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Identity, Shame and Confrontation: American Born Chinese
Ultimately, the moral of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE is not especially profound. Gene Luen Yang’s three storylines converge to deliver the message of be who you are. Resist the urge to assimilate. Be proud of your… [more]
The Valiant Tangent — Harbinger #1-4 (Children of the Eighth Day, Part 1)
Welcome back to The Valiant Tangent, the longest running series whose goal it is to chronicle some of the stories and characters of Valiant Comics and the things that made them not only cool, but… [more]
Ultimate Fantastic Four: The Fantastic
Ultimate Fantastic Four #1-6 In my collection of DVDs I have a bootleg copy of the 1994 movie Fantastic Four. Simply put, there is nothing fantastic about it. Fast-forward to 2005 and I am sitting… [more]
Week 19: I Think You Look Good When You Wear Gold
Last week the last few things I wrote seemed a little disorganized, instead of going back and editing them or apologizing to you I’m retconning. That’s right I’m going to retcon the continuity of my… [more]
The Peter David Factor: Part 5
X-Factor #74 (Jan. 1992) “Politically Incorrect” — This issue starts off by showing us the various team members asleep. Most of them seem to be dreaming: Guido about Kim Basinger, Lorna about Magneto, Quicksilver about… [more]
Passionella: A Welcome New Collection From Jules Feiffer
There’s a case to be made that Jules Feiffer was the first prototype of the underground/alternative cartoonist. A comics lifer, he started out as Will Eisner’s assistant on THE SPIRIT and eventually wrote a number… [more]
The Picturesque World of Klezmer
Continuing my look at First Second’s fall line of books, Joann Sfar’s KLEZMER is the best of the bunch. Sfar is a master of characterization, creating fully-formed and intriguing people out of thin air. While… [more]
Quiet Moments And Early Reflections: Kampung Boy and Missouri Boy
One of the really encouraging developments in recent years in the comics industry has been the increasing number of publishing houses that have started up a graphic novel imprint. This has been happening in fits… [more]
Week 18: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Booster Gol- Oh Wait…
This week marks the official induction of a new segment! The Blurb Detective! In this segment I will look at a up coming week’s blurb on the 52 website and figure out what it means.… [more]
Week 16: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Booster Gold!
This week I was traveling so instead of having a normal format I present to you the following… I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BOOSTER GOLD! Who is Supernova? My trusty sidekick the internet has failed… [more]
Week 15: INTERGANG! MR. MIND! ISIS!
Here’s that new format I promised last week: While I will still analyze 52 theories, it won’t always be a answer to ‘who are the 52′ that gets looked at in depth. Some weeks a… [more]
Two Paths To Comedic Enlightenment: Jeffrey Brown & The Langridge Brothers
Jeffrey Brown is best known for his episodic, autobiographical comics about assorted relationships. While the relationships inevitably go down the tubes for poor Jeffrey, he is often able to mine a lot of humor from… [more]
A Minicomics World Tour
Time to take a look at the minicomics that have come my way, and it’s quite an interesting and varied assortment from all over the world. There’s historical adaptations, horror, humor and autobio in this… [more]
Lying in the Gutters: Hotwire
With MOME, Fantagraphics tried to put together an anthology that would appeal to sophisticated readers who were open to reading comics but didn’t necessarily know what to buy. A book for those who read GHOST… [more]
Breaking the Code (or, How Mom and Dad are Ruining Your Life)
Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnnd we’re back for a new season! It’s time to reinstate martial law in the land and grab yer shotguns! Hide the children and mark your doors with sheep’s blood! After far too long, Tact… [more]
Mome: Comics’ New Murderer’s Row
Five issues of Fantagraphics’ new flagship anthology, MOME, have been published. I was immensely excited when news of it was announced, because a number of my favorite young artists were to be part of its… [more]
The Sequart Detective: A Matter of Justice, Part 3
My name is unimportant. What’s important is…I’m a detective. WARNING: Not only does this article contain spoilers for the Justice issues reviewed, it attempts to deduce the plots and mysteries of future issues as well.… [more]
Stormwatch, Part 2: Issues #0, 4-5
Yes, it’s late. There have been a number of technical difficulties this month, but I finally bring you the second part of our Stormwatch write-up. Enjoy, and as always, please feel free to comment. This… [more]
Independents and/or Avant-Garde
In the latest issue of l’Eprouvette, a critical review published by l’Association, BD creator Edmond Baudouin provides a retrospective look on his relationship to the medium. Since he hadn’t read much BD, he started in… [more]
Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People
Ultimate X-Men #1-6 My first experience with the X-Men came in the animated form. I remember many Saturday mornings spent in front of the television watching the X-Men stick it to Magneto and his cronies.… [more]
Reintroducing: Sovereign Seven #2
Sovereign Seven #2 DC Comics August 1995 By Chris Claremont, Dwayne Turner & Jerome K. Moore “The Twelve Chairs” (32 Pages) The first Chris Claremont comic I ever read was X-Men (Vol. 2) #1, published… [more]
The Old Gags Are Best: Milt Gross & Will Elder
Humor is a particular area of interest for me as a writer, and that’s especially true for comics. Indeed, though the medium is capable of addressing any style or genre (as I hope I’ve showed… [more]
New(ish) Comics from Old Favorites, Part 3: I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN
Ellen Forney is a hard cartoonist to pin down. Her work is charming and disarming, but isn’t easy to categorize. Her first collection of strips, MONKEY FOOD, compiled her “I Was Seven in ’75″ strips.… [more]