Right, weren't the old Working Designs translations of the Lunar games basically littered with modern cultural references / memes? And I loved those games! The NPCs were hilarious!

The marketing around numbering in comics is completely bizarre and like nothing else in the real world.

I also find that keep tracking of stories at a monthly pace is too difficult for me now that I have adult responsibilities. Buying trades helps me get lots of story out at once so I can follow what's happening.

Putting away crossover issues is the most frustrating part about collecting comics. If the issues are filed under their proper titles, I'll likely skip over them while binge reading my way through previous runs I enjoyed. Nowadays I try to keep crossover issues grouped with the main series that I read. I also try to…

Wow that sounds like a great deal. I can't wait! DC is killing it with their collections lately. Plus their $2.99 pricing in general.

Batman & Robin Eternal had a satisfying enough conclusion, I thought, and it sets up a lot of characters in interesting new directions - Cassandra Cain, Harper Row, the Bat family as a network of heroes. Have they ever worked on such a large scale before? The closest I can remember is during No Man's Land. Kudos to…

Oh, interesting. Maybe I'll check it out then. To be honest, Dick Grayson never quite clicked with me until his recent Tom King / Tim Seeley series. How do his Nightwing stories compare with that series?

That's actually the only Ennis Punisher story I've never read. I tried to read that next, but it wasn't on Marvel Unlimited. I generally remember good reviews at the time it came out, so I intend to read it soon.

Can you elaborate on why? I don't want to be rude, but reading his version of Wolverine in MK Punisher left me with absolutely no interest in that at all. Ennis seems to revile costumed superheroes, and Wolverine is probably the one who suffers the worst characterization out of all the guest appearances in the series.

I know! It's actually been really fun diving into these books because I was vaguely aware of what was going on in almost all of the Bat titles during the 90's and 00's, but I was too young and poor to afford them. I'm making a point to buy these books early to send the message that there's a market for these reprints.

Is there actually bad blood that warrants an apology there? I know that BQM was still around for a while writing DC's Smallville digital-first series.

I know, he's not my favorite character because I preferred him as a deceased sidekick and symbol for Batman's greatest failure. I don't think he ever should have been brought back, but I prefer his current role in the Bat-books to what he was when they first revived him.

There are times where I'm embarrassed by some of his storytelling, but overall Ennis' voice is unique enough that I can find myself powering through. That's why I afford him a lot more leeway compared to Mark Millar.

The Detective Comics premise is the one that has me most excited too. There's so much potential in that combination of characters, and I basically would have killed for this kind of book even before the New 52. I hope Tynion can deliver.

I actually enjoy his role in the Bat family nowadays as the dumber and more prone to punching member of the gang who still shows loyalty to his brothers. I'm not really interested in him at all as a solo character.

As writer and not the artist anymore too. But that's not why we like Bryan Hitch…

I agree! I avoided their omnibus collections before, due to negative press I'd heard about the quality. Marvel's omnibus collections have gotten lower in quality lately though. I found it impossible to read through Hickman's FF omnibuses without leaving some light finger damage on its cheap paper stock.

Glad you're enjoying Waid/Wieringo's FF. The characters are just so friggin cute during that run. The run has a few ups and downs as the stories get a bit heavier, but I appreciate their work most of all for its lightness. The first issue (which I think was sold for like 9-cents or something to hook new readers) is…

I read through Robin Vol. 1: Reborn, one of DC's recent wonderful trades collecting a ton of older material at a cheap price. This one collects early Tim Drake stories by Alan Grant and Chuck Dixon. These stories hit the right spot for me and held up surprisingly well for comics published in 1990, aside from some…

I agree. I felt the tension as the title cards moved closer to the date. I thought that part at the very least was well done.