so harshly tied into ongoing status quo changes and assuming you've read every ongoing X-men book which they straight up lost like a DOZEN of them...

I'm just not into it.

Apparently Hellions is super good and worth it, so I'll still look into that, but other than that for The Marvel stuff I'm just going to throw every X series I loved from the Kyle/Yost/Defillips era of those books on my queue to come back to.

Oooooh, it does look like I'm just in time to see Zeb Wells take of Spider-Man last month, which is something I'm very interested to read! At least I'll be following one ongoing Marvel book.

Alright so I'm going to follow along with this book, but man the idea of calling something a #1 doesn't mean anything to Marvel half the time does it?

Oh man Well's Hellions really IS good. Major Simone Secret Six energy. I don't know shit about Mister Sinister but he's a fucking RIOT.

Honestly I don't know anything about any of these characters, but they're great.

This running gag where Sinister keeps freaking out when Nanny sneaks up on him never gets old.

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yeah hellions is really good

if it convinces you to give the x-line another shot, really I think the only books you need to read (to get all your new mutants / x-23 goodness) are

House of X/Powers of X miniseries (Hickman)
X-Men (Hickman)
New Mutants (Hickman / Ribic)

you can really just ignore the others. there was a massive crossover that I didn't really like that is safe to skip (x of swords). avoid excalibur, x-force, marauders, cable, fallen angels.

currently, the best x book is probably immortal x-men, which is some pretty good mr sinister stuff. it's written by kieron gillen, who basically invented "modern mr. sinister."

All that Hickman...certainly not complaining! Need to reread his FF. I'll check them and the Gillen book out, I like Gillen too.

Been pleased with the DC Universe app, but Marvel Unlimited has its own advantages. Being able to search Hellfire Gala and all the tie ins for that event showing up in order is great. I don't want to read most of these books but I do want to read those specific issues now.

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Sinister please have my children.

it's funny because when Mr. Sinister came out he was extremely boring/typical mad scientist guy

so when gillen started writing Sinister like this in the 2000's (maybe 2000 teens) literally no one complained

Didn't Sinister use to have a big cape?

the above panel is a prequel/retcon, so it's kind of like the origin story of how he got his cape

Maniac64 posted...

Didn't Sinister use to have a big cape?

3 pages later lol

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So reading a good chunk now and I'm enjoying everything you've reccomendes, but there's a wierd cohesion issue in these books.

The SETTING is completely homogenized, it's almost painfully consistent across a lot of these. It all comes back to Krakoa. However, the cast is....odd? So many mutants are meant to be key players and show up across the books. Seeing Havoc gaming out and doing regular X-men issues while I know that Hellions is running right alongside it at the same time is WIERD. Seeing every character having different conflicts and plots at the same time in different books is WIERD.

It's simultaneously too unified across the line and too disjointed. It wouldn't be AS wierd if the setting wasn't so narrowed in to Krakoa!

I don't think I've ever seen the different approaches to colorists between the big two and how it can effect the penciler's art than the Brett Booth issue of X-men.

Uhhhh OK

Why does it feel like Hickman's X-men got cancelled?

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Uhhhh OK

Why does it feel like Hickman's X-men got cancelled?

sigh...

it's a huge disappointment. hickman set the whole krakoa/moira/nimrod story as a "three phase arc." where hox/pox and everything after was just the first phase. however, the x-line at large began doing so well in phase one that they decided to just stay there. which is why gerry duggan came up with the new "x-men" team book. hickman wasn't about to spin his wheels / not write the story at his planned pacing, so he did inferno and left.

inferno (the event comic) comes across as a fairly rushed version of what he was perhaps setting up as phase two.

it's a pretty huge disappointment, considering that I actually don't like the majority of the x books during this time, but I do really like the hickman titles and the overall idea. so instead of having the resolution to what hickman set up, we instead are left with mid-level hacks like duggan and tini howard spinning their wheels.

I will say that immortal x-men seems to be the best out of the "new" post-hickman books, but it still feels like hickman got hostile takeovered.

Ooooof, man that sucks. Yeah I started Reddit diving about the situation after that post. This seems like a big editorial mistake, especially after he put FF on the map for so many years. Powers/House of X was so good.

Doesn't look like Hickman has anything else in the works, either? Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but from what I've seen, Hickman has already had to be bought back from moving to DC once a couple years ago, and has actively said "I have done all my dream projects for Marvel I wanted, the rest of my dream projects are all at DC", so...seems like the writing may be on the wall for that one?

With Dark Crisis being pushed by marketing as the first actual Crisis since Final, I imagine we'll see a lot of new books spinning off that, and Hickman running the show on one of them would be exciting to see.

Still have to read all this new indie stuff, but once I go back to rereading Marvel, I think I've got a fiiiiiiiine batch of runs here to go back to.

https://i.ibb.co/ZBNW3Sr/Screenshot-20220605-214619-Marvel-Unlimited.jpg

Oh wait I haven't actually read that last Runaways volume yet.

oh geez, you haven't read new x-men or uncanny x-force yet? both of those are great.

whedon's astonishing is okay too

Oh no I've read all of those books, lol. There's no way I could luck into a list like that otherwise.

Big day today! First issues for Dark Crisis, Poison Ivy, Teen Justice, DC Pride, Aquaman Black Label series.

Teen Justice is what I'm looking forward to most NGL, but only because the new JL team in Dark Crisis already got spoiled for me.

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That lineup looks pretty neat aside from including Damian over Dick. I always saw the League as adult only members.

I read the actual issue and it does look it's actually setting up for this to be a league that crashes and burns, lol. The first panel on the next page is just Black Adam full on "bro plz say psyche"

Not only that, but he basically all but says "This league ain't shit if Nightwing isn't running it".

Man do I love Tom Taylor's Dark Knights of Steel. It's half way over and I can see why DC is already ramping up to expand the universe with more books

Teen Justice #1 was fun, I like it a lot because I'm a sucker for books like this as I've said before.

Poison Ivy #1....I mean the actual issue was good but what's actually going on in it I'm pretty down on. Guess we'll see what direction it actuary goes in.

Aquaman Andromeda strikes a pretty drastically different tone than I expected, the art is gorgeous too. Looking forward to the rest of this!

Dark Crisis #1 had been almost entirely spoiled by leaks which is why the reaction to it is a little muted for me, but the event is starting strong. Definitely didn't see that ending coming, but I doubt the death is something that sticks.

Yeah just read it for myself and it seems like the League will return by the end of this event. I was hoping they'd actually stay dead for a year and let the younger heroes take over for a bit.

And you said it about Black Adam, his reaction to Jon's new league was hilariously on point.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/6/0/AAVwGKAADUGY.jpg

I'm sure the League isn't dead but I'm not going to be surprised at all if it does still get a major shiftup after the event (and it is a Crisis so there's no telling what the state of the world or continuity will even be).

I think we should expect a Dick Grayson lead Justice League with the new #1 (or maybe they'll be moving to legacy number for Justice League, I don't think they've ever done that for this book?)

NEVER move to Justice League legacy numbering. That is an insane can of worms.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a shakeup as well. Leaving Nightwing out seems intentional now, as if they're building him up to take over leadership. I just hope we get a good variety of new members.

Personally would love Jessica Cruz to join now that she's a Yellow Lantern, it would be an interesting contrast. Let Kyle be the Green rep. Wally of course should also join so we can reignite that bromance.

scarletspeed7 posted...

NEVER move to Justice League legacy numbering. That is an insane can of worms.

...Yeah I guess that would be kind of a nightmare, lol.

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Went a little nuts to try and fill in some Marvel gaps and got some recommendations. As you can see, Spencer Ant-Man is going down and it's a riot. I already read the Wells Ant-Man and it was also stupendous. Waid's is on the list too. I've avoided Any-Man partially because I hate the movies, lol. Looks like that may be the end of the line for good Scott Lang stuff, and ainhabe no interest in Pym or O'Grady.

That's actually a reason I always have trouble with Marvel recs, in that there are several major characters with praised runs that I just DON'T care about. Iron Man, Iron Fist, Thor and Asgard stuff in general, Hawkeye, and especially damming is Daredevil. I just don't want to read those books. And then you have characters I do care about that I just have NO interest in the current status quo for. Like Laura Wolverine. I DON'T want to read Laura as Wolverine. She looks TERRIBLE in that suit.

Still, I got a decent chunk together to go in blind on.

Gillen's Young Avengers
Superior Foes of Spidey
Gwenpool (no idea how this is a thing)
Spencer Spider-Man
Zdarsky Spider-Man
Cates Venom

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Who is this guy in a bear suit?

Iron Fist and Hawkeye each only have one book worth reading, by Fraction and Aja. I'm sure you've heard of them, but they actually are that good. I never had much interest in either character myself (although I do like Hawkeye in the MCU) but I don't think you need to care about them to enjoy the wonderful story and art. Also Brubaker co-wrote on the Iron Fist series I believe.

Maniac64 posted...

Who is this guy in a bear suit?

Grizzly

....Yeah....

Based on solicitations, I guess Zdarsky is bringing Tim Drake back into the primary Robin roll? It makes some since now that Damian is out on his own, I'll certainly welcome it. Red Robin was a cool as hell outfit but the book was pretty mid back when it was an ongoing and that was ages ago.

Any excuse for more Tim, I mean I appreciated him showing up in all the LGBTQ minis and specials but I still want to read a normal ongoing with him.

My fellow Bendis haters: If I've hated just about everything else he's written, is it still worth going back to read the Daredevil and USM runs that made him popular, or am I gonna hate those too?

I haven't read Bendis aside from those, and I loved both.

Bendis USM is good for roughly 75 issues and then it drops off a lot

Then the arc that introduces Miles is good

But really Bendis USM was only good because of it being a really good reboot of spider-man at a time when reboots weren't being done to the degree they are now

Bendis daredevil is good but a bit overrated imo. Instead of Bendis Daredevil you should read Fraction Hawkeye/Iron Fist which you've already keboshed I think

Naw I added a whole lot to the list because why the heck not. My DC Universe apps starred to reads are dozens of things I've already read because I'd already gone HAM on DC backreading when I first got into comics, figured I'd may as well just go nuts and add everything I could possibly come back to for MU.

These are what I added at 3AM last night when I should have been in bed, on top of everything I've mentioned before:

GenX (Lobdell)
Daredevil (Smith, Brubaker, Waid, Zdarsky)
Aero
Cap (Brabaker (I've already read this))
Champions (Waid)
Defenders (Fraction)
Doc Strange (Vaughn)
Exiles (Moss)
Ghost Spider/Spider Gwen/Gwenpool (All of it)
Purple Arrow (Fraction)
Iron First (Fraction)
All the Khamala Khan stuff (my entire exposure to this character is panel pulls of her doing shut like cringe Doge memes, but the character has to be pipilar for a reason!)
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Moon Knight (Huston, Ellis, Lemire)
Silk
The Unstoppable Wasp
Thor (Aaron)

Haven't read any of that except for GenX and Hawkeye/Iron Fist, so I can't help much

I've been digging hard and honestly it's just amazing to me that...

There's really no good Iron Man run, huh?

Everytime I ask if there is one, everyone responds that Fraction's is the only way to go, but with the caveat that the art is dogshit.

And yeah...the art is REAL BAD.

I remember reading Extremis and that was pretty great. I thought maybe that whole volume was worth reading too, but Ellis only wrote those first six issues and I can't for the life of me remember anything that happens after that. For instance I thought that was where Iron Man got wrecked by Thor after Civil War, but that actually happened in the latter's ongoing at the time.

Def one of my favorite Thor scenes.