Announcement

Upcoming Reviews

Sorry guys, no new Comic Book Case this week, I've had some technical problems with my iPad (which I read my books on) so I've just now been able to read them. In exchange, next week in addition to last weeks books and that weeks, I'll be going over some older books and some new ones I've been reading on and off. We will also be going over more Doctor Who related stuff like the Big Finish Audio plays as well as more on each Doctor's era (mostly New Who because I've seen all those episodes multiple times whereas with Classic Who I'll be going over on a smaller scale. I also at least at the start of next year go over the Disney Prince Line and possibly try to create our own Disney Adventurers, as well as some other stuff. 

Comic Overview Preview

So last year we went over what I felt were the best books of that year and since it seems like we have more readers (thank you much) I wanted to give a preview of at least what I've thought about the books I've read or at least the two companies that have made up the bulk of my books: DC and Marvel. It's clear that I'm a bigger fan of DC than I am Marvel but that is mostly because I found DC first via Batman and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited but I didn't start reading until New 52 was at least sixteen issues in. I think I enjoy DC stories because they are honestly more consistent with their ideas whereas it seems Marvel is very set on shaking things up with new characters without shaking things up. What I mean is that Sam Wilson was announced to be the next Captain America, people were outraged because people still liked and wanted Steve while Marvel was acting to shake things up for diversity sake and the same thing with Jane Foster being Thor and Riri Williams being Iron Man. The problem is that while DC had done this with characters like Flash, Green Lantern, and earlier with characters like Atom Smasher, Hourman, (JSA is life btw) you saw a problem that only comic books have; inability to change. When Jay Garrick was replaced by Barry, Jay came back, and the same with Barry when Wally showed up as well as Hal when he was replaced by other lanterns. This is the illusion of change and DC has for the most part stopped doing it, often promoting their other colors of character in their own books as opposed to giving them new roles.

With Marvel, well it seems that Marvel wants to push diversity if for no other reason than to be more inclusive to their new readers and that's honestly fine. When Sam Wilson became Captain America, Steve Rogers was removed due to Super Serum failing and then he was back and now we have two Captain Americas. Jane Foster is currently Thor but old Thor (now just calling himself Odinson) is looking for a new hammer and it was already shown that he will be Thor again), these are all halfhearted changed and pretty interchangeable. Marvel has really only gotten the change element right twice in my mind and that was Miles Morales being Spider-Man and Jen Walters being She Hulk. These characters are vastly different from their counterparts and don't require them to be gone. Riri Williams has the luck of not being called Iron Man which means when Tony fixes whatever is up with him, she won't be burdened by it. 

On a different note, Marvel at times seems more burdened by it's style of making itself easier to relate to with it's stories and I wasn't a fan of it when DC did it (because at times it seems they only show one side). This of course isn't always true, as I do love Captain America: Steve Rogers and the reveal of him being a member of HYDRA and other stories. Honestly, here are my favorite Marvel books and characters

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Four

Scarlet Witch

Captain America Steve Rogers

She Hulk

Thor

Night Crawler

Charles Xavier

Storm

Magneto

Ms. Marvel

Rogue

Honestly these are it and only a small handful of their stories do I honestly like along with some characters. I like Iron Man and Black Panther when they are in the Illuminati and I like Storm more when she was married to Black Panther (and vice versa). Xavier was in my mind better in Illuminati as well as Doctor Strange in the Avengers. Whereas with characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, I can enjoy in their own books as well as Justice League. I think it's because those three and others are more consistent as characters. A reviewer once said that DC was about characters we aspired to be where Marvel was about characters more like us, the problem is (at least for me) that those characters don't often mesh well on their own. I may change my mind later as I have found that I enjoy those characters and their own books better in older titles. Maybe it's just the time period for me as the wall breaking and desire to be more real on a personal level feels more distracting. Who knows?