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]

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I was calling out the writer, Gerry Conway, or was it the editor(?).

FDR's response to Wonder Woman and her reaction:

"My dear... I understand your fears, and I'm well aware of the pressures which war can bring to bear. I know, as well as any man that these pressures may sometimes drive a leader to acts of desperation--acts which, under other circumstances might be called immoral. But I promise you this, my dear. As long as I am President... America will never use the bomb to kill. Never."

"I believe President Roosevelt, and I trust him... and I also accept the inevitability of an atomic bomb. Yet, I can't help feeling frightened. Even if Pandora never had opened her box, someday someone would. Once the forbidden box exists, it must be opened, if not by Pandora, then by someone else... if not this President, then another. And once the demons escape, they can never be recaptured... not if we try and try... till the very end of time."

That sentiment sounds very "Conway" to me, although the editor (Joe Orlando), would have had to have approved the script. FDR's promise kind of yanked me out of the story as well, right ast the very end, but I think Conway was trying to set up a kind of "What If...?" scenario in the reader's mind... as unrealistic as that scenario might have been.

[The Baron]

Edge of Spider-Verse #2
The Penguin #8

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

In the last few days, I've read Brink volume 2, and reread Brink volume 3, both by Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard. Volume 3 was the first volume I read, serialized in issues of 2000AD. The series is set in the early 22nd century. Earth has been rendered uninhabitable, and finally abandoned in 2075; since then the human race has been living in varous space staions, on the brink of the void. Our main character, Bridget Kurtis, is an investigator for HSD (Habitat Security Division) -- pretty much the FBI for the habs. And the main antagonist are various religious sects that are springing up and operating in secret to change and sabotage the habs, for unclear purposes. Think the FBI vs Lovecraftian cultists, in space!

I first read volume 3 in chapters in a run of 2000AD... and then, in a 2000AD deal on Humble Bundle, I picked up volumes 1-3 (Brink, Skeleton Life, and High Society) as collections. And they're terrific -- probably my favorite 2000AD serial. Volume 4, Hate Box, continues the story... and then Volume 5, Mercury Retrograde, goes back to volume 1 and tells a concurrent story with a different character. So as I continue -- I just bought vols 4 & 5 digitally from the 2000AD site) I'll probably read volume 4, then reread volume 1 (I read it a few months ago, so it's not super-fresh), and then move on to volume 5.

Anyway, if you're interested in a smart sci-fi detective story in an outer-space dystopia, this could be for you! 

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Sounds interesting! Looks like I only have Vol. 1 in my Humble Bundle library (must have been part of a different bundle), but I'll have to check it out.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I think if you read the first volume, you'll be hooked. The simplicity of Culbard's art drew me in, and Abnett crafts a compelling story with tantalizing mysteries. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Picking up the Michelinie/Layton/John Romita, Jr. omnibus where I left off...

IRON MAN #151-157: Issue #151 features the new Ant-Man (Scott Lang), #152 introduces Iron Man's "stealth armor" and #153 features the Living Laser. Bethany Cabe is also written out of the series with this issue, and it is also Bob Layton's last as inker (although he would continue to contribute covers). #154 features the Unicorn, #155 the "Back-Getters" and in #156, the Mauler crosses over from Daredevil #167 (or the M.A.U.L.E.R. armor does, anyway). #156 is also the last issue penciled by J.R., Jr. and is, AFAIAC, that last issue of the Michelinie/Layton run. Marvel takes it one issue further, though, by including #157 in the omnibus.

In a classic case of bad timing, when I "returned" to comics in 1982 (after collecting only my three favorite titles via subscription for three years), the first issue of Iron Man I bought was #157. It was plotted and penciled by Paul Kupperberg, and the only reason it is included here is because it was scripted by Dave Michelinie. It's not a bad story, but hardly memorable. If it'd been up to me, I would have stopped with #156. The omnibus is rounded out by a reprint of #144 (from 2009's Iron Man: Requiem) printed with state-of-the-art coloring by Tom Chu as well as the usual "extras."

[Jeff of Earth-J]

MARVEL PREMIERE #47-48: 

I just finished reading the Michelinie/Layton Iron Man yesterday and I've been reading sundry John Byrne comics recently, so what better follow-up than the Michelinie/Byrne/Layton introduction of the new Ant Man?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

This is where John Byrne intersects witht he Greek Gods...

WONDER WOMAN #130-136:

I read JB's Generations (which featured a version of the JSA) recently and I am doing "research" for my "Atlas Era Venus" discussion (currently on hiatus), but I read this run just for fun. When George Perez rebooted Wonder Woman post-Crisis, his approach led to some problems, continuity-wise. Whereas John Byrne and Frank Miller presented The Man of Steel  and Batman: Year One (respectively) as flashbacks, Perez presented Wonder Woman's new origin as contemporary, thus wiping her Golden Age career from canon. Other writers have tried to account for the discrepancies to varying degrees of success, but I think of Wonder Woman #130-133 as a [belated] post-Crisis "smooth-over" story, which not only restores Wonder Woman's history with the JSA, but also makes her a "generational" character. A time-traveling Hyppolyta becomes not only her daughter's replacement, but also her predecessor, an elegant solution (IMO). 

I was not as enthusiastic about Byrne's version of "Who is Donna Troy?" but I had so much fun re-reading #130-133 that I decided to re-read #134-136 while I was at it. I don't like this version nearly as much as the originl [Teen Titans (1980) #38], but I like it far more than "Who is Wonder Girl?" [Teen Titans (1984) #50-54]. Wonder Woman #134-136 is not so much an EYKIW (Everything You Know Is Wrong) so much as it is a TIMTITYK (There Is More To It Than You Knew). It doesn't override the original "Who is Donna Troy?" but it does replace "Who is Wonder Girl?"... maybe.  Come to think of it, "Who is Wonder Girl?" was a TIMTITYK, too. It could be that Byrne's story is a TIWMTITYK (i.e., There Is Way More To It Than You Knew). In any case, this right here is why I love comic books.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

NEW COMICS I HAVE READ TODAY THIS MONTH: The Bat-Man: First Knight #1; Captain America #7; Dectective Comics #411 (facsimile edition); Limited Collectors' Edition C-51 (facsimile edition); Underheist #2; Helen of Wyndhorn #1; Maui Mighty Comics #1; Romeo vs. Juliet (A Kill shakespeare Adventure); Project Cryptid #7; Wonder Woman #7; Justice Society of America #9; Batman: Dark Age #1; World's Finest #25; Ultimate Black Panther #1; Ultimate Spider-Man #3.