Archive | Guest Columns

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Wolverine: Legacies

Wolverine first appeared near the end of 1974. Children who read that comic would be past middle age before his background would be fully sketched in (assuming the job’s done). It is easy to forget, now, but originally the Wolverine was a mystery man, even to himself. Neither he nor we knew who he was. […]

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Green Arrow: The Bronze Age

When they published Superman, the Golden Age began. When they redesigned the Flash and Green Lantern, the Silver Age began. But the Bronze Age is defined by a hash of ideas, a revival of attitudes, and a few assumptions no one wants to talk about. Generally, the Bronze Age is taken as being from 1970 […]

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Back Up in the Sky

  Hey, there are gonna be some SPOILERS below. I’ll try to keep the major stuff out, but you’ve been warned. Go see this movie, then read the review. Or don’t. I’m a preamble, not a cop. (Community reference)     I remember a few years back when a new Superman film came out. Starring […]

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Superman For the Animals

One of my favorite things to do at comic book shops or at conventions is to spend time going through the sales boxes. You’ve all seen them. Long boxes stuffed with issues of anything and everything marked down to irresistible prices – sometimes as low as $0.25 each! I’ll admit that I occasionally use the […]

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Mandarin - the story of my life

Meet the Mandarin

Some comics punch you in the gut. The Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 – Mandarin: The Story of My Life hit me in the stomach and slapped me across the face. The story by Matt Fraction (writer) and Carmine Di Giandomenico (artist) tells a chilling tale. For me, it was my first encounter with the […]

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This Tony Stark Guy Is Kinda Cool

It’s easy to dislike Tony Stark. He’s rich, brash, and arrogant. He’s an alcoholic and a womanizer. That’s all superficial though. If you dig below the surface, he becomes a more interesting and likable guy. He’s incredibly smart and even if his methods are sometimes questionable, you can see he has good intentions at heart. […]

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Thirteen Years Ago

One of my favorite stories in Starman isn’t about Jack Knight. It’s about his father and some of his old friends – Jay Garrick Flash, Alan Scott Green Lantern, Rex Tyler Hourman, and Charles McNider Doctor Mid-Nite. Starman #11: “13 Years Ago: Five Friends” has the ring of older folks telling stories about walking to […]

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There Is a City

“There is a city. A glorious and singular place. Old and yet pristine. Ornate and yet streamlined. A metropolis of now and then and never was… And so Opal City stands glorious and singular.” I was hooked on James Robinson’s Starman from the first page. How could I not be with an introduction like this? […]

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Let There Be SCIENCE

  “Hang on. This is about to get weird.”   Close your eyes and imagine yourself falling down a dark and chilly hole in the earth. Strange lights flash off the walls and alien scents fill your nostrils. You open your mouth to scream, but all that emerges is a faint whisper. You’ve tumbled into […]

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Welcoming the Future, Treasuring the Past.