January 2012
7 posts
3 tags
Bill Sienkiewicz Criterion Godzilla Controversy
Claiming it’s like “putting Daniel Craig on the cover of Dr. No,” Godzilla fans are none too pleased by the artist’s new Criterion Collection Godzilla packaging, with a monster that is arguably much more like, or exactly like, the 2002 design, rather than the 1954 original film on the disc. Facebook erupted with demands to “fix the error” or offer an apology,...
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John Rozum on leaving Static Shock
It’s becoming clearer week by week that DC’s New 52 has a lot of problems, and John Rozum’s quitting as writer (scripter?) of Static Shock wasn’t very newsworthy until he started posting on Facebook and his blog about it, because the book wasn’t very good from the start and wasn’t selling well. Failing to turn a C-list superhero into anything more is no crime,...
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Flashmob Fridays on Harvey Pekar's Cleveland
I’ve been writing and editing articles and posts about comics for about 14 years now, all told. I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of any piece I’ve been involved with than today’s Flashmob Fridays piece on Harvey Pekar’s new and final graphic novel, Cleveland.
Excellent writing abounds from Christopher Allen, Roger Green, Scott Cederlund, and Johanna Draper...
6 tags
Prophet #21
Writer - Brandon Graham
Artist - Simon Roy
Publisher - Image Comics/Extreme. $3.99
I’m old enough to remember the two months that Rob Liefeld’s Prophet was relevant. Without doing any research (both laziness and in support of not supporting SOPA/PIPA), I think it was about issue #7 or 8, when the original creative team abandoned the book to a flash-in-the-pan artist, Stephen Platt,...
ADD Reviews Peanuts #1
It was morbid curiosity that led me to pick up Peanuts #1 yesterday. Published by the Kaboom kids comics imprint of Boom Studios, the book features what is apparently artwork by Charles Schulz on the cover (it has his signature, anyway), new material by people you’ve never heard of, and a sprinkling of classic Schulz Sunday strips marred by modern colouring techniques. The new comics blow it...
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The Best Comics of 2011 Project
I recently found myself agreeing — as I often do — with Tony Isabella on the issue of the Best American Comics series of annual anthologies. Tony’s recent blog post took the series and editors Jessica Abel and Matt Madden to task for not being truly representative of comics in North America. While I was initially excited about the series, year after year I’ve been more...
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Let It Be
I reject utterly the premise and substance of “The Rare Case Against Creator-Owned Comics,” posted on the Newsarama blog. If anything, Alan Moore’s veto of a reprinting of the 1963 project is a good argument for creator-owned comics. Moore’s writing was the prime appeal of 1963, and speaking as someone who bought it new on the stands, and not disregarding the wonderful...
December 2011
9 posts
4 tags
ADD Reviews Fatale #1 by Brubaker and Phillips
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips stretch their considerable creative muscles to make Fatale #1 an electric and delicious start to their newest project together. I’ve been a fan of this creative team since they first came to my attention on Sleeper, followed them singly and together on pretty much every other title they’ve worked on, and cite their ongoing Marvel/Icon book Criminal as my...
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On the DC Petition
As one of the signees of my buddy Alan David Doane’s petition asking DC Comics to come to an accord with the creators of Watchmen or, failing that, scuttle plans for Watchmen prequels/sequels/spinoffs, I wrestled with the rationale of it for a little bit. I’m probably as temperamental as Alan, but not so anti-corporate, and by and large I come down on the side of the law. And as it...
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ADD's 10 Best Comics of 2011
Criminal: The Last of the Innocent by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel/Icon) — Nuanced and bold, a new high-water mark for Criminal, which continues to be the best regularly-published comic book around. Check out the Flashmob Fridays reviews.
Incognito: Bad Influences by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel/Icon) — Not quite as soaring as the very best of Criminal, Incognito...
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Flashmob Fridays on Criminal: The Last of the...
Click over to our spinoff blog Flashmob Fridays to read what the gang has to say about the latest release from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, The Last of the Innocent. And we hope you have a happy holiday and a peaceful and prosperous new year!
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Five Questions for Box Brown
I first reviewed some Box Brown comics about a year ago, when it seemed like no one had much heard of the emerging cartoonist. I had became aware of him on James Kochalka’s message board, and in the year since I looked at Everything Dies, Brown has fairly exploded into the consciousness of people interested in comics, not least because of his efforts with Retrofit Comics. On Friday over on...
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Six Ways to Read Comics for Free
I originally wrote this for iTaggit.com back in 2008. It seems to me it’s more relevant than ever, so I thought I’d dust it off as food for thought for budget-minded readers as 2012 approaches. There are not too many people I know that are not feeling the pinch right now, and have been for the past several years. The price of nearly everything seems to have increased by up to 200...
1 tag
ADD Reviews Dark Horse Comics' Watermark
The dictionary defines a watermark as “faint design made in some paper during manufacture, that is visible when held against the light and typically identifies the maker.” Dark Horse defies this rather conventional view with its digital watermark, by making it bold, not faint, visible at all times, and applying it not to paper but to digital review copies rather than paper. “Wait...
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Flashmob Fridays Returns!
If you’ve been with Trouble With Comics from the start back in 2009, you may remember a weekly feature called Flashmob Fridays. Chris and I have decided to bring it back, spinning it off into its own blog and bringing in some new writers (and some who worked on the first version of FMF) to get together each week and converge on a single comic or graphic novel. We hope you’ll join us...
November 2011
2 posts
1 tag
“There are two types of fans: superhero fans and comics fans. The problem is that...”
– Alan David Doane on Twitter
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Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic...
The ads in comic books are just no fun anymore. Video games, movie ads, glossy full-page appeals to whatever dollars the kids have left over after buying the latest and greatest MP3s on iTunes, or whatever kids are spending their money on these days. Mine seem to spend it all on energy drinks. But it’s not like kids are reading comics anyway, right? When I was 6 years old, I started reading...
October 2011
12 posts
4 tags
Marvel in the ‘70s
Writer: Pierre Comtois Editor: John Morrow Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing
Marvel in the ‘70s is a sequel to the author’s Marvel in the ‘60s (natch), which one would have to say had the easier route to success. After all, it was in the ‘60s that the “Marvel Age” began, with Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others cutting loose with one fresh new superhero after another, like Spider-Man, the...
9 tags
IDW′s Elder Gods, Young Pups and Old Fogies
Eternal Descent Vol. 2 #1
My first thought looking at the cover, which features a long-haired rocker holding a glowing red guitar, was that this book was going to be stupid, and might very well have been written by a musician. Sometimes my instincts are right. With a childishly breathless pace, our rocker hero is carried off by a magical guitar to another dimension, where a demon and his...
1 tag
The Unluckiest Characters in Comics
Friday the 13th always brings thoughts of bad luck, even to the least superstitious of us. This week we barely avoid the dreaded day, as the 13th falls on Thursday. Good luck for us. Here’s a look at some of the characters with the worst luck in the history of comics…
Uncle Ben Parker — Bucky came back. Jason Todd came back. Gwen Stacy’s clone’s had more revival...
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When Comics Meet Online Gaming
I’m not a gamer and never have been. There are a few old-school video games I enjoy, like Tetris and Ms. Pac-Man, but when it comes to the wider world of gaming, I have never really delved into the world of casino games.
I seem to have inherited my mother’s disinterest in games of chance. We had few board games when I was growing up — Monopoly and Scrabble are the two I...
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ADD Reviews Little Nothings Vol. 4: My Shadow in...
When it comes to comics, I feel like I don’t know what the hell I like to read anymore. I know it’s corporate superhero comics that have abandoned me, and not the other way around, but it really makes me feel like a bit of an idiot when someone asks me (as they frequently do), “What are you reading these days?” Because they usually mean, “What superhero books do you...
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ADD Reviews Batman: Year One DVD
I’ll get my bias out of the way right up front: Artist David Mazzucchelli’s work on the Frank Miller-written Batman: Year One (the comic) is about the best art ever created for a superhero comic book. I love the work of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Gil Kane, to name a few great superhero artists, but Mazzucchelli on Year One (and also in the also-Miller-written Daredevil: Born Again)...
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DC 51 Week Four, Part Two - Racing with the Flash...
Here it is, the final part of the four week tour through the new DCU. And while I’ve never run a marathon, I can only imagine this is how a runner feels after the 25th mile of the run: it’s been like a massive endurance test but I… just… have… to… make… it… across… that… line.
And the conclusion, as it moves reverse alphabetically to the...
Prices Slashed on ADD's October eBay Auctions!
Just reduced prices on the new, unread graphic novels I have listed on eBay, now far less than half of cover price, less than Amazon, even! These books are great for holiday gift giving, or cheap reads for yourself. Your bids help support our efforts here on TWC. Speaking of which, mention Trouble With Comics at Checkout and get FREE BONUS COMICS included with your order! Titles include From Hell...
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The New DC 52 Week Four, Part Three – The Dark and...
The Fury of Firestorm #1 by Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone and Yildiray Cinar has one good element at its core (I guess that pun is intended) and that’s the issue of race. Before high school quarterback Ronnie Raymond and school reporter Jason Rusch are linked to the Firestorm Protocol, they are just kids who don’t get along because Jason accuses Ronnie of racism. It′s not that Ronnie says or does...
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The New DC 52 Week Four, Part Two - Three Men and...
Four titles here, and another four in a day or two to wrap up the first month of DC′s relaunches. It′s been a long time since I′ve reviewed this many books in this short a time, and I fully admit it′s probably unfair that books from IDW (a very good Star Trek series just started) and Dark Horse (the B.P.R.D. still going strong) and lots of interesting books from Fantagraphics, not to mention some...
6 tags
DC 51 Week Four, Part One - Vampires, Strippers &...
The final week. Every DC Universe #1 that’s been published. The good, the bad and the embarrassingly ugly. And to help with the process it’s all going to be reverse alphabetical order. So for Zachary, Zoe and all of the Zoological experts out there… this reverse alphabetical journey is for you.
For all of the justified hatred and disappointment brought about by Catwoman and Red Hood, I was...
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So You Want to Make Comics?
So you want to make comics. A lot of people do, but only a few are ever lucky enough to see their stories get into print. There are few storytelling mediums as visceral and exciting as comics, and nothing as satisfying as seeing your own stories come together and entertain an audience, so if you are thinking about creating comics, here are some points to remember along the way. How do you get...
September 2011
26 posts
2 tags
So You Want To Publish Comics?
If you want to publish comics, you’re not alone. Something in the raw appeal of comics storytelling makes a large portion of the audience want to try it themselves.
If I had to guess, I’d say this phenomenon is far more common to comics than it is to other storytelling media. Sure, a small percentage of moviegoers want to direct their own movies, but most people are happy just...
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The New DC 52 Week Four, Part One - Fishing for...
And so we enter the final week of DCs reboots, with about 40 books under our belt and a final dozen to review. For now particular reason, lets start with them in alphabetical order.
All-Star Western #1 by Justin Gray, jimmy Palmiotti and Moritat is an early front runner for book of the week. I liked Gray and Palmiotti′s Jonah Hex quite a bit, so I′m happy they get to continue with Jonah here,...
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DC Week Three – Birds, Bats and (thankfully) Some...
To be honest, DC almost beat me to the ground with their insulting Catwoman / Red Hood and the Outlaws combo punch to my four-color inner faith, but the rest of the books for this week couldn’t be that bad, could they? Could they?!?
Well, thankfully, the answer is no. So in UPC order…
Supergirl #1 manages to be a pretty good start to the series but having said that it feels wafer thin. ...
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The New DC 52 Week Three, Part Two - Turn Me On,...
So now that we′ve covered the Batman related books of the week, what about all the rest? As usual, there are some old standbys and a few solo books for characters who have never been able to support them for long. First, though, we′ve got a book starring one of the heavy hitters of the DC Universe.
Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang is, as expected, a train wreck. The posturing,...
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ADD Flashback: Bernard Krigstein in the Spotlight
There is no artist in the history of comics that I hold in higher esteem than Bernard Krigstein. No other artist understood the inherent potential of the artform better and no other artist ever demonstrated such a grasp of what was needed in order to reach and exceed both his own limits and those of his chosen medium.
As influential as Jack Kirby was on American corporate superhero comics...
8 tags
The New DC 52 Week Three, Part One
So, good for DC for not only getting some decent sales so far for the relaunches, but generating a bit of controversy as well, specifically with the sexual mores of Starfire and Catwoman in two books that debuted this week. I guess I might as well enter the fray before said fray is all over, so without further adieu…
Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort is, to be...
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How Much Are My Comics Worth?
“How much are my comics worth?” I’ve been writing about the artform and industry of comics for over a decade now, and this is one of the most frequent questions to come my way. On average, if you’re lucky, you’ll get about 12 cents from a dealer for any random comic book. That’s half of what they’ll charge when they throw it in their quarter bin. And...
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ADD Flashback: Please Don't Bend the Comics
My family lived in Florida in the 1970s, and in 1980, when I was about 14, we moved back to upstate New York from whence we came and where we belonged. Now, I had discovered all sorts of wonderful things between, say, 1978 and 1980: The Bud Plant Catalog, Cerebus, Star*Reach, The Comics Journal, hell, the very existence of comic book stores probably hit in there somewhere, in that formative...
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The New DC 52 Week Two, Part Three
I give DC credit: Never did I think I would be reviewing every one of these new #1s, but even when the books aren’t that good, I¢m still having fun writing about them. Note: I wrote in the last review that T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was canceled before its time, but indeed, it¢s being relaunched. Sorry—hard to keep track of 52 new comics.
Resurrection Man #1 by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and...
7 tags
DC 51 Week Three, Part One - Leave My Sex Kitten...
With Week Three of the new DCU I decided to once again stick with the random generator method: Week One was alphabetical by title and Week Two was alphabetical by writer. And now with Week Three I’ve allowed the mysterious and unfathomable UPC Code to be my shepherd – and what a cruel guide the code is turning out to be. It wasn’t until the sixth book that I finally got to a title that I had...
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DC 51 Week Two, Part Three - Not so Terrific or...
The last portion of the alphabetical writer tour of Week Two comes to its conclusion with some mild enthusiasm, a superhero the way he should be done and the end of a habit that’s lasted over 30 years.
Writer Scott Lobdell has three books coming out this month from the new DCU and he seems to have been given his own little corner to play in because he’s going to be responsible for the various...
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The New DC 51 - Frankie, Death and Red & Green
The alphabetical mystery tour continues with the writers of the new DCU acting as the guides for which book comes next on the reading list.
Deathstroke #1 has the return of the DC’s version of The Punisher. He’s still a grey-haired one-eyed mercenary who has enhanced strength, quick reflexes and a very bad attitude.
It’s a strange thing: after the tremendous darkness of Suicide Squad (which was...
9 tags
The New DC 52 Week Two, Part Two
As I tuck into the next steaming plate of DC reboots, I find myself sympathetic to the editors and writers in charge of this, let¢s be honest, pretty much impossible mandate to present a refreshed DC Universe that is accessible to new readers while honoring not just existing readers, but also servicing the numerous trademarks of characters a truly fresh relaunch would have made defunct.
Take...
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DC 51 Week Two - Bats, Demons and Suicide
As I head into Week Two of the new DCU I find myself asking the question: who would have thought the alphabet would be so cruel?
In Week One the A’s were kind enough to bring Action Comics and Animal Man but then it was a slog (with the surprising arrival of “O is for OMAC”) until I arrived at the alphabetical conclusion with Swamp Thing.
But I know that if I completely eliminate the structure I...
7 tags
The New DC 52 Week Two, Part One
So the first week of DC′s relaunch went pretty well, as Action Comics, Animal Man and Swamp Thing became three series I wasn’t reading that I now want to follow, and a couple more I′m on the fence about. Counting the prior week′s Justice League, which I will stick with a little longer, that isn’t bad at all.
So here we are in Week Two, and here are my first impressions of what I read on the first...
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The New DC 51 - Stupendous, Satisfying or Simply...
As Week Two hovers on the horizon, here’s the conclusion of the alphabetical tour of Week One. And it all wraps up with the letter ‘S’. Stupendous, satisfying or simply so-so? Week One ends here…
Static Shock #1 features the return of a character that I never read who was also the star of a cartoon I never watched. In other words it’s the first book I can sample as a new reader!
In a somewhat...
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The New DC 52 - Week One Scorecard
Looking at the late-August release of Justice League #1 as a kind of preseason game, how did the new season of DC Comics pan out for its first real week?
Action Comics was heavily favored, written by Grant Morrison, with art by the solid Rags Morales. It was okay but very restrained, as if Morrison was trying to hold back the usual torrent of ideas to see what the other kids brought, see if this...
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The New DC 51 - Five Comics, Only One Pony
After the huge disappointment of Detective Comics I felt as if I was in the middle of a cruel and disappointing joke: here I am desperately searching through a huge pile of manure because I know that there has got to be a pony in there somewhere.
It couldn’t get worse after Detective Comics, could it? Could it?? The alphabetical journey of Week One continues…
The aged, liberal-leaning, slightly...
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The New DC 51 - B is for a better Bat?
Continuing the alphabetical tour of Week One of the new DC, the next three books happen to be in the Dark Knight’s corner of the universe.
Batgirl #1 showcases the return of Barbara Gordon, now out of the wheelchair where she’s been since The Killing Joke, back in costume and ready to fight crime in Gotham City.
A small confession: I really don’t care who Batgirl is. I haven’t followed the...
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The New DC 51 - Action to Animal
So with the new 52 DC reboot/restart/re-imagining and with the joyful enthusiasm of “Hey it worked for Casino Royale and Batman Begins so it can work for us!!”, the big question became this…
What to buy, what to buy, what to buy? 52 re-launches with a bunch of new creators. What to buy?
Fortunately my local comic shop (the legendary and fabulous The Beguiling) was kind enough, like many shops,...