Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
I’ve wanted to see What’s Your Number? from the time I saw the first trailer for it. I’ve liked Anna Faris ever since The House Bunny, and of course, I’m a big Chris Evans fan, given how many comic book films he’s been in (Captain America, Fantastic Four, The Losers, Scott Pilgrim) and that he looks amazing in all of them. The premise is this: Ally (Faris) has a loser boyfriend (Zachary Quinto). He leaves the same day she gets […]
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Following the lead of Cartoon Network’s DC Nation programming block, Disney has announced the creation of “Marvel Universe”, launching April 1 on Disney XD. From the press release: Marvel Universe on Disney XD will be the ultimate place for fans to find exclusive Marvel content, including new animated short-form series, live-action interstitials, and the series return of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The block will be home to Marvel’s biggest superstars, such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, […]
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Andy Warner is a student at the Center for Cartoon Studies who emailed me out of the blue to look at his comics, and I’m glad he did. He’s got a bunch online, but the newest are these: The Man Who Built Beirut is a non-fiction exploration of Middle Eastern politics through the story of the murder of Rafik Hariri, former prime minister of Lebanon and construction mega-mogul, and the demonstrations that followed. Warner lived in Beirut in 2005 and […]
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As promised last year, the issue of Life With Archie released tomorrow, #16, features the wedding of Kevin Keller, out soldier and war hero. (And as I hoped, the cover prominently features the event.) Archie Comics has provided the following set of action-packed preview pages showing some of Kevin’s military career and how he met Clay Walker, his physical therapist and later boyfriend; click for larger versions. Although it wasn’t specified, the first set of pages is from the “Archie […]
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It’s almost the end of another year, and as is so typical of these times, I look back and think about years past. The older I get, sometimes, the older I feel. I was email chatting with Rob Walton (the talented cartoonist and animator behind Ragmop) about some of the recent changes in the comic industry, especially those involving restarts and reboots. I said something about “us dinosaurs have to stick together”, and in return, I got this charming cartoon […]
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I wasn’t going to bother reviewing Hark! A Vagrant, because really, how many people do you need to tell you that Kate Beaton’s comics are hilarious as well as informative? I am impressed, though, that something so distinctively unique has caught on so widely. If you’d told me that a collection of comic strips based on literature and history, drawn in a pen-and-ink style more reminiscent of mid-last-century editorial cartooning than other popular webcomics, would be one of the hottest […]
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Here’s what I thought were the best graphic novels of 2011, in order, based on what affected, entertained, and enlightened me. For more information on any of the following titles, the links take you to my reviews. Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeilI simply adore this series, and yet it invariably makes me feel inferior, because I do not have the language or ability to tell you how incredible it all is. Page by Paige by Laura Lee GulledgeI was […]
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The first new Finder story in five years — the previous was Five Crazy Women — takes an exponential step forward in the series. Carla Speed McNeil’s work is more astounding and self-assured than ever in this story of identity and gender. In an echo back to the original Finder: Sin-Eater, Finder: Voice revisits one of the cross-breed daughters from that story. Rachel resembles her mother, a Llaverac, one of a clan known for its androgynous beauties. As the story […]
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