OceansideThe Year in Comics, Week 7: Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes

Please be warned; this second Valentine’s Day piece contains very significant spoilers!

Warrior #4 (Summer 1982)“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.

Screen shot 2012-01-11 at 7.07.40 PMRealism and the Art of Action

Sequential art is a purely visual medium, one that relies on the combination of words and pictures in order to give the illusion of animation and sound.

Steve CanyonMeeting with Bosses Old and New

[Marshall] Field asked, “What do you want?” [Milton] Caniff didn’t even have to hesitate. “I told him full ownership [of Steve Canyon] and full editorial control.” – “Setting the Stage,” by Chris Jenson in Steve… [more]

Damian revealedDeconstructing Batman and Robin: Damian’s Transformation (Part 1)

The very idea of Batman having a son was criticized before Damian ever made his first appearance.

Goodbye KissThe Year in Comics, Week 6: Bill Finger & Wayne Boring’s The Girl in Superman’s Past

It’s hard to tell at first from looking that the Clark Kent of 1959’s The Girl In Superman’s Past is desperately in love.

from Miracleman, Chapter 3, page 6 (Eclipse version)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]

Before WatchmenWhen Adrian Veidt Owns Shakespeare: Why I’m Against Before Watchmen

DC Comics recently officially announced that it would be reviving the characters from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s revered graphic novel, Watchmen, for a slew of prequel spin-off comics. In my opinion, these prequels are… [more]

Batman strollWhy Batman Isn’t a Wingnut

Recently, a friend of mine clicked on a Batman-related TV show clip that found its way to the front page of Reddit.

Sinestro_evil_rantThe Power Ring and the Comic Book (Part 4)

In part 1 of this series I wrote: When DC Comics issued their refurbished versions of such characters as the Flash and Green Lantern, the heroes still fought assorted “done-in-one-story” menaces while the narratives remained… [more]

Batman deadDeconstructing Batman and Robin: The Grayson Foils, Part 3

The first six issues of Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin expertly put Dick Grayson in a position that readers weren’t used to seeing him in – one of vulnerability.

Crime Does Not Pay 24The Year in Comics, Week 5: Crime Does Not Pay

Some of it is still shocking.

from Miracleman, chapter 3, page 2 (Eclipse version)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]

Grant Morrison: The Early YearsTwo 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.

screen-shot-2012-01-09-at-9-09-51-amOn Breast-Feeding and Boobery

I know that in my column here, which is unofficially titled “Living Fiction,” I usually adopt the hippy dippy angle of “comics are more real than we think” or whatever and apply it to whatever… [more]

MoneyMan2010Rethinking “Modern Era Comic Books Aren’t Bad… They’re Just Not Worth the Money”

In the Spring 2010 newsletter of the Comic Book Collector’s Association, I wrote an article called “Modern Era Comic Books Aren’t Bad…They’re Just Not Worth the Money.[1]”

Red HoodDeconstructing Batman and Robin : The Grayson Foils, Part 2

There is no one who could make a better foil for Dick Grayson than Jason Todd.

TerrorThe Year in Comics, Week 4: Garth Ennis & Gary Erskine’s Archangel

There’s such an obvious distinction to be made between the two, but there’s a lot of folks who consistently fail to do so.

from Miracleman, chapter 3, page 1 (Eclipse version)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.

1325534654Superpowers, Reality, Celebrity

A new series launching from Image Comics in April titled America’s Got Powers will tell the tale of superheroes competing in an American reality show for a place on a superhero team.

52Five Years Later: 52, the New 52, and the Elusive “New Reader”

DC Comics has never been shy about branding, their long line of multiverse spanning event comics don’t always feature the same titular influence, but it always seems like there’s some new form of Crisis looming… [more]

Pyg performanceDeconstructing Batman and Robin: The Grayson Foils, Part 1

In all great works of literature, the hero must have a foil; that special character designed to enhance the inherent heroic qualities of the protagonist.

Marvel 2-in-1 coverThe Year in Comics, Week 3: “Vengeance of the Molecule Man!” by Gerber, Kane, & Sinnott

There’s something of the world before the meteor fell about the Marvel Comics of the mid-Seventies. 

Warrior #2 (Apr 1982)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.

World-BuildingSequart Podcast #3: World-Building

Host Cody Walker and guest Terry Bartley discuss world-building in corporate super-hero comics continuity.