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Post by rosscarter on Jan 15, 2014 10:14:48 GMT -5
We all know and love Hickman for his grand, epic Avengers and FF stories, but let's not forget his equally epic and high-concept work at Image! The man has pumped out some of the most creative, mindfucking sci-fi ever! I'm trying to read ALL of his Image work, most of which is collected in trades. What Hickman Image work have y'all read? What's your favorite, and why?
I adore his first professional body of work, The Nightly News. It's a thrilling conspiracy tale surrounding domestic terrorists, corrupt politicians, and the media. The art is hard to follow at first, but once I got the hang of how the story flows off the page, I couldn't put this book down.
Pax Romana is the same way, Hickman handle's art duties as well. This one involves time travel and alternate history, and it's a doozy.
And of course we all love Manhattan Projects and East of West, his two current ongoings at Image. I'm glad these are ongoings and not mini-series, as I think some of his work has been limited by the mini-series format. The Red Wing comes to mind, as it was an awesome concept, yet didn't seem like a fully realized story.
What are your thoughts?
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Post by CaptainSuperior on Jan 15, 2014 13:02:43 GMT -5
i'm a huge Hickman fan as well, especially the work he has been doing on Avengers. His Infinity event has been the best Marvel event since Civil War in my opinion. East of West is at the very top of my pile when ever it comes out, I see great potential in this world he is creating and the artwork by Dragotta is simply amazing! I've never read The Nightly News, I will check that out soon.
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Post by bookend57 on Jan 15, 2014 15:31:13 GMT -5
I love East of West. Its one of my favorite books. Hickman's story telling style has always been a wide-scoped, grand scheme type of telling. It takes a bit to get into his stuff but the pay-off is usually worth it.
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Post by wjohnson22 on Jan 15, 2014 15:59:28 GMT -5
A while back comixology had a great sale on this book Test Patterns (it collects Hickman's earlier series Nightly News, Pax Romana, Red Mass for Mars, Red Wing, and Transhuman). The book really showcases Hickman's talent both as a graphic designer, and as a story teller with these stories planting seeds of ideas he'd explore in greater detail in his Marvel work and current books at Image. A great pick up for any Hickman scholar!
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Post by PaulWrites on Jan 15, 2014 17:32:52 GMT -5
Red Mass For Mars was good but its far from Hickmans best indie work, Red Wing was pretty awesome. I was enjoying East of West but recently opted to trade wait it, but not a reflection of quality its a great series that doesn't seem to get enough attention. I really enjoyed his run on Secret Warriors and Fantastic Four/FF. Though my favorite Marvel stuff of his is definitely S.H.I.E.L.D - I hope he finds his way back to finishing The Human Machine story that series just dropped off around issue 4.
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Post by drocat on Jan 15, 2014 22:27:39 GMT -5
The only thing I've read from him is East Of West. I really love how massive and deep it all feels. There's meaning to every panel and a symbolism that isn't necessary right out in plain sight. Something about a futuristic apocalyptic cowboy western with religious tones just hits me in the right spot.
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Post by JediHunter66 on Jan 21, 2014 0:23:09 GMT -5
Dragota's art work in this is what I love and Hickman's story is spectacular. This is one of my top Image books alongside Saga. Futuristic, Sci-Fi, alternate reality western at its best!
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Post by CaptainSuperior on Jan 21, 2014 14:30:58 GMT -5
Ok, so I tried reading issue 1 of The Nightly News and all I can say about the art is WTF.
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Post by wjohnson22 on Jan 21, 2014 14:50:58 GMT -5
Ok, so I tried reading issue 1 of The Nightly News and all I can say about the art is WTF. Yeah, for books like The Nightly News where Hickman is also doing the art, it is definitely not anywhere close to traditional comic book art. I don't know for sure, but I think Hickman's background is in graphic design, so he took a different approach to the artwork in these early books, using a lot of charts and graphics he designed himself. It's something that I appreciate more as a concept than in execution.
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Post by IncredibleD on Jan 22, 2014 12:54:15 GMT -5
Hickman is one of those writers that i love for some of his work(most of Fantastic Four and FF, East of West) but i can't get into some of his other work(Manhattan Projects, Avengers, New Avengers).What i like about his writing is that its epic most of the time and really builds something but what i don't like is that it gets complicated real fast.
I have the same thing with Grant Morrison's writing.
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Post by pacino on Jan 27, 2014 8:16:17 GMT -5
he is one of my top 3 writers of the past 5 years. he's given so much good writing for me to enjoy. Manhattan Projects, Red Wing, East of West, and F4/F are my favs.
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Post by othersummersbrother on Jan 29, 2014 14:33:16 GMT -5
I read a pretty good amount of JH...and I still don't know if I like his work. I know I don't dislike it, but his stuff is kind of like Morning Glories for me. Not sure where I stand on it, but I'll keep buying.
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Post by xtjmac510x on Feb 13, 2014 4:30:39 GMT -5
I've always had an interesting relationship with Jonathan Hickman. I'm a huge fan of East of West, The Manhattan Projects and Secret (remember that), but I've never enjoyed anything he's done for Marvel...ever. I don't outright HATE it or anything, but sitting through Avengers, New Avengers, FF or Fantastic Four is a chore for me and I found myself skimming to the end during most of the times I've tried to read any of it. And I have TRIED. Many, many, many times, because obviously I am in a MAJOR minority here and I do love all his Image work, but I'm not entirely sure. It's weird.
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Post by pacino on Mar 16, 2015 10:16:41 GMT -5
Anyone still getting East of West month-to-month??? I really loved issue #18...it's really cool to see how it is shaking out with the Chosen one.
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Post by Tony on Mar 16, 2015 16:23:03 GMT -5
Anyone still getting East of West month-to-month??? I really loved issue #18...it's really cool to see how it is shaking out with the Chosen one. I am! I couldn't imagine trade-waiting for it; it's too damn good. Yeah, the way Babylon and Balloon have changed this story is remarkable; it feels like the last puzzle piece was finally dropped in there when they made their entrance-proper, and now we can see how it's really all going to shake out. Babylon, in particular, is fascinating; what he represents in the story is so dangerous and dire, but he's simultaneously also totally sympathetic and lovable, and *his* plight, the situation we know he's in, has become the crux of the whole story, and it's tough to watch happen (albeit, in a good way), because you want to reach out and say something to him, hug him, help him out. Such an incredible book, story and art; my buddy Ben who owns my LCS has decided that it's his favorite series on the shelf right now, and although I can't quite say the same (it would be tough to displace Saga, for me), I can relate; it's a 10/10 of a comic book any way you slice it.
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