#Plus I don't like changing comics to tie in with movies

[daigah]

also. Comic Victoria Kord isn't real to me. I'm caught up on Jaime's 2023 stuff (graduation day and current solo) but whenever Victoria is there it's just like Cool! I'm pretending this doesn't exist

[linesonscreens]

Project: Let's Read Peanuts (Yes, all of it)

Initial Thoughts

First off: Yes, actually like Peanuts. Fuck you, your judgment means nothing to me.

Second: Welcome! I'm very happy you are here and I'm so excited to go on this journey with you.

So here's the deal, I've decided to read through Peanuts in it's entirety. Every day or so (schedule permitting) I'll read through about a month of the strip at a time and give my reactions to what I read. I can't promise that they will be deep or profound but they will definitely be reactions. If you decide you like these reactions then you can like, subscribe or leave a comment in accordance with our ancient online customs. I will then give this engagement to my landlord in lieu of money which will make it so I don't have to work anymore.

What is Peanuts?

Peanuts is a comic strip by chronically depressed and more-horny-than-you'd-expect social recluse Charles Schulz. It started in 1950 and ran as the most popular comic strip of all time until shortly before his death in 2000. It stars Schulz's self-insert OC Charlie Brown and his wacky friends(?) as they struggle with the inevitable social alienation caused by daily life under capitalism in the imperial core. It's merchandising/movie/TV tie ins have brought in like eleventy trillion dollars and I'm pretty sure Snoopy is still worshiped as some kind of god in Japan to this day.

But… come on, you already knew that. It's God damn Peanuts.

Why Peanuts?

Why not? The art is good and I enjoy it when the small child talks about how he hates life and wants to die. Plus I've been meaning to read through the archives for a while now.

Is this a nostalgia thing for you?

Honestly, not really. I never even gave the strip a chance until I was already well into adulthood because I'd just assumed that it was a garbage zombie strip that should have ended in the 60s. That only changed when I grabbed the first hardcover collection and discovered that it was actually a pretty fun read.

How much have you already read?

Roughly the first 8 years of the strip plus a random assortment of strips from throughout the comic's run.

Will you cover the movies/specials?

Eeeeeeeeeeehhhh…. maybe some of them. There's a few gems in the animated stuff but also a TON of incredibly tedious bullshit.

How can I follow along?

You can read along at the official GoComics archive or purchase the incredibly well made Fantagraphics hardcover editions. OK, enough of all that. Let's get started.

[ordinaryschmuck]

Basically, Kamala’s been low-key waning in popularity in terms of the people actually buying her comics, to the point she’s only had three limited-run miniseries since 2019 (yeah, even with her getting a television series), so they made her a Spider-Man supporting character all of a sudden who’s all buddy-buddy with a sin-purged Norman Osborn for the past year or so, and I guess they’re killing her to bring more attention to her? So that they can actually have an audience to do another Ms. Marvel solo to tie-in with the upcoming ‘The Marvels’ film? Her role in the series reads like it could have been any character other than Kamala Khan, like Peter doesn’t even know she’s Ms. Marvel — to him she’s just Norman’s assistant who he gets on well with whenever they meet. What’s weird is that this isn’t the first time Kamala has died, with the last time it happened, in ‘Champions’, Miles Morales made a deal with Mephisto to bring her back, in exchange for the soul of a different woman Miles had saved earlier. Then Miles decided to tell Kamala this to clear his conscience, and then she just knew that he’d done that, which I think might be why we don’t see them talking as much anymore. So that’s two Ms. Marvel deaths with a Spider-Man involved, and four Spider-People making deals with the devil (Peter, Miles, Superior Spider-Man Otto Octavius, and Scarlet Spider Ben Reilly, and also Norman, of course, plus Harry’s evil A.I. kid).

...Man, it sucks to be Ms. Marvel, doesn't it?

Anyways, I know they're killing her off to boost sails or something. That's fine. It's comics. It's what they do. I just have ONE stipulation:

DON'T MAKE HER HAVE HER MCU COUNTERPARTS' POWERS!

ENOUGH with making the comics like the MCU. It was fine with a few small details like designs and small character quirks that make them a little more interesting, but a character's powers are their most defining trait. She shouldn't change them to adapt to the movies, the movies should adapt to HER.

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week?

Action Comics #1054 - Loved Superman going all Naruto with a susanno, loved how PKJ portrayed Supes in line with both the original Golden Age attitude (he calls Metallo a bully and takes him down a peg) and the softer modern incarnation (he offers to help Metallo save his sister). Reads just like Morrison Superman does. My one complaint is that we're still falling back on Metallo spamming kryptonite. All the upgrades he got from Warworld tech, and he's resorting to that yet again? Disappointing. Metallo isn't a total jobber, he's crippled Kara, beaten Conner and Jon, kidnapped the Super-Twins, built an army, he's kicking ass and is dangerous... except he can't even seem to scratch Clark himself. Henshaw calling Metallo a loser does seem to be true. I have a notion where this is going, I think Tracy is either going to die or be revealed as the leader of the Blue Earth group, and Metallo will join that movement to get revenge on Superman for her death, or to work for her because she's the only thing he cares about anymore. If Metallo gets to kill Henshaw and PKJ sets him up to return down the road for another big arc where he finally kicks Clark's ass, that's good enough for me. Otherwise, much as I've enjoyed this, I can't say PKJ has succeeded with Metallo the way he did with Mongul. He did however make me realize the one big Superman trait Metallo contrasts with that I'll write about at the end of this arc.

Green Arrow #1 - Never been a huge Green Arrow fan, an odd thing to say considering I read his entire Rebirth run start to finish, but I enjoyed Williamson's Superman so much I decided to give this a shot. Cry For Justice was actually one of the earliest stories I read because my library had a trade of it. Insane that this is where we finally get a reunion between Roy and Lian. Otherwise I thought it was fine, not sure about the cosmic aspect of things, but I intend to read the first arc at least.

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #2 - Doing a piss take on the Krakoa Era X-Men right as I've become bored with them post-Hickman is just what I needed. Cackled at the data page jab, and also Culver lampooning how stupid it is for every magic group to just slap "Dark" on their title (knock it off Johns). Robotman launching Worm into orbit to prevent him from blowing up the Shelter was hilariously fucked up, should hopefully assuage the people afraid this would just be a knock-off X-Book. That's pure Doom Patrol right there, even more so with the reveal that Velvet is the true double agent. Peacemaker is a bastard and a great villain for the Doom Patrol, Culver has me fully on board with the Suicide Squad being the true antithesis to the Doom Patrol. Loved Burnham's depiction of the Shelter, FINALLY some cool superhero bases again! I missed that

Detective Comics #1071 - Interesting experience reading PKJ Action and Ram Detective at the same time, because they are both aiming for long epic runs that redefine their respective franchises. Action works better for me because it never loses sight of Superman being at the center, whereas here we get an issue full of lore dumping with Batman barely featuring. At this point I'm losing track of all of these new characters and the MacGuffins they're squabbling over, plus yet another retelling of Ra's early days. V's best work has been with Two-Face and Mr. Freeze, these Orghams are rather dull and derivative of other would-be usurpers, and I don't care about them anymore.

The Riddler: Year One #4 - How? How is this so good? How is a movie tie-in written by an actor who has never written a comic before running laps around experienced writers?

Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #6 - Surprisingly strong ending. Probably the best bridge between the original Giffen run and what the movie is changing. Looking forward to the ongoing now.

Sins of Sinister: Dominion #1 - Think I'm as sick of Sinister as the X-Men themselves are. Moira attempting to reclaim control of the narrative was nice, now how about we actually DO that by making her more than a mustache twirler? Unless the solicits are lying, Emma, Hope, Exodus, and Charles going into the Pit is going to be undone quick, but perhaps at the cost of resurrections. I give this event a 7/10, a huge step down from Judgement Day.

Invincible Iron Man #5 - Think I'm out, Fei Long and Tony's rivalry is stupid. Long just picks a fight with Stark for no real reason other than "I want a rival!" and while there's some justification beyond that, it's bound up in the Avengers not claiming Mars while the X-Men did. If this was Long wanting Stark's company to help Orchis, and Tony thwarting him being what kicks off their personal enmity, then it would be better. Instead Duggan tries to jump right into making things personal, but the crux of their fight having roots in another franchise undermines the whole endeavor.

Hulk #14 - Terrible ending but I expected nothing less. Had a chuckle at how heavy handed the letter from Samson was, might as well have been Ottley going "yeah sorry this run didn't go the way we wanted with Cates bailing, here's Bruce reset back to status quo, good luck to the next creative team!"

Doctor Strange #2 - Honestly I preferred Clea as the solo lead. The book is fine but it's not gripping me the way I want. I'll give it until issue 6 to pick up.

W0rldtr33 #1 - It's great, Tynion doing another horror book how could it not be? Jesus Christ though, somehow this is hitting even harder for me than the Department of Truth did. Internet as a demonic entity could come across as corny, but damn if Tynion doesn't make it terrifying.