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Alan Moore’s The Stars My Degradation
The title of Moore’s second strip for Sounds Magazine, The Stars My Degradation, owes its inspiration to a famous science-fiction novel by Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination (1956). In the novel, Gully Foyle is… [more]
Ultimate Captain America: A Meditation on American Identity
While Mark Millar was experimenting with narrative during his return to the Ultimates, Jason Aaron was exploring the inner-workings of Captain America in his mini-series Ultimate Captain America.
O Captain? Not My Captain
Captain America: the First Avenger—henceforth abbreviated to Captain—is a fairly entertaining film that illustrates both the advantages and disadvantages of applying real-world verisimilitude to comic-book superheroes.
A Place for Bold: Understanding Frank Miller
No one seems to get Frank Miller. Despite the flurry of digital ink spilled over him, most critics seem to be left scratching their heads. Indeed, the entire body of Frank Miller criticism can now… [more]
Mark Millar’s The Ultimates, Part 8: The Grand Exit
A word of advice before going into this series: ignore the “Death of Spider-Man” banner at the top and you’ll be just fine.
Stan Lee, Presented (Part 2)
In the previous installment of “Stan Lee, Presented,” I argued that Stan Lee had functioned as a “truly creative editor” during his tenure as editor/writer at Marvel Comics.
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 4
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue (and some of that prologue’s implications), as well as chapters one, two, and three (in two parts). This time, we’ll begin to look at chapter four,… [more]
Moore, Gibbons, and Superman Annual #11: For the Story that Has Everything
Superman Annual #11 is a comic that stands as a classic for all the right reasons.
Pacing and Punch in Watchmen #2
Watchmen is commonly thought of as one of the greatest graphic novels of our time, but it’s actually a reprint collection. The work originally came out as 12 separate issues, although they were all planned… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 3 (Cont.)
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, some of that prologue’s implications, chapter one, chapter two, and the beginning of chapter three. This time, we’ll conclude our look at chapter three, in which the… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 3
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, some of that prologue’s implications, and chapters one and two. This time, we’ll continue to chapter three of this fascinating story.
A Man of the Times
In the year 1942, America was embroiled in global conflict – she had entered World War II.
Superheroes are More than Propaganda
It’s been five years since he originally announced it, and ten years since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, which inspired the story, but Frank Miller’s graphic novel Holy Terror has finally been released.
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 2
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, some of that prologue’s implications, and chapter one of the comic proper. This time, we’ll continue into chapter two of this fascinating story.
Perishable: How Monthlies Can Warp Our Perspectives
Talking about monthly comics vs the graphic novel is not revolutionary by any stretch. At this point we have heard from damn near every creator about which is preferred: the monthly comic or the graphic… [more]
The New 52 and the New Adult Pulp
“Thriving on unconstrained creativity, held accountable to few standards of logic, believability or ‘good taste,’ the pulps were literary dream machines, offering regular entry to intensive worlds of excitement, danger, glory, romance. Each brittle page… [more]
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.
Siri Ushers in the Era of the Digital Sidekick
In a recent article for The Huffington Post’s tech section, author Steve Rosenbaum equated the new Siri software found in the latest iteration of Apple’s iPhone with robot sidekicks found in works of science fiction.
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 1
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue and some of its implications. This time, we’ll dive into the story itself.
Wolverine, Loner / Conformist
Always a fan favorite, Wolverine is a character that is in no fear of falling out of the public eye. It seems like every time a team book is pitched or a major event hatched… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande: Ayn Rand, Totalitarian Architecture, Brutalism, and Busselization
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, which sets up Eugen Robick’s status quo as the story starts. This time, we’ll explore some fascinating parallels and implications of that status quo. Also, I’ve… [more]
On Superman Vs. the Amazing Spiderman
Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man was the most impossible thing. It simply could not be. It was a category error, a fanboy’s absurd daydream, a conceit to be associated with an alternate Earth where each family… [more]
Picnic, Lightning: Panel Economy as Art
More is better. This seems to be a mantra reverberating through Western culture, finding its way even into comic books. But this is nothing new. Most readers will be more than a little acquainted with… [more]
Whatever Happened to the Big Red Cheese, Part 5: Reboot
As much as people have blown the DC Relaunch out of proportion, reboots and relaunches have been a part of comics for decades now.
The Art of the Hook
Why read comics? We certainly have no lack of alternative material. In fact, we are inundated with it! There are enough web blogs and magazines to fill our entire lives with reading material. Why should we choose comics, and… [more]