Weekly Comics List for 1403.26

Weekly Comics List for 1403.26

Usually, I like to transmit these on Fridays, but I am a bit off my game now that the T-shirt blog is in official hiatus for a time and has ceased daily transmissions. I find it a bit strange to post a blog entry with a picture of myself in a T-shirt as a guiding anchor. After all, I did 365 of those posts since last March. It became a bit of a habit.

Ah, there.... I feel much better having added a cover image.

As I wrote over on 365 T-shirts, I planned to continue my Weekly Comics Lists posts and post with some regularity here on SENSE OF DOUBT. I like the process of cataloging my comics stack weekly in the order I plan to read them. I confess that I flipped Alex + Ada, which was originally fifth, and I switched it with Amazing X-Men when it came time to read the issues.




For those who have followed my T-shirt blog, I am going to be repetitive and share my intentions yet again (just to make sure they get read by everyone).

I did not end 365 T-shirts. I simply stopped daily broadcasts on March 21st (though I did not share the final entry with the social media world until March 30th). I will return in a few weeks with new T-shirt blog posts, which will come out intermittently with no apparent schedule at all. The same will be true for this blog more or less. Though these Weekly Comics List posts will appear weekly (often though not always on Fridays), other posts will appear in a desultory fashion. Eventually, I will host episodes of fiction, but those posts are a bit farther down the road. I have to make sure I get enough in the can first.

WEEKLY COMICS LIST

So, as per the format I used on 365 T-shirts, I will recap the stack and share some thoughts on those comics I have read so far. BEWARE SPOILERS. And because I have not done one yet on this blog, and I have a lot of images saved up, I will conclude with a cover gallery.

Once again, Aquaman takes the top spot because I have seen no drop off in story quality since Geoff Jones left the book. I liked Jeff Parker's work on The Incredible Hulk among other things. And I think Pelletier's art is simply gorgeous. The recent issue has taken a peculiar turn, and I am not sure I am on board with the re-envisioning of Hercules, but I am along for the ride.

Alex + Ada continues to impress me. It's an excellent examination of what it means to be human in a story about "unlocking" a commercially made android companion to experience true sentience and the full-range of human emotions. The most current and fifth issue really nails this story line beautifully. I cannot wait to see where this one goes. I am especially curious if there will be an eventual pay off on the sexual tension that's building, which the creative team has so far resisted the urge to explore.

Surely, I will share reviews of some of these comics. I am REALLY disappointed in the awful state of Teen Titans, one of my beloved comics, which is mercifully being canceled. Though I will mourn the loss and feel that something is missing as no Titans book is being published, like with the Legion of Superheroes, I suspect that DC is biding its time to re-launch with much hoopla and fanfare.

Superman is saved from the back log, and I am pleased with both it and its companion Action Comics, which have shown recent improvements. I am super excited about the return of Nightcrawler, my favourite mutant of the second set, to the Marvel landscape, and this issue pays off how he returns and the burden he must carry, which should have some wonderful story repercussions moving forward.

Comics for 1403.26

Aquaman #29
The Walking Dead #124
Superior Spider-Man #030
Alex + Ada #5
Amazing X-Men #005
Guardians of the Galaxy #013 (Trial of Jean Grey # 6 of 6)
Uncanny Avengers #018.NOW (Avenge the Earth #1)
Avengers #027
New Avengers #016.NOW
She Hulk #002
Hawkeye #018
Flash #29
Silver Surfer #001
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze #4
Fables #139
Deadly Class #3
Uber Special #1
Real Heroes #1
Superman #29
Catwoman #29
Indestrucible Hulk #020
Survive #001
Teen Titans #29
World's Finest #21

BACK LOG

Sandman: The Overture #2

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MAJOR SPOILERS

Lastly, we all knew that Doctor Octupus' reign as "the Superior Spider-Man" would eventually come to an end and Peter Parker would return to the landscape. Surely, I will work up a review of this issue as I have a great deal to share. In short, despite many great elements, the creators botched the ending of this long saga. First, they mishandled the return of Peter Parker's consciousness and identity with all his memories given the way Doc Ock supposedly "removed" all of that mental material. And, most importantly, the way Peter regains control of his body was very rushed and poorly executed. I like that Octavius willingly gives control back to Peter because only Peter can save the woman he loves and defeat the goblins, but Ock's realization that this is the best course of action is terribly handled and very rushed.




Still it's all good stuff. It was enjoyable and entertaining to read, and I cannot wait to see Peter fully returned to his role as Spider-Man and how he deals with the consequences of Ock's time in the suit. 

More on what I mean by "rushed" and "botched" when I get around to reviewing this issue.

Here's the final images of the pivotal issue #030.

COVER GALLERY

All of the covers shared below can be found at a blog I plugged repeatedly over at 365 T-shirts, it's a blog called PENCIL INK run by a blogger  known only as Teddy who posts nearly daily, multiple covers with explanations of work by his favorite artists, such as Neal Adams, Jim Starlin, Mike Ploog, and others. If you like comics, it's a tour de force worth saving in your rss feeds. Here's some of my recent favourites with the associated links. If curious for more, venture off to PENCIL INK.

I always liked the Werewolf By Night comic. Marvel committed to doing several monster/ horror books in the 1970s, quite likely to combat DC's wildly popular books, like House of Mystery and The Witching Hour one of which is seen below.

I am not sure that the werewolf being part of a man named Jack Russell was the best idea (given the dog breed), but the comics were fun to read. The catch in the cover above for issue #35 is that Jack and the werewolf are one and the same.

This cover is by Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson: PENCIL INK LINK TO WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #35

I like this issue very much as it qualifies among my oldest comics. I believe it was my first issue of Werewolf By Night. This cover is by Mike Ploog: PENCIL INK LINK TO WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #16.

AH.... Neal Adams. One of the greats. There's a lot going on with this cover. It could produce all sorts of stories.  Is there also something in the bed? Apparently, Adams did a bunch of covers for DC's House of Mystery, which I did not know. PENCIL INK LINK TO HOUSE OF MYSTERY #178.

This issue of the Batman Family comic features a great image by Jim Aparo, the great long-time Batman artist. This comic book cover is a very good example of DC's popular hook mechanism to get readers to buy comics. In many cases, like the comics of the 1960s, the cover was often drawn before the story was written. Given that this comic came out in 1977, it's likely that the story may have been at least proposed first. Since this is a "Giant" comic, it contains many stories, like an anthology. Marshall Rogers contributed interior art. PENCIL INK LINK TO BATMAN FAMILY GIANT #11.

More Neal Adams above with the cover of Flash #217. This is what I was talking about with the cover hook or lure. DC's approach to this lure technique was always much different than Marvel's.
PENCIL INK LINK TO Flash #217.

Machine Man is another beloved character from Marvel's fertile 1970s period. Here, Barry Windsor-Smith takes on the character with an iconic cover and amazing interior art. This is one of the bright spots from Marvel's not so fertile 1984. PENCIL INK LINK TO MACHINE MAN V.2 #3.

This is not a comic book I own or would have owned. Though I ma fascinated by romance as a genre and especially the romance comics. These story hooks are rather intriguing, and yet given the period, totally easy to analyze and critique. The classic Joe Kubert cover. Google him. He started a comic book art school.
 PENCIL INK LINK TO PICTORIAL CONFESSIONS #3.

I admit to having a weakness for the martial arts craze of the 1970s. With the success of the Kung Fu TV show, Marvel launched books like Master of Kung Fu and Iron Fist while DC launched books like Karate Kid (the Legion of Superhero character not the movie, which came later) and this book featuring Richard Dragon. What's surprising is that Jim Starlin known for his cosmic adventures and space-faring art work drew this cover. PENCIL INK LINK TO KUNG FOO FIGHTER #2

This is a classic Neal Adams cover using a tilted horizon for dramatic, unsettling effect. This another one of those hooks. If you saw this comic on the stands, you would be compelled to buy it, right? You want to know why Superboy is tossing aside his costume and giving up on his parents and town, right? Well, I do.

PENCIL INK LINK TO SUPERBOY #161

An excellent of Jack "The King" Kirby in his halcyon period. I actually own this comic. It is one of my early Thor comics. This cover presents a powerful image. The figures dominate the foreground in a dynamic way. The camera angle shows off the dizzying heights at the angle Kirby loved to use, adding the falling rubble to further emphasize the perspective of the buildings far below. Brilliant.
PENCIL INK LINK TO THE MIGHTY THOR #171

Coming soon over on 365 T-shirts more about one of the all-time great masters of illustration in comic books: Wally Wood. A classic Weird Science cover seen here.

PENCIL INK LINK TO WEIRD SCIENCE #18

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1404.02 - 19:15