Arrived on Friday (which was a delight after work). Hellboy in Hell is an amazing, flawed piece that Mignola should have left as an ever-ongoing occasional series he created issues for whenever he wanted. Instead, it was cut short but – as this artisan edition shows, Mignola artwork is awesome.
Not sure why I didn’t buy Flashpoint in single issues when it came out – especially as I was all-in on the New-52 reboot. Have kept an eye out for the singles for a while and just picked these up for £10 (which is an absolute bargain when you realise the crazy prices the 5 issues sell for on ebay). And to think now that it was an amoral Dr Manhattan behind it all…
Very pleased to see this volume collects the wonderful Sandman crossover, Hell & Gone. Real treat to find this had arrived when I got home from work.
Huge omnibus – almost as heavy as The Invisibles – arrived today in a box! I was vaguely familiar with the original Captain Britain comic as a kid as a friend bought the weekly issues to school. A little later, in the Daredevils comic (I believe), I became aware of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. There’s a scene in one issue where Captain Britain fights a villain outside the old Forbidden Planet shop in London and I can remember standing outside imagining the battle when I first visited as a teen. I have SO much I want to read at the moment, I’m not sure when I’m going to get around to this. It’s a month’s worth of comics!
The Mignolaverse’s version of The Shadow. Lobster Johnson is the only part of the Hellboy Universe that I’ve not read (and I’ve read a HUGE amount over the last 20 years). Glad to say that this omnibus is a thoroughly enjoyable pulpy romp.
Holidays usually involve at least some time sorting piles of comics. For about 10 years I’ve been collecting Adam Warlock comics, a weird Marvel character who first appeared in Fantastic Four as an artificial man called Him, became transformed into a Christ-like cosmic superhero called Adam Warlock to die and be resurrected as an adversary for Thanos. I’ve (so far) collected about 150 issues: mostly older ones from 1960s to 1990s plus a few short-runs from late-1990s into 2000s. I estimate I’ve got about 120 to still get. The big gap is the Abnett & Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy-related issues which are prohibitively expensive. And, of course, Beavis and Butthead #15 which I believe is a Marvel UK comic and might not actually feature Warlock at all.
This is my favourite comic of 2022. It’s a virtuoso performance of comic art retelling the Hulk’s adventures between the 1960s and early 1980s. There’s a frenetic, nightmarish energy throughout that matches the weird madness of (pure) Hulk stories. Death, resurrection and the psychological turmoil between Banner and Hulk circle around endlessly. Jim Rugg’s skills as an artist are incredibly impressive in terms of changing styles of comic art, page design, panel design. Rampagingly recommended.
Attempting to reduce the piles of books and graphic novels I’ve got laying around the house. Alan Moore seems to be growing exponentially at the moment. I also discovered Golden Age and Silver Age DC omnibuses that I couldn’t remember ever buying and who knows where the hundreds of Marvel ones ever came from. With all my bookcases filled, the stacks of longboxes upstairs and the boxes of books I’ve really reached a crisis! Crisis on Finite Bookshelves!