Sept. 24, 2013 -- The villains have won at DC Comics. But will the readers?
Here’s the poop: In the last couple of months, the Crime Syndicate -- an evil analog of the Justice League from a parallel Earth -- has invaded the 52 monthly superhero boo
Read more…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
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
Read more…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
Read more…ACTION COMICS #23.2: ZOD
Written by GREG PAK
Art by KEN LASHLEY
3-D motion cover by GENE HA
On sale SEPTEMBER 11 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
General Zod storms into The New 52! Witness the origin of this genocidal maniac, and learn how far he wil
Read more…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
Read more…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
Read more…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
Read more…New Avengers Volume 1: Everything Dies
Collecting New Avengers #1-6
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Steve Epting
Marvel Comics, $24.99, color, 144 pages
Well, that was depressing. Depressing, but fascinating.
Aside from marketing, there's no reaso
Read more…Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger Volume 1: A Stranger Among Us
Collecting Phantom Stranger #0-5
Writer: Dan DiDio
Artists: Brent Anderson, Philip Tan
DC Comics, $14.99, color, 144 pages
There is absolutely nothing I like about this book. But two thi
Read more…Talon Volume 1: Scourge of the Owls
Collecting Talon #0-7
Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
Artist: Guillem March
DC Comics, $16.99, color, 192 pages
I think it goes without saying that this book wouldn't exist without Scott Snyder's name on it
Read more…Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics
Collecting super-villain origin stories
Writers, artists: Various
DC Comics, $19.99, color, 192 pages
The obvious question about this book is: Who's it for?
Necessary Evil is comprised of 27 stories about
Read more…Good Riddance: An Illustrated Memoir of Divorce
Writer/artist: Cynthia Copeland
Abrams ComicArts, $17.95, color, 224 pages
I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't even finish it.
This is a good book, maybe an important one. It's the story
Read more…Roy Thomas Presents The Heap Volume Two
Collecting Heap stories from Airboy #52-82 (Jun 48-Dec 50)
Writers, artists: Various
PS ArtBooks, $49.99, color, 242 pages
As I've observed elsewhere, the Golden Age of Reprints is revealing the origins of mod
Read more…Superior Spider-Man Volume 1: My Own Worst Enemy
Collecting Superior Spider-Man #1-5
Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Ryan Stegman, Giuseppe Camuncoli
Marvel Comics, $17.99, color, 120 pages
I stopped reading Spider-Man once, because it was no longer the
Read more…Batman the Dark Knight Volume 2: Cycle of Violence
Collecting Batman the Dark Knight #0, 10-15
Writer: Gregg Hurwitz
Artist: David Finch
DC Comics, $22.99, color, 160 pages
The first BTDK collection was a hot mess, story-wise, but I gave it a pass f
Read more…Marvel First: WWII Superheroes
Collecting first appearances of Timely characters
Writers, artists: Various
Marvel Comics, $39.99, color, 456 pages
I learned more than I expected from this collection.
I had planned to skip it, because I've read most
Read more…Iron Man Volume 1: Believe
Collecting Iron Man #1-5
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Greg Land
Marvel Comics, $24.99, color, 136 pages
I hate to say it, but I think this whole book is just a set-up to get Iron Man into space, where he can team up with
Read more…Archer & Armstrong Volume One: The Michelangelo Code
Collecting Archer & Armstrong #1-4
Writer: Fred van Lente
Artists: Clayton Henry, Matt Milla
Valiant, $9.99, color, 112 pages
Van Lente sure packed a lot into four issues.
First of all, he introd
Read more…Red She-Hulk Volume 1: Hell Hath No Fury
Collecting Red She-Hulk #58-62
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Carlo Pagulayan
Marvel Comics, $15.99, color, 120 pages
This is probably unfair, but I'm disappointed.
Red She-Hulk is on the run from a murder she
Read more…