View Full Version : Worst Comic/Run/Arc/One-Shot etc that you've ever read.
bonemachine
12-14-2008, 09:34 PM
Listening to some of the recent podcasts, The Flash currently sounds abysmal. I don't read it but it sounds horrible. So what's the worst comics/runs/arcs/one-shots etc that you've ever read?
Generally I only buy stuff I know I'm going to enjoy but I do remember a 3 part Ghost Rider arc by Daniel Way about Jack 'o' Lantern which was just awful.
paper
12-14-2008, 09:39 PM
That Tad Williams Aquaman was particularly awful.
labor_days
12-14-2008, 10:31 PM
Ultimate Spider-Man.
humphrey-lee
12-14-2008, 11:00 PM
Pretty much anything by Daniel Way, sans his Bullseye mini which I didn't mind, and Chuck Austen's Uncanny run of course. Fucking awful comics...
jmstump
12-15-2008, 01:17 AM
All-Star Superman
Countdown
Ultimate X-Men
The Second Gotham by Gaslight (not Mignolia)
I could go on for a while...
cadgers
12-15-2008, 01:23 AM
All-Star Superman
inconceivable.
jmstump
12-15-2008, 01:55 AM
inconceivable.
It's simple really I dislike Quitely's art and Morrison's writing. It's not inconceivable that someone may think the book was terrible due to taste.
six-gun
12-15-2008, 02:34 AM
Runaways
mastap
12-15-2008, 02:38 AM
Judd Winick's Green Arrow
racemccloud
12-15-2008, 03:48 AM
Already saw Judd Winick's Green Arrow and USM on the list (hi, Labor!)... which are two of my all-time favorite comic runs.
Sooooo....
I'd say Morrison's "Batman R.I.P"; actually, I'd like to sum up his run on the book as "Batman W.T.F."
Actually, always find it hard to answer the "What sucked?" question because I tend to ignore/forget/drop the stuff I don't like.
Although... the Sal Buscema/J.M. DeMatteis run on "Spectacular Spider-Man" in the mid-90's was morbidly depressing for a Spider-Man book. I'm not saying it was bad, persay... but it wasn't what I want from Spider-Man. Every issue made me want to pretty much kill myself.
Oh, and when they gave Venom a mullet and decided he was a good guy, thereby ruining the character forever.
jmstump
12-15-2008, 03:54 AM
Although... the Sal Buscema/J.M. DeMatteis run on "Spectacular Spider-Man" in the mid-90's was morbidly depressing for a Spider-Man book. I'm not saying it was bad, persay... but it wasn't what I want from Spider-Man. Every issue made me want to pretty much kill myself.
I try not to think of the dark times...
racemccloud
12-15-2008, 04:16 AM
I try not to think of the dark times...
You feel my pain, then.
jmstump
12-15-2008, 04:20 AM
You feel my pain, then.
It would have been easy to throw down:
"The 90s"
Can we choose a period of comics?
hank41
12-15-2008, 04:24 AM
Civil War: War Crimes
racemccloud
12-15-2008, 04:50 AM
It would have been easy to throw down:
"The 90s"
A very fair point, sadly. I think I'll start a thread about that!
humphrey-lee
12-15-2008, 05:19 AM
It would have been easy to throw down:
"The 90s"
Can we choose a period of comics?
Sandman, Preacher, Starman, Shade The Changing Man, Morrison's JLA, Invisibles, Doom Patrol, Ennis Hellblazer run, Hellboy, Astro City, From Hell, Waid's Flash run, Hitman, Mage... I know we run shit on the decade because of all the exploitation and speculation, but it really wasn't all that bad. Just like any period it had it's good stuff and its bad stuff. At least the bad stuff served a purpose of showing just how bleak things can get if we let them again. Better than it reveling in its own mediocrity, which I hate to say, but I think things are starting to lean towards right now...
Anything "The Spirit" post Darwyn Cooke. I'm going to go out on a limb and add the movie to that list as well, despite the fact that it doesn't come out for a few more weeks.
thenextchampion
12-15-2008, 05:38 AM
Countdown
Hands down, the worst comic(s) I have read.
Bad writing, bad scripting (how many times do you think editoral and writers changed the story?), medicore art....Just bad. Trust me to any noob who reads this post, dont pick up any back issues or trades of Countdown.
I read a study where you can get a brain tumor if you read one issue of it. :)
cormano
12-15-2008, 07:32 AM
The early issues of the original Buffy ongoing series (as collected in the omnibi). Also… random 90's X-Men comics. I'm dreading when I get to Spider-Man in the 90's, after Michelinie leaves (I'm trying to read every major Spider-Man comic… a foolish undertaking, but I'm up to the early 80's, so I have some good times ahead, followed by some awful ones, I'm sure).
johnvferrigno
12-15-2008, 08:28 AM
Two pages and NOBODY mentioned HULK by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness? This is the worst comic I have ever read. This comic is SO terrible, that I can't wait to read it every month (cough) just to see if it's still as terrible as I remember. This comic is so bad that it passed good and went right back to bad again.
That Tad Williams Aquaman was particularly awful.
You speak the truth. The first and last Aquaman comic I've ever read.
Sooooo....
I'd say Morrison's "Batman R.I.P"; actually, I'd like to sum up his run on the book as "Batman W.T.F."
While I don't agree, this is hilarious.
jmstump
12-15-2008, 06:18 PM
Sandman, Preacher, Starman, Shade The Changing Man, Morrison's JLA, Invisibles, Doom Patrol, Ennis Hellblazer run, Hellboy, Astro City, From Hell, Waid's Flash run, Hitman, Mage... I know we run shit on the decade because of all the exploitation and speculation, but it really wasn't all that bad. Just like any period it had it's good stuff and its bad stuff. At least the bad stuff served a purpose of showing just how bleak things can get if we let them again. Better than it reveling in its own mediocrity, which I hate to say, but I think things are starting to lean towards right now...
I do agree that there was good stuff from the 90s, but I think there was more bad then good. Most of it was mainstream stuff and image as well. Some of the early Spawn wasn't bad, but Spiderman during the 90s was a travesty in general. As RaceMcCloud said we could probably start an entire discussion on just the bad stuff from the 90s.
matthaber1
12-15-2008, 08:20 PM
this is a easy question.
Superman/batman: torment. That arc was just so bad. Worst comic I've ever read.
optimus187prime
12-15-2008, 09:06 PM
I am really thinking about checking Red Hulk out for it being so bad its good. I am definitely a fan of switching your brain off good times. Loeb gave us Commando and I will be forever grateful.
sullivan85
12-16-2008, 06:53 PM
Claremounts "X-TREME X-MEN"!!!!! Actually, anything Claremount wrote after he returned to the Marvel fold. Did he hit his head on the pavement during that absense?
It was like getting all excited about meeting up with an ex after a few years only to discover they gained 50 pounds....
It was like getting all excited about meeting up with an ex after a few years only to discover they gained 50 pounds....
THat actually happened to me! Only it was more than 50...yeesh.
euchre0
12-17-2008, 02:34 AM
Ultimate Spider-Man.
Credibility = vanished.
This makes my heart hurt.
Now, Howard Mackie's Spider-Man? Now you're talking.
racemccloud
12-17-2008, 04:30 AM
While I don't agree, this is hilarious.
Thank you, sir, I'll be here all week.
winthewonderboy
12-17-2008, 07:48 AM
Larry Hama's run on Batman. but the good thing was right after he left, Brubaker started writing it and then BKV and then Brubaker again!!!
I wish DC would reprint Bru's and Rucka's Batman work.
crippler
12-17-2008, 11:36 AM
Two pages and NOBODY mentioned HULK by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness? This is the worst comic I have ever read. This comic is SO terrible, that I can't wait to read it every month (cough) just to see if it's still as terrible as I remember. This comic is so bad that it passed good and went right back to bad again.
I think it's so bad it's good. The art and colouring are really to my liking, so I read the story, laugh at Loeb's atrocious story and enjoy it anyway. It IS that bad and also that good. Oh, it also got Kahuna Blair to draw a picture of Rulk punching Galactus in the nutz, which, to me, is still one of the highlights of the year.
kenm223
12-19-2008, 01:18 AM
Austen's run on x-men was shockingly bad. The worse series of comics I've read in 18 years of collecting. Those editors should have been fired.
Joe Casey's run wasn't much better. Which is doubly weird because he's typically pretty good.
Maybe we should start a thread with awful runs by normally good writers.
kndoubleu
12-19-2008, 09:30 PM
One More Day/The Other
optimus187prime
12-19-2008, 09:43 PM
One More Day/The Other
Oh man I hated the other. Glad I just borrowed it.
X-Force, at least the first arc.
Crain's art was INCREDIBLY bad
optimus187prime
12-19-2008, 09:57 PM
X-Force, at least the first arc.
Crain's art was INCREDIBLY bad
Read that too it was bad, not so much the art IMO but yeah bad.
It was pretty much the worst art I can remember ever seeing in a comic published by Marvel or DC.
It was pretty much the worst art I can remember ever seeing in a comic published by Marvel or DC.
You've seen Cable right?
crippler
12-19-2008, 10:04 PM
I'm going to go with.. Ultimate Adventures. Remember THAT? Ultimate Universe was still the new hotness, so I was buying everything with Ultimate on the cover. This was the first clue that it might not have been a great strategy.
You've seen Cable right?
Also bad, but not anywhere even NEAR as bad as that first arc in X-Force.
cyberauron
12-20-2008, 04:21 AM
Also bad, but not anywhere even NEAR as bad as that first arc in X-Force.
Thank you. I totally agree, unlike x force, i did not have a desire to use my cable tpb as tp
jaflanagan
12-20-2008, 06:03 AM
Larry Hama's run on Batman.
Horrid, horrid arc by Hama. Good call.
Marvel Knights Punisher #8 (http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/012802/punisher8.shtml). Ron Zimmerman.
Also Ron Zimmerman's Rawhide Kid.
Finally, Hawkeye #1 Earth's Mightiest Marksman, by Tom Defalco.
I actually complain about bad comics from time to time, but at best, they're usually just uninspired. However, these comics I remember as being the abominations they were.
racemccloud
12-20-2008, 06:36 AM
I'm going to go with.. Ultimate Adventures. Remember THAT? Ultimate Universe was still the new hotness, so I was buying everything with Ultimate on the cover. This was the first clue that it might not have been a great strategy.
Oh, yeah. That was pure garbage.
What about "Marville"?
thenextchampion
12-23-2008, 06:09 AM
Oh, yeah. That was pure garbage.
What about "Marville"?
What is Ultimate Adventure? My LCS owner has that faced out near the register and he cant even remember what it's about.
johnvferrigno
12-23-2008, 08:18 AM
X-Force, at least the first arc.
Crain's art was INCREDIBLY bad
I refuse to read X-Force because of the inclusion of Wolfsbane on the team. Talk about out of character! A character who for the last 20 years has been portrayed as a God fearing goody goody is on a team that runs around killing people? Give me a break! Remember in Peter David's first X-Factor run when Wolfsbane went nuts and killed that Arab guy who was beating his sister? She agonized over that and feared she was going to burn in hell forever. now she's Cyclops' hit man? I'll pass. And I'll be pissed she is no longer on X-Factor.
kahunablair
12-23-2008, 08:01 PM
I refuse to read X-Force because of the inclusion of Wolfsbane on the team. Talk about out of character! A character who for the last 20 years has been portrayed as a God fearing goody goody is on a team that runs around killing people? Give me a break! Remember in Peter David's first X-Factor run when Wolfsbane went nuts and killed that Arab guy who was beating his sister? She agonized over that and feared she was going to burn in hell forever. now she's Cyclops' hit man? I'll pass. And I'll be pissed she is no longer on X-Factor.
The series is not good by any stretch of the imagination, but at least you'll be happy to hear that Wolfsbane isn't acting out of character. She didn't kill anyone. She almost kills Angel, and has been crying about it since.
joexmas
12-23-2008, 11:12 PM
What is Ultimate Adventure? My LCS owner has that faced out near the register and he cant even remember what it's about.
Isn't that the Ultimate Universe Batman and Robin ripoff that was out like 5 years ago? I remember the covers sucked. The Batman ripoff had a bird name if I remember right. Didn't know why it was an ultimate book.
crippler
12-24-2008, 01:37 AM
Hawk-Owl and Woody.
The book did not belong in the Ultimate Marvel universe at all. The fact that there was an Ultimates crossover in the last book was REALLY weird.
johnvferrigno
12-24-2008, 08:23 AM
The series is not good by any stretch of the imagination, but at least you'll be happy to hear that Wolfsbane isn't acting out of character. She didn't kill anyone. She almost kills Angel, and has been crying about it since.
That's good to know at least. I still won't read the book, but I'll hate it slightly less now. (And I'm usually the "You can't judge something until you read it!!!" guy, but I'll break my own rule for this title.)
diabhol
12-24-2008, 01:11 PM
That's good to know at least. I still won't read the book, but I'll hate it slightly less now. (And I'm usually the "You can't judge something until you read it!!!" guy, but I'll break my own rule for this title.)
Considering how terrible X-Factor has been since Messiah Complex, I think it's fair to say Wolfsbane got rescued from a sinking ship.
johnvferrigno
12-26-2008, 08:17 AM
Considering how terrible X-Factor has been since Messiah Complex, I think it's fair to say Wolfsbane got rescued from a sinking ship.
LOL! Yeah, since all the crossover stuff started, it hasn't been as good, but I have faith that Peter David will right the ship. He's never let me down in the past.
racemccloud
12-27-2008, 10:29 PM
LOL! Yeah, since all the crossover stuff started, it hasn't been as good, but I have faith that Peter David will right the ship. He's never let me down in the past.
I'm still enjoying "X-Factor", I truly am. I love Peter David writing these characters, and I love the additions of Darwin and Longshot to the book. I don't know what it is, but I really love Darwin.
optimus187prime
12-28-2008, 02:56 PM
I'm still enjoying "X-Factor", I truly am. I love Peter David writing these characters, and I love the additions of Darwin and Longshot to the book. I don't know what it is, but I really love Darwin.
I like Darwin as well but I just cant get into that book past the first two trades.
deadspace
12-28-2008, 04:33 PM
It's between...
Astounding Wolf-man
... no that'll do. just that.
akamuu
01-02-2009, 07:12 PM
Peter Milligan's X-Men run. A lot of people complain about Austen's run. And I'm not saying it was good, I'm just saying it was better then Bizarre Love Triangle, and the painfully awful Blood Of Apocalypse. Stories so bad, they had to get Brubaker to launch the characters into space to get their stink off the planet. (And I'm in now way saying there space adventures were any good, either, but at least they're out of the main titles.)
Jeph Loeb's run on The Hulk is pretty close. I think he lucks out, in that I don't really care much for the Hulk anyway, whereas I grew up on X-Men.
optimus187prime
01-02-2009, 07:39 PM
I <3 the wolf-man!
I just read the first issue since it is free on images web page, and it seems pretty good. Doubt I will pick it up since I have so many other books ahead of it in my queue, but maybe sometime.
turk-barrett
01-03-2009, 09:59 PM
The first Captain America - Theater of War issue stunk, mainly due to Cap's dialog being grossly out of established character.
humanenigma
01-04-2009, 02:57 AM
I'll have to repeat what some others have said and go with Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men run. Just awful.
zombox
01-04-2009, 05:14 PM
There are a few in the running. Any given day you asked me this question I might say:
Waid's newest run on the Flash (aka Flash and Kids).
Geoff Johns' Green Lantern Rebirth series, and everything for at least half a year after until I dropped it.
Sam Keith's Maxx. Really, anything by Sam Keith.
zombox
01-04-2009, 05:15 PM
It's between...
Astounding Wolf-man
... no that'll do. just that.
Like Gobo, I really like this book.
jaflanagan
01-04-2009, 05:38 PM
Astounding Wolf-Man isn't a bad book, but since it's not a GREAT book, people tend to be harder on it than they need to be. I stopped reading the issues around 3 or so. I have the first trade here, and I'm going to give it a shot all the way through.
Yeah it's absolutely not great, but it's fun and I'm enjoying the world and lore they're starting to build.
zombox
01-05-2009, 01:36 AM
Astounding Wolf-Man isn't a bad book, but since it's not a GREAT book, people tend to be harder on it than they need to be. I stopped reading the issues around 3 or so. I have the first trade here, and I'm going to give it a shot all the way through.
Wholly agreed with Gobo and Josh. This is not the Next Revolution. Its a lot like Brit. Its a fun compendium book to the Invincible universe. And, most of us agree, Invincible is a great book.
thenextchampion
01-05-2009, 01:39 AM
I tried reading the first trade for Astounding Wolfman and I couldnt get into it.
Far be it for me to say I dont like 'wordy' comics, I could read From Hell in one sitting if you let me too....But there was just too much diaologue and exposition for me. I'm sure when the ball gets rolling the comic is action packed after the first trade.....But since it isnt anything fun in the first trade, I doubt I will go for the next one.
Again it isnt a terrible book, but I dont think it's one of Kirkman's best titles ever.
gabeja
01-06-2009, 05:05 AM
One of the worst things I have ever read was Loebs Ultimtes.
racemccloud
01-07-2009, 06:52 AM
One of the worst things I have ever read was Loebs Ultimtes.
I could almost see THE worst thing I've ever read is Loeb's "Ultimates"... but, I've read Loeb's "Hulk", so...
gabeja
01-07-2009, 07:07 AM
I am a loeb fan, however I just think he works better with DC characters. I was so sad when I found out Millar was leaving ultimates, then so excited to hear loeb was doing it...then it all went down hill. I didn't read Hulk, but I did pick up ultimatum. It wasn't abismal. I think its pretty much alright.
mikegraham6
01-07-2009, 04:44 PM
One of the worst things I have ever read was Loebs Ultimtes.
YES! it was a MILLION times worse then Hulk! it made no sense. plus, it's only made worse considering it was supposed to be the follow up to the excellent Millar/Hitch Ultimates
racemccloud
01-07-2009, 08:29 PM
YES! it was a MILLION times worse then Hulk! it made no sense. plus, it's only made worse considering it was supposed to be the follow up to the excellent Millar/Hitch Ultimates
It's a toss-up. "Ultimates 3" and "Rulk" both made me want to cry.
johnvferrigno
01-07-2009, 10:01 PM
I never read any f the Ultimate stuff, with the exception of the first 25 issues or so of Ultimate Spider-Man and the first few X-Men trades. I just spend too much on Marvel 616 already to invest in a whole nother universe. But if what you all are saying is true, i'm glad I've stayed away.
racemccloud
01-07-2009, 10:10 PM
I never read any f the Ultimate stuff, with the exception of the first 25 issues or so of Ultimate Spider-Man and the first few X-Men trades. I just spend too much on Marvel 616 already to invest in a whole nother universe. But if what you all are saying is true, i'm glad I've stayed away.
Oh, no. "Ultimates 1 & 2" are among the best books I've ever read, and "Ultimate Spider-Man" is my "on a desert island only allowed one comic" book. The rest of the Ultimate U can go to pot for all I care (the rest is just inconsistent, not worth the effort, or just plan bad), but "Ultimate 1&2" and "USM" are, I think, must-reads.
gabeja
01-08-2009, 04:57 AM
If you like the Authority, then the Ultimates is for you, they're pretty much the same book...
johnvferrigno
01-08-2009, 08:21 AM
Oh, no. "Ultimates 1 & 2" are among the best books I've ever read, and "Ultimate Spider-Man" is my "on a desert island only allowed one comic" book. The rest of the Ultimate U can go to pot for all I care (the rest is just inconsistent, not worth the effort, or just plan bad), but "Ultimate 1&2" and "USM" are, I think, must-reads.
No, I was misunderstood. I know that Utimates is supposed to be excellent (except for loeb's current series.) I was saying that I have very little exposure to the Ultimates Universe, and therefore didn't read the current issues, so i have no idea if it's as horrible as everybody is saying. I was saying that everything except for Rulk I've read by Loeb that i enjoyed, and just wanted to throw out the note that I haven't read Ultimates, so I can't judge it.