in house dollar bill thumbnail
 Total: 43,542 books
 New: 89 books




small login logo

Please enter your details to login and enjoy all the fun of the fair!

Not a member? Join us here. Everything is FREE and ALWAYS will be.

Forgotten your login details? No problem, you can get your password back here.

State of the year 2021 current works

Pages: [1]

topic icon Author Topic: State of the year 2021 current works  (Read 679 times)

The Australian Panther

  • VIP
message icon
State of the year 2021 current works
« on: December 31, 2021, 03:56:36 AM »

In terms of current comics, what's happening, whats new thats good.
First, the US.
The big two. There are some good things, but very little.
Both companies have in my way of looking at it largely abandoned reality. Marvel grounded Super heroics in reality.  DC followed suit but those days are long gone.
Both companies now just use the characters as starting points for any kind of stories, Multiverses, Magic, Clones, Imaginary [Headspace] stories, doppelgangers, alternate realities, Zombie Universes, Dark Universes and on it goes.
They used to do events.Massive story-lines tying half the titles together.
Now they do 3 or 4 at a time. Result? Who cares? 
One trend that is becoming widespread. Page after page of characters just talking . Nothing visually interesting happening in the pages, no action. I feel that this is a negative consequence of writers becoming paramount as the creators.   
So is there anything good?
Marvel. I have liked the Black Cat series, the current Black Widow series and  Strange Academy. Some nice ideas in this one.
DC. There are way too many Bat Books, but, that said, some of them aren?t bad. I?m quite liking Robins With all of the various current and past Robins exploring similarities and differences. And also Batgirls, (with the 3 batgirls). I know both books sound horrendous, but they might surprise you. The current Human Target book is nice. Very human look at some of the DC characters. Green Lantern is quite interesting, but that is about it for me.
The really noteworthy books are the independents.
I enjoy,
Firefly two series now. They keep entertaining me.
Once and Future Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora.
If you read this, you need to start from the beginning, or you will get lost. What Jack Kirby did with Norse, Roman and Greek Mythology, Gillen and Mora do with British and Celtic mythology. And Gillen knows his stuff. Takes off like a rocket and hasn't stopped yet. And Aunt May on Steroids to boot!             
Firepower. Robert Kirkman and Chris Samee
Good old-style comic  and revolves around A suburban family, a dog, Ninjas and Dragons. What?s not to like.
I can?t comment on manga, I?m not up with it. 
But really, European comics are the real deal right now. And its becoming more common to translate them for English editions, so people are beginning to take note. 
A few that I thoroughly recommend.
Streamliner by Fane. Magnetic Press. On-going series.
This to me is a masterpiece. Somebody must film it, because it is structured wonderfully as a film. Can't wait for  the finale.
These are not new, but on-going. Published as Graphic Novels but as part of series. 
Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales and Guarnido. Superb. I?m just going to shut up about it, no spoilers. I'd wipe anybody who spoiled it for me.
TAXI by Alfonso Font Saf comics. Escapist adventure. But the detail in the art! I keep going back to it and drooling.
Taxi Tales by Ergun Gunduz. Europe comics Totally different style and art. A Taxi driver relates stories told to him by his passengers. A Turkish artist.
Noir Burlesque #1 by Marini Europe comics. My kind of book.
But that really just scratching the surface, with my fingernail only.
So, there is a still a comics industry out there. Inevitably it will grow and evolve.
Wishing us all a better new year and a fruitful one. 
See you in 2022! Cheers.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2021, 04:03:36 AM by The Australian Panther »
ip icon Logged

paw broon

  • Administrator
message icon
Re: State of the year 2021 current works
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2021, 03:19:06 PM »

Interesting crit of current comics.  I'm not really qualified to comment on very recent product as I have found most mainstream material unreadable or downright awful in recent years.  I will though have a look at some of your big 2 suggestions. There is also the problem of value as I believe a lot of modern comics are simply not worth the price.
This year I have bought old comics and some TPBs.  And having followed the conversation here on Kirby which brought up the controversy of X-Men and Doom Patrol, I dug out MGA and some DP comics and re-read them. They were most enjoyable and I still prefer them to early X-Men.  Actually, I'm not a big X-Men fan.
Euro comics.  I have a collection of Corto Maltese titles in French and Italian and re-read a couple this year.  Simply superb.  Also Alvar Mayor but my editions are in Spanish and it's slow going so I don't read a lot at a time.
As a long time Rip Kirby aficionado, I'm fortunate to have the newspaper strips and the Super Detective Library versions.  Just great stories produced by a master of the craft. 
It is so difficult to choose modern comics after the old stuff, but I do appreciate there is a lot of worthwhile reading out there and I will make a better effort to get hold of some Euro books particularly.
What I have planned for my reading pleasure in the New Year is going back to a French series, Agence Hardy by Pierre Christin and Annie Goetzinger.  Haven't read them for a couple of years.  Good stories, well told.
ip icon Logged

gregjh

message icon
Re: State of the year 2021 current works
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2022, 01:59:42 AM »

Just like Paw Broon I only offer modern-era comics a cursory glance as I do feel the industry - especially for the big two - is in a great decline.I mostly support indie comics from Kickstarter or indigogo. The only youtube channels related to comics that I follow are Comics Matter with Zack, Just some guy and Yellow Flash.

With that said I will certainly seek out the suggestions you made and on that note, I want to wish everyone here a happy new year and mention that I enjoy reading the analysis of you guys as much as I enjoy the comics themselves. I always learn something.
ip icon Logged
Pages: [1]
 

Comic Book Plus In-House Image
Mission: Our mission is to present free of charge, and to the widest audience, popular cultural works of the past. These are offered as a contribution to education and lifelong learning. They reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. We do not endorse these views, which may contain content offensive to modern users.

Disclaimer: We aim to house only Public Domain content. If you suspect that any of our material may be infringing copyright, please use our contact page to let us know. So we can investigate further. Utilizing our downloadable content, is strictly at your own risk. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.