Comics

An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Review: Red Sonja #0

Damn Kurt Busiek and his unexpectedly enjoyable revitalization of Conan! If not for him, I wouldn't have taken a chance on Red Sonja, a comic book I was pretty sure I wouldn't like from the minute I first saw its Greg Land cover. The easy thing would be to simply say you get what you pay for and move on, but I like to do things the hard way and will figure how to belabor the obvious in as interesting a manner as possible. Cheesecake aside -- and this comic is pure cheesecake with a faux-gritty graham cracker frosting --…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

REVIEW: The Losers #23

Most mainstream comic books these days ride a rickety wooden roller coaster throughout their ever-shortening life spans, offering an uneven mix of definitive and forgettable story arcs before inevitably being rebooted by some flavor-of-the-month talent in the kind of short-term thinking that brought down corporations like Enron and Worldcom. Then there are comic books like The Losers, defined by a singular creative vision that, hopefully, is allowed to carry through to its organic conclusion and then able to rest in peace. Typically, though, these types of comics die on the vine, languishing in obscurity as they are ignored by the…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

REVIEW: 15 Minutes #3

"In the future, everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes." In this era of 24-hour news channels and Reality TV, Andy Warhol's prophetic quote has practically come true. Why should superheroes be any different?That's the angle Bob Elinskas comes from with 15 Minutes, an appealing combination of Troy Hickman's Eisner-nominated Common Grounds and Marvel's Great Lakes Avengers played straight, featuring poignant snapshots of D-list superheroes and villains, as told through the eyes of the everyday civilians whose lives they affect. While the basic premise isn't terribly original, the execution is near-perfect as Elinskas packs more emotional subtext into each…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Comment: Living the Dream…Vicariously

While much of the ever-expanding Comics Blogiverse is made up of wannabe writers - Grant Morrison sycophants praising his every bowel movement, and frustrated hacks full of shallow anti-Marvel/DC snark being the two largest demographics - there's another, much more interesting subculture to be found: aspiring comics retailers.As much as I'd love to one day see my name credited as writer on a Moon Knight mini-series, I don't actually have any aspirations or intent to pursue that particular fantasy. I do, however, entertain the thought of opening my own store one day. Quite often, really.Recently, I've come across a couple…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

ménage à trois: 4/20/05

[So many comics, so few good ones, only three make the cut each week. Quickie-style reviews, for better, or worse: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.]It figures. A week after I change things up and decide to no longer require representatives of the Big Two for this column, they each throw me a Paul Jenkins curveball and buy themselves another week in the mix. Nevertheless, the pull list purge began as the once highly anticipated OMAC Project #1 got an in-store skim (solid, if uninspired story, picking up directly from…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

INFO: Bravo’s Ultimate Super Heroes, Villains & Vixens

BRAVO POWERS UP WITH THREE-PART SPECIAL "ULTIMATE SUPER HEROES, ULTIMATE SUPER VILLAINS, ULTIMATE SUPER VIXENS" BEGINNING MAY 26NARRATED BY TELEVISION ICON ADAM WESTInterviews include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Mike Myers, James Earl Jones, Kirsten Dunst, Hugh Jackman, Jessica Alba, Vivica A. Fox, Bryan Singer, Stan Lee, Mark Hamill and Lou Ferrigno BURBANK, Calif. -- April 21, 2005 -- It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Bravo's three-part special "Ultimate Super Heroes, Ultimate Super Villains, Ultimate Super Vixens." The series premieres Thursday, May 26 (10-11 p.m. EST) and will air the same bat time, same bat channel…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Try Something Different: 4/20/05

Support Independent Comics!Independent comics (and manga) being released today, 4/20/05, courtesy of ComicList. 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.What are you reading?AC COMICS Best Of The West #49, $6.95A. D. VISION Maburaho Manga Vol 1 TPB, $9.99ANARCHY STUDIOS/HARRIS COMICS Gold Digger Vol 5 Pkt Manga TPB, $9.99 Vampirella Comics Magazine Burns Cvr #9, $9.95 Vampirella Comics Magazine Harris Cvr #9, $9.95ANTARCTIC PRESS Gold Digger #63, $2.99 I Hunt Monsters Vol 2 #4, $2.99 Mangazine Vol 3 #64, $9.99 Ninja High School…

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