I'll do my best to avoid anything more than the smallest of spoilers. I actually prefer Hard cover or Trade Paperback compilations to original issues, as I'm more interesting in reading the comic than collecting it for any monetary value. Still, it is rather nice to hold a decades old issue in your hands.
(TPB = Trade Paperback and HC = Hard Cover.)
TPB - #1-13 split between 3 volumes - Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Dinosaur Shaman, and Time in Overdrive.
#14 - Final issue
HC - #1-5
TPB - There doesn't seem to be a page for the 2008 TPB compilation so this will have to do. I'm lazy. Wonderful book.
TPB - Ending was a bit ho-hum, but I liked the premise, the subtle differences between the two universes and the sense of humor injected by the writers. The last moments featuring Ultraman, Superwoman and Owlman were hilarious!
TPB - Compilation containing #1-7 (The cover of my edition is from issue #1.) Absolutely fantastic.
TPB - An ingenious idea, and a book which far surpassed any glowing expectations that I had. I liked it more than even All-Star Superman.
TPB - #1-6
TPB - #7-12
TPB - Honestly one of the best comic book stories I've read. I loved the way Batman handled himself in this book, in spite of his age.
TPB - Batman #608-619 and more. - Superb
Batman Annual #26
TPB - Excellent. I found the ending quite satisfying.
Free Comic Book Day (2011)
TPB - Quality merchandise. A classic story, that reveals much, and makes ready a glorious future.
TPB (Collects the previous Vols 1 & 2.) - Really amazing.
TPB - #1-8 (1st series)
TPB - #140-146 - The first Nightwing book I had the chance to read.
TPB - #147-153
TPB - Showcase #97-99, Secret Origins #11 & JSA Classified #1-4. - Power Girl certainly has a messed up past when it comes to origins. This book shows them all, in the order which they were presented to us, and does a fine job at it.
I liked the original tale, but disliked the Atlantis origin story. While I found the final origin to be the most enjoyable, I left feeling like they were leaving it a bit open to change. Having not read Crisis of Infinite Earths or Infinite Crisis (at the time), I was left wondering who the villain talking to Power Girl was. Guess he was a lackey of Anti Monitor in the COIE series? Good reading material for those new to Kara, and looking to add more knowledge as to her past.
TPB - #1-6 - Great stuff! Hilarious!
TPB - #7-12 - I was so disappointed to hear that Amanda Conner, her husband, and Mr. Grey were leaving after the twelfth issue. :^(
TPB - Contains issues #13-18
#19 - Finally found this issue! Couldn't find it on-line other than eBay, and it turns out that there were two, at the local comic shop. ^_^
#20
#21
#22
#23
#24 - Thus starts a fine two-parter that takes a shot at the Arab phobia that some people have developed. The art has improved somewhat as well. (See next below for more on that.)
#25 - A great piece on Arab/American interaction in the DC universe, and I loved the artwork. It's not Amanda Connor quality, but it's a step in the right direction and a good touch better than the stuff that I've saw in issues #13-23. I can only assume that is is due to the addition of Hendry Prasetyo. Keep up the good work!
#26 - Cute. The ending brought a smile to my face. I wonder what happened to the purple-haired girl's home?
#27 - Final Issue! Great cover by Warren Louw. One last story to finish things off with. If you've been reading Birds of Prey in the last year, it's not too hard to figure out the villain with the clue they drop. A decent, self-contained story, which looks like it might have mild future ramifications.
TPB - Saw the movie first, but still found the book to be superb. The pirate side story seemed mostly unnecessary, but the articles between chapters made for a greater sense of immersion. Loved it.
TPB - #300, 315-317 - Classic stuff. Wish I had my original issues.
HC - #648-651 - First Spider-man comic I've read since the whole clone thing in the '90s. This series is damn good, and with some seriously shocking moments! The villain becoming what Peter Parker once was career-wise, was a splendid touch. I may not have liked what I heard about that whole "One More Day" story, but if Spider-man keeps going the way it is in "Big Time", they have a return subscriber!
#1 - 2012 Re-issue
Free Comic Book Day (2011) - The idea regarding Spider-Man's fighting ability and his new circumstances was a clever one.
HC - #500-503 and Avengers Finale
HC - Collects Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1-9, Avengers: TCC - Young Avengers #1 and some material from Uncanny X-Men #526. - I waited over a year for this compilation to be released. It was pretty tempting to pick up the individual issues, but the moment finally arrived!
TPB - #1-8 - Pretty good, even if I had the outcome of events spoiled for me. The art was incredible. (Much different than the cover.) They included a "newspaper" section that detailed the current events in the alternate reality, which was quite creative.
HC - Vol. 1 (1st Series) - Issues #1-18 - Sweet! I finally found a copy and it was very reasonably priced! This book was a joy to read. Every issue was amazing. The art, the story... If you can, check out this series; it's tops.
HC - Vol. 2 (2nd Series) - Issues #1-12 and X-Men/Runaways one-shot. The X-Men/Runaways one-shot uses a really odd art style, but I think it was done purposely that way, so I got over it. Another great book.
HC - Vol. 3 (2nd Series) - Issues #13-24 - CV doesn't have the entry for this, and I'm sick with the flu, so I'm not adding it at the moment.
#235
#236 - Rogue and Wolverine captured in Genosha.
#237
#238
TPB - #239-243 (Also other comics.) - The quality of the art was a bit inconsistent, and the dialog sometimes off, but overall, I enjoyed this.
In several panels, I found myself entranced by the beautifully rendered eyes that artist Marc Silvestri endowed Jean, Madelyne and Dazzler with. Reading this series, I finally understand exactly why Jean inherited Madelyne's memories, what may have influenced Scott's questionable choices, and begin to see how much of an ass Mr. Sinister really is.
#244 - First appearance of Jubilee.
#261 - I love the old issues with Wolverine in Madripoor. It's like the city Casablanca from the old Bogart/Bergman film of the same name... Only with mutants. ^_^
Wolverine gets captured by some mercenaries, leaving it up to Psylocke and Jublilee to save him. The ending surprised me.
#268 - Another Madripoor issue, this time with some interesting backstory on Blackwidow. Also, what seems to be Captain America's first meeting with Logan. I really enjoyed this one, and the cover is great.
#269 - Rogue leaves Siege Perilous, seemingly free of Carol Danvers. Not too bad of an issue. It was nice to see the Savage Land again. Also Polaris was in this one! I should get some more comics with her.
This issue begins a great story which takes a small break for the X-Tinction Agenda, and returns in #273 with several great issues.
TPB - #270-272 (Also other comics.) - Much of the artwork, could use improvement, but Jim Lee's stuff is great. Important story as far as mutants go, given the racial prejudice theme in X-Men. Mine is an older edition than the one pictured.
#273 - Start of a fun story run which ends in #277.
#274 - It was a joy watching Rogue, Magneto, Ka-Zar and Nick Fury together, working on the same side.
#275 - First and second printing
#276
#277
#278
#279
#280 - Earned me the Martin Luther and Sonny Listn' achievements.
#281
#282
#283
#284
#285
#286
HC - Compelling. Tying in the radical religious leader with anti-mutant hate, and hypocrisy was a brilliant move. I do however wish that Claremont had inserted more of a positive religious counter balance, by elaborating a bit more on Kurt/Nightcrawler's Catholic beliefs/lifestyle and Kitty's Jewish heritage. He touches on this in his commentary. It felt like an opportunity lost. He did insert positive religious comments, which pointed out how Stryker's views did not line up with the Bible, and I thought that only enhanced the story, showing how much of a fraud Stryker was. There are evil men like Stryker out there, and it's absolutely necessary that we call them out. The artwork was good for the time, and though I found myself wishing it would go on, the book was quite good.
TPB
TPB - Quite well done. I would have liked to see the inclusion of some of the Revanche issues from X-Men, but they weren't as directly connected. Though the book had the newer issues first, I read the older Uncanny X-Men issues before the newer Psylocke ones. The twist at the end was quite well done, even if it wasn't entirely unexpected. Highly recommended for X-Men fans who have read many of the older issues from the mid '80s to early '90s.
#1 - The artwork was spectacular, and the story seemed to be going somewhere good, but like most comics these days, it was too short. Quality stuff though, and I look forward to subsequent issues. I am REALLY looking forward to further issues of the story.
#2 - I felt somewhat disappointed in this issue. Not much seemed to happen, and the I feel that the artwork in the previous part was a little better. Still... We get to see a minuscule sampling of what the new Jubilee can do.
#3 - Better than issue #2, and we get to see Wolverine use his claws a little.
#4
#1 - Fabulous first issue and starting point for new X-Men fans. Jim Lee's artwork is excellent, as always. The plentiful art pages included are amazing.
#2 - Another fine issue.
#3 - No more Chris Claremont after this? Say it ain't so!!
#4 - I don't know why, but I'm not entirely fond of Omega Red. Thankfully, that still didn't ruin the issue for me.
#5
#6
#7
#8 - Beginning of a comic cross over series. I hate cross overs, but it's still good.
#9
#10
#11
#15
#192 - Was on sale for $1.50
#234 - Having been away from comics for some time, I didn't know exactly what to expect from Rogue. When I last left the X-Men, it was somewhere around X-Men #22 (1990s). I had read about the incident that she had with Gambit after discovering his past, how she had become more of a leader, and the changes in her powers. Still, I did not have any recent comic book memories with this character.
X-Men: Legacy #234 turned out of be an excellent time to jump back in, as it allowed me to see where she was, how she taught the various students, where her relationship with Remy (Gambit) was, and a couple of other things. There wasn't much action, but that was actually quite helpful. Artistically, I had nothing to complain about, it wasn't the best I've seen, but it was certainly good, and the cover was excellent. Best of all, there were at least two points in this issue where I burst out laughing, and for the $1.50 I paid, you certainly can't ask for more than that!
#10 - Picked this up due to the presence of Vampire Jubilee. (Takes place after "Wolverine & Jubilee") It seems a bit short, but the ending was great! Next issue? I suspect it will turn into one of those situations where it doesn't turn out the way we expected it to.
#11 - More Vampire Jubilee. This issue was great. So many moments of humor. The ending was predictable, but the rest of it made up for that.
#12
#1 - Such a rewarding series for those who grew up playing video games. I love this series!
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Artwork could be better, but the stories are great.
Some of the artwork is meh, but again, the stories make for a good experience.
HC - Dark Empire Trilogy, containing Dark Empire, Dark Empire II and Empire's End. - As with the Tales of the Jedi series, much of the artwork is rather blah, but that doesn't mean it isn't without it's charms.
First off, the bad. The beginning (Dark Empire I), didn't really feel like that good of a story. The characters didn't quite have the same feel that they did in the movies, and they didn't act or talk like they you would expect. However, it wasn't a bad tale, and the second and third parts (Dark Empire II & Empire's End), were quite good when it came to story, and they even weaved various bits of "Tales of the Jedi" into their saga.
The ending was more than a little abrupt, but all-in-all I highly recommend this to a fan of the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI), provided that you have also read the "Tales of the Jedi" series.
