Which book are you currently reading?

[Mikey]

 

[Mikey]

Comfort food reading for me. Stephanie was banished from the Bat-verse for years until the misreign of DC Comics editor-in-chief Dan DiDio was finally toppled by current chief Marie Javins who's doing a superlative job as boss lady right now.

 

[Darla Starch]

Suggested Unit Course in Locomotive Firing, New York, 1944 - Presented by Richard Leonard's Rail Archive (railarchive.net)

I have somehow stumbled on a WW2-era lesson plan on firing steam locomotives

 

[Populuxe]

Trying to get out of my non-reading rut by tackling my 1600+ unread digital comics backlog. This was today’s reading.
Doom Patrol Vol 3 #14. Not bad, but this run had the unenviable task of following the incredible Grant Morrison/Rachel Pollack runs from Volume 2, so it was bound to feel a little underwhelming.
Fantastic Four Vol 8 #1. Ryan North is simply one of the best writers in the business. This is a wonderful story about how far the FF will go to find each other again.
Fantastic Four: First Steps #1. A tie-in to the movie, it does a ahem fantastic ahem job of capturing the retro-futuristic feel of the movie. It centers on the time between their transformation and the events of the movie, focusing on Harvey Elder, showing him to be a powerful leader and labor activist.
Fire & Ice: When Hell Freezes Over #4. I like that it’s more than just body swap shenanigans (although it is definitely about the body swap shenanigans). Bea and Tora get some good exploration of their personalities and motivations.
Gotham City Sirens: Unfit For Orbit #2. Two covers by Terry and Rachel Dodson in a row? My cheesecake overfloweth. Harley, Ivy, and Selina go to space for a caper. Leah Williams is another of my favorite writers, and she’s clearly having fun with this trio.
It’s Jeff! Infinity Paws #1. Mostly silent comedy stories with the central theme of Jeff and his animal sidekick friends interacting with the Infinity Gems. Cute, and some good gags.
That’s six down. Just 1662 unread comics to go.

 

[Mikey]

Fantastic Four Vol 8 #1. Ryan North is simply one of the best writers in the business. This is a wonderful story about how far the FF will go to find each other again.View attachment 1566961

Let us know if you reach this month's #16 as in my opinion it's a bona fide masterpiece whose hard SF plot wouldn't be too far out of place in a TOS or TNG Star Trek episode or Asimov robot anthology as they stomp all over the Prime Directive in this one. I hope the upcoming X-Men crossover doesn't derail the book but I still have North's ongoing Flash run to look forward to even if that happens.

 

[Populuxe]

Let us know if you reach this month's #16 as in my opinion it's a bona fide masterpiece whose hard SF plot wouldn't be too far out of place in a TOS or TNG Star Trek episode or Asimov robot anthology as they stomp all over the Prime Directive in this one. I hope the upcoming X-Men crossover doesn't derail the book but I still have North's ongoing Flash run to look forward to even if that happens.

View attachment 1566968

I only have up to #6. I haven’t been able to afford comics since December. Next June my finances will ease up and I can get back to buying. In the meantime, I’m going to work on the backlog.

 

[Populuxe]

Today’s reading:
Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1. Another Ryan North story, so it’s good.
Magik #7. Dani’s Society of the Eternal Dawn is holding a young mage named Cal whom the demon Liminal is trying to possess, and Illyana is not happy about it. I’m enjoying this one more than I thought I would.
Pep Comics #67, 68, 73, 74. Numbers 69 through 72 haven’t been released. I’m guessing Archie Comics doesn’t have suitable copies to digitize? These are from 1948/9. The principal artist is Bill Vigoda. Each issue has early Li’l Jinx 6-pagers by Joe Edwards (when her dad’s name was still Bill Bubblegum rather than Hap Holiday.) Bill Woggon has his usual Katy Keen fashion comic, as well as a western comic about a federal Marshall named Nevada Jones. It’s fascinating to see these pre-Dan DeCarlo comics, and see just how profoundly he would change Archie Comics.

 

[Populuxe]

Sensational She-Hulk V1 #13. Jen and Weezy go for a winter vacation, but find a small town living in fear. The story by Steve Gerber is fine. The art by Bryan Hitch and Jim Sanders III is fine. It lacks the fourth wall breaking cleverness of John Byrne. Mostly I’m just marking time until he returns.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #8. Written by Tim Sheridan, art by Robby Cook. A flashback to when Carol Freeman was an ensign and had to rescue her crew from Romulans, complicated by Dr. Pulaski, as ranking officer on board, taking command of the ship. Again, okay but not great.
Supergirl V8 #3. Lesla-Lar has brainwashed everyone in Midvale into thinking she’s Supergirl, and the town refers to Kara as “Phonygirl”. But they love Phonygirl anyway. Also good stuff with Lena Luthor and Kara becoming real friends. Story and art by Sophie Campbell, and I’m liking it.
Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman #2. Three Elizabeth Princesses (daughter of Wonder Woman) from different timelines work together to try to catch all the various Damian Waynes and Jon Kents who have been turned into corgis. As one of the Lizzies says, it’s a whole thing. Middle Lizzie recruits Jason Todd to help her. She starts to fall for him, despite knowing he’s going to be killed by the Joker. Funny, but sad, too. Good art by Belén Ortega, and I’m a big fan of Tom King as a writer.
Uncanny X-Men V6 #17. A new slasher movie about a mutant serial killer called Murder Me, Mutina! is all the rage. The Outliers, the young group of mutants being mentored by the Louisiana X-Men, go to see it, and don’t like what they see. Gail Simone proves why she’s one of the very best writers in the business. Excellent art by Luciano Vecchio as well.
Zatanna V3 #4. Zatanna’s battle with Allura and Brother Night takes second seat to her battle with herself. Good story and art by Jamal Campbell.

 

[Mikey]

Sensational She-Hulk V1 #13. Jen and Weezy go for a winter vacation, but find a small town living in fear. The story by Steve Gerber is fine. The art by Bryan Hitch and Jim Sanders III is fine. It lacks the fourth wall breaking cleverness of John Byrne. Mostly I’m just marking time until he returns.

I like the way he updated The Spanker in #15 to resemble The Punisher. That's creative recycling.

Steve Gerber was Vertigo at Marvel long before his namesake Karen hired him to write Nevada at DC.

For more Gerber in a light vein I recommend A. Bizarro #1-#4 (1999) if you can find it.

 

[Populuxe]

I like the way he updated The Spanker in #15 to resemble The Punisher. That's creative recycling.

Its been decades since I’ve read that issue so I don’t remember, but now I know to look for it when it comes up.