Comics

Post Content Mark Trail, 7/22/20 Let me tell you all a story from the misty prehistory of this blog. When I moved in Baltimore in the now-ancient fall of 2002, the local print newspaper, to which I subscribed, still had four glorious pages of comics, including all the soap opera strips that I had heard of but never actually encountered in the wild. In Mary Worth, I arrived right in the middle of a long dinner conversation between Mary, Jeff, and Smitty Smedlap, a former chef who hated new-fangled cooking and particularly didn’t care for fish (or, as he called it, “feesh”), showing open contempt for Mary’s beloved Bum Boat. In classic soap opera strip pacing fashion, Smedlap’s monologue went on uninterrupted for days and days and I was completely fascinated by it. He was clearly a...

After spending the last couple of years mainly re-visiting old material (as opposed to merely re-printing it, given that he’s made changes ranging from the significant to the less so to pretty much all his earlier comics in their new iterations), it’s nice to see that Minneapolis cartoonist David Tea is back to producing original stuff with Five Perennial Virtues #11, the latest issue of his intermittent self-published series that’s been going for, what? Nearly two decades now? My, how time flies — even if, in Dave’s ‘zines, it seems to either crawl or loop back in on itself. Or both. In any case, the “Broken Pieces” subtitle for this issue is entirely apropos, and while tonally and structurally it’s of a piece (or, if you prefer, of a broken piece) with previous installments, i...

Warner Bros is getting in on the virtual convention action with DC FanDome, a “free virtual fan experience where no badge is required.” The event begins on August 22, 2020, at 10 AM PDT. DC FanDome will be 24 hours of talent, announcements, and content reveals featuring stars, filmmakers, and creators of films, tv series, games, and comics. Publisher and Chief Creative Officer for DC, Jim Lee, wants this event to capture the energy of a convention to create an epic online experience for fans around the world. “This isn’t one big Zoom call…we’re building an expansive, immersive universe where you can explore, create, learn, and hear from the biggest DC stars and creators,” said Lee. “This is the DC Multiverse like you have never seen it before.” Warner Bros.’ Chair and Chief Executive Offi...

Another Punisher book? Yes. What makes this one different? Well, I guess it’s that it’s got more of a long-form feel.  In fact, it’s hard to break the first year’s worth of comics into chunks.  But I did the first three issues because they show how this series is different from the other two (even if, in many other ways, it’s fairly similar). For one thing, there’s the art team: John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson.  Complete A-list.  And that boldness is announced on that amazing cover. Another reason is character work.  And the third reason is the story.  This is a long-form Punisher tale that begins with Microchip having issues with enabling so much killing at the hands of Punisher, so he quits to go see a therapist.  Left alone, Punisher goes about his usua...

The epilogue to the Galactic Storm event.  There’s some epilogue/recap work with the Avengers teams, and then some set up for the ongoing “Diamondback is missing” storyline.  It’s a very meta issue… …Worrying that he’s falling out of fashion against the backdrop of the ’90s in-crowd of Cable, Wolverine, Punisher, etc.  Very odd moment. And in response: He’ll become a werewolf. Creators: Mark Gruenwald and Rik LevinsGrade: C

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For Christmas, Punisher actually takes a vacation.  He goes to the Catskills.  But his bus gets hit by an avalanche and a serial killer is among the stranded passengers. It’s a bit different to have Punisher in what is basically a “locked room” mystery.  But other than that, he kills the bad guy, which is par for course. Creators: Chuck Dixon, Ron WagnerGrade: C.  An average Pun story.  Perfectly fine. For the complete history of the MU, year by year, go here.

These two books cross-over, sort of, with Spider-Man taking the “main” role in Excalibur and vice-versa.  Both stories recall the first time Spidey met Captain Britain, way back in Marvel Team-Up #65-66, and in the end we learn Arcade was behind much of the shenanigans. There’s a nice touches with some cat-named villains called “The Litter,” Other than that, it’s a fairly typical set of fill-in issues. Creators: Scott Lobdell and James Fry (Excalibur) and Terry Kavanagh and Chris Marriman (Spider-Man)Grade:  C

Overview: As Joker seizes control of Gotham, Batman struggles to survive, looking for a cave where he can regroup and reclaim his lost city.    Synopsis (spoilers ahead): Years ago, Batman drives the Batmobile to the Gotham City reservoir, where he is to encounter Joker for the first time. On the way, he talks with Alfred, expressing his reservations about this caper. To Batman, the Joker is no ordinary murderer. Batman realizes that the Joker sees everyone but Batman as meat, and he feels that the Joker is already orchestrating more encounters between the two of them. Alfred reassures Batman, telling Bruce that he won’t have to fight any murderous nightmare clowns alone.    In the present, the Batmobile bursts through the Gotham City aqueducts, pursued by a few cars full of Joker...

Podcast: Play in new window @media screen and (min-width: 1201px) { .ciayi5f17238238cc4 { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) { .ciayi5f17238238cc4 { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) { .ciayi5f17238238cc4 { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) { .ciayi5f17238238cc4 { display: block; } } @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { .ciayi5f17238238cc4 { display: block; } } This is the fourth installment of the new podcast on Jonathan Hickman’s DAWN OF X comics. After a two-week hiatus while Ian traveled in Japan,...