I’d meant to pick up these collections of writer Paul Dini’s “Batman” work when they came out, but I just never got around to it.  Reading them now, I don’t feel that was a big mistake, but they still have their charms.  Dini’s initial run was characterized by doing lots of “done-in-one” tales that emphasized […]

The late Harvey Pekar may not have been as famous or financially secure as he wanted to be, but his “American Splendor” comics were landmark works in showing how the medium could be used for realistic, autobiographical stories.  While Pekar’s curmudgeonly “character” was never the easiest person to like, you could always relate to his […]

This collection of Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle’s modern re-interpretation of the Golden Age hero is as well-written as the previous volumes, though the art is a bit of a mixed bag.  “The Blackhawk” has Wesley Dodds being recruited to be part of a group to sponsor pilot Janos Prohaska efforts to fight the […]

Heath Hudson is the last of the legendary “Fear Agents,” and the kind of guy who likes to self-medicate the traumas of his past by either drinking lots of alcohol, or killing lots of nasty aliens.  Sometimes both at the same time.  While he’s used to wiping the floor with the nastiest aliens the galaxy […]

My primary motivation for buying all of the “Vertigo Crime” graphic novels as they come out, regardless of the creative team, has mainly been to gather material for a future podcast on the imprint’s inevitable failure observe the progression of the imprint and see the quality of the books firsthand.  The buying part has been […]

I started reading “Nova” as an outgrowth of enjoying the character’s mini-series and participation in the “Annihilation” crossover.  While writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning did a great job of making the title character interesting, thanks to his standing as the last of the Nova Corps. and the host of the Xandar Worldmind, the first […]

As you all know by now, I’m a slut for tying my podcast in to the latest comic book movie being released.  The reason this week’s edition wasn’t about “Scott Pilgrim” was because I’ve never got into that series beyond the first two volumes.  I read the first one based on the strength of the […]

I’ve enjoyed the Fillbach Bros. work on other people’s series, such as“Poison Elves:  Pairintachin” or their contributions to “The Goon” on “My Space Dark Horse Presents.”  After reading “Maxwell Strangewell,” I want to read more original works from them.  The story starts off simply enough with a girl named Anna making friends with an eleven-foot […]

I’ll say this, it was really nice of Marvel to promote the latest arc of Ed Brubaker’s “Captain America” run as a major event on the level of “Secret Invasion” or “Siege.”  Yes, the return of Steve Rogers to the Marvel Universe certainly qualifies as a BIG DEAL but the series doesn’t stray far from  […]

This storyline was the reason I started reading Stan Sakai’s “Usagi Yojimbo” in single issue form, in addition to the trades, over three years ago.  It’s also the only time I’ve ever really experienced disappointment with the ending of one of the series’ extended storylines. (Spoilers for this volume follow the break, eventually.) These days […]