Forum 2.0

Classy 'Sandman' fable, Oni noir, Isabella's '1000 Comics,' 'Time Tunnel' recommended

By Andrew A. Smith
Scripps Howard News Service

Oct. 20, 2009 -- One word: Breathtaking.

That’s the best description for Sandman: The Dream Hunters (DC/Vertigo, $24.99), a hardback collection of the recent miniseries written by Neil Gaiman and illus

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'Saga' cleans up at Harveys -- and deserves it

Sept. 10, 2013 -- Entertainment awards aren’t necessarily a guide to the best a given field has to offer, and comics aren’t any exception. But this year’s Harvey Awards give me an excuse to write about one of the best books out there.

 

The Harvey Aw

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Zombillenium, Lenore, Lovecraft: It's a good horror season

Oct. 29, 2013 -- There’s been a rash of good, scary books in the comics world, and the spooky season gives us an excuse to talk about them.

At the top of my list is Zombillenium (NBM, $14.99), more a spoof of horror stories than a genuine chiller. Bu

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'Mouse Guard,' 'Pantalones, TX,' 'Lio': Unusual kids' comics for unusual kids

Sept. 3, 2013 -- A clutch of unusual comics for kids have come out recently, or maybe they’re comics for unusual kids. You be the judge.

 

Top of the list is undoubtedly Mouse Guard: The Black Axe (Archaia, $24.99). Axe is the third “Mouse Guard” gra

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Psychiatrist gets into heroes' heads in 'Superhero Origins'

Aug. 26, 2013 -- Back in the days before Hollywood made comic-book stories familiar to the masses, and most folks thought superheroes were kid stuff, we comics fans knew better. We knew that certain characters told some universal truth, or touched a

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The lessons of old horror comics

Oct. 10, 2013 -- We can learn a lot of lessons from old horror comics.

These lessons weren’t evident until recently. As most comics fans know, horror comics – and comics in general – were nearly wiped out when public hysteria panicked comics publishe

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ComicFest 2013: Comics instead of candy

Candy for Halloween? That is so 2011.

Instead, you could get – and keep or give away – free comics! Because Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. and most comic shops have teamed up to give away free funnybooks just before All Hallow’s Eve.

It’s called Hal

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'Walking Dead' RISK and Monopoly bring the dead to lively games

Nov. 6, 2013 -- The Walking Dead has conquered comics and TV. Now zombies are coming for your favorite board games.

Coinciding with Halloween, USAopoly has released Walking Dead versions of old favorites Monopoly and RISK. As if those games weren’t c

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Papercutz leads the way in children's comics

Oct. 1, 2013 -- Papercutz bills itself as “the industry’s leading children’s graphic novel publisher,” and – judging from its current output – that could very well be true.

 

Once upon a time that title would have gone to Harvey Comics, which transit

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From the comics pages to your bookshelf: Archie and Superman!

Sept. 17, 2013 -- The purpose of comic-strip collections from America’s rich past is entertainment. But in many cases, they’re a public service, too.

Such is the case with IDW’s “Library of American Comics,” which aggressively searches out classic co

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Romita Jr. on Kick-Ass 2, Gray Area and ... Superman?

Aug. 20, 2013 -- Everyone wants to know what John Romita Jr. has to say.

 

As the co-creator (with writer Mark Millar) and artist of Kick-Ass, Romita is in demand due to the Aug. 16 premiere of Kick-Ass 2. There’s also Kick-Ass 3 to talk about, as we

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Five comics appear on screen, and some are unrecognizable

Aug. 14, 2013 -- The week of Aug. 4, Box Office Mojo showed five movies based on comics in the top 15. But you can be forgiven if you don’t recognize them as such.

 

First, let’s acknowledge how stunning it is that on one summer weekend in 2013 Ameri

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The complete John Romita Jr. interview (Aug 13)!

Sean Fernald, representing John Romita Jr., said “John has been with Marvel for nearly four decades now, and his last seven-year contract expired. He has not renewed it yet. He’s still talking to them, but also considering other options. And that’s s

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How to find more Captain Comics

We've recently moved our columnists, but older columns can't be moved without losing the Legionnaires' comments, which we value highly. So we've left older columns -- called "Blogs" in OldSpeak -- where they were originally. For older Captain Comics

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'The Wolverine' takes Logan even farther from comic-book counterpart

July 30, 2013 -- With the premiere of The Wolverine, the X-Men movie franchise has moved so far from the comics mythos as to be its own, separate deal. So do the comics matter to the movies any more? You bet your muttonchops, bub!

 

First, let’s disp

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