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Forrest Helvie
Forrest C. Helvie lives in Connecticut with his wife and two sons where he is chair and professor of developmental English at Norwalk Community College. His literary interests are broad-ranging from medieval Arthurian to 19th-century American, and most importantly, pedagogy, comics studies, and super-heroes. In addition to academic publications, he writes a variety of comic short stories, including his own children’s comic series, Whiz Bang & Amelia the Adventure Bear. He regularly writes for Sequart and reviews comics for Newsarama. Forrest can also be found on Twitter (@forrest_helvie) discussing all things comics related.
BOOKS AND MOVIES BY FORREST HELVIE
 How to Analyze & Review Comics: A Handbook on Comics Criticism (editor, introduction) |  The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil (contributor) |
TOP MAGAZINE CONTENT BY FORREST HELVIE
Sharpening the Image: Introduction
Comic readers from Gen X and (older members of) Gen Y remember 1992 as a sort of zeitgeist for comics. Change was in the air in all strata of the field
OTHER MAGAZINE CONTENT BY FORREST HELVIE (42 TOTAL)
Excerpt from Sequart’s Book How to Analyze & Review Comics: Deep Dive Creator Interview: Jim Zub
The following is an excerpt from Sequart’s book How to Analyze & Review Comics. For more information, including purchase options, click HERE. Students, journalists, and critics of all backgrounds can learn a great deal by understanding… [more]
Don’t Ignore the Art: Reviewing and Commenting on Comics, Part 3
Comics Journalism with Lucas Siegel (Newsarama Site Editor) and David Pepose (Newsarama Reviews Editor) Because this article is geared in many regards to help encourage readers and reviewers to develop a more critical eye, especially… [more]
Don’t Ignore the Art: Reviewing and Commenting on Comics, Part 2
Line Work (Pencils / Brushwork) One of the first things I look at when opening up a comic is the style that’s being used. Is it more lifelike (realistic) or cartoonish (iconic)? Scott McCloud discusses… [more]
Don’t Ignore the Art: Reviewing and Commenting on Comics, Part 1
What’s the difference between a comic book and a novel? The answer seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Yet, it still confounds me to no end that someone will take the time to write a review… [more]
My So-Called Secret Identity — A Superhero Comic That Breaks the So-Called Norms
Look around the world of superheroes today, and it is clear the winds of change are blowing. Although it is true that many of the people donning spandex, capes, and cowls who take to the… [more]
The Bechdel Test and a Sexy Lamp: Detecting Gender Bias and Stereotypes in Mainstream Comics
Recently, the Swedish Film Institute began sponsoring a movement spearheaded by a number of theaters who are now making use of the “Bechdel Test” to evaluate their films in order to determine the extent of… [more]
In the Dark with Rachel Deering: An Interview About a Horror Anthology
Billed as “A monstrous collection of all-new, original terror tales from the darkest and most brilliant minds in comics,” Rachel Deering’s Kickstarter In the Dark promises to deliver a hefty tome of over 250 pages… [more]
A Furious Interview with Bryan J.L. Glass, Victor Santos, and Jim Gibbons
Billed as a “five-issue miniseries where celebrity, fame, and superheroes meet,” FURIOUS brings together Mice Templarcollaborators, Bryan J.L. Glass and Victor Santos for a creator-owned series from Dark Horse Comics. Not only does this mini-series represent… [more]
A Tale of Two Choices—Reflections on Man of Steel
Warning: If you somehow have managed to not see Man of Steel or had its controversial ending spoiled, turn away. In The Man of Steel from 2013, Superman faces a man that appears to be… [more]
Thoughts on Reviewing Comics
Every Wednesday, local comic shops and online retailers provide readers with a bevy of new comic book titles and issues. Some superhero series take flight while others crash without rhyme or reason. Some of us… [more]
Is Superman Still Relevant in a Postmodern World?
Superman. The name alone conjures up images of capes flapping in the skies over thriving metropolises, walls exploding as a rock-hard fist punches through them, and criminals quaking in fear before a hulking mountain of… [more]
Superman’s Rejection of American Exceptionalism
In February of 1940, Superman ended World War II and prevented the future Cold War altogether through flying around the world by capturing both Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin and delivering them to international authorities… [more]
When the Present Makes Contact with the Past: Comic Adaptations and Translations of Medieval and Early Modern Sources
In past papers at the Plymouth State University Medieval & Renaissance Forum, I have advocated for the use of comics in the classroom in spite of the fact that this is a relatively modern and… [more]
Of Cats and Lizards: An Interview with Jason Brubaker—Creator of reMIND
Comixology has defined part of its business model by giving away first issues of on-going series and samples of other comics as a means of catching reader’s attention and hooking their interest for the long-term.… [more]
What Makes for a Great Joker Story: In Defense of Batman #17
Recently, I wrote a review on Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman #17—the much-anticipated finale for the “Death of the Family” story arc, and I gave it a solid “10.” (I’ll spare the details as… [more]
Interview with Andrew Goletz from Gray Havens Comics – You Are Not Alone Anthology
Gray Haven Comics is an independent comic publisher making a name for itself with its on-going anthology, The Gathering. Recently, publisher Andrew Goletz began mobilizing fellow comics creators—both pros and up-and-coming writers and artists—to contribute… [more]
Jim Valentino’s Shadowhawk: Year One
At the time of Image Comics’ inception, Jim Valentino openly admitted to being the least known founder. Valentino stated in the first edition of the trade paperback of Shadowhawk vol. 1 that “I was pretty… [more]
A Review of Darkness Outside of the Night
I am fortunate to have enjoyed the opportunity to write for Sequart over the past year and a half. From one-shot reviews, articles and editorials, to beginning to write selections for my serialized critical book,… [more]
A Review of Star Wars #1, “In the Shadow of Yavin”
Script: Brian Wood. Art: Carlos D’Anda. Colors: Gabe Eltaeb. Lettering: Michael Heisler. Cover Art: Alex Ross. Brian Wood is a creator who, over the past few years, has built an impressive resume working in the realm of both creator-owned… [more]
Sharpening the Image: Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, the Man and the Comic that Started It All (Part 4)
Part Four: Final Thoughts
Sharpening the Image: Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, the Man and the Comic that Started It All (Part 3)
Part Three: When Pictures Aren’t Worth a Thousand Words
Sharpening the Image: Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, the Man and the Comic that Started It All (Part 2)
While one certainly should not judge a book by its cover, applying this adage to the cover of a comic book can be problematic.
Sharpening the Image: Rob Liefield’s Youngblood, the Man and the Comic that Started it All
By many accounts, it was Rob Liefield who initiated talks about forming Image Comics and encouraged other rock star artists of the late 1980s and early 1990s into breaking away from the mainstream to form… [more]
A Peek Behind the Curtain: Into North Korea with Guy Delisle in Pyongyang
Guy Delisle’s travelogue, Pyongyang, takes readers on a journey to a country that has been closed off to the West for years, and instead of dispelling fears of a fascist nation oppressing its people in… [more]
Comics as Catharsis: Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home
Comic literature is truly an exciting field, as it expands its canon to include more than the super-hero genre that got things started in the 1930s and ’40s.
Mazzuchelli’s Asterios Polyp and the Fine Line
Have you read David Mazzuchelli’s Asterios Polyp? If not, you should. This graphic novel exemplifies the type of comic that makes excellent use of its visual components and economic use of language
My Introduction to Manga, Part 2: A Mechanical Emerson for the Future in Urasawa’s Pluto
In 1942, Isaac Asimov introduced the world to the three laws of robotics and, in doing so, set the stage that later science fiction writers interested in writing about robots would have to cross.
My Introduction to Manga, Part 1: Suppli Takes on Batman and Loses. By a Landslide.
Like many Western comic fans of a certain age (which will go unmentioned), I have had little exposure to manga and anime.
Kafka and The Bunny Suicides
During the last week of December, savvy shoppers are aware of the 50% discount on new calendars for the upcoming year.
Black Hole… Where Everyone is Welcome!
Charles Burns’s Black Hole starts off like so many other bildungsroman stories before it: girl and boy meet, girl and boy fall in love, girl and boy experience sex together for the first time, girl discovers… [more]
The Anxiety of Influence and Failed Sequels: Frank Miller and The Dark Knight Strikes Again
“I mean the criticism teaches not a language of criticism […] but a language in which poetry already is written, the language of influence, of the dialectic…” (Bloom 25).
The Difficulties of Being “Just” Good and Bad in Comics of the New Millennium
In 1974, Frank Castle—also known as The Punisher—made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #129, and the comics world was introduced to what would become one of the most popular anti-heroes—though he certainly was not the… [more]
Jimmy Corrigan and the Smartest Deconstruction of the Superhero in the World
When dealing with 20th-century novels, James Joyce’s Ulysses is arguably the most significant work in terms of its influence on writers who would follow in the modern and postmodern traditions.
The Adventures of Tintin in Critical Controversy
It is commonly held that the United States helped create the comics art and literary genre; however, what is often overlooked is the significant comics community thriving in Europe during these early years, particularly in… [more]
Life on Another Planet: Because the Options Here Don’t Look Great
The notion of discovering intelligent life on another planet and discovering new worlds in space might initially seem to be an exciting field of exploration rife with optimism.
Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman: Science Fiction or Science Fiction Appropriated?
Like traditional literature, graphic novels and comics approach the science fiction genre in a variety of different ways, and this should come as no surprise given the various approaches to sequential art in the United… [more]
Habibi: Open Dialogues with Difficult Literature
My first impression upon picking up my copy of Craig Thompson’s latest work, Habibi, was one of both excitement and trepidation.
Rethinking “Modern Era Comic Books Aren’t Bad… They’re Just Not Worth the Money”
In the Spring 2010 newsletter of the Comic Book Collector’s Association, I wrote an article called “Modern Era Comic Books Aren’t Bad…They’re Just Not Worth the Money.[1]”
Comics Journalism: Learning about Current Events through Funny Books
It’s an exciting time to work in the field of comics today, even for those us—the comics critics and scholars—who possess far less artistic ability to create captivating images or weave spellbinding tales.
Why I Believe in Comics
On NPR, there is a program called This I Believe… where respondents briefly explain their particular belief about a certain topic in around 500 or so words.
Fresh Off the Boat: Stories of the Americanization Process in Anya’s Ghost and American Born Chinese (Part Two)
While Anya’s Ghost subtly weaves the theme of the “FOB” and the struggle with Americanization into its story of coming of age and the supernatural, Gene Luen Yang’s award-winning American Born Chinese takes direct aim… [more]
Fresh Off the Boat: The Americanization Process in Anya’s Ghost and American Born Chinese (Part One)
One concept that often shows up in multiethnic literature is the “FOB”— Fresh Off the Boat—immigrant.
