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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]
The Fever of Urbicande: A French Masterpiece You Probably Haven’t Read
More than any other, this is the the book for which The Obscure Cities is famous. In his afterword to The Walls of Samaris, Benoît Peeters writes that his main criticism of that initial volume… [more]
Whatever Happened to the Big Red Cheese, Part 4: The Roy Thomas Defense
The ’80s killed comic books.
Storytelling from 1978 — The Rule of Action
Detective Comics #475 and #476 — “The Laughing Fish” and “Sign of the Joker” — are considered some of the most essential Batman reading of all time. And for good reasons!
The Twice-Named: Batwoman and the Use of Space
Comics are often rigorous in their use of panels and page space. The shape the content takes through its panels has changed drastically through out the years, but a certain economic theory of panels has… [more]
Whatever Happened to the Big Red Cheese, Part 3: The Name of Captain Marvel
Everyone knows the origin of Freddie Freeman. Even if they don’t know the specifics of how Freddie became Captain Marvel Jr. in Whiz Comics #25, the basic framework for the character is imbedded in our… [more]
Whatever Happened to the Big Red Cheese, Part 2: The Name of Vlarem
The motif of the power of names was established from the very beginning of Captain Marvel’s history, but it would take another 40 years for the Wizard Shazam to be developed beyond the all-knowing God… [more]
Whatever Happened to the Big Red Cheese, Part 1: The Naming Curse
Night in the city. “Papers!” a boy calls out into the storm ravaged night.
The Right Number – Rules, Structure, and Rhythm
Earlier this month, I had a look at Scott McCloud’s The Right Number, an experimental web-comic with a unique format based on digital technology. The zooming format and the forward reading convention were both novel… [more]
Sexism, Sexuality, and the DC Relaunch
Last week’s DC relaunch offerings didn’t prompt much serious debate over which title was the best, but they launched a flurry of reactions against their portrayal of women. But first, a warning: my goal here… [more]
Through a Siege Perilous: Rebooting the X-Men, Again
Much like any super-hero team around for 50 years, you eventually run out of stories to tell. Especially with a property like the X-Men, you can only tell the persecution story so many years before… [more]
Man of Steel, Woman of Legs
Given how often Superman and Batman have been paired into dualisms ranging from “day and night” to “Apollo and Dionysus,” it’s surprising that in the second week of DC’s “new 52” they paired the Grant… [more]
Superman Returns Prequel #4: Lois Lane
Five years ago, around the release of Superman Returns, I began a look at its four-part prequel mini-series, examining how it changed Richard Donner’s original films and what it revealed about Superman’s five years of… [more]