Hype

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

Review: Ant: Days Like These (TPB)

There's a perennial debate on which creative setup works best in comics, the collaboration or the solo creator. With superior examples on both sides, of course, there is no definitive answer, but for every good example, there's at least as many bad ones. Creator/writer/artist Mario Gully's intriguing concept - eight-year old Hannah Washington creates an imaginary world in her journal, a world where she is the powerful superhero known as Ant, a world that may not be as imaginary as it seems - has lots of potential, but, unfortunately, it qualifies as Exhibit A for the case against solo work;…

Continue ReadingReview: Ant: Days Like These (TPB)
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Review: New Avengers #1 / The Ultimates 2 #1

To say I was skeptical about Marvel go-to-guy Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers seemingly self-serving reload would be quite the understatement. Based on the ill-conceived complete disaster that was Avengers Disassembled, and it's half-assed epilogue/retrospective in Avengers Finale, I was fully prepared to hate it on sight. Boy was I wrong! After the requisite - and, thanks to its brevity, sad in that wow, that really was lame kind of way - first page recap of the Disassembled disaster, Bendis starts things off with a shadowy meeting between a silhouetted figure and a thug who turns out to be Electro.…

Continue ReadingReview: New Avengers #1 / The Ultimates 2 #1
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

My Top 5 Comic Book Titles

(ongoing series only) 1. Gotham Central - I'm a big fan of strong characterization and tight plotting, and this Batman-themed take on the classic police procedural, a la Hill Street Blues and Homicide: Life on the Street, features some of the strongest writing in comics. Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka are terrific, and Michael Lark's gritty artwork matches them note for note. He'll be sorely missed but I'm hopeful that DC will tap a replacement with similar sensibilities. 2. Teen Titans - I fully expected this series to take an immediate downhill turn for the worse after the thrill-ride of…

Continue ReadingMy Top 5 Comic Book Titles
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Guy’s Top 5 Comics of 2004

(ongoing series only) 1. Gotham Central - I'm a big fan of strong characterization and tight plotting, and this Batman-themed take on the classic police procedural, a la Hill Street Blues and Homicide: Life on the Street, features some of the strongest writing in comics. Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka are terrific, and Michael Lark's gritty artwork matches them note for note. He'll be sorely missed but I'm hopeful that DC will tap a replacement with similar sensibilities. 2. Teen Titans - I fully expected this series to take an immediate downhill turn for the worse after the thrill-ride of…

Continue ReadingGuy’s Top 5 Comics of 2004
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Cheering for the underdog is an underappreciated passion. It's easy to cheer for the favorite, to expect victory, and be disappointed but not diminished in defeat. Easy, but ultimately boring, if you ask me. There's something special about defying inevitability, though. Even the possibility of that kind of defiance gets me juiced. As a Mets and Jets (and XFL!) fan, I know all too much about being the perennial underdog and the inevitability of defeat. If the Yankees lose to the Red Sox, their fans can justifiably look forward to next year. Like they did last year when they lost…

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

Happy birthday to me! Great weekend, great party, great presents, including... Batman pajamas! Best birthday ever? Perhaps. Pretty damn close, that's for sure! PS: I couldn't care less about the Olympics but the no-name Puerto Rico basketball team dismantling the egotistical, overhyped and overpaid USA Dream Team IV was a beautiful thing. Punks!

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

Boondocks on TV? Everybody in the pool! The Vine: Cartoon drawn to 'Boondocks' "The Boondocks" is bound for Cartoon Network. Sources say Cartoon Network is finalizing a deal with Sony Pictures Television to pick up a half-hour series based on the newspaper comic strip "Boondocks," penned by Aaron McGruder. The TV adaptation was initially developed as a pilot for Fox Broadcasting Co., which passed after viewing a six-minute presentation reel during its pilot screening process earlier this year. Cartoon is believed to be eyeing "Boondocks" for its "Adult Swim" late-night block, given the racially and politically charged humor that has…

Continue Reading
Newer Posts
Older Posts