Comic Books Comic Book • Page 287

How far did you get into Saga, why'd you stop?

 

I read the first 3 arcs in trades and the next 4 in issues. So, I think I'm only an arc or so behind where it is now.

I have a deep appreciation of aspects of Saga. It was my gateway into modern creator owned comics, as it was for many. I love Fiona Staples' art, and I think a lot of the characters are fantastic. Though honestly, for the last couple arcs I read, the art and characters were all that held me into a narrative that I just lost track of and didn't care enough about to attempt figuring it out.

The good still outweighed the bad for me, but eventually the thematic side wore on me, too. As effective a creative choice as those multiple solid black pages at the end of that one issue was, the whole commenting on religious faith felt so needlessly cynical and a tad boring.

At its start, Saga appealed to me because of its imagination. That is also largely why I love Paper Girls right now. But, Saga started feeling way more cynical than imaginative to me, and with my limited time and funds, I don't personally care to spend more time in that world.

 

You definitely shouldn't read the latest arc. lol

 

Brian Michael Bendis finished his run on Spider-Man

One of the first articles for Whatever A Spider Can. I'm currently trying to do my best to catch up on some of the big news the site missed in the last 9 months while it was inactive while bringing a little of my own opinion to it. If anyone ever has any suggestions or articles they'd like to see, please let me know.

Also, @Tim officially put in his writing application so hopefully you'll be reading some of his stuff on the site soon, too!

 

I'm already thinking about the listicles with click-bait-y names that I'm gonna write!


But seriously, if there's clear evidence that blog posts with listicle formatting get more views, I'll use it for anything that organically lends itself to that. No shame. If Cracked can do it, so can I. lol.

 

You know, I think we could come up with some lists that aren't as cringeworthy as some of the sones CBR does...

 

Are you questioning the journalistic integrity of CBR!? How dare you...

On that note, if WASC starts doing those trendy mobile redirect ads, I quit.

 

Oh great. Another place I can read Tim complain.

 

Fixed.

 

Well, they did ignore my application I sent in what feels like forever ago, so yes, yes I am.

I use ad blockers so I'd honestly have 0 clue haha. I do get things telling me to whitelist the Fansided sites, though... but then you can just continue without doing so.

 

Speaking of applications, can't they still possibly turn me down? lol. I have no idea how "professional"/"official" this stuff is. Or what the process of being added looks like or whatever.

 

From what I've been told, the site expert (aka me) gets final say. The recruiting director just forwards applications basically. I did let the him know that I had someone who was interested so I'm guessing he'll pass it through to me. Looks like the guy who ran the site back in 2015 wants to come back to contribute, too.

 

Catching up on a bunch of comics. The Kite Man origin in Batman 27 was excellent.

 

Double post to add that I really enjoyed Exit Stage Left, Mech Cadet Yu, and Eternal Empire.

 

I like Eternal Empire, have to check out the other two.

 

Well, I’ve signed up for marvel unlimited. Would appreciate any recommendations on great comics, past and present to get started with? Obviously ones that are on marvel unlimited. Ive spent most of my years reading dc, so not sure about where to start with so many to choose from.

 

What characters are you interested in reading?

 

X-men, spider-man, the punisher, daredevil, not too fussed about avengers atm. I will get round to them eventually. Also, if you have any hidden gems that you’d like to share (not involving the characters I’ve just mentioned) that’d be great too. Thank you

 

If you like Daredevil, you can start at the Bendis DD stuff and read through the Ed Brubaker stuff. It’s crazy good and the creative handoff is one of the all time best.

But be warned, it is a lot of issues.

 

Will definitely check that out. I’m currently reading through vol. 2 of Ed’s kill or be killed so that’s cool. Thanks. I’ll make sure to set aside a lot of time to get through it then. Haha.

 

Read The Vision it's important

 

Thanks. Will check it out.

 

For X-Men, if you're a Grant Morrison fan, start with his run on New X-Men. It's pretty wild. After you finish that Morrison stuff (or first, if you're not a Morrison fan), you could go to Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, which was one of those "back to basics" type runs.

I could recommend Spider-Man stuff forever, lol, but I personally think the Spider-Man: Blue 6-issue miniseries by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale is the best concise look at the character in his classic form (it's based on part of Stan Lee & John Romita Sr's 60s run). So good. For a longer run, you could go with Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man; starting either from the beginning of the massive run or with the introduction of Miles Morales would work. For current Spider-Man, I don't know how much would be on MU right now, but Chip Zdarsky's Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man is delightful and a great jumping on point. Oh, and if you want something more classic, look up the 80s story Kraven's Last Hunt, which is a bit darker (the idea started as a Batman idea, funny enough) but great and still true to the character.

I'm not a Punisher fan, but @Vivatoto could help you with that.

It was already said, but if you want a long Daredevil run with a darker, grounded feel, start with Bendis' run and go through Brubaker. For something from the 80s, hit up the storyline "Born Again" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. And then, if you feel like getting something more colorful and swashbuckling, Mark Waid did some great work with artists like Paolo Rivera and Chris Samnee.

Other random gems:
-Hawkeye by Matt Fraction and various artists (mostly David Aja and Annie Wu), which is absolutely fantastic, way better than it has any right being, and is what got me back into comics as an adult.
-Silver Surfer by Dan Slott and Michael Allred
-Vision by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta with Michael Walsh

 

Wow. Thanks a lot. That’s loads to get me started. I enjoyed Morrison’s batman so will check that out. I had heard of spider-man blue. There is hulk grey and daredevil yellow also, yeah? Hawkeye sounds like it could be interesting.

 

Yep, and also Captain America: White. All 4 by the same creative team. They're all great.

If I remember correctly, Spider-Man: Blue is Tim Sale's least favorite of the set, but I 100% disagree with him, lol. His art is gorgeous. Spidey is my favorite superhero, and that classic Lee/Romita college era is my favorite era of the character... So, needless to say, I really like that comic.