On the Chopping Block

[Alan M.]

Even though issues 1 and 2 didn't overly impress me, I was planning on sticking with Flash: Rebirth out of faith that Geoff Johns would ultimately give me a good story. But issue three today convinced me that...yeah, I'm just not digging this book.

At the same time, Wonder Woman and Runaways remain on the verge for me, dependent on a new storyline and a new creative team, respectively.

I guess, given that I have something like three or four titles I want to find a space for, this could be worse news, but I'm disappointed that I'm not enjoying all these titles more.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I chopped Booster Gold, Agents of Atlas and maybe something else, I don't remember. I liked Booster but got to a good jumping off point. The stories, to me, started to feel like retreads of stories that were told in the first issues of the book when Johns was writing it.

I liked Agents but it never quite clicked for me. Not sure what the problem was.

Avengers the Initiative is on the verge. I still love it but after two years, I'm ready for something new. I'm still sticking with it, for now.

I did add Batman & Robin to the list though. I picked up Batman, Red Robin and a series from Oni called Ressurection. All of these have potential to be added.

[Alan M.]

Jason Marconnet (Lime_Coke) said:

I liked Agents but it never quite clicked for me. Not sure what the problem was.

I know what you mean. Agents of Atlas #6 was sold out when I got to the shop last week. I asked the guy to order me a copy and he asked, "Would you like me to put it on your pull list so you'll never miss another issue?" After pausing to think for a second, I said, "...not yet."

I think part of the problem is the lack of a regular artist. As I said over on the old board:

Issue one had Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz; issue two split the chores between Pagulayan & Paz (and Jana Schirmer) and Gabriel Hardman & Elizabeth Dismang; issue three split it between Hardman & Dismang and Clayton Henry and Jana Schirmer; issue four split it between Hardman and Henry, with both apparently inking their own work; and now issue five is back to Pagulayan & Paz. That's...a lot of artists to go through in just five issues.

The book is almost there for me, so I'm sticking with it for the time being, but I'm not completely sold yet.

[Chris Fluit]

I have to do some chopping to my pull list as well. Right now, I'm pretty much maxed out for titles which doesn't give me room to try new things like Buck Rogers or even fit in returning favorites like Astro City. I'm not sure what I'm going to cut yet but some of the top contenders are:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: doesn't have the energy or the humor of the animated series and six issues was much too long for the first arc; it hasn't been horrible but it also hasn't been very good; I'm glad to see that they're going to bring in some more characters like Kit Fisto but I'm left wondering if I really feel like reading mediocre stories about characters I otherwise like

Farscape: D'Argo: Boom is rolling out two Farscape titles right now (though both of them are solicited as series of mini-series). The second issue of the D'Argo series didn't work for me. The art was sparse (almost no backgrounds to speak of) and the dialogue was missing any snappy patter. It's also not written by series creator Rockne O'Bannon (who is doing the other series).

New Mutants: I didn't hate the first issue but I did have some objections to it. It certainly hasn't captured my imagination like the new Exiles, the recently canceled Captain Britain or the still going X-Factor. If it had debuted during the winter months, I might have given it more room but coming out just in time for summer might mean I let it go for not being as good as the others.

Wolverine: First Class: Ana gasped when I told her I was thinking about dropping this. But then Ana's about four months behind on her reading. The Peter David issues were missing something. I can't really describe what it is. I just know that I've been reading it from force of habit more than anything else. However, the last issue seemed better and Ana may have a say.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Once the Great Fables Crossover is over, I'm re-dropping Jack of Fables. I'll pick up the trades when I get a chance.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Rob Staeger said:

Once the Great Fables Crossover is over, I'm re-dropping Jack of Fables. I'll pick up the trades when I get a chance.

I've read Jack in trades right from the start, because I was actively moving to trades-only when it came out. It reads well that way, although it's struck me as slow-paced recently. But that would be even worse if read monthly, probably. It's a fun series, but I don't look forward to it nearly as much as Fables.

[Rich Lane]

Walking Dead is getting a bit wearisome. It's been a good run, but at this point I think it really should be building to a conclusion, but I don't know if Kirkman even sees the story as finite. If I don't see some signs of moving towards a climax soon, I will probably drop it and check in again if I hear it's reaching the end.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Rich Lane said:

Walking Dead is getting a bit wearisome. It's been a good run, but at this point I think it really should be building to a conclusion, but I don't know if Kirkman even sees the story as finite. If I don't see some signs of moving towards a climax soon, I will probably drop it and check in again if I hear it's reaching the end.

I've blown hot and cold on this. I decided to stop buying the trades a couple collections back, but then the library started getting it, so I've kept reading it. I've been enjoying it enough to keep reading it, but I wouldn't pay for it if the free library source dried up.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Mark Sullivan said:

Rob Staeger said:

Once the Great Fables Crossover is over, I'm re-dropping Jack of Fables. I'll pick up the trades when I get a chance.

I've read Jack in trades right from the start, because I was actively moving to trades-only when it came out. It reads well that way, although it's struck me as slow-paced recently. But that would be even worse if read monthly, probably. It's a fun series, but I don't look forward to it nearly as much as Fables.

I was about to drop Jack of Fables just before the Great Fables Crossover, and nothing in that story is making me think I should change my mind.

[Alan M.]

Yeah, after finally getting and reading issue six, I'm thinking I might just let Agents of Atlas quietly slide off my radar. It's not bad, but it's just not really doing anything for me. And given how tight my pulls are right now, a little breathing room isn't a bad thing.

Also, after the first issue, I'm not sure I'm going to stick with Batman: Streets of Gotham. Again, it wasn't bad, but all the different POVs felt a little too...disjointed, and when I put the book down I realized that I didn't really have a good sense of what the book would be about, and $3.99/month is more than I want to spend trying to figure that out. Which is a shame, because I love Dini's Bat-writing, especially when paired with Dustin Nguyen.

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

Alan M. said:

Yeah, after finally getting and reading issue six, I'm thinking I might just let Agents of Atlas quietly slide off my radar. It's not bad, but it's just not really doing anything for me. And given how tight my pulls are right now, a little breathing room isn't a bad thing.

Also, after the first issue, I'm not sure I'm going to stick with Batman: Streets of Gotham. Again, it wasn't bad, but all the different POVs felt a little too...disjointed, and when I put the book down I realized that I didn't really have a good sense of what the book would be about, and $3.99/month is more than I want to spend trying to figure that out. Which is a shame, because I love Dini's Bat-writing, especially when paired with Dustin Nguyen.

You know...I felt the same way. :(

[Rich Lane]

Alan M. said:

Also, after the first issue, I'm not sure I'm going to stick with Batman: Streets of Gotham. Again, it wasn't bad, but all the different POVs felt a little too...disjointed, and when I put the book down I realized that I didn't really have a good sense of what the book would be about, and $3.99/month is more than I want to spend trying to figure that out. Which is a shame, because I love Dini's Bat-writing, especially when paired with Dustin Nguyen.

This is where my point about Booster Gold/Blue Beetle hits me. I like Manhunter a lot, but not enough to pick up a $3.99 book when I'm not crazy about the Gotham stuff at all.

[Ana Canino-Fluit (Anacoqui- mod)]

Chris Fluit said:

Wolverine: First Class: Ana gasped when I told her I was thinking about dropping this. But then Ana's about four months behind on her reading. The Peter David issues were missing something. I can't really describe what it is. I just know that I've been reading it from force of habit more than anything else. However, the last issue seemed better and Ana may have a say.

I just caught up enough to read these and I gave Chris the go ahead. The Peter David issues are flatter than the previous ones, and it did bother me that he got things wrong not from general continuity but Wolverine: First class continuity...blah.