Editor’s Note: The recent loss of Neal Adams prompted me to pull this off the shelf and enjoy it again, and to entice you to do the same with this column from a few years back… With the news on Friday of the death of unrivaled boxing champion, social activist and philanthropist Muhammad Ali, I […]
By Scott Tipton By 1964, The Marvel Age of Comics was just getting into gear, and Marvel editor Stan Lee was looking for a way to punch up his newest superhero team book, THE AVENGERS. Having already revived Timely’s other Golden Age success, the Sub-Mariner, in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR, it was time for […]
The news on Friday about the passing of illustrator and comics legend George Perez quite honestly knocked the wind out of me, even though we were all sadly expecting it, following his announcement last year of his battle with pancreatic cancer. I don’t have the words for how much his work meant to me or […]
For Those Who Came In Late: Last week, in response to the passing of writer Dennis O’Neil, we unearthed a lost entry from the COMICS 101 Archives exploring the early adventures of DC Comics’ Green Arrow, a.k.a. Oliver Queen, a bland if likable enough chap who bore a striking conceptual resemblance to DC’s most famous […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yesterday came the welcome news that my old friend and mentor Mark Gruenwald has been inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, a well-deserved honor for a great talent in comics who left us far too soon. Let’s take a look back at my favorite of Mark’s works, his landmark […]
I keep a old-style comic-book spinner rack in my house, and I keep it packed full of old comics I’ve never read from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, so I can always have the experience I had as a kid of walking up to the spinner and pluck out a brand-new comic. And when you […]
Most little kids related Easter with the Easter Bunny. For me, and still to this day, Easter makes me think of a different jovial character. Captain Marvel. When I was little, many Easters ago, I woke up one Easter morning to see my Easter Basket, full of the usual fare: chocolate bunnies, peanut butter eggs, […]
The following column first appeared April 18, 2018. Your humble professor is freshly returned from this year’s WonderCon 2018, returned to its rightful home in Anaheim, California, across the street from the House of Mouse. And a great show it was, feeling much like what was to me the heyday of the San Diego Comic-Con, […]
So let’s assume you’ve seen all the Marvel movies for the last few years, and are looking to do some AVENGERS reading now that MOON KNIGHT is airing and you’re back in a MCU mood. What do we recommend? Well, lucky for you, gentle reader, I just happen to have a list… AVENGERS MARVEL MASTERWORKS, […]
This piece is dedicated to the memory of artist Carolyn Kelly, daughter of POGO creator Walt Kelly, and guardian and custodian of his work and legacy. Carolyn Kelly had been spearheading the recent beautiful hardcover reprint collections of POGO from Fantagraphics, and even drew the strip herself during a brief revival. To learn more about […]
For Those Who Came In Late: In recent weeks, we’ve been chronicling the comic-book career of Marvel’s resident Jade Giantess, otherwise known as the She-Hulk. After a bit of a shaky start in her underwhelming solo series, She-Hulk began to gain some respectability with a steady if a little unremarkable stint in the AVENGERS, followed […]
Previously, in COMICS 101: Last week, we began our look at the superheroic career of one Jennifer Walters, better known to comics fans as the She-Hulk. After a strong start from creators Stan Lee and John Buscema, Shulkie had a bumpy road in her short-lived solo series, with an annoying supporting cast, horrible romantic interests, […]
Characters are created for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s sheer creative inspiration. Other times, it’s for plot purposes. In the case of Marvel’s She-Hulk, it was strictly business. The year was 1979, and still going strong in its second season on CBS was the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno-starring THE INCREDIBLE HULK. The decision was made […]
