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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

It seemed like I was in the minority when it came to appreciating Sam Humphries’ take on “Uncanny X-Force.”  No, it didn’t have a stated purpose and just had the adventures of an eclectic group of mutants as its focus, but he took the cast in some interesting directions and had a few well-played surprises […]

In this latest volume, Spider-Man’s *ahem* superior foes face off against one of the necessary evils of the comics industry.  The Fill-In Issue(s)!  Tossing out an issue by creators other than the people who regularly work on a title to keep it on a monthly schedule has become an increasingly rare sight in the industry […]

While these solicitations cover what we’ll get from the company at the end of the year, a couple titles that will be coming out in 2015 (or further) have also got my attention this week.  Image will be publishing an English version of the French series “Red Skin” (to be retitled “Red One”) with art […]