FREE/BARGAIN - Comics - 2015

[Andanzas]

Originally Posted by TrevorViking

New Humble Bundle on Tales from India has lots of new and forthcoming Grant Morrison.
https://www.humblebundle.com/grantmorrison

Oh please. Tell me it sucks. Big time.

I had made up my mind. Well, almost. It was either 52 (the 4 collections) plus The Final Crisis, or The Final Crisis, Blackest Night, The Sinestro Corps War, and Superman: Doomed.

And now this...

By the way, I don't plan to read any of these comics with my son. He got me interested in the DC universe with his constant barrage of questions, but he is still too young for these stories. Maybe some day.

Originally Posted by TrevorViking

A lot of the 'big earth shattering crisis event books' are great, but you may need a bit of history with the characters to really appreciate them.

That's a good point. Forever Evil was rather straightforward, but it still became confusing at times because I am not familiar with the characters. (For instance, I don't understand why the bad guys didn't get rid of the JLA for good when they could. Maybe that's evident for a seasoned reader, but it wasn't for me.)

Originally Posted by ATDrake

What I've read of the Sinestro Corps stuff (from the library) was pretty decent and in the case of those "Tales from the Sinestro Corps" backups or whatever they were, told good and interesting stories about the members. Some of the assorted Lantern Corps Wars stuff has also been part-adapted into the Green Lantern animated movies and series, IIRC, that you might be able to watch with your son if that's a bonus selling point.

Actually, that's a selling point. We checked out a Green Lantern movie from the library, which we planned to watch while his little brother took a nap. It turned out that the little one had nightmares and I had to leave the room to soothe him all the time, so I probably missed more than half the movie. Still, I was favorably impressed; I thought it was better than any Marvel animated series we've watched together.

Ah, the libraries. I miss the excellent libraries from California, where I used to live for a while. The libraries in Madrid are all right, but they are more old-fashioned and their catalogs are more limited in certain areas, like comics.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

It was one of those year-long "event" storylines where they did this gimmick that some of the main heroes had disappeared for whatever reason and so they put together this year-long arc focusing on the more minor heroes stepping up to take their place and how they were managing to cope with the apparent losses and such. I actually rather liked this one, and it had some strong and interesting storytelling that led to some good and ongoing character development for often-overlooked DCU mainstays like The Question and the Shazam family. But a big chunk of it was reset by future events, I think.

I've read the first issue and I liked it. It wasn't anything to write home about, but I liked it. I like the premise. And from what you say, I think I would enjoy 52.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Hope this helps.

Helps a lot! Thanks.

By the way, what do you guys think of Geoff Jones? He seems to be all over the place.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Andanzas

Oh please. Tell me it sucks. Big time.

Well, if it's any consolation, it's a flash bundle with less than a day to go and the temptation will be removed shortly.

Originally Posted by Andanzas

Actually, that's a selling point. We checked out a Green Lantern movie from the library, which we planned to watch while his little brother took a nap. It turned out that the little one had nightmares and I had to leave the room to soothe him all the time, so I probably missed more than half the movie. Still, I was favorably impressed; I thought it was better than any Marvel animated series we've watched together.

If you can, try to find the DCAU cartoons (Wikipedia, a shorthand nickname for the various related series started by Bruce Timm & Paul Dini) either in the library if they have them in Spain, or maybe DVD/Blu-Ray if they got released in Region 2/B (though I think the Warner Bros Blu-Rays for Justice League might be region-free?).

They're extremely good and some of the very best storytelling that has ever been done with DC characters, both in the cartoons and also in the tie-in comics (I maintain that Mark Millar's brief run on the tie-in Superman Adventures is both some of his very best quality work, as well as some of the best Superman-related stories ever told), which have not always been perfect (there are some real duds in the episodes and sometimes the comics were kind of too dumbed-down for the kiddies), but have always maintained a generally very high quality and taken thoughtful, intelligent, and believable approaches to the characters and their situations.

And watching Justice League & Justice League Unlimited will provide you with a great intro to a lot of the DC characters, including both well-known and more obscure ones, while giving you some very enjoyable stories at the same time, that are suitable for all ages (well, mostly all ages; some of the installments, like the original uncut Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker movie are kind of dark and deal with more disturbing themes and probably best not for kids under 10 or so).

Their take on Superman's death in the episode "Hereafter" was much more affecting (and made more logical sense in terms of why he'd "die" and how he'd come back) than the actual Death of Superman comics storylines (although there's a pretty good non-DCAU animated movie, Superman: Doomsday, which adapts the comics version pretty well). Alan Moore even liked the Justice League Unlimited adaptation of his classic Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything" enough that he even allowed them to use his name on the story credits (he normally hates what people do enough that he demands they remove his name and won't take money from the profits of the movies based on his work).

It's truly awesome and very entertaining stuff which I cannot recommend highly enough, and one of the two TV series franchises I'd take into the next life with me if I had to pick just two (the other is classic The Twilight Zone which was innovative and groundbreaking storytelling which influenced a whole bunch of stuff about how stories are structured we take for granted these days; and I guess I should probably bring Star Trek along, too, and make it a trinity).

Originally Posted by Andanzas

I've read the first issue and I liked it. It wasn't anything to write home about, but I liked it. I like the premise. And from what you say, I think I would enjoy 52.

52 is rather good in a generally more subtle, low-key way than the usual big events and related tie-in gimmicks.

It doesn't matter if you don't know the characters, since they were mostly less well-known sometimes fan-favourite heroes that the writers gradually built up the introduction to throughout their story threads, so you could go in not knowing anything about them at all, but find out everything important about what made them be who and what they were and how they ended up appealing to a whole bunch of their original fans via their dialogue and actions and the ways they reacted to the situations they got into.

And there were also good bits involving how the "ordinary" people of the DC universe view their big heroes and their absence and how they react to getting "substitutes" (a little less ungrateful than the Marvel-verse folk, who kind of tend to turn on their heroes at the drop of a hat but then forgive them a week later like they all got collective amnesia, but that's kind of the fun of the Marvel-verse, protected by heroes they hate and loathe and want to put into mutant extermination camps unless they were lucky enough to be bitten by radioactive something-or-others instead of being born with their powers).

And in the case of Animal Man, you'll be getting Grant Morrison writing one of his favourites again (and one of his best characters with his classic runs on the old series), so you'll be able to see if you like what he does enough to maybe watch for a sale on the collections some day.

And the story plots still hold up really well, IMHO, with the bonus that if there was a particular thread you weren't all that interested in following, there were still a bunch of other storylines you could read with other characters (instead of just being stuck with the one plot you would hope would pick up and become more interesting). And everything kind of ties together in the end in a way that makes sense (even if they went and changed a bunch of the stuff that was supposed to have been important later). And some of the spin-off stuff from this was kind of important (Booster Gold got his own series for a while because of how popular he became from 52, and the new Batwoman was introduced in it, IIRC).

Mind you, it doesn't serve all that well as an introduction to the Big 3 (or Big 7) heroes of the DC, whom you were wanting to get better acquainted with, but it's a really good look at how the more "middle-class" parts of the DC universe function, IMHO.

The Sinestro Corps War is kind of the same way, telling a good self-contained story that stands up well on its own, where you can get to know the more obscure characters and the plotline developments via the story as it went along rather than needing to know who everyone is in advance and remembering that this happens now because of all that stuff in the past stories (even though it's highly based on some stuff alluded to in old Alan Moore Green Lantern stories).

Although Wikipedia does inform me that there's a separate TPB that collects the additional backup stories that originally introduced the new characters as they came along which doesn't appear to exist on Comixology yet, so I don't know how well it would read without having their motivations fleshed out.

Originally Posted by Andanzas

By the way, what do you guys think of Geoff Jones? He seems to be all over the place.

Mixed bag, really. Sometimes he's very good, sometimes, not so much.

He was quite strong on Green Lantern from the stuff I read, with generally interesting ideas that were executed fairly well, but he also has a bit of nostalgic tendency to think that Silver Age-type ideas and characters were better and should be made the forefront (IIRC, he's the guy who's part-responsible for the resurrections of Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, who were the old GL and Flash from the 70s/80s who'd since died/gone away and passed their legacies on, and making them the current main GL/Flash heroes), and kind of sets things up in his stories sometimes so that you get the feeling that "the old ways are the best, the newfangled modern approach isn't as good and people should just stick to tradition, oh by the way, 70s version of hero that I grew up with IS THE BESTEST EVAR!!!!!". This can grate a bit if you want a little more variety in your superheroing or see a little more respect for one of your not-70s-favourites than acting as the enabling sidekick to the awesomeness who is 70s version of hero that Geoff Johns grew up with.

Sometimes this works out pretty well when he's doing an older-hero-focused story like his JSA run (Justice Society of America, who were like the Justice League of the 40s/50s and the newer version mostly stars their kids and other legacy inheritors of their original hero mantles). Sometimes it just doesn't mesh well with storylines where the approach isn't quite as straightforward as determining a good side and a bad side and having truly heroic heroes and obviously villainous villains in it and having a lot of moments for his favourites to shine.

Lack of nuance and subtlety, IMHO. He kind of likes to paint big pictures in broad strokes for you to admire the scope of, and sometimes he even does it pretty well.

Also, he's kind of continuity porn-ish, loving to do a whole bunch of stories that are based on other really old stories from the past that he wanted to follow-up the ideas of and kind of expecting you to already know what he was talking about. So sometimes I guess he can be a bit of a difficult read unless you're willing to look up a whole bunch of references on Wikipedia and/or various fansites and comic book discussion forums (which people are generally quite willing to put up explanations of to help the newbies) or are just kind of relaxed about not knowing exactly what's supposed to be going on.

[TrevorViking]

I think that bundle is a two weeker.

[ATDrake]

^

You're right. I misread the number of numbers in the countdown and thought HB were doing those 1-day flash bundles again.

Oh well, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it... I can resist everything but temptation." as Oscar Wilde puts it?

But at least there's a lot more time in which to decide if one really wants it. I'll probably splurge out of sheer morbid curiosity and because I approve of stuff being done drawing on less well-known cultural backgrounds and want to support the making of more such. (But mostly for the morbid curiosity, TBH.)

[TrevorViking]

New SDCC Comixology sale on some books from Humanoids. Nine different $5.99 books for $.99 each. Anyone ever read these titles?
Cape Horn
Sanctum
Screaming Planet
https://www.comixology.com/Humanoids...Sale/list/7436

[Andanzas]

Thank you for not mentioning that Marvel has added a ton of new collections (usually the first volume of a series) for €2.69 ($3.00?). Unfortunately, I saw it anyway.

All of these are on sale right now on Comixology: The Death of Superman, Batman RIP, The Death of Captain America, and Death of Wolverine. I don't know why, but I find that hilarious. What a trend. Yes, I am easily amused.

Originally Posted by TrevorViking

New SDCC Comixology sale on some books from Humanoids. Nine different $5.99 books for $.99 each. Anyone ever read these titles?
Cape Horn
Sanctum
Screaming Planet
https://www.comixology.com/Humanoids...Sale/list/7436

I have read the first two volumes of Cape Horn. I read the first one, liked it, and bought the rest (the other two as well ). I can't say I am blown away, and the story contains certain elements that might end up being cheesy in the end (the attractive and lonely widow who feels compassion for the native people, the handsome fugitive with a mysterious past who is unjustly persecuted by a merciless tyrant and who meet each other in times of danger), but so far the writer has managed all the different subplots well. If you are interested in the historical context, then get it.

[Andanzas]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

52 is rather good in a generally more subtle, low-key way than the usual big events and related tie-in gimmicks.

It doesn't matter if you don't know the characters, since they were mostly less well-known sometimes fan-favourite heroes that the writers gradually built up the introduction to throughout their story threads, so you could go in not knowing anything about them at all, but find out everything important about what made them be who and what they were and how they ended up appealing to a whole bunch of their original fans via their dialogue and actions and the ways they reacted to the situations they got into.

And there were also good bits involving how the "ordinary" people of the DC universe view their big heroes and their absence and how they react to getting "substitutes" (a little less ungrateful than the Marvel-verse folk, who kind of tend to turn on their heroes at the drop of a hat but then forgive them a week later like they all got collective amnesia, but that's kind of the fun of the Marvel-verse, protected by heroes they hate and loathe and want to put into mutant extermination camps unless they were lucky enough to be bitten by radioactive something-or-others instead of being born with their powers).

And in the case of Animal Man, you'll be getting Grant Morrison writing one of his favourites again (and one of his best characters with his classic runs on the old series), so you'll be able to see if you like what he does enough to maybe watch for a sale on the collections some day.

And the story plots still hold up really well, IMHO, with the bonus that if there was a particular thread you weren't all that interested in following, there were still a bunch of other storylines you could read with other characters (instead of just being stuck with the one plot you would hope would pick up and become more interesting). And everything kind of ties together in the end in a way that makes sense (even if they went and changed a bunch of the stuff that was supposed to have been important later). And some of the spin-off stuff from this was kind of important (Booster Gold got his own series for a while because of how popular he became from 52, and the new Batwoman was introduced in it, IIRC).

Mind you, it doesn't serve all that well as an introduction to the Big 3 (or Big 7) heroes of the DC, whom you were wanting to get better acquainted with, but it's a really good look at how the more "middle-class" parts of the DC universe function, IMHO.

Well, I just purchased 52. I hope you understand it was your fault.

I also got The Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Nights, and Superman: Doomed.

Grant Morrison's Final Crisis and Batman RIP will have to wait. The reviews were mixed and both seemed to be rather convoluted and difficult for someone not familiar with the DC universe.

I hope I made a good choice.

[TrevorViking]

Those 20 Marvel collections at $4.99 each sales ends 7/14/15.
https://www.comixology.com/Marvel-Co...Sale/page/7324

New freebie at Comixology, Hitman:Agent 47: Movie Prelude.
https://www.comixology.com/Hitman-Ag...l-comic/254585

New even better discount Marvel collection sale, 25 books at $2.99 each, unknown duration.
https://www.comixology.com/comics-sa..._id=7417&lang=

[TrevorViking]

If you're buying any DC and Marvel books, you can save 15% by buying iTunes gift cards at BedBath&Beyond and then purchasing your books through the DC and Marvel apps. BB&B deal is in-store only and last until 7/23/15 on $25+ iTunes cards. That extra 15% pushed me over the edge on a bunch of the SDCC sale collections. iTunes cards are always on sale somewhere, often at more than this 15% savings.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Andanzas

Well, I just purchased 52. I hope you understand it was your fault.

I just dug out my old TPBs to do a re-read over the weekend (except for Volume Two; I still can't find wherever I left Volume Two ), and it's still as enjoyable as I remembered it.

And a bonus of the TPBs vs the single issues (there were backup stories in the singles that weren't collected, according to Wikipedia) is that the creators added extra commentary about all the issues and their decision-making and notes about what they were intending to do with the characters as each week of the serial went by, which may be helpful when reading.

Tell you what, if it happens that 52 really just doesn't click with you for whatever reason (it's rather heavier on DC continuity in-jokes than I remembered, but in a way that hopefully doesn't impede understanding the story and the creators explain in the commentary anyway, and moves a bit away from some of the stuff that I described in my comment upthread that may have been the main pull for you and $20 USD is kind of pricey for a story you might end up not liking and won't re-read), please let me know and I'll PM over the codes for these 2 $10 Kobo gift cards (in CAD, but should be convertible to the currency of wherever you have your Kobo account set) I got months ago and am not using, so you can at least recoup part of your costs and maybe get that Grant Morrison-containing Indian comics Humble Bundle if you end up wishing you'd saved your money for that instead.

(This offer does kind of depend on your having and using a Kobo account, sorry.)

Originally Posted by Andanzas

I also got The Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Nights, and Superman: Doomed.

Grant Morrison's Final Crisis and Batman RIP will have to wait. The reviews were mixed and both seemed to be rather convoluted and difficult for someone not familiar with the DC universe.

I hope I made a good choice.

Sometimes TV Tropes has nifty write-up pages on comic book characters, series, and event storylines which can be helpful in deciding what to read (or just seeing what people consider to be the important/funny/awesome stuff worth reading for in them) or avoid (Identity Crisis has its own page of Stuff That Doesn't Make Sense And Why, and Countdown to Final Crisis is mocked, it is mocked for so very many reasons).

Here's their index page for the various DC comics and the index for some of the more prominent characters (or just the ones that have some really dedicated fans; and you can sometimes get descriptions of the minor characters associated with a major one such as Superman by checking to see if there's a Characters tab at the top of the page), if you're interested, and the write-ups before you get to the descriptions of the tropes used are generally non-spoilery (or not more than you'd get from reading a blurb on the back of the collection which wants to tell you a couple of the key plot points and maybe a twist or two).

I generally find that they're a better choice for quickly looking up stuff than dedicated comics fansites (which are better for getting a more in-depth going-over of some story point you might not have understood), as there are fewer spoilers for the storylines if I haven't read them since they just do scattered comments on the tropes used and certain stuff that happens that caught their attention rather than going over the entire plot and What It Means™, and it's a good way to get an impression of how stuff looks to a mixed audience of dedicated comics fans and more casual readers.

As an aside, I finally started watching my Blu-Rays of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series, and I can give it a firm thumbs-up for the episodes I watched, which present a more Silver Age sort of light-hearted Batman with sillier gadgets teaming up with characters from all over the DCU. Not quite as high quality or with as much story depth as the original DCAU cartoons, but still a good and enjoyable approach to the character, with entertaining tales to watch.

[GtrsRGr8]

That's 85% from the digital list price.

I'm not a comics guy. So, I don't know much about them, in general, or the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, in particular. But I do know what a big markdown looks like, and what great ratings looks like, too. And this book has both.

There are more Calvin and Hobbes comics books marked down at Amazon at the present time, but it looks like none of them are marked down as steeply as this one.

Please be aware that, according to information in the book description, this ebook will only work on color tablets. It apparently will not work, or maybe not work correctly, on desktop apps or black and white tablets.

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury. By Bill Watterson. Rated 4.8 stars, from 376 reviews at the present moment. Print list price $18.99; digital list price $12.99; Kindle price $1.99. Andrew McMeel Publishing, LLC, publisher. 256 pages. http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Calv...YSJ1YVHF55HB4H.

Book Description
Now available for the first time as an e-book!

The cartoons in this e-book have been specially formatted for optimal viewing. The e-book will only work on color tablets and is not intended for viewing on desktop apps or black and white tablets.

Perhaps the most brilliant comic strip ever created, Calvin and Hobbes continues to entertain with dazzling cartooning and tremendous humor.

Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes has been a worldwide favorite since its introduction in 1985. The strip follows the richly imaginative adventures of Calvin and his trusty tiger, Hobbes. Whether a poignant look at serious family issues or a round of time-travel (with the aid of a well-labeled cardboard box), Calvin and Hobbes will astound and delight you.
Beginning with the day Hobbes sprang into Calvin's tuna fish trap, the first two Calvin and Hobbes collections, Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under The Bed Is Drooling, are brought together in this treasury. Including black-and-white dailies and color Sundays, The Essential Calvin and Hobbes also features an original full-color 16-page story.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

That's 85% from the digital list price.

I'm not a comics guy. So, I don't know much about them, in general, or the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, in particular. But I do know what a big markdown looks like, and what great ratings looks like, too. And this book has both.

Calvin and Hobbes is actually one of the classic comic strips beloved by nearly everyone. It was insanely popular when running, and remains so to this day. Many people wish it would return, but that's not going to happen.

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes is essentially a sampler, and a digital version of a print book of the same name. Still a good deal, but it sucks they make these where you can't download them to Kindle for PC. I'm pretty sure the real reason is "we don't want people to pirate the comics!" but they're already out there for pirating. Hell, all the Calvin and Hobbes strips are available in decent quality on GoComics for free legally.

Incidentally, for the Calvin and Hobbes fans out there, check out Phoebe and Her Unicorn, it's been compared favorably to Calvin and Hobbes but with a female lead. Also free to read. It's one of my favorite comics now.

Thanks for posting this deal, as well as others.

[Andanzas]

Well, now that I have finished Cape Horn, I can recommend it more heartily. It turns out that it is a fictional biography of a real person (I am not going to mention the name, because that might be a spoiler). There are a lot of characters that get attention, as well as political and cultural conflicts, and maybe that takes away some of the intensity of the story, especially at the beginning, when there are so many characters being introduced. But the conclusion is very satisfying and I thought Cape Horn is a nice piece of rather conventional storytelling. I enjoyed it.

Oh. I see it's not on sale any more. Oh well.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Tell you what, if it happens that 52 really just doesn't click with you for whatever reason (it's rather heavier on DC continuity in-jokes than I remembered, but in a way that hopefully doesn't impede understanding the story and the creators explain in the commentary anyway, and moves a bit away from some of the stuff that I described in my comment upthread that may have been the main pull for you and $20 USD is kind of pricey for a story you might end up not liking and won't re-read), please let me know and I'll PM over the codes for these 2 $10 Kobo gift cards (in CAD, but should be convertible to the currency of wherever you have your Kobo account set) I got months ago and am not using, so you can at least recoup part of your costs and maybe get that Grant Morrison-containing Indian comics Humble Bundle if you end up wishing you'd saved your money for that instead.

Thank you so much! That's really nice of you. But I can't accept that offer. My comment was meant as an innocent joke; I hope it didn't make you feel bad. You have been extremely helpful and gentle, and I appreciate that you took your time to answer my questions and offer me your insights. And I am sure I will enjoy 52; it looks great, and I look forward to reading it. Thanks again!

[TrevorViking]

Marvel Monday is on the ~2010 event, Siege; 43 singles at $.99 each.
https://www.comixology.com/Siege-and...Sale/page/7376

A new freebie.
https://www.comixology.com/Boys-Over...l-comic/254445

Codeword sale on the Ah Yeah! series; 50% off with code YEAH! until 7/15/15.
https://www.comixology.com/Get-50-Of...YEAH/list/7475

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Manabi

Calvin and Hobbes . . . .

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes is essentially a sampler, and a digital version of a print book of the same name. Still a good deal, but it sucks they make these where you can't download them to Kindle for PC. I'm pretty sure the real reason is "we don't want people to pirate the comics!" but they're already out there for pirating. Hell, all the Calvin and Hobbes strips are available in decent quality on GoComics for free legally.
. . . .

Thanks for posting this deal, as well as others.

Well, that is the main reason that I usually don't post on threads other than non-fiction ones. But sometimes I post a good one, so that keeps me going.