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 […]
Tag Archives | Comics 101
Making History with Jimmy Olsen
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 […]
Easter with The Big Red Cheese
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, […]
Buried Treasury
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, […]
Assembling a Reading List
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, […]
It Ain’t Nohow Permanent: Walt Kelly’s Pogo
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 […]
From Savage to Sensational, Part III
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 […]
From Savage to Sensational, Part II
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, […]
From Savage to Sensational
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 […]
Sometimes the Clothes Make the Woman, Part VI
Previously, in Comics 101: As we continue our Ms. Marvel coverage, last week we saw the return of Carol Danvers from her exile to limbo, ending with her crashing at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and giving the Avengers a piece of her mind for how spectacularly they let her down. So what was next […]
Sometimes the Clothes Make the Woman, Part V
For Those Who Came In Late: In recent installments of COMICS 101, we’ve been looking at the career of Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Marvel Comics’ premier solo female superhero, Ms. Marvel. Last time, the character was given an ignominious exit from the pages of AVENGERS, relegated to limbo to live a mind-controlled happily ever after with […]
Sometimes the Clothes Make the Woman, Part IV
Previously, in Comics 101: Last time, we continued our look at Marvel’s premier superheroine Ms. Marvel, covering her inaugural stint as a member of the Avengers. However, Carol Danvers’ stint as one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was about to come to a rather ignominious end: Let’s set the Wayback Machine for November 1980, in the […]
Sometimes the Clothes Make the Woman, Part III
Previously, in COMICS 101: We’ve been looking at Marvel’s premier female solo superhero, Ms. Marvel, starting with her 1977 debut. When we left off, Ms. Marvel had solved her various identity crises and was embarking on a new start, with a new costume, which we’ll refresh your memories about below… As of the 20th issue […]