ON COMICS CHARACTERS
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Magazine Archives for:
2012
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Persepolis & Fun Home: Women and Comic Books in the College Classroom
There’s been a lot of controversy over women’s rights in the United States in the media lately.
Deconstructing Batman & Robin: A Game of Villainy, Part 5
In the footnotes for the first volume of Batman & Robin, Grant Morrison discusses the strange coincidence of the third issue’s cover resembling an image of the Joker that Brian Bolland had done years previous.
Not the Way We Play the Game
I’ve never once criticised the work of another blogger in public, so why start now? Yes, Gene Phillips’s Making a Dirty Breast of the Matter (parts 1 and 2) are appallingly written pieces which express… [more]
Alan Moore’s Miracleman and the Influence of Chris Claremont’s Dark Phoenix Saga
Having reached the halfway point of Book One, let’s pause and consider the influence of Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s Dark Phoenix saga on the way Moore presents his own hero-turned-villain, Kid Miracleman.
Fiction Suit
Alan Moore’s done it. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee did it. Osamu Tezuka did it. Grant Morrison did it so regularly and intently that he gave it a name.
The Anxiety of Influence and Failed Sequels: Frank Miller and The Dark Knight Strikes Again
“I mean the criticism teaches not a language of criticism […] but a language in which poetry already is written, the language of influence, of the dialectic…” (Bloom 25).
Deconstructing Batman & Robin: A Game of Villainy, Part 4
Once the transformation into the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is complete, the comparisons to the Joker are apparent and numerous.
Dan Dare, by Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine (2008)
Dan Dare is ancient comics history now.
The Conclusion of Miracleman, Chapter 5
We’ve looked at chapter five of Alan Moore’s Miracleman, examined it in the context of the 1981 Brixton riots, and carried through to Kid Miracleman’s defeat. We now conclude our look at this chapter, originally printed… [more]
Making a Dirty Breast of the Matter, Part 2
I want to focus on one remark made by Kelly Thompson in the essay “No, It’s Not Equal,” regarding the inequitable objectification of male and female characters in superhero comics:
The Difficulties of Being “Just” Good and Bad in Comics of the New Millennium
In 1974, Frank Castle—also known as The Punisher—made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #129, and the comics world was introduced to what would become one of the most popular anti-heroes—though he certainly was not the… [more]
Deconstructing Batman & Robin: A Game of Villainy, Part 3
The most controversial storyline in Morrison’s Batman run, R.I.P. is the psychological destruction of the Dark Knight.
On The Evolutionary War (Marvel Comics, 1988)
Those who choose to see the superhero comic’s decline as a relatively recent occurrence may prefer to keep their preconceptions away from The Evolutionary War, a sequence of often-awkwardly linked stories which were originally strung… [more]
Miracleman, Chapter 5 (Cont.)
We’ve begun looking at chapter five of Alan Moore’s Miracleman and examined its reference to the 1981 Brixton riots. We now continue our look at this story, originally printed in Warrior #6 (Oct 1982), which concludes Miracleman’s… [more]
Becoming Alan Moore
1. When did Alan Moore become ALAN MOORE? When did the promising prospect become the master Bardly craftsman? If his work for Marvel UK in the early 1980s is to be trusted, the graduation occurred… [more]
Justice League #1-6 Review: Not the Back-Ups, Not All the Filler Art or Teases for Future Storylines
Team books were always a challenge in the old days.
John Carter Vs. Superman
With the recent release of the Disney film John Carter (which may or may not still be in theaters by the time you read this piece, judging by the film’s reviews) it seems pertinent to… [more]
Jimmy Corrigan and the Smartest Deconstruction of the Superhero in the World
When dealing with 20th-century novels, James Joyce’s Ulysses is arguably the most significant work in terms of its influence on writers who would follow in the modern and postmodern traditions.
Deconstructing Batman & Robin: A Game of Villainy, Part 2
While the Black Glove doesn’t actually make an appearance until later in the series, the presence of Dr. Hurt can be felt in the very first issue as Batman throws the Joker into a dumpster… [more]
On The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln, by Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud’s The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln reads as if it had been pieced together by a team of expert comic-book historians from a great mass of often incomplete and even contradictory notes, sketches,… [more]
Miracleman, Chapter 5, and the Brixton Riots
Last time, we began our examination of chapter five of Alan Moore’s Miracleman. Originally printed in Warrior #6 (Oct 1982), it concludes Miracleman’s fight with Kid Miracleman and marks the midpoint of Book One.
Diagram for Delinquents Update #22: KAPPPPPPOOOOOOM!
In the past few days there has been an EXPLOSION of updates for Diagram for Delinquents. Most of which is the acquisition of new interview subjects for the film. Our next interview trip will include… [more]
Sequart Debuts First Live-Action Trailer for Image Documentary
Over on our Image documentary’s Kickstarter page, we’ve debuted the film’s first live-action trailer.
Turtle Power
Hell hath no fury like a fanboy scorned.
The Adventures of Tintin in Critical Controversy
It is commonly held that the United States helped create the comics art and literary genre; however, what is often overlooked is the significant comics community thriving in Europe during these early years, particularly in… [more]