Posts Tagged ‘Green Lantern (Vol. 4)’

May 1st, 2011  Posted at   The Stack

This was simply not a good month for reading comics. Just when you start to make a little progress

Here’s April:

Adventure Comics #524
All New Batman: Brave and the Bold #5
Brightest Day #20-21
Giant-Size Atom #1
Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #63
Justice League of America/The 99 #5
R.E.B.E.L.S. #26
Superboy (Vol. 3) #26-29
Superman #709
Steel #26-28
Supergirl Annual #1
Tiny Titans #37
Young Justice (Vol. 2) #2
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 3-4 trade paperbacks

Total: 19 comics, 2 trades (Year total: 125 comics, 6 trades)

On the bright side, I finished out the DIANA PRINCE: WONDER WOMAN volumes. That was kind of an anti-climactic ending to a “new” Wonder Woman, wasn’t it? I did enjoy the four volumes, though, even though each successive volume got worse.

Now that those volumes are out of the way, I’ve moved on to the next book in the stack, which is BATMAN CHRONICLES volume four. After I get through with it, I’ll probably pull all the BATMAN CHRONICLES volumes out of the reading stack. Since Michael Kaiser and I are now doing the Batman podcast, we’ll be getting to the stories reprinted in the Chronicles series really soon, so I’d rather look at them from a fresher perspective.

On the reading project front, you’ll notice I read the SUPERGIRL ANNUAL from 1996! So even though I didn’t quite get to the SUPERGIRL series proper… or SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS… or the ERADICATOR… they’re inching towards the top. And, even though I’ve said this three times in a row now, I should start on them this coming month. Hopefully. Heh.

I’ve also decided I’m dropping ADVENTURE COMICS at the next jumping-off point. The Legion of Super-Heroes, while I like the concept, doesn’t seem to hold my attention unless Superboy (or another character from The Family) is involved. And this “training squad” of the Legion holds it even less. I’ve only stuck with it this long because it was said the title would tie into “Flashpoint.” That doesn’t seem to be the case now and since I’m not reading “Flashpoint” anyway, why stick around?

Dropping that (along with BRIGHTEST DAY ending and the cancellation of R.E.B.E.L.S.) will bring my list down to 10 titles. I’m waiting to see where what direction the Green Lantern titles take after “War of the Green Lanterns.” If those books don’t pick up, that will mean three more titles trimmed.

April 1st, 2011  Posted at   The Stack

Well, March was a little better than February, but I’m still not back up to reading what I was. Too many other things taking up my time lately, it seems.

Here’s March:

Action Comics #897-898
Adventure Comics #523
All New Batman: Brave and the Bold #4
Brightest Day #19-20
Fallen Angel: Return of the Son #2
Flash (Vol. 3) #9
Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #62
Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 2) #57
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #7
Justice League of America/The 99 #4
R.E.B.E.L.S. #25
Steel #21-25
Superboy (Vol. 3) #21-25
Supergirl (Vol. 5) #61
Superman #708
Superman 80-Page Giant 2011
Superman/Batman #81
Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6
Tiny Titans #37
Young Justice (Vol. 2) #1
Batman Chronicles Vol. 3 trade paperback
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 1-2 trade paperbacks

Total: 30 comics, 3 trades (Year total: 106 comics, 4 trades)

In March, I also started on the third DIANA PRINCE: WONDER WOMAN volume, so I’ll very likely finish it and the fourth volume in the coming month. These are interesting reads — very much products of their times. I’m enjoying them, but they’re a bit of a nag because they have the same “problem” I find with a lot of Bronze Age DC Comics. And that “problem” is that they’re doing a lot of revving the engine, but not quite willing, yet, to put the pedal to the floor. They’re trying to be more socially relevant and turn things on their ear, but still hesitating slightly. Still, I’m enjoying them and am glad I picked them up. (And who thought I’d say that about a Wonder Woman comic?!)

On the reading project front, I’m still working though the re-read of the Superman Family titles from the ’90s. I didn’t quite keep pace like I thought I would, so I didn’t start on either SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS or SUPERGIRL (Vol. 4). Both books were a little farther down the pike than I thought. I might get to them in April. I’ve also decided to toss in the four-issue ERADICATOR mini-series, just for good measure, so I’ll get to that in the next month or so, as well.

March 1st, 2011  Posted at   The Stack

So, this idea of keeping track of what I read may end up being pretty pointless if there are many more months like this one. I’m not sure what happened, but my reading time got cut way back in February, so this month’s list is considerably shorter than normal.

Here’s February:

Action Comics #896
Adventure Comics #522
All New Batman: Brave and the Bold #3
Brightest Day #17-18
Fallen Angel: Return of the Son #1
Flash (Vol. 3) #8
Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #61
Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 2) #56
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #6
Justice League of America/The 99 #3
R.E.B.E.L.S. #24
Steel Annual #2
Steel #18-20
Superboy (Vol. 3) #18-20
Superboy Annual (Vol. 2) #2
Supergirl (Vol. 5) #60
Superman #707
Superman/Batman #80
Tiny Titans #35-36
Young Justice (Vol. 2) #0

Total: 26 comics (Year total: 76 comics, 1 trade)

In February, I also continued reading through the BATMAN CHRONICLES Vol. 3 trade paperback. I’m nearly done with it, so, barring any calamities, it should be on next month’s list.

On the reading project front, I’m still working though the re-read of the Superman Family titles from the 90s. Assuming I keep pace in March, I’ll be starting on the earliest issues of SUPERBOY AND THE RAVERS and SUPERGIRL (Vol. 4) in March. I’m looking forward to starting on those SUPERGIRL issues again, and seeing if I enjoy them as much this time around.

The new books I read regularly will be shrinking it number soon. I’ve decided to drop FLASH, rather than invest in the whole “Flashpoint” event. That’s not commentary on the story… it sounds interesting. But it’s hard for me to justify spending the money on all the tie-ins and such, when I firmly believe shorter, stronger stories are what the industry needs. So, I’m walking away from it.

But moreover, it seems R.E.B.E.L.S. will come to an end with issue #28 in May. It should be no surprise to those who keep an eye on sales numbers. But, still, I was disappointed because it has been a consistently fun read for me month-in-and-out. And that says something coming from a guy who’s very picky about the comics he reads that don’t involve characters with ‘S’s on their chests. Unless something steps up to take its place, it will also mark the end of the DC’s loose “space epic,” which started all the way back in 2004 with ADAM STRANGE by Andy Diggle and Pascual Ferry.

February 1st, 2011  Posted at   The Stack

I had an idea in late December to keep track of what comics I read throughout the year, because I’m curious exactly how many books I read in a year’s time. To that end, I will be posting here, on a monthly basis, lists of what I’ve read in the preceding month. I will include any comics I’ve read, whether single issue or collection, and regardless of whether it is a first-read or a re-read. The only thing I won’t be including is those books I use for preparation for the podcast, since that is normally separate from my regular reading.

Here’s January:

Action Comics #895
Action Comics Annual #13
Adventure Comics #520-521
All New Batman: Brave and the Bold #1-2
Brightest Day #13-16
Flash (Vol. 3) #6-7
Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #59-60
Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 2) #54-55
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #4-5
Justice League of America/The 99 #2
R.E.B.E.L.S. #22-23
Steel #9-17
Superboy (Vol. 3) #9-17
Superboy (Vol. 4) #1
Supergirl (Vol. 5) #58-59
Superman #705-706
Superman/Batman #78-79
Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5
Tiny Titans #34
Tiny Titans/Little Archie #2-3
Superman Chronicles Vol. 6 trade paperback

Total: 50 comics, 1 trade

I also started reading the BATMAN CHRONICLES Vol. 3 trade paperback just yesterday. I got a bit behind on my reading over the holidays, which accounts for why there are, essentially, two month’s worth of new comics on the list this time.

I enjoy reading handfuls of older material in between the new stuff to help keep perspective. Plus, since I’m reading less new books these days, something’s got to fill the gaps! The STEEL and SUPERBOY (Vol. 3) issues are part of a mega re-read project I embarked on in December. I am reading (re-reading) the series in chronological order and the project that will eventually include SUPERGIRL (Vol. 4) and YOUNG JUSTICE as well. It has been interesting comparing the development and progression of these two series that both spun off from the same event.