Magazine Archives for:

October 2006

In The Beginning…#5

A Different Kind of Hero The popular preconception of comics is that they’re all about costumed crime fighters battling super-villains and saving the city / world, but of course there is a lot more to… [more]

Stormwatch, Part 4: Issues #8-9, 25, 10

This article examines issues #8-10 of Stormwatch as well issue #25. Confused yet? Well, in 1994, Image decided to make a statement that they were going to be in the market for the long run.… [more]

In Defense of Lateness

There’s been a lot of commotion in recent years over late — sometimes very late — high-profile books.

The Ultimates: Super-Human

The Ultimates Volume 1 #1-6 As a fledgling comic book reader, I took notice of the New Avengers only because of the writer attached to it, Brian Michael Bendis. I remember reading the Disassembled arc… [more]

Preacher: “All in the Family”

Ah, finally we come to the first ‘big’ storyline explored in Preacher: Jesse’s childhood. The arc that stands up and bellows “This title isn’t just tits and innards! Close, but not quite!” Let’s synopsise this… [more]

Week 24: Web of 52

I’d like to take this moment to say that Skeets has quite a lot on Brian Graiser, including a army of cyborgs and pirates. Loose Ends Dr. Ralph – Kicking ass in (in his best… [more]

Here Comes the Son (or, Super-Baby-Daddy Drama)

Oyez, oyez, dear readers, and welcome to the court of Tact is for the Weak, the column with the honorable Brian Graiser presiding all UP in that grill! Recently, writer Grant Morrison whipped up a… [more]

Comic Book Retailing Part 6: Marketing

Of all the things I’ve shared with you so far on opening and running your own comic book store, this might be one of the most important. Advertising and marketing are the main tools for… [more]

Best Behavior: SPX 2006

Introduction I’ve written extensively about the MOCCA festival for this website, but the event that truly changed the course of how I think about comics was the Small Press Expo, or SPX. It opened my… [more]

Comic Sense #4: The Art of Structure, Part III: Artwork

Welcome back to Comic Sense. The third in our discussion of story structure, this piece takes a look at the role of the artist in the creation of a comic book story. Comic books are… [more]

Infinite Retcons (or, How I Spent My Last $25)

Good evening, ladies and worms, and welcome to Tact is for the Weak, the article that will soon be available in variant hardcover edition for a mere $55! Last week, DC Comics published its hardcover… [more]

Week 23: The Most Greaterest Column Ever!

The writer of this column recognizes his right to freedom of speech when speaking about that horrible bastard Supernova and all of his possible indentities, including Brian Graiser. Speaking of which look what Mr. Graiser… [more]

Life In Regression: Dash Shaw’s The Mother’s Mouth

Dash Shaw is one of my favorite artists, hands-down. Readers of this column may recall my review of his previous collection of stories, GODDESS HEAD. Many of the same themes are explored in his newest… [more]

The Good, the Bad, and the Fugly: Comic Books and Duality

We have explored costumed comic book heroes and villains, dancing out the eternal ballet of good versus evil. Their world is black and white. Batman will forever be at odds with the Joker, the pendulum… [more]

Stormwatch, Part 3: Issues #6-7

This article examines issues #6-7 of Stormwatch, complete with costume redesigns and an introduction to the island nation of Gamorra, which will play a major part in upcoming Wildstorm titles. As well as all that,… [more]

Artists to Seek out at SPX 2006

The Small Press Expo (SPX) is coming up this Friday and Saturday, October 13th-14th, in Bethesda, MD. It’s still the pre-eminent smallpress/indy/alternative/etc. comics festival, and this year it’s in a new location. Happily, the new… [more]

Mini-Comics Round-Up

Ah, the variety of mini comics I receive. I generally like to review comics that I can compare and contrast in some meaningful way, but these three comics couldn’t be any more different. Liz Baillie’s… [more]

In the Beginning… #4

Whether it is uninviting and difficult or fascinating and exciting is a matter of opinion, but it is undeniable that at the moment the DC Universe is a confusing place to newcomers. In all probability,… [more]

Week 22: STUFF!!

This week’s edition of Who are the 52? is brought to you by the letter P and viewers like you. Especially the ones who send me stuff like the following: (The following excerpts are unedited… [more]

Art + Comics = Arf!

This is a golden age for publications about comics and their history. There are more reprints of classic comics (and in better formats) than ever before. There’s a broad range of books and magazines focusing… [more]

Strange Territory: Joe Daly’s Scrublands

It’s hard to pin down Joe Daly’s influences and hence what sort of comic SCRUBLANDS is. The book notes his strong influence by American underground artists like R.Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, S.Clay Wilson and others. While… [more]