comicalarchitect

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #104

Time to check out the miniseries where PAD returns to the psycho-clone-drama he got into in his first X-Factor run, setting up for the upcoming X-Factor Investigations run.

destroy them, Rahne

lmao

mfw gay duplicate

so far this series is really REALLY impressing me. excellent command of the noir genre with David's sense of humor and existentialism woven throughout. I wish I had more specific thoughts or panels to post, but it's just kind of a solidly woven comic.

I really love the quiet triumph of the "sense of self-preservation" dupe coming back to save Jamie Prime--the implication that he's realized that his sense of self includes ALL of himself

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #103

ah god it's time to finally be done with SpyBoy.

rizz, I guess?

owned

I am always saying this

oh my god the 2004 is painful

okay I do enjoy this though

I will say, Butch and Anita's relationship (and Anita in general) has always been a highlight of this fairly mid comic.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #102

another series finale! (well, before the series gets relaunched with IDW, which I'll cover next season.) let's see if this one leaves me less cold than that Captain Marvel ending did.

calls to mind From Hell

"torture equipment" and "a Fresca" is redundant. hate that shit!

Dr. Henry Killinger vibes

goes hard! Lee is fucking around even less than usual!

Ah, so we're doing Cain shit then. This pleases me as a Vampire: The Masquerade fan.

*massages temples in exasperation* do we have to return to Sachs and Violens? Ugh. And just when I was really getting into this book.

high-quality banter.

[comicalarchitect]

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #101

time to wrap up what MIGHT end up being my new favorite Peter David run! let's see how he sticks the landing on this tremendous second CM run.

YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A CAR

oh my god is she reading fucking Marville

good for you, Heather!

AMAZING.

little annoying to have the artist change mid-arc like this. step down from Lopresti too, imo.

PAD's really playing it close to the chest re: the "Marv is actually still crazy" thing, huh? worried that plot thread might just get dropped, with only two issues left to go.

daaaaaaaamn.

oh nice, Giffen pencils for the final issue!

I do kinda think Giffen's style might be a poor match for Sotomayor's watercolors, though.

ah. we're doing this now, then,

....hm. so, this once-amazing series wraps up with... yet again, a kinda bitter meta-statement that steadfastly refuses to satisfy. after Supergirl, this is becoming a frustrating pattern with PAD's work.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David ONE HUNDO SPECTACULAR

celebrating one hundred Digressions on David posts by covering something weird and random: a 7-issue TMNT run coinciding with the 2003 animated series, which I haven't actually watched! (TMNT incarnations I care about go, in descending order: IDW comics, Mutant Mayhem, and the 2012 animated series.)

Mouser sighting!

owned

oh my fucking god above Peter Allan David did you actually put that fucking line in this comic book in 2003.

okay it's good now actually.

okay I was getting real confused about the timeline in this issue and I figured it was because I hadn't seen the show, but no, it's a thing.

the inking on the hockey mask has real "only object on a painted animation cel that has to move later in the scene" vibes

Not that I mind Warriors references, but would it kill people to learn even a second one? It's always just that same line.

s u b t l e t y

okay, actually some real clever stuff going on this issue. I can dig it.

........like, Domino's? The restaurant? Oof that's a sweaty one.

early-career Skottie Young cover! neat, even if his style isn't really as distinct yet.

okay that was pretty great

some fun stuff in that run! #5 was definitely my favorite.

[comicalarchitect]

How do you feel about the possibility of Fallen Angel's Lee being post-Supergirl Linda? Or of Linda doing other stuff after she's stopped being Supergirl?

I’m not sure I buy that—Fallen Angel (at this point!) feels more like a spiritual successor where PAD is dealing with some of the same themes and dynamics, not a literal continuation of a character’s arc. Lee has some of Linda’s wit and cynicism and all, but her preoccupation with justice over compassion doesn’t really have a precedent in anything Linda did.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: The Land of the Bold and the Home of the Brave #5

Three more issues to go in Waid's run as B&tB writer! Let's see how he brings it home.

he's so real for this

Daaaaaaaamn!

That Grayson kid's got a good head on his shoulders, he does.

lmao

Surprising matchup for the final issue of this run, but I can't say I'm not intrigued.

lmao

Fun little run! Definitely didn't keep a consistent level of interest beginning to end, but it was all enjoyable stuff.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: The Land of the Bold and the Home of the Brave #4

The run continues, but with Perez out and Jerry Ordway in. It's a step down, sure, but almost anyone would be from Perez.

I gets no respect.

kinda failing to see the downside. this seems sick as hell.

yeah, the story arc of #7-12 was a lot less tight and satisfying than #1-6, unfortunately. having the artist change 2/3rds of the way through was a bummer too. some good stuff, though, still.

heh, love this story hook.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: The Land of the Bold and the Home of the Brave #3

ah, so this is the original source of the meme edit with the masturbation joke

I find this really clever as an extrapolation of the Lasso of Truth's powers

never change, Chief. or do.

ah FUCK that's heavy

get his ass Tina

...DO people say that?

stop making Garth sad :(

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: The Land of the Bold and the Home of the Brave #2

LOVE this Perez cover

This story must have been a primary inspo for Jaime being a major presence in the BatB cartoon, yeah?

does Lobo have a.... back-of-head fetish?

BEST LEGIONNAIRE ALERT (okay, no, Brainy is the best Legionnaire, but Val is way up there)

Classic Perez splash. Magnificent stuff.

oh shit is this gonna be a Challengers of the Unknown thing? sick!

and there we go!

yeah, that Lords of Luck story was great tip to toe. very satisfying tribute to DC lore and to the boundless potential of the superhero genre.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: The Land of the Bold and the Home of the Brave #1

Gonna check out Mark Waid's acclaimed teamup run over the next few posts.

I'm always a sucker for a good "working some classic Titles into dialogue" bit.

okay now THIS is a neat mystery logline

*Uncut Gems voice* put ALL my money on "it's an egg-salad sandwich"

fucking hate when this happens to me

don't love this angle being in the comic!

aw FUCK yeah we're doing Fatal Five, love those wacks

stay classy, Lobo, you bastiche.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #99

ok Boomer

GREAT panel here.

pics that go hard

Love the body horror here.

Taking a midseason break to do a quick non-David read, then I'll be back to this post series soon for a very special 100th post!

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #98

I like Black Mariah already.

mood

puppy!!!

honestly great, clever, thoughtful stuff being written here. this book is starting to come into its own as a followup to Supergirl.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #97

more like kreetentious, am I right

Bye, Rick.

Hey, it's her! This is where she shows up first!

As if! Elysius is straight buggin'.

man, the deep character excoriation in this arc was TREMENDOUS. this run has kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me guessing all along.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #96

ah damn.

Marv, I know you're insane and all now, but that sentence structure is nonetheless buckling under its own weight.

some very good material in these recap blurbs

self-owned

Middle Marv with the moral clarity! Love moments like that, where someone starts talking sense and wisdom in a way that cuts through the protagonist's self-involved nonsense.

[comicalarchitect]

Samantha Reads Comics: Digressions on David #95

Time to dig into PAD's creator-owned series that serves as an unofficial followup to his Supergirl run. Excited to see how it measures up!

Where does one spend skin?

is the Asian character seriously named fucking "Asia"

and he talks in stilted broken English, and he seemingly stands around recounting exposition all day. jeez, this series is not setting me up to like it.

what's the deal with her sorta non-shoes anyway

pffffffft okay that was pretty good