Writer: Louise Simonson Art: Bernard Chang Marvel Comics, 2023 Jean Grey is dead, again, and she is not particularly surprised about it. The long-standing character, a charter member of Marvel Comics’ headline mutant title Uncanny X-Men and its numerous spawn, is probably the record holder for death and revival even...
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Writer/Artist: Steve Mannion Asylum Press 2023 THE AGE OF GIRL POWER is upon us. Questing girls and women out to be heroines swarm the media waves, often making good alternatives to standard superhero themes, though often these heroines have awesome powers of their own. This is not the case for...
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Creator: Dav Pilkey Scholastic, 2016-2023 Usually, when a purportedly serious website such as this one talks about Dog Man, the focus is on its enormous commercial success, and the sheer brilliance in finding and filling a niche with a simple idea. This review has a more profound take on what...
Read MoreWriter / artist: Frank Miller DC Comics, 1983-1984 Critiquing this comic brings your reviewer a deep sense of nostalgia: being baffled by the cost and mysterious subject matter of the first issue sitting in a spinner rack, hesitatingly pulling it out of the rack for a quick flick, and being...
Read MoreStory and Art: Frank Miller, John Romita Jr. Inks and Colors: Danny Miki, Alex Sinclair DC Comics, 2019 TEARFULLY I TREAD the remains of two stellar careers. The oversize “prestige” format of SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE with the names of writer/artist team Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. stamped on top...
Read MoreSoph Letizia, 2023 This zine, Creatures with Purpose, is described as an anthology, but in reality, it is a series of vignettes with the common theme of improbable creatures. The characters range from stereotypically lime green and big-headed aliens, to two brown ants grimly hanging on for life on the...
Read MoreWriter: Mark Millar Artist: Jorge Jiménez Image Comics, July 2023 (collected edition) Here is the promotional copy from Image Comics for this title: The world’s most evil comic book is back! Who is Nemesis, and why does this eccentric billionaire who dresses up in a mask and cape want to...
Read MoreWriter / Artist: Justin Randall Gestalt Comics, 2023 There must be a word to describe the genre of horror science fiction which involves the sort of dead, remote Australia most people are only familiar with from the Mad Max movies. “Outback dystopia”, perhaps, which sounds much better than “Road Warrior...
Read MoreWriter: Jonathan Hickman Penciller: Bryan Hitch Marvel Comics, August 2023 Warren Ellis watched it unfold, back in 2000. In Come in Alone, a collection of his essays on the American comic book industry, Mr Ellis railed against myopic superhero fans who did not want the impenetrable continuity of Marvel Comics...
Read MoreWriter: Mark Millar Artist: Stuart Immomen Image Comics, May 2022 The marketing copy for the second volume of The Magic Order reads as follows: A magical turf war like you’ve never seen before! The London chapter of the Magic Order has entered the scene, and these tough Guy Ritchie-style gangsters...
Read MoreWriter: Matthew Sturges, Bill Willingham Artists: Tony Aikens and team Vertigo Comics, 2009 GO GIRL AND DO WHAT YOU DO BEST! Such an exclamation appears to be the basis of Jack’s appeal; he let’s you do your thing your own way. Anarchy and agency go together. Jack in charge feels...
Read MoreWriters: Ram V, Ed Brubaker et al. Artists: Fernando Blanco, Darwyn Cooke et al. DC Comics: Omnibus edition published August 2022 RAM V RAPT ME up in Catwoman #25 from 2020, where I followed him to a place I had not thought to visit before. In this issue, writer Ram...
Read MoreWriter: Tom King Artist: Greg Smallwood DC Comics (Black Label), 2022-2023 DC Comics chose to publish this title under its Skunkworks imprint Black Label for good reason. The final issue, which we consider in this review, features the death of title character, Christopher Chance, also known as The Human Target....
Read MoreWriter: Dennis Hopeless Artists: Victor Ibáñez, Addison Duke Vault 2023 LIFE UNDER A MICROSCOPE looks scary. The tale of teen-girl Lupe in the five-issues of HEART EYES, just out in 2023, appears to be a huge allegory of life under a microscope, magnifying those eensy-weensy alien microbes in our guts,...
Read MoreWriters: Arnold Pander and Zero Boy Artist: Arnold Pander Dark Horse 1997 WHAT A DELIGHTFUL YARN, watching artist Arnold Pander spin himself into a Wild West legend in layers, telling us who his designated hero Jack Zero thinks he is, and who others think he is; not a sensitive artist...
Read MoreWriter: Paul Tobin Artist: Alberto Alburquerque Colorist: Mark Englert Aftershock 2022 A CLEVER STRIDE COURSES through the four-issue mini-series A CALCULATED MAN (2022), inviting you to follow along through little layers of real-life activities of super-smart guy Jack Beans, our hero, sort of, as he pursues his agenda. Scenes shift...
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