With monthlies, I mostly let my subscriptions build up at my old comic shop in my hometown: Comics, Toons, N Toys in Orange County, CA. I still hang on to that place because I want to support them, but also they've continued to give me a discount since I worked there for a time.

Darkseid War really petered out, didn't it? I was excited when Darkseid died and everyone got their god powers, but I lost the thread on coherently following this storyline 2-3 issues ago and the turns in this one were complete nonsense. I had to plow through it just so I could get to Rebirth, which like Oliver…

There's no way that this is going to be as new reader-friendly as they hope. It's been apparent that they're chasing the lapsed fans with this relaunch.

On a conceptual level, I like the implication that the darker tone of the New 52 was a gradual result of Watchmen's influence. It's not a particularly new reading, but this is the first time it's been put into text within a comic. So that aspect is refreshing. The ethical issues around it basically sour it for me.

For those curious, Ed Brubaker also posted the following essay in his first newsletter yesterday:

I actually really didn't mind it because I understand the cyclical nature of comics. Following Nick Spencer and Ed Brubaker on Twitter over the past few days has been insane though. The amount of crying and shaming and death threats has been astonishing. What's most surprising is how much of it has been directed at…

I remember we were waiting for the Big Issues thread to talk about Rebirth, so I'm really glad Oliver made it the main topic this week! (I notice he tends to avoid big name releases these days, but this one was unavoidable and ridden with issues to discuss)

What did you read this week?

My all-time favorite joke of theirs is when the VO guy can't decide how to describe Pacific Rim:

I'm 30 and I've noticed that the X-Men movies are much more popular with my non-comic reading friends compared to other superhero franchises. Somehow they skip most of the MCU movies but they're obsessed with the X-Men franchise. I suspect this all has to do with nostalgia for the 90's cartoon.

I'm fine with waiting one more day since Big Issues is the one territory that everyone shows up on. I can't wait to discuss it. It's such a mixed bag, with a perfect balance of excellent and terrible moments.

I thought the whole thing was worth it just for Groot's incessant "I AM THOR!" speak.

Right, even on this article right here. Comments are blowing up for no real reason. It's one issue of an ongoing storyline. Anyone who reads comics should understand how these things work by now.

I loved that she was still following him around - and calling herself his bodyguard! - at the end of the movie. I was disappointed that the end-credits scene (and DOFP) basically ignored this, but that was expected.

I remember that one too! I bought it because it focused on Cannonball and the Guthries. The art wasn't very good there either. It's a good thing artists generally get better over time.

I remember being disappointed when AoA ended and we got the X-Men Prime special. The artwork looked so boring and unstylized after the hyper-exaggerated works of the different Joe Mad knockoffs.

Oh for sure. The cast is a pretty interesting and likable mix of outcasts, and it was the first time Emma Frost was portrayed as a heroic character.

It's drawn by Roger Cruz too, whose main job was to swipe Joe Mad as much as possible and hope that readers wouldn't notice.

I never bought an Avengers book until Bendis started writing it either. Even though that book was the start of his downward spiral, at the time he had a very high batting average with Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil. He was legitimately one of my favorite writers.

Bachalo's been one of my favorite artists ever since that Gen-X run, but even I agree that Generation Next is probably his career-best work.