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Post by bobc on May 15, 2010 21:25:13 GMT -5
I went to the comic store Wednesday and purchased twelve books--and felt furious once I'd read them all. Several were, generously speaking, really mediocre--the rest were absolutely TERRIBLE. The only one that actually impressed me was the second issue of Black Widow.
I think reading Loeb's Ultimates was the last straw. Good GOD--this series is as bad, or worse, than anything Bendis has ever done. To think this book is called Ultimates after Millar's phenomenal Ultimates run is frankly, an abomination. There is, what looks like, an overly explicit sex scene in it, which only increases my sense that Loeb has some sort of creepy sexual thing going on. I mean this is a comic, right? I could be explicit here, but I won't, but what one illustration shows is an obvious sex act on Thor's part. Look. I am no frothing Right Winger--and sex is nothing to be ashamed about, but good lord. Check it out--this is a comic book. I think you'll see what I'm talking about. Whereas Millar may have handled such a scene with innuendo or, God forbid, CLASS, Loeb once again lobs a low ball.
My other huge complaint is the fact that there seem to be 10 million grade Z super heroes running around Marvel these days. This is exactly what turned me off about the X-Men back in the late 80's. Suddenly every person currently living in those days was a mutant. BORING. Now Marvel is running ads featuring characters like the Thing, stating "I Am an Avenger." Come on now. Do we NOT have enough Avenger characters languishing in obscurity? Do we really need more? Even when a fan favorite is in book, say, like Tigra, she only appears for a page or two per book and there is ZERO characterization. AND she tends to just be raking somebody with her claws, like Wolverine.
Don't even get me started about how there are now ten thousand Hulks, She-Hulks, baby Hulks, Thundra/Hulks, blah blah blah. How can you possibly care about a character amidst this chaos?
I'm done. I will still buy Doom War, CA, BP and Guardians of the Galaxy. I will not pay Marvel another dime for this crap. Have you all seen Hudlin's new Black Panther/Captain America book? The art is so amateurish, the story so dull and bad (along with gratuitous bloody violence that only calls attention to the fact that there is no story), that even though my two favorite Marvel heroes are featured, I will not buy any more of this series.
Bring the Marvel revolution. It's time.
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Post by bobc on Apr 28, 2010 12:47:16 GMT -5
I sort of knew David Finch back in, I guess, 2005 or 6. We worked on a video game together (if you want to see some of his character concepts springing to life in a movie, rent "Grandma's Boy"--the video game being "worked on" in the movie was made by my old company, and we hired Dave to do character concepts). David is exceptionally talented, and the stuff he did for us was really, really good. He has a great imagination in regards to creating brand new demons, monsters, etc. Additionally he is a very nice guy--zero artistic attitude. I think his work for Marvel was really great, but IMO seeing him get free reign on dreaming up original stuff showed his real talent.
I am not familiar with Coipel or Tan (I'm sure I've seen their work before but didn't take note of their names) but based on the pages you all posted, I think they are both very good. I think, just based on those pages, that Coipel is very good at rendering human anatomy--outstanding, in fact--which is evidenced by the great first drawing of Iron Man. Tan, on the other hand, gets the nod on having a stellar sense of drama. He really knows which panels to make large to show off a dramatic moment. Very nice. Wish they both had better colorists, however. The fully saturated colors in every panel is really, to me, competent but kinda generic.
IMO Alan Davis' human anatomy could use a little work. All of his heads look like they are pasted onto the bodies--very clumsy-looking to me. I like how he makes the guys looks muscular and powerful, though. I think if he sticks with it, he will be great.
Shir--you are so right. Manga style has fully infiltrated most comic companies these days. I see it everywhere. I personally don't care for it, but you know it's a distinctive style that is just a matter of personal taste. I'm old school!
HB--Bryan hitch is my current favorite Marvel artist. In my view NOBODY comes even close. His ability to draw architecture and man-made contraptions like planes, tanks, etc. is second to NO ONE. His human anatomy is also excellent.
Like you, however, I always get his name confused with David Finch's. One of the two of them oughtta add a middle name to their signature so that those of us in our Twilight Years can more easily differentiate.
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Post by bobc on Apr 23, 2010 10:28:32 GMT -5
You know Foxy I don't really see GOTG as being retro exactly--I see it more as a fun homage to Star Wars and Sci Fi related older comics.
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Post by bobc on Apr 23, 2010 9:58:56 GMT -5
Also--one mo' thang--the new Black Widow series is very good too. It is reminiscent of the Miller era Daredevil. Is Marvel now reaching out to new writers or something?
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Post by bobc on Apr 23, 2010 9:56:40 GMT -5
Foxy--not sure if you saw my post from a few weeks ago, but I absolutely LOVE The Guardians of the Galaxy! I never paid it any attention until you recommended the title--mainly because I had never developed any attachment to the group back in the day, plus I saw the talking raccoon and thought it was dumb--but I bought it based on your recommendation. I love it! It is the funniest comic ever made IMO, and Rocket Raccoon is my favorite character! Shows how much I knew! So far I only have the paperback collection where they fight the Inhumans and the old Guardians of the Galaxy, but I plan on following the series now. I don't know the writer's name off the top of my head, but he is definitely channeling the ghost of Star Wars in regards to fun, fast pacing and humor! And being old school, I certainly got the reference to "Starlin's." Thanks for the tip!
ROCKET RACCOON FOR PRESIDENT!
Now that I am infused with positivity and fluffiness, I am also LOVING Doom War. Finally my beloved Black Panther is on the A List. Looks like they have upped the Panther's abilities (it is about time--virtually every other Avenger has had his/her power level raised over the years) and brought on board a great writer. Both Doom War and BP are awesome titles now.
I'm off to ride my fluffy pink winged unicorn now! Over the nearest rainbow!
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Post by bobc on Apr 8, 2010 13:45:58 GMT -5
Foxy--you were right about GOTG. I bought the trade paperback collection and found it very fun and very funny! I LOVED it when the telepathic dog is semi-conscious and Lockjaw comes up and licks him, and the dogs asks "Are you God?" that was HILARIOUS. I have only skimmed the paperback but what I saw I loved.
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Post by bobc on Apr 5, 2010 10:46:10 GMT -5
Good to see you DL! And I was just thinking that the Marvel universe needs more confusion right now. There are 3 or 4 different Captain Americas running around, 500 Hulks, 2 Black Panthers, blah blah blah. This is the type of incoherence that made me dump the X-Men forever in the late 80's.
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Post by bobc on Apr 2, 2010 10:36:46 GMT -5
Oh God. I just bought an Essential Marvel Team-up edition where the Black Widow joins Spiderman in fighting the Silver Samari--and Natasha tells SS "I'm nobody's lover--nobody's SLAVE!!!"
Good lord. No wonder she's perennially single. Her attitude really sucked
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Post by bobc on Mar 30, 2010 8:58:11 GMT -5
It takes a lot to shock me, but this thread has me totally shocked. Buckler should have been fired, period. The craziest part of all this, other than the obvious, is the fact that his work in Avengers 102 is far superior to any of the rest of the mediocre crap he put out later--and it doesn't appear that he copied anybody for that issue. Yeah his worked resembled JB and Neal Adams, but it wasn't a blatant rip-off. I just can't believe Marvel allowed him to do this.
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Post by bobc on Mar 29, 2010 15:59:29 GMT -5
Oh. My. God. I had no idea Buckler did that! Good lord that is blatant plagiarism! I'm shocked! He even copied the generic backgrounds? How did he get away with that? One of the first things you learn as a potential comic artist is the fact that telling the story through pictures is way more important than making every panel a masterpiece. Buckler wasn't doing his job!
Hey didn't Buckler do the art on that issue where The Reaper and Space Phantom tried to get the Vision to help them against the Avengers? That art was awesome.
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Post by bobc on Mar 1, 2010 14:47:05 GMT -5
I'm with you, HB. The BW's first costume is a Hall of Famer for most craptastic. It was right up there with Nighthawk's first get-up (a tiny bird nose NEVER works, PEOPLE!!) although it was funny when the Hulk called him "Bird-nose." See? Even the Hulk's dim mind could pick up on the gross and willful fashion violation, even if it was subliminal.
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Post by bobc on Feb 26, 2010 9:40:41 GMT -5
Right, Sharky. I remember the couple of issues where she was in the Avengers (in the 70's), BW was throwing tantrums and whining, demanding to make her autonomy from DD and then running back to him 5 minutes later. "Indecisive" is a good term, bipolar might be better! Thank GOD the 70's are over!
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Post by bobc on Feb 25, 2010 10:18:14 GMT -5
HB--I worked on the XBox/PS3 version of Ghostbusters. The guys who did the Wii version took our assets and dumbed them down to work on the Wii (totally lower specs)--so if you play it on the Wii, it's sort of my stuff but made much simpler.
Yeah Mandrill is in this edition. Uhg. It was hard not to laugh!
Waspie--after reading these old DDBW stories, it's obvious that Natasha was supposed to be Marvel's trendy (for the time) feminist character. You know, that whole "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" thing. Issue after issue after issue drags by with BW storming out, coming back, leaving to find herself, then waiting by a phone crying for Matt to call her, blah blah blah. BW also had this super annoying way of taking the simplest comment from DD the complete wrong way, and making a scene over it. Why DD would ever want this bipolar hag in the first place was beyond me.
BW got a lot better in later years, but Good GOD.
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Post by bobc on Feb 24, 2010 16:58:31 GMT -5
Hey Guys! I just picked up the brand new Essential Daredevil edition which chronicles DD and the Black widow stories from the mid 70's--and I was surprised at how few of those stories I ever read as a kid! I really liked BW in the Avengers--but thank GOD I never read these DD issues because I would have hated her! Man all she ever did back then was whine and complain about the need to "find herself" and be out of DD's shadow! The Black Widow was like a walking, talking stale 70's feminist cliche! I can certainly see why DD's series wasn't selling back then! Natasha was also bipolar--constantly exploding and throwing tantrums! I had no idea she was like this in 70's Daredevil stories. At one point, BW goes psycho and beats some guy within an inch of his life, and Daredevil has to slap her to make her stop. In another startling installment, Natasha goes into yet another dreary feminist tirade, and DD just smacks her on the butt! SHOCKING!!
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Post by bobc on Feb 16, 2010 13:37:18 GMT -5
Sharkie--if I ever find myself in need of a research assistant, I would hire you in an instant
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Post by bobc on Feb 16, 2010 8:57:18 GMT -5
Love the Medusa and Moon Knight Bowen figurines. Very nice.
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Post by bobc on Feb 15, 2010 15:07:01 GMT -5
That iron Man is awesome! Galactus not so much. Jack Kirby loved those huge, elaborate head-pieces! They look fine in comics but in real life they really don't work. I should know--I dressed up as Thor for Halloween a few years ago and it was hell going through doorways without catching a wing tip on the frame! Then it was really hell when I got too close to a ceiling fan and suddenly my Norse helmet became a deadly projectile! After the decapitation of several party guests, I decided to skip the fancy head-wear in the future.
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Post by bobc on Feb 15, 2010 11:42:45 GMT -5
HB--it's all just trendiness. They think it's cool. Not sure what you mean by a Republican stronghold though--Texas is very different than other parts of the country, it is heavily Democratic. Even the meanest conservatives are often Democrats. It was not that way in NY or California, or any place else I can think of where I've lived. Texas is a strange place. I love it, but it is very uhhhhhh unusual. Austin, by the way, is known as the San Francisco of Texas and it is extremely liberal by Texas standards. for every McCain Palin bumper sticker I see, I easily see 40-50 Obama stickers.
Anyhow--I agree with you Scott. I wouldn't have cared if that crowd scene was a jab at the Tea Party people--comics are art and should never be limited by politics
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Post by bobc on Feb 11, 2010 16:24:44 GMT -5
I actually brought this news story up to see if you guys believed Brubakker didn't know that sign was in that crowd scene, and if you bought his story that someone put it in before the issue went to print.
HB--I hear what you're saying--however:I have several co-workers who have told me, to my face, that Communism is the way America should go and that the system is looked down upon due to our propaganda, which is "all bull chit." I also have friends who work for the Democratic party here in Austin, and they describe themselves as "Socialists." They think it's cool and trendy. And I agree they know little or nothing outside the realm of politics. I am a political atheist and don't have a dog in this fight, but I will say I have found, on average, that people who lean right are more honest, even when they are mean--and I like that better because you know what you're dealing with.
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Post by bobc on Feb 11, 2010 10:49:59 GMT -5
Oh they are. I work with them. Two years ago I worked with a guy who decorated his cubicle with Communist China posters from years gone by. It was very trendy. This same guy always complained that he wasn't making enough money--he didn't see the contradiction.
I have to say--I really don't want politics shoved down my throat when I buy a comic book. Unless of course you do it subtlety with balance, as Mark Millar did do beautifully in The Ultimates. Allan Moore is also able to bring politics into things without coming off as a know-it-all, if -you- don't-agree-with-me-you're-stupid type
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Post by bobc on Feb 10, 2010 17:44:02 GMT -5
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Post by bobc on Feb 10, 2010 16:39:56 GMT -5
Wow--is Bowen a sculptor or a company? Whoever did the Yellowjacket figurine is really, really good with human anatomy (not that the others aren't great as well--love the Ant-Man statue too)
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Post by bobc on Feb 10, 2010 13:54:29 GMT -5
I never noticed you were from DC! I remember blizzards like that from when I lived in upstate NY. I like snow, but not when it goes on for five months. I've only seen snow here in Texas a handful of times--so when we get it, it's a treat. Stay warm, my friend
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Post by bobc on Feb 10, 2010 11:11:38 GMT -5
I'll admit those covers are pretty good.
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Post by bobc on Feb 8, 2010 9:01:03 GMT -5
Oh. My. God. Humanbelly--I was going to say the exact same thing about how his figures looked like those posable wood figures that some people try to use to learn how to draw human anatomy but I thought nobody would know what I was talking about.
Eerie.
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Post by bobc on Feb 5, 2010 14:13:22 GMT -5
Books are a completely different matter, Waspie.
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Post by bobc on Feb 5, 2010 10:44:21 GMT -5
Are you sure? I could have sworn it was 11 years! Either way, it's too long. And I think the verb you're looking for is "rotting."
I wonder if this "decompressed" crap is just an excuse for writers being too lazy to think up new ideas--so they just come up with one and string it along for 7 or 11 years. It's not like peoples' attention spans are getting longer. They're getting shorter! I doesn't make any sense.
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Post by bobc on Feb 4, 2010 19:59:26 GMT -5
I mean is that supposed to be a selling point?
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Post by bobc on Feb 4, 2010 19:59:05 GMT -5
Speaking of decompressed (boring, tedious, droning stories) I noticed that Marvel is now pushing some new "event" which is "11 Years in the making."
Uhhh if it takes you 11 years to wrap up a story...
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Post by bobc on Feb 4, 2010 19:55:55 GMT -5
I never liked Gil Kane. It's hard to imagine anyone drawing stiffer anatomy. Oh well to each his own.
Re: Graviton's Judy. The mixture of her whiny personality and ridiculous get-up made me happy when she finally hurled herself off the floating island. I suppose we were all supposed to be traumatized like Graviton, but Judy's musk ox hairdo alone made me hope she had paid the ultimate price for gross and willful fashion violations.
Her character, like the story, was cheap.
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