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AICN COMICS! ESSENTIAL DR. STRANGE! GAIMAN'S LEGEND OF THE GREEN FLAME! RISING STARS! PUNISHER! & MUCH MORE!!!

"It occurs to me I by Fantomex	Mar 16th, 2005 06:37:09 PM
Ha! Thats classic. I feel almost the same way. For what its worth, Shining Knight sold out at all the local comic stores so I didn't get a copy. Hopefully they'll be in by friday. I really don't have anything else to say about to say. Last week was slow for comics.
"Rhyming" Demons. by DukeOfSpiders	Mar 16th, 2005 06:47:01 PM
When Jack Kirby first created the Demon, the only time he rhymed was during the transformation spell and maybe a few lines after. Len Wein made the mistake of having him rhyme every line, Alan Moore almost made it tolerable ("Oh, I've graduated to 'rhyming demon') and we were subject to terrible poetry for twenty years after. Byrne's just going back to the basics, not retconning anything. Frankly, I'm glad the rhyming is gone -- the only one who wrote it so that it wasn't cringeworthy was Moore, and even his stuff was pretentious and forced. Blood of the Demon had some of the best Byrne art and story in years, and I say this as a fan of his Doom Patrol work. Get over yourself -- Bryne's not the ogre you keep trying to make him out to be.
What are you talking about regarding the Max line by ChorleyFM	Mar 16th, 2005 06:48:48 PM
Punisher is great, but this line had Alias and has Supreme Power, both being among the best books on the market when published. The big thing is it is still generally superhero books, thats why it isn't like Vertigo. Although I have to agree with the ajority of your Rising Stars sentiments. It has been a fantastic series that if scheduled effectively would have already achieved classic status, but it will in time. I implore each and every one of you to buy the big hardcover collecting every issue when it comes out, it will be worth your money.
Dude, the BIZARRO WORLD hardcover came out weeks ago! by Dave_F	Mar 16th, 2005 07:06:49 PM
I'm pretty sure it's already pass
Wouldn;t it be great if the Fantastic Four went into the Negativ by cookylamoo	Mar 16th, 2005 07:39:45 PM
and didn't run into either Blastarr or Annihilus? If they actually met someone NEW!! Ahhh, it'll never happen.
Rising Stars better than WATCHMEN by fabfunk	Mar 16th, 2005 08:36:05 PM
Okay, what?
Rhyming "ego" with "ego?" MWAH! by madfigs	Mar 16th, 2005 08:39:14 PM
heh
Bug, That DEMON Review Was Gold. by Buzz Maverik	Mar 16th, 2005 09:18:06 PM
Definitely one of the coolest, if not THE coolest, thing to ever appear in this column.
I just wanted to say... by Voice O. Reason	Mar 16th, 2005 11:14:50 PM
I actually look forward to reading this column every week. Good job, guys, and keep up the good work.
The intro of Annihilus in Ultimate FF reminded me of the abandon by FrankDrebin	Mar 16th, 2005 11:36:16 PM
And speak of the devil, Marvel Masterworks FF Vol 8 was released today, with the first appearance of Annihilus from Annual #6 (1968). It also has the Silver Surfer hiding from Galactus in Sub-Atomica (a.k.a. the Microverse), and has Crystal replacing Sue in the team (the first-ever change in the lineup). Just 2 more volumes and the entire Kirby FF run will be mine all mine!!!
I know you guys read more than just these ones,,, post some revi by George Newman	Mar 17th, 2005 01:10:11 AM

Supreme Power IS good by Fantomex	Mar 17th, 2005 01:25:54 AM
but it is still prone to incredibly childish violence/nudity. especially nudity.
Ennis' first Punisher run by SoupDragon	Mar 17th, 2005 01:40:21 AM
I've got to disagree that Ennis' first attempt at the Punisher entirely sidelined the character. There were a lot of little moments in there that gave us a glimpse of Frank's, often contradictory, inner workings. Like in #6 where he had to hunt down an old NAM buddy. Plus there were some great character stories that didn't suffer from Frank being more of a background player. Particularly the police story "Brotherhood". Along with the "Born" miniseries, Punisher Max has been a real step up though. "Mother Russia" was all goood (although I think that #18's missile riding sequence would be ruined in the cinema with bad cgi) But the story I'm really looking forward to is next month's return of Nicky "I'm gonna kill this motherless fuck by inches" Cavella
"Childish violence/nudity" in Supreme Power... by Shigeru	Mar 17th, 2005 08:35:28 AM
How bout an example there? Cause I sure as hell don't remember any childish stuff. Oh and not to be a bitch, but that was hardly a Shinning Knight review...
Three things: by rev_skarekroe	Mar 17th, 2005 09:07:51 AM
1) I bought "Bigfoot" #1 last week on you guys' recommendation, and I liked it. But Corben's been doing comics for what, 30 years? When's he gonna learn to draw heads in proportion to bodies? 2) Moviemack, you comic guy is crazy. The new Bizarroworld hardcover DID come out weeks ago. Order it from Amazon and bring it in the store to rub his face in it. 3) Ellis' "Ulitmate Fantastic Four" has been very hit-or-miss. One issue I think "Man, Ellis is really making these characters shine! I'm really into this book!" the next I think "Do we really need a two-page splash of the space shuttle? I hope Ellis is getting paid by the word, 'cause otherwise Marvel's getting ripped off." The new one was one of the good issues.
Ult.FF is awful by AlgertMopper	Mar 17th, 2005 09:33:49 AM
Ult.FF is awful, since the first issue. And ellis writes this book just like every other exploration book he's written. Issues where nothing happens, and pages upon pages wasted on explaning science that can never fucking exsist.
Rising Stars better than Watchmen? by sanhedrin	Mar 17th, 2005 09:47:45 AM
I don
"In many ways, Engelhart was the Bronze Age at Marvel when it ca by duanejones	Mar 17th, 2005 09:53:26 AM
"...His CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON is my personal favorite CAP depiction. He also wrote THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE DEFENDERS, CAPTAIN MARVEL and THE AVENGERS, among others..." not to argue with englehart's talent -- one of the first writer's straight outta comics to write a credible novel, e.g. -- but most of these works were marred (mostly, but not exclusively) by sal buscema and don heck's artwork at their most pedestrian. and, brother, that is one slow walk. still, period covered by this dr. strange compendium is also peak colan (also where colan met palmer, one of the classic penciler/inker combos of all time), and also the period within which englehart destroyed the earth one issue and re-created it the next. i'd love to see marshall rogers' six-issue stint on the doctor from the 80's reproduced in loving, post-laser graphics fashion. derided at the time as a senseless orgy of color overlays -- "he says senseless orgy' like it's a bad thing..." -- it pracially begs to be given the quality reprint treatment and a chance for those overlays to come out blazing rather than muddy, as per the toilet-paper quality of commercial comics at the time of its initial publishing...
supreme power by Fantomex	Mar 17th, 2005 10:53:32 AM
I seem to recall an issue where Ultimate Wonderwoman stands around naked for an entire issue. childish.
Yes I am aware by AlgertMopper	Mar 17th, 2005 11:18:06 AM
Yes I am aware that people get bit by radioactive spiders, and can fly, but the diffrence they don't spend 22 fucking pages explaining how they can do it. Warren Ellis pads the shit out of superhero stuff, such as Ult.FF, and IronMan, cause he doesn't know how to write superhero comics.
ya see... i sort of the think that ellis' big idea sci-fi approa by atomheartbrother	Mar 17th, 2005 11:44:50 AM
until they got to be older comic fans and then inevitable appreciators of the kirby style. i also like the fact that ellis seems to be translating the boffo lee/kirby mojo in a highly cinematic manner- almost as if he's writing possible sequels to the ff movie....
Bug was spot-on about Ennis. by SleazyG.	Mar 17th, 2005 12:02:06 PM
Sure, the way The Russian was written compared to the Russians in this issue was miles apart. Still, despite the actual fucking author wanting to go in a new direction and getting Marvel to relaunch with a new #1 to back it up, the book is clearly the same as it was four years ago. Same stupid Wolverine jokes, same lack of comprehension of what it would be like to have a mission, same inability to extrapolate what it means to be a real man from a mob-obsessed butcher trying to do what's right. Yep, no matter how hard Ennis tries the character is the same homocidal retard he was in 2001. Goddamn, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't stop him from being a dipshit, y'khow? No matter how much you change your techinique, or how much you try to develop your character, there's some asshole wishing Frank would say "hi" to Spacker Dave in the hallway again. Motherfuckers.
Mature titties by Dave_F	Mar 17th, 2005 12:46:01 PM
I've no problem with the female nudity in SUPREME POWER in and of itself. Made story sense and wasn't presented in an overly prurient Frank Cho/Terry Dodson style. No, my only problem is that JMS and Gary Frank notably censor the same kind of nudity when it comes to male characters. I mean, here's Power Princess a few issues back (I forget her new name) with all her bits and pieces flapping in the wind, and she's talking to Hyperion (Mark something?) who's also naked...except there's this sheet that just happens to be protecting the camera from the dangers of his groinal zone. Gimme a break. I think it's time to stop playing at being adults and then pulling that kind of double-standard bullshit. It kind of stands out when you've got a fully naked chick standing right next to a fully naked guy who's getting the "Austin Powers" cover-up. Yes, I think it's time to let the wankers fly! There's gotta be some kind of preparation before the SIN CITY movie sends thousands to the trade paperbacks only to discover that Frank snuck a few dicks in there...
Rising Stars Vs. Watchmen by We'veGonePlaid	Mar 17th, 2005 12:54:05 PM
Please go back and re-read Watchmen before making that comment. Rising Stars is a better than average comic book, but Watchmen was art using many literary devices such as symbolism and foreshadowing that were not done in comics before. I usually never feel the need to participate in these talkbacks, but why anyone make that comparison blows my mind.
Dave F. to comics biz: "More Wanks!" by bizarromark	Mar 17th, 2005 01:28:38 PM
Interesting direction you've taken the discussion, Dave....though I'm thinking you're not going to get too many signatures on your petition drive. Just what comics' needs: Male genitalia!.....er, eh.....no.
Rest assured, I demand schlongery only in the context of boobe by Dave_F	Mar 17th, 2005 02:06:20 PM
I realize we have to take baby steps in these things, so maybe one dick for every dozen tits? Two dozen? I can work up an equation. I'm just saying, when the four-color ladies show bush (as Power Princess did), maybe it's time to stop being coy with the naughty bits in general.
Find the word "rexdu" in a fucking dictionary, dipshit. by SleazyG.	Mar 17th, 2005 02:15:19 PM
I fucking DARE you. When you're done, post an explanation for the exact same jackassery being posted three times. Then, when you're done, tell me how playing The Russian for laughs and the Russians in this arc seriously doesn't demonstrate a marked change in Ennis' writing on the title. The fucking MINUTE some of you motherfuckers learn what critical reading is I'll fall off my fucking barstool, so help me.
Penile Power. by Shigeru	Mar 17th, 2005 03:04:51 PM
For everybody's information, Doc Spectrum showed his dork full-on in an early issue of Supreme Power, so not too much wank-bitching from you guys. And Power Princess's nudity was not childish, and none of the violence was either.
Ellis fans are always the same by AlgertMopper	Mar 17th, 2005 03:20:21 PM

ellis fans are all the same by AlgertMopper	Mar 17th, 2005 03:23:47 PM
"Oh no, you don't like Ellis cause there isn't any wham bam action in it, you're retarded, DUR!" No No bitch, it's just when i pick up a comic, it shouldn't take 2 1/2 issues to launch a damn shuttle. It's 4 issues into N-Zone and all they did was launch a ship, and talk to Annihilus for a few pages, The man can't pace a damn comic, it not called "building" it called phoning in a script and being a lazy mother fucker. Simple as that
Multiple points for multiple cats by vroom socko	Mar 17th, 2005 04:47:28 PM
ON WATCHMEN: As an example of how to tell a story, Watchmen is perfect. This is a fact, and is beyond contestation. But that's the HOW. When it comes to the WHAT, I found Rising Stars to be a more interesting, entertaining, and compelling read. Of course, the WHAT is a highly subjective thing. (As an example, Citizen Kane is a perfectly constructed movie, but Casablanca is a better story. Y'savvy?) ON ELLIS: The man is on the record as hating the very notion of superheroes. What do you expect? ON THE PUNISHER AND ENNIS: Yes, Ennis is a capable writer when it comes to the funny. That doesn't mean that his prior run on The Punisher worked. Frank Castle just doesn't work in the context of the absurd. The current series has Ennis playing to both his and the character's strengths, and that is why it is superior to the previous run. ON THE COCK: Issue six of Supreme Power did feature a brief glimpse of Dr. Spectrum's bits 'n pieces. And really, if a comic intended for adults is going to show nudity, why not go all out?
Re: DEMON by bizarromark	Mar 17th, 2005 04:58:59 PM
Hey, Bug....pretty good job on the poetry! Better than 90% of the "bards" who've written "The Demon" over the past ten or twenty years. Having never been a big fan of Kirby's demon, and seeing it as yet another one of Kirby's manic 1970's sketchpad of disposable ideas, Alan Moore's take on the character in "Swamp Thing" made me sit up and pay attention. Not for anything Kirby instilled into the character, but rather the elegant horror Moore brought to his interpretation. Moore, unlike the writers following him, has a genuine knowledge of and knack for poetry and its higher forms. I'm certainly no expert on poetry and its many forms....but the verse of the Demon in "Swamp Thing" was sublime and sophisticated...not to mention genuinely creepy. Of course, the magnifiscent artwork of Steve Bissette and John Totleben contributed quite a bit to the "creepy factor"....but man.....Moore's Demon dialogue was something I'd never seen before, or SINCE for that matter.
Credit where it's due by vroom socko	Mar 17th, 2005 08:29:49 PM
You're right there, at least, SeeThrough. Welcome Back, Frank was leaps and bounds better that that weak as all hell "angelic arsenal" bullshit that preceded it. But by the same tokin, most of that run was Ennis trying to write The Punisher in a similar mode to his work on Preacher, with the offbeat and ultraviolent standing side by side. And it just didn't work. When Ennis changed the tone of his approach with In The Beginning, it was almost an equal improvement in the treatment of Frank Castle that Ennis' first outing was over that Purgatory crap, not to mention John Ostrander's ponytailed mob boss asswork.
Punsiher and a few other things by Darth Kal-El	Mar 17th, 2005 09:07:34 PM
Great reviews as usual guys! Thanks for more cheap shots this time around! as far as the punisher debate going on i havent read punisher in a while mainly because i didnt really get into the ennis run on MK. Ive always associated that run with the 'wacky supporting characters' overkill thatalmost ruined preacher towards the end. im hesitant go back and check it out.maybe ill wait for the trade.and im one of the people who gave up on rising stars due to the shit schedule and i have to admit to not really feeling supreme power. can someone give me the breakdown to rising stars please? i dont see myself shelling out for 3 trades just to finish a story i barely remember.JMS is kind of hit and miss with me-i dug midnight nation and the show jeremiah but i didnt really get into supreme power.hey i have issues 1-12 in mint condition if any one wants to buy them(im shameless i know).oh yeah and count my vote as a 'yes' towards the 'bring out the cock' proposition.
kind off kinda on topic..... by Bootskin	Mar 17th, 2005 11:23:42 PM
Something strikes me kinda funny on those newly released pics of Superman's ship from his return home from Krypton....Y'think an advanced society such as the Kryptonians would have SOMETHING resembling landing gear, no?
Rising Stars Redux by KryptonsLastSon	Mar 17th, 2005 11:34:03 PM
I wrote the following during the last AICN Comics TalkBack, and now the issue has been discussed, could someone who has read it comment, as I won't see it until the TPB. "Back a few years ago when I still picked up comics occasionally I remember picking up the first of the issues, I think there were supposed to be 25 right? Then I remember waiting months between issues and ended up just picking up the first two trades, with plans to pick up the rest when it ended. So how did it end? Back at the beginning? I always thought it would be wickedly cruel to have the last of the Specials go back in time in an effort to destroy the "flash" that gave them all their powers, but instead end up back then and turn out to be the "flash" that gave them all their powers... It seemed like a good way to wrap it up, but of course by the end of the second trade he seemed to be going more towards benevolent rulers of the Earth, with a bit of fascism mixed in, rather than the killed one by one route they were originally on. So how did it end?" Thanks to anyone who responds.
BIG SPOILER SAYING WHAT HAPPENED IN RISING STARS by ChorleyFM	Mar 18th, 2005 07:45:12 AM
Basically the specials starting ending world poverty, wars, and any other errors of Humanity. The secret services were scared, decided to kill all the specials. Poet wasn't there he ws last left. He got powers of all the other specials. Set about building a spacecraft type thing to get off the planet. Goes through space for centuries. Eventually comes to a planet where he becomes the flash and the last shot is the same as the 1st issue cover, but with Aliens instead of humans.
Oh and Wank means masturbating by ChorleyFM	Mar 18th, 2005 07:46:07 AM
it doesn't mean a cock.
I can call the cock anything I please, thank you very much. by Shigeru	Mar 18th, 2005 08:42:36 AM
Wank, donk, dork, wonk, henry, manmeat, reginald, ect... PS Hooray for the new Owly coming out!
The ironing is delicious! by Homer Sexual	Mar 18th, 2005 11:40:09 AM

The ironing is delicious! by Homer Sexual	Mar 18th, 2005 11:42:47 AM
Did I actually read "but reading something you don't like just to bitch about it isn't very smart.?" Yes, I think I did. Now I am dumbfounded! BTW, I never read Punisher, but I used to read Suicide Squad, and it was written by John Ostrander. Is he an artist as well? Specifically, does he like to draw ponytailed mafiosos? Just askin.' P.S. I have always thought that the reason females do full frontal in many media but males don't is because, well, women are "internal" and men are "external," plus that whole excited/shrinkage, etc, mess.
No, I haven't by Homer Sexual	Mar 18th, 2005 03:38:36 PM
I must admit that I have never seen Playgirl, but I have seen lots of cocks in porn videos. However, this whole topic is not about porn (magizines or video or whatever), it's just talking about why women can be fully nude but not men. Tits aren't even an issue, they're like asses, everyone has and opinions, everyone has them and BFD. My intended point was that, outside of Hustler, when a woman is nude her genitals aren't really exposed. Also, years ago I read an interview with Mike Grell, can't even remember the comic, but the main hero always had "himself" obscured by steam, etc, and Grell said he just didn't want to get into size issues, as in retarded fans saying "Captain America bigger than Falcon? No friggin way! etc etc." ps. Dr. Manhattan did the full frontal in Watchmen. He wasn't exactly the Falcon. See? See? Show a dick and everyone wants to talk about how big it is, (or isn't).
I dropped Adam Strange months ago! by sideshowbob	Mar 19th, 2005 08:11:00 PM
Loved the plot and the pacing, and the amazing art. But it went from being very newbie-friendly, to something where I felt I needed the Encyclopedia of Obscure DC Characters to enjoy. And as a non-DC fan, I found I wasn't enjoying it.

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AICN COMICS! ESSENTIAL DR. STRANGE! GAIMAN'S LEGEND OF THE GREEN FLAME! RISING STARS! PUNISHER! & MUCH MORE!!!

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