Talking About Comics

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1-3 Originally released in 2017 Written by Chip Zdarsky Art by Adam Kubert I've enjoyed what I've read of Chip Zdarsky's work, so when I found out that he wrote a Spider-Man series, I decided to read that.  It's clear from the get-go that his friendship with the Human Torch is going to play a decently big role in this. While stopping a robbery, Spider-Man is asked out on a date by the woman that he saved; as his love life is abysmal in the post-One More Day status quo, he accepts, even if it means attending the date as Spider-Man. He also discovers a StarkPhone that has been hacked, when those are supposed to be unhackable.  Going to a new tech genius in town (Mason, brother of the Tinkerer, who saw what his brother was doing and wanted to bring some good into the world to counter that), he manages to find one other hacked StarkPhone in Chicago. Traveling there, he is attacked by a suit of Iron Man armour, though this turns out ...

The Rann-Thanagar War #1-6 Originally released in 2005 Written by Dave Gibbons Art by Ivan Reis I chose this for two reasons: I plan to read Strange Adventures (a Tom King series) focusing on Adam Strange at some point and I'd like some context for who he is (I've only seen him in the series 52), and I'd like to read Infinite Crisis at some point and this apparently leads into it. As an act of defiance after being defeated, a rogue Thanagarian teleported Rann, a world which Adam Strange is randomly transported to, into orbit around Polaris, the North Star.  This is Thanagar's solar system, so her hope was that it would be seen as an act of aggression by the people of Rann and lead to an interplanetary war.  This backfires, as Thanagar is thrown out of its orbit and into its sun. The people of Rann offer their world as a refuge, but there is distrust among the Rannians and Thanagarians alike.  Strange takes Hawkman and Hawkgirl to Rann, but they're met with scenes of...

Eternals #1-3 Originally released in 2006 Written by Neil Gaiman Art by John Romita Jr. Thinking about movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it hit me that I still don't know much about the Eternals. (I gave the original Jack Kirby miniseries a shot, but it was distinctly disconnected from the Marvel universe, with the Hulk being a fictional character) The first issue focuses on Makkari (who doesn't remember his former life and goes by Mark Curry) and Ikaris, as Ikaris tries to convince the amnesiac Makkari of his true identity while explaining the backstory of the Eternals, the Deviants, and the Celestials. One big change that I noticed from the MCU version is that the MCU had a much more even gender divide - five men and five women out of the core Eternals - whereas here, Ajak, Sprite, and Makkari are all men, meaning that there are eight men and only two women. (Thena and Sersi) Ikaris also has some degree of amnesia; he can remember events from thousands or millions of y...

Watchmen #1-4 Originally released in 1986 Written by Alan Moore Art by Dave Gibbons Watchmen needs no introduction. Okay, maybe it does. Set in an alternate 1985, Watchmen is a world where a handful of people in the 1930s and 40s were inspired to become costumed adventurers, and how this (and a freak accident that creates a legitimately super-powered individual) leads to a world where Richard Nixon is running for election for a fourth term and the Cold War is on the brink of turning hot. One of these adventurers, the Comedian, was thrown from his apartment and killed.  As he had spent the past few years as a government operative, the list of suspects is a long one, but another masked vigilante (Rorschach) believes that this is a plot to target all of the remaining vigilantes whether they've retired or not. There aren't many left at this point - the original Nite Owl and Silk Spectre (who retired long before the government outlawed any heroes who wouldn't work for them), the...