Freudian SHIPs(8/01/07)

ME:

PUNISHER #50 - Featuring Chaykin, Ennis, and Testosterone.
(THIS SPOT RESERVED FOR CASANOVA #8, WHICH APPARENTLY ISN'T OUT THIS WEEK)
METAL MEN #1 - Why should I be interested in this Duncan Rouleau fellow, ILC?

DETECTIVE COMICS #835
FAKER #2 (OF 6)
SCALPED #8
WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #9
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #7
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #11
MS MARVEL #18
NEW WARRIORS #3
SHE-HULK 2 #20
THOR #2
UNCANNY X-MEN #489
WORLD WAR HULK #3 (OF 5) WWH

Except I'm only reading Irredeemable and Ms Marvel because I read them last month, because of WWH. I'm really only looking forward to She-Hulk and - erm - I guess just She-Hulk. (Who else is really looking forward to Howard the Duck?)

Nothing.

Wait, what?

Okay, maybe Metal Men #1.

For me:
METAL MEN #1 Duncan Rouleau, I salute you
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #11 spiraling toward the conclusion
NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #4 the true story behind Kickers Inc.
WORLD WAR HULK #3 more ass being kicked!

I suspect most of the good stuff was rushed out last week.

Just Uncanny and Illuminati for me.

APR072329 SHE-HULK 2 #20 $2.99

Is this Slott's final issue? Bring on the next paperback! (unless the last x issues have sucked. ...anyone?)

All New Atom, Metal Men, Fantastic Four, Irredeemable Ant-Man, She-Hulk, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, Thor, World War Hulk.

I think Slott's with Shulk 'til #21, so probably a couple months away from a TPB.

She-Hulk

ALL NEW ATOM #14 (CD) - I was actually really looking forward to the Search for RP, until it became glaringly obvious that it's going to be an editorially-mandated suckfest.
DETECTIVE COMICS #835 - Not sure how much longer I'm going to stay with this, as the art is really not doing it for me.
METAL MEN #1 (OF 8) - Ahhh, the free and easy feeling that comes with signing on to read a ltd-series. No worries that it will eventually suck when the creative team moves on.
MIDNIGHTER #10 - speaking of which, but Sprouse is back/still there and Giffen has earned a look-see.
WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY #9 - must drop. not caring.
SHE-HULK 2 #20 - bittersweet that this title seems to be returning to what it was when I loved it just as Slott's leaving.

ALL NEW ATOM #14 - What Huk said
DETECTIVE COMICS #835 - it's good most months, really
FAKER #2 - meh, it's only 6 issues
JONAH HEX #22 - this book is so underrated, I swear it's just me buying it. I expect cancellation every month. Saying that, Hex vs Tesla WTF?
METAL MEN #1 - prepared for this not to be an absolute blast
MIDNIGHTER #10 - patchy, but still worth it
FANTASTIC FOUR #548 - in which not much happens, probably
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #11 - is this the second last one?
PUNISHER #50 - I wish this wasn't being eclipsed by PWJ
SHE-HULK 2 #20 - bye bye Dan, bye bye pull list
THOR #2 - first issue was fun, I'll give it a chance
WORLD WAR HULK #3 - LESS TALK, MORE SMASH

Please note: this week's DC is a FILL-IN (by John Rozum & Tom Mandrake).

OMG, the Countdown half-splash of shitty characters in Subquantum Space is a swipe of the Dr. Strange panel in the DW's Ditko chapter!

also, Giffen's layouts make a difference. Not enough of one, though. Also, I am not reading Countdown.

So how did you know about the half-splash?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!

!?!??!?!??!?!?!?

...

!!?!?!?!???!?!?!??!?!

Has anyone read any of those Conan comics that Tim Truman has done?

I looked around online and just ordered a few cheap Batman trades in the past few days.

Batman: Tales of the Demon
Batman: Thrillkiller
Batman: Batman in the Eighties
Batman: Collected Legends of the Dark Knight
Batman: Terror

You know I usually don't get too bugged by Bendis' ticks -- I think his best work plays them down -- but wtf on Illuminati #4? It's a decent issue but Dr. Strange and Charles Xavier seem waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of character for most of the issue.

You are in for fun, Earl! Tales of the Demon is primo awesomeness. Thrillkiller is odd and awesome (oddsome?). Batman 80s is most notable for the Michael Golden drawn PLAYA ON THE OTHER SIDE!
the others i don't know

Bendis has never come close to writing Dr. Strange anywhere remotely in character, so no surprise there.

Well, maybe so, but I think he's done fine with Dr. Strange in Daredevil and New Avengers.

Haven't read his Daredevil, but in NA and the Illuminati Bendis has Dr. Strange being way too passive and ineffectual, and even kinda slow on the uptake, for some reason. Like if it's not something mystical or spiritual then he's completely disinterested and/or unfamiliar. Bendis seems to forget that Strange is one of the smartest and most competent guys in the Marvel U, and not just arrogant but supremely confident, perhaps too much so for his own good, as he pretty much always has to be in control of whatever situation he's in. Having him just stand around in the background while Luke Cage and Wolverine, or whoever, discuss what needs to be done is kinda ridiculous. Instead of being dashing and kind of cool he's just a boring, addle-brained old worry-wart. I haven't read the last couple issues of New Avengers or the latest Illuminati, so perhaps this has changed, but otherwise I've been really disappointed with how he writes the character. Either Bendis doesn't get Dr. Strange, at least not as he has been portrayed in his own series and the Defenders and even BKV's book from last year, or else it's all intentional and Strange is part of this Skrull invasion stuff.

I don't know. Don't you think it's just been an effort to humanize Dr. Strange? I agree that the dynamics in New Avengers is off, but in general, it seems as though the idea is to recast Strange as a very serious and smart guy who tends to focus on mystical things to the exclusion of other things, kind of a counterpoint to Tony Stark.

A Mike Golden series that I loved as a kid and is probably not well known these days are the first 12 issues of The Micronauts. I know it was a toy tie-in comic, but that was actually a pretty good series, especially the first twelve issues that Golden drew and the first few issues of the second series.

Today I had my first visit to a comic book store since probably the mid-90s. It was something else and a real mind trip. It is mind blowing how many titles are published these days. I remember when you would get an order form from Mile High and it would be a memographed page front and back for a month, mind you that was everything that was coming out.

I know I have read some of the Ra's Al Ghul 70s stories, as they got reprinted a few times as extras, but I know I haven't read them in one volume. Dennys O'Neil was always a good writer. I really liked The Question when they brought it out on DC.

I saw a lot of stuff today that brought back some memories, so much that I haven't thought of in years. I've already got a scribbled sheet of some stuff I want to check out again like Nexus, Grendel and many others.

Today, I picked up a trade paperback of From Hell, I had two issues of it and never got to read the whole thing. I also picked up the first trade of Grim Jack and a Batman: The Long Halloween.

DC is reprinting the O'Neil Question series this fall!

Today I had my first visit to a comic book store since probably the mid-90s. It was something else and a real mind trip. It is mind blowing how many titles are published these days. I remember when you would get an order form from Mile High and it would be a memographed page front and back for a month, mind you that was everything that was coming out.

That's probably twenty years before your last visit to a comic shop, though.

marvel ought to let me write an ongoing dr. strangetitle. i promise you all it will kick ass. we'll get michael lark to draw it.