The latest digital comic featuring the DC Super Hero Girls (following Past Times at Super Hero High) has particular interest for comic fans. Out of the Bottle has released five installments so far, each 20 screens for 99 cents. In this story, written by Shea Fontana (who’s done the other DC Super Hero Girls comics), Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Katana, and Harley Quinn are making their own comics in Ms. Moone’s art class. Katana envisions a moody, Batman-like crime story where […]

I really love this series. Writer Sholly Fisch does a terrific job telling stories that work as straightforward Scooby-Doo adventures — where the kids have to unmask fake ghosts, while Shaggy quakes and Scooby wisecracks — while tickling us older readers hip to the references. This issue title, “Ghosts Are Not Healthy for Dogs and Other Living Things”, may give you a hint of what’s being satirized this time around. The Scooby crew have come to Karma Corners, a town […]

Wonder Woman: The True Amazon is a beautifully illustrated book that doesn’t need to exist. It’s yet another retelling of the heroine’s origin, but that’s not my biggest complaint, since it does a lovely job of actually establishing a believable society for the Amazons. My biggest objection is that this book by Jill Thompson is yet another example of a story that shows how a hero became a hero by doing a bad thing first and seeing how rotten it […]

The newest take on Batgirl began at the end of 2014, when Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr gave us a Barbara Gordon who dressed realistically (colored Doc Martens-looking boots!), moved somewhere hip, went to college, and made new friends that represented a more diverse society. It was a breath of fresh air for the well-known-but-derivative hero. But there’s been another line relaunch since then, and Rebirth brought Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time, Goldie Vance) on as writer. […]

DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths is the second graphic novel in the branded series, and I’m glad to say that I liked it better than the first, Finals Crisis. That may be because, now that the characters are established (although most of the main ones are already well-known), writer Shea Fontana and artist Yancey Labat can create a plot a little more complex than previously. They’re the same creative team from the first book, and they’ve got a […]

I normally don’t care much for the supernatural-focused stories of Astro City. Although there’s a long tradition of the combination in Bronze Age comics, I’ve never liked the way magic mixes with the more science-fiction-y superheroes. So I was surprised at just how much I liked this issue of the long-running series by Kurt Busiek, illustrated by guest artist Carmen Carnero. It begins with the origin of the Hanged Man. Think the Spectre mixed with the Watcher, an ominous ghostly […]

I’m glad to see that, in all the material they’ve brought out to sell under the DC Super Heroes Girls brand, that they remembered to make a comic. This original graphic novel (written by Shea Fontana, art by Yancey Labat) is actually thicker (128 pages), glossier (with colorful, shiny paper), and slightly smaller than a typical comic, which allows it to be sold in bookstores and provide more kid appeal and value. The cast and plot of Finals Crisis is […]

I heard a lot of people recommend the digital-first nostalgia-fest Batman ’66 while it was running, but I haven’t heard anyone talk about the similar Wonder Woman ’77. Which is a shame because it also tells new stories using likenesses from the fondly remembered TV show version while reminding us how rich the portrayals were. (I can say this authoritatively because I recently binged on season 2 of the TV show starring Lynda Carter. That’s the one where they move […]