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What Should Be Done with the Mutant Menace? Part 2: The Need for Self-Control
…continued from yesterday. Given that mutants exist, what is to be done with them? That question drives the narrative of the X-Books. The book’s villains—Dr. Bolivar Trask and his Sentinels, the Genoshan Magistrates, Apocalypse, Mr.… [more]
“Try Telling That to a 23-Year-Old Who Just Wanted to Play with the Toys”: The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 19
Continued from last week. That “bloody big shadow” of Alan Moore’s extended far beyond the pages of Swamp Thing. Trying to compete with his achievements on the title was a daunting enough prospect. But Moore’s… [more]
Claremont’s Days of Future Past: A Story About Kitty Pryde
Unlike many comics fans, I never actually read X-Men as a child all those years ago. In fact, I stayed away from most superhero titles, other than the odd cross-over with Superman and Batman when… [more]
What Should Be Done with the Mutant Menace? Part 1: The Lack of an Ending
A curious yet distinguishing feature of the X-Men family of comics is their lack of an origin story, typically an essential element in superhero comics. Usually, the superhero’s identity and power is formed by a… [more]
Thoughts on Frank Miller’s Creative Evolution
In the original Sin City, Marv is a tired old man. The events of the story turn him into an uncompromising hero, whom you could say is in the ultra-violent, Ayn Rand-inspired mold of some… [more]
Dear X-Men… It’s Not You, It’s Me
I’ve been putting off writing this column for a while now. When I first heard we were doing an X-Men week here at Sequart, I wasn’t too worried. After all, I’ve got a shelf full… [more]
Orson Welles’ Othello: A True Masterpiece
Orson Welles’ Othello, now doing a victory lap around the world in a “restored” version, is one of the boldest and most singular of all the adaptations of Shakespeare to reach the movie screen. I… [more]
Buffy: Tentacles and a Thricewise
We are almost back to the main storyline of Buffy Season 8. Just some catching up to do with Faith and Giles, and dealing with Dawn’s boyfriend issues to get through, first. Issue, #24, “Safe”,… [more]
The Genius of Arrested Development, Season 4 (Part 2)
Yesterday, I discussed the remarkable fourth season of Arrested Development — without any major spoilers. Today, we’ll look at some episodes and themes in more detail — with plenty of spoilers. It’s surprising how well… [more]
X-Men: To the Outback & Beyond… Part 5
Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: Marc Silvestri Inker: Dan Green Colorist: Glynis Oliver Letter: Tom Orzechowski Editor: Bob Harras Right off the bat, largely due to the graphic on the cover declaring “NOW ON SALE TWICE… [more]
“Follow me; I seek the everlasting ices of the north…”: DC’s Frankenstein in Post-Millennial Publication, Part Two
We left the last article after establishing various conventions of the Creature and ended on the discussion of a crossover and crisis event. We begin this article with another company-wide crossover and crisis event. To… [more]
Brian’s Comic Book Grab Bag: Eternal Warrior Volume 1 #18
Last Christmas my brother gave me a booster pack of random, non-sequential issues from a variety of popular comic book titles that syndicated in the late eighties to mid nineties. The nineties was a time… [more]
“Swamp Thing was Just a Vegetable who Lived in a Bog, after All”: The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 18
Continued from last week. For almost a decade, Wein and Wrightson’s estimable if brief spell on Swamp Thing would prove impossible to follow. At best, the character would feature in some mildly suspenseful tales marked… [more]
The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Pop Tragedy or Just Sad?
[Author’s note: If you haven’t seen The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and it feels like your Spidey sense is tingling, it’s probably because you’re about to encounter major spoilers.] I’ll always remember when I went to… [more]
Buffy: Out of Control
Things are starting to get out of control for the Slayer army. That’s the essential, long-range, overall story arc point made in issues #22 and 23 of Buffy Season 8. But you could be forgiven… [more]
Bugged Out!: Scarab Reconsidered 20 Years On, Part Eleven
Like you, I’m not quite sure what Glenn Fabry and Tony Luke’s cover for Scarab #5 is exactly supposed to be depicting other than some weird electricity coming out of our protagonist’s head, but it… [more]
Brian’s Comic Book Grab Bag: Tangent Comics: Nightwing Volume 1 #1
This Christmas my brother gave me a booster pack of random, non-sequential issues from a variety of popular comic book titles that syndicated in the late eighties to mid nineties. The nineties was a time… [more]
Why You Should Watch Justified
Justified should be a way more popular show. It’s not that it’s unpopular, in fact it’s heading into its sixth season, it’s that it should be resonating more clearly with viewers. It is the kind… [more]
Grant Morrison: The Zoids Years
Grant Morrison is well known for looking at the banality of life and giving things a unique cosmic twist. To live in his world of a magic-fuelled, comic rock-star means working in a world of… [more]
Orson Welles’ Mr. Arkadin
In honour of what would have been Orson Welles’ 99th birthday today, I’d like to offer some insight on one of his lesser-known and seldom-seen films, 1955’s Mr. Arkadin. It’s impossible to meaningfully discuss Orson… [more]
Starting Out Again at the Top: Swamp Thing (1994 to 1996) — The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 17
Continued from last week. It’s no overstatement to say that Mark Millar’s first major breakthrough at DC Comics owed everything to Grant Morrison. Offered the chance in 1993 to write Swamp Thing, Morrison assumed the… [more]
Absolute Editions, 3D Movies, and the Silent War on Democratic Art
Last summer I decided to re-read the entirety of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Even though I’m a big fan, it had been years since I sat down and systematically went through the whole ten-volume series, so… [more]
Buffy: Harmonic Divergence
The next five issues of Buffy Season 8 (#20-25), seem to represent a determined and conscientious effort on the part of the Whedon crew to experiment. They revisit some old ideas, and old characters, and… [more]
Spider-Man Shrugged: The Lack of Randian Heroes in The Amazing Spider-Man
A cursory exploration of “The Amazing Spider-Man” #1-#38 and its tangible threads to Steve Ditko’s known ardent Objectivism, a philosophy of self-interest developed by Ayn Rand. [more]
Examining the World of Night of the Hunter
“Lord save little children…They endure and they abide.” These words are spoken directly to the camera at the end of Night of the Hunter, Charles Laughton’s directorial debut. This ending reminds me of another classic… [more]