Thursday, November 15, 2012

Comics Roundup for 11/14/12

I'm suffering from a bit of comic book burnout, which is affecting both my enjoyment and my wallet.  So, I'm cutting back.  I passed up on Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Avengers Assemble, and Wolverine and the X-Men.  It's not that I haven't been enjoying them; it's just that I'm reading so much that I don't remember a damned thing about the last issues of each of those series.  I have to face the fact that I'll never get to read everything I want to read.  I also passed up on the relaunched Fantastic Four, figuring that I could always pick up the trade paperback if it turns out that I've missed something special.  Anyway, with that said, I still wound up spending a bit more than usual this week, and that's mostly due to the first entry on the list:

Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "A Christmas for Shacktown" by Carl Barks - This is the third collection from Fantagraphics, and I've only read the first story so far.  However, I can tell you that it was probably one of the best Christmas stories that I've ever read.  Apparently Barks was a bit of a critic when it came to Christmas - not that he was a Scrooge (McDuck) but because he was turned off by how commercial and superficial it was.  I guess it takes a person who sees through the phoniness that can be the Christmas season to write a genuinely touching (and funny) Christmas story.

If you're a fan of the comics medium, then you really owe it to yourself to pick up at least one of these collections.  If you have kids who like to read, then you should get one of these for them.  They're great stories with compelling characters, and it's all put together in a breezy style that you can only get with comics.  I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this volume.

The New Avengers #33 - Bendis's penultimate issue is pretty compelling as it gives Dr. Strange something important to do.  Michael Avon Oeming is a good artist, but it doesn't quite fit this book, especially considering that his style is so different from the last issue's.  Oh, and it turns out that there is still a big Ultron story in Bendis's future; we just wont' see it played out in this or the other Avengers title.  A graphic novel, perhaps?

Batman #14 - This is the second part of the Joker-centric "Death of the Family" storyline.  As usual, the team of Snyder/Capullo deliver a solid read that makes me eager for more.

The Amazing Spider-Man #697 - The Hobgoblin war didn't quite work out the way I was hoping, but that's okay, it was still satisfying, and it leaves things open for some interesting possibilities.  Roderick Kingsley was always more ambitious than simply wanting to be a Green Goblin clone, and this gives him a whole new angle that fulfills that ambition while making him different enough from Norman Osborn.

Thor: God of Thunder #1 - I read about this one, and I had to pick it up.  I'm glad that I did.  I really like Jason Aaron's approach to the character.  No "he's not a god, just an alien" bullcrap.  Thor is a god, dammit.  He even answers prayers.  But now there's something that kills gods out there - looking forward to the next issue.

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