The DC New 52: Reviews of All the Week Three Books

Reviews by KC Carlson (with guest cameo by JDC!) Batman and Robin #1 Upfront (what you should know about my preconceptions about the comic): Not much changing here, no? Other than Bruce becoming Batman full-time again, I don’t think there’s much radically changing in the Bat-books, so there’s not much to talk about. I’m intrigued by writer Peter Tomasi making some tiny (but potentially huge, psychologically) changes to Batman’s way of thinking in regards to the death of his parents […]

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The DC New 52: Reviews of All the Week Two Books

Reviews by KC Carlson Action Comics #1 Upfront (what you should know about my preconceptions about the comic): A long time ago, for a short period of time, I used to edit this comic book. Also, I’m not a member of the Morrison “cult” following. Book of the Week! I loved this comic. For me it was like reading a Superman story in the “real” 1938 Action Comics. It tapped into the original Siegel & Shuster concept of Superman fighting […]

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Justice League #1: The DC New 52 Week One

Review by KC Carlson Oh, dear. Where to start? Especially when this particular book (and the whole New 52) has become, for so many people, something bigger than comics itself. Even DC realizes that this… whatever it is (Initiative? Event? Reboot? Circus Freak Show?) has become so over-hyped that there was some effort recently trying to walk everything back a little. In the recent ICv2 interview, Dan DiDio actually admitted that they have no clue where they’ll be in six […]

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What Makes a Good First Issue? Guidelines for Superhero Comic Origins

Commentary by KC Carlson All through our lives, we hear one particular metaphor over and over — You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Most of the time we hear it in relation to job hunting and interviews, but I think it’s a pretty good rule of thumb for practically anything. Especially the first issues of comic books. First Issues, Pilots, and Proposals There’s always been a special fascination with first issues in the world of […]

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Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season Two, Part One

Review by KC Carlson How engaging to have another 12 episodes (on two DVDs) of the most charming Batman: The Brave and the Bold series — the first half of Season Two — to dive into. Since I’ve raved at length about previous sets, no need to repeat myself — let’s dive right into more Bat-foolery and Bat-awesomeness! Classic Characters! Guest stars this time around include Plastic Man (and Woozy Winks!), Blue Beetle, Aquaman, The Green Lantern Corps, the Justice […]

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Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson: Race to Death Valley

Review by KC Carlson “MY GOSH!! What cheese! If only I had a bottle of beer!!” –Mickey Mouse (1930) A few days later, in the midst of the “Mickey Mouse in Death Valley” continuity in the then-freshly minted Mickey Mouse newspaper strip, Mickey’s girl Minnie — held captive by her shyster lawyer and Black Pete — is treated to the sight of a silhouette of a hanged (and obviously dead) Mickey. She screams. Jeez, this sure isn’t the same Mickey […]

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Joe Simon: My Life in Comics

Review by KC Carlson Normally, guys Joe Simon’s age should be retired. Kicking back. Taking life easy. Here’s a couple of things you should know about Joe. He’s 97 years old. He and his long-time partner Jack Kirby created a lot of comic book characters — including Captain America. He was Timely Comics’ (now Marvel Comics) first editor. He trained Stan Lee. (Let that one sink in a little.) He and Kirby created the romance genre and were instrumental in […]

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Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles

Review by KC Carlson Interesting things were happening at Hanna Barbera in 1966. The largest provider of cartoons in the early days of original television programming was famous for its funny animal successes, notably Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw, as well as their prime-time shows staring humans, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Jonny Quest. The success of the latter led some at HB to start thinking more about adventure-type programming for Saturday morning. They began to […]

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