Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Writer Christopher Hart is responsible for more than 60 how-to books about creating manga and comics, including the incredibly popular Manga Mania and its many spinoffs. But I’d never heard of him creating any actual comics until now. The Reformed is described as “original English language (OEL) crime noir vampire manga”, and the promotional text will give you a good idea of just how clichéd it is. Immortality is his, but love never will be — only an eternity 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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The Surrogates is a strong debut by writer Robert Venditti, ably supported by artist Brett Weldele (Couscous Express). It reminds me of Fell in several ways: the cop investigating bizarre crimes, the grid-based layouts, the grimy, scratchy art. Venditti’s approaching his story as more traditional science fiction, though, taking an intriguing premise and playing out different implications within an action framework. Fifty years from now, most people interact through the use of surrogates, idealized robot forms that make virtual reality […]
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Dream Sequence takes the next step beyond previous volume Talisman in dealing with alternative realities. Users with direct-interface brain jacks visit Elsewhere, the world inside Magri White’s head, to process their subconscious into dream-like visions in lieu of sleeping. It’s a virtual reality with all senses engaged, and because it’s the vision of a single creator, it’s a better experience than the corporate, computer-designed alternatives. Magri’s life is his art, and he’s building worlds literally shared by his audience (even […]
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“Manhwa Novella Collection” is Netcomics’ umbrella title for a series of anthologies containing shorter works, each focused on a notable Korean comic author. Here, I’m looking at Volume Two: 9 Faces of Love by Wann (whose Can’t Lose You has also been published by Netcomics). Personally, I’m not always fond of this technique. If I only care for certain types of works and/or particular authors, it bugs me to have (for instance) books numbered two and four on my shelf […]
Read moreWhen I worked at DC Comics in the mid-90s, I had access to reader studies they’d commissioned. Before I get to the data, here are the caveats. 1. These figures date from 1995. A lot has changed since then. They’d done previous studies in 1990 and 1992, and based on survey ads they’ve run in their comics since then, I believe they’ve done at least two since then. I would love to know what they said, but I doubt I’ll […]
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After being reminded of this show, and how much I liked it as a kid, I was able to find a set of Automan episodes online. There were only 13 of them, aired in 1983-1984. Automan puts a slight science fiction overlay onto the traditional hour-long cop show. Desi Arnaz, Jr. plays Walter Nebicher (a name that exists only so people can “accidentally” call him Nebbish), a police officer who’s stuck in the computer room when he wants to be […]
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Since I’ve been talking about beloved 1980s television, do you think there’s a chance I’ll ever see a DVD set of Probe? It’s best known (if at all) today for being co-created by Isaac Asimov, but I quite enjoyed this short-run TV mystery series. There was a two-hour pilot movie, followed by six hour-long episodes. (Judging by the comments there, some people are still bitter it’s gone.) Parker Stevenson co-starred as genius Austin James, who lived in a computer-controlled warehouse […]
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