When Kevin M. Brettauer arrived at the nearest town which adjoineth the forest, he found many people assembled in the market-place; for it had been announced that a rope-dancer would give a performance. And Brettauer spake thus unto the people:
I teach you the Superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have ye done to surpass man?
Features
Monday, March 28 2011
The Night Billy Buddy Died: Dr. Horrible’s Tragicomic Inversion of Spider-Man
The accidental death of Penny, the girl Billy Buddy aka Dr. Horrible loves, has parallels to the deaths of several comic book deaths, though none so much as the death of Spider-Man's girlfriend Gwen.
Thursday, February 10 2011
The Ten Last Days: Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba's 'Daytripper'
The conclusion of Daytripper, in its own way, both subverts and expands upon the ending of another notable work of literature to emerge from the post-911 condition, the TV show Lost.
Friday, December 3 2010
My Own Private Singularity: "Iron Man: Rapture" and the Horror, the Horror
Tony, Ex Machina!: In Iron Man: Rapture, a very real, very human brush with death sends Tony Stark over the edge. When faced with his own mortality, what does the smartest man in the world do? It’s simple: build a better body. But at what cost?
Thursday, November 4 2010
If You Can Read This, You’re Literate: An Interview with Filmmaker Todd Kent
After five decades of self-censorship stemming primarily from the Frederic Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, can comics reassert its rightful role in promoting literacy during childhood? Wertham had a few valid points, contends filmmaker Todd Kent.
Wednesday, July 28 2010
"Patty Hearst Heard the Burst": Joshua Dysart's Unknown Soldier
It’s impossible, while reading Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli’s superlative Unknown Soldier, to not think of the late, great Warren Zevon’s ballad of Roland, the so-called “headless Thompson gunner”, and his seemingly endless battle. Perhaps there's a reason for that.
Reviews
Thursday, September 23 2010
Once in a Lifetime: Each of Us Is a Daytripper, and We Are All Made of Stars
The archetypes of a vast array creative geniuses, including David Lynch, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Stan Rogers, come together to tell everyone’s story in the superlative Daytripper, which sets a new standard for comic book masterpieces along the lines of Watchmen or A Contract with God.
Thursday, September 9 2010
"Becoming Who We Are": The Horrors of Survival in 'The Walking Dead Vol. 12: Life Among Them'
Thomas Harris' Francis Dolarhyde once commented that his victims were privy to a great becoming. As The Walking Dead continues, Robert Kirkman gives us front row center seats to the greatest undoing of all.
Tuesday, March 30 2010
The Light #1-2
Let there be no light... Edmondson and Weldele have created a fascinating meditation on the warp speed with which we now exchange and ingest information.
Tuesday, March 9 2010
Sweet Tooth #1-5
In his latest opus, Jeff Lemire cries out for help. If only he were crying wolf.
Tuesday, February 16 2010
The Black Cherry Bombshells
The series is not afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve, but it refuses to be defined by them.
Blogs
Wednesday, October 13 2010
No Stranger to Fiction #22: “God Was a Straw Dog”
Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth shifts up a gear with the current "Animal Armies" arc, reaffirming its writer's position as one of the top cultural observers working in comics today.
Monday, October 4 2010
No Stranger to Fiction #21: Let's Talk About Flux
Today we’re not going to talk about the state of comics journalism...
Monday, September 27 2010
No Stranger to Fiction #20: Without Warning
After 18 years of premier publications and a few missed opportunities, WildStorm is shutting down. But it shouldn't.
Tuesday, September 21 2010
No Stranger to Fiction #19: Pope Matters
This past weekend saw Anti-Pope marches in the United Kingdom, coinciding with the Pope's visit. But where was the Anti-Pope himself?
Tuesday, September 14 2010
No Stranger to Fiction #18: “A Life on the Killing Streets”
The Ramparts We Watched: Confirmed by the unnecessary shooting death of Manuel Jamines in Los Angeles, it appears that Lucas Bishop, not James Gordon, seems to be the archetype most American policemen can get behind.
