Reading List 2021

After being disappointed by comics in general I barely picked out any books this year. I'm expecting some through the mail like Nubia and Task Force Z but they still haven't shipped yet. I got Blue and Gold but haven't gotten around to reading more than a page though I'm thrilled Jurgens brought back a character. 

I doubt I'll have enough comics to do a best and worst of list so I might just do reviews depending on how busy I am. Other than Blue and Gold I'm not really expecting much.

What I'll be reading

Sadly I didn't have anything like a meta planned for today to celebrate Jason's birthday. Iconic that it lands on the same month as the issue where it all goes to hell. I did realize that I haven't done one of these in awhile though.

My Reading List for 2018 thus far

I really wasn't feeling the solicits for March so I won't be doing my usual write up. A lot of them don't really hype me up like usual.

My New Reading List

A list of titles I plan to get and what I'm taking off.

New Reading List

I've been thinking about whether or not I should add more titles. I'm not including any back issues I might get.

Reading List

It's been awhile since I wrote one of these.

Rebirth Books I'll be trying so Far

I wasn't too excited with the Rebirth titles when they were first announced but new information has me willing to try out a few books.

June Reading List

I've given this some thought and I might try out a couple books.

Updated Reading List for December

I pre-ordered some of Robin War so I'm now committed to getting it although I'll have to get some of the issues in my LCS. It hit me that this is the biggest haul I've gotten on my pull list in awhile.

New Reading List

A lot of new things to look forward to in the coming months.

More potential buys

If you've been following this site for awhile you're probably aware of me mostly ignoring Marvel. After the last Princess Leia issue I'll be trade waiting all Star Wars comics. I have very little interest in the superhero aspect of Marvel outside Scarlet Spider stuff and Spider-Girl (Mayday.) They recently screwed over Spider-Girl in Spiderverse and the original creative team have to work with the bad situation. So to show my support I'll be getting Spider Island which has about half the story devoted to Mayday. Unfortunately the first issue is $4.99 with follow ups costing $3.99. If this wasn't one of my favorite series/characters I'd trade wait.

I'm also going to look into getting Dr. Fate which I think comes out the same day as Doomed.

Reading List

What I'm getting:

• Red Hood/Arsenal-A great start that was a lot of fun and pretty touching. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes now that the editor is letting the stories be done in one shots.
• Gotham Academy-Still incredible. So much is being fleshed out and adding to the history of Gotham. It has yet to disappoint.
• Doomed-The Sneak Peek solid me on this so I'll try an arc. I was interested in Dr. Fate too but then I remembered how much I loathed Worlds Finest. I'll see how that sounds before I look into it.
• We Are Robin-Honestly even if this book is amazing I'm only getting issue one thanks to the price jump it has starting on #2. If its good I might trade wait.
• Green Lantern Lost Army-It was a last minute choice since I haven't read a GL book in a while and it has an interesting premise. I might trade wait after this issue but I'm curious how Guy fits into this.
• Princess Leia-There's one more issue in this mini series that's been more than a little disappointing. It doesn't have the epic feel of other Star Wars books and the characterization has been off.  

Dropped:

• Batman Beyond-I regretted ordering this as soon as I did but hoped there was some redeeming qualities. Sadly it's what I figured so there's no point in continuing. 

Unless Doomed stays on the list or a mini series I'm interested in comes out I'll be back to just two steady titles. I'm also getting the TPBs for RHATO, Gotham Academy and Batman Second Chances.

Updated Pull List

I was going to try Starfire out but reading more from the creators made me decide against it.

Mini Series: Princess Leia 

Ongoing Series: Gotham Academy, Red Hood/Arsenal

I'm getting the first issue of We Are Robin, I was considering getting the first arc but for some reason the price jumped up a dollar starting #2. I had to wait on Kanan thanks to the cost of Convergence so I'm trade waiting that and likely Lando. I'm still waiting to hear what Mystic U is about.

List of Free Comics on FCBD

Found here. Usually my LCS allows people to get five comics. I always get a Simpsons and wanted to see what else was offered. I'm not sure if I'll get the DC spoiler issue since the surprised was already revealed.

Reading List for Convergance

I've been debating this for awhile because a lot of books are coming out and none of them are $2.99. Still I think I can budget this out and it's not like I normally go on a shopping spree for new comics. That said this might be the first time I get all my comics digitally.

Convergance: After Forever Evil I'm the most cautious about getting this series. But the difference is it actually involves characters I'm interested in. Part of me is thinking "the Time Masters will just be pushed to the background" but I've missed them. Hopefully it will be worth the risk.

Kanan: A series following the lead from his time as a padawan through order 66 and beyond. Showing how he became the man in Star Wars Rebels.

Princess Leia: It turns out I was mistaken and this is a mini series so I should get all the issues.

Batgirl: This is the only time I can truly be happy with a Batgirl book and has Cassandra and Stephanie in it.

Booster Gold: Yeah like I'd skip this one, I just hope he does more than his Futures End one shot.

Anything else I wanted to get I'll wait to get sometime down the line.

Updated Reading List

Dropped:

• Batwoman: I did trade wait for most of the issues and wasn't fond of the ending to This Blood is Thick. The one shot tie in to Futures End made me decide not to get anymore issues. The book is being cancelled but I have a suspicion it may be rebooted. 
• Earth 2: I enjoyed it for awhile but I haven't been feeling it lately and stopped trying to catch up. I was planning trade waiting for Worlds End but it sounds like it's not worth it. 

Reading:

• Red Hood and the Outlaws: The current arc will apparently finish up before the event. I'm not sure if it will be affected by the aftermath like other bat books are supposed to be since the series now falls under the Superman family editor.
• Gotham Academy: I'm still interested in this book and we'll get an extra issue in the form of a one shot tie in to Endgame. 
• Star Wars: I'll wait for most of the issues to come to trade but I'll be getting the first issue.
• Scarlet Spiders and Spider-Verse Team Up #3: Finishing up on the mini about Kaine, Ben and Jessica then seeing what's up with Spider-Girl Mayday Parker. 

After that everything else I'm waiting for will be two issue solo books from Convergence. 

Books I'm getting

Batman and Robin #35: You know I'm not a fan of this series because of how Tomasi handles the book. So why am I getting this? Well for a birthday present I got to choose two current comics as gifts. Honestly I couldn't think of any new books I wanted. I only chose this for three reasons: 1.) It has Jason Todd. 2.) I like the art. 3.) I want to see if Tim's still tall.

Supergirl #35: This was my first choice for my gift. I originally wanted to get it because of the Jason appearance but declined because of not liking the writers' work on another book. I hope it's a good read as I wasn't happy with the interview.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #36: Just when I think I have Lobdell figured he surprises me. I think if this was nearly any other writer this series would be getting a lot of attention. While the subject matter isn't one I'd like to explore I'm impressed with what I've seen so far.

Gotham Academy #2: I enjoyed the first issue and I'm curious to see where the plotlines go.

New Warriors #12: The last issue of Yosts' version of the team. It makes me sad to see another of my books ending. This was a good series but because it's not mainstream enough it's cancelled. I hope at the very least the team stays together and shows up as the New Warriors in other books.

Scarlet Spiders: I'm still unsure about this three part mini series. On the one hand there's Ben Reilly and Kaine. On the other it's Spiderverse. Still I'm pretty sure it's a different writer...

Halloween Reads

Last year I mentioned some reads I usually go through around Halloween. Now I have some DC books to add to the pile with Demon Knights, Justice League Dark and I think this Wednesday will be the last volume of I, Vampire. Of course there's always the IDW Angel series, the one shots and the mini series. They even came out with a Halloween special that was pretty fun. Anyone else love this time of year?

How context changes

Still another week until I get Batman #14 in the mail. I did recently get the RHATO trade. I don't get trades for everything but sometimes it's easier to go through issues in a tpb then track down the floppies. Anyway, the first thing I noticed was how they changed the reading order. Lobdell isn't always the most linear writer in this title, sometimes he explains things much later. He did this in the first arc by putting in a prequel to the events of #1 in between the last issues of the arc. This was the story of how Jason and Kori met.

According to the writer the idea was make new readers interested in these characters and keep them guessing for a little while. Then over time introduce more of their backstories, how they met, etc. So Kori was more distant, Jason was meaner, and Roy seemed more funny than haunted in the first issue. Over time we learned that Kori was more of a mentor and friend to Jason, one he didn't seem willing to get too close to romantically. Now that story appears first. I wonder if this would read weird to one picking it up for the first time or if they'd think it was an improvement.

All Saints Day reading

Yep there are even books that take place the day after Halloween. Well one that I know of for sure.

X-Man All Saints Day: This might not be a book to read if the X-Men history--or more specifically the Summers family--give you a headache. It stars Nate Grey, who's basically an alternate universe teenaged version of Cable. Nate was built as a weapon but he wasn't built to last. He's dying from his powers and not really sure what to do about it. On Halloween night he meets a kid that he can sense is dying too. Not long after he decides to follow up on some rumors of a doctor that preforms miracles. I suppose it's a little cliché when he arrives at what's basically a set up for a horror flick with superpowers. But there's some pretty tragic twists and at the end Nate has to decide how far he's willing to go to save the kid and his own life or if they should just accept their fate. Not ground breaking but I enjoyed it nonetheless.