Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

When I think of how amazingly versatile comics are, I think of publishers like Archaia Entertainment. They’ve just published six graphic novels – none involving superheroes, no two remotely alike, and all of them beautifully done.

Leaping to the top of the list…

Upcoming Comics for Your Reading Pleasure

PREVIEW-PALOOZA!

By Andrew A. Smith

Contributing Editor

2012 has been a pretty good year so far in comics. But what’s coming this summer may put  what’s come before in the shade. A number of publishers were enthusiastic enough to answer our call for a…

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Who the heck is Gwen Stacy?

That is likely to be a question a lot of movie-goers will be asking as they watch The Amazing Spider-Man, premiering this week. For the answer, we have to go back to the early years of Spider-romance, even before the Wall-Crawler’s most famous girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson.

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Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

I’ve never been a fan of Daniel Clowes, but a recent art book has changed my mind.

Not that I don’t admire Clowes’ craft and skill – I do, I do. He’s the writer/artist of the Ghost World graphic novel, and the screenwriter of the 2001 movie (starring Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi and a teenage Scarlett Johansson). His writing is nuanced, subtle and open to interpretation; his artwork is detailed,…