Topic: Comics Thread

Most Black Panther single issues are available digitally for free on Amazon! I was able to download some entire series in one go though by clicking on see all books in series. There's a few one shots there too that aren't part of a series and also a few issues from the Christopher priest run aren't included in that series but they can be claimed separately for free still

Never been really into comics outside of reading manga on sketchy sites when I was younger (though I did have a Godzilla manga, the Death of Superman & some sort of Spider-Man comic as a kid).

However, I've noticed that there are a lot of comics available for free as part of my Amazon Prime subscription (even though most seem to just be the first volume, or maybe some stand alone stuff), so I've decided to dabble by adding some various things to my reading list. Currently reading the first volume of Ultimate Spider-Man (because I had the PS2 game when I was younger, lol), but also have Batman Year One, Darth Maul, Fairy Tail, and a few other things lined up.

@RR529 I read Year One last week through Prime and really enjoyed it. Definitely excited to see some of those elements explored in The Batman.

@nessisonett, I'm definitely interested in reading it. While I've never been too keen on any of the live action Batman stuff, I tend to enjoy the animated adaptations (and I liked the first two Arkham games), so I know he's a character I can enjoy.

Though I'd actually say I'm probably a bigger Robin fan, just because I thought his portrayal in the original Teen Titans cartoon was pretty cool, lol.

@nessisonett @RR529 I had a really hard time finding a Batman run that clicked with me. I either didn't like art style, found the costumes too camp or various other reasons. The Court of Owls run is fantastic and so are the subsequent volumes. The way Joker on the later volumes is written is outstanding, definitely the most deadly and insidious I can remember him being.

My brother was the Batman fan and I was into Spidey growing up but I have liked a few Batman stories. I thought Year One & Two were good but my favourites would be Hush (big Jim Lee fan) and really enjoyed Earth One. I have volumes 1&2 and hopefully there will be 3 but now I think about it that was a few years ago, I hope it hasn't been dropped.

Gonna start reading Batman Earth One for the first time because I noticed that The Batman trailer actually called back to the "Vengeance" line from that story

Looks extremely interesting too

Finished up the first volume of Ultimate Spider-Man!

There were probably some extra things that elevated it (such as the fact that he's one of my favorite superheroes, and being the early 00's interpretation of the character, specifically designed to appeal to people of my age, as I would have been around 10 at the time of it's release), but I got really into it (even though it pretty much just covered the origin up to his first Green Goblin encounter). Really don't want to commit time to a long running narrative, but it's going to be a hard time holding myself back I think, lol.

Yesterday when visiting the mall with my family I made a quick stop at the comics joint in there and managed to finally find and pick up a physical copy of Daredevil: Born Again for a really sweet price.

Really wish the Netflix show lasted longer than it did so it could've portrayed this arc for the character with Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin.

Read Batman: Year One over the week!

Absolutely striking art direction that manages to capture the griminess of Gotham while not being all grey & brown, and it was a pleasantly dense read as well. If I had to level a complaint against it, it's that it sort of just ended. Granted, it was just an origin story at the end of the day, but I guess I was looking for a more explosive climax after that absolutely thrilling showdown in the abandoned building that happened around the middle of the story.

Still highly recommended though, and it's free digitally if you have Amazon Prime.

@RR529 Yeah, I agree, I really did love it. I think there might be a Year Two sequel but I haven’t read it!

Recently finished up reading volume 1 of Black Widow & the Marvel Girls, which was a collection of Black Widow centric one shots, and in each one she interacts with a different Marvel superheroine (the Enchantress, the Wasp, Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel, and Storm), with the final story included the 70's Spider-Man issue where she first debuted her more modern appearance.

It was okay. Out of the four main stories I probably liked the Wasp & Ms. Marvel (the current Captain Marvel) ones the most, but there wasn't anything super gripping or anything. The 70's Spider-Man issue was a neat novelty though, as it was inferred that Black Widow had some level of superpower in that interpretation (particularly copying Spider-Man's abilities).

Mentioned it the anime/manga thread, but I also recently read the first volume of Fairy Tail, which was decently fun (Amazon doesn't seem to have many other manga as part of it's free Prime Reading though, which is a shame).

I bought Batman: The Killing Joke’s deluxe edition with the recolour and The Dark Knight Returns. I’ve never really been big into DC Comics (Detective Comics Comics blarghaghagah) but I decided to give them a fair go and so after loving Year One, I’m going to throw myself at the most iconic stories in the canon and see what sticks. I know roughly where I’m at with Batman but when it comes to other heroes I have no clue. I guess there’s All Star Superman, Flashpoint and Sinestro Corps War but I’ll happily take suggestions!

I'm personally reading Batman Earth One right now since it seems as if that was the direct inspiration in many regards for Matt Reeves' upcoming film. The "I'm vengeance" scene is even taken directly from an excerpt in that story.

It's a pretty refreshing take as are all the Earth One variants of the JL members.

@Kidfried I've just finished that run, really was a fantastic read. Was the first Batman collection that I've been able to fully get into. The Joker I found to be a really horrible character, in a good way.

Issue 21 of Miles Morales, as well as Issues 53 and 54 of Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man run are getting special variant covers to commemorate the launch of Spider-Man: Miles Morales next month

@TheFrenchiestFry Ooh, I like that cover. I never tend to pick up paper copies to be honest, I usually wait for the volumes to release.

Also thanks everyone for the DC recommendations, it’ll be interesting diving into the universe properly!

@nessisonett Same

I've only ever picked up the volumes in full for either run, or those compendiums they put together for stuff like Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run or the Ultimate Collection books for Ultimate Spider-Man

Recently finished up Vampirella: Crown of Worms on Prime Reading.

Wanted to try something a bit different than the typical superhero fare, and this fit well for the spooky season. It pretty much follows a female vampire who hunts down other vampires, and while she apparently has bad blood with Dracula, they must form an uneasy alliance after she runs across a nest of vampires who are under the control of an ancient interdimensional god worm (yes, it's pretty nuts) which aims to bring on the apocalypse.

It's by far the goriest comic I've yet read, and while the character was originally conceived to be pretty cheesecake in terms of design, this appears to be a bit of a grittier reimagining where she seems to be at odds with her "old self" and is struggling to find herself.

Finished reading Batman: Dark Victory after having read The Long Halloween. I really enjoyed both, they’re proper detective stories which you don’t really get in adaptations. It was also a proper origin story for Harvey Dent, who’s one of the more tragic figures in Batman’s rogues gallery. I think I’ll maybe go for Hush next, I really like Jeph Loeb’s take on Batman!