Archie Loses Sonic Comic License
In addition to their own properties, Archie Comics has been publishing the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, based on the Sega video game character, since 1993. Now, that run has ended after 24 years. Per a tweet from the official Sonic Twitter account (featuring a screenshot of the Facebook page), An important update from SEGA regarding Sonic comics: pic.twitter.com/qy9BKkmIvA — Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) July 19, 2017 “SEGA of America will conclude their Sonic the Hedgehog publishing partnership program with […]
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The Unstoppable Wasp: Unstoppable!
Ignore the hip-breaking weirdo disco cover — The Unstoppable Wasp is a new take on the shrinking hero that emphasizes science for girls. The first collection, Unstoppable!, reprinting the first four issues of the series, is due out August 30 in comic shops, September 12 in bookstores. The new wasp is Nadia, the previously unknown daughter of Hank Pym, inventor of size-changing particles. She was raised in the Red Room by the same nefarious group that trained assassins such as […]
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Dreamin’ Sun Volume 1
There’s a lot that’s familiar to the manga reader in Dreamin’ Sun volume 1 by Ichigo Takano, but it’s good-hearted and comfortable enough that I didn’t mind. Kameko has run away from home because her mother died, her father remarried, and the new baby takes up all their attention. She trips over a drunk guy in a kimono in the park who’s been locked out, and he offers her a place to stay. This, amazingly, is not creepy. It helps […]
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Hawkeye: Anchor Points
It is so cool to have a series starring a butt-kicking superhero woman I can read regularly. It seems (still, unfortunately) that only one or two of that type are allowed to exist concurrently, but at least writer Kelly Thompson can be relied upon to provide funny, action-packed stories that have an undercurrent of emotional meaning. Hawkeye: Anchor Points (reprinting the first six issues of the currently running series) takes Kate Bishop to Los Angeles, where she wants to be […]
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Making Scents
Making Scents does something substantial with a silly premise, demonstrating the value of comics. As written by Arthur Yorinks, Mickey was found as a baby by Barney and Barbara Spitz, who raised and trained bloodhounds. So he was raised right along with these “brothers and sisters”, including scent training, making his eventual entry into another culture somewhat difficult. That happens after an accident, with Mickey taken by his aunt and uncle to their home. They’re older, and they never particularly […]
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Bloom County: Episode XI: A New Hope
Today’s leading exhibit of “You can’t go home again” is Bloom County: Episode XI: A New Hope. The most interesting part of the book, to me, was Berkeley Breathed’s introduction, explaining why he started the strip again, but everything went down from there. I was excited when the comic returned two years ago, but reading them all together in this collection reveals too much reliance on nostalgia (a feeling of remember, you loved these characters) and redundancy (way too many […]
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Dark Night: A True Batman Story
There’s such potential in Dark Night: A True Batman Story. Fans of superhero characters are already prepped to want to know more about the author, Paul Dini, who was so instrumental in making Batman: The Animated Series. The idea of exploring how working on a fictional superhero changes after the artist has been severely mugged is a fascinating one. Unfortunately, I found the execution superficial and self-indulgent. At a time when he was helping write the animated feature Mask of […]
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Giant Days: Not on the Test Edition
Although paperback collections of the entertaining Giant Days series have been coming out, Boom! has now released the series’ first hardcover, with a nifty extra. Giant Days: Not on the Test Edition collects the first eight issues written by John Allison. The bulk of the book (the first six) are illustrated by Lissa Treiman, with Max Sarin taking over after that. These issues introduce Daisy (naive), Esther (goth object of desire and center of drama), and Susan (relentlessly practical) in […]
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