Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic 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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Many many people have had the idea of doing an adult take on Archie and his gang, but few have executed it with so much skill and insight. Criminal: The Last of the Innocent uses the familiar characters of the gawky boy, his dopey friend, the girl friend who wanted to be the girlfriend, and the desirable rich girl in a noir-ish tale about murder and reinvention. Plus, with contrasting visuals of dark present day and brighter, simpler pages that […]
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I enjoyed one of the books in this series so much, I thought I’d try another one. Under His Spell pairs Bethany, a determined soccer player praised for avoiding “boy-based distractions”, with a foreign transfer student who turns out to be a fairy prince. It’s written by Marie P. Croall and illustrated by Hyeondo Park. Allein has been sent to our world to hide from a war over the inheritance of the throne, but his cousin has led a band […]
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When I found out that “teen paranormal romance” is one of the hottest new book genres, I thought I should check out this graphic novel line trading on its popularity. (It didn’t hurt that writer Paul Storrie was an old friend.) I’m glad I did, because I got a fun monster love story, but one more creative and unusual in its content than I suspected. “My Boyfriend Is a Monster” is an umbrella title; each of the entries stands alone. […]
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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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There aren’t enough mysteries in comics — I’m talking about actual whodunnits, not violent crime sprees or suspense thrillers — so it was a pleasure to stumble across this small gem. “Murder at the Inn” is part two of two, revealing the killer of a traveling paper dealer knocked off at the end of #139, but it’s not essential to have read the previous issue to enjoy this one. You’re given the cast of characters at the beginning of this […]
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Branding four issues of the Veronica comic as a miniseries under a different name might seem like an odd thing to do, but it isn’t the first time Archie’s used an established title as a pilot springboard. Two years ago, Young Salem was tried out in the Sabrina comic. (Unfortunately, the title was cancelled just after that.) It’s a good way to force viewers to pay attention to your new character, since subscribers are automatically going to read the issues. […]
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Jennifer Hayden‘s autobiographical slice-of-life comics fall into a well-known genre, but her position — as the middle-aged mother of two — provides a viewpoint we don’t often see expressed in comics from such a position of knowledge. Underwire began as a webcomic, and this Top Shelf collection includes 22 of those stories, plus 17 new pages. She tells tales about her family, influenced by sitcom structure. How can you not enjoy cartoons by someone who compares being middle-aged to “like […]
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