Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Borrrring!!!

Boy, as I've gone to some of my other favorite blogs, I've noticed my blog is pretty plain in comparison! I just figured I'd post that, because... Well, because it's true! I may write a HELL of alot on this blog, but the look is just so bland... I think during my winter break from college(1 more week!!!)I'll try to spice this place up alittle.

2 comments:

  1. Don't sell yourself short X-Man, I love your blog! First of all, you post more than any other blog I've seen, so it's nice to see something new everyday. Second, you have a way of concisely writing reviews which I envy very much. You get your point across with few words, but it all makes sense. And third, you read almost EVERYTHING that comes out from the big two, so you have a variety of content.
    I also love the images you post, but sometimes I'm curious about the issues they come from (specifically the Robin and Jason Todd crotch kick, and the Nightwing/Robin/Bats image from not too long ago)
    I've also been seriously thinking about reading Nova, thanks to you. It gets good press, but I don't like cosmic stories. I can barely stomach the Green Lantern Corps. I don't mind variations on a theme, but the characters have to at least be interesting. I guess it's time to hit up E-Bay for cheap trades.

    I also wanted to say thanks for commenting on my post. I wanted to make more categories, but I also wanted to post the darn thing before 2008 was over.

    I thought about Darkseid as villain of the year, for the whole "thumbs down" scene in Final Crisis #4, but he hasn't really done anything...yet. I also really liked a character named Paper Doll from Spider-Man, because her power was so creepy. She kills things by compressing their mass, so she basically makes people into pancakes. She started to flatten Spider-Man, and I really wondered how he would get out of it. I thought Peter Parker was going to have to walk around trying to explain to people why his arm was smushed.

    The other category that gave me trouble was best issue of the year. Last year it was easy, because Iron Fist was soooo good. but this year, I've had trouble finding a strong issue that stood above the others. I thought about Final Crisis: Requiem, but I re-read it the other night and just wasn't sure.

    As far as JSA, I think the Gog storyline has officially gone on for too long. If it were two issues shorter, and didn't have the Earth 2 stuff, I would have said JSA was the best. But I will say it is my favorite title, since there is a difference between "best" and "favorite."

    And finally (not to take up too much of your time), I simply COULD NOT decide the best artist (or penciller) of the year. I liked Dale Eaglesham, but lately his stuff is not as detailed. I liked Ross on the Superman special, but he could not put out monthly comics to save his life, and I thought Bryan Hitch kicked butt on the one issue of Fantastic Four of his I bought and read, but I haven't seen any more.

    What do you think? Could you fill in some gaps, or make your own choices? I'm curious to know what someone who reads more of a variety than I do thinks.

    Finally, good luck with school X-Man!

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  2. Thanks Kello, your kind words really mean alot! It's actually kind of cool to think that there are actually people out there who are interested in what I think, plus I really love to talk about comic books whenever I get the chance.

    My main gripe about my blog is the fact that the main page just looks so ugly and plain. What was I thinking when I made the backround light blue with green letters on top?!?

    Yeah, Nova has been an awesome read from issue #1. I really love that comic. There really hasn't been a bad issue in the series yet, and that's saying something now that we're 19 issues in. I love the way the writers(Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning)really seem to actually understand Nova and the characters he interacts with. Some of my favorite characters are the more obscure Marvel characters from the 1990's such as Sleepwalker, X-Man, Darkhawk and the New Warriors. The fact that Darkhawk and other members of the New Warriors(the 1990's New Warriors, not the current team...)pop up in Nova's comic from time to time really makes me pretty happy.

    I agree with you about the cosmic storylines, I'm not a really big fan of them in either Marvel or DC, but Nova is the exception for me. The original Annihilation mini-series from 2 years ago(not Annihilation:Conquest which came out last year and wasn't all that good), heavily featured Nova, and was just flat out amazing. That mini-series really got me interested in Marvel's cosmic heroes for pretty much the first time. I could go on and on about Nova, but I better just stop here, or I'll never stop!

    Yeah, I guess you're right about Darkseid, he basically was only on 1 panel all year long! Libra might have been my choice for villain of the year though. He basically assembled all of the super-villains in the DCU, as well as being responsible for the death of the Martian Manhunter, and the release of the anti-life equation through his actions. Inertia was pretty vicious as well, killing Weather Wizard's infant son, as well as stealing Zoom's powers, leaving him wheelchair bound... Then again, I'll always hate Inertia for his role in Bart Allen's death, so I'm kind of biased.

    Actually, the best single issue of the year would be pretty simple for me, I LOVED the Kingdom Come Superman special. That comic book was the total package. Alex Ross wrote and drew the entire thing and it was just spectacular. I personally was just floored by the artwork as well as the story. Old Supes conversation with Lois Lane was just great. You could really feel the pain coming from Supes as he recounted his Lois' death.

    I'm still enjoying the Gog storyline, but I wholeheartedly agree with you that the inclusion of the Earth-2 heroes was just totally unnecessary, and took away from the main storyline. Still though, I would probably give a slight edge to JSA as best series of the year. Cap, Daredevil, Nova and The Legion of Super-Heroes would get honorable mention from me. Especially Cap and Daredevil, which are both written by Ed Brubaker, who in my book is every bit as good as the Geoff Johns, and that's really saying something!

    I usually don't notice the artwork in a comic book, unless it's really good(Alex Ross or Steve Epting:Captain America)or really bad(Howard Chaykin:Punisher War Journal), so I don't think I would be able to choose a favorite artist either.

    I actually was thinking of doing an end of the year/favorite comics of the year post like you did, but I just don't think I could decide on just one winner for each category. I'm a pretty indecisive person by nature, so I'd probably agonize over every decision for weeks!

    Thanks for the comments Kello, and feel free to comment as much as you want, whenever you want, as you can see, I love to talk about comics(obviously!), so any questions or comments you have post them, I'm always happy to speak to other knowledgeable comic book fans.

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