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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
“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? […]
Wendell Vaughn is your average Joe. He’s got the brains to make it into S.H.I.E.L.D. and get through training – in fact, he excels. There’s just one hitch: he lacks a “killer instinct.” His superiors don’t believe he can make the sometimes deadly decisions one has to make in the course of standard operations. He […]
The world has been struck by a natural disaster. The earth is left in ruins, and the human population is dwindling. Pockets of people survived in underground bunkers, and Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth (!) is one of them. Jack Kirby’s story explores a post-apocalyptic world that isn’t exactly like the others. Though Kamandi […]
Star Wars is everywhere. At least, that’s what it feels like now. It wasn’t always that way. A long time ago (in the late 70s) in a galaxy not so far away, fans of the game-changing science fiction story didn’t have much to turn to besides the movies. You couldn’t walk to the local video […]
One of my favorite things about watching sitcoms when I was younger was checking out the holiday episodes every year. It was entertaining to see how each show would divert from its regular programming to fit in Thanksgiving turkeys or Christmas trees. Sometimes it was fluid and fit in nicely – sitcoms have the advantage […]
Confession time: until this month I’d never read a Will Eisner comic. I know he’s incredibly influential in the medium. I understand that the Eisner Awards are a huge deal, and they wouldn’t be named after him if he wasn’t the same. Reading The Spirit has been on my list of things to read for […]
