Gotham Central, Case by Case: NATURE
In the Gotham Central story arc Nature, Munroe thought he had gamed the system, but was eventually eaten up by one of its ‘freaks’. That’s just the law of Nature in Gotham City.
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing #1
Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing #1 is an entertaining mix of Marvel horror with late night horror anthology schlock that tells a solid horror story that's still not afraid to poke fun at itself.
Read MoreGotham Central, Case by Case: KEYSTONE KOPS
“Keystone Kops” is another tragic tale, wherein early on Batman appears to tell Renee not to barter with Alchemy, leaving Kelly yet another pawn of ‘freaks’ that the GCPD cannot even turn back into a person.
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: Jonny Quest #13
Jonny Quest #13 by Messner-Loebs, Infantino, Kubert, and Pinaha is an enjoyable ghost story utilizing key elements of the cartoon's characters and story elements.
Read MoreGotham Central, Case by Case: ON THE FREAK BEAT
Late in “On the Freak Beat”, Josie Mac shares with Detective Driver some illicit photographs of their recent murder victim, the televangelist Reverend Buford Pressman….
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #54
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54 is one of the high points in the first five years of this classic series, when pretty much everything in the series was a high point.
Read MoreRereads: Fantastic Four by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo
Keigen Rea re-reads the Waid/Wieringo Fantastic Four, a classic run still feels so new, and it says so, right up front. It essentially tells you, hey, they’re gonna meet god and go to hell and do so much more.
Read MoreGotham Central, Case by Case: LIGHTS OUT
With Gotham Central being a series that is all about the police and their relationships with Batman, “Lights Out” explicitly redirects conversations towards Batman’s status as vigilante.
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: Hellblazer #27
Hellblazer #27 is an important rumination on the human condition, using a creeping cold killer as a stand-in for the loneliness that can enter our lives and leave us hollow.
Read MoreGotham Central, Case by Case: CORRIGAN
By Bruno Savill De Jong — Before now, Jim Corrigan has appeared in the background picking through crime scenes of Gotham Central, collecting evidence and providing forensic analysis as a C.S.U. of the GCPD. In “Corrigan” he comes to the foreground, with a Gotham Central storyline where numerous established themes start to coalesce. It is a half-way point that connects the previous issues to a thread crucial for the book’s ultimate ending. Here, the GCPD corruption creeping around the edges of Gotham Central shows its clearest form yet. The previous “Unresolved” arc brought a reminder of Harvey Bullock’s old-fashioned self-justified corruption. Now “Corrigan” shows this corruption as a still-present part of the system, a toxic element that hinders even the ‘righteous’ elements within the department.
Read MoreX Words About X of Swords: Week One Recap
By Zack Quaintance — I am not one of those people who are super knowledgeable about the X-Men, and can tell you every last detail about every last mutant who shows up in the background of this new X-Men era. I read X-Men comics all through the mid-to-late ‘90s and early ‘00s, and I’ve read X-Men runs here and there when favorite creators take the reins. But I’m not on X-Twitter and don’t even really know how to find it, and I’m fine with that, as much as it has cost me fame, fortune, and the respect of my peers.
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: Blacksad - Somewhere Within The Shadows
By d. emerson eddy — Funny animal books don't necessarily have the same market penetration in North America as they do elsewhere, especially across Europe. It's not to say that they don't exist, we've got wonderful works like Maus, The Autumnlands, Grandville, Mouse Guard, and the big juggernauts like Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes, but it's usually only the latter that seems to have prominence here. Works that are primarily aimed at children. Across European comics, you're as likely to see talking animals in any genre, from adventure through to crime noir. Of the latter, one of the most successful in any language is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido's Blacksad.
Read MoreThe Wicked + The Divine #18: Wic + Div Re-Read
By Alex Batts — Slight return. With this issue, we embark on the fourth arc in The Wicked + The Divine! This arc is probably the most bombastic of the entire series and it is a wild, game-changing ride. The regular series team of Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson are back on art duties, and we pick up in the present day to continue our narrative of teens turned gods… let’s get into The Wicked + The Divine #18!
Read MorePax Krakoa: The road to X of Swords
By Isaac Kelly — This week saw the release of the first chapter of “X of Swords” (Pronounced “Ten of Swords''). “X of Swords'' is the first crossover event in this current era of Krakoan X-Books. For those that missed the initial onramp, this event might serve as a jumping-on point for one of the most exciting acts of superhero storytelling that I’ve ever witnessed. For those of us already living in Pax Krakoa, let’s review the story to date. For the rest of you, let’s get you caught up to speed.
Read MoreGotham Central, Case by Case: UNRESOLVED
By Bruno Savill De Jong — Sometimes the past can trap us. Traumatic events can be a vortex, one that warps our perception of the world, and makes us unable to escape that moment. This theme underlies “Unresolved”, the latest case in Gotham Central, featuring various instances of past events destabilizing people, and creating a delusional world-view. Detective Driver sees it first-hand when his brother’s childhood best friend, Kenny Booker, takes a fast-food joint hostage to demand and talk with Driver. Eight years ago, Kenny was one of the few survivors of the Gotham Hawks Baseball team locker-room bombing, that case that still remains unresolved.
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: Batman - The Dark Prince Charming
By d. emerson eddy — This past Saturday was this year's celebration of “Batman Day” and it had me thinking of combining my current search through some favorite European comics and Batman. Somewhat surprisingly, given the sheer number of Batman interpretations across the decades in the North American market, there isn't a huge selection of foreign language originals, but what is out there is very well done. Batman: The Dark Prince Charming was technically published simultaneously in English and French (and Dutch, I think) by DC Comics and Dargaud, but it's one of the few out there in association with a European publisher. It's also good, so you needn't worry that being originally published by a European publisher was my only criteria.
Read MoreComics Anatomy: Shade, The Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special
By Harry Kassen — Hello and welcome back to Comics Anatomy. This will be the last of the charity commissions and I wanted to thank you all for reading these. I hope you all enjoyed this series-within-a-series (to crib a DC marketing term) as much as I have. It’s been an interesting challenge starting with the title and finding something to write about as opposed to starting with both of those things already. I also want to thank the people who donated money and chose books for me, both for giving money to people in need and also for choosing such an interesting array of books for me to write about.
Read MoreGotham Central, Case by Case: LIFE IS FULL OF DISAPPOINTMENTS
By Bruno Savill De Jong — Life is Full of Disappointments is an odd storyline. It feels almost purposefully removed from the tapestry of Gotham Central, downplaying the immersive world-building that was central to all the previous issues. Gotham Central might make minimal use of Batman, but Life is Full of Disappointments has zero Batman, nor any ‘freaks’, nor (nearly) anything connected to Gotham’s ‘culture’. Even the recognizable detectives from Gotham Central itself (Montoya, Driver, Josie Mac) are dropped to foreground the underdeveloped police from the Major Crimes Unit, the three issues rotating in a new pair of detectives to examine the case.
Read MoreCLASSIC COMIC OF THE WEEK: The Incal, Vol. 1: The Black Incal
The Incal’s ideas and presentation still feel contemporary, they still feel relevant, and you can see their influence across science fiction and beyond.
Read MoreThe Wicked + The Divine #17: Wic + Div Re-Read
By Alex Batts — With this issue (and article) we reach the end of the third volume of The Wicked + The Divine, which wraps up the flashback/character spotlight issues that have been the theme for this arc. Fair warning: this might be one of my shorter pieces. Admittedly, this is probably my least favorite issue of the series (it’s still great, just not on the level of the rest of the series for me) so I don’t have too much to share about it. Brandon Graham is the guest artist for the issue and does a great job, but with that let’s hop into issue #17!
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