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

Looked at the preview on Comixology and it looks like a lot of fun!

The art samples I saw are stunning! I emailed my CBS to see if they either have it or can get it!

I popped my head into the shop today, but it wasn't there. Neither was Impossible Inc #2. I got absolutely soaked too. whine...moan...Bah!

I really liked The Beauty so far. Its a bit light so does better in collected trades but the covers caught my eye and I gave it ago.

It reminds me kind of like Y THE LAST MAN, tho not AS good of course but still good. Here's why:

There is a Beauty disease that is the main plot, we've got two detectives investigating it.

But what is cool and what reminds me of YtLM is that the main plot has all these tangents of what it is like to actually live with (or without) this disease that makes you beautiful and how society is changing because of it.

Its not spectacular but I am finding I like it way more than I expected to. Art is pretty good, its a bit humorous and has action.

However, I think it would be nigh impossible to jump into.

I'm not too familiar with Ed Brubaker's multitude of crime drama collaborations with Sean Phillips, but yesterday I read their first OGN, "My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies," and I found it astonishing! I give it my highest possible recommendation, and I suggest anybody with preconceptions about modern crime comics leave them at the door, like I did.

In a word: WOW.

I've heard a few positive things about the Brubaker/Phillips work. I'll really need to take a look.

Thoth, the best part that I forgot to mention in my review is that while it's obviously part of something bigger, it's completely accessible and stands on its own. Brubaker has said that he makes an effort to do just that with his stories under the "Criminal" umbrella.

I didn't even realise it was part of something larger too. Always a treat if it's done well. Thanks Ms. Hebificks.

Just found out that, this Summer 2019, Hermes Press's ongoing collections reprinting the Phantom dailies are *finally* going to reach the early 1960s, and the arrival of Seymour "Sy" Barry on art!

YYYYAAAAAYYYYYY!

I don't know if I've ever shared this before in this forum, but as a child of the 80s, I got to enjoy the Last Hurrah of the classic adventure strips. My favorite of them all was the Phantom, and I certainly consider Sy Barry foremost among my formative artistic influences.

FTR, Phantom creator/scripter Lee Falk was still alive and active in the 80s, though it's possible he may have had other writers ghosting for him at this point. Sy Barry definitely had a lot of ghosts (including Joe Giella and Carmine Infantino), but I'm quite sure that he always contributed something to the finished art, otherwise I doubt the look of the strip would have been so consistent.

For any Phantom fan, from the casual to the hardcore, this is truly a milestone and I give it the highest possible recommendation. I'm ecstatic that I'll finally be able to see Barry (and company's) Phantom art from the 60s and 70s!

I'm walking on air right now!

Just read it myself. A gorgeous, moody, noirish book with a bit of a swerve near the end that puts the story in a new perspective. A fine example of the Brubaker/Phillips collaboration and an excellent self-contained yarn which also has connections to the larger "Criminal" universe. The connections are in no way essential to understanding the story. I'm looking forward to catching up soon on the latest Criminal volume that is already a few issues in.

While I'm at it, I'll recommend Kill or Be Killed (by the same creative team), which I thought I connected with even more than Fatale or The Fade-Out. Okay, maybe I'm not in love with the ending and the unexpected spin it puts on the series-long narration, but otherwise, I thought this modern vigilante tale was excellent and a real page-turner.

Glad you enjoyed "My Heroes," Lardy. I don't remember if I said this in my original review, but I found it very refreshing how EB and SP went against the grain of noir-comics tropes, with those bright, soft colors and the lack of typical noir archetypes among the cast.

And I will check out those Criminal arcs you've recommended. Thanks!

Some recent New Warriors reminiscing with Myg Andy S in Spaceopoly makes me really wish Marvel would get it together to collect Fabian Nicieza's 52-issue NW run in a cohesive, coherent way.

Last year, they finally reached up to issue #36 with the NW: Darkness and Light trade, so I haven't entirely given up hope.

In the meantime, here's what I consider the very best of Fabian's NW stories, the ones most worth seeking as individual issues:

- #1-6 and Thor 411-412: Team forms, fights Terrax, fights their rival team Psionex, meets the Inhumans

- #10-26: Lots of good stuff here: a battle with the Hellions, an alternate universe created by the Sphinx, rematch with Psionex, the return of Terrax, clash with Gideon, Vance Astro's horrifying last-straw confrontation with his abusive father, and shocking revelations that shake the team to its very foundations.

- Night Thrasher: Four Control #1-4: He's not my favorite team member, but this solo mini-series is a solid piece of work.

- #31: Spotlight on Firestar, guest-starring Cannonball and Warpath; my single favorite NW issue!

- #32-34 and Annual 3: Guest-starring every shadow-related character in the Marvel Universe.

- #40-42: NW goes cosmic! Darick Robertson fans -- this is a must-have for you!

- Time and Time Again event (NW #47-50, Night Thrasher #11-12, Nova #6-7): Despite the inconvenience of having to buy issues of other series, this is the Nineties at its most Nicieza...or Nicieza at his most Nineties...either way, that's a GOOD thing!

- #51-52: Fabian ties up loose ends before leaving.

Probably not a surprise that I'd enjoy it, but Superman Smashes the Klan is pretty awesome.

Finally arrived yesterday, after a five-month delay.

It was worth the wait.

Barry's art did not disappoint, and the interview with him at the beginning of the volume is fun.

The second arc that Barry drew turned out to be a spotlight for the Phantom's long-distance lover, Diana Palmer. She's my favorite character from the Phantom Universe.

So, yes, I reiterate my highest possible recommendation.

The Phantom is quite well known here in Australia. A local publisher, Frew, has been reprinting the newspaper strips along with additional stories from Scandinavia like Fantomen since 1948 and is still a regular staple at newsagents.

I too thoroughly enjoyed Sy Barry's art. Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy had interesting and distinctive styles but when Barry took over it took the strip to a whole new level.

I never got into the Fantomen side of things. With the writing and artwork it just felt too different, although I am aware they have had some very interesting tales.

I still follow the current writer Tony De Paul and the artist Mike Manley and I think they both do a good job of maintaining the same style in the strip, but I still prefer Falk and Barry.

Totally agree with your recommendation.

Thanks, Stile.

Always nice to find out another Legion Worlder is a Phantom fan.

Just a quick elaboration on a recommendation I made in the Re-Reads thread:


I forgot to specify that the Kubert Hawkman stories in question first appeared in: Brave & the Bold numbers 34, 35, 36, 42, 43, and 44. They have been reprinted in: Hawkman Archives Volume 1 and Showcase presents Hawkman Volume 1 (the former in color, the latter in black & white.)

There's also a 1989 Hawkman trade, in color, which you might be able to find a used copy of at a reasonable price.

It's been a while since I've recommended anything, not because nothing's been worthwhile, just me being too lazy to review.

I picked up a sampling of recent DC books to see if anything would stick and found 3 I liked:

Catwoman Lonely City by Cliff Chiang - one of the Black Label books. It's ten years after the death of Batman, Joker, Nightwing and Commissioner Gordon and Selina's just gotten released from jail. I love comics about older women kicking ass and this one fits the bill.

Dark Knights of Steel by Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri - Superman and Batman as young men in a medieval/Camelot setting, along with assorted versions of Justice League characters. A few good twists on the classic Supes/Bats origins and relationship and very much in the spirit of the best of the Elseworlds books.

The Human Target by Tom King and Greg Smallwood - it was the art that caught my eye on this one; I knew the character existed but that was about it. Looks like it's could be a bit funny with the involvement of classic JLI characters. It's supposed to be dark - Christopher Chance has to solve his own murder - but I heard an interview with King that hinted at a lighter touch.

Also picked up Superman Son of Kal-el #5 by Tom Taylor and John Timms - not a strong recommendation, but just based on this one issue; I haven't read the previous ones. The story was mostly Superman flying all over Earth helping people because he has to burn up excess energy, nothing really new there. The last pages, when he collapses and is helped by purple-haired boyfriend Jay, were better - the relationship felt authentic and uncomplicated. Also, Jay has an interesting power of his own In sum, the relationship is well done, but the villain/action scenes didn't particularly grab my interest.

Same!

Wonder Woman Historia: new history of the creation of the Amazons. A unique story by Kelly Sue DeConnick and truly stunning artwork by Phil Jimenez, very rich visually, almost like eating too much chocolate cake. 50 pages of dense story telling.

Mmmm, Jimenez back drawing Wonder Woman. Quite tempting. Thank you, Cramey.

Could a moderator please delete this post? I realized too late it was better suited for the Big Ass Pile o'Trades thread. Thanks in advance.

I've got the Animal Man Omnibus out from the library, the one collecting the entire classic 26-issue Grant Morrison/Chas Troug run.

I've run hot and cold with this run, and with Morrison in general, but right now, I'm running hot, hot, HOT with their work on Animal Man! Especially from issue #5 through the very end!

Doing some searching in this forum, I found an excellent discussion on the complete Animal Man Vertigo era:

https://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=879560#Post879560