On comics and other pop culture topics, including archived Comic Book Commentary posts from 2005-2007.
In honor of our new look and impending relaunch (and in a shameless attempt at generating some traffic to bear witness), I'm giving away a sampler of comics from Wizard Magazine's "Best New Publisher," Boom! Studios.Jeremiah Harm #1-3Hero Squared #1Cthulhu Tales #1What Were They Thinking?! Some People Never Learn #1War of the Worlds: Second Wave #1-3How can you win this fine assortment of four-color entertainment? Rather simply, actually: you just have to lower your odds of winning by spreading the news!There's two ways to do this:1) Mention this contest on your own blog, with a direct link back to this…
My official statement on the whole Ronée + Soma/Brownstein affair went up on PCS earlier this week, and reaction so far has been mostly what I'd hoped: muted and, I daresay, somewhat chastened. Official Statement on "What A Girl Wants" Controversy Based on my own internal investigation of the information Ms. Bourgeois had available before and after her initial column was published, I have concluded that she has only been guilty of being extremely passionate in her coverage of this story. While that passion may have led to her prematurely reporting the allegations, unable as she was to offer any…
Thinking "aloud" here...NEWSarama and CBR have gobbled up two of the better group blogs out there recently, while peripheral niche sites like the Ninth Art are shutting down. Meanwhile, the sleeping giant, Wizard, is finally doing something with their web site, already snagging exclusive columns from Bendis and Johns, and likely becoming the new home for most Marvel and DC exclusives. How long before they start to siphon off some of NEWSarama and CBR's audience and firmly position themselves as one of the top three comics sites? Six months, tops?When I think of the other comics sites, including The Pulse…
Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month. My weekly look at select comic books being released Thursday, 6/8/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Action Philosophers Vol 1: Giant-Size ThingBOOM! STUDIOS Tag #1 (Of 3), $3.99 Zombies...with a twist! Actually, this first issue sets up a fun premise, as the child's game of Tag is perverted into…
Regardless of what you think of superhero comics in general, there's no denying that over the years some of the greatest fictional characters ever created were birthed within the DC and Marvel Universes. Recently, a list of the Top 50 Marvel and DC characters were put forth by Andrew Wheeler and The Great Curve, respectively, so I thought I'd weigh in with my own less ambitious, but arguably more difficult, Top 5 list from each company.My choices are totally subjective, of course, and in some cases reflect the potential of a character as opposed to its actual history. (In some…
Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month. My weekly look at select comic books being released Thursday, 6/1/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Skyscrapers of the Midwest #3ADHOUSE BOOKS Skyscrapers Of The Midwest #3, $5.00 If you only buy one non-superhero comic book this week/month/year, let it be Skyscrapers Of The Midwest #3. Seriously. In the…
[Edited for clarity on 5/30/06] Funny that this article in the NY Times has been referenced by others for its apparent spoiler re: Batwoman (she's not Renee Montoya, which is all I care about) instead of its main point, the increasing diversity at the Big Two. Funny strange, not funny ha-ha, of course. Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES But this year will be a banner one for diversity in the $500 million comic book business. At DC Comics, an effort is under way to introduce heroes who are not cut from the usual straight…
