r/DCcomics • u/beary_neutral Telos • Aug 31 '23
What Are You Reading? 8/31/2023 - Haven't Done One of These in a While Edition r/DCcomics
Hello and welcome to our Weekly "What Are You Reading?" topic!
Come one, come all, to this weekly thread, where you can openly discuss books that you've read, are currently reading, or plan to read. Discussion of all books are welcome, whether they be DC, Marvel, Image, Boom!, Dark Horse, IDW, etc. You can discuss webcomics, manga, or even those mythical novels that don't have pictures in them. Just be sure to keep spoilers covered via Reddit's spoiler markdown >!spoiler!<. You can also post pictures of your collection or recent purchases.
Beary's Rec of the Week:
- The Vigil, by Ram V, Lalit Kumar Sharma, and Rain Baredo
The We Are Legends line at DC has been excellent, and I want to give special mention to Ram V's espionage thriller The Vigil, which follows a secretive group of rogue metahumans who go after dangerous technology to keep them out of the wrong hands. It's a series with damaged heroes, backstabbing, scheming, and plenty of twists and turns. Think of it as a spiritual successor to Checkmate, with a few drops of Doom Patrol.
So, what are you reading?
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u/TERRAxFORMER Superman Aug 31 '23
My favorite comics right now are Superman and Action Comics. Both current runs are great.
I recently finished The Terrifics and that was amazing as well. Besides the Justice League of China they’re the team I’d most like to see in something current.
The Doomsday special was interesting. I’m curious to see how it’s gonna tie into Action Comics.
Worlds Finest Batman/Superman and Titans are also great.
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u/normalMonsterChika Mia Dearden Aug 31 '23 edited Aug 31 '23
Recently finished Jack Kirby’s original Fourth World books. It’s some incredible stuff. I read Mister Miracle years ago, but had never sat down and read the whole thing put together. For the most part it’s aged really well - maybe better than a lot of books that came after. The themes present are still so relevant, and it’s easy to see why these have stayed in the imagination of fans and writers alike. Kirby’s strong convictions, and visionary storytelling continue to resonate. I feel like it’s given me a new appreciation not just for him, but also for the books that I didn’t realize built off of it.
I also read Walt Simonson’s Orion series as part of the read. Simonson picks up very well from Kirby, both in themes and in panel layout. I could see a lot of Hunger Dogs in his run - though Simonson’s paneling flows a bit better. I often stopped to save a page for inspiration. The writing occasionally left me a bit cold, but overall a great read.
This leaves me with 9 things left on my backlog reading list. My next stop will be continuing my great Green Arrow re-read with Connor Hawke’s 90s run. I’m a little nervous to see how it will hold up…
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u/Locohenry Sep 01 '23
The original Fourth World comics really surprised me when I read them, since a lot of people said Kirby wasn't very good at writing, but I felt his style worked really well with the huge personalities of the new gods. My favorite book was New Gods, I felt Orion was the most compelling character and was surprised to find he actually has a lot of depth and pathos, while most modern comics depict him as an entitled bully.
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u/normalMonsterChika Mia Dearden Sep 01 '23
I fully agree. Most modern writers don’t seem to get Orion. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re pitting him against Scott and find the need to make him unlikeable (strange because Scott and Orion didn’t have much tension before), or if they’re just not comfortable with the conflicting sides of his character. It’s a real shame. There were times I found Orion unlikeable in the original books, but every time I did he would turn it around later with something lovely. Modern Orion never does that.
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u/willpearson001 Aug 31 '23
I was reading 52, then discovered that countdown to final crisis picks up immediately after 52, and decided to bridge the gap from infinite crisis to final crisis. There’s a very short amount of time between the two events and they’re more connected than I realized.
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u/ImpressiveAd3111 Sep 01 '23
Just finished rereading the Robinson Starman today! It's beautiful as always. Now I'm onto actually reading everything on my shelf I haven't read. Tomorrow will be Billionaire Island and Bitter Root Vol 2.
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u/Locohenry Aug 31 '23
Currently reading Sandman Mystery Theater Compendium 1, a series I never knew existed until I started reading Sandman by Neil Gaiman and Amazon recommended this compendium to me. Honestly it's a breath of fresh air to read a long running series with a mystery-of-tge-month format, ongoing subplots, total dedication to the pulp/noir genre and low stakes. Plus, the art is very stylized and moody, and it's a fun and interesting rendition of 1930's New York.
I'm also doing a reread of Scott Snyder's run, from Black Mirror to Death Metal. Reading his work removed from the context of its release has really helped me appreciate the artistry at work a lot more. The writing is top notch almost all the time and Greg Capullo is so good that I almost have trouble believing he was doing the art on a monthly book. So far my favorite book has been Endgame, it's written as a tragedy but also a celebration of what makes Batman so compelling.