Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Jay Hosler continues his impressive streak of graphic novels that make science fun. Clan Apis told us of the life cycle of a bee. The Sandwalk Adventures used a mite in Charles Darwin’s eyebrow to explain evolution. But Optical Allusions may be the weirdest yet. Developed in part with a National Science Foundation grant, it’s the story of how Wrinkles the Wonder Brain searches for a lost eye and learns all about the science of vision and eyeballs. Each chapter […]
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The Lindbergh Child kicks off a new series for author/artist Rick Geary. Previously, he’d released nine volumes of A Treasury of Victorian Murder; now, this book moves into a more recent era, starting “A Treasury of XXth Century Murder”. (The odd spelling of Twentieth is apparently intentional.) Based on this first case, “America’s Hero and the Crime of the Century”, these stories will feel more familiar to the modern reader. Once Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean, he […]
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I recently reread the three volumes of Kat & Mouse, the Tokyopop series about two girls solving mysteries at a snooty New England private school. I’ll say up front, I think canceling it (and leaving major plots unsolved) was a very bad idea, since it’s a wonderful book to push to fans of things like Gossip Girl or similar stories of class-based plots among the school-age set. However, its odd format — not manga-sized, but half that length, for $6 […]
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I wasn’t old enough to appreciate how good Max Headroom was when it was on the first time. Now, having recently rewatched the 14 existing episodes, the question of the day is: why isn’t this on DVD?!?! Although it ran from 1987-1988, it’s a remarkably modern show. Visually, its Brazil-meets-Blade Runner approach, using older technology (like manual typewriter keyboards) to suggest the future, is watchable without seeming outdated. In terms of content, the plots tackled still-timely subjects like identity in […]
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Review by KC Carlson In his Forward, DC President and Publisher Paul Levitz states that there really isn’t a “DC Vault”. I, politely, beg to differ. While there may be no DC Vault like Scrooge McDuck’s legendary vault, or the original Fortress of Solitude with its vault-like door and giant key, there is a real DC Vault — and I worked there for about 8 years. It’s the DC office itself, currently in midtown Manhattan, filled with creative, intelligent, and […]
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Released this week was The Martian Confederacy, a new sci-fi adventure graphic novel written by Jason McNamara (First Moon, Continuity) and drawn by Paige Braddock (Jane’s World). It’s set on Mars in the year 3535, but this isn’t a shiny happy future. It’s Mars as trailer park. Think of the grimy bar that shows up in Star Wars or Serenity, and then envision a planet like that, where even the air is controlled by a corporation. Boone’s a scrappy guy […]
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I know I’m about a month late, but that’s why I love TiVo. I just got a chance to start catching up on episodes of the Middleman TV show airing on ABC Family. I’d tried the first comic issue back when it was a free taste, and I enjoyed it, but I never kept up with it. I’m glad I checked this out. It stars newcomer Natalie Morales as Wendy Watson (or “Dubbie”) and Matt Keeslar as the square-jawed, straight-edge […]
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I finally sat down and watched Spider-Man 2 tonight, because when talking about how much I loved Iron Man, some people said this was better. About 40 minutes in, KC and I looked at each other and said “THIS is supposed to be the best superhero movie ever?” We’d just watched Doctor Octopus, having newly gained his arms, stagger out of the hospital after killing everyone, and neither one of us knew what emotion he was supposed to be feeling […]
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