By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

 With World War Z pulling in big numbers at theaters and The Walking Dead returning for a fourth season on AMC in October, it’s easy to overlook the medium that incubated the zombie phenomenon: Comic books.

The zombie as a concept arose in West Africa, and shambled…

47 RONIN #5 (OF 5)

ABE SAPIEN #4 NEW RACE PT 1 MAX FIUMARA CVR

ABSOLUTION RUBICON #1 (MR)

ABSOLUTION RUBICON #1 ELECTRIC BLUE ORDER INCV CVR (MR)

ABSOLUTION RUBICON #1 FINAL JUSTICE CVR (MR)

ABSOLUTION RUBICON #1 WRAP CVR (MR)

ACTION COMICS #22

ACTION COMICS #22 COMBO PACK

ACTION COMICS #22 VAR ED

ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #6 (OF 6) MAIN CVRS

ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #6 (OF 6) PHANTOM VAR

AGE OF BRONZE #33

ALIENS VS…

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

If you’ve never read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and only seen the movie, you may be missing out.

I certainly was, until DC Comics began adapting Stieg Larsson’s popular thriller into graphic novel form (in two parts). And I still remained shrouded in ignorance of the full impact of the novel after reading TGWTDT Volume 1, which offered little more in the way…

ADVENTURE TIME #17 15 COPY INCV SALUME VAR

ADVENTURE TIME #17 MAIN CVRS

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #2

AGE OF ULTRON #1 (OF 10) YOUNG VAR

AGE OF ULTRON #10 (OF 10)

AGE OF ULTRON #10 (OF 10)

AGE OF ULTRON #10AI

AGE OF ULTRON #10AI RIVERA VAR

AKANEIRO #2 (OF 3)

ALL NEW X-MEN #1 YOUNG VAR NOW

ALL NEW X-MEN #13 NOW

ALL STAR WESTERN #21

ALTERNATIVE COMICS #4 (MR)

AMALAS BLADE #3 (OF 4)

ANGEL & FAITH #23 REBEKAH ISAACS VAR…

Kim Thompson, long-time co-publisher at Fantagraphics, died today. Here's the release from Fantagraphics:

Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson died at 6:30 this morning, June 19. "He was my partner and close friend for 36 years," said Gary Groth.

Thompson was born in Denmark in 1956. He grew up in Europe, a lifelong comics fan,…

This site has been around since the late '90s, and has been called many things: "Captain Comics site." "The Board." "The Round Table." "The Forum." "The Website." Usually most of these have been preceded by "Captain Comics' ...", but not always -- Legionnaires have often just used shorthand with each other.

When I was forced to make some changes recently -- Ning stopped supporting our chosen design -- I threw together a masthead that reads as you see it above. I chose "Round…

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Has Man of Steel made you hungry for more Super-stories? Then read on, for the five essential Superman graphic novels, in reverse order:

5. Superman: Red Son ($17.99) is a play on words; as every Super-fan knows,…

I have to say, I loved the response to this particular quiz!  The responses were everything I hope for when I gin up one of these brain-teasers:  a reasonable amount of participation, a bit of brilliance from everyone who posted, some correct answers which I hadn’t thought of, and one question which nobody got right. 

(O.K., that last one is my ego speaking…

100 BULLETS BROTHER LONO #1 (OF 8) (MR)

A PLUS X #9 NOW

ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 03

AGE OF ULTRON #10 (OF 10)

AGE OF ULTRON #10 (OF 10) BROOKS VAR

AGE OF ULTRON #10 (OF 10) HE KIM ULTRON VAR

AGE OF ULTRON #10 (OF 10) QUESADA ANGELA VAR

ALAN ROBERT KILLOGY TP

ALTERNATIVE COMICS #4 (MR)

ANIMAL MAN #21

AVENGERS #14 INF

AVENGERS BY BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS TP VOL 04 AVX

B & V FRIENDS DOUBLE DIGEST #234

BALTIMORE THE INQUISITOR ONE…

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Can Man of Steel save Superman?

It’s odd to think that a strange visitor from another planet, with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, would need any saving. And in comic-book sales, the Man of Tomorrow is holding his own: The Superman franchise is probably DC Comics’ third-most-popular, after Batman and Justice League.

But from a movie…

A DISTANT SOIL #40   

A1 #1 (OF 6)     

ALPHA BIG TIME #5 (OF 5) 

AMERICAN VAMPIRE LONG ROAD TO HELL #1 (MR)

APHRODITE IX #2

ARTIFACTS #28

ASTONISHING X-MEN #63  

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #16 NOW 

AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #22  

BATGIRL #21 

BATMAN #21 

BATMAN ARKHAM UNHINGED #15 

BATMAN LIL GOTHAM #3    

BLACK BEETLE #4 (OF 4) NO WAY OUT

BRAVEST WARRIORS #9

BREATH OF BONES A TALE O/T GOLEM…

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Two graphic novels set in the past jumped out at me recently, and when I checked the credits I knew exactly why they were so good.

The first is Fury Volume 1: My War Gone By (Marvel, $21.99), starring Nick Fury – not the one in the Avengers movie,…

I’m a big GI Joe fan.  I grew up playing with the action figures and watching the cartoon- complete with the moral at the end of the story “now you know… and knowing is half the battle.”  I wasn’t aware of the comics at the time or I would have immersed myself in them too.  I’ve also spent a lot more time thinking about GI Joe than is probably healthy for a grown man. 

In my view, the…

68 JUNGLE JIM #3 (OF 4) (MR)

ABE SAPIEN DARK & TERRIBLE #3

ACTION COMICS #21

AGE OF ULTRON #9 (OF 10)

ALL NEW SECRET SKULLKICKERS #1

ALL NEW X-MEN #12 NOW

AME COMI GIRLS #4

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (VU) #10

ASPEN SPLASH 2013 SWIMSUIT SPECTACULAR

ASTRO CITY #1

AVENGERS #13 NOW

AVENGERS ARENA #10 NOW

BATMAN & ROBIN HC VOL 02 PEARL (N52)

BATMAN & ROBIN TP VOL 01 BORN TO KILL (N52)

BATWING #21

BEDLAM #7…