Sperg about comic books here

[The greater a'tuin]

Ennis

Can we discuss Hitman? I think it's the only time Ennis the menace made a cogent point in hating superheroes. It hammers in how capes are invincible gods who can afford their enemies boundless mercy, while mortal men like Tommy have no such luxury. Doesn't absolve his obsession with brutal gun-toting trenchcoat vigilantes being even dumber than supers though. And Bueno Excellente is stupid.

 

[Burt Ryan]

Can we discuss Hitman? I think it's the only time Ennis the menace made a cogent point in hating superheroes. It hammers in how capes are invincible gods who can afford their enemies boundless mercy, while mortal men like Tommy have no such luxury. Doesn't absolve his obsession with brutal gun-toting trenchcoat vigilantes being even dumber than supers though. And Bueno Excellente is stupid.

My favourite Ennis comic. There's just so much I love about it. The speech that Tommy makes to Superman.



And to think that Hitman is probably the only good thing to have come out the Bloodlines DC crossover event, and it's a story about a hitman from Gotham and the street-level stuff he does that gets him into other time periods and against unbeatable odds.

God, I love this comic.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

My issue with Hitman was that it was where I really noticed how much Ennis recycled a lot of his ideas, not as bad as Kirkman did over at Image, but it was still noticeable after reading Preacher and his Hellblazer run. The same characters, the same story beats, just with different names in different scenarios. I never finished it because I knew where it was heading, also because I couldn't find a copy of volume seven. Also, it felt like a softer version of Preacher, not as much fun because Ennis couldn't go as hard as you know he wanted to.

I think had I read it first before I read Preacher, I probably would have liked it more because it was a good comic. It's just that by then I'd already read it. I'm glad he started stretching his creativity when he got to Marvel because then we wouldn't have gotten Punisher MAX.

 

[Prehistoric Jazz]

Ennis with a limiter/editorial pool isn't bad. He's a capable writer, but like every other writer, when he can do whatever he likes, he too becomes insufferable. He's not as annoying as Mark Millar, but they both love cynicism.

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

The legitimate thing is:

But what I said is a shitpost version of the truth. Harry had Mysterio use his illusions to make Norman believe he fucked Gwen and fathered the twins. I don't know if it's specified just how he did it, because frankly I didn't read that shit, so maybe it was hypnosis, maybe holograms, or maybe he did put on a wig and let Norman fuck him up the ass.
The latter is the funniest option so that's what the Internet, curiously enough the Latin American Internet more than the rest, decided to run with.
View attachment 7391165View attachment 7391177View attachment 7391179

mexican bluesky is fucking amazing u guys need to check it out only portion of that site worth reading into. they bully lolcows on there like we do and get away with it because stupid gringos cant speak the language

 

[Liquid Kent]

My issue with Hitman was that it was where I really noticed how much Ennis recycled a lot of his ideas, not as bad as Kirkman did over at Image, but it was still noticeable after reading Preacher and his Hellblazer run. The same characters, the same story beats, just with different names in different scenarios. I never finished it because I knew where it was heading, also because I couldn't find a copy of volume seven. Also, it felt like a softer version of Preacher, not as much fun because Ennis couldn't go as hard as you know he wanted to.

I think had I read it first before I read Preacher, I probably would have liked it more because it was a good comic. It's just that by then I'd already read it. I'm glad he started stretching his creativity when he got to Marvel because then we wouldn't have gotten Punisher MAX.

This is also a big factor with Grant Morrison. He can get too self-indulgent where his earlier work like Zenith, Doom Patrol and Animal Man were his signatures, and Arkham Asylum is him at his peak. I realized I was reading the same story he wrote in the Grand Final Crisis - Batman Saga when I neared the end of his Action Comics - circular time loop, Superman fighting Vyndktvyx designed after the Devil visually - the clear parallel with Batman fighting Darkseid and the Hyper=Adapter Weapon that became Simon Hurt who is somehow the Devil as well.

It was at that point that as much as I love Grant Morrison for his grand ideas, his execution falls flat or worse, as evident in the next point here:

Ennis with a limiter/editorial pool isn't bad. He's a capable writer, but like every other writer, when he can do whatever he likes, he too becomes insufferable. He's not as annoying as Mark Millar, but they both love cynicism.

Having an editorial team that says "no" to stupid ideas and not being yes-men helps a lot for Morrison - his ideas are polarizing and self-indulgent when it comes to weird(er) things and the fact that RIP and the Batman Saga were technically chapters charged at full price of separate books. I had the hardcover collection of his Batman Saga in first print editions with the ancillary titles he made:

Batman and Son
Black Glove
RIP
Seven Soldiers HC Vol 1 and 2
Final Crisis
TIme and the Batman
Batman and Robin Vol 1, 2 and 3
Return of Bruce Wayne
Batman Incorporated
Batman Inc. Vol 2 Vol 1 and 2

Was pretty proud but I have to admit it kinda felt hollow at the end. With Action Comics when I read Vol 3: At the End of Days I enjoyed it, but by then the jig was up.
I sold off these books to a collector for a pretty penny and kept Private Casebook, Heart of Hush and Long Shadows. Realizing that this is pre-SJW infection of the industry and it was pushing product and using the storytelling device in an assembly-line manner during my late teens, early adulthood kinda stung.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

Rereading WW 1987. Crisis on Infinite Earths was.....a lot. A lot to take in. Anyway it starts with the slaughter of a cavewoman by her mate. The whole souls of murdered women thing I will admit was clever. Especially since its not something you can do today because if the Pérez origin was done today, it would be preachy and woke bullshit.

Like nowadays it'd be souls of murdered troon men. Fucking disgusting. And there's definitely gonna be a latinx butch heavy set dyke with a shaved half head because riot gurlz.....

 

[MirrorNoir]

FYI for those who might be on the fence picking up this week's Batman DC's Finest volume (Killing Joke and Other Stories). The volume (which continues the Post-Crisis Batman stories from the Year One and Two volume and collects the start of the Jim Starlin and Alan Grant runs), includes the original psychedelia neon colored version of Killing Joke. Not the muted grey/black and white flashback version Bolland has made the default version in all stand alone releases.

 

[MirrorNoir]

you're making me cry internally.

the Beast stuff could have been interesting and you know it just felt like Hickman was planning on having Hank finally break down as a person.

also, yeah, the Otherworld stuff was so fucking retarded. MAN I'M STILL MAD THEY WASTED ALL THIS POTENTIAL.

GOD, I HATE HACKS.

Yeah, Ewing and Gillen are competent, but I feel like Hickman shoulda been allowed to finish his vision. It sounds like it would have been insanely cool. The revelation that all this weirdness was Onslaught/Shadow King infesting everything? What about Moira X?

But no. It all dies with a whimper. At least we get the interesting point of having all these X-characters being ressurected for more story potential, right?

Hickman had no plans for Beast, any outside influence corrupting the mutants (Onslaught was only brought back to be jobbed out and confirmed not doing anything, while Shadow King got a full redemption arc to align him with the FX Legion show's take on him) nor did Hickman have any plans for Moira's tenth life.

The Hickman plan was always:

>>Storm gets pregnant off-camera, gives birth in the World to keep anti-mutant Wakandas from killing her bastard, and has the people in the world raise her kid (would have been the Giant Size X-Men mini plot but it got shut down)

>>Mystique gets killed trying to enact the Inferno protocol to kill all resurrected mutants when Destiny's resurrection is blocked one time too many and Sinister getting thrown into the pit (the original plan for Inferno that got changed when Hickman left)

>>Orchis having the Nasty Boys kill Krakoa by poisoning Jean and having Jean's death cause psychic backlash that kills most of the island and cripple Xavier

>>With Orchis wiping out all but one Cerebro backup (the Cerebro Sword), Moira mercy kills Xavier and the X-Men and Orchis race to get to Moira as the sword is the only way to bring back the mutants

>>Children of the Vault get free and start killing everyone

>>Orchis and X-Men team up to stop them, only for Omega Sentinel and Cypher/Warlock to betray everyone and the Phalanx invading.

>>Storm dragging her now adult son from the world to unite Earth and Wakanda's space empire to save the day and he gets made solar system god emperor

 

[Cactuar King]

Wakanda has a space empire?

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Having an editorial team that says "no" to stupid ideas and not being yes-men helps a lot for Morrison - his ideas are polarizing and self-indulgent when it comes to weird(er) things and the fact that RIP and the Batman Saga were technically chapters charged at full price of separate books.

When I was younger and as they were coming out, I loved what Grant was doing on Batman and it was a huge inspiration for my own comic I had planned. And I still think the idea of Dick and Damian taking over the roles was a good idea, except when Morrison got really insecure about Damian and had to present him as this amazing bad ass who despite only being ten could beat anyone and anything just like his dad. I hated him until other writers were able to get a hold of him and explore the character.

Having said that, the ending was really underwhelming. I don't know if the New 52 threw Morrison off his game or what but the final volume of Batman Inc. vol. 2 was just... disappointing. I think it's what really killed Morrison for me.

 

[Burt Ryan]

Today I read Plastic Man No More! and I'm halfway through the first volume of Tom Strong.

Alan Moore is one of my favourite writers, and as I think I've mentioned before, his work on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Kevin O'Neill has to be one of the best of all time.

 

[The Feline Solution 2]

Might not be that interesting to many ITT but ever since i found out about the label Europe Comics i've been reading a ton of euro comics and i just finished what there is of Alone/Seuls, a french comic that reads like seinen but with classic franco-belgian artstyle not too far removed from Spirou or Gaston.

The not-very-original premise is that adults disappear over night and kids have to fend for themselves now but it adds lots of imaginative and not-beaten-to-death-yet stuff to the formula. It gets really dark really quick and has some great worldbuilding, especially in the later issues. Only really bad thing about it is that only 14 issues are out, around 50 pages per issue, and there's only one issue coming out per year from what i read and it's planned to have 22 issues total. Plus i guess you need to like the artstyle to enjoy it.

Edit: I am also reading Sheltered by Image right now on some gay Youtubers recommendation and while it had an interesting premise it pretty much sucks ass. The character design, the backgrounds, hell even the fucking colours are the most lifeless, undynamic and boring shit i've seen in recent years. Typical "what happens if a graphic designer moves into comics?" fare, just terrible, gonna drop reading it after the first TPB. Dialogue is shit-tier as well.

 

[Old King Koaleamos]

Hickman had no plans for Beast, any outside influence corrupting the mutants (Onslaught was only brought back to be jobbed out and confirmed not doing anything, while Shadow King got a full redemption arc to align him with the FX Legion show's take on him) nor did Hickman have any plans for Moira's tenth life.

The Hickman plan was always:

>>Storm gets pregnant off-camera, gives birth in the World to keep anti-mutant Wakandas from killing her bastard, and has the people in the world raise her kid (would have been the Giant Size X-Men mini plot but it got shut down)

>>Mystique gets killed trying to enact the Inferno protocol to kill all resurrected mutants when Destiny's resurrection is blocked one time too many and Sinister getting thrown into the pit (the original plan for Inferno that got changed when Hickman left)

>>Orchis having the Nasty Boys kill Krakoa by poisoning Jean and having Jean's death cause psychic backlash that kills most of the island and cripple Xavier

>>With Orchis wiping out all but one Cerebro backup (the Cerebro Sword), Moira mercy kills Xavier and the X-Men and Orchis race to get to Moira as the sword is the only way to bring back the mutants

>>Children of the Vault get free and start killing everyone

>>Orchis and X-Men team up to stop them, only for Omega Sentinel and Cypher/Warlock to betray everyone and the Phalanx invading.

>>Storm dragging her now adult son from the world to unite Earth and Wakanda's space empire to save the day and he gets made solar system god emperor

eh, still sounds better than what we got tbh.

A gigantic shitshow event that culminates in the Phalanx showing up and fucking everyone raw? That sounds like it coulda been fun.

 

[MirrorNoir]

When I was younger and as they were coming out, I loved what Grant was doing on Batman and it was a huge inspiration for my own comic I had planned. And I still think the idea of Dick and Damian taking over the roles was a good idea, except when Morrison got really insecure about Damian and had to present him as this amazing bad ass who despite only being ten could beat anyone and anything just like his dad. I hated him until other writers were able to get a hold of him and explore the character.

Having said that, the ending was really underwhelming. I don't know if the New 52 threw Morrison off his game or what but the final volume of Batman Inc. vol. 2 was just... disappointing. I think it's what really killed Morrison for me.

In defense of Damian, Tim Drake deserved every beating and bit of verbal abuse Damian gave him. Tim in the 00s was an unlikable shit who teamed up with Cassie Sandsmark to bully and torment the rest of the Titans cast and needed to be put in his place by someone like Damian who saw Tim as a prick and beat him up

 

[Commander X]

From the pages of Absolute Flash...has Paul escaped containment?

 

[Stab You in the Back]

Might not be that interesting to many ITT but ever since i found out about the label Europe Comics i've been reading a ton of euro comics and i just finished what there is of Alone/Seuls, a french comic that reads like seinen but with classic franco-belgian artstyle not too far removed from Spirou or Gaston.

I'm not really big on bande dessinee. It seems like 75% of them are biographical works by people who either 1) can't draw, or 2) lived incredibly boring lives. I don't know how these self-indulgent fucks managed to turn being called the n-word by a drunk dude outside a bar into a 400 page graphic novel, or, more importantly, why anyone decided to publish it.

FWIW, I did enjoy the Valerian and Laureline volumes I picked up, but those fuckers are ancient.

 

[PhoBingas]

Does Marvel still stick by the story of Gwen being seduced by Norman Osborn (she was an underage teen too) and having two mutant children with him that grow up to hate Spiderman?

I can't remember, was it Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane that got cervical cancer from Spiderman's radioactive nut and died in one comic arc?

 

[The Feline Solution 2]

I don't know how these self-indulgent fucks managed to turn being called the n-word by a drunk dude outside a bar into a 400 page graphic novel, or, more importantly, why anyone decided to publish it.

I'm guessing the whole "being french" thing has a lot to do with it, they tend to be really full of themselves.
There's still some really good stuff amongst it (like Alone or The Last of the Atlases), much like with US comics.

Edit: Is your example actually based on a real, published comic?

Can we discuss Hitman?

Said it multiple times in this thread already but it is by far Ennis best work and my absolute favorite of his works, even before Punisher MAX. I love that comic and shill it to pretty much anyone. Amazing characters, storylines and a fantastic ending. Not to mention the artwork, especially the covers. My favourite issue is where Tommy and Ringo discuss how they each met Death while on a hit.

 

[BigBadBastich]

Wakanda has a space empire?

We Wuz Cosmic Kangz n shieet