Some new trades

I am trying to cut down a little on my new purchases as looking at the half-year review I'm buying more than I'm reading. But it's the end of the month so it is time to make some new purchases although maybe not as many.

The new stuff which has just arrived includes additions to current collections. Agent of Empire Volume 2 and Batman by Neal Adams Vol 3 (which I understand is the last in the series).

I'm intending to buy maybe two more trades in the next few weeks when they get released including Hulk Masterworks vol 3 but I'll see how good I am at resisting the temptation to buy more.

Saga Vol 2

So Saga volume 2 which includes the controversial issue 12.

Well, if I assume the hardcore video on the screen of the robot's head was the reason, it was both a big fuss about nothing and pointless to boot.

But moving swifting on, Saga is enjoyable without being amazing. I keep hoping for a surprise plot twist to give the story a feeling of the unexpected as at the moment it seems a bit too much by the numbers.

Finally finished Howard the Duck

It's taken me a bit of time to get here but I've made it and that's a reflection of how much I've enjoyed this series. I've enjoyed it enough to keep going but not enough to want to grab the next issue straight-away.

I always think of HtD as a key bronze age comic and I'm pleased I've read it. I know there's one more issue to read but that is rare and expensive in the UK and I'll have to give it a miss. A bit of a shame because I think Bill Mantlo took over quite well from Steve Gerber on writing duties.

I do so LOVE the cover to issue number 30 though.

Well..I'll be damed: Before Watchmen

This hardcover collection reprints two of the "controversal" Before Watchmen stories. Minutemen by Darwyn Cooke and Silk Spectre by Cooke and Amanda Conner. 10 issues collected in all in a nice package.

Now whilst I agree that Watchmen didn't NEED prequels, I enjoy the works by both these creators suffciently enough to overlook that fact (and any objections Alan Moore may have) to purchase and enjoy these stories.

What was nice about them was that they ( in my opinion at least) fit neatly into to the Watchmen storyline, have detailed art in respect of Dave Gibbon's work and both storylines were nice character studies rather than big action thrillers.

A good (but maybe not essential) read.

FF and Star Wars trades

I raced through these two trades over the weekend. The Star Wars one maybe just a bit too quickly but the action was near-enough none stop.

Some good moments in Fraction's FF too. It's got a nice quirky feel to the book.

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

This took me about 5 weeks or so to read. Partly because I've not had that much time to read it as I've been busy doing other stuff in the holiday period (including painting figures and reading the rules for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG) but also because, althought interesting and never boring, this wasn't edge of your seat excitement.

Instead James Luceno has crafted a clever tale which describes Palpatine's rise to power and his apprentership to Darth Plagueis. The last few chapters of the book run parallel to The Phantom Menace and we get to see what was going on behind the scenes. Very interesting. It was very clever how Luceno managed to tie and explain all the plot points together.

I also learnt a great deal more about the Star Wars universe. Lots of refering to Wookiepedia to check what the various alien races looked like. Great prep for the RPG later this year.

Captain America Masterworks Vol 4

This hard back edition of Marvel Masterworks is vol 93 in the masterworks line but also Vol 4 reprinting Cap's adventures. Vol 3 will be out in paperback in approx a year but this volume and subsequent ones are many years away from the softcover treatment. Although I would have liked to get the official vol 4 I haven't spotted it available in this country and anyway £25 for a masterworks volume is about standard.

The stories in this look great. I recognise some of the artwork from old British reprints but it will be a treat to read these in colour and in their entirety.