Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Any recommendations

Go for it, Lardy. I love Simonson's Orion run. It starts out with the standard New Gods spectacle but with Simonson's unique twist on Kirby's vision (it's worth noting that Simonson is the only creator to have tackled all three of Kirby's masterworks -- Thor, FF, and the Fourth World -- and come up aces each time.) Then, after the first dozen issues, it becomes much more offbeat and character-driven, Simonson stretching his muscles and proving they're more to him as both an artist and a writer than his exceptional sense of dynamics.

Or, to put it another way, I own the Orion run and I'm still getting the omnibus!

Is the run new reader friendly? I've never ready any of Kirby's New Gods work before but I do dig Walt Simonson's work. Is there a lot of continuity I would be missing out on?

I think it would be fairly accessible to a Fourth World novice.

I'd recommend reading Kirby's Fourth World run (collected in four omnibus volumes), but with serious reservations. A lot of people love it unconditionally, but personally, Kirby's dialogue made me wince and I found it rather lacking in structure.

I've just recently finished the first Volume of the 4th World Omnibus, I'd already read the fourth and am about to begin the second.

"So that's where that came from," has been a fairly constant thought as I've read. From the art style to characters to concepts, so much of it has been incorporated into Legion and DC over the years, reading the Omnibuses has been enlightening.

I got them from the library, I'd have to imagine Atlanta would have them also.

I wouldn't know what is meant by "structure" but I agree the dialogue takes some getting used to, not to mention Kirby's generous use of generational colloquialisms. You dig?

I know this is a recommendation thread and not a place for reviews but wanted to say I finally got the Wicked and Divine tpb, Sex criminals tpb and the hardback books 1 - 3 of Miracle Man at the weekend after all the suggestions that were kindly given and the reviews on other threads and they are all excellent! I'm so grateful for the suggestions and in fact this site which gave me the impetus to go into my local independent comic shop to get them.

Sex Crims is one of my very favorite books on the market right now, Harbi--very glad you liked it and would love to hear some of your thoughts! Also, curious to find out whether the rest of Saga Book One measured up to the "so far" enthusiasm you expressed about it a few posts ago.

Yes, and in addition, I'd be interested to know what you thought of Velvet, Harbi.

I read Sex Criminal on monday and it made me laugh, it was so inappropriate and subversive and sweet in equal measure -in particular, Jon stealing from his local sex shop at 15 was hilarious! I know that if Ol (my son) could have frozen time at that age its guaranteed that's exactly what he would have done. I'll defintely look for the second tpb once I've caught up with the rest of my list.

The MiracleMan hardbacks were certainly an eye opener, though I imagine when they were released in e 80's they must have been outrageous! I did choke a little at how expensive they were (£26 each) given that half of each book was just reprints of the original pencils and inked pages. Still, I have em now and am very happy with them.

The wicked and divine was a very interesting concept that certainly got me hooked, I kind of expected the story to go where it did but there were a couple of surprises along he way, like Cassandra being trans.

As for Saga, it was amazing! Possibly my favourite of the lot actually, ive retread it several times now and each time I find something new to be amazed by.

I spent over £90 on Saturday on just five books so that was my lot for now - my budget was originally £50, oh well, i spemt more on saturday than i have in probably 3 years on comics.

And it felt great!

Next time I'll search thoroughly for Velvet though this time I didn't see it Fanfie, in fact I'll ask the shop assistant to order it if they don't have it in stock.

Thanks again guys and girls, it feels great to be excited by comics again.

Okey-dokey. Hope they're able to get a copy for you, Harbi.

And I just did a search and found something out -- the second Velvet trade is due at the beginning of June.

Yay!

Looking for recs on the following as I consider buying the TPBs:

Lumberjanes
Guardians of the Galaxy by Bendis
Marvel's current Darth Vader series

If anyone's read any of the above, I'd appreciate your impressions of them!

Lardy, I haven't read "Darth Vader", but I've been following the "Star Wars: Shattered Empire" 4-issue mini-series, which will function as a bridge between the movies "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens". I'm quite enjoying it. Greg Rucka, whom I've never had time for in the past, has really impressed me here; he should do more all-ages stuff. The final issue is supposed to come out next week.

ICYMI in my Pile O'Trades thread, I wanted to make sure you check this one out....

Last week I read Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. I'd been hearing about this series for years, so I'd been patiently eBay-stalking the entire 6-volume set for a good while. I finally won a lot for a very good price a few weeks ago. Based on this first volume, I'm really glad I did!

Joe Hill has quite the pedigree, him being the son of horror legend Stephen King. To this point he has authored three novels and a number of short stories, including one anthology collection of them. It's hard for any child of a famous person to distinguish him or herself in the same medium that made their parent famous. On top of having the material succeed on its own merits, there's the inevitable comparison to what the parent has done. King has done very little work in comics, so Locke & Key is a fine way for Joe to distinguish himself from his famous dad.

You know, at first blush, there are a lot of elements in this story that seem pretty "been there, done that" especially in the horror genre. Hill uses a lot of familiar horror cliches--a mysterious, supernatural house, a creepy girl in a well, a family stricken by tragedy and unable to run away from it--to name a few that come to mind. Of course, you can argue quite successfully that every basic story has been told before. The difference is the execution, and I feel Hill does so nicely here.

To me, this story is successful for the same reason that I typically find success in stories versus ones I don't care for: Joe makes me care about the characters. A lot. The story features three siblings at its center, and you really get to know a lot about them through the course of the story, especially as you learn how the tragedy that initiates the story has affected each of them. The other characters are well-done as well, even the most monstrous of them.

I'd say that's one strength that Joe shares with his father. As well-hailed as Stephen King is as the master of horror, I've always felt that he would never have attained his success without his gift for crafting memorable, relatable and flawed characters. All of those elements are on full display in Locke & Key. If you can convey all of that with characters, chances are you will win my admiration and devotion as a storyteller.

This is not to say that there is nothing fresh and interesting in Locke & Key. I think the concept of Keyhouse is rife with potential of which the surface is barely scratched here. I can easily see how we will get five more volumes potentially loaded with twists and surprises. And I certainly liked what we saw here.

Even better, though this is part of a longer series, we get a fairly complete and satisfying story that stands alone pretty well, even as it clearly sets up further developments. There's an immediate threat to the volume that echoes some of the more thrilling horror movies, and that threat is more or less resolved by the end. I don't know if subsequent volumes are that satisfying on their own, but I really admired that element in this one.

Locke & Key is blessed in its entirety with the same artist, Gabriel Hernandez, who I felt did a pretty awesome job here. His work reminds me of two other artists I've enjoyed, Steve Dillon and Steve Pugh. And I also perceive a smidge of Kevin Nowlan in there--something about the eyes and the line, I think. But Gabriel is his own artist; those are just the nearest comparisons I can make. He tells the story very effectively and conveys a lot of emotion in those eyes and the body language. Very good job on the design of the house and keys and some very nice special effects when needed. Great job on backgrounds, as well.

So what you can expect from "Welcome to Lovecraft" is a solid, deftly illustrated horror story occupied by believable and sympathetic characters that will draw you in. It is both satisfying on its own and gratifying in that you know there is still much more story to come. Though I have them all, I choose to read each volume intermittently, so that I can savor the experience and look forward to more of the story when the mood strikes for some time. I give this book a very high recommendation!

I'm picking that one up as well, Ficque, even though I doubt I'll read it terribly soon. As for the Vader series, it has going against it that it's written by Kieron Gillen, who (along with Rick Remender) I tend to avoid on sight. I can't help being curious, though, especially as the main Star Wars series (written by Jason Aaron) is so good.

Ah, okay.

Thanks for the plug for the main Star Wars book, Lardy. I've been eyeing the first trade. Your thumbs-up has nudged me closer in its direction.

Re: Locke & Key, I'm sure it's a well-crafted book, but I'm just burnt out on horror tropes, no matter how well-executed or how well-characterized. I'll still go back to the exceptional stuff, like Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, from time to time, but overall, I've moved on from horror to other genres. Thanks anyway.

Based on your rec, Lardy, I'll definitely get around to checking out Locke & Key. It's been one I've been curious about for awhile and this will push me into that direction.
Also, sorry for not responding to this earlier. In regards to Bendis GOTG, all I can say it is the most "Bendis-y" of all the Marvel things he's written lately and very much in the style he used on Avengers. For anyone who did not enjoy his Avengers, it would not be my first choice to recommend (as opposed to say, All-New X-Men, which I thought you should definitely try). Then again, it isn't derailing a beloved franchise like his Avengers run did...so perhaps that will take a lot of the sting out of it.

I guess that's all a long-winded way to say I'm not sure. I liked it well enough but it was never my favorite comic book. I'm definitely glad I got it though, as I like the modern day GOTG from Annihilation to the present, and this series did a good job capturing the sense of humor and fun of the movie.

Enjoying Bendis' All-New X-Men, but I bought the GotG arc where he shit all over DnA's THANOS IMPERATIVE just to fit his bringing back Pete Quill and Thanos...

I hope so! We haven't been reading much of the same things lately in terms of GNs/TPBs, so I'd like to have more things to talk about with you!



Sounds like it's at least worth a look. Oddly enough, DnA's version ended up growing cold for me because the characters were too flat and there were lots of fake-out deaths. Loved the movie, though, so maybe Bendis' book might actually be more of what I'd like.

I've read All-New X-Men Vol. 1 (issues 1-5) recently. Enjoyed it and found it surprisingly accessible! Only complaint is that it was decidedly lite on the original X-Men! (I assume that improves moving forward.)

Two series I loved from the start:

Twilight Children by Cooke and Hernandez is fascinating so far and if for no other reason than its two masters showcasing their craft.

Paper Girls was everything I ever thought I wanted from a Brian K Vaughn / Cliff Chang team-up with the sensibilities of an 80's action movie starring young kids (a la E.T., Goonies, etc.). Just about perfect.

Is PG a new VERTIGO launch also? I missed the solicits... BKV and Chaing are an intriguing combo. I'm getting Twilight Children and Gail's Clean Room already...

Is PG a new VERTIGO launch also? I missed the solicits... BKV and Chaing are an intriguing combo. I'm getting Twilight Children and Gail's Clean Room already...[/quote

Paper Girls is Image, I think.

Anyone remember reading Camelot 3000? Seemed like it was a pretty big deal back in the early '80s. Seems worth getting at a bargain price at the very least for the Bolland art.

It sounded cool based on its Who's Who entry.

I love Camelot 3000. I dare say it's the best thing Brian Bolland has worked on, even better than the Killing Joke.