Of the handful of Doctor Strange stories I read for Blastoff’s month of Sorcery and Magic, I connected most to The Oath by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. It showed a Doctor Strange using his medical past as well as his magical skills to solve a problem and save his friend. As far as […]
So, magic is pretty much the coolest. It wasn’t until looking back on this Swamp Thing arc that I started to ask myself why so many of the most iconic and defining stories in geek culture deal with the use of magic. Harry Potter. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hell, the Marvel and DC Universe […]
Welcome to Forgotten Lore, where you’ll find the greatest comic-book stories that you’ve never known. Our first subject of obscurity is a 12-page epic entitled “The Prophet.” This story is one of seven features in Bizarre Adventures #32, published by Marvel Comics back in May of 1982. Denny O’Neil edited this group of tales crafted […]
In the 1940s comics had established certain patterns. If a writer and artist were told to come up with a stage-magician crime fighter, as opposed to a costumed crime fighter, as opposed to a hard-boiled detective magical crime fighter, they pretty well knew what to do. Like magical characters, generally, there were three main sources […]
When you’re thinking about magic in comics – as folks who frequent such a website may be inclined to do – Swamp Thing is probably not the first book you think of. With folks like Doc Strange, Zatanna, and… well, pretty much the entire cast of Sandman running around the comicsphere, a slow-speaking Earth elemental […]
One of the reasons I became so enthralled with Gemworld – besides the attraction of the main character being named Amy – is because of the magic. As in, actual magic. Writers Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn and artist Ernie Colón did a wonderful job of fleshing out the world and how it works. From […]
When I learned there was a comic-book character from the ’80s named Amy who transformed into a magic-wielding princess named Amethyst, I was sold. I didn’t even need to know she wore purple and had a pegacorn to be excited to find the series. It wasn’t available digitally, and I remember having to wait (not […]
Once upon a time they were numerous, and popular, and had significance in the history of comic books. Then, presto, they were all but gone, sucked into the black hole of the comic book Dark Ages. Outside of nostalgia pieces, only one remains and DC is trying to change even that. Yes, categories of heroes […]
Wonder Woman is unique in how universally she is known as an iconic character, without actually having a comparatively strong customer base for her comic books. While her performance as a comic-book character has, at times, been strong, many more people seem to be happy to call themselves “fans” of Wonder Woman without having any […]
WWWWW? That is, What’s Wrong With Wonder Woman? She has the most unfulfilled potential of any superhero in the DC or Marvel universes. Put that in corporate terms: there is no other character that could rake in a larger increase in money than Wonder Woman if she were handled right. According to DC, Wonder Woman […]
DC Comic’s New 52 reboot brought changes to several characters in their world. Heroes and villains were born anew. Some received divorces (well, editorial annulments). Some received new relationships. All of them got costumes with collars, and many of them were handed freshly scrubbed and sparkling origin stories. A new coat of paint to cover […]
When I think about Wonder Woman, I don’t think of the Lynda Carter version or even that particular take on the costume. Carter kicked butt in the role to be sure, but it’s not the vision of the Amazon princess I see. I like the armored warrior… even if her thighs and most of her […]
Two Saturday-morning theatrical serials of Batman were produced in the 1940s, and it’s hard to overestimate the influence they had on the character. After all, Hugh Hefner showed these serials at the Playboy mansion and crowd response led to ABC putting on the Batman television show. Not only that, it was the 1943 movie serial, […]
