Going to postpone our Ms. Marvel coverage one more week, so I can talk about one of the more enjoyable convention experiences around, Gallifrey One in Los Angeles, the nation’s largest annual DOCTOR WHO convention. I can’t think of a better way to kick off my 2013 convention season then by spending the weekend at […]
Not to sound like Grandpa Simpson, but back in my day, discussion of comics in a university setting was a fairly rare thing. I was fortunate at the University of California to have studied under a forward-thinking professor of English named Frank McConnell who taught WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, SANDMAN and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS […]
Back in January of 2003, your humble professor was working as Associate Editor and Newswriter for a little Web site with the unfortunate name “Movie Poop Shoot,” an offshoot of director Kevin Smith’s constantly shifting media empire. One day, while going over the content we had planned for that week, Poop-Shoot Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall said […]
Everyone loves Harry Potter, right? We’ve all read the books, seen the movies, bought the T-shirt, gone to the theme park, ordered the commemorative plate. It’s Harry’s world, and we’re all just living in it. Except. Except that back in 1990, Harry Potter didn’t exist yet, was nothing more than a possible notion in the […]
It took me something of an adjustment period, but I eventually grew to quite appreciate and be a fan of the Brian Michael Bendis era of AVENGERS, after the rough start that smacked of sensationalism and death-for-death’s sake. I came to see Bendis’s real affection for the characters and the Avengers history, and enjoyed his […]
Of course, the big news in comics in the last few days has been the goings-on at Marvel involving the end of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, as written by Dan Slott. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it, and since we can’t discuss it without getting into some details, y’all should consider yourselves SPOILER WARNED. […]
As Christmas of 2012 draws to a close, I thought I’d point out a heartwarming holiday tale that really highlights the kind of spirit and generosity you find in the geek community (Thanks to Ralph Garman for pointing this out). There’s a severely disabled boy with Down’s Syndrome in Kentucky who’s a huge Iron Man […]
Has it been a year already? It hardly seems possible. Nevertheless, pull up a chair by the fire, pour yourself a cup of your chosen nog-based beverage, and take some notes as we offer a few of our favorite gift-recommendations for the geek or geek-adjacent on your shopping list this holiday season. IMAGINATION ILLUSTRATED: THE […]
It was my first trip to New York, for the New York Comic-Con. The plan had been for me to hang out mostly with my friend and editor Chris Ryall, but as we should have assumed, the many, many commitments and appointments that come with his position almost immediately took up most of his time. […]
A rare few days of downtime over the holiday weekend, allowing me to catch up on literally months’ worth of comics. Let’s talk about a few things that impressed me: Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley’s FANTASTIC FOUR is off to a good start, with the familiar but in-character subplot of Reed Richards keeping secrets and […]
Since I’m in a bookstore frame of mind these days, I thought this week we’d take a look at some of the new trade paperbacks and hardcovers that came out last week and immediately caught my eye and found their way home to the Comics 101 HQ Library. New from DC last week was GREEN […]
Thanks to everyone who came out last Saturday to the grand opening of BLASTOFF, my new comic shop in North Hollywood. The day was everything we hoped for, even if we didn’t quite have everything out the way we’d planned, but that’s okay; lots of surprises to come for repeat visitors. If you’ll indulge me, […]
Comics can be a tough business for veterans. In an industry that’s always looking for The Next Big Thing, sometimes extremely talented, reliable craftsmen can slip through the cracks. It looked like that had happened to one of my favorites, writer/artist Walt Simonson, who hadn’t been all that active in the last few years. Then […]
