The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu.  While the primary focus of the book is the creation of the Comics Code Authority and the events leading up to it, including comic book burnings and congressional hearings, the book also serves as a history of the industry to an extent from its influences in newspaper strips up through the mid-50s.  The anecdotes from various creators about the industry and the people they worked with are very interesting.  The war on comics is kind of depressing and shouldn't be too surprising to people since video games and other things have been targeted in more recent years, though not to the same extent.  It might get a bit too bogged down at times in some of the sections, but is a very good read.

Planet of the Apes Green Lantern 1-6 - The 'universal ring' makes its way into the Planet of the Apes alternate timeline.  We get a nice mix of action among the Apes and the various color lanterns who follow, including Hal Jordan, Sinestro and others.  I enjoyed the series.


Wonder Woman '77 meets The Bionic Woman 1-6 - This was a decent crossover between the two tv show characters and takes place in the late 70s for the most part.  I thought the art was only so-so, but the story was okay.


Batman '66 meets The Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - A group of Legionnaires travel back in time to get help from Batman and Robin.  The issue is a bit campy, but was entertaining enough.


Batman '66 meets Wonder Woman '77 - This series was a lot better than the other two I just read.  The story takes place in the 1940s, in 1966 and in 1977.  The art is much better and the story is also really good, probably because it was written by Jeff Parker and Mark Andreyko.


Dastardly & Muttley 1-6 - Lt Col. Atcherly "Dick" and Captain Muller "Mutt" are air force pilots assigned to investigate a rogue drone over an area that recently suffered nuclear destruction.  Things get weird as the drone unleashes something which causes them to exhibit strange and sometimes cartoonish behavior.  The effect starts to spread and the two have to scramble to stay alive and try to find a solution.  The story is funny and well written (by Garth Ennis) and the art by Mauricet is pretty good.  It didn't quite stick the landing at the very end, but overall was a very good series.


The Ruff and Reddy Show 1-6 - Ruff and Reddy are washed up comics from the 1950s/60s who are recruited by a young talent agent to make a comeback.  They don't get along and there is plenty of tension throughout including with former rivals and associates.  The series is okay overall, but I've never been a big fan of Chaykin's writing and the story and art aren't nearly as good as the Dastardly series.


Exit Stage Left The Snagglepuss Chronicles 1-6 - Snagglepuss is a famous playwright in the early 1959s amidst the Red Scare.  He is somewhat openly gay, though he has a token marriage for cover.  The House plans to subpoena him to try and get him to name names and tries to get leverage on him.  Plenty of other characters appear such as Augie Doggie, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and others.  Mark Russell writes a very nice tale in a very good series.


Jetsons 1-6 - In the future, the Earth has suffered a meteor strike that raised the ocean levels and killed off much of the life from the surface.  Earth is now an ocean world, but human survive in cities that float above the ocean surface.  They also have space stations.  Now another meteor is approaching and may finish off those who are left.  I really enjoyed this take on the Jetsons and the characterizations are all very good. 


The digital first books like Injustice are next in my pile.

I'm caught up on Vertigo now.  It may not be as good as in its heyday, but they have a few books that are pretty good.


American Carnage 1-2 - A former FBI agent who is half black, but can pass for white is brought back to go undercover in a group with white supremacy ties.  This series is off to a very nice start.


American Way Those Above and Those Below 1-6 - I liked the first American Way series, but was surprised to see the sequel since it had been about a decade.  This series didn't disappoint and I liked it a lot.  Time has passed here as well and more people are getting superpowers. Some of the survivors from the first series find themselves in opposing camps.


Everafter 11-12 - This series was good, though I much preferred The Wolf Among Us and the original Fables series to this spinoff.  I'd like to see more Fables related series at some point.


Goddess Mode 1 - I'll have to see a few more issues to make up my mind.  It has some potential, but we'll see where it goes.


Hex Wives 1-3 - A coven of witches and the families who oppose them keep doing battle through the centuries with the witches being reincarnated and fighting/killing the next generation.  A different approach is attempted in modern days that is proving more effective.  So far I'm enjoying this series.


Astro City 46-52 - I've loved this series since it began.  It is too bad that the single issues are done, but hopefully the original graphic novel approach is successful.


Border Town 1-4 - I liked this series which takes place on the Mexican border in Arizona with a group of mixed minority kids dealing with creatures of myth.  Too bad the writer seems to be abusive and the book got canned.


Imaginary Fiends 1-6 - Melba has been in an institution since trying to kill her friend Brinke as a child.  She is now 18 and is recruited by a special FBI agent because she is one of the rare people who can see and interact with imaginary creatures, like Polly Peachpit, her childhood 'imaginary' friend.  This first series was very good and there are plans for at least two sequels.  I hope they get published.


Sandman Universe 1 - This issue sets up a new line of Sandman related books.  It was a decent introduction.


Books of Magic 1-3 - This book features Tim Hunter and has gone back to before his powers have activated.  I have enjoyed the series so far, though not as much as the original Books of Magic series.


Dreaming 1-4 - Dream has apparently abandoned his post with no signs that he will return.  Lucien is trying to keep things going, but there are cracks in the dreamscape and lots of problems are appearing.  This series has been decent.


House of Whispers 1-4 - This has a bit more of a voodoo background with ties to the dreamscape.  A young woman ends up in a coma and when she awakes thinks that she is dead and lacking in feeling.  She also is able to make others the same way.  I have liked parts of this series, but overall would rate it as so-so.


Lucifer 1-3 - I'm not really getting into this series at all.  I never collected the original series and this one just doesn't interest me much.


Overall I would say the new Sandman line is a bit of a disappointment, but there is some potential in three of the series.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on January 18, 2019, 02:21:44 AM
I liked the first US of Murder Inc series, way back when, but missed the new one when it came out (probably will get the trade collection at some point, though). But where is POWERS? That's the only one I really wanted to see. Or is it over for good, after a few different hiatuses and publishers?

They supposedly have a new Powers graphic novel completed.  There was talk of having it out in December, but I don't think it was ever solicited so it will probably be sometime in 2019.  It doesn't look like they will release it in single issues.  They are also supposed to bring back Takio and maybe other Bendis books.

My mistake on Mystik U.  I read it a while ago and thought that Constantine was in the first issue, but it was Sebastian Faust.  Still a good book.




I read the Jinxworld books today and liked them.


Cover 1-4 - I'm not really a fan of David Mack's art, but it worked pretty well in this series about a comic book artist who gets recruited by the CIA to be a part time asset while using trips to comic conventions as cover.  I'm enjoying it a lot so far.


Pearl 1-5 - I think this series is even better than Cover.  The art is excellent and the story deals with an albino tattoo artist with mob ties.  She is intervenes in a gang fight to protect a guy that she just met and likes only to find that this could lead to a big gang war is she doesn't take care of the hit list given to her.


Scarlet 1-5 - This story continues from the previous books.  For once, it actually came out on time.  I enjoyed it, though not as much as the other two Jinxworld books mentioned above and not as much as the earlier Scarlet books.


United States of Murder Inc. 1-4 - This is another holdover from Icon and is about the first female assassin in a particular mob family.  I like the book more than Scarlet, though not as much as the other two series.  It has potential.


The move to DC seems to have done good things for Bendis and deadlines on his indie books so far.

I'm caught up on the mainstream DCs now, except for a few that arrived in my latest shipment.


Hellblazer 12-24 - I read the original Hellblazer series as it came out up through #65 before dropping the title.  I started collecting it again when it rebooted as Constantine with the New 52 and have been enjoying it since then.  It is cancelled again, but maybe it will be back again.  I have since picked up #66-300 of the original series and plan. to give the whole thing a read through eventually.


Heroes in Crisis 1-4 - I'm a bit conflicted on this series.  It hasn't been bad, but I don't really like some of the characterizations.  The deaths also seem kind of pointless.  We'll see where it goes and what the underlying secrets are behind the deaths.  It reminds me a bit of Sue Dibny's death way back when.


Justice League 26-43 - I liked the Legacy storyline.  The one where they are bickering all the time and lose their satellite, not quite as much.


Justice League of America 11-29 Annual 1 - I liked this series a bit more than the main JL title.  Overall, fairly entertaining.


Justice League 1-14, No Justice 1-4 - I'm not really a big fan of the Legion of Doom.  The new series has been so-so.  I wasn't a huge fan of No Justice either, though it had its moments.


Mystik U 1-3 - A younger Zatanna goes to magic school and meets John Constantine, Sargon and others.  I liked this miniseries quite a bit.


New Talent Showcase 2018 1 - This was a nice collection of stories.  I liked the original New Talent series from back in the 1980s.


Shazam 1 - A good start to the new series.  I like the new Marvel Family.


Teen Titans 10-25 Annual 1 - I've been enjoying this series, even after they changed the lineup.  Damian can be a jerk, but it looks like he is learning a bit.


Wonder Woman 25-61, Annual 2 - This series has been pretty solid.  I think the Robinson run was my favorite, but the others are good, too.  I think we'll see Diana's brother return at some point.  There is still a lot that can be explored there.


Wonder Woman Conan 1-6 - Diana has lost her memory and is fighting as a slave gladiator when Conan mistakes her for a childhood friend.  This was a pretty good adventure with time travel involved of course.


Jinxworld, Vertigo, the kids titles and other DC imprints are next.

I haven't read Crowded, but I may check it out in TP eventually.


I've made a decent start on the rest of the DC books in my backlog.


Blue Beetle 11-18 - I enjoyed the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle books.  Too bad they didn't sell very well.


DC Beach Blanket Bad Guys Summer Special 1, Holiday Special 2017 1, House of Horror 1, Nuclear Winter Special 1 - These 80 page giants are a lot more expensive than the ones from the 1960s.  Overall, pretty decent collections of short stories.


Deadman 1-6 - I enjoyed this series, but I think Neal Adams is better as an artist than as a writer.


Doomsday Clock 1-7 - This has been a pretty good sequel of sorts to Watchmen.  I've enjoyed the interaction between the DC Universe and the Watchmen Universe.


Harley Quinn 25-54, Gossamer 1, Be Careful What You Wish For 1, 25th Anniversary Special 1, Harley Loves Joker 1-2 - The Harley Quinn series has quite a bit of humor, much of it slapstick, but can be a bit more serious at times.  It won't be to everyone's tastes, but I like the series quite a bit.  I wasn't sure how it would be after Connor and Palmiotti left, but it continued to be pretty good.  The specials weren't bad either.  I like the variant covers on the main series as well.


Hellblazer, Heroes in Crisis, the Justice League books and so on are next.

I'm caught up with the Batman titles now:


Catwoman 1-5, Tweety & Sylvester - The new Catwoman series has been okay with Selina moving on to a new city.  I enjoyed her previous series more, but we'll see where this goes.  I liked the Tweety & Sylvester crossover.


Nightwing 26-53, Annual 1, Magilla Gorilla, New Order 1-6 - The Nightwing comic has been pretty good overall, though I didn't care for the Judge storyline.  I like the new direction that they have taken after he got shot in the head.  We'll see how long that lasts.  The Magilla Gorilla crossover was good and the New Order series which takes place in a potential future was entertaining.


Batman Prelude to the Wedding 1-5 - These were good, though seemed a bit unnecessary.  I did like the Joker getting upset about not being invited to the wedding.


Joker/Daffy Duck 1 - Another good crossover with the Hanna-Barbera characters.


Bane Conquest 1-12 - I didn't really care for this series all that much.  Bane isn't my favorite character and this could have been a lot better.


Brave and the Bold Batman and Wonder Woman 1-6 - The art was very good while the story was not quite as good.


Batman Creature of the Night 1-3 - A boy named Bruce who is a big Batman fan in the late 1960s has to deal with the murder of his parents.  He is educated in a boarding school and eventually joins a company set up by his great uncle.  He eventually realizes that there is a Bat Creature that he is connected with psychically who tries to protect and help him and he gets it to track down criminals.  This is a very nice series and I am looking forward to the final issue later this year.


Batman Kings of Fear 1-4 - I thought this series was good.  It features the Scarecrow of course.


Batman/Shadow 1-6 and Shadow/Batman 1-6 - I thought the second series was better than the first.  The biggest problem that I had with the first series is that Batman goes out of his way to keep Shadow from killing Joker.  This isn't the first time that Batman has saved Joker's life.  I can see not killing Joker himself, but think of how many people Joker has killed over the years and I think Batman bears responsibility for a lot of these deaths along with Joker as a result.


Batman Sins of the Father 1-6 - This series is based on a videogame where Thomas Wayne is exposed as a criminal who drugged some of his enemies to the point of insanity and was partnered with the Falcones.  It was a good series, though.


Batman/TMNT II 1-6 - Another good crossover between the two worlds.


Batman White Knight 1-8 - Batman has been increasingly out of control and Nightwing and Batgirl are unable to curb his violence.  Joker leads him on a merry chase at the beginning, but after being forced to ingest some unknown drugs, regains his sanity.  As Jack Napier, he gains his freedom and runs for city council.  Batman is unconvinced of his good intentions.  This was a very good series which makes sense since Sean Murphy wrote it.


Metal 1-6 plus one shots - I didn't really care for the miniseries, though a few of the one shots were decent.


Batman Beyond 10-26 - I have been enjoying this series a lot.  They have been going for longer arcs and the latest features the return of Joker.




The regular DC titles are next.  I may or may not finish them before my latest comic shipment arrives.  My new estimate of being caught up on new comics is the end of January.

I finally got around to watching the first episode of Riverdale Season 3 and it was so weird and stupid in so many places that I took a peak at episode recaps for episodes 2-8 and decided I'd had enough.  I deleted all the episodes I had recorded and canceled future recordings.  It will be on Netflix in the future should I change my mind, but I think I'm done with the show.

I don't think we'll see the Archie gang progress into their college years, though that would be interesting to explore before the inevitable reboot or return to high school years.


I am almost halfway through the bat books now.  I haven't made as much progress as I'd hoped, but I'm getting there.




Batman 28-59, Annual 2 - Tom King does a really nice job on this series.  I enjoyed the flashback War of Jokes and Riddles story, the proposal and run up to the wedding and the aftermath.  The latest stories with a slightly less arrogant Batman willing to work with Gordon instead of dictating terms is a nice change of pace.


Detective Comics 961-993, Annual 1 - I also enjoyed Tynion IV's run on Detective where we see the return of Tim Drake, his mania for control the Fall of the Batmen and so on.  James Robinson seems to have things well in hand now, but I didn't like the fill in issues between Tynion and Robinson quite as much.


Batgirl 13-29, Annual 2 - This series has been pretty consistently entertaining.  I like that the action mostly stays in Burnside.  I like that she is shown interacting with her father here as well and not just as a Batgirl/Commissioner sort of thing.


Batgirl and the Birds of Prey 13-22 - These stories weren't bad, but I won't particularly miss the title.  It wasn't as good as the main Batgirl book and seems a bit superfluous.


Batwoman 6-18 - This series wasn't bad, but I haven't really enjoyed Batwoman's solo book as much as some of the other series for some reason.  Her appearances in Detective and elsewhere have been more interesting.  I did like the look at the future Kate Kane that tied in with the future Tim Drake returning to the past.  The series was canceled, but I think it likely that she'll get another series if the tv show does well.  I liked the tv portrayal of Kate Kane in the Elseworlds crossover on the CW.

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on December 21, 2018, 01:16:51 AM
The thing that makes me laugh is that DC's stated reasoning for the original Crisis on Infinite Earths was something like "the DC multiverse is too confusing". It was NEVER confusing. It was simplicity itself -- if you wanted to create a new variant DC Universe within the old multiverse, you could do it with a snap of your fingers (or if you were DC editor Murray Boltinoff, have your stories retroactively assigned to an alternate universe). It's everything else SINCE then that has grown increasingly, compoundedly confusing. And that includes Marvel, too -- everything since at least Heroes Reborn, but especially since Secret War.

I agree.  While Crisis on Infinite Earths was a pretty good story, I had no trouble undertanding the pre-Crisis DC Universe and wish that they had left it intact.  The John Byrne reboot could have been taking place on Earth 86 or whatever.   They've constantly been trying to 'fix' things ever since.

This isn't to say that I haven't enjoyed many of the stories since Crisis, but the simplification premise was kind of dumb.

I am all caught up with the Superman family of titles now.  I wasn't as far behind with them as with most other books.


Action Comics 998-1005, Special 1
Superman 42-45, 1-5, Special 1
Man of Steel 1-6 - Bendis took over these books with the Man of Steel miniseries.  I didn't think that mini was all that great, but it was okay.  The series since the switch have been decent, though not any better than the pre-Bendis books.


Trinity 19-22 - This series mainly wanted to capitalize on DC's big 3 and was okay, though it seemed a bit of an odd fit sometimes.  This story dealt with Deimos, the Warlord and Skartaris.


New Superman 21-24 - I enjoyed this series featuring the Chinese Superman and the Justice League of China.  Too bad it ended.


Supergirl 19-24 - I didn't like it when they switched the Supergirl continuity to match the tv show.  I like the stories a lot more when they don't take place in National City with that cast of characters.  The latest story has her going into space looking for clues to the destruction of Krypton and it has been good so far.


Super Sons 14-16, Adventures 1-4 - Damian and Jon make a nice team and these stories have been fun.  I hope they continue beyond the maxiseries.


Super Sons/Dynomutt 1, Lex Luthor/Porky Pig 1, Superman/Top Cat 1 - These DC/Hanna Barbera crossovers have been good for the most part.  I liked the Super Sons crossover the most out of these three.




The Bat books are next.

I'm judging a DECA competition today.  It should be interesting and I should see a number of people that I used to work with along with a number of former students.
I was asked to substitute long term for a former colleague who is going on maternity leave and while I was willing to do it, the state said it conflicted with the terms of my pension so I had to turn it down.  It would have been a bit strange being back in the classroom for two months, but I think that I could have handled it.

I'm all caught up with Marvel now:


Daredevil 23-28, 595-612, Annual 1, Infinity Countdown 1 - I've really been enjoying the Daredevil series.  We've seen Matt Murdock in action in the courtroom.  He travels to China to try and aid Blindspot.  He deals with Kingpin becoming Mayor of New York. Mike Murdock magically reappears.  Lots of fun.


Defenders 2-10 - Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil and Iron Fist make a pretty good team. This was a good book, though Bendis has since moved on to DC.


Fantastic Four 1-4 - The long awaited return has been okay so far.  It will be interesting seeing an older Franklin and Valeria and how they fit into the stories now.  Valeria in particular can be pretty entertaining with her super intelligence.


Jessica Jones 10-18 - I loved the original Alias series and this book has a lot of that flavor.  Jessica deals with a kill order on Maria Hill and also the return of the Purple Man, though this encounter is a bit different.


Marvel Team-Up 1-12, Annual 1 - I liked the stories with Ben and Johnny before the FF's return, though not as much as the original series.  It is another FF book now that they are book and has been okay.


Runaways 1-15 - I loved the original Runaways series, though it became less entertaining with each iteration.  This series has been a lot of fun, except that I'm not a big fan of the return of Alex in the last couple of issues.  We'll see where that goes.  The gang gets back together, but things aren't the same in the two years since they went their separate ways.  I liked the inclusion of Julie Power.


She-Hulk 159-163 - I loved the various She-Hulk series over the past decade or so, but these issues didn't really capture that feel.  They weren't nearly as good as I was hoping.




Now on to DC, though that will take a while since there are so many series.

I am caught up on the Spider-Man titles now.


Amazing Spider-Man 29-32,789-801, Annual 42 - The end of the Slott era was pretty good.  The last Norman Osborn story seemed a bit off, though.  Norman didn't seem that effective, even with the Carnage symbiote.


Amazing Spider-Man 1-10, Annual 1 - The new series blew up the status quo a bit more, though I generally like where things are heading.


Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows 9-23 - I like the adventures of the Spider-Family with Peter, MJ and their daughter Annie.  The time jump was kind of abrupt, but worked okay.  I hope the series returns after Spider-Geddon.


Ben Reilly The Scarlet Spider 5-25 - This series was okay, though I wouldn't miss it too much if it is done now that Spider-Geddon started.


Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man 2-6,297-310, Annual 1 - A pretty decent series.  Maybe not quite as good as Amazing, but not bad.

Spider-Man 18-21,234-240 Annual 1 - I've enjoyed the Miles Morales series and expect that he gets another book eventually.  Bendis finished up his run before moving on to DC


Spider-Gwen 22-34 - I like this series and its alternate take.  Gwen is now tied up in the Spider-Geddon events and has a new series in Ghost Spider.  Hopefully that continues for a while.


Spider-Men II 1-6 - This answers the question as to whether there was a Miles Morales in the 616 universe before the merger.  It was a decent series.


Edge of Spider-Geddon 1-4, Spider-Geddon 0-4 and crossovers - This event has been okay and it is interesting seeing the various iterations interact, though I would probably have preferred that they just kept their adventures going in their regular books without the big crossover.


plus some misc. Spidey books.


Next is Daredevil, FF, Marvel Two in One and the rest of the Marvel books.