Outcast, Vol.8: The Merged

 
Though I was worried that OUTCAST was going to turn into another Walking Dead Rick Grimes "troubled anti-leader forced to lead ragtag team in the face of the apocalypse"  type, it  stayed grounded enough and brought the series in for a satisfying landing.

Knew they wouldn't let Kyle off with a happy ending without some kind of buzzkill, and yep, they HAD to mar it somehow, but still, a great series.

Snotgirl, Vol.3: Is This Real Life?

 Gave up picking up regular floppies of Snotgirl some time ago and switched to waiting for trades. But after this Vol. 3 came out, the series itself seemed to fade off into oblivion.

Not that it matters much, but is this still ongoing?

East of West #45

 SO, this month, the Sci-Fi/Western series EAST of WEST concluded, and while it didn't have half the hugeness or EPIC-ness it promised, I WILL say that it had a complete and, ultimately, SATISFYING ending, one which I accept and will enjoy re-reading again and again!

The Wicked + The Divine #45

 REALLY? THAT was the ending to ALL the mystery and INTRIGUE hinted at throughout the series??? MAN, to say I'm disappointed and underwhelmed is the understatement of the year.

It's like that battle in Twilight where it ended up all an illusion in some guy's mind, only somehow worse. I don;'t even know if I can re-read the series knowing what is revealed at the end.

At least the artwork looked beautiful throughout the entire run. The individual issues I have still hold a place in my collection. 

The Walking Dead, Vol.32

 ...And this is how the once-mighty series ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Funny how these things just kind of peter out.

Still a fine overall series which I will read again, but I was hoping for a big banger of a wrap up.

Lazarus: Sourcebook Collection

 Not really any story at all, but more like a index type supplement (much like the far-superior EAST of WEST did) which i got duped into ordering. Well, it ended up being the last thing I got as I dropped the series after this.

For a series that started out so interesting and compelling, it slowly became a convoluted, meandering mess of which I found a chore to slog through of the brief times an issue actually came out!

Maybe when it's all said and done i'll revisit the series.

The Complete Phonogram

Infinity Gauntlet

Saw a used copy of Jim Starlin's "Inifinity Gauntlet"  and decided to check it out. Was surprised to find that this was the FOURTH in a SERIES of books, Infinity War, etc. Just as well I didn't know because goddamn was this boring. and I don;t know if I could have sat through FOUR of these.

Lazarus Vol.1-5

With the arrival of Book Five, i decided to read LAZARUS right from the beginning, and now, having finished book 5, can honestly say this is one of the best freaking books out there!!!!
Sad to hear that the creative team is taking a break and handing it off to others...hope they retain the book's greatness!

Harrow County Vol.5: Abandoned

Scalped Vol.2-6

Greg told me that he would give me his entire run of his SCALPED trade paperbacks when he came home to visit but I liked the first one enough that I couldn't wait. Someone on ebay was selling  Trades 3-4 and 6 for 22 bucks (with free shipping) so I went ahead and ordered it. Then I ordered books 2 and 5 separately.
So far so good...and I'm loving what a luscious slut Carol is in each chapter! Waiting to see how this character develops. She can't be here purely for gratuitous sex scenes, can she?

The Wicked + Divine Vol.5: Imperial Phase I

Oh MAN this series is blowing me away right now!!! Can't believe I initially bailed on this series during the third arc, Wicked and Divine is getting so damn AWESOME that it's rivalling SAGA and THEY'RE NOT LIKE US for FAVORITE series right now!!!

Monstress Vol.1: Awakening

The Wicked + The Divine Vol.1-4

Loved Books  One and Two, but when Arc Three came around and they got new artists to do each episode, Ii REALLY lost interest in the series. Plus I had no idea where the storyline was going at that point.
But when i saw an open copy of the latest issue at Other Realms and realized Wilson Cowles was back as the regular artist, I decided to pick up the fourth arc to see if it got any better.
HOLY SHIT, IT DID! This series picked right up and started getting better and BETTER til I was BACK into the book, and now can barely WAIT for Book 5 (which should be coming out very soon)!!!

Scalped Vol One: Indian Country

Another title Greg recommended, but after Welcome Back and We Can Never Go Home, I was pretty reserved about trying another series he liked! LOLOL.  But one weekend I was bored as shit and Ted at Gecko's was talking about the series and so I decided, hell, couldn't hurt to try the first trade. So far so good!

We Stand On Guard

Image had finally gotten around to issuing a trade paperback version of Brian K Vaughan and Steve Skroce's awesome WE STAND ON GUARD, when I saw the book on the "New Releases" shelf at Gecko Comics, I thought for one fleeting moment that they had made a sequel to the first book! But opening up the book, I calmed back down when I saw it was the same story i already had.
Having said that, when I got home, I realized it had been awhile since I'd read my copy, and so I broke it out to re-read again, and Goddamn if it isn't even better the second time around.
Funny that Gerg thought this book was mediocre, it was far more interesting than 99% of the superhero stuff he usually brings me, LOL

John Byrne's Cold War

Another short mini-series John Byrne did for IDW. Not Bad for an evening read.

The Walking Dead, Vol.27: The Whisperer War

The High Ways 1-4

John Byrne's Triple Helix 1-4

Ivar, Timewalker, Vol. 3: Ending History

The Fuse, Vol.4: Constant Orbital Revolutions

John Byrne's Doomsday.1 #1-4

Another John Byrne reboot series which I rather enjoyed, mostly because of its single issue story format, each issue  (of the four in a series) contains one full story of the survivors after doomsday.

John Byrne's Next Men #31-44

Yep, we're still on a John Byrne kick here, and this time I decided to re-read his 2010 continuation which was chopsocky and erratic but still retained the intrigue that the original series had.

John Byrne's Trio #1-5

Well, we're still in a John Byrne kind of mood here, and so I thought I'd give his short-lived series TRIO another chance. Didn't like it at all the first time I read it,a nd even this time it was filled with Byrne redundancies, echoing stories from his Fantastic Four , X- Men and Alpha Flight runs.
Then I happened to read this essay by Doug Zawizsa on the CBR on forum, and realized I'd missed the point: this was SUPPOSED to be an OBVIOUS nod to his earlier creations!

From CBR:

A quick check of our solicits for this book revealed that it was being marketed thusly: “Fans of Byrne’s Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight especially, this is for you!” That is exactly what this book is: a remix of Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight with one of the goofiest basis for a comic team ever. Although they are initially referred to as Three, Two and One, the titular trio of this book is really Rock, Scissors and Paper.

Rock is an allegorical combo-deal of Thing and Puck, Scissors is a guy who can form supersharp metallic blades from his hands and Paper is a lady who is more reminiscent of Flatman from the Great Lakes Avengers than any other character (save possibly Byrne’s interpretation of Madame Rouge from the Doom Patrol). While Rock is fun in the same way both Puck and Thing are to their respective teams, this issue doesn’t give us enough revelation on either of his teammates save Scissors has a bit of a temper to go with the sharp blades at the ends of his arms. Hmmm. That seems familiar.

Byrne overwrites quite a bit through narration boxes, and in doing so also overuses the phrase “the next instant.” I’m not calling it lazy storytelling, mind you, but I would certainly expect more visual storytelling from an industry legend like John Byrne. The narration boxes seem like overly convenient shortcuts in some spots and unnecessary filler in others.

Byrne’s art is as good as it has been in recent years, rife with detail and filled with expressive characters. Some of the drawings are less about composition and storytelling as opposed to the cool shot, but if anything Byrne’s years of comic creating have earned him the right to have a little fun in his work. The coloring is on par with superheroics: lots of odd color combinations, like bad guys wearing green and purple together and metallic backgrounds soaked in various shades of blue.

Diehard John Byrne fans will absolutely adore this book as they’ll undoubtedly see it as an opportunity for Byrne to write and draw “Fantastic Four”-like stories without being burdened or restricted by a shared universe. Casual comic book fans unfamiliar with Byrne’s work might not see anything spectacular, while veteran readers looking for a retroactive title just might be pleasantly surprised.

“Trio” stands out on the new comic racks largely due to the fact that this, like his “Next Men,” is John Byrne doing what John Byrne wants to do. In a time of infinite crossovers and unnecessary reboots, John Byrne’s latest comic book is a twisted interpretation of previous works polished up to seem new. That apparent newness is enough to bring eyes to the book, but it might have to work on being legitimate newness in order to keep them here. I’ll be back for the next issue, but I honestly am uncertain if that’s because of the creator’s name on the book or the fact that this story actually interests me.