Quarantine Reads

By Nora

Hey everybody!

I don’t know about you but I’ve been using this down time to read lot’s of books!

So this is a list of comic books I’ve been reading during this weird time. I highly recommend you check these out when you get the chance!

My first choice for this list is The Eternals by Neil Gaiman

This book is from the 2006 run of Eternals, making it the second ever run of the series following up Jack Kirby’s run from the 70’s. You don’t need to read the 70’s run to get the plot but the characters do make a few references to events that happened in the original story so if you can I recommend checking it out if you have to know the inside scoop on everything. I did not read the original run first and highly enjoy the story with little to no prior knowledge. The whole reason I got the book was so I would get the plot of the Eternals movie coming out in February 2021! Neil Gaiman did a very good job on bringing the characters back into the 21st. Very good all around.

My next pick is Moon Girl and the Devil Dinosaur by Amy Reeder

This book was adorable, everything about it was amazing. Lunella is such a great protagonist and you really just want to help her take the world by storm. I knew literally nothing about this book before reading it. I had heard about The Devil Dinosaur before but that was really it. Little did I know it was sooooo much more. The story is honestly so amazing and if you haven’t I really really hope you read this book!

Pick #3 is Captain America: Sam Wilson by Rick Remender

I saw this at my local book store and just thought it looked interesting. My oh my it was interesting! This also made me realize I really knew nothing about The Falcon and they’ve taken out a chunk of Sam Wilson’s comic book origins. It went into his origin story and kinda how he came to be the Falcon as well as the new Captain America. This book had a lot of awesome things, crossovers, HYDRA, Scarecrow and Nomad. I literally could not put it down.

My next pick is The Essential Savage She Hulk by Stan Lee

Okay, I did get this book because they announced that there will (at some point) be a She-Hulk Disney+ Show (and there has also been a lot of rumors on who will play Jennifer Walters but as much as I want to get into it I won’t. Maybe at some point but this is not the place.) I actually am not done with this book yet but from what I’ve read I am in love. It is inspiring seeing a lady lawyer in the late 1970’s early 1980’s. Since they announced the show I have been very interesting in reading the source material about one of the strongest characters in way more ways than one. It is probably the longest one on the list with 25 issues but it is totally worth it to check out. It is very interesting seeing her try to balance her powers as well as career but also taking control of the other side.

Runaways by Rainbow Rowell is coming in at #5

This is the newest version of Runaways, (I included the original series by Brian K Vaughn in my 2019 comics round up so check that out too which if you’re interested you can read the round up here) As someone who watched the Hulu show and read the ENTIRE original series I was very impressed by Rowell’s ability of staying true to the characters especially since it was one of the most successful of the early 2000’s. Kris Anka’s art really sold me, it was all so well done with homages to the original. This is one of the series you kinda have to read the original to fully understand what’s going on. Like why is there a robot head? What is the deal with the dinosaur? Who’s that girl dying girl? And so on. But if you don’t want to commit to reading 10 volumes (4 complete collections which is the format I own the series in) you can understand the story. But maybe do a little bit of research of the original run on Wikipedia. Basically if you are interesting in a lighthearted teenage adventure checkout the whole Runaways Saga!

#6 is going to be Power Pack Classic Omnibus by Louise Simonson

You’re probably like what the heck is this. Who are these people? Well this is NOT a new series, Louise Simonson and June Brigman started this up in the early 80’s and they had a few limited run series in the early 2000’s (which I have read and enjoy quite a bit) and this giant (7 pounds to be exact) book contains I think about 40 issues (disregard what I said about She-Hulk having the most issues) at its core it is a book about family. And alien wars. Both are basically as important. This book has feels, it has crossovers (Spider-man, Cloak and Dagger, X-Men, New Mutants, FF, and more) you might actually be familiar with some of the characters, if you have read Future Foundation, Avengers Academy or either series of the Runaways you might know the older two siblings Alex and Julie Power (yes that is there last name quite convenient for them). But the family is going to make a modern reappearance in the limited run Outlawed crossover written by Unbeatable Squirrel Girl author Ryan North. So if you want to scoop on this Powerful fam (pun intended) check out the original series! This still remains one of my favorite books in my collection. If you want an ICONIC series will all the familial feels check out this one!!

Next up at #7 is Spider-Gwen by Jason Latour

Here is the situation, I went to my local comic book store and picked up vol. 1 thinking that this was all I needed I didn’t need to read anything before hand. I was wrong. Turns out, there is a vol 0 which wasn’t necessary to read but it is quite helpful to read it to fully understand the plot. I also did not read Spider-verse (I probably should) I watched the fantastical movie when it came out and figured that’s all I needed. So the next day I went out and got vol 0. I also wasn’t aware that she is from a different universe entirely. Anyways, once I had the true beginning of the story I was quickly enveloped into the story. The art and color scheme was beautiful. I knew literally nothing about what I was getting into and yet I got the plot and I loved every page.

And my final pick for this list is Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen

You might be like “Didn’t you already cover this book in the round up?”

No. This is the new (as of 2013) run of the Young Avengers! The team has undergone some changes since the early 2000’s run. With a somewhat new roster, of America, Kid Loki, and Marvel Boy. Stature is also not on the team anymore which made me sad since Cassy is honestly one of the best characters in the comics and MCU. The young avengers have a pretty powerful roster and who doesn’t like teenagers fighting crime and falling in love. This a chill book with a diverse cast who you’ll fall in love with.

So this has been what I’ve been reading during this weird time, I hope you enjoyed the list and if you didn’t see any of your favorites on the list, comment them and I’ll check them out! Maybe they’ll be in the next round up!