What are you reading in April 2015?

It's no April's fool! What are you into?

I really liked This One Summer. Beautifully written & drawn. But be in a YA frame of mind when you read it.

I also liked Last Day In Vietnam, a collection of military vignettes from Will Eisner. He was such a master of figure drawing, facial expressions, graphical storytelling in general.

Reading through Sin City, i've been blown away by the work in some of the panels.

Ooh, I just got done with Runaways, Vol. 1, the 2003 run of 18 issues, and it was awesome, and now I'm a little worried about how good the 2005 run is going to be compared to the 2003 one.

Next up, Harley Quinn, Vol. 2: Power Outage

I've finished MPH by Mark Millar and Duncan Fegredo. It is a story about a group of young people that found a drug that gives them super speed, a concept that draws straight from super-hero comics, like Hourman and Johnny Quick. Attention: It's no super-hero comics and the story reads like Flash meets Trainspotting.

Millar polished the concept (and cliches) and pushed it, crafting a tight plot with good character development and a creative climax.

Duncan Fegredo's art is awesome (with his bold lines) and very suitable to the plot.

A story designed to be the next summer blockbuster. Thumbs up.

>4 DanieXJ: It's been some years since I read Runaways, but I recall the whole series as really good. (I'll re-read it someday, but my collection is pretty messy: single issues, digests, TP & HC collections. That is was published in three distinct renumberings will make it tricky to get in chronological order :-))

No comics at the moment, but I am reading Steve Moore's novelization of the film version of the V for Vendetta graphic novel (got all that? :)).

>6 edgewood: That's good to know. I'm reading them through the library and it looks like last year they reissued some big honkin' collections. Three volumes of 'the complete collection' so, I'm done with the equivalent of the first volume and the second volume is on hold.

>8 DanieXJ:
The first volume is the best one. The other two are good, but nothing compared to the freshness of the first one.

But hey, they are all Brian k. Vaughan's, so they are worth reading!:0)

>9 apokoliptian: I know. I love, love, love Saga. And Y: The Last Man is on my TBR list as well.

I've finished the first three issues of The Dreaming by Terry LaBan and Peter Snejbjerg. These are collected in The Dreaming: Beyond the shores of night.

It is incredible how LaBan creates a fluid story with so little: Goldie, the golden gargoyle, is tired of the way that Cain t(h)reats his brother Abel and goes runway in the Dreaming. From now on, it starts an epic of biblical proportions, literally. The biblical references enrich the mythos of the characters and make you want for more.
The art is clean and beautiful.

Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus 8. The series is 45 years old holds up as one of the best of all time.

I've got the last two Fables Deluxe. Also from kickstarter I've got Strong Female Protagonist and a catch-up/ read through of all the Agatha Heterodyne. Should keep me busy for a while!

>12 scificomics: I love Lone Wolf and Cub! Good to see another fan. I have the smaller ones, and have been tempted by the omnibus editions just for the larger illustrations.

Right now I'm enjoying Mystery Society, with the illustrations by Fiona Staples, who did Saga.

>11 apokoliptian: I only know Terry LaBan from Unsupervised Existence, his great alt/indy comic set in bohemian Chicago (1989-1992). I'm glad to see he's been a working cartoonist all these years, and I'll have to check out some of his later stuff.

>14 jnwelch: I really liked Mystery Society when I read it in 2011 :)

I've finished Age of Ultron. While it starts fastly with great art by Bryan Hitch, it goes suddenly to a direction of time-travelling and its effects. To turn the experience more annoying, the art is taken over by Brandon Peterson and a badly finished Carlos Pacheco; and in the last chapter the art is a mess.

I think this is my last try for Bendis' events, once Secret Invasion was also a let down.

>15 edgewood:
LaBan wrote some curious things for Vertigo (The Unseen Hand, Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Battleaxes).

Muktuk is on my to be read list.

>16 AnnieMod: Me, too, AnnieMod. Nice, light tone to it, and I'm a fan of her illustrations.

Now I'm reading Ms. Marvel 2, a big step down in the quality of the illustrations, IMO, but it continues the good writing in this series featuring a Muslim girl.

>19 jnwelch: I just finished Ms. Marvel as well. I ghought I was going to hate her 1st "team up" in the collection, but it actually worked really well.

>20 DanieXJ: I love the matter-of-fact way her home and high school life is portrayed, and the "team up" in the second one is fun, too.

I enjoyed Daredevil so much on Netflix that I'm reading Mark Waid's run on Daredevil. ENjoying it so far, partly nostalgia, i was a big fan when i was a kid.

>22 brianjungwi:
Man, I was up to write about Netflix's Daredevil. For those who loves the Frank Miller's run, it is a dream come true. While the series starts on the basis laid by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, it has that street feel of Miller's work.
I can't recommend it much!

>23 apokoliptian: Absolutely agree! :) I loved it a lot more than I expected and I expected a lot.

>23 apokoliptian:

Sold. That was all I needed to hear. Miller's runs on DD (both the one with Klaus Janson and the one with David Mazzucchelli) are still among my very favorite comics.

Speaking of media adaptations of Frank Miller's stuff (and I know I've brought this up before, but I just watched it again so it's been on my mind) - has anyone here seen the DC Universe Animated version of his Dark Knight Returns? Absolutely top-shelf stuff - it's probably my all-time favorite non-comics depiction of Batman (which is saying something!).

>25 artturnerjr:
Sorry, I've not seen it yet. I have only watched Batman: Year one which is the total transcription of the comic book.

For those who can read Portuguese, I recommend Diomedes: A Trilogia do Acidente by Lourenço Mutarelli. It is a Mystic Noir in the same vein of Paul Auster's City of Glass, which has an awesome adaptation by David Mazzucchelli.

I'm about half-way through ALEC: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus) by Eddie Campbell which I feel like I've been reading for years. It was on several "Best Graphic Novels of All Time" (or equivalent) lists which I am currently working through slowly, eg:
www.heraldscotland.com/books-poetry/interviews/the-50-greatest-graphic-novels-of-all-time.21864132

^Thanks for the link to the "greatest" list. That'll be fun to read.

I just started the very popular Smile, but it may pitch too young for me. We'll see. I'm sticking with it for now.

>28 EnidaV: What do you think about ALEC?

I switched to Batman Earth One. Smile is fine, I'm sure, for younger readers.

Ooh, the Batman: Earth One, Vol. 2 is coming out in a couple of weeks as well.

I liked the first collection of The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. I found it intriguing and multi-layered, in an Alan Moore sort of way, but not sure if I'll read the further volumes.

The bad news: After a great first issue, the second issue of the new Howard the Duck was disappointing, a dumb jail-break adventure with that annoying Raccoon. I think I won't waste further money; maybe if the trade comes to my public library...

The good news: After a disappointing first collection (written by Warren Ellis), Moon Knight Volume 2: Blackout (written by Brian Wood) was great, a thriller with lots of unexpected twists.

The second collection of the current Buffy "season" was really strong. I'll keep buying Whedon product no matter what, but some story arcs are better than others.

I was happy to see the second issue of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (six months after the first!), continuing in the same painted, Warren horror style.

>30 sweetiegherkin: I like Alec a lot. I've only read the first collection, Alec: The King Canute Crowd, but have been meaning to read the omnibus. Great slice-of-life stories of slightly lost, hard-drinking young working class Brits. And you have to admire Campbell's dedication to using the widest variety of Zipatone patterns possible.

>33 edgewood:
I've liked the Unwritten's second and third TPBs. There are some interesting literature references that shifted my attention, like when I reached G. K. Chesterton via Neil Gaiman.

I've got a free-month trial in Marvel Unlimited, so I think that I will have a steady narrow diet for next month, like the Super Size Me guy.

I'm giving Rocket Girl a try; not sure what I think of it yet.

Holy crap. I just read Powers, Vol. 1. What rock have I been stuffed under for 15 years. Yikes..... that was awesome!!!

>38 DanieXJ: A big one? :)

>30sweetiegherkin What do you think about ALEC?

I had a hard time getting through the first half, but I think I was just oppressed by the gigantic 684 page, 15lb hardcover monstrosity that it is. It did not help that I'd never previously read anything by Eddie Campbell. But he met and got to know a huge number of key people in the world of comics (fans of Alan Moore be advised) and gives examples of their work, so ALEC is like a comics textbook as well as an autobiography. Also by the time I got 2/3rds through I started feeling like I knew Eddie Campbell - like he was a younger uncle that I'm fond of or something.

So on the whole I'd highly recommend it, if you have the time.

>39 AnnieMod: Yep, apparently, big and heavy, and really, really shady, 'cause I've always liked Bendis' stuff, and yet I don't think that I'd ever really heard of this until I saw something on Tumblr about a PlayStation Network TV show based on the series. (Which also sounds like it might be cool).

Warren Ellis is a writer who has high and low points. Unfortunately, Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters is not one the highs. The book presents super villains (Norman Osborn, Venom, Bullseye) hunting heroes for government , but I think it didn't work. The best part is the art of my fellow brazilian Mike Deodato.

I just started the 36th (!) in Takehiko Inoue's samurai series Vagabond, based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi. Love the artwork and storyline. I'm hooked for the duration.