Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Reactions to DC cancelling the Minx line are popping up all over the web. DC Comics sent out an official statement confirming the news but otherwise saying nothing: Minx will cease publication beginning January ’09. Minx was an experimental imprint for DC Comics and we are extremely proud of the books we published and the stories we told during the past two years. We thank all of the writers and artists who lent their talents to our endeavor and especially […]
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Will Eisner is one of the acknowledged geniuses of the comics field. While he didn’t actually invent the graphic novel (with 1978’s A Contract With God), he did make numerous strides in fighting for acceptance of the medium as an artform. One of his advances was his Sunday Spirit sections, seven-page stories included in weekly newspaper supplements. The Spirit Archives collect these tales in handsomely re-colored hardcovers. With 24 volumes out so far, giving them a try can be intimidating. […]
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Of all the Golden Age Archives of early comics DC has made available — Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman — the best read is The Plastic Man Archives. Many of the others have more historical significance to the superhero genre, but Jack Cole’s stories of his stretchable accidental hero are so creative and odd that they’re great reads, even 60 years on. The first volume reprints the Plastic Man stories from Police Comics #1-20 (August 1941 – June 1943). […]
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A Century of Women Cartoonists, from Kitchen Sink Press in 1993, seems like a revision of Women and the Comics, with a few major changes: 1) Trina Robbins has no co-writer this time, 2) the emphasis is on history, not present-day creators, and 3) a stated intent to focus only on cartoonists, not women who only write comics. On a flip-through, this volume seems to have more illustrations as well, which makes for a breezy read and gives more of […]
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I was honored to be asked to participate in the Publishers Weekly Comics Week Critics’ Poll for the second time. Here are my choices for the best graphic novels of 2007, with commentary. Doctor 13: Architecture & Mortality by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang Cairo by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. PerkerThese two books surprised me most this year. The first presented an up-to-date yet completely new take on forgotten superheroes, reassuring me that there were still imaginative things to […]
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CMX Manga debuted in October 2004 from American comic behemoth DC Comics. The following are quick takes on five of their titles. From Eroica With Love I barely remember the 70s, but this art took me right back. Big feathered hair, Dorothy Hamill cuts, turtlenecks, rock star scarves, leisure suits, tight blue jeans, gold chains … it’s all here. Apparently, this is classic manga styling, affecting the looks of girls’ comics for decades. I found From Eroica With Love by […]
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