What Comic Books Have You Read Today?

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Report what comic books you have read today--and tell us a little something about it while you're here!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

MARVEL FANFARE #52-54: Wanna guess why? Give up? Okay, I’ll tell you.

The lead feature of these three issues is the Black Knight (Dane Whitman), displaced in time fighting The Crusades. Not only did I just finish reading the entire 1950’s run of Dane Whitman’s ancestor, but each of those issues contained a back-up story featuring The Crusader. What’s more, I will soon (as soon as Amazon.co.uk can ship it to me) be reading the stories from Marvel UK’s Hulk Comic featuring Captain Britain visiting the Black Knight during The Crusades.

Aye, there is method to my madness!

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

The Baron said:

Travis Herrick said:

Low Moon by Jason

Jason - Voorhees? Hervey? Marconnet? Who?

He just goes by Jason...

[The Baron]

Doc Beechler said:

The Baron said:

Travis Herrick said:

Low Moon by Jason

Jason - Voorhees? Hervey? Marconnet? Who?

He just goes by Jason...

Ah. Thanks.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

The Baron said:

Doc Beechler said:

The Baron said:

Travis Herrick said:

Low Moon by Jason

Jason - Voorhees? Hervey? Marconnet? Who?

He just goes by Jason...

Ah. Thanks.

Yeah, Doc got it. He is a Norwegian cartoonist. Real name: John Arne Sæterøy (thank you, Wikipedia)

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

More Bone for me. Just finished the "Rock Jaw" chapters. All new-to-me stuff from here on out!

[Martin Gray]

This Jason fellow also has something in Strange Tales #1, a Spidey strip. Not my cup of cocoa!

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

This morning I read half of Northlanders Vol. 2: The Cross + The Hammer. I'm liking it so far. It's different from the story in the first volume: seems much more personal, even though there are big historical events in the background. Also half of The Collected Stray Bullets Vol. 4. As usual it's violent, disturbing, and oddly compelling. These early volumes tell a fairly linear story from issue to issue. In this one events come to a head in the desert town of Seaside.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

I really like this one. Let me know what you thought when it's over. As you can see, it has its share of twists.

Mark Sullivan said:

This morning I read half of Northlanders Vol. 2: The Cross + The Hammer. I'm liking it so far. It's different from the story in the first volume: seems much more personal, even though there are big historical events in the background. Also half of The Collected Stray Bullets Vol. 4. As usual it's violent, disturbing, and oddly compelling. These early volumes tell a fairly linear story from issue to issue. In this one events come to a head in the desert town of Seaside.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

JeffCarter said:

I really like this one. Let me know what you thought when it's over. As you can see, it has its share of twists.

Mark Sullivan said:

This morning I read half of Northlanders Vol. 2: The Cross + The Hammer. I'm liking it so far. It's different from the story in the first volume: seems much more personal, even though there are big historical events in the background. Also half of The Collected Stray Bullets Vol. 4. As usual it's violent, disturbing, and oddly compelling. These early volumes tell a fairly linear story from issue to issue. In this one events come to a head in the desert town of Seaside.

Yeah, major twist at the end! Kind of casts the rest of the story into a different light. I wonder if a rereading will reveal foreshadowing I missed the first time. I enjoyed it, but I was a bit disoriented for a minute.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

After reading the Black Knight half of the recent Marvel Masterworks, I followed it up with various other BK appearances, from Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Marvel Super Heroes, 1990 Black Knight mini-series, etc., and concluded with the recent Black Knight issue of the recent Mystic Arcana series of one-shots.

Then I moved on to the Yellow Claw half of the recent Marvel Masterwork. The policy at the time was to include four stories per issue, the Yellow Claw and one back-up. Consequently, all of the Yellow Claw stories seemed rushed and could have used further development. Certainly the ideas were good enough to support an issue-length story. The first issue featured Joe Maneely artwork, then Jack Kirby took over script and art for the remainder of the title's brief run. It's very interesting to see what themes and subject he was already developing solo (mutants, genetic research, alien visitations, etc.) as early as the mid-fifties.

I also read issues #7-9 of Buffy Season Eight (in trade), and finished re-reading "The Doll's House" along with the relevant section of The Sandman Companion.

[Mr. Satanism]

"Wrath of the Titans", the comic book sequel to "Clash of..." approved by Ray Harryhausen. I've been curious about these Ray Harryhausen "sequels in comic form" for a while but this one, at least, is terrible. The writing is so poor it borders on being unreadable, and the art, while okay, is nothing to get excited about. And can someone please tell me why Amazon sellers are asking 100-200 dollars for the trade? I got mine, new, for ten bucks, which is two dollars less than cover.

[James Grant Goldin]

"Masterpiece Comics" by R. Sikoryak. Saw it at Border's, and bought it for $19.95. Jaw-droppingly amazing. I was totally unfamiliar with Sikoryak, but he's brilliant - and I think I actually mean brilliant. It's a collection of his work from various places including Raw, and each piece is a deadpan funny adaptation of a classic work of literature, done with SPOT-ON pastiches of (mostly) early to mid-20th century comic writing, drawing, printing and coloring techniques. So it starts with "Blonde Eve," with a naked (and I mean naked!) Dagwood and Blondie as the First Couple, with Mr. Dithers as God. When Dagwood and Blondie go to the forbidden tree, they don't just take one apple -- Dagwood carries apples and down his arms, just like sandwiches. Maybe you've seen God as a businessman before (Dithers ordering the creation of the world into his dictaphone) but the last panel, with the naked couple now clothed in their familiar outfits and tearfully entering their suburban home, is a brilliant twist on both the Bible and Chic Young.

Dante's entire Inferno is reduced to a page of Bazooka Joe ("Inferno Joe") comics. Macbeth is turned into two Sunday pages of Mary Worth. Crime and Punishment is the most amazing 1952 Batman story, while The Stranger (which was published in 1942) is turned into eight "Action Camus" covers featuring a perfectly rendered 1942 era Superman (minus the chest shield, in the interests of legality). An adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" into an EC story could, frankly, be taken as a straight adaptation, but it's not as bizarre as turning "The Scarlet Letter" into a Little Lulu story. Oh, and Little Nemo as Dorian Gray! And -- and there's more! Beavis and Butt-Head as Vladimir and Estragon! Plus -- Letters pages! Fake ads! Honestly, get this right now. Not for kids!