Interview: Fialkov on Elk’s Run
It’s a sad fact in the comics industry today that succesfully launching a brand new title is a Herculean feat for the Big Two, requiring a massive marketing and promotion campaign with no guarantees of success. For independent publishers, it’s a near impossible task. Even sadder is the fact that the lower half of the
Review: Western Tales of Terror #1-3
Comic books I like generally fall into one of two primary categories: 1) well-written, character-driven fare (Gotham Central, Ex Machina); or, 2) old school, straight-up fun comics (Ezra, The Losers). A third category – the thought-provoking, big idea classic – is a rare treat that usually starts in one of the two other categories before
ménage à trois: 3/9/05
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.] When I first started this column, I figured finding a decent indie to review each week would
Review: Comic Book Encyclopedia
When I was a kid, encyclopedias were often frustrating for their lack of depth or currency. These days, with the pervasiveness of the internet, the notion of a printed encyclopedia is about as practical as a hand-cranked engine. Nevertheless, Ron Goulart decided to go the throwback route anyway, and compiled his ambitious and admirable, if
Review: DEMO #1-12
[EDIT: Welcome, Larry Young fans! Be sure to also check out my response to what brought you here, here.] I have to admit to having an extreme aversion to hype. I call it the American Beauty-syndrome, in reference to the inexplicable amount of praise that overrated retread of suburban dysfunction received. I saw it three
ménage à trois: 3/2/05
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.] A bit of an off-week for the Big Two found me scouring the shelves at Midtown Comics
Free Trade Guerrilla: Superman: Secret Identity (TPB)
Intro time: My name is Oscar and where once I was a rabid collector and all-around comic fiend, I have had to calm my obsession down to where I now visit nationwide bookstores and happily use their cafés to help me catch up on what’s happening in the comic book world through trade paperbacks. Not
Review: El Zombo Fantasma (TPB)
Blame it on the Cartoon Network’s Mucha Lucha for my even giving El Zombo Fantasma a second glance. Or credit it, depending, but if not for it, this book wouldn’t have even registered on my radar and that would have been my loss. I’d never heard of El Zombo‘s original 3-issue run, published under Dark
ménage à trois: 2/23/05
[One Marvel, one DC, both published the previous Wednesday, plus a random indie from whenever I feel like it, each reviewed quickie-style: 1 Minute=bad, 10 Minutes=good. Connections, if any at all, may be forced purely for the experience.] A light week for the Big Two, notable more for releases from their imprints than their mainstream
Review: Greg Rucka, Novelist
I first came across Greg Rucka’s work in Gotham Central, during his Eisner Award-Winning “half a life” story arc (issues #6-10). In it, he puts his protagonist, Detective Renee Montoya, through the ringer in a well-paced, character-driven story of obsession and revenge. I’d only returned to comics less than six months prior at that point