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Magazine Archives for:
February 2013
Romantic Reflections in “A Glass of Water”: Morrison and McKean Unplugged
When you do research for a book, you often find yourself searching through the more obscure work of a writer or artist, naively hoping that between all the usual awkward experiments and routine exercises in… [more]
“Fish Story” and “The Curse”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issues #39 and #40
Swamp Thing #39 “Fish Story” Cover date: August 1985. Writer: Alan Moore. Artists: Stephen Bissette and John Totleben. Editor: Karen Berger. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letterer: John Costanza.
The Renaissance Man, The Master Of The World?: One Last Look at the Ditko / Lee Doctor Strange (Part 12)
One recurrent criticism of Doctor Strange as a character is that he’s simply too powerful. A great many writers and fans alike have contended that comic book magic provides him with the tension-destroying ability to… [more]
Miracleman, Chapter 9: “Inside Story”
We’ve previously introduced Miracleman and discussed chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, as well as the interlude “The Yesterday Gambit.” We now continue this critical examination with chapter nine (written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Alan Davis) of this celebrated but… [more]
What Makes for a Great Joker Story: In Defense of Batman #17
Recently, I wrote a review on Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman #17—the much-anticipated finale for the “Death of the Family” story arc, and I gave it a solid “10.” (I’ll spare the details as… [more]
That Cowardly and Superstitious Batman, That Heartlessly Persecuted Joker: On Batman #17
Well, why doesn’t the Batman simply kill the Joker? You’d think the answer would be obvious. Yet fans the blogosphere over appear quite flummoxed, if not dangerously apoplectic, about the matter. The Joker can’t be… [more]
Marvel Now-ish
One of the good things to come of Marvel Comics frankly insane shipping schedule in their latest relaunch scheme is that it allows the poor sideline commenter the chance to quickly appreciate the general trend… [more]
Blind Dates and Broken Hearts: Sequart’s Fourth Single
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to release its fourth single (or short, standalone book): Blind Dates and Broken Hearts: The Tragic Loves of Matthew Murdock, by Ryan K. Lindsay. Daredevil is perhaps the… [more]
Batman: The Freudian Super-Hero
“I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman.” That one is quite possibly one of the most iconic lines from any comic book related medium and is quite possibly the best demonstration of… [more]
Gaiman’s Fortunate Men: A Humanizing Tale of Time Well Spent
The words of John Donne’s Death be not Proud are Neil Gaiman’s badge of honor. “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful for thou art not so,” the emboldened meter… [more]
1986: Will Eisner on Old Age (Part 1)
Towards the end of The Hunger Dogs, Jack Kirby, a longtime veteran creator of comics, turned his attention to the oldest members of his cast: the evil Darkseid, who is finally toppled from power, and… [more]
You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby: On What Made Doctor Strange Unique (The Penultimate Part)
Why would the Ancient One wait until after Strange had confronted Dormammu before rewarding his triumphant student with “new powers”? Perhaps the physical and magical enfeeblement caused by the Dreaded One’s spell had left the… [more]
Will Brooker on My So-Called Secret Identity
Will Brooker is Reader in Film and Television Studies at Kingston University, London, and editor of Cinema Journal. He is also author, editor or co-editor of nine books, including Batman Unmasked, Using the Force, Alice’s… [more]
Mike’s Favorite Comics of 2012 (Part 3)
We’re now up to the third and final title in my list of Favorite Comics of 2012. It’s a title that first caught my eye early last year when a promotional image for the comic… [more]
Hawkeye: A Journey into the Comics Fourth Dimension
Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth’s Hawkeye, the first issue of which hit the shelves in August of 2012 and has, since, gone through five more issues and a number of printings, is a masterful… [more]
The Other Egg of the Phoenix: Understanding the 50th Issue of Sandman
Neil Gaiman is one of the most renowned living comic book writers, and one of the most popular authors currently working. He is best known for his long lasting Vertigo series, Sandman, but he has… [more]
The Sword in the Stone Hand: The Arthurian Trends in Hellboy
In the literary arena, there are several myths that comic books pull from to feed their storylines. Often times, they come from Greek and Roman mythology, others come from the supernatural sources such as Bram… [more]
Sequart Releases Curing the Postmodern Blues: Reading Grant Morrison and Chris Weston’s The Filth in the 21st Century
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to release Curing the Postmodern Blues: Reading Grant Morrison and Chris Weston’s The Filth in the 21st Century, authored by Tom Shapira. Published in 2002-2003, Grant Morrison and… [more]
“Still Waters”: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing Issue #38
Swamp Thing #38 “Still Waters” Cover date: July 1985. Author: Alan Moore. Artists: Stan Woch and John Totleben. Editor: Karen Berger. Colorist: Tatjana Wood. Letterer: John Costanza.
Orson Scott Card, Homophobia, and Superman
DC provoked outrage, a few days ago, by hiring Orson Scott Card, sci-fi writer and noted homophobe, to write Superman. The comic in question isn’t one of DC’s current titles. In fact, it’s a new,… [more]
Father, Son; Mentor, Student; Friends: On Doctor Strange & the Ancient One (Part 10)
It was the unprecedented degree of conflict, of course, which marked out the earliest Marvel superhero comics from their characteristically more polite, repressed competitors. No-one had ever produced the likes of Fantastic Four #1 before,… [more]
On Invasion #3: “World Without Heroes”
We previously introduced Invasion and discussed its first and second issues. Today, we conclude our look at Invasion with issue #2. Invasion #3 begins with this same explosion, revealed to be a “gene bomb” released… [more]
Interview with Andrew Goletz from Gray Havens Comics – You Are Not Alone Anthology
Gray Haven Comics is an independent comic publisher making a name for itself with its on-going anthology, The Gathering. Recently, publisher Andrew Goletz began mobilizing fellow comics creators—both pros and up-and-coming writers and artists—to contribute… [more]
Mike’s Favorite Comics of 2012 (Part 2)
For me, 2012 was when I finally started taking some chances on creator-owned books. Before, it was always just a matter of following my favorite writers from the Big Two over into a more open,… [more]
Ctl-Alt-Delete: Retcon, Relaunch, or Reboot?
According to Cody Walker, reboots and relaunches have been a part of comics for decades now[i]: From Julius Schwartz’s revisionist techniques that birthed the Silver Age in DC Comics – Barry Allen as the second… [more]