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Julian Darius
Books and Movies by Julian Darius
- Diagram for Delinquents: Fredric Wertham and the Evolution of Comic Books (producer)
- Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan (contributor)
- Comics in Focus: Chris Claremont's X-Men (executive producer)
- Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide (contributor)
- Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts (executive producer)
- Classics on Infinite Earths: The Justice League and DC Crossover Canon (author)
- Minutes to Midnight: Twelve Essays on Watchmen (contributor)
- Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods (executive producer)
- Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen (author)
- Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes (contributor)
Top Magazine Content by Julian Darius
Why Comics Matter
The following video consists of a lecture I delivered on 5 January 2006 at Glen Carbon Centennial Library in Glen Carbon, Illinois. The total runtime is 46 minutes.
Why Miracleman Matters
Everybody talks about Miracleman, but few have read it. Far more people know of Miracleman’s importance than understand why it occupies such a crucial role in the history of super-hero comics.
Why Comics Have Failed to Achieve Real Respect
It might superficially seem as if comics have finally achieved respect. They’re covered by the mainstream press. They’re increasingly taught in colleges. Their adaptations account for a huge percentage of Hollywood blockbusters. Hey, even nerd… [more]
The Obscure Cities: An Introduction
The Obscure Cities (Les Cités Obscures) arose in the midst of a pivotal time in the history of French comics. So let’s talk about French comics, shall we?
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: DC Countdown
We’re now in the third month after DC Countdown, and it’s time to review the various top-selling mini-series and other events counting down to Infinite Crisis…
The Sequart Manifesto
What do we call our medium? The most common answer is “comics.” Some would say otherwise, offering “comix,” “the ninth art,” or “sequential art.” Others abroad would say “manga” or “les bandes-dessinés.” All, however, are… [more]
X-Men is Not an Allegory of Racial Tolerance
It’s funny that it’s so resoundingly universally accepted. It’s been repeated so many times, from everyone from fans and comics professionals to scholars, that it’s become an article of faith.
Other Magazine Content by Julian Darius (113 Total)
“The Yesterday Gambit,” Part 1
We began discussion of “The Yesterday Gambit” last time, having previously introduced Miracleman and discussed its first, second, and third chapters. We now turn to the story of Alan Moore’s “The Yesterday Gambit,” from Warrior #4.
“The Yesterday Gambit” (A Miracleman Interlude)
We’ve introduced Miracleman and discussed its first, second, and third chapters. We now turn to the famous “The Yesterday Gambit,” from Warrior #4.
Miracleman, Chapter 3 Concludes
We’ve introduced Miracleman and discussed its first and second chapters, plus most of the third (part one, part two). We now conclude our look at this third chapter of Alan Moore and Garry Leach’s Miracleman… [more]
Miracleman, Chapter 3: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”
We’ve introduced Miracleman and discussed its first and second episodes, plus the first page of chapter three. We now continue our look at that third chapter of Alan Moore and Garry Leach’s Miracleman stories, which… [more]
Sex and the Super-Hero in Miracleman, Chapter 3
Having briefly introduced Miracleman and discussed its first and second episodes, let’s turn to the third of Alan Moore and Garry Leach’s Miracleman stories, which appeared in the legendary British magazine Warrior.
Miracleman, Chapter 2: “Legend”
Having briefly introduced Miracleman and discussed its first episode, let’s turn to the second of Alan Moore and Garry Leach’s earliest stories, which appeared in the legendary British magazine Warrior.
Miracleman, Chapter 1: “A Dream of Flying”
Having briefly introduced Miracleman, let’s begin looking at Alan Moore and Garry Leach’s earliest stories, which appeared in the legendary British magazine Warrior.
Reading Holy Terror’s First Act
After its three-page thematic introductory sequence, Holy Terror shifts to the Fixer chasing Cat Burglar across Empire City’s rooftops. It’s a sequence not without its charms, including a few powerful images. It depicts an eccentric, hard-boiled… [more]
Reading Holy Terror‘s Introductory Sequence
It’s hard for me to describe the mixture of pleasures and pains, both of them quite intense, that I feel reading Holy Terror. The pleasure tends to be artistic, primarily visual. The pain tends to… [more]
Sequart Podcast #1: The Changing Format of Comics
Guests Kevin Thurman and David Balan discuss the future of the comics form, and the implications of digital comics.
A Place for Bold: Understanding Frank Miller
No one seems to get Frank Miller. Despite the flurry of digital ink spilled over him, most critics seem to be left scratching their heads. Indeed, the entire body of Frank Miller criticism can now… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 4
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue (and some of that prologue’s implications), as well as chapters one, two, and three (in two parts). This time, we’ll begin to look at chapter four,… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 3 (Cont.)
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, some of that prologue’s implications, chapter one, chapter two, and the beginning of chapter three. This time, we’ll conclude our look at chapter three, in which the… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 3
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, some of that prologue’s implications, and chapters one and two. This time, we’ll continue to chapter three of this fascinating story.
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 2
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, some of that prologue’s implications, and chapter one of the comic proper. This time, we’ll continue into chapter two of this fascinating story.
The Fever of Urbicande, Chapter 1
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue and some of its implications. This time, we’ll dive into the story itself.
The Fever of Urbicande: Ayn Rand, Totalitarian Architecture, Brutalism, and Busselization
We’ve previously looked at The Fever of Urbicande‘s prologue, which sets up Eugen Robick’s status quo as the story starts. This time, we’ll explore some fascinating parallels and implications of that status quo. Also, I’ve… [more]
The Fever of Urbicande: A French Masterpiece You Probably Haven’t Read
More than any other, this is the the book for which The Obscure Cities is famous. In his afterword to The Walls of Samaris, Benoît Peeters writes that his main criticism of that initial volume… [more]
On The Big Lie, by Rich Veitch and Gary Erskine
Before addressing this controversial comic, let’s establish one thing: anything by Rick Veitch is newsworthy and deserving of better than being written off. Veitch is one of the legends who renewed American comics in the… [more]
Eight Thoughts on Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 3 #1-2
The right-wing media went apeshit over Peter Parker being replaced by Miles Morales, based on a single seven-page sequence (really its own short story) in Ultimate Fallout #4. Lots of people were perfectly prepared to… [more]
How Could They Do That?: Understanding Scott Lobdell and the New Comics Criticism
I’m quite certain writer Scott Lobdell, writer of Red Hood and the Outlaws, didn’t intend to make Starfire in any way diminishing of women. I know this because it’s leaked that DC was concerned, prior… [more]
Sexism, Sexuality, and the DC Relaunch
Last week’s DC relaunch offerings didn’t prompt much serious debate over which title was the best, but they launched a flurry of reactions against their portrayal of women. But first, a warning: my goal here… [more]
Superman Returns Prequel #4: Lois Lane
Five years ago, around the release of Superman Returns, I began a look at its four-part prequel mini-series, examining how it changed Richard Donner’s original films and what it revealed about Superman’s five years of… [more]
The Walls of Samaris, Part 4: Textual Variants
We’ve previously examined the story of The Walls of Samaris, a French masterpiece that deserves to be known among comics-literate Americans. In part two, we looked at several implications of its trompe-d’oeil device. In part three, I wrapped up… [more]
Justice League International #1 Review
It’s hard to put into words how silly Justice League International #1 is. On the one hand, it’s written in a style that’s a throwback to the very early 1990s. That shouldn’t be a total surprise:… [more]
Not Your Daddy’s Superman: How Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #1 Works
Having slammed Justice League #1 so severely in the last week, I feel as if I’d be remiss not to point out how excellent Action Comics #1 is and how it gets right virtually everything… [more]
Hollow Spectacle (or How Super-Hero Comics Warped My Logic Circuit)
There’s nothing wrong with spectacle. Even, I’d argue, for its own sake. Hell, it used to be its own genre of Hollywood movie (e.g. Cleopatra and more recently Gladiator)! But there’s good and bad spectacle,… [more]
How Not to Relaunch a Universe: A Negative Review of Justice League #1
How bad is Justice League #1, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Jim Lee? It’s virtually a road map for how not to write super-hero comics.
The Walls of Samaris, Part 3: More Mysteries… and Some Possible Solutions
We’ve previously examined the story of The Walls of Samaris, a French masterpiece that deserves to be known among comics-literate Americans. In part two, we looked at several implications of its trompe-d’oeil device.
The Walls of Samaris, Part 2: The Trompe-d’Oeil and You
Having introduced The Obscure Cities and walked through its first volume, The Walls of Samaris in some detail, I ended with that book’s conclusion. I’ll pick up there, so it’s necessary that you read part… [more]
The Simple, Elegant Way to a DC Cinematic Universe
There’s a simple solution to DC’s motion-picture woes: stop following Marvel’s model. Marvel’s shared cinematic universe only proceeded the way it did due to accidents of history.
The Walls of Samaris: A Classic French Comic You Probably Haven’t Read
Many fans of The Obscure Cities (which I introduced here) will tell you that the first volume, The Walls of Samaris, first collected in 1983, represents a freshman effort, despite the acclaim it’s won.
Sex and “The Man who Has Everything”
Long before Alan Moore delved into literary pornography with Lost Girls, he was infusing his work with a broad understanding of human sexuality as natural. And this wasn’t limited to auteur projects like Lost Girls… [more]
Undoing Super-Hero Marriages: The Failure of the Writerly Imagination
With the news that Superman and Lois Lane will no longer be married after DC’s relaunch, super-hero comics have said loudly and clearly: they hate their characters being married, because it makes for less drama.
Colin Smith on Comics Criticism, Part 2
Continuing from part one, we now move on to discuss when it’s fair to criticize a work for depicting human rights violations such as torture and rape, writing personally, and comics culture.
Colin Smith on Comics Criticism
As a medium, comics are in a strange place. In many ways, we as comics scholars and advocates have achieved the respect we long sought.
Roundtable on Current Super-Hero Comics, the Problem of Nostalgia, and the Genre’s Future
Depending on whom you ask, current super-hero comics are either sub-competent exercises in nostalgia or exciting, dynamic explorations of heroism, adapted for contemporary times.
Canada Hates Comics
Canadian customs officials have charged a U.S. citizen with possession of child pornography based on his possession of manga comics on a digital device. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of one year in prison…… [more]
Erasing the Justice Society
In the continuity of DC’s relaunches, Superman will reportedly be the first super-hero. This implies that the Justice Society will have been wiped from continuity, and that seems to be DC’s current plan. This isn’t… [more]
Issues in Digital Comics Distribution — and Where We’re Heading
Assuming we recognize the very real and pressing need for a comprehensive digital comics policy, several issues still remain that must be solved, before we can envision what such a policy would look like.
On Digital Comics Distribution
We all know it’s the future. We all know we’re behind the gun. Playing catch up. And scared. But we’ve been here before.
The Diversity of DC’s Relaunch, by the Numbers
Since DC has publicly stated that its line-wide relaunch is partially to increase the diversity of its line, it’s worth asking how the relaunched titles stack up in this regard, including some hard quantitative analysis… [more]
Thor as Camp
Thor is a glitzy, glossy summer movie. It’s also high camp in the traditional sense: super-serious and apparently blissfully unaware of how utterly ridiculous it is on every level. It may take itself more seriously… [more]
A Closer Look at DC’s Line-Wide Relaunch: Non-Super-Hero Offerings
Beyond its super-hero offerings, DC’s relaunch includes its “dark” magic titles, which incorporates some Vertigo characters into the DCU, and also a few non-super-hero, non-supernatural titles. How do these stack up, as part of an… [more]
A Closer Look at DC’s Line-Wide Relaunch: The Rest of the Super-Heroes
In addition to its more obvious “big guns,” DC’s relaunch includes a bunch of other super-hero offerings, including a promising new Aquaman series, new WildStorm-based titles such as Stormwatch, and many more. We’ll examine each here.
A Closer Look at DC’s Line-Wide Relaunch: The Big Guns
Unless you’re hiding under a rock, you’ve heard that DC is relaunching its entire super-hero line, including venerable mainstays like Action Comics and Detective Comics, in the wake of the company’s Flashpoint crossover.
“Fixing” Barbara Gordon’s Legs: The Politics of Retconning a Disability
What does it mean when you take the most successful disabled character in comics and reverse her disability?
On the Anthology Format
Tim Callahan’s recent “When Worlds Collide” column has me thinking about anthologies.
How I Learned to Love the Legion
This is a few days old, but Timothy Callahan opens his most recent column, “When Worlds Collide” over at CBR, with a reference to me. Which puts me one step closer to world domination.
Deconstructing “Batman R.I.P.”
There’s a lot of controversy surrounding Grant Morrison’s Batman run. To detractors, it’s just unreadable. This often goes along with ugly comments about Morrison in general: that he’s admitted to being inspired by drugs and that… [more]
In Defense of Lateness
There’s been a lot of commotion in recent years over late — sometimes very late — high-profile books.
Superman Returns Prequel #3: Lex Luthor
How did Lex meet that girl Kitty anyway? Or that widow Gertrude? And what exactly was he up to for five years?
Superman Returns Prequel #2: Ma Kent
Previously, I introduced the Superman Returns prequel comics and examined the first issue in some detail, paying particular attention to how it changed things from Donner’s 1978 original. This time, we’ll continue on to the second… [more]
The Superman Returns Prequel Comics
In a major coup for the publisher, DC Comics announced in early 2006 that it would, in June 2006, be publishing a four-issue mini-series prequel to the then-upcoming Superman Returns.
What Bryan Singer Has Done
What Bryan Singer has done, with Superman Returns, is to create something lastingly sublime.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: Firestorm in Space
Besides being featured on a few pages in Infinite Crisis, Donna’s group starred in five issues once they took off into space on New Cronus.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: The Rann / Thanagar War Special
Over the past months, we’ve examined a hell of a lot of Infinite Crisis. In the process, this study has come to exceed 160,000 words! In fact, our coverage of the Rann-Thanagar War alone runs 40,000 words… [more]
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Coalition in Crisis”
With Hawkman #46, which ended with Hawkman and Hawkgirl contacted by Adam Strange, the Hawks’ narrative met up with that of The Rann Thanagar War (a mini-series that had already concluded at that point). The following three… [more]
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “PowerTrip”
We’ve previously examined the convoluted history of Power Girl. We now turn to Geoff Johns’s revamping of Power Girl’s origin in the pages of JSA Classified, which in turn led directly into Power Girl’s appearance in Infinite… [more]
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: A Brief History of Power Girl
Power Girl, one of the major players in Infinite Crisis, was one of several characters whose history became convoluted in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: Hawkman #46
Having just concluded a two-part look at Hawkman’s history, including the storyline ending in Hawkman #45, the last issue before the title began to be affected by Infinite Crisis, we now turn to Hawkman #46, which ties into The… [more]
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: A Brief History of Hawkman, Part 2
Having previously examined the history of Hawkman from his Golden Age origins through the new Hawkgirl’s debut in JSA, we now conclude our look at Hawkman, terminating just before The Rann-Thanagar War.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: A Brief History of Hawkman
Given Hawkman’s role in The Rann-Thanagar War, it’s useful to briefly consider Hawkman’s history and his ties to Thanagar.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: Dr. Light in Teen Titans
Identity Crisis left Dr. Light remembering what he was once capable of and thinking how next to act. In the wake of that mini-series, DC sought to turn Dr. Light into a major villain
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Adam Strange: Planet Heist” Concludes
Having examined the history of Adam Strange and the first half of his 2004-2005 mini-series, we now turn to the second half of that series, which leads into The Rann-Thanagar War.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Adam Strange: Planet Heist”
We’ve previously covered the history of Adam Strange, up until the 2004-2005 mini-series Adam Strange, which led into The Rann-Thanagar War. Now, it’s time to address that mini-series…
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: A Brief History of Adam Strange
It’s hard to claim that Adam Strange has a particularly glorious history, but he remains one of the DC’s most beloved science fiction characters.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: Tie-Ins to The OMAC Project #6
We’ve already seen that, chronologically, Superman #220 occurs during The OMAC Project #6. But a number of other comics also tied into The OMAC Project #6.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: The Rann-Thanagar War Concludes
Earlier, we looked at The Rann-Thanagar War #1-4. We now return to that series to cover its conclusion.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Crisis of Conscience” Epilogue
Adventures of Superman #644 offers an epilogue to “Crisis of Conscience,” which also ties to other narrative threads and leads into Infinite Crisis #1.
Mike Mackey on Liberality for All
Mike Mackey is the creator of Liberality for All, the first issue of which recently saw publication from ACC Studios. Billed as “the World’s First Conservative Comic Book,” the series takes place 20 years after 9/11.… [more]
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Crisis of Conscience”
“Crisis of Conscience,” running in JLA from #115 to #119, was promoted as bridging the gap between Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Sacrifice” Aftermath
In the month after the historic “Sacrifice” storyline, three of the four titles that participated in that storyline offered stories dealing with the aftermath of “Sacrifice.”
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: The OMAC Project Concludes
The OMAC Project #3 ended with Maxwell Lord surprisingly speaking to a seemingly hypnotized Superman. “Sacrifice,” which that issue noted would continue directly from OMAC #3,
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: Identity Crisis Epilogue
Having mentioned how well Rucka foreshadowed Wonder Woman’s murder of Maxwell Lord, it’s worth looking at exactly how Rucka accomplished this in the pages of Adventures of Superman.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Sacrifice” Concludes
It’s time to update our look at “Sacrifice,” the storyline that spun out of The OMAC Project. Specifically, it’s time to look at the end of that storyline…
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: The Rann-Thanagar War
The final of the four “Countdown to Infinite Crisis” mini-series to be published, The Rann-Thanagar War is certainly not the weakest and is just as certainly the most sweeping.
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: “Sacrifice”
We’ve looked at the first three issues of The OMAC Project. Now it’s time to look at the shocking storyline those three issues flowed into: “Sacrifice,” running through an entire month’s Superman and Wonder Woman… [more]
Your Guide to Infinite Crisis: The OMAC Project
Having examined DC Countdown, let’s turn our attention to the four mini-series it spawned, beginning with the one that most directly springs from DC Countdown‘s narrative: Greg Rucka’s The OMAC Project.
On DC’s New Logo
On 8 May 2005, DC Comics unveiled its new logo — the first in 30 years or so. What’s in a logo? Does it matter?
Tensions Between Text and Image
The medium variously known as comic books, graphic novels, bandes-dessinés, manga, manga, sequential art, and sequart has been defined as the juxtaposition of text and image on the static page. Once can here recall Words… [more]
Watchmen and Intertextuality: How Watchmen Interrogates the Comics Tradition
Today, Watchmen is celebrated as an autonomous work — and it is partly on this basis that its greatness rests.
On In the Shadow of No Towers
In 2004, coinciding with the Presidential elections, Art Spiegelman released In the Shadow of No Towers. It was the first time his work had penetrated the bookstore since his Maus, which had since won a… [more]
Confessions of a New X-Men Reader
Grant Morrison made me care about the X-Men for the first time. Oh, I’d read the X-Men. I liked the ideas behind “Days of Future Past” and “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” I just didn’t care.
In Defense of Sue Dibny’s Rape
Call me a sick fuck, but I’m in favor of Sue Dibny’s rape. Wait. That came out wrong. I’m in favor of its use in Identity Crisis.
Superman’s Copyright: The Never-Ending Battle?
With the current focus on the rights to Superman, it’s worth taking a moment to discuss the history of the Superman copyright.
The State of American Comics Address, 2004
This is the fourth annual State of American Comics Address that I have given. The State of American Comics Address is intended to sum up, in retrospect and for the historical record, the American comics… [more]
Reviews out of Time 3: Amazing Spider-Man #1
Greetings, True Believers! Welcome to the third installment of my continuing attempt to enlighten you about the weird comics I’m discovering down at Clark’s Drugs! And man, have I got a weird one for you… [more]
Bill Jemas Autopsy
Bill Jemas was for a few years the man everyone loved to hate. He played the bad guy to Joe Quesada, who more effectively cultivated himself as the “people’s man” in Marvel Comics’ administration. Now… [more]
Why I Hate Wolverine
Wolverine would have been a good recurring character in The Incredible Hulk, where he first appeared. And I would have defended him, retractable claws and all. But he can’t really sustain his own book, nor being… [more]
Attention Versus Quality (or Fuck the Market)
People love to complain about it. I can’t enter a comic shop without hearing it. Everyone in American comics seems to want another boom — as if the last one was good for us.
Mark Millar’s The Authority and the Polemic over Iraq
For some reason, as I think of the polemic over Iraq (as I often do these days), I keep thinking about The Authority.
The State of American Comics Address, 2003
Things are, in many ways, quite good in American comics. Sales stink, but the quality of the average comic book is really rather high.
Memoir in Ben-Day Dots
I can’t recall the first comic I ever read. I’m sure they featured in my early childhood, as my family has tattered old Donald Duck and other Gladstone comics to prove it.
The Intellectual Rip-Off of Captain America’s The New Deal
There has been some discussion, as of late, of the politics of recent Captain America storylines.
Against Speculators
Comics in the early ’90s were full of collectors, people who bought comics not to read them but to collect them. And comic book companies catered to this market, printing multiple covers, foil-enhanced covers, holographic… [more]
On Continuity: No-Prizes, Retcons, and the Mental Acrobatics of Continuity Repair
In the Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s, comics were mostly episodic tales in which characters barely changed.
Exposing Status Quo Super-Heroics in Mark Millar’s The Authority
In 2000, a largely unknown writer named Mark Millar took over an already revolutionary title called The Authority, published by DC / WildStorm.
The Genius of the Super-Pets
The creation of derivative versions of super-heroes goes back to Captain Marvel’s derivatives, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. — which were introduced in the 1940s.
Rich Johnston on Comics Gossip
Rich Johnston is the sole relevant gossip columnist for an entire artistic industry in America. Sometimes scandalous, his columns have broken major stories and changed the face of comics historicism,
Media Coverage of Comic Books: The Case of 60 Minutes II
Tonight, I watched 60 Minutes II because I read online that Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, popular hero for returning (or contributing to the return of) Marvel Comics to greatness (or something closer), would be on the… [more]
Reviews out of Time 2: The X-Men #1, Tales of Suspense #39, and Sgt. Fury #1
I’m told that there’s been a lot of e-mail in response to the last column, and what’s apparently called “printouts” of it has been sent to me, since I don’t do e-mail myself.
Reviews out of Time 1: Fantastic Four #1, The Incredible Hulk #1, and Amazing Fantasy #15
Guys, I’d like to tell you that there’s some good stuff going on over at this company called Marvel Comics! They got this guy Stan Lee writing, and he’s doing some weird stuff.
The Cult of the Writer
One of the major phenomena occurring in American comic books in the last two decades has been the cult of the writer, often in competition with the cult of the artist or illustrator. Various years… [more]
Superman 2002
Metropolis. A group of walking citizens suddenly stops on the street and stares hopefully toward the heavens.
A Brief Consideration of Gaiman’s Usage of Lucifer in The Sandman
Before he had his own ongoing series, Lucifer came to prominence in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. But Gaiman’s Lucifer went through three very different depictions, somewhat inconsistent with one another.
Against Silver Age Marvel, the Cult of Stan Lee, and Fantastic Four (Annual) #1 / For Comic Books as Literary Art
To this day, one hears otherwise intelligent comic book creators saying that they want to recapture the joy of reading Fantastic Four #1, of its fun and its newness. This always shocks me, especially when it… [more]
Comic Book Morality
It’s true: there’s a simplicity to seeing Doc Doom or Lex Luthor as bad and Superman or the Fantastic Four as good.
Censorship of The Authority
The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks upon the United States of America left many Americans, and much of the world, seriously shaken and disturbed. Almost immediately, the shockwaves echoed throughout the artistic world:
The State of American Comics Address, 2002
The American comic book industry, as an economic institution, is doing terribly. Artistically, however, this will be remembered as a fairly good period. Many mainstream titles are selling less than 20,000 copies; a few even… [more]
The State of American Comics Address, 2001
Okay, ground rules: I take it for granted that comics — or, rather, the medium of graphic literature (an important distinction) — is a serious artistic form, obviously under-appreciated by comparison to painting, sculpture, and… [more]
Belfast and New York, Ireland and America, and “Irish Studies” as Reflected by Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis, an Irish writer working in the graphic novel (or extended comic book) format, represents a literary outsider. Although he shows considerably greater disdain for many other groups, Ennis has openly shown disdain for… [more]
Mark Millar on The Authority
The Authority, already popular, has taken off under the new team of Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. Though many doubted they could replace their popular predecessors,
News Content by Julian Darius (35 Total)
Two Books About Grant Morrison Now on Kindle
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization’s celebrated Grant Morrison: The Early Years and Our Sentence is Up: Seeing Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles are both now available on Kindle.
Get Sequart’s Book on Batman Begins for 99 Cents
Sequart’s Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen, by Julian Darius, is now available digitally for 99 cents.
Sequart’s Books Get New, Cheaper Editions
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization’s entire line of eight books of comics scholarship is now available in revised editions featuring significantly lower cover prices.
New Documentary Film: Comics in Focus: Chris Claremont’s X-Men
Sequart and Respect Films are proud to announce a new documentary film, the first in a new series that will take advantage of new forms of distribution. A Kickstarter campaign has been created to help… [more]
Jim Beard Signing Gotham City 14 Miles in Ohio and New Jersey
Jim Beard, editor of and essayist for our Gotham City 14 Miles, will be appearing at two upcoming comic shows to promote the book and celebrate 45 years of the 1966-68 Batman TV series.
Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts Postcards
Promotional postcards have been created for the upcoming theatrical debut of Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, and we thought we’d share them with you. The front features a distorted image of Warren Ellis, along with the… [more]
Keeping the World Strange in Comics Stores Wednesday
Keeping the World Strange, our book on Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s Planetary, hits comics stores Wednesday (14 September 2011).
Sequart’s Books Go Digital
As part of Sequart’s roll-out into digital distribution, two of its books are now available digitally: Timothy Callahan’s Grant Morrison: The Early Years and Julian Darius’s Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen.
Sequart’s Julian Darius and Kevin Thurman on Comic Related
Comic Related, an impressive website with comics news and a full slate of podcasts, interviewed Sequart’s publisher Julian Darius and marketing director Kevin Thurman for its most recent episode of The Related Recap.
Please Help Diagram for Delinquents, the Documentary Film on Fredric Wertham
We’re in the home stretch on our Kickstarter campaign for Diagram for Delinquents: Fredric Wertham and the Evolution of Comic Books, our upcoming documentary film about the most hated man in comics history: psychiatrist Fredric… [more]
Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts on Kickstarter
Respect! Films has released a brand new trailer (over at Wired.com) for the documentary film Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts and is looking for some finishing costs funding via Kickstarter.
Cover Released for Voyage in Noise
We’re pleased to release the cover art for Voyage in Noise: Warren Ellis and the Demise of Western Civilization, scheduled for a late 2011 release.
Sequart at C2E2
If you’re going to be at C2E2 in Chicago on Saturday, 19 March, come check out Sequart’s “Year of Ellis” panel.
Keeping the World Strange in Previews
Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide, Sequart’s newest book, is now available for order through Diamond Comics Distributors.
Diagram for Delinquents, the Documentary Film on Fredric Wertham
Sequart is proud to announce a documentary film about the most hated man in comics history: psychiatrist Fredric Wertham.
Cover Released for Shot in the Face
We’re pleased to release the cover art for Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan, scheduled for a late 2011 release.
Cover Released for Keeping the World Strange
We’re pleased to release the cover art for Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide, scheduled for May 2011 release.
2011: The Year of Ellis
Here at Sequart, 2011 is the Year of Ellis — as in celebrated comics writer Warren Ellis. Throughout the year, we’ll be offering three books and a documentary film on Ellis, exploring his major works, his… [more]
Welcome to the New Sequart!
You may have noticed that, as of a few days ago, our site has been redesigned, including the addition of a couple of new books. Now, we’re rolling out new online content for the first… [more]
Sequart.org Down
Sequart.org has experienced a loss of service due to a server-related issue. Our webhost migrated the site from one server to another, and it turned out that the complex site simply didn’t work on the… [more]
Teenagers from the Future Now Available
Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes is now available from Sequart Research & Literacy Organization.
On the Demise of HBO’s Preacher
The live-action HBO series adapting Preacher is apparently dead.
Mutant Cinema Now Available
Mutant Cinema: The X-Men Trilogy from Comics to Screen is now available from Sequart Research & Literacy Organization.
Grant Morrison: The Early Years on Newsarama
Newsarama has an interview up with Tim Callahan about the second edition of Grant Morrison: The Early Years. Callahan talks about Morrison, including his recent Batman work. He also talks about Sequart’s Teenagers from the Future: Essays… [more]
The Dark Knight Approaches $400 Million
In its third weekend of release, The Dark Knight took in an estimated $43.8 million, bringing its total domestic gross to an estimated $394.9 million. The total was the second-best third-weekend in history: Spider-Man took in $45.0… [more]
The Dark Knight Approaches $300 Million in 10 Days
Now in its second weekend, The Dark Knight continues to set records for the highest-grossing film over such a short duration. On Monday, 21 July, on its fourth day of release, The Dark Knight all but matched… [more]
The Dark Knight Breaks Records
The Dark Knight‘s debut in theatres has broken just about all the records for an opening. First, it broke the record for highest-grossing midnight showing on Friday, 18 July. The movie took in $18.5 million… [more]
Support Grant Morrison: The Early Years 2nd Edition
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to annouce that the second edition of Grant Morrison: The Early Years is now available for order only through comic shops. The book is listed in July’s Previews catalogue, which… [more]
Grant Morrison: The Early Years in Previews
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to annouce that the second edition of Grant Morrison: The Early Years is now available for order only through comic shops.
Sequart at NYCC
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization will be at the New York Comic-Con, 18-20 April 2008, at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. Check it out at table #2445.
Mutant Cinema Coming Soon
Sequart’s newest book, Thomas J. McLean’s Mutant Cinema: The X-Men Trilogy from Comics to Screen, has gone to press and will be available for purchase soon. The book examines the X-Men film trilogy from the ground… [more]
New Look
Yes, the organization has a new logo… and the site a new look.
Sequart.com: A 10-Year Retrospective
Earlier this week, I authored an item about how Sequart is celebrating its ten-year anniversary. I want to use this space to expand on what I said there, giving a fuller accounting of our history.
Sequart.com: 10 Years!
Today, Sequart is celebrating 10 years online.
Why Sequart.com?
I’ve been writing about comics since the early days of the internet revolution in the mid-1990s. I had read comics forever, and the internet provided an opportunity to make public my examinations of the best… [more]
