Sequart Research & Literacy Organization

Doctor Who as Warden in the 50th Anniversary “Prisoners of Time” Series

Hannah Means-Shannon — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:52 +0000

IDW’s comic series “Prisoners of Time”, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Doctor, is a twelve-parter devised with an overarching plot to hold the tales of each respective regeneration of the Doctor in tandem. Meanwhile,… [more]

On Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey Adaptation (Part 2)

Julian Darius — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:00:30 +0000

2001: A Space Odyssey Adaptation (Part 2)" title="On Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey Adaptation (Part 2)" style="float:left;" />Continuing an examination of Jack Kirby’s adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey begun here. Kirby’s more successful at other points in this chapter, and he seems to thrive on the conflict in this section of… [more]

A Galaxy Far, Far Away Gets a Little Closer: On Brian Wood’s Star Wars

Logan Ludwig — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:35 +0000

Star Wars" title="A Galaxy Far, Far Away Gets a Little Closer: On Brian Wood’s Star Wars" style="float:left;" />Brian Wood isn’t the obvious choice for writer of an ongoing Star Wars comic. Wood’s a great writer, and his comics have successfully played in quite a few diverse worlds, but he’s also a very… [more]

Tag and Bink are Relevant: Comics and the Theater of the Absurd

Stuart Warren — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:34 +0000

Star Wars is not without its faults. Though being a noteworthy entry into the expanding universe of modern science fiction, continuity problems continue to manifest themselves today, as hosts of underground creatures, confined to their… [more]

On Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey Adaptation

Julian Darius — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:00:08 +0000

2001: A Space Odyssey Adaptation" title="On Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey Adaptation" style="float:left;" />Introduced yesterday. Before Jack Kirby continued the story of 2001, he adapted the film into a 70-page comic. Although the comic adapts the film — it uses Jupiter, for example, whereas the novel used Saturn… [more]

Wrestling Robots and Philosophical Musings: Examining Pluto

Harry Edmundson-Cornell — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:00:30 +0000

Pluto" title="Wrestling Robots and Philosophical Musings: Examining Pluto" style="float:left;" />Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto is a damn good comic. If there’s only one thing you get from this article, it should be a burning desire to purchase and read Pluto. Naoki Urasawa is one of the… [more]

“A Sharp Fox, the Ultimate Huckster” – Shameless? Part 12

Colin Smith — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:05 +0000

Continued from last week. “Half the country, and by that I mean living north of the M25, were victims of Thatcher’s modernisation program. My Dad lost his job when I was 15 and never worked… [more]

On Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

Julian Darius — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:00:03 +0000

2001: A Space Odyssey" title="On Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey" style="float:left;" />Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is surely one of the strangest sci-fi franchise comics ever published. For one thing, the comic appeared in 1976, eight years after the 1968 film debuted. Most other sci-fi… [more]

The NASA Symbol and Warren Ellis & Colleen Doran’s Orbiter

Cody Walker — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:00:12 +0000

Orbiter" title="The NASA Symbol and Warren Ellis & Colleen Doran’s Orbiter" style="float:left;" />Warren Ellis isn’t a prophet. Sure, 10 years ago, Ellis and Colleen Doran’s Orbiter was released and it begins with the horrific image of a shanty town built around the ruins of the Kennedy Space… [more]

Star Trek into Darkness Hostile to Star Trek, Intelligence

Julian Darius — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:24 +0000

Star Trek into Darkness Hostile to Star Trek, Intelligence" title="Star Trek into Darkness Hostile to Star Trek, Intelligence" style="float:left;" />Before we continue, I need to issue the obligatory spoiler warning. In order to really get at what’s going on in this film, I’ll have to talk about its plot. So if you haven’t seen… [more]

John Harrison is the New Joker

Mike Greear — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:15:42 +0000

I just got back from watching the brand new installment of J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek film franchise, Star Trek into Darkness. Without going into a full-scale review, I would say that this… [more]

On the Star Trek Peter Pan Records of 1979

Julian Darius — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:00:04 +0000

In the last two days, we’ve discussed the seven original Star Trek stories produced by Peter Pan Records in 1975-1976 (parts one and two). Today, we look at the company’s 1979 Star Trek offerings. The… [more]

On the Star Trek Peter Pan Records of 1975-1976 (Batch Two)

Julian Darius — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:00:25 +0000

Yesterday, we discussed the Star Trek stories produced by Peter Pan Records, including the first three stories. Today, we continue that discussion. “The Time Stealer” “The Time Stealer,” the first track on the second 12″… [more]

On the Star Trek Peter Pan Records of 1975-1976

Julian Darius — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:16 +0000

People who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s will likely remember Peter Pan Records (and its imprint Power Records), which published original audio stories featuring licensed properties during this time. Peter Pan Records actually… [more]

On Star Trek: Countdown and Necessary Movie Tie-Ins

Cody Walker — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:00:53 +0000

Star Trek: Countdown and Necessary Movie Tie-Ins" title="On Star Trek: Countdown and Necessary Movie Tie-Ins" style="float:left;" />I’m not really one for movie tie-in comics because the whole idea just seems so superfluous to me. Artists on these comics are in an awkward position where they are either criticized for not making… [more]

The British Star Trek

Julian Darius — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:00:40 +0000

While U.S. publisher Gold Key was busy printing Star Trek comic books, Britain had its own Star Trek comics. Comic strips, to be more accurate. American comics traditionally are monthlies, starring a single character or… [more]

On Gold Key’s Guardian of Forever (in Star Trek Vol. 1 #56)

Julian Darius — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:00:23 +0000

Star Trek Vol. 1 #56)" title="On Gold Key’s Guardian of Forever (in Star Trek Vol. 1 #56)" style="float:left;" />On Monday, we talked about Gold Key’s Star Trek #1 from 1967, which had the ship exploring the dead Galaxy Alpha, then systematically eradicating the one planet it found with life one it. Oh yeah,… [more]

“Now Everyone Hates Yuppies”: Shameless? Part 11

Colin Smith — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:18 +0000

Continued from last week. There’s a sense in which The Saviour helps establish the limits of deconstruction. For Millar stripped away so many of the genre’s traditions that it ceased to be much of a… [more]

On the Very First Star Trek #1

Julian Darius — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:49 +0000

Star Trek #1" title="On the Very First Star Trek #1" style="float:left;" />Star Trek has a long history in comics. In fact, the very first Star Trek comic book began in 1967, at the end of the original series’s very first season. This first series was published… [more]

It’s Star Trek Week and Sci-Fi Week at Sequart!

Julian Darius — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:00:16 +0000

With Star Trek into Darkness debuting later this week, Sequart is proud to feature two back-to-back weeks of themed content: Star Trek Week and Sci-Fi Week. Beginning tomorrow (Monday, 13 May), we’ll begin a week… [more]

Bridging the Gap Between Comics and Video Games

Mike Greear — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:00:58 +0000

I don’t remember the last time I bought a video game. Full disclosure. I am not the biggest video game fan on the face of the Earth. My comic book nerdiness does not extend into… [more]

Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, The Magician’s Choice in The Books of Magic

Hannah Means-Shannon — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:00:48 +0000

The Books of Magic" title="Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, The Magician’s Choice in The Books of Magic" style="float:left;" />The Books of Magic was published from 1990-1991, at a time when Sandman was underway and gathering steam but the Vertigo universe was still forming, and demarcations between Vertigo and the DC Universe had not… [more]

God is Dead, Long Live God: On Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s Thor

Nemanja Protic — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:00:58 +0000

Thor" title="God is Dead, Long Live God: On Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s Thor" style="float:left;" />“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? … Is not the greatness of this deed too… [more]

“Ghost Dance”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing #45

Andrew Edwards — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:00:17 +0000

Swamp Thing #45" title="“Ghost Dance”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing #45" style="float:left;" />Swamp Thing #45 “Ghost Dance” Cover date: February 1986. Writer: Alan Moore. Artists: Stan Woch and Alfredo Alcala. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Karen Berger. This haunted house story takes its inspiration from… [more]

A Superhero for the Reader’s Sake: Shameless? Part 10

Colin Smith — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:00:10 +0000

Continued from last week. But even the most experienced and gifted of writers would struggle to make a success of The Saviour. It was far too ambitious and complex a project. In mixing so many genres,… [more]

Why Iron Man 3 is the Best Iron Man Film to Date

Julian Darius — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:00:23 +0000

Iron Man 3 is the Best Iron Man Film to Date" title="Why Iron Man 3 is the Best Iron Man Film to Date" style="float:left;" />Iron Man 3 might not be an Avengers-like, nonstop action fest. But it’s the best of the three Iron Man films. In fact, it’s the only one that really understands the character. Before I explain, however,… [more]

Iron Man 3 — Second Biggest Opening in History

Julian Darius — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:43:20 +0000

Iron Man 3 — Second Biggest Opening in History" title="Iron Man 3 — Second Biggest Opening in History" style="float:left;" />It’s official: Iron Man 3‘s opening weekend in the United States is the second biggest in history, after only The Avengers. Iron Man 3 took in an estimated $175.3 million in its opening weekend, which… [more]

Two Sequart Books in Previews

Julian Darius — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:00:28 +0000

Previews" title="Two Sequart Books in Previews" style="float:left;" />The Devil is in the Details and Curing the Postmodern Blues are now available to order through your local comic-book shop. Both books are in the current, May 2013 Previews catalog, for distribution to comic-book… [more]

Is a Supervillain Always Evil?

Mike Greear — Sun, 05 May 2013 11:00:51 +0000

At the time of writing this piece, I have not yet seen Iron Man 3. It’s Wednesday right now, and I just bought my ticket for a 7 p.m. screening of the film on Saturday.… [more]

Today is Free Comic Book Day!

Julian Darius — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:00:40 +0000

Today is the 12th annual Free Comic Book Day, in which comic-book fans — and prospective comic book fans — can go to their local comic-book store and receive free comic books. Free Comic Book… [more]

Two New Interviews with Julian Darius, on Sequart and the Comics Medium

Mike Phillips — Sat, 04 May 2013 05:01:57 +0000

Sequart founder Dr. Julian Darius has done two recent interviews about Sequart and the medium of comics. In an interview with JC Thomas, Julian Darius discusses the medium of comics, whether it can be considered… [more]

Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #4

Cody Walker — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:00:34 +0000

Action Comics #4" title="Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #4" style="float:left;" />While the first three issues of Grant Morrison’s Action Comics could never match up to the perfection of All-Star Superman, the series had established a slow, methodical unveiling of Superman’s mythology in a way that… [more]

Those that Lead the Blind: Gaiman on Government

Stuart Warren — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:00:30 +0000

Mirrors show us a reflection and repose in stasis. We can reflect upon it, perhaps adjust our appearance to fit our whim, but ultimately the mirror captures more than just personal imagery—it captures our essence.… [more]

1986: The British Invasion, Part 2: Grant Morrison in 1986: Superman & Captain Britain

Peter Sanderson — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:00:16 +0000

The last installment examined Grant Morrison’s early, partly comedic Batman prose story, “The Stalking,” which was published in the United Kingdom in 1986. In the 1986 British Superman Annual Grant Morrison did another text story,… [more]

The History of the World?: Shameless? Part 9

Colin Smith — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:00:33 +0000

Continued from last week. But despite its barnstorming high concept, The Saviour was, as Skidmore conceded, “hard to explain” (*1). Some of this was caused by the need to keep key plot-reversals under wraps. But… [more]

On Underworld Unleashed, Precursor to Kingdom Come

Julian Darius — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:00:47 +0000

Underworld Unleashed, Precursor to Kingdom Come" title="On Underworld Unleashed, Precursor to Kingdom Come" style="float:left;" />DC’s 1995 crossover Underworld Unleashed — scripted by Mark Waid, penciled by Howard Porter, and published as a three extra-long monthly issues (though the third issue ran late) – featured no less than Satan as its villain.… [more]

On Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2: What Tony Stark Once Suffered to Learn, Tony Stark Soon Forgot

Colin Smith — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:00:32 +0000

Iron Man 2: What Tony Stark Once Suffered to Learn, Tony Stark Soon Forgot" title="On Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2: What Tony Stark Once Suffered to Learn, Tony Stark Soon Forgot" style="float:left;" />Everyone’s at least something of a villain in Iron Man 2, except for some of our superhero’s friends and those thoroughly unaccountable Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and yet one of the very worst of the bad… [more]

Vaughn and Martin Unleash The Private Eye

Mike Greear — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:00:12 +0000

The Private Eye" title="Vaughn and Martin Unleash The Private Eye" style="float:left;" />A few weeks ago I talked a little bit about the new book that Brian K. Vaughan is working on, Saga, a planetary romance that he co-created with the brilliant Fiona Staples. Saga was one… [more]

Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, Black Orchid (Part 2), “Gangsters and Scientists”

Hannah Means-Shannon — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:00:18 +0000

Black Orchid (Part 2), “Gangsters and Scientists”" title="Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, Black Orchid (Part 2), “Gangsters and Scientists”" style="float:left;" />Continued from part 1. In the introduction to the first collected edition of Black Orchid, Neil Gaiman wrote, “I know that some people regard this writing as escapist fiction, but I think that tales of… [more]

That’s Not Funny: Alan Moore’s Tragic Joker

Stuart Warren — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:00:59 +0000

The ’80s for comics is something akin to the British Invasion. American Rock-and-Roll saw a exponential boost in popularity when British acts invaded the already well-established scene, bringing with them unique stylistic influences that would… [more]

“Bogeymen”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #44

Andrew Edwards — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Swamp Thing Issue #44" title="“Bogeymen”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #44" style="float:left;" />Swamp Thing #44 “Bogeymen” Cover date: January 1986. Writer: Alan Moore. Artists: Stephen Bissette, Ron Randall & John Totleben. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Karen Berger. The issue opens with a scene in… [more]

From Shazam to the Devil, from Brother Power the Geek to Jesus?: Shameless? Part 8

Colin Smith — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:00:38 +0000

Continued from last week. It’s impossible to say how much the young Millar wrote or how often he sent off his work to publishers in the years before he landed the Trident Comics contract. His… [more]

On Armageddon 2001 and the Annual-Based Crossover

Julian Darius — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:00:04 +0000

Armageddon 2001 and the Annual-Based Crossover" title="On Armageddon 2001 and the Annual-Based Crossover" style="float:left;" />Armageddon 2001 was the first DC universe-wide crossover to run through the company’s annuals. The central mini-series of Armageddon 2001 was only two issues long, acting as “bookends” to the tie-ins, which ran exclusively through… [more]

My Best Guess for How to Live Life as a Super-Hero

Mike Greear — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:00:51 +0000

As I write this, the authorities are still pursuing the perpetrators of the April 15 bombing of the Boston Marathon, although it looks like we might not have to wait much longer to see them… [more]

How Far is Too Far?: Excessive Violence in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

Nathan Harmon — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:00:56 +0000

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" title="How Far is Too Far?: Excessive Violence in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" style="float:left;" />For centuries, writers all over the world have seen the word censorship as a dirty word. And rightly so. No self-respecting writer wants his/her intellectual property to be covered up as though it wasn’t good… [more]

Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #3

Cody Walker — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:00:09 +0000

Action Comics #3" title="Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #3" style="float:left;" />Gene Ha takes over on art duties for the first seven pages of issue #3 in order to show what Krypton was like. The first page of issue #3 depicts Krypton as a colorful utopia… [more]

Ascending the Throne: Dream’s Return to Dominance in Sandman #25-28

Stuart Warren — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:00:12 +0000

Sandman #25-28" title="Ascending the Throne: Dream’s Return to Dominance in Sandman #25-28" style="float:left;" />Obligation to duty is an odd way of exacting revenge for a condemned archangel. Thus far in Season of Mists, Gaiman’s philosophy of duty and right work ethic encircles the conundrum of Lucifer’s Miltonian Hell,… [more]

1986: The British Invasion, Part 1 — Grant Morrison in 1986: Batman

Peter Sanderson — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:00:27 +0000

As shown in previous installments, in the mid-1980s there were notable late works by two of the leading members of the founding generation of comic book professionals, Will Eisner and Jack Kirby. This period is… [more]

What if Superman was Really the Antichrist!?!: Shameless? Part 7

Colin Smith — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:00:54 +0000

Continued from last week. The Saviour #1-6 (December 1989 to January 1991) Trident #5 (April 1990) The Saviour TPB Volume 1, Trident, 1990 (reprints all of the above except issue 6, with a Neil Gaiman… [more]

Patrick Meaney: The Sequart Interview

Julian Darius — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:00:32 +0000

Patrick Meaney is the author of Our Sentence is Up, as well as essays in several Sequart anthologies and a contributor to Sequart.org. He’s also the director of Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods and Warren… [more]

What Damian Wayne Says about Adult Comic Fans

Mike Greear — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:00:22 +0000

A few days ago, one of my friends from work was telling me about a particularly attractive girl that he knew from his other job. I know, this isn’t a terribly interesting way to start… [more]

Humbled – A Building Stories Non-Review

Tom Shapira — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:00:46 +0000

Building Stories Non-Review" title="Humbled – A Building Stories Non-Review" style="float:left;" />Let me be frank – this is not a review of Building Stories (Published by Pantheon Books, 2012) by Chris Ware (Published by Mr. and Ms. Ware, 1967). Nor is this an attempt at analysis,… [more]

Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, Black Orchid’s Passive and Impassive Universe Part 1

Hannah Means-Shannon — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:00:10 +0000

Black Orchid’s Passive and Impassive Universe Part 1" title="Neil Gaiman: The Early Years, Black Orchid’s Passive and Impassive Universe Part 1" style="float:left;" />Neil Gaiman, like Alan Moore, is someone working in comics who seems to need no introduction. Their influence and impact is so pervasive that they’ve practically become a household name. But there’s a danger to… [more]

Superior Spider-Man Memories

Mark Ginocchio — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:00:49 +0000

Superior Spider-Man Memories" title="Superior Spider-Man Memories" style="float:left;" />The premise of one of Marvel Now’s flagship titles, The Superior Spider-Man, may initially come across as a classic sci-fi plot: two characters having their minds magically “switched” to create fish-out-of-water scenarios. But within the… [more]

“Windfall”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #43

Andrew Edwards — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:00:21 +0000

Swamp Thing Issue #43" title="“Windfall”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #43" style="float:left;" />Swamp Thing #43 “Windfall” Cover date: December 1985. Writer: Alan Moore. Artists: Stan Woch & Ron Randall. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Karen Berger This issue is aptly entitled ‘Windfall’, both for its… [more]

“That Wicked Tongue Will Land You in Trouble Some Day”: Shameless? Part 6

Colin Smith — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:00:24 +0000

Continued from last week. Shameless? will inevitably reference the way in which Mark Millar has discussed his own work. As such, it’s worth noting that his distinctive public persona turns out not to have been… [more]

On Warren Ellis’s Super-Hero Work at Avatar

Julian Darius — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:00:04 +0000

We’ve previously looked at Warren Ellis’s realistic worldview, at his much-celebrated 1999-2003 period, and at his work for Marvel from 2004-2010. One of the more interesting developments of Ellis’s career, especially given his professed distaste… [more]

On Sequart’s Grant Morrison Library (Video)

Julian Darius — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:00:50 +0000

In which I discuss Sequart’s three books on Grant Morrison’s work: Timothy Callahan’s Grant Morrison: The Early Years, Patrick Meaney’s Our Sentence is Up: Seeing Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles, and Tom Shapira’s just-released Curing the… [more]

“Don’t Tell Me What to Do”: Looking at Hellboy Refusing Fate by Pushing Freewill

Nathan Harmon — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 11:00:38 +0000

Hellboy is the intellectual demon child of comic book writer Mike Mignola. It’s been published by Dark Horse Comics off and on since 1993. Hellboy’s origin is simple, during WWII in 1944 an occultist by… [more]

Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #2

Cody Walker — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:00:11 +0000

Action Comics #2" title="Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #2" style="float:left;" />In the supplemental material in the issue, Grant Morrison writes, “Superman is mankind at its best, and Lex Luthor is us at our worst . . . but they’re both us.” It’s a sentiment that… [more]

Sandman #21-24: Expanding Cosmologies and Dream’s Spiritual Subjugation

Stuart Warren — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:00:54 +0000

Sandman #21-24: Expanding Cosmologies and Dream’s Spiritual Subjugation" title="Sandman #21-24: Expanding Cosmologies and Dream’s Spiritual Subjugation" style="float:left;" />In the forward to The Absolute Sandman, Volume One Paul Levitz quipped that Sandman was an unfolding dialectic that narrowed the lines between folk tale and myth. Since the beginning of this narrative, Levitz speculated… [more]

1986: Strikeforce: Morituri, Part 2: No Way Out

Peter Sanderson — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:00:59 +0000

Strikeforce: Morituri, Part 2: No Way Out" title="1986: Strikeforce: Morituri, Part 2: No Way Out" style="float:left;" />In Strikeforce: Morituri, the Marvel Comics series created by writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson, which debuted towards the end of 1986, the Earth of the late 21st century is under attack by… [more]

The Adolescent High Conceptualist: Shameless? Part 5

Colin Smith — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:00:28 +0000

Continued from last week. It would take Millar almost a decade to develop a style that was as controlled and effective as his ideas were consistently intriguing. The first substantial evidence of this would appear… [more]

Warren Ellis at Marvel, 2004-2010

Julian Darius — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:00:16 +0000

We’ve previously looked at Warren Ellis’s overall realistic worldview and how this is reflected in the revisionism of his much-celebrated 1999-2003 period. We now turn to his work at Marvel from 2004-2010. Warren Ellis at… [more]

Maybe My Grandkids Will Get a Decent Wolverine Movie

Mike Greear — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 11:00:45 +0000

How hard can it be to get a Wolverine movie right? I mean “right” as in a movie that understands what has made the character a fan favorite for the last two or three decades… [more]

On Sequart’s New Daredevil Book (Video)

Julian Darius — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 01:00:47 +0000

In which I discuss Sequart’s most recent publication, The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil, edited by Ryan K. Lindsay, and my own essay in the volume (which is titled “What… [more]

DC Nation: The Final Days of Great Programming

Chance Thulin — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 11:00:43 +0000

If there was ever a time more confusing in relation to comic books it was the ’90s. I was born in 1988 and grew up a child of the ’90s, a product of a pop… [more]

Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #1

Cody Walker — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:00:20 +0000

Action Comics #1" title="Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #1" style="float:left;" />On page 1, panel 1, the first dialogue in the comic goes to real estate developer Glen Glenmorgan says, “and it’s a done deal! How about a drink to celebrate this turning point?” to a… [more]

First World Problems: Imperialism and Noncombatant Casualty in Saga Volume One

Stuart Warren — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:00:49 +0000

Saga Volume One" title="First World Problems: Imperialism and Noncombatant Casualty in Saga Volume One" style="float:left;" />Comics are analogues of reality, and paint in fantasy tales more compelling than the real world conflicts they are based on. Saga overwhelms the reader with a terrible level of detail, capturing conflicts ranging from… [more]

The Image Revolution: The Full Trailer for the Documentary Film

Patrick Meaney — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:40:32 +0000

The Image Revolution: The Full Trailer for the Documentary Film" title="The Image Revolution: The Full Trailer for the Documentary Film" style="float:left;" />Sequart has released a full trailer for its upcoming feature-length documentary, The Image Revolution. 20 years ago, the seven biggest superstars created their own company and changed an industry forever. From Spawn to The Walking… [more]

“Strange Fruit”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #42

Andrew Edwards — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:00:01 +0000

Swamp Thing Issue #42" title="“Strange Fruit”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #42" style="float:left;" />Swamp Thing #42 “Strange Fruit” Cover Date: November 1985. Writer: Alan Moore. Artists: Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and Ron Randall. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Karen Berger. This issue serves to conclude the… [more]

Why are People so Frightened of Change?: Shameless? Part 4

Colin Smith — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:00:35 +0000

Continued from last week. “Why are they so obsessed with continuity? A story is a story – nothing more, and yet people want to know which Earth Watchmen takes place on.” (*1) The adolescent Millar… [more]

Warren Ellis, Revisionism, and Reconstructionism

Julian Darius — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:00:34 +0000

Last time, we discussed how Warren Ellis is a realist, and we contrasted this with the views of Grant Morrison. These two modes correlate strongly with two different modes of super-hero stories. Revisionism, most frequently… [more]

On My So-Called Secret Identity

Colin Smith — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 10:00:36 +0000

My So-Called Secret Identity" title="On My So-Called Secret Identity" style="float:left;" />My So-Called Secret Identity: not just principled, smart and promising, but repeatedly downright enjoyable. Every story contains any number of manifestos. The less a comic’s creators focus on a precise expression of their own beliefs,… [more]

Of Cats and Lizards: An Interview with Jason Brubaker—Creator of reMIND

Forrest Helvie — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:00:23 +0000

reMIND" title="Of Cats and Lizards: An Interview with Jason Brubaker—Creator of reMIND" style="float:left;" />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]

Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics — Introduction

Cody Walker — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:00:15 +0000

Action Comics — Introduction" title="Humanity, Heroism, and Action: Grant Morrison’s Action Comics — Introduction" style="float:left;" />For years now, the problem that all Superman writers must face is how to show the heroism and humanity in the world’s most powerful and recognizable hero. Prior to the New 52, Geoff Johns and… [more]

Humanizing the Endless Immortals in Sandman: Dream Country

Stuart Warren — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:00:23 +0000

Sandman: Dream Country" title="Humanizing the Endless Immortals in Sandman: Dream Country" style="float:left;" />Finalizing the Doll’s House narrative plot, Neil Gaiman’s celebrated Sandman series concludes the first twenty issues with four limited one shot arcs, both harkening back earlier tales and looking forward to future ones. So far… [more]

1986: Strikeforce: Morituri: We Who are About to Die

Peter Sanderson — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:00:48 +0000

Strikeforce: Morituri: We Who are About to Die" title="1986: Strikeforce: Morituri: We Who are About to Die" style="float:left;" />In many of the great comics of the year 1986, their creators were examining the medium and the genre in which they were working and their histories, critically reevaluating them and redefining them for a… [more]

Mark Millar, Deconstructionist, Man and Boy: Shameless? Part 3

Colin Smith — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:00:47 +0000

Continued from last week. From the middle of the Eighties to the decade’s end, the teenage Millar’s preference appears to have been for the breed of super-hero comics associated with the label of deconstruction. The… [more]

The Very Different Worldviews of Warren Ellis and Grant Morrison

Julian Darius — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:00:57 +0000

In an interview for Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, Ellis recounts how some comics fans, in the wake of 9/11, expressed the wish that Superman were real, so he could have prevented such a devastating tragedy. … [more]

On Chicago Public Schools Censoring Persepolis‘s Images of Torture

Julian Darius — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:47:12 +0000

Persepolis‘s Images of Torture" title="On Chicago Public Schools Censoring Persepolis‘s Images of Torture" style="float:left;" />In the recent discussions over censorship of Persepolis in Chicago public schools, there’s been a notable lack of discussion over why anyone would want the book removed — and what such reasoning represents. The series… [more]

Demo Volume 1 Review

Mike Greear — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:00:45 +0000

Demo Volume 1 Review" title="Demo Volume 1 Review" style="float:left;" />The first volume of Demo was an impulse buy for me. I knew nothing about it, although the cover image of a red and pink punk rock couple lost in a sea of dour, grey… [more]

Dylan Dog: Of Death, Of Love

Nemanja Protic — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:00:18 +0000

Dylan Dog: Of Death, Of Love" title="Dylan Dog: Of Death, Of Love" style="float:left;" />Death – Death – Death comes sweeping down – Filthy death, the leering clown. Death on wings, death by surprise, failing evil from worldly eyes. Death that spawns as life succumbs, while death and love,… [more]

A Unwelcomed Visitation: A Treatment of Drone Warfare in Royden Lepp’s Rust

Stuart Warren — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:00:16 +0000

Rust" title="A Unwelcomed Visitation: A Treatment of Drone Warfare in Royden Lepp’s Rust" style="float:left;" />With the advent of newer technologies and advanced AI, humans are being systematically phased out from everyday life. This is the machinist’s nightmare: to be replaced by the very things they fabricate and build. What… [more]

“Southern Change”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #41

Andrew Edwards — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:00:25 +0000

Swamp Thing Issue #41" title="“Southern Change”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #41" style="float:left;" />Swamp Thing #41 “Southern Change” Cover date: October 1985. Writer: Alan Moore. Artists: Stephen Bissette & Alfredo Alcala. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Karen Berger. Moore and Bissette offer a Voodoo-inspired tale beginning with ‘Southern Change’ in this… [more]

On the Professional Pre-History of Mark Millar: Shameless? Part 2

Colin Smith — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:00:15 +0000

Continued from last week. Only Mark Millar knows which twelve months of his life would most deserve the title of Annus horribilis. But from what he’s said in the press, the years of the late… [more]

Sequart Announces Two New Books

Mike Phillips — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:00:27 +0000

Sequart is proud to announce two new books: Logan Ludwig’s Moving Panels: Translating Comics to Film and Julian Darius’s This Lightning, This Madness: Understanding Alan Moore’s Miracleman, Book One. Moving Panels explores the differences between… [more]

Ancestral Jungles and Voodoo Fears: Evelyn Cream and Race in Miracleman, Chapter 9 (Part 2)

Julian Darius — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:00:21 +0000

Miracleman, Chapter 9 (Part 2)" title="Ancestral Jungles and Voodoo Fears: Evelyn Cream and Race in Miracleman, Chapter 9 (Part 2)" style="float:left;" />We’ve begun discussing chapter nine of Alan Moore’s Miracleman (parts one and two), illustrated by Alan Davis. Today, we continue our exploration of that chapter. (We’ve also previously introduced Miracleman and discussed chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight,… [more]

Sequart Releases The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil

Julian Darius — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 05:52:41 +0000

The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil" title="Sequart Releases The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil" style="float:left;" />Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to release The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil, edited by Ryan K. Lindsay. For half a century, Daredevil has been an outsider and… [more]

The Way We Write – A Review

Kevin Thurman — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:00:13 +0000

The Way We Write – A Review" title="The Way We Write – A Review" style="float:left;" />The Way We Write by Rachael Smith centers on the actual band Her Name is Calla from England. Unfamiliar with the music, I researched the band and found the music to be dense, atmospheric, and… [more]

Marvel NOW! Vs. DC’s New 52

Mike Greear — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 12:00:17 +0000

A few weeks ago, back when I started talking about my favorite comics of 2012, I mentioned that I kinda stopped following DC Comics at some point late last year. I said that between the… [more]

Foil Hats and Skin Suits: Examining the Content Concerns of Mental Illness in Villainy

Nathan Harmon — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:00:26 +0000

In the last few years, there have been many concerns over the content of comic books. In fact, the concerns are over a wide range of topics from Catwoman being too provocative to that of… [more]

Portrait of a Serial Murderer

Stuart Warren — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:00:07 +0000

Conventions exist to bring people together, even serial killers. At least that is the spin put on them in Sandman #14: “Collectors.” Those familiar with Gaiman’s catalog can attest to the diversity of his corpus,… [more]

1986: Will Eisner on Old Age (Part 2)

Peter Sanderson — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:12 +0000

In the final issue of Will Eisner’s Quarterly, published in 1986, Eisner wrote and drew three comics stories that each deal with a protagonist in the last decades of his life. In the previous installment,… [more]

Shameless? The Super-Hero Comics of Mark Millar: Part 1, An Introduction

Colin Smith — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:00:35 +0000

It’s too good a story not to be treated with suspicion. Asked to recall his first comic by Lee Randall of The Scotsman in 2009, Mark Millar declared that he could remember the matter “exactly”.… [more]

Evelyn Cream and Race in Miracleman, Chapter 9

Julian Darius — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:50:53 +0000

Miracleman, Chapter 9" title="Evelyn Cream and Race in Miracleman, Chapter 9" style="float:left;" />We’ve begun discussing chapter nine of Alan Moore’s Miracleman, illustrated by Alan Davis. Today, we continue our exploration of that chapter. (We’ve also previously introduced Miracleman and discussed chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, as well as the… [more]

Analyzing Time in the New 52

Chance Thulin — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 12:00:23 +0000

I’ll admit it. I love the new 52 DC Universe. Despite the jarring and sudden nature of its introduction, I have found the new mythology incredibly delightful. However, despite my love of the new continuity,… [more]

On the Limits of Adaptation or What Can We Get Out of The Dark Knight Returns Movie?

Tom Shapira — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:00:22 +0000

The Dark Knight Returns Movie?" title="On the Limits of Adaptation or What Can We Get Out of The Dark Knight Returns Movie?" style="float:left;" />The year 2012 brought with it something Batman fans, and comics fans in general, have been expecting for years; a large production from distinguished creators starring some well-beloved actors. I am talking, of course, about… [more]

Diagram for Delinquents Update #29: I Want You to Suffer More and More and More and More

Robert A. Emmons, Jr. — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:07:57 +0000

Hello supporters and interested parties. It’s been two months since I’ve posted an update, but let me assure you, there isn’t a week that goes by that I’m not working on the film in some… [more]

Ouch, That Hurts: Looking at Torture in 1991′s Weapon X, by Barry Windsor-Smith

Nathan Harmon — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:00:59 +0000

Weapon X, by Barry Windsor-Smith" title="Ouch, That Hurts: Looking at Torture in 1991′s Weapon X, by Barry Windsor-Smith" style="float:left;" />It would be hard to refute that Wolverine is the most famous mutant that Marvel Comics has on their X-Men roster. In the last decade, he has been emphasized and serialized in almost every mainstream… [more]