Several years ago, I contributed an essay to Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan, a collection of writings published by Sequartabout the science fiction comic series. My particular topic was “Spider Jerusalem: Super-Hero of the Future?” In that piece, I looked at how one defines a superhero and whether the Warren Ellis-written journalist character qualified. I thought I’d excerpt some key parts here, mostly because I’ve missed arguing online. (I have lightly reedited the […]

Unpublished ‘70s Stories by the King of Comics! Review by KC Carlson Somehow this amazing book from TwoMorrows managed to literally slip through the cracks between what’s laughably known as my desk and a wall — until I was reminded that I hadn’t read or reviewed it yet. After finding it, I was ashamed that I had misplaced this incredible (and fun!) look at Kirby’s odds and ends from DC Comics that hadn’t been collected yet. I appreciated seeing a […]

TwoMorrows Publishing put out a special book-length version of the Jack Kirby Collector #75 at the beginning of the year. It was called Kirby & Lee: Stuf’ Said, and it’s a chronological examination of what they (and others, including Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, and “wives Joan Lee and Roz Kirby”) said about the beginnings of the Marvel Universe. (KC reviewed it here.) Here’s author John Morrow talking about his goals for the project. The book was, according to TwoMorrows, “the […]

Review by KC Carlson Published to tie into Batman’s 80th anniversary, this 304-page hardcover from Chartwell Books, written by Robert Greenberger, possibly has more facts in it than the Bat-Computer! Plus, Batman: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the Dark Knight contains much detail on creators, publications, and various Robins (not all dead), as well as a bit of behind-the scenes history to add to your Bat-Enjoyment! Holy cape and cowl! The first great Batman Moment is pretty […]

Review by KC Carlson DC Comics Super-Villains: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights From the History of the World’s Greatest Super-Villains is the third such book written by former DC Comics Editor (amongst many other DC Comics duties) Robert Greenberger (better known in the DC offices as “Bob”). The other two books are Justice League: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the World’s Greatest Super Heroes (July 2018) and DC Comics Super Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History […]

Jon Morris is back with his third book on the forgotten corners of superhero comics. After The League of Regrettable Superheroes and The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains comes The League of Regrettable Sidekicks. As with the first book, the material is handsomely presented, with each little-known character getting a page or two of text accompanied by a page of comic art. The book is divided into three sections, one each for the Golden Age, Silver Age, and Modern Age. The […]

The Art of the Graphic Memoir: Tell Your Story, Change Your Life sets out to be instructional, but the part I found most fascinating was when author Tom Hart talked about the choices he made for his own book, Rosalie Lightning. (Hart has previously written The Sequential Artists Workshop Guide to Creating Professional Comic Strips; Rosalie Lightning is his story of the death of his not-yet-two-year-old daughter.) While there are exercises and lessons on creating graphic memoir in this book […]

Review by KC Carlson I’m a huge fan of this series. Published by TwoMorrows, the American Comic Book Chronicles is an extremely detailed year-by-year — and then a further month-by month — examination of pretty much everything of note that happened during that time, both inside the comic books and at the offices of the major publishers, as well as with many of their top freelance artists and writers. American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1990s, written by Jason Sacks and […]