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Death of a Dream – “The Kindly Ones” Conclusion
The Kindly Ones ends much how it starts. There is a haunting momentum that drives the story forward, and yet it is clear how this narrative energy is spilling over from the entirety of the… [more]
A Thousand Batmen Blooming: The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 8
Continued from last week. The superhero genre had become more and more susceptible to the myth of the definitive version. It was a fan-consuming fallacy which presumed that each character possessed an irreducible core of utterly… [more]
True Detective: Something Deep and Dark
Most people still see Matthew McConaughey as the pretty boy, the Prince Charming of chick flicks. Those individuals clearly haven’t seen Killer Joe or Dallas Buyers Club. But how could I blame them? When I… [more]
Unfinished Apocalypse: Doktor Sleepless
At times, reading Warren Ellis’ and Ivan Rodriguez’ unfinished story Doktor Sleepless, especially in single issues, can feel like showing up a day late to the party of the century. The vibrant community surrounding the… [more]
Hannibal: Beauty in Gore
The second season of Hannibal is upon us, and I, for one, think this show deserves much more attention than it has. Although this NBC series struggled with its first season’s ratings, many (including developer,… [more]
Bugged Out!: Scarab Reconsidered 20 Years On, Part Six
In the immortal words of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, “And Now For Something Completely Different —” It’s my belief, dear reader, that we live in drastic times — and that we have been for some… [more]
Experiments in Slayage
Tales of the Slayers and Tales of the Vampires are two anthology comics published in trade paperback in 2001 and 2004, respectively. Both offer numerous diversions away from the established Buffy/Angel storylines and glimpses into… [more]
Pulling Out of the Dark Age?: The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 7
Continued from last week. It’s only to be expected that Millar’s work on the JLA would mesh with Grant Morrison’s agenda. But it is remarkable how closely and effectively Millar’s contributions reflected his friend’s wider ambitions… [more]
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: John Lewis’s March
The story begins on the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a long line of marchers in the center of the top panel. They walk two-by-two on the left side of the road, hugging the railing, prepared… [more]
On the Art and Cycle of Proper Suffering: The Artist-Figure in Phoenix: Karma Part 3
In the second part of this article, we looked at the challenges that faced each artist-figure in Phoenix: Karma. Now, in the final part of this article, we will look at how they come to… [more]
On “The Elements of Heartbreak”: A Special Valentine’s Day Post
Legion of Super-Heroes #31 (July 1992), co-written by Giffen and Tom & Mary Bierbaum, would go down in history as one of the most controversial Legion stories of all time. Taking a break from the… [more]
Dream in Conflict: “The Kindly Ones,” Chapters 7-9
It is revealed in The Kindly Ones Part 8 that the identity of the furies has lain in the titular designation all along. When Lyta Hall comes upon them in a solitary shack, deep in… [more]
“How Can You Possibly Live in a World Without Superheroes?”: The American Superhero Comics Of Mark Millar, Part 6
Continued from last week. Who was responsible for what in Morrison and Millar’s many collaborations? Credit boxes are often little help at all. Stories which carried the Morrison/Millar by-line were on occasion the product of an… [more]
The Foucault Gospel: Grant Morrison, French Philosophy, and One Mangy Coyote
William Shatner has said that one of the secrets to a fulfilling life is learning to say “yes.” Sure, you sometimes make mistakes, but if you say “yes” enough times you wind up recording albums… [more]
On the Art and Cycle of Proper Suffering: The Artist-Figure in Phoenix: Karma Part 2
In the first part of this article, we looked at the beginnings of the artist-figure Tezuka Osamu, the cultural time period that informed his work, the era he chose to create Phoenix: Karma in and… [more]
Capital Thoughts: Captain America #15
Iron Nail… Cap’s newest villain. Inventing a Cap villain can’t be easy. Any new character is immediately compared to the Red Skull, among the most iconic villains in comics, right up there with Batman’s the… [more]
#SixSeasonsAndAMovie: Why Community, and the Meta-Geeks Who Love It, are Having a Moment
With an epic narrative to rival the trials of Odysseus and his men, any fan of Dan Harmon’s “Community” can recount its constant struggle to remain on the air. In fact, the current hashtag on… [more]
Bugged Out!: Scarab Reconsidered 20 Years On, Part Five
Welcome back to 1993! Nice enough place to visit, although you might not want to live here — Actually, 1993 wasn’t a bad year at all for comics. The Invisibles got off the ground with a… [more]
Fray: Slayage in the 24th Century
Dark Horse and Joss Whedon first explored the “vampire slayer” world in the 2001-2003 8-issue miniseries Fray, widely available now in TPB. With an original script by Joss Whedon, conceived and written during the troubled… [more]
“Nice to Meet You, Big Guy!”: The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 5
Continued from last week. Though he’d never again see one of his scripts feature in any of the Batman’s many headlining titles, Millar would return to the character over and over again throughout the Nineties. It’s… [more]
On the Art and Cycle of Proper Suffering: The Artist-Figure in Phoenix: Karma
It is neither a new nor a culturally specific idea that art is created through suffering: that the figure of the artist is an individual who must experience great ordeals in order to accomplish his… [more]
The Champions: A Bridge Between Genres and Time
The Champions as term and footnote When most people hear of the term “The Champions,” they think of the iconic song created by Queen. Others think of the 1975-1978 Marvel comic series or various other… [more]
Justifying Deicide: Lyta Hall’s Feminist Journey in “The Kindly Ones”
The final arc of Sandman proceeds to bookend the series with cameos and homages to earlier plots. The feel here is different from previous arcs; Gaiman explains elements as they come, rather than holding back… [more]
“Just Don’t Do It Again”: The American Superhero Comics of Mark Millar, Part 4
Continued from last week. How was it possible for Millar to show so much respect for Bruce Wayne’s back story while portraying such a deeply unconvincing Dark Knight? Though the writer’s take on Wayne was ludicrously… [more]
The Curious Case of the Omnipresent Consulting Detective, Part 1
He’s one of the most popular characters in literary history, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a time when Sherlock Holmes was more visible than the past five years. Offhand, I can’t think of another… [more]