Comixology remains quiet. Bah.
Wednesday 25 June 2014
Wednesday 18 June 2014
An Update
You'll notice the blog has been neglected recently. As ever, I apologise, but having neglected it in favour of exams, it seems like it was a good option.
I still have a lot planned for the blog, though. I have some notes saved on here on The Punisher by Garth Ennis prepped, so those will probably go up soon; I'll just need to check over the draft. I have a whole summer schedule which includes everything from Captain America by Brubaker, to Spider-Man by Michelinie/McFarlane, along with limited series and maybe even some posts on the 'Nazi Germany' series of origins for Magneto/Red Skull by Greg Pak, although given the historical nature of those stories, will probably require a little bit more research than usual.
I've also got some posts on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 I promise to complete soon, but everything has gotten in the way, and I have a backlog of comics I've read recently to make notes on too. That's not to forget some other content I have planned, including essays and maybe the odd primer or two... and some other stuff.
I've gone through and updated some of the older posts; I've added some more multimedia content, refined some of the information and corrected any typos I spotted.
Content is progressively going to multiply on this blog; just hold with me and we'll get there.
I still have a lot planned for the blog, though. I have some notes saved on here on The Punisher by Garth Ennis prepped, so those will probably go up soon; I'll just need to check over the draft. I have a whole summer schedule which includes everything from Captain America by Brubaker, to Spider-Man by Michelinie/McFarlane, along with limited series and maybe even some posts on the 'Nazi Germany' series of origins for Magneto/Red Skull by Greg Pak, although given the historical nature of those stories, will probably require a little bit more research than usual.
I've also got some posts on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 I promise to complete soon, but everything has gotten in the way, and I have a backlog of comics I've read recently to make notes on too. That's not to forget some other content I have planned, including essays and maybe the odd primer or two... and some other stuff.
I've gone through and updated some of the older posts; I've added some more multimedia content, refined some of the information and corrected any typos I spotted.
Content is progressively going to multiply on this blog; just hold with me and we'll get there.
Tuesday 17 June 2014
Tuesday 10 June 2014
This Week in Free Comics (09/06/14)
Marvel Unlimited
Bruce Banner finds himself with amnesia in Paris. The mise-en-scene is perfect, and I love Marvel's push for more indie, continuity-light stories with their new Marvel Knights series. I've read both this and the Spider-Man series; I think they're strong, but the beginning issue seems to promise more than what we end up with in the conclusion. Kowalski's cinematic art is great (angle brackets are replaced with yellow subtitles on widescreen panels), and reinforces the Parisian setting. Maybe it's an enhanced reading experience for someone who speaks French or lives in France?
I've yet to check out the X-Men series, but let me know if it's good.
Comixology
Whilst I won't deny my 'trade paperback binge' reading of this a year ago was a great experience, you need to read this issue. The art is great, and I love seeing our antihero Ant-Man, Eric O'Grady, in poker games with fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents discussing everyday life. It's a motif throughout the series which sees it intertwine with events from mid-2000s stories like Enemy of the State, House of M, Civil War and so on mentioned in conversation. We build up two narratives, with O'Grady in S.H.I.E.L.D. and meeting a girl in a restaraunt for a date. It's the arrogant superhero right there.
I love Oliver Coipel's art. I love bringing together the Avengers and the X-Men where they're not in opposites to each other (like with AVX or Schism), but mutually in volatile states of rebuilding. What's forgotten is the header of the issue: New Avengers/Astonishing X-Men. It's a crossover, but no-one sees it like that. The Scarlet Witch won't utter "No more mutants" until the last issue, but this is essential stuff to the teams' and Wanda's history. Oh, and DOFP fans? Quicksilver gets a good moment with Magneto here too.
Much like Year One, this is a story arc which transcends the ongoing series to become a limited series/graphic novel of its own. I've not read much recent Iron Man from before this point, but I can agree with the much repeated argument that Ellis and Granov redefined Tony Stark for 21st century sensibilities. If only for the art itself, it's a thing of beauty.
Disney Kingdoms: Seekers of the Weird #1 is free with the promo code WEIRD.
Disney Kingdoms: Seekers of the Weird #1 is free with the promo code WEIRD.
Tuesday 3 June 2014
This Week in Free Comics (02/06/2014)
Marvel Unlimited
A good first part by Morrell set in the 80s, with some great art by Klaus Janson. The winter setting is always something I love in superhero comics; it reminds me somewhat of 'Daredevil: Dark Knights' from the same year, although that was the superior tale.
Overall I enjoyed Nick Spencer's run on Secret Avengers, but I think it reads a lot better in trade. So really, only read this if you've read the previous 11 issues/2 trades already.
Monday 2 June 2014
Primer: Some Other Great Timelines Out There
Again, I apologise for inactivity as of late. Obviously I've maintained the free comics posts (hey, it's free comics!), but in producing this revised version of the chronology I've been working on has been slow at best. I originally predicted "hey, I can get this done in a month, easy!", when of course the additional research, rereading, sorting of images...it's pretty overwhelming in volume. Thankfully after I finish next term, I'll have a lot of time around in order to make a lot of progress in maintaining this blog, among other projects.
I had to check over the blog's archives to see if I was right on this, but I am shocked to find I've never made a post with a recommended reading list. Because everyone has their own style of looking at continuity, which I think is the brilliant thing about it. There isn't just one 'house vision' to look at, but different interpretations of events, different styles of presenting that information, different timescales to work under.
I've had this all stored under a Word document for a while now, but here is a list of some of the best stuff I've found:
I had to check over the blog's archives to see if I was right on this, but I am shocked to find I've never made a post with a recommended reading list. Because everyone has their own style of looking at continuity, which I think is the brilliant thing about it. There isn't just one 'house vision' to look at, but different interpretations of events, different styles of presenting that information, different timescales to work under.
I've had this all stored under a Word document for a while now, but here is a list of some of the best stuff I've found:
Blogger Tony Lewis looks at the first three decades
(1961-1991), but placed into the context of where the comics started,
summarising decades of stories into a month-by-month timeline for each
character into the period of 1961-1975.
An in-depth look at the Fantastic Four from 1961-1988, covering a number of inspiring ideas
about the sliding timescale and also the theory that Franklin Richards is
behind the manipulation of the Marvel Universe.
A massive project, detailing character chronologies
through a listing of each issue. It's not my kind of thing, but I know other people are more drawn towards this sort of format. The forums contain active discussions on the placements of each book.
An chronology for the Avengers, with placements for each
issue into a 15 year timeline.
Pictorial summaries, reviews and notes for each issue,
interlinking each issue into a cohesive, chronological order (currently up to
1986.) A very good resource if you're looking at older issues from the Golden through Chrome Age; it's been running for almost thirty years at this point.
Marvel Saga was an attempt in the 1980s by Marvel historian Peter Sanderson (he's appeared on the This Week in Marvel podcast recently to discuss Marvel Comics through each decade, which is well worth a listen) to take the Silver Age of comics and form it into one narrative, incorporating panels from the original issues. I've not read any of it so I don't know how useful it is, but the 25 issues are collected into two Essential volumes which I believe are still available for a fair price.
A concise look at the chronology of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, up to The Avengers.
A scrollable timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
on timeline hosting site tiki-toki.com. It's regularly updated and incorporates TV, films, comics and anything else to add to that movie universe. It's a really great format which is simultaneously both quite standard, but also cutting edge and informative.
Sunday 1 June 2014
This Week in Free Comics
Marvel Unlimited
I can't find any on this story, or even a #1. Somewhere, in a dusty Kiehl's store in New York, someone will be reading that #1 and telling me why I myself, over in the UK, need to buy anti-aging cream. It reunites The Winter Soldier team of Cap/Falcon/Widow, because movie synergy guys. Kiehl's did another Marvel Custom story a year or two back (which seemed to think Cap's origin was in 1943, because movie synergy guys), but that seems to have disappeared from the internet. It's standard Marvel Custom fare, but the art's decent enough; it kind of reminds me of the more recent Secret Avengers in its style.
It's another Infinity tie-in, but the fact is, it's always great to see some more of Kid Gladiator.
Comixology
I actually missed FCBD because on the day itself, I kept on bumping into friends, so when I finally managed to get to my local comic store at 2pm, all they had left were Donald Duck reprints; so it's good to see Comixology putting this stuff out there for those that missed it or digital only people, if a couple of weeks late.
The Guardians story is just exposition. There's some OK moments; some amusing anecdotes, but the fact of the matter is that it's just Tony Stark informing Flash Thompson (and the reader) who the Guardians are. The art's OK but not brilliant.
Rocket Raccoon was fun - and it looks like it takes place during the DnA era, judging by costumes (Yay!), although half of the issue is devoted to an Ultimate Spider-Man story I didn't read.
The 2005 limited series, not the original series.
- Comixology are doing an iTunes 12 Days of Christmas sort of thing, where they're offering a free comic a day to herald the start of the summer. So far we've had 6 days of an issue from the acclaimed story Batman: The Black Mirror, along with some Dynamite, BOOM! and Valiant series, and MLP from IDW. It's good to see some more niche titles being given wider publicity through this; you can sign up for daily email notifications too. The whole thing puts me in the mood for frappes, iced drinks and ice cream...
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