CBD 9-17-25 Thoughts
Sep. 17th, 2025 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ixajawJust signed up for the League of Comics Geeks to maybe keep track of my collection better. Up to this point, I've used an excel spreadsheet/google sheets document, but updating it is a pain, especially with a rotating creative team, and this is a convenient way to see what's upcoming as well... we'll see how it works out.
Nonetheless, this week! Ghost Pepper, Godzilla, X-O Manowar! And a new issue of Absolute Flash! All things I've been quite excited for.
Ghost Pepper 3: Getting more of the antagonists. I like how the two Eclipses, Vex and Mingi, just bluntly state that Bataar has taken the credit for Ash's work. I respect not dragging out the obvious. Though, I was not expecting his little companion Jiminy to be, like, plot relevant. This issue is a lot of setup for upcoming events, introducing the characters who will likely serve as obstacles going forward... though the mysterious guy with the evil Jiminy seems like the most menacing of them all. Just really enjoyable action-adventure fare!
Buried Long, Long Ago 5: Needed one more issue. I'm on board with the girls avenging their dead sister by killing their evil (ogre?) mom karmic-ly, but it all happens so fast. The art is genuinely haunting and effective for what we get, though, and I think it was a worthy read.
Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone 2: You give me a kaiju religion, and I'm interested. It's not surprising that some would, eventually, turn to worshiping a giant destructive monster from the deep as a god--its a lot more tangible and impactful than a more spirituality-based belief system, at least. Not sure how you'd spin Goji as a benevolent figure, however...
While the part of the world this book inhabits is incredibly bleak, this book does have moments of humor that keep it from feeling like a misery-fest. That said, it also keeps the horror-tinged aspect of its worldbuilding serious. Love the page with Mother A's continues series of connected speech bubbles leading you through the page, counter to how you would normally read. It's a subtle but functional way to add that slight sense of unease to her sermon, heightening the tension even when, in the literal sense, she's not doing anything overtly terrible at that moment (though, of course, we know she kidnaps children.)
So. The Wanderer rescues two kids, named Runt and Glasseater--I'm sure those names will mean something once we learn about their powers, because they will clearly have powers even if it hasn't been addressed at all yet. A simple and easy way to show a loner guy isn't all bad, even if they all end up in monster territory. Will the monsters pose more threat than the humans...?
X-O Manowar 1: The last of the current Valiant Beyond books, as far as I'm aware. Again, I have only the vaguest knowledge of Valiant stuff... so I was not expecting a Conan-type guy to show up on the page. He does have armor, but it can be applied or removed like Khaji Da in Blue Beetle. It's giving an interesting mix of classical fantasy and sci-fi, is what I'm getting at. I'm a sucker for this noble warrior kind of guy, so this issue was both a lot of fun action and some good, very well established character for Aric, our main character.
Dunno a thing about Niko's 'nose' thing, though, and I didn't really understand what they were saying about it. Also, there's a mystical element with this Goddess that Aric is trying to impress? A lot of concepts are introduced very quickly in this issue, but I am very on board with trying to figure them out in future issues! Just really good pulp-style comics, and the art is banging, too. Absolutely none of what I was expecting. Could be viewed as disorienting, however.
Deadpool/Batman: The first of many crossover issue, not all of which I am interested in. This is purely meant to be a fun ride. It was fun, nothing world-changing. Bruce is actually fairly tolerant of the nonsense and perhaps a little too self-aware, but his deadpan reactions are excellent plays against Deadpool. Not in love with this rendition of the Joker, but he works well enough for his purpose.
The backup stories... or other crossovers?... were pretty good as well. The Captain American/Wonder Woman one was surprisingly heartfelt. You can imagine a longer storyline where they could bounce off each other, but the way its written is very DC. Which means I prefered it but I can see others not enjoying it. The Krypto-Jeff one clearly only happened due to timing and not due to a strong vision, but they're pet characters anyway so its fine. I wish the Daredevil-Green Arrow one was longer, they had a lot of banter but not a lot of payoff. It's also structured strangely. It wants to have the big payoff of a longer crossover but just kind of jammed it all into a few pages that did not give it room to breathe. These characters had some real potential to play off each other and just didn't get the chance to, not really.
Frank Miller's Batman-Wolverine crossover was... a nothingburger. Like, literally nothing. It was a rather sad one to end on, as it felt like the previous ones were at least trying to do something.
Absolute Flash 7: I am very surprised to see Wally work alongside the Rogues this early on. And I caught that panel of (presumably) Mirror Master smirking at Wally with his own reflection! I think its very smart of them to use the on-again, off-again 'friendliness' with the Rogues this way, as an ally (at least for now) against Thawne and Co. And Wally's dad just picked the wrong side...
I know some people have not been as hyped for this series as I am, and I get it, the pacing is kind of weird. But I'm loving it a lot! This is exactly the kind of thing I want to see from the Absolute comics, so this is a solid 10/10 from me. If I had any complaints, I would say Weather Wizard (Storm Man lol Grodd) is kind of just... there to be an obstacle. I'm sure he'll be stuck with the Rogues going forward and we'll be able to flesh him out more, but I'm sure that'll be a problem with Grodd, who's afraid of storms... the tension is obvious but there.
New Gods 10: In general, I think this second half of the series is much weaker than the first. I think it's a me thing, as Ram V has never been a hit comic-writer to me, personally. That isn't to say he's a bad writer, he's not, but he just doesn't work for me. This is probably the series of his I've liked the most, but I feel my interest rapidly draining. I'll see it through since there's only 2 more issues and I want to know what this all leads up to, but... what else is there for me to say?
Nonetheless, this week! Ghost Pepper, Godzilla, X-O Manowar! And a new issue of Absolute Flash! All things I've been quite excited for.
Ghost Pepper 3: Getting more of the antagonists. I like how the two Eclipses, Vex and Mingi, just bluntly state that Bataar has taken the credit for Ash's work. I respect not dragging out the obvious. Though, I was not expecting his little companion Jiminy to be, like, plot relevant. This issue is a lot of setup for upcoming events, introducing the characters who will likely serve as obstacles going forward... though the mysterious guy with the evil Jiminy seems like the most menacing of them all. Just really enjoyable action-adventure fare!
Buried Long, Long Ago 5: Needed one more issue. I'm on board with the girls avenging their dead sister by killing their evil (ogre?) mom karmic-ly, but it all happens so fast. The art is genuinely haunting and effective for what we get, though, and I think it was a worthy read.
Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone 2: You give me a kaiju religion, and I'm interested. It's not surprising that some would, eventually, turn to worshiping a giant destructive monster from the deep as a god--its a lot more tangible and impactful than a more spirituality-based belief system, at least. Not sure how you'd spin Goji as a benevolent figure, however...
While the part of the world this book inhabits is incredibly bleak, this book does have moments of humor that keep it from feeling like a misery-fest. That said, it also keeps the horror-tinged aspect of its worldbuilding serious. Love the page with Mother A's continues series of connected speech bubbles leading you through the page, counter to how you would normally read. It's a subtle but functional way to add that slight sense of unease to her sermon, heightening the tension even when, in the literal sense, she's not doing anything overtly terrible at that moment (though, of course, we know she kidnaps children.)
So. The Wanderer rescues two kids, named Runt and Glasseater--I'm sure those names will mean something once we learn about their powers, because they will clearly have powers even if it hasn't been addressed at all yet. A simple and easy way to show a loner guy isn't all bad, even if they all end up in monster territory. Will the monsters pose more threat than the humans...?
X-O Manowar 1: The last of the current Valiant Beyond books, as far as I'm aware. Again, I have only the vaguest knowledge of Valiant stuff... so I was not expecting a Conan-type guy to show up on the page. He does have armor, but it can be applied or removed like Khaji Da in Blue Beetle. It's giving an interesting mix of classical fantasy and sci-fi, is what I'm getting at. I'm a sucker for this noble warrior kind of guy, so this issue was both a lot of fun action and some good, very well established character for Aric, our main character.
Dunno a thing about Niko's 'nose' thing, though, and I didn't really understand what they were saying about it. Also, there's a mystical element with this Goddess that Aric is trying to impress? A lot of concepts are introduced very quickly in this issue, but I am very on board with trying to figure them out in future issues! Just really good pulp-style comics, and the art is banging, too. Absolutely none of what I was expecting. Could be viewed as disorienting, however.
Deadpool/Batman: The first of many crossover issue, not all of which I am interested in. This is purely meant to be a fun ride. It was fun, nothing world-changing. Bruce is actually fairly tolerant of the nonsense and perhaps a little too self-aware, but his deadpan reactions are excellent plays against Deadpool. Not in love with this rendition of the Joker, but he works well enough for his purpose.
The backup stories... or other crossovers?... were pretty good as well. The Captain American/Wonder Woman one was surprisingly heartfelt. You can imagine a longer storyline where they could bounce off each other, but the way its written is very DC. Which means I prefered it but I can see others not enjoying it. The Krypto-Jeff one clearly only happened due to timing and not due to a strong vision, but they're pet characters anyway so its fine. I wish the Daredevil-Green Arrow one was longer, they had a lot of banter but not a lot of payoff. It's also structured strangely. It wants to have the big payoff of a longer crossover but just kind of jammed it all into a few pages that did not give it room to breathe. These characters had some real potential to play off each other and just didn't get the chance to, not really.
Frank Miller's Batman-Wolverine crossover was... a nothingburger. Like, literally nothing. It was a rather sad one to end on, as it felt like the previous ones were at least trying to do something.
Absolute Flash 7: I am very surprised to see Wally work alongside the Rogues this early on. And I caught that panel of (presumably) Mirror Master smirking at Wally with his own reflection! I think its very smart of them to use the on-again, off-again 'friendliness' with the Rogues this way, as an ally (at least for now) against Thawne and Co. And Wally's dad just picked the wrong side...
I know some people have not been as hyped for this series as I am, and I get it, the pacing is kind of weird. But I'm loving it a lot! This is exactly the kind of thing I want to see from the Absolute comics, so this is a solid 10/10 from me. If I had any complaints, I would say Weather Wizard (Storm Man lol Grodd) is kind of just... there to be an obstacle. I'm sure he'll be stuck with the Rogues going forward and we'll be able to flesh him out more, but I'm sure that'll be a problem with Grodd, who's afraid of storms... the tension is obvious but there.
New Gods 10: In general, I think this second half of the series is much weaker than the first. I think it's a me thing, as Ram V has never been a hit comic-writer to me, personally. That isn't to say he's a bad writer, he's not, but he just doesn't work for me. This is probably the series of his I've liked the most, but I feel my interest rapidly draining. I'll see it through since there's only 2 more issues and I want to know what this all leads up to, but... what else is there for me to say?
