Charles Schultz?

Somebody’s been watching too much Hogan’s Heroes, I suspect.

There’s an extra ‘t’ in there, but I suspect he’s referring to the creator of Peanuts, not the most lovable Nazi ever.

Somebody’s been watching too much Hogan’s Heroes, I suspect.

Thanks for the kind words about Punks, Dan. Really good to hear you enjoyed it so much!

You bet. It’s always good to come across a book that just totally takes a left turn from the standard comics tropes, but its even better to find one that is actually a blast to read too.

But since you mainly highlight first issues and trades, I was wondering why you don’t periodically check in to see how certain books are doing.

Honestly? It’s a time issue. I have so little time to write these days, and I feel like the first issues/trades are where I can make either more long-term recommendations that take into account the beginning, middle *and* end of a story or the strong starters that might go overlooked. The “in the middle” stuff is, unfortunately, given a bit of short shrift, but I think that if you have to choose to leave something out, that’s probably it.

You said, “we did already review the Johns/Donner creative team when they started… albeit with a different storyline and a different artist.” How long ago was that?

I think it was about a year ago, so there have been about four issues since then.

Sorry, that was just a snarky aside about late books.

Does that mean this current storyline will be more of the same? I’m not asking you and your team to review every book that comes out each week, but I wonder if a creative team can start getting better over the course of a run, or if a mini-series can improve after a weak first issue. Maybe it doesn’t happen that often.

It does happen. I mean, I wasn’t that crazy about Manhunter #1 (gave it an OK, but not great, review) but it’s now a book I love. The Morrison Batman stuff started out pretty weak in the eyes of most of us here at Pants HQ, but Nick loved the last three issues so much that he reviewed #666 and has a review coming up of #667-668. So I guess when there’s that much of a dramatic change, we do tend to notice.

On the other hand, I just went and reread Checkmate #1-9 in a fit of Rucka appreciation to see if it held up for me after I checked out midway through issue two. And while I certainly found it readable, it struck me as somehow weaker at the superhero genre stuff than Suicide Squad or the original Checkmate and weaker at the espionage stuff than the pure espionage (without superhero elements) of Rucka’s Queen & Country. Basically, my opinion changed slightly (from “I hate this” to “I can read this, but I have significant problems with it”) but not enough to justify much of a review.

I think the latter is more common than the former. It’s easy for someone to have an off issue, or even an off opening arc, and then get really good, but it’s much more common for an off opening arc or first issue to indicate a general disconnect from what the reader is going to want long-term.

Basically, when a book really picks up from a weak beginning or something like that, I try to mention it, at least in Top Five and if possible in a review. But in general, if I didn’t like something at first, and I don’t say anything about it, I’m either: A) Not reading it or B) Holding to my original opinion, more or less.

No review of Action Comics? This was by far my favorite book of the week (and the 1st part in a storyline), although I have always been a sucker for Bizzaro.

I like Eric Powell, but my interest in the Johns/Donner run died after a couple issues, and I’ve come to really dislike Bizarro, for the most part. So I didn’t actually read it. Didn’t make the cut for Wednesday Number Ones mostly because it was a busy week, and we did already review the Johns/Donner creative team when they started… albeit with a different storyline and a different artist.

I bought the first couple Teen Titans trade no too long ago, i’m not totally up to date but I still enjoyed this issue. I wasn’t crazy about the art in the “present day” sequences but i’m looking forward to McKeever’s run.

I have yet to read Mouse Guard (I did buy it though, just haven’t read it yet). So being a fantasy-mouse-book virgin I really dug it. It kinda made me nostalgic for the Redwall books which I used to LOVE as kid. Its not reinventing the wheel or anything but it’s pretty damn entertaining.

Sluggo you should try Mahnunter. In fact everyone should try it, the 3rd trade came out today and I picked it up. Hopefully it will be as good as the first two.

You know I am not a huge crossover fan, so I understand reluctance to buy anything DC now for fear that it will be a Countdown tie in (which has been hugely dissapointing to me.). I am only mildly interested in World War Hulk right now, but it seems to me the crossover issues were handled better in the Marvel universe. Of course that’s prob because I am a huge Marvel fanboy. Am I wrong here?

How’s that for rambling? King Kong aint got nuthin on me!

Bonehead question here: How do I stop the delay that allows me to edit my response? If I don’t need to edit, how do I post immediately?

Actually, and I could be wrong, I think that when you post something, it posts. The timer thing is the amount of time that you have to edit your comment.

As for the DC books:

Action Comics: Haven’t been reading this title but the issue released this week (#855) looks really good. I love Eric Powell’s art and the idea of him drawing Bizarro is too perfect.

Batman: Hated it at first. Really. Then #666 came along and since then, I’m absolutely having the time of my life. This might have something to do with the J.H. Williams art or that Morrison’s notion of Clue with superheroes just hits the right vibe.

Justice Society: Hmmm. I was on it at first, then off of it. Now, I’m sort of in the middle on it. I’ve always like Geoff John’s work on the book and the art by Dale Eaglesham is top-notch.

Justice League of America: Wasn’t that big on Meltzer’s take. Just was irritated by the molasses-like pacing. But I’m wild about McDuffie coming on board. I’m looking forward to his first issue quite a bit…Maybe more than any other DC title that’s been solicited.

The answer is probably very simple, but then, so am I.

Thanks.

Question: Despite the lackluster review of Titans #50, could a new reader pick the book up? I am familiar with the Titans in general but am by no means an expert on their many iterations and attendant circuitous continuity. However, I’ve heard good things about Sean McKeever and I thought I’d dive in with this issue. How accessible is it to someone with only basic knowledge of the Titans?

I’m going to go with the always fun yes and no answer for this.

Yes: This issue does give a good general rundown of the characters and hits on some of the general Titans history (Johns’ era and others previous to it).

No: It seems that McKeever is taking his cue from a storyline that happened a few trade volumes ago (Vol. 4). I’m actually excited about him taking over the Titans, as I do think McKeever is a very good writer. I hope that he makes the story a little more accessible for new readers though.

Hope this helped and didn’t instead just sound like gibberish. I can never tell myself.

Thanks, that actually does help. I’ve been wanting to read that Titans Tomorrow story anyway (which I believe is contained in a $10 trade), so if I feel lost that will just give me the excuse I need.

I’ll give it a shot. Despite my love for these jam issues, they can often be kind of disappointing, I bet McKeever will have more of a chance to shine with #51.

It’s funny, I don’t like DC’s general direction right now, but I find myself more and more interested in certain individual books. I’m actually kind of curious about the panel’s thoughts on these titles:

Action Comics - Looks to be finding more focus now, I’m excited about Gary Frank coming onboard.

Batman - The latest story is so much fun and I’ve actually only read the fisrt issue - I’m also looking forward to the “Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul” story.

Justice Society of America - The best the book has ever been, in my opinion, if it doesn’t get too mired in anything Countdown-related.

Booster Gold - No interest in the character, but I’ve hardly heard a bad word about the first issue. I’m curious.

Upcoming DC books I’m going to check out: McDuffie’s JLA, Simone’s Wonder Woman, Puckett’s Supergirl (I was a huge fan of the Puckett/Parobeck run on Batman Adventures).

OK, done rambling. Thanks for the response.

Question: Despite the lackluster review of Titans #50, could a new reader pick the book up? I am familiar with the Titans in general but am by no means an expert on their many iterations and attendant circuitous continuity. However, I’ve heard good things about Sean McKeever and I thought I’d dive in with this issue. How accessible is it to someone with only basic knowledge of the Titans?

I’m going to go with the always fun yes and no answer for this.

Yes: This issue does give a good general rundown of the characters and hits on some of the general Titans history (Johns’ era and others previous to it).

No: It seems that McKeever is taking his cue from a storyline that happened a few trade volumes ago (Vol. 4). I’m actually excited about him taking over the Titans, as I do think McKeever is a very good writer. I hope that he makes the story a little more accessible for new readers though.

Hope this helped and didn’t instead just sound like gibberish. I can never tell myself.

Besides, I’m a sucker for oversized jam issues like this. Bang for your buck and all that.

Thanks.