If anyone is interested... there's a bit of lesbian action in "Y The Last Man" comic series. Since it's about ALL men dead except one man and one male monkey left. Women around the world become lesbians or something like that

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She's the most amazing girl in the whole world. She's the only girl who makes my heart beat faster and slower at the same time. When I'm not with her, I'm not living. I'm not existing until I can hold her in my arms again.

My brother-in-law got Runaways: Volume 1 for Christmas and I read it today and it was GREAT. I like the format - 6 kids banding together to fight evil, there is some canon comic book action like Captain America, Hulk, X-men, and there is even...some subtext that looks like it's going to become maintext in Volume 2! Anyone else read it? My wife and I went to the comic book shop today to buy the next comics in Volume 2.

It's written by Brian K. Vaughan and is totally worth a read if you like that sort of thing. I think most kittens would like the scenario and the cast and the style, so if you like comic books, give this one a whirl.

ETA: the plot of the comics, maybe I should mention that too. Basically these 6 teenagers find out that their parents are evil and run away to fight the evil. More to it than that, but no spoilers!

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Stocking Stuffers: Little Gifts from RKT

I'm really into a few comics, like Star Wars and Transformers. I've got most of the Deamwave Transformers run before the company went under, and except for the upcoming Beast Wars miniseries, I'm not that really interested in getting the IDW Transformer comics.

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Avatar Images Courtesy of Kirari-PGSM.net
The Star Witches Saga | Under the Sea | The Moonlight Densetsu Chronicles | Going the Distance | Slippery When Wet | Short Fics by Sith

One of my favorites is an online comic called Sexy Losers.

http://www.sexylosers.com

It's a mature cartoon that's funny as hell. There is a massive archive where you can read them by publish date or by storyline (my favorite is "Mike's Left Hand" series).

The writer also comments on his favorite strips, the drawing style, the color style, changes that have been made, ect. It's really an impressive collection and recommend it to anyone that doesn't mind a lot of adult humor.

I got rid of my comics quite a few years ago but I'm in the process of replacing the best of them with paperback and hardback collections. I used to love superheroes but now only stick to a few, Claremont on the X-Men, Byrne on the Fantastic Four, Miller on Daredevil and Batman, Perez on Wonder Woman. These days I'm more interested in the likes of Swamp Thing, Watchmen, V For Vendetta, Miracleman, Strangers in Paradise, Sandman and Hellboy, although I'd like try JMS's take on the Fantastic Four and possibly check out Wonder Woman again.

If any kittens are interested in gay characters in comics check out Camelot 3000. One of Arthur's knights is reincarnated as a woman and it shows her being reunited with the woman she used to love, and it has a happy ending!

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"And we are never going back into the shadows again."

Huge Comic fan since the age of 6. While all my other friends had their Barbies I had my issues of X-men and the Fantastic four. I have a load of marvel comics plus stuff like 'the Watchmen' 'V for Vendetta' and 'Sin City'.

Recently got Shadowplay, mostly cause the first story in it is written by Amber. However me and Sn0wflak3 first spotted it cause Sn0flak3 spotted a comic that had a drawing of 2 rather naked women which turned out to be shadowplay.

Mel

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"I’ve never purposely gone out to take somebody out. Well, maybe in
elementary school I once did try to trip somebody."-Amber

I've recently found the web comic Concerned: The half life and death of Gordon Frohman.

It's based on the game Half Life 2 and was made using that game + Gary's mod to create and pose the characters.

It's very funny even if you haven't played HL2 (which I haven't)

http://www.hlcomic.com

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02/28/2007

I've recently discovered the joy of She-Hulk, with the two trade paperbacks Single Green Female and Superhuman Law. The courtroom antics, and the general mingling of superheroes with the regular world, is just a hoot, and Shulkie's really funny. I picked up #4 and #5 (the only ones still on the shelves) of the current series, and they seem to be continuing in the same vein - #4 was pretty serious, delving into Miss Hulk's psyche and the aftermath of some catastrophe that happened in a crossover I don't have, but #5 returned to the familiar environment of the law firm, and continued the mix of drama and humour I like.

Apart from that, I've read Witchblade for a few years, and that's about it. WB's long-term storyline is kind of suffering from the kind of convolution and self-contradiction that seems to afflict most comics that run for a while, in the hands of multiple writers and editors - they did a covert reset a while back, trying to start fresh without openly sweeping away the old stuff, but it's not so smooth - I had to give a wry grin when the OMG Huge Revelation! of the origin of the Witchblade turned out to be exactly the same origin as had already been revealed years ago. But the individual storylines are good, especially where they touch on actual police work (not necessarily realistic, but still enjoyable), the art is pretty invariably neat, and Sara, as a character, is very satisfying moment-to-moment, despite the convolutions in her backstory.

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

I just stumbled onto a comic mini-series that's really quite awesome, on shelves at the moment as a trade paperback: GLA Misassembled. In the wake of the dissolving of the Avengers (East and West Coast, I gather), the only team left to fight super-crime is the Great Lakes Avengers, a bunch of superheroes who aren't quite up there with the big boys. Their leader is Mr Immortal, who cannot die, which just makes his frequent suicide attempts all the more sorry; with him are Flatman, who can slip through narrow spaces and vanish if he stands at 90 degrees to you; Dinah-Soar, your basic pterodactyl-woman; Doorman, who can teleport anyone anywhere, provided it's into an adjacent room; and Big Bertha, who can transform kind of like She-Hulk, only in place of 'stronger' read 'fatter'. Joining this established super-hero team are newcomers Grasshopper, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound (but not the other stuff Superman can do), and Squirrel Girl, the bright-eyed bushy-tailed mistress of all things squirrel.

And just to ensure it's quality storytelling (by the standards of the comic book industry), it's guaranteed that an Avenger will die in each issue. Not including Mr Immortal, who dies in every issue, often repeatedly.

It's really very good, surprisingly moving now and then, enormously blackly humourous, and a superb parody of all things superheroic. And Squirrel Girl is kind of awesome. It's written by Dan Slott, he of She-Hulk fame, who seems to cater exactly to what I want as a reader, so yay.

There's also a couple of neat reprints bundled into the paperback: the first appearance of the GLA in West Coast Avengers from 1989, and the first appearance of Squirrel Girl, in which she saves Iron Man, and defeats Dr Doom. Yep, that's right - Squirrel Girl (and her sidekick Monkey Joe - a squirrel, not a monkey) takes on Victor Von Doom, and hands him his arse on a platter. And it's not a crappy Doombot, either. See what I mean about her being awesome?

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

My all time favorite is Strangers in Paradise (the comic recommended to me by a very cool friend of mine and has since spawned my emphatic love of comics of all kinds)
I am also currently reading The Astonishing X-Men (one guess why )
Some of the other good ones on my list...The Watchmen, Fables...and for some really cool (and dark) art Industriacide (by Sean Dietrich).

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"You two are the two who are the two. I'm the other one." - Willow

I've just ordered the latest Strangers in Paradise hardback and was surprised to find out that it's going to be ending soon. I really hope there's going to be a happy ending. Katchoo and Francine together and happy please!!!!!!!!!

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Live in my house. I'll be your shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses.

Yeah looks like Terry is finally ending the series, but it had a good run. I hope they Katchoo and Francine end up together as well. I will be sad to see it go, but nothing can last forever. I'm wondering if he will be at the comic con after this year, I hope he doesn't stop doing that stuff too! :( Hopefully he has another project in mind.

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"You two are the two who are the two. I'm the other one." - Willow

Strangers in Paradise is ending? Whoa, where have I been?

I've been reading mostly webcomics because I'm too lazy to get myself to a comic store (8-bit Theatre, Something Positive, Piled Higher and Deeper), but now I've definitely gotta run back to the stores.

-Noe

Yeah, I think there are only 8 issues remaining, but you have to check out the website for the full details.

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"You two are the two who are the two. I'm the other one." - Willow

Xena #1

...has potential. Tie-ins are often tricky, and Xena has some elements that could be handled better, but it also goes above par in several areas. Issue one is not, for example, a comicised retelling of episode one, which always bugs me when a tie-in does that. Instead it just leaps right into the traditional Xena style, as if this were an episode that never got made (probably because of visual effects limitation) - as someone who's seen plenty of Xena, I appreciate that. In any case, I think Xena is well-known enough that newbies wouldn't need the 'origin story' in order to accept her anyway.

The art is not perfect, but pretty good - if they stick with the current art team, they may reach as-good-as-it-gets soon enough. The likenesses aren't spot-on, but there's no mistakeing who's who (especially as the main characters all have their 'signature' outfits), which is pretty good in a medium where characters are normally designed, not duplicated from life. There's some instances where Xena comes pretty close to life; Gabrielle is a bit more generic; Joxer is pretty good; Autolycus is quite impressive in his cameo. Aside from representing the existing characters, the art is the kind of comic art I really appreciate - clean lines, bold colours, interesting composition.

In a recent interview, Dan Slott - who started out doing adaptation comics like Ren & Stimpy, before he moved on to his current sensational She-Hulk duties - said the best thing a writer in that position can do is get a huge stack of video tapes of the show they're adapting, and watch them back-to-back until they physically can't watch TV any more. I don't think the writer here has done that, or at least not enough yet - the story and dialogue are Xena-like, so it's certainly not a case of the writer not having done his homework, but there isn't quite that ring of authenticity about them. There's a slight feeling of 'generic fantasy adventure' to the story, and I had trouble hearing the voices in some of the spoken lines. But that may improve in time. The story does take advantage of the utter lack of constraints on scale - we have gods battling gods, a giant hydra tearing up a ship, winged warriors and amazons on pegasi battling in the sky, the whole deal. It's possible a bit more restraint might help it all feel more Xenaish - after all, it is possible to produce dramatic comic-book visuals without huge visual effects - but so long as they're going for the biggest spectacle possible, at least they are going for it.

So, all in all, it's a good issue one - could've been better, but as a TV show comic adaptation, it's a good debut.

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

I've been reading more comics recently after quite a few years away, but it's difficult to find out which comics are generally regarded as the best at the moment.

I used to love the old classics like Superman and Wonder Woman, so I've ordered the lastest Superman trade paperback and I know that Wonder Woman restarted recently so I'll give it a try, but I'll probably wait until it's released as a tpb.

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Live in my house. I'll be your shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses.

I got Wonder Woman #1 - it's difficult to judge whether it'll be any good or not, not only because it's just one issue, but also because it's almost entirely prologue to the actual story. Wonder Woman (at least, the character it's assumed will be the Wonder Woman of this book) only appears on the final page. The rest of the space is taken up by other Wonder Women (anyone who knows DC knows they have too many identical superheroes for their own good) and exposition-light action. It was enjoyable to read - good plotting, snappy dialogue, great comic-book-scale action, and some pretty neat visuals. In that sense, at least, it was promising, so I can guardedly recommend #2, when the actual story is set to begin.

On another title, here's something that may be of interest to anyone who picked up Xena #1, or is considering it: a page-by-page writer's commentary on the issue. It is of course spoilery - for those not inclined to wade through it, the main points of interest beyond issue #1 are that Callisto is slated to appear (yay!) and that there will at some stage be an arc that connects the end of the TV show to the beginning of the comic - essentially explaining how Xena and Gabrielle got from where the show left off back to 'classic' Xena, with the Greek Gods and Joxer and Gabby's BGSB and so on.

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

So it somehow takes place after the TV series? That's interesting. I might have a look at it. I'm reading the George Perez Wonder Woman paperbacks at the moment and it's very Xena-like with the Greek Gods making regular appearances, including Ares. In fact WW herself could be an amalgam of Xena and Gabrielle. Preaching peace but prepared to kick butt when she has to.

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Live in my house. I'll be your shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses.

I am undergoing a bit of a resurgence in my comic book reading recently, inspired mainly I guess by 52 as it's one of the few series I've bothered to stick with aside from X-men a few years back. I was never into much DC stuff, but I got my interest piqued by 52 and so bought Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Batman:Hush and a few other titles and I really liked them so I think I'll be seeking a few more out.
I've been a Strangers in Paradise fan for years, I just think the stories are genius, and Katchoo just frankly rules. I'm sad to see it end, but I know whatever happens it's going to be good.
Alan Moore is another favourite, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Ballad of Halo Jones, all very good reads. I am very intrigued by his latest opus 'Lost girls' and will hopefully be getting my hands on a copy when some stock is finally released. It looks very interesting, and hopefully also soon a copy of The Mirror of Love should be winging it's way to me at some point.
My girlfriend is a huge Frank Miller fan and got me interested in Sin City and also some stuff by Alex Ross so I guess my appreciation is widening. I bought the first Sandman book on her recommendation and am quite enjoying it as well, so I think this is another series I may stick with and enjoy

~Lou

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Snowy, I can see the pub from here!

If you haven't tried it already you might like Frank Miller's Batman:Year One. It's even better than The Dark Knight Returns I think.



I'd also add Swamp Thing, Miracleman and Captain Britain.

The latest Strangers in Paradise book arrived today so I'm looking forward to that.

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Live in my house. I'll be your shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses.

]

Thanks for the tip, that had been recommended to me but I had to leave Forbidden PLanet before my credit card melted and I bought any more books. I think payday could herald a return visit

~Lou

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Snowy, I can see the pub from here!

A heartening note for the new Batwoman: in July sales, 52 #11 (Batty's issue) ranked 4th overall, at about 122,000 issues sold - about 22,000 above the other issues of 52 that month. Publicity over her being lesbian, the debut of a new character - whichever way you look at it, Batwoman's done good business for DC. Fingers crossed for an ongoing title...

(Mind you, the more I read of 52, the more I'm adoring Renee Montoya, with or without Batwoman hanging around her.)

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

Renee has always been a great character, but the trouble I have is ever cop on the GCPD (current or former) an alcoholic?

Of course I am pleased since Renee got her start on the Batman: The Animated series and the authors liked her so much that she was later brought into the comics.
Here is a good page fro her from the TAS.
http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/cmp/montoya.html

Warlock

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Web Warlock, web.warlock@comcast.net
Visit my Willow and Tara page! http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/p/willow-tara.html
Tara: "My whole life has been 'Tara, don't use your magic.' 'Tara, hide your powers.' 'Tara you will scare someone.' But you tried to hurt and then kill Willow. So maybe it is time I showed everyone just how powerful I am."
- The Dragon and the Phoenix, Episode 7: The Road to Hell

Well, it's Gotham - if that city didn't drive cops to hit the bottle, nothing would. On a Renee/52-related note, last week's issue fairly strongly hinted that Batwoman will be turning up again pretty soon.

Anyhoo, the point of this post: Around Comics podcast #53 focuses on GLBT characters in comics - history, present-day, ups and downs, and so on. Should be an interesting listen for anyone who's curious about the status of hot gay love in the funny books.

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

I'm waiting for 52 to be released in paperback before I buy it, but I've just finished reading the first of the Wonder Woman paperbacks written by Greg Rucka and it was really good to see an Amazon couple holding hands and WW in a lesbian bookshop, although no actually use of the l word.

I've also been spending a fortune on Superman paperbacks over the last couple of weeks. I had no idea there had been another reboot.

For those keeping track, 52 weeks 28 and 30 (this week) have had lots of ass-kickin' Batwoman goodness. Just as well, up until then I was starting to wonder what the heck I was buying it for, what with all the seemingly pointless random fan-service cameos in the 20s weeks. It's not all beating up half-animal mutant gangsters, there's been some really nice scenes, mostly with Renee, showing a variety of emotions at play between the two of them.

On a sadder note, I'm sorry to report that the Xena comic is... well, it ain't what it should be, that's for sure. The art is pretty decent (the likenesses vary from good to baffling, but that's often the case with real-actor-to-comic-character art), but the writing is proving to be quite lacking. In the first issue, fine, there's exposition to be exposited, characters to introduce in broad strokes for new readers, and so on... but four issues in, there's still nothing that marks the story and the characters as 'Xena'. I really don't feel that the writer did the necessary homework of locking himself in a room with all six seasons of DVD - or if he did, it was in one ear, out the other. Sad to say, with the opening arc done, I'll be browsing the next issue (which will be a prequel to #1-4, in which we'll find out how they got from the TV finale back to pre-25-years-in-ice times with everyone back in their old costumes) in-store before I decide whether to spend the money on it or not.

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

Sorry for the double post, but it's worth it. From this week's 52:


(click on it for the full-size version)

Awww

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Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass - Every world needs a Willow and Tara.

Just wondering if anyone else has picked up the most amazing Red Star series addition, Sword of Lies. Christian Gossett and his recent alliance with WETA simply rock my socks. Also, Joe Kubert managed to bring back his father's trademark character, Sgt Rock into two new TPBs. Witchblade now has a new wielder that I'm of two minds about and there are several other series worth watching:
* the new Artesia Afield, written by Mark Smylie is full of kick ass warrior woman action (though be warned, there is a TON of male/female nudity and rough sex )

* the Dark Mists series, published by the independent, Markosia Comics, written by Kuroi Kiri. It has a lot of female assassin type action with an interesting plot thus far.

* More than Mortal has started up again with a new series called More than Mortal: A Legend Reborn. I can't wait to see what's in the offing for that after such a long hiatus.

* You must must MUST pick up Lady Snowblood. Some yuri action in there for the anime fans. Kazuo Koike is an amazing manga writer, from his Lone Wolf and Cub series to Samurai Executioner.

This may sound like a silly question... But is the batwoman in the 52 series the same batwoman from the Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman video from 2003?

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Sleeping Beauty had to rescue herself.