The Teen Titans Project, Part V:
A New Beginning (1980-1981)
When George Perez left Marvel Comics for DC in 1980, he worked out a deal with his new bosses. He would draw one title of their choice and one of his own. DC assigned him the flagship J
Read more…The Teen Titans Project, Part VI:
The Year of the Titans (1982)
Marv Wolfman declared in a letters column at the end of 1981 that 1982 would be “the Year of the Titans.” It may sound like the usual hype but by this time, Wolfman, Perez and thei
Read more…It’s hard to believe that it’s been 12 years since Joss Whedon’s Firefly first hit the airwaves. I was there at the beginning, watching the first episode on a Friday night. I wasn’t previously a Whedon fan. I didn’t get into Buffy or Angel until m
Showa: A History of Japan
If you’re a long-time fan of comic books, then you know that there’s a lot more to comics than superheroes. That doesn’t mean we don’t like our superheroes as comic book fans. It’s just that we know comic books are capabl
Read more…Checking In On the X-Men
Back in June, I brought home my usual stack of comic books. That’s always fun. But I noticed that this particular stack had not one, not two, but seven different issues of X-Men- the latest issue of five separate ongoing t
Read more…The Teen Titans Project, Part III: The “Relevance” Era (1970-1973)
Superheroes and comic books may seem to be synonymous sometimes but that’s not always the case. Superheroes have waxed and waned in popularity like any other genre. In the early ‘70
Read more…Delighting My Daughters with Comics
Comic books have been a family affair from the beginning, at least for me. My mom used to buy comics for my brother and me for long car rides and camping trips and I trace my love for comics back to her. When I b
Read more…The Teen Titans Project, Part II:
The “Dimension X” Era (1968-1969)
The late ‘60s were an interesting time for the Teen Titans. In the last two years of the decade, the Teen Titans slowly transitioned to a different kind of title. Both the stories
Read more…Defenders of the Status Quo
The villain’s time machine has run amok. Dinosaurs are rampaging in downtown Dallas. Soldiers in blue and gray are firing muskets at each other in a crowded amusement park. A futuristic man with a personal jetpack on hi
The Teen Titans Project, Part I:
The “Ginchy Gear” Years (1964-1967)
Silver Age Teen Titans comic books are a strange animal. They’re widely beloved as some of the worst comics ever made. Yes, you read that right. They’re awful. They’re terri
Read more…Return of the Vampire
While most comic book fans are captivated by zombies, another classic monster is making a comeback. Or coming back at least. Three vampire comics returned from hiatus in the past month, introducing new situations and storylin
Read more…Just Like Our World Except…
Writers of imaginative fiction must walk a very fine line. They are interested in exploring the realms beyond reality, introducing paranormal, superhuman or unearthly elements. Yet, except for the most stalwart of wor
Read more…The New Warriors’ New Vision
In 1990, Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley launched a new comic book series for Marvel. The basic premise behind the new team -- the Hollywood pitch, if you will -- was that it would be a young Avengers. However, nobody th
Read more…Earlier this week, DC announced that they were cancelling six titles in April- including Nightwing, Stormwatch, Suicide Squad and Superman Unchained.
(You can read a news article about the cancellations at Comic Book Resources here: Six DC Series to
Read more…(picture of Darth Malak and Darth Revan based on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic videogame)
So Long, Star Wars EU, and Thanks for All the Sith
It’s an interesting time in the world of Star Wars. Disney acquired the Star Wars property i
Read more…Marvel has been busy of late. About 16 months ago, they re-launched most of their core titles as part of their Marvel Now re-branding: Avengers, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and so on. Currently, Marvel in the midst of another wave of re-launches. H
Read more…Can a comic book character be ruined for all time? Can a character stray so far from their essential nature or commit so heinous a crime, that they can never be used again?
For some fans, the answer is “Yes.” They bitterly complain abo
Read more…A couple of years ago, comic book writer Fred Van Lente was asked to pitch a Gambit series. Van Lente took to Twitter and asked his fans, “What do I need to know to write Gambit?” Unsurprisingly, Van Lente didn’t get the assignment.
Perhaps he sh
Read more…Last week, I wrote my 300th Fluit Notes column for the Captain Comics website. In celebration, I’d like to write about a comic book that shares the number 300. No, not the Frank Miller comic that was eventually turned into a movie. It’s the 300th
Read more…There’s always the end-of-the-year rush. Pundits hurry to produce top ten lists and year-in-review columns. Partiers mob the liquor store to pick up last minute supplies. And comic-book publishers put out as many comic books as they can, probably to
Read more…