Here’s a case where I actually psyched myself out too much expecting a disaster and walking of the read pleasantly surprised. Some ominous tweets and blog entries over the last week had me all ready to mourn Grant Morrison’s falloff in Batman and Robin following Phillip Tan’s appearance and Frank Quitely’s temporary exit. Granted, Tan’s … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #20: ‘Batman and Robin’ #4
The hardcover collection of Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá’s first Casanova series was a volume that had been sitting on my shelf for long time time since my first go through it. I only picked it up again to re-read this week for an “Adapt This” feature over at MTV’s Splash Page blog. It’s a … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #19: ‘Casanova: Luxuria’
[¡Spoilers Alert!] Geoff Johns has been serving up K.O. moments since the “Blackest Night” event began, and despite being a longtime Firestorm fan with his original appearances protectively sealed several feet away from me right now, I have to preface this review with the fact that this was the weakest of the first three issues … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #18: ‘Blackest Night’ #3
This is a minicomic by J.T. Yost that I picked up at Chicago Comics today. Yost has made a named for himself with many by winning a Xeric Award for his comics contained in Old Man Winter & Other Sordid Tales, which I admittedly haven’t read despite my steadfast respect and appreciation for the work … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #17: ‘Tales of Good Ol’ Snoop Doggy Dogg’
When I get to the end of 2009 and think back to assemble a top ten list of the year’s best individual issues, the only question on my mind right now is how high upon that list Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #15 will be. Edited by Kramers Ergot maestro Sammy Harkham, this annual event … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #16: ‘Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror’ #15
I picked this 1989 Fantagraphics translation up out of the bargain bins at Dark Tower over the summer, which can be some very fruitful bargain bins for any of your Chicago North Siders reading this. It was originally French, and pages are album formatted (extra wide). It promises big on the back with jacket copy … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #15: ‘The Confessions of Julius Antoine — Lea’
I wrote back in July about how much I enjoyed the first issue of the latest B.P.R.D. mini. I initially thought this second issue was going to be a bit weaker, but then the glorious baroque witch hurricane blew in straight out of the horror reduxed Mary Poppins trailer, and the thing got sailing with … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #14: ‘B.P.R.D.: 1947’ #2
“Merry Christmas! And here I thought guns were on the ‘things we don’t use’ list.” –Robin That line from the early splash page in this issue really sums up my amusement with it. “Blackest Night” at it’s most basic level is a green light for ultra-violent fights that don’t actually kill people because the enemies … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #13: ‘Blackest Night: Batman’ #2
Hernandez Bros. stories are always enticing when I find a new one getting underway at the shop, and this new sci-fi mini Citizen Rex by Mario and Gilbert includes a lot of the organs and parts that come standard — mesmerizing line work, pungently inspired genre tones and moments that you can feel yourself enjoying … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #12: ‘Citizen Rex’ #1
Telling around 2/3 of a comic in action and narrative boxes can be screwed up pretty easily, and the second I cracked this one open, an initial wince of trepidation walked me into the story. Thankfully, writer Kevin VanHook uses some of the best word economy I’ve seen, and this was actually a very balanced … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #11: ‘Red Tornado’ #1