Comic Picks by the Glick

Manga and Comic Reviews

Genshiken: Second Season vol. 5

Even as I become more disillusioned with the college-otaku core of this title, the characters keep me coming back for more.  Take the last volume:  It ended on an interesting cliffhanger as hardcore otaku (and series mainstay) Madarame found himself in the Genshiken club room again with Saki, the girl he’s had a crush on […]

The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom

Sometimes, it’s pretty easy to tell why certain creators took on a particular project.  Take Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, still tearing it up on Marvel’s “Daredevil,” and their take on Dave Stevens’ creation “The Rocketeer.”  Inspired by the pulp fiction heroes of the 30’s and 40’s (as well as Bettie Page), Stevens had can’t-catch-a-break […]

Two by Bendis & Bagley

After putting out over 110 mostly excellent issues of “Ultimate Spider-Man,” there should be no doubt that Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley work really well together.  While they’ve collaborated on a few projects outside of that title, nothing they’ve done yet has managed to equal that legendary run.  That holds true for their work […]

Uber vol. 2

After a certain point in the first volume, this title’s twists started working against my expectations and I came to enjoy its story of superhuman combatants in WWII.  Having got the setup out of the way, writer Kieron Gillen sets about adding further complications for all sides in the war.  The volume is effectively split […]

Blue is the Warmest Color

This French graphic novel came to my attention after the film that was based on it won the Palme D’Or at Cannes last year.  It tells the story of a high school girl, Clementine, who is living a normal life until she meets the blue-haired Emma first in passing and then again in a bar. […]

Terra Formars vol. 2

Make no mistake:  The first volume of this series was one of the funniest things I’ve read all year!  It’s a special thing to see creators run through the tropes inspired by “Aliens” and countless other sci-fi works without the slightest bit of self-awareness and utterly convinced that what they’re doing is special and worth […]

The Fuse vol. 1

When you’re trying to describe something that is a hybrid of a couple different influences and/or genres, there’s always the risk of coming off as too clever and disappearing up your ass in the process.  After all, what the hell does “Louis C.K. meets Robert E. Howard in a David Fincher universe” even mean?  On […]

Age of Ultron

Everyone who reads this blog is probably aware that not only does this event have the same name as the subtitle for the “Avengers” sequel, but that the movie has nothing to do with the storyline of the comic.  So anyone who picks this up after seeing the movie next year is going to be […]

God is Dead vol. 1

Being a dedicated fan of Jonathan Hickman, I’ll buy pretty much anything with his name on it these days.  Including this, a series he created for Avatar and co-wrote the first six issues with Mike Costa.  I can only imagine that the company’s Editor In Chief, William Christensen, offered Hickman the chance to come up […]