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Topic: So... what are we currently reading? (Read 14403 times) |
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #495 on: Apr 19th, 2010, 11:09am » |
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I'm working my way through a bunch of showcase books. I just finished the first Phantom Stranger volume, which was really enjoyable, and now I'm on Elongated Man. Previously read the relatively modern ones (Booster Gold, Batman and The Outsiders, Ambush Bug), and I admit I'm a little surprised I'm enjoying the 60s ones this much.
I found a bunch of the superman and superman family showcase books on ebay so I picked those up as well.
And then Batgirl, excited about that one. So those will keep me busy for a little while, I think. I gotta catch up on the silver age before I keep working through my timeline - I'm at Baptism Of Fire around 1996 now.
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Nick
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #496 on: Apr 20th, 2010, 12:36pm » |
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on Apr 18th, 2010, 3:30pm, TurkeyMoose wrote:| I'm not sure where I'll go from here. I think I might re-read Batman R.I.P. Then maybe I'll read Battle for the Cowl again too, this time including all of the tie-in stuff, which I didn't read last time. I'd like to start reading the post-Battle for the Cowl stuff, but I haven't been able to get my hands on all of the issues. Perhaps I'll just wait until they release some TPBs. No sense in buying all of the single issues when I know I'm just going to buy the TPBs anyway when they come out. I obviously love wasting extravagant amounts of money. I get depressed when I look at my bookcases full of comics and think of just how much money I must have spent on them over the past seven years. Shameful. I think I need to start selling some of them. |
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I'm in a terrible cycle where I buy monthlies, then buy the great ones again in Hardcover, then buy everything in TPB for my overflowing Continuity bookshelf... 
I must say I don't like the new trend of releasing nearly everything in Hardcover first because it delays TPBs by a further 12 months - which means some of the stuff not worth buying the monthlies for I have to wait 18 months before I can read it. Grant Morrison's work is certainly worth the Hardcover treatment! But Judd Winick's? Tony Daniel's? Gotham City Sirens & Streets Of Gotham? I mean seriously?! I preferred it when only the special ones got the HC treatment.
There is some great stuff Post-Battle For The Cowl. Morrison's Batman & Robin is highly rated, great continuation from R.I.P. First HC has just come out, but keeping up with the monthlies is easy enough because this chapter (issues 1-15 I think) is broken up into mini chapters of 3 issues each so it's easy to read three at a time and keep up. If interviews still stand and Morrison hasn't extended the arc further; starting issue 16 is the start of the 5th and final chapter of his epic started in Batman & Son. Exciting! 
I also highly recommend Batgirl, it's a really nice feel good read, I love it. I love the new Batgirl (I'm sorry but I always hated Cass right from NML) and it's a really good fun book. Damien in #5 is a real treat!
I can't speak for any of the Batwoman stuff because I haven't read it. But I personally would wait on the rest for TPBs: Red Robin is readable but not life changing, Streets Of Gotham is pointless, and Gotham City Sirens started off ok and has been getting steadily more awful every month. In fact Siren's best issue was #3 by guest writer Scott Lobdell. I don't know what has happened to Paul Dini; I enjoyed much of his work from One Year Later - RIP, but it's like he's just given up because everything he's done since has been attrocious.
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| « Last Edit: Apr 20th, 2010, 12:41pm by Nick » |
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #497 on: Apr 20th, 2010, 3:47pm » |
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yeah, I honestly really dislike the hardcover thing too. I never buy hardcovers if I can avoid it (since the pb match up with all the other books on my shelf)
The only place I allow hardcovers right now is pre crisis since there is so much there that's ONLY available in hardcover. Like the fourth world omnibus stuff.
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snipe
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #498 on: Apr 24th, 2010, 07:41am » |
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Yep, a long time ago, hardcover meant something. Now everything gets that treatment and it means nothing. To me, they simply take up too much space on my shelves. The onlyl things I get in HC are Powers, Invincible, and Ultimate Spider-Man.
At one point, before everything blew up, I had all Batman hc.
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #499 on: Apr 24th, 2010, 11:11am » |
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yeah, one of these days I'm gonna pick up those invincible hardcovers. I've gotta have my ultimate stuff in softcover because a lot of the books weren't released in hard, and I like em to match - same problem as the dcu.
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TurkeyMoose
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #500 on: Apr 24th, 2010, 10:10pm » |
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I don't care for hardcovers at all. As was said before, they take up too much space, and they don't fit flush with all the other comics. I once accidentally ordered Superman For All Seasons in hardcover a long time ago, thinking it was a TPB. The only hardcover I ever bought on purpose was a huge Ultimate Spider-Man collection of the first 39 issues. Those are the only two hardcovers I own.
So yeah, I'm also not happy that they're releasing everything in hardcover and delaying the TPB. Another trend I've noticed lately is that everything gets collected nowadays. Once upon a time, only important arcs would be collected at all, even in TPB. Now, just about everything on my shelf after Infinite Crisis is TPB, with very few single issues mixed in here and there. Most of the stuff before Infinite Crisis is a fairly even mix of TPBs and single issues. I guess it doesn't bother me that much, since I prefer reading TPBs over single issues anyway, when possible. I just wish they'd cut out the unnecessary hardcovers.
Another main reason that I dislike the delay of TPBs so much is that they come out so long after the single issues came out that the events of the story are common knowledge by the time I get to read it. I can't remember the last time I read a comic book and didn't already know what was going to happen.
I think part of that has to do with the nature of comics themselves, and how they've outgrown themselves. I don't subscribe to any comics and I don't go to comic shops to get them every month. Even if they never released TPBs, I still wouldn't buy the comics on a monthly basis and read them as they come out. I'd probably wait many months and just buy whole arcs at a time. I don't like reading a story at one chapter per month. It can take me less than an hour to read a 12-issue story that takes a year to come out. Comic stories have just gotten too "big". The monthly system doesn't work anymore because whole stories are never told in one or two issues anymore. Maybe they should just do away with monthy single issues altogether and just publish complete stories all at once. It'll never happen, but it's a thought.
By the way, I just realized that I already have the fourth Green Arrow/Black Canary TPB! I'm speaking of "Enemies List". It's actually the fifth TPB if you count "Road to the Altar" as one. Anyway, I'm glad I realized I already had it before I ordered it again. 
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| « Last Edit: Apr 24th, 2010, 11:09pm by TurkeyMoose » |
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #501 on: Apr 25th, 2010, 01:02am » |
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yeah man, now that I've got my site up - my excel doc is just to help me keep track of what books I already have so I don't double order! haha
I think that I agree with absolutely everything you said.
Except that books coming out in trade first will never happen - I think that Superman: Earth One type initiative was to test the waters on direct to trade stories.
I can seriously see a near future where it's trade only, digital monthly and then trade, or something like that.
I do hate how I know everything by the time I read it, but I try to take my mind off it by reading it so far after that it's almost fresh again, haha. Maybe by the time I catch up to modern events the problem will have solved itself in some fashion.
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snipe
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #502 on: Apr 25th, 2010, 09:36am » |
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It's weird - I totally agree with you guys, and I'm a retailer. I'm to the point of only buying monthlies when it comes to Bat-titles or things I have huge / complete runs on. Everything else, I read off the shelf and buy trades. If I even bother doing that. A lot of the things I "wait for trades" on, I forget about by the time they come out.
Monthlies sell at our shop. They're our cash cow, but nationally, that doesn't seem to be the trend. We seem to be an anomaly - when the economy is bad, our sales go up. Seriously. Many things that are big elsewhere don't sell here. Many things that are big for us get canceled after 5 issues. Heroclix are also king with us, but I many other stores I visit don't even carry them.
I'm torn when it comes to digital - I honestly think that'll be the thing: digital monthlies followed by HC and TPB in stores. Places like ours will dry up and die out. People will go to Books-A-Million, Barns & Noble, online, etc. to get their stuff.
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #503 on: Apr 25th, 2010, 7:10pm » |
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yeah, I'm torn about digital myself. I first read a few things digitally (sandman, lucifer, some major crossovers) and I honestly couldn't imagine reading marvel's crappily collected crossovers without digital files so I could read them in order
but I try to own the books first if possible (though I did it the other way around with lucifer)...
I don't know if I'll ever buy digital comics but I'll definitely buy the trades still. We'll have to see how it goes, I guess.
One of my jobs is in a school book store that actually has a huge comic section (cause we have a sequential major here) but we only have a very very tiny half magazine wrap of marvel comics, besides that it's graphic novels and manga.
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Nick
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #504 on: Apr 25th, 2010, 7:30pm » |
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I've actually been saying for a while that I almost wish that they'd do away with the monthly system entirely and just release 1-2 graphic novels per title per year and the odd prestige one shot. If anything it would give artists a little more time to get things done properly instead of rushing through certain issues. I always wait for a complete arc before reading them anyway. Most of the stuff these days is written for Trades and doesn't really work month by month - even Batman and Robin which is divided into three issues a mini-arc is all part of a massive 15 issue first arc and they would no doubt be much more enjoyable read as two consecutive TPBs as Morrison's multi-layering could be better understood.
My one exception to the rule is Batgirl, where as my feel good book of choice, it seems to work as a pick-up/put-down sort of book so far. I look forward to re-reading it when the TPB is out to see if I enjoy it more or less as a continuing narrative rather than as short moments of joy every month.
And since they are doing everything in TPB these days; DC could at least have the courtesy to go back and finish collecting the fucking Nightwing trades!  Seriously, I could rant endlessly how much I loved Devin Grayson's run and how it is clearly begging for a TPB, and DC go and publish fucking Tony Daniel/Judd Winick/Kevin Smith/Paul Dini (didn't actually hate his work 'til Batman Reborn onwards though) in HardCover as if they've created some magical wonderment and not the lifeless abortions they actually wrote. These days they'd even give City Of Crime a HardCover...*sigh*
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #505 on: Apr 25th, 2010, 7:31pm » |
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I'd kill for all of swamp thing to be collected. Seriously... just sucks. I haven't ever read it past what's in trade.
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TurkeyMoose
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #506 on: Apr 26th, 2010, 03:45am » |
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Damn it! I just read latest Green Arrow/Black Canary TPB, which I mentioned previously, and it ends with a cliffhanger! Some bad guy makes everyone deaf and then "to be continued". It's a damn TPB! It's supposed to collect the whole story! Now I have to either wait until June for the next volume, or just buy the single issues. We were just talking about this! And come to think of it, the previous two GA/BC paperbacks were consecutive as well. It's a conspiracy, I tell you! They intentionally have the TPB collection end on an issue that doesn't finish the story so people will be more inclined to buy the next volume.
I suppose the simple solution here is to just buy the single issues, which are already available, but being the TPB collector that I am, I know I will just buy the TPB when it comes out, even if I already have the single issues, and that's just a waste of money. So this is my dilemma. I guess I'm just going to have to wait two months before I can finish the story. And by then I will have mostly forgotten what was going on and won't really care what happens next... Why can't they do anything right these days? 
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Nick
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #507 on: Apr 26th, 2010, 4:09pm » |
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on Apr 26th, 2010, 03:45am, TurkeyMoose wrote:Damn it! I just read latest Green Arrow/Black Canary TPB, which I mentioned previously, and it ends with a cliffhanger! Some bad guy makes everyone deaf and then "to be continued". It's a damn TPB! It's supposed to collect the whole story! Now I have to either wait until June for the next volume, or just buy the single issues. We were just talking about this! And come to think of it, the previous two GA/BC paperbacks were consecutive as well. It's a conspiracy, I tell you! They intentionally have the TPB collection end on an issue that doesn't finish the story so people will be more inclined to buy the next volume.
I suppose the simple solution here is to just buy the single issues, which are already available, but being the TPB collector that I am, I know I will just buy the TPB when it comes out, even if I already have the single issues, and that's just a waste of money. So this is my dilemma. I guess I'm just going to have to wait two months before I can finish the story. And by then I will have mostly forgotten what was going on and won't really care what happens next... Why can't they do anything right these days? |
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This is why I started buying monthlies in the first place. It wasn't really a problem when I was a child, as I had no money of my own I only got TPBs for Christmas, birthdays, or other special occasions. I remember as a teenager I got all five No Mans Land trades for one Christmas and so I could read it all... But then that year I had to wait 6 months between the Cataclysm trade and the NML anyway so perhaps it wasn't really all that different.
As we're all complaining (ha ha) I may as well mention another thing that irritates me: And that is a problem I first noticed with Loeb & Lee's Hush. That is a 12 issue arc being split into two slim TPBs. Up until that point we regularly had TPBs of 12 issues, but ever since Hush it seems DC like to split complete stories into two volumes to make more money. Conversely though I have heard the argument that they are starting to back-pedal on this move because Part One's always vastly outsell Part Two's so they're starting to move back into the complete packages. I suppose Green Lantern is much like Devin Grayson's Nightwing run, or currently Morrison's Batman & Robin in which it is one massive run so there isn't really any clear place to cut off the Trades and keep them a managable size. Personally I think the first Batman & Robin HC (and future TPB) has been rushed out because it's only the first 6 issues, where within the context the first 9 would have made much more sense - or even wait and publish the full 15 issue arc in one large book as that would be the complete Chapter 4 for Morrison's epic Batman story!
My other issue with the Trades is how in England the prices in Forbidden Planet (the main sci-fi chain) have literally doubled over the last 4-5 years, and the actual physical quality of the books has vastly declined. I look at my Continuity shelf and all the books Post Face To Face are all so slim you can barely make out the titles on the spines, and the cover and paper quality is so cheap they feel like they could fall apart at any moment - Yet they are charging double what they did for the better quality books?! A prime example of early 90s quality vs late 2000s: Batman Prey is 5 issues long and is seriously twice as thick as Nightwing The Great Leap which is 7! I know that Prey is abnormally high quality compared to most of my others, but still, everything since 2006 has seen a shocking decline in the cover and paper quality of the books. 
I bought The Great Leap off Forbidden Planet's website so it was a bit cheaper, but it still had their shop price tag on it: £14.99 they were selling it for! Back in 2005 I would pick up a 6-7 issue trade for £6.99-£7.99. Likewise the 12 issue trades used to be £9.99 and I've seen them retailing for £18.99 in recent months! I swear it's cheaper to buy the monthlies these days than the overpriced 6 issue TPBs.
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sendingsignal
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #508 on: Apr 26th, 2010, 6:48pm » |
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yeah, I was wondering about that. Is it just cause of thinner paper? or is it also a smaller page count (in the original issues and then also the trade?)
I haven't paid too much attention to counting pages yet, but I'm going through and updating page numbers on my site and I got curious about that.
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snipe
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Re: So... what are we currently reading?
« Reply #509 on: Jun 13th, 2010, 07:10am » |
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I finished up the Bone Handbook last night. It's kinda cool. Like a Secret Files and Origins thing - has some comic content, but mostly bios on the characters, history of the land, etc.
I haven't decided yet what I'm reading next. Either Brubaker's Daredevil (I just got the second omnibus) or Ultimate Spider-man (hc vol 11 just came out).
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