I have read them....and guess what??....I have even less of a handle on what's going, hence the purpose of this thread (I thought that would have been obvious even to a brain like you MinusMatt)

Thanks for the recommendation, but NO thanks....I'll leave the kindergarten coloring books to you since you enjoy them so well.

it's sad to say that marvel died along with steve rogers...**sniff**sniff**

Particularly the latest issue, which is flat-out freakin' amazing (And last month's issue was likewise excellent, with the added bonus of having been guest illustrated by Darwyn Cooke)

Booster, GLC, GL, and formally Shadowpact is all I can take of DC anymore. Secret Invasion is BLOWING AWAY everything by Disgusting Competition.

Actually, I have to disagree with "amazing" for last issue. For the standards that Palmiotti and Grey have set up for themselves, I thought that one was a bit clunky. Still, the scene where Hex prays to God, rejects the justness of what he sees as God's machinations is a gem, and a scene that, all by itself, is worth the price of the issue.

And on the topic of DC's general suckage - the comics I got this week (8/13) from DC are pretty strong arguments against that condemnation.

1. Trinity #11 is not the greatest comic you'll ever read, but I doubt that many who pick this one up will be disappointed. The earlier, less exciting arcs are starting to pay off for the patient fans as this comic really gets into gear.

2. Wonder Woman's "Ends of the Earth" storyline comes to an action-packed and very satisfying conclusion as the Amzon warrior does her best to conquer a demon with one soul tied behind her back.

3. Action Comics - Johns and Frank are already one of my favorite super-teams of all-time.

4. Revelations has set up the premise for an exciting, if disturbing miniseries.

5. Batman #679 was unbelievable. A lot (not all, never all with Morrison) of questions get answered in this issue about the strangeness of Morrison's arc. Patient readers will be satisfied and then some.

Those are precisely the reasons why I called it "amazing". That issue should be required reading for people who look down their noses at comics/graphic storytelling. That scene (especially in the context of the story) qualifies as bona fide literature, IMO. Very emotionally gripping stuff; I'm man enough to admit that I dang near cried.

Are you being serious?! Secret Invasion barely registers as a summer MEGA event. Sure it's a little better then Final Crisis right now but to say that it's blowing away pretty much everything by DC is ridiculous. What is so great about Secret Invasion? Issue 2 and 3 were really bad imo, I have no idea who Nick Fury's team is and how is it that the Black Widow is taking out Skrulls left and right who are supposedly as powerful as the hero's that they've mimicked? It's very irritating when the power levels of the bad guy's keep fluctuating in order to give easy outs in the story. The Sentry is off crying somewhere again (big surprise) and Captain Marvel (who is a skrull) is destroying the entire Space fleet (don't let Black Widow next to him or he's a goner) by himself...lame. I'll take JSA any day of the week or even Action Comics over SI.

I think you and I are reading some different comics.

Morrison's Batman and Dini's Detective are the best the books have been in years.

I'm going to start picking up Blue Beetle because I've heard from EVERYBODY that it's a good read.

Manhunter is always solid.

With Johns, pretty much any book he writes is at least "good".

I wish they'd get their Flash act together but that's a small gripe in the whole DCU.

I'm not interested in Final Crisis so I really have nothing to say about it. But that's also because I've given up on the "mega events". Nothing says "Returns to Status Quo" better than another of these uber-tie-in's. It's ridonkulous and they (marvel or DC) won't get a cent from me regarding them.

You also save money that way.

But really Marvel is nothing to write home about either. Secret Invasion is a snooze/mega event, IMO. Think I'd rather read The Initiative (having heard good things).

But I don't think that's what he's saying. It's writing 101...show, don't tell. Characters talking about what's happening is poor storytelling.

This reminds me of my problem with one of the greats of SF: Asimov. I enjoy almost all of his works, but it is hard to get away from the fact that sooo much of his classic work is dialogue (often an explicit conversation between two characters) explaining what would otherwise be described in the narrative....and there are times when the same characters then end up having a conversation about a conversation they had previously. It can be an incredibly annoying literary convention.

If you don't want so much dialogue...read "Batman". He's friggin' lost it and is Batman minus the Bruce Wayne persona. LOVING that comic right now!! Oddly enough...it's by Morrison. So...he can be too wordy, yet he knows how not to be as well.

Speaking as a long term DC Fan, there was a time when I would have simply dismissed you as a Marvel troll trying to pick a fight

But I know what you mean. Lately, many of the books I had come to know and love have been, well, boring

And they killed Martian Manhunter

I can only conclude that DC doesn't want or need my money

I am not interested in Marvel (maybe Marvel Adventures...) because I don't like whiney heroes, very thinly disguised brickbat to the face anaologies (yes, I am looking at MUTANTS) and family histories so convoluted as to be indecipherable (Summers?)

I hope that the waving to and from will amount to something because I don't really look forward to a lot of issues lately (except Booster Gold. That ROCKS!)

I asked my friend who owns the comic store to find me some more good independents

See? Now this guy is being a Marvel Troll!

I'm glad to see we're not trying to diversify the comic genre and we're sticking to the principle that spandex + punching = good.

I loved it when Zur-en-arrh Batman said "Shh! The city's talking." to Bat-Mite, who may or may not even be there. Its only 4 words of dialogue, but there's a whole lot of craziness going on there.