The Pickytarian

« 100 of my favorite artists | Main | Thick and Lustrous »

February 16, 2005

To Buy or To Buy and Buy and Buy?

Looks like I am going to spend about fifty thousand dollars on comics this week. Oy. Not sure how I'm going to break it to the missus that we are going to be eating Campbell's soup and hot dogs for the rest of the year.

100 Bullets #58 - A new TPB has to be on the way, right? Feels like forever since the last one. I do love this series dearly, but I rarely mention it because I wait for the trades. So... consider it mentioned.

Ex Machina #8 - I was happy to see the New York Times give this book a brief write-up on Monday. I like to think that I have a highly-tuned BS detector when it comes to depictions of New York City, and this title passes my test with flying colors. It's also a great example of super-hero literature that doesn't rely on smack-'em zowie action for its drama.

JLA Classified #4 - Everybody loves Keith Giffen's JL stuff, but I always kind of feel like I missed out on the jokes because I didn't read the original run.

Manhunter #7 - I don't think that anybody besides me and Precocious Curmudgeon are reading this series. I swear that I can hear the sound of a ticking clock while reading it. It adds a bit of drama, actually - you never know which issue may be the last! While I enjoyed the first arc, I am a little put off by the new one and its reliance on Identity Crisis, which I didn't read. There's a lot of competition this week, so P.C. just might be on his own with this one. A game time decision.

Ocean #4 - I bitch, I moan, I whine, and I complain about Warren Ellis' pacing. And yet here I am, hanging in there for the second half of this story. At least the preponderance of dialogue-free panels makes it that much easier to appreciate Chris Sprouse and Karl Story's understated, elegant art.

Son Of The Gun Vol 2 Saint TP - Oh man, that first chapter was REALLY good. I want this one bad but how can my budget withstand the pressure? Eeek...

Tom Strong #31 - I thought I was waiting for the trades with Tom Strong, but it seems as though I have bought the last 3 issues. Huh. Either way, I must account for 25% of the readership of this title. I'm thinking I will save my money and buy the third TPB, which came out last week. Another game timer.

Amazing Joy Buzzards #2 - What? A fun comic? Perish the thought! It's not the most polished effort in the world, but I'm happy to support this title and the energy and, well, joy that it radiates.

Astonishing X-Men #8 - And The Pickytarian's wheel of hypocrisy keeps on a-turnin'. If Milligan's X-Men had been better, I might have found another way to satiate my shameful little X-Men jones. But Joss Whedon's blockbuster series has been growing on me since he toned down the references to classic X-Men history. And Jesus Criminy, that John Cassady shore can make some purty pitchers.

Daredevil #70 - Let's see if Bendis can continue the reverse momentum that he amazingly established in the last issue. I've been reading the 60's Green Arrow/Green Lantern by Denny O'Neill, and marvelling at the "one-and-done" nature of those stories. Each issue contains as much plot as a 6-issue Bendis Daredevil arc. And they only cost FIFTEEN FRIGGING CENTS. Bah.

Livewires #1 - I'm torn. I'm glad to see Marvel creating new characters instead of slapping existing powers on some teenagers and calling it groundbreaking. But these are still teenagers. As Cedric the Entertainer put it: I'm a grown-ass man, dog. I can only take so much high-school hi-jinks. Give me something mature. I want to see grown men in tights shooting arrows with boxing gloves on the end, dammit!

Runaways Vol 2 #1 - See my comments for Livewires #1. I was one of the many comic fans who snubbed the first run of this book despite the unending praise that it received. Still, I think I may open my heart to these li'l tykes this time around, out of my ever-growing loyalty to Brian K. Vaughan. If only they would reprint the original run at a regular trim size on decent paper. Give my old-man eyes a break, why dontcha?

She-Hulk #12 - First Hard Time goes on "hiatus," and now She-Hulk. I suppose it's better than outright cancellation, but still. My monthly comic book joy factor has been reduced by 48 pages.

Apocalypse Nerd #1 - Peter Bagge! Peter Bagge! Peter Bagge!

Goon Vol 3 Heaps Of Ruination TP - That sound you hear is my weekly budget finally shattering under the weight of this week's must-buys.

Garth Ennis 303 #3 - Jacen Burrows is doing some nice artwork on this war story. Even better, sometimes it's not completely destroyed by the heavy-handed coloring. I swear that Avatar has a house style that demands an airbrush-tool highlight on every possible surface.

Robocop Wild Child #1 - I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Robocop. The movies were good (well, the first two at least), there have been some decent comics (track down Dark Horse's Robocop vs Terminator miniseries by Frank Miller and Walt Simonson if you don't believe me), and even the TV series... well, let's not mention the TV series. But, that last Avatar series was delayed into oblivion, and even when it did come out and I could discern from the variant-cover nightmare whether it was a new issue or not, artist Juan Jose Ryp's detail-mania combined with the aforementioned Avatar over-coloring to make it visually inscrutable. I'm going to take a look at this one, but the week is probably way too crowded for it to break through.

Queen & Country Declassified Vol 2 #1 - Another series that I never mention because I wait for the trades. So consider this one praised and recommended as well.

Posted by jdonelson_nyc at February 16, 2005 10:44 AM

Comments

Posted by: Dorian at February 17, 2005 12:30 AM