LET'S TALK: Marvel

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:55 am

Perry wrote:Question - Would anyone not currently reading an X-book, start reading them if they dropped to only one or two titles a month? (This question may only apply to me and Bob )

It depends. For instance, I hear lots of people rave about how Uncanny X-Force is the best Marvel book they are reading, I've tried it a couple of times and it did absolutely nothing for me.

I read the new X-Men book for the 1st few issues (& liked it OK) then stopped caring after about issue #5.

Doesn't mean they are bad books, obviously lots of people like them, they just do nothing for me. I think Marvel is targeting the writing & story style on the X-books for an audience sufficiently different from my tastes that I can't get into the books regardless of crossovers.

Even Captain America, since the last renumbering, I have thought was only OK. I'm not enjoying it anywhere near as much as a year or 2 ago. I've not heard other people talking about a significant quality drop in the title, so I'll assume that it's my tastes/perceptions that have changed and this is what has altered my enjoyment of the book. I personally think Criminal, Fatale, & Incognito are miles better than what Brubaker is putting out in Cap for the last 6 months.

torchsong · Post by **torchsong** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:17 am

Sadly, my Marvel reading has almost become a 100% nostalgic thing.

I've taken to collecting Marvel Premiere HC books that collect tales from yesterday and put them on good paper in a solid format. Beyond that it's trades or hardcovers on various topics.

I don't collect anything current, and I don't any real interest in collecting anything new from them. They're not dead to me or anything, but I just haven't seen anything out of them to really capture my imagination (or my wallet).

spid · Post by **spid** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:48 am

BobBretall wrote:
Perry wrote:Question - Would anyone not currently reading an X-book, start reading them if they dropped to only one or two titles a month? (This question may only apply to me and Bob )
It depends. For instance, I hear lots of people rave about how Uncanny X-Force is the best Marvel book they are reading, I've tried it a couple of times and it did absolutely nothing for me.

I read the new X-Men book for the 1st few issues (& liked it OK) then stopped caring after about issue #5.

Doesn't mean they are bad books, obviously lots of people like them, they just do nothing for me. I think Marvel is targeting the writing & story style on the X-books for an audience sufficiently different from my tastes that I can't get into the books regardless of crossovers.

Even Captain America, since the last renumbering, I have thought was only OK. I'm not enjoying it anywhere near as much as a year or 2 ago. I've not heard other people talking about a significant quality drop in the title, so I'll assume that it's my tastes/perceptions that have changed and this is what has altered my enjoyment of the book. I personally think Criminal, Fatale, & Incognito are miles better than what Brubaker is putting out in Cap for the last 6 months.

I don't read Criminal but I have read Inconito & Fatale, and while it is good it is not as good to his Captain America stuff for me.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:52 am

spid wrote: I don't read Criminal but I have read Inconito & Fatale, and while it is good it is not as good to his Captain America stuff for me.

Which is why I speak about personal preference instead of using the word "good".

What is good to me is not the same as what is good to you, as can be seen from our disparate preferences for series Brubaker writes.

For instance, I find this current Captain America run, since the new #1 to be pretty uninspired & mediocre. But that's just me. Others, including you, feel that it's much better than that.

GABE! · Post by **GABE!** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 4:28 pm

Perry wrote:Question - Would anyone not currently reading an X-book, start reading them if they dropped to only one or two titles a month? (This question may only apply to me and Bob )

I would be fine with this. I would even start reading Avengers, Green Lantern, and Batman if they were to cut there "Universes" into 1 or two titles

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 4:36 pm

GABE! wrote:
Perry wrote:Question - Would anyone not currently reading an X-book, start reading them if they dropped to only one or two titles a month? (This question may only apply to me and Bob )
I would be fine with this. I would even start reading Avengers, Green Lantern, and Batman if they were to cut there "Universes" into 1 or two titles

You can do that with Batman and Green Lantern anyway though, can't you? At least so far with this new 52 the Batman title has been independent of the others ... and better. Green Lantern too, although I'm enjoying the other two more.

BadDeacon · Post by **BadDeacon** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:45 pm

I'd be more inclined to pick up X-Men if there were only one or two titles a month. I used to love, love, love X-Men, and it is probably more responsible for making me a comics fan than any other title.

I feel like X-Men has changed a bit in the last 5 to ten years though, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It seems like it has changed from being an "action/adventure with drama" to a "drama with violence". It used to feel like Star Trek, now it feels more like Sopranos.

In the end, I'm not really sure. Fewer titles would make it a lot easier to dabble in the X-books, but I'm not sure I want to dabble at all any more.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:37 pm

BadDeacon wrote: I feel like X-Men has changed a bit in the last 5 to ten years though, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It seems like it has changed from being an "action/adventure with drama" to a "drama with violence". It used to feel like Star Trek, now it feels more like Sopranos.

The turning point for me was the intricate cross-continuity, or at least the feeling that I was missing something by not knowing who "weird mutant #636" was.

This was never more apparent than when they "trimmed down" the number of mutants to 198, which was still at least 148 too many for me.

The stories work best for me when they focus on action & a plot that resolves within a few issues as opposed to focusing on minutiae of character relationships for characters I have no idea who they are and on intricate stories with far too many parts (>10).

But some fans love exactly the kind of stuff that turns me off.

HassanT · Post by **HassanT** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:25 pm

BobBretall wrote:
BadDeacon wrote: I feel like X-Men has changed a bit in the last 5 to ten years though, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It seems like it has changed from being an "action/adventure with drama" to a "drama with violence". It used to feel like Star Trek, now it feels more like Sopranos.
The turning point for me was the intricate cross-continuity, or at least the feeling that I was missing something by not knowing who "weird mutant #636" was.

This was never more apparent than when they "trimmed down" the number of mutants to 198, which was still at least 148 too many for me.

The stories work best for me when they focus on action & a plot that resolves within a few issues as opposed to focusing on minutiae of character relationships for characters I have no idea who they are and on intricate stories with far too many parts (>10).

But some fans love exactly the kind of stuff that turns me off.

That is what bothers me about the X-Men concept today. Too many different mutants. Plus, none of them have actual lives anymore except to fight the bad guys. I missed the old days when the X-Men actually had lives outside the uniforms.

I still enjoy the main X-Men books today, but not as much as I used to (80s).

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:36 pm

Putting a positive spin on the thread......

Howzabout that Spider-Man! While I didn't care for Brand New Day as a story/concept, it did pave the way for what I personally feel are the best Spidey comics in 15 years. And since the Big Time storyline, Slott kicked it up an extra notch, he's doing some really good stuff.

I'm not totally in love with all the artists on the book, but the stories are home runs.

While I'm at it, Waid's Daredevil is a breath of fresh air as well, best Daredevil in the last 2 years.

Hickman is telling a great story in Fantastic Four (but I HATE how I can't just call it FF, because that would confuse it with that other book). #602 finished off with a BANG!!!!! Can't wait to see how that plays out.

HassanT · Post by **HassanT** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:48 pm

BobBretall wrote:Putting a positive spin on the thread......

Howzabout that Spider-Man! While I didn't care for Brand New Day as a story/concept, it did pave the way for what I personally feel are the best Spidey comics in 15 years. And since the Big Time storyline, Slott kicked it up an extra notch, he's doing some really good stuff.

I'm not totally in love with all the artists on the book, but the stories are home runs.

While I'm at it, Waid's Daredevil is a breath of fresh air as well, best Daredevil in the last 2 years.

Hickman is telling a great story in Fantastic Four (but I HATE how I can't just call it FF, because that would confuse it with that other book). #602 finished off with a BANG!!!!! Can't wait to see how that plays out.

I think the Amazing Spider-man stories since BND has been overall fantastic. It is some of the best Spider-man stories I read in years. Although I wish the guest artists were better. And Daredevil has returned to its greatness thanks to Waid and company.

Perry · Post by **Perry** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:54 am

Amazing is as good as it has been in years. The consistency of a solid writer and the consistency of the release dates (by in large) has certainly helped its cause, but it is also just a fun book. A very fun book.

The title brings me back to stories I enjoyed back in the 80's like Amazing 229 and 230. It is just that fun. It just sucks I can't get past 'my' issues with Slott, and I have tried many times (Just because I essentially love what he is doing) but I just can't read his work without coming across a panel or two that makes me want to pull my hair out.

If there was one title I would love to add to my steadily decreasing pull, it would be Amazing. It is one of the few books that are out there that you can read month after month and always end up thinking - "That was really fun"

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:24 am

Perry wrote: The title brings me back to stories I enjoyed back in the 80's like Amazing 229 and 230. It is just that fun. It just sucks I can't get past 'my' issues with Slott, and I have tried many times (Just because I essentially love what he is doing) but I just can't read his work without coming across a panel or two that makes me want to pull my hair out.

What are some examples?

Perry · Post by **Perry** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:48 am

abysslord wrote: What are some examples?

I wish I still had my issues (Ebay got them about 5 months ago) to give exact times or panels, but I do seem to remember one issue he had Jessica Drew talking about farts, which seemed out of character. Not that I am a 'fart prude'. HAHA. Other issues had timing problems (as far as panel progressions) where there is no flow ... standing around talking to people and then jumping into a totally different panel and the entire scene had changed, with no reason why. The Secret Six dressing up as pirates? Voice activated webbing?

Again, not trying to slam the book as it IS a good book and I do acknowledge the problems I have are my own, but for some reason, issue after issue there is something in there that bugged me. Really bugged me.

But again, if I latch onto something that really bothers me, it is a problem for me to ... to just let it go. Case in point, I am getting ready to drop BATWOMAN because I can't get past how white she appears, and no-one can tell me why.

A person swinging around at night with a mask on ... obviously trying to hide her identity, but allowing a good portion of her 'bone-white face' to remain uncovered ... showcasing an easy to remember aspect ... makes absolutely no sense to me, and bugs me severely. It is just who I am.

Again, Fun Spidey, but always something that irks me.

BadDeacon · Post by **BadDeacon** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:09 pm

BobBretall wrote:Hickman is telling a great story in Fantastic Four (but I HATE how I can't just call it FF, because that would confuse it with that other book). #602 finished off with a BANG!!!!! Can't wait to see how that plays out.

I did pick up the first few issues of Hickman's Fantastic Four on my iPad a couple months ago (when they were on sale). Really liked it! I should have bought all the issues while they were on sale.