tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103456022018-03-07T16:34:40.866+01:00Reviews of Comic Books, Graphic Novels and Other ComicsMarc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comBlogger260125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-73039568527013903042012-02-20T23:52:00.001+01:002012-02-20T23:52:40.270+01:00

Image Comics, 24 pages plus extra material, $3.50 Writer: Ed Brubaker Artist: Sean Phillips Colorist: Dave Stewart “The past haunts, things you kept inside come out to make things worse, and it all ends in tears,” Ed Brubaker told me about what he called “the heart of noir” in the context of a 2007 interview. “I think that's why I love it, because within that structure, you can tell

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-43231734198207998042011-12-23T12:46:00.001+01:002011-12-23T12:46:18.584+01:00

Marvel, 36 pages, $ 3.99 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Marcos Martin Colorist: Muntsa Vicente, Javier Rodriguez Letterer: Joe Caramagna This book reprints 12 two-page “Spidey Sunday” strips originally published in Amazing Spider-Man #634 through 645, as well as the “Identity Crisis” short from issue #600, all of which were written by Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee and drawn by Marcos

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-71491965078456828662011-12-22T17:32:00.001+01:002011-12-22T17:41:45.682+01:00

Boom! Studios, 22 pages, $ 1.00 Writer: Gary Phillips Artist: Marc Laming Colorist: Darrin Moore Letterer: Steve Wands Cover artist: Paul Azaceta The Rinse is a baffling comic, for a number of reasons. This type of material—no fantastic elements, no big-name creators or characters, no superheroes—is a tough sell in the U.S. market, and so it’s laudable for publishers to try and

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-22305216877125382292011-12-21T21:47:00.000+01:002011-12-22T03:47:34.892+01:00

Image Comics, 27 pages, $ 3.99 Writer/penciler: Rick Veitch Inker: Gary Erskine Colorist: Dominic Regan Letterer: Annie Parkhouse Cover artist: Thomas Yeates Arguably, it’s moot to judge something on its merits as a story when it turns out that telling a story was never the point. But given that The Big Lie, released in time for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks,

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-9780706484746630272011-12-20T14:26:00.001+01:002011-12-20T14:26:30.770+01:00

Boom!/Kaboom!, 8 pages plus extra material, $ 1.00 Writer/artist: Roger Langridge Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg Roger Langridge’s new kids’ comic is based on the Lewis Carroll poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter”: The story is about Wilburforce J. Walrus (an anthropomorphic walrus) and Clyde McDunk (a carpenter), who live together in a little fairy house near the beach, in a little fairy town

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-2334650019427932482011-12-20T00:00:00.001+01:002011-12-20T00:01:30.707+01:00

Dynamite Entertainment, 12 pages plus extra material, $ 1.00 Writers: Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross Artists: Jack Herbert, Alex Ross Colorist: Vinicius Andrade Letterer: Simon Bowland Besides half the Marvel Universe and Darkseid and the New Gods over at DC, Jack Kirby also created hundreds of lesser-known characters that didn’t end up being owned by his publishers. That’s where Kirby:

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-44738528258892113132011-12-16T08:07:00.001+01:002011-12-16T10:23:30.899+01:00

Marvel, 34 pages, $ 3.99 Writer: David Lapham Artist: David Aja Colorist: Bettie Breitweiser Letterer: Dave Lanphear There’s an entire subgenre of Wolverine stories in which “an old friend” requires Logan’s help, and Wolverine: Debt of Death is one of those. As in many stories of this particular ilk, the old friend here, too, happens to be from Japan. The call for help, handily,

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-31763257628136915522011-12-15T09:33:00.001+01:002011-12-15T10:51:56.188+01:00

Marvel, 19 pages, $ 2.99 Writer/artist: Howard Chaykin Colorist: Jesus Aburtov Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher Well, this is a comic written and drawn by Howard Chaykin, so you know what you’re in for. Oh, you don’t? Okay, in a nutshell: The characters are a dashing, wise-cracking, more than a little bit snotty bunch, and there’s a lot of sex and violence. Also: textures. Many, many,

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-66428499887700309372011-12-14T08:22:00.001+01:002011-12-14T08:22:10.731+01:00

Marvel, 22 pages, $ 3.99 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Jamie McKelvie Colorist: Matthew Wilson Letterer: Dave Lanphear Cover artists: John Cassaday and Paul Mounts I don’t usually read Secret Avengers, but #16 is the first of six issues written by Warren Ellis, each of which containing a full story illustrated by a different artist. So, in essence, these six issues of Secret

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-634546998776891702011-12-13T10:11:00.001+01:002011-12-13T10:14:08.124+01:00

Marvel, 29 pages, $ 3.99 Writer: Kieron Gillen Penciler: Carlos Pacheco Inker: Cam Smith Colorist: Frank D’Armata I rather like what Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo are doing over in the other half of the “Regenesis” relaunch. Can Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco keep up? Well, first up, Uncanny X-Men is quite a different book from Wolverine & the X-Men—as it should be, certainly,

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-28793679257703654712011-12-12T09:35:00.001+01:002011-12-13T10:14:08.140+01:00

Marvel, 28 pages, $ 3.99 Writer: Jason Aaron Penciler/colorist: Chris Bachalo Inkers: Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey Letterer: Rob Steen In which Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo turn in the best X-Men story I’ve read in years. About half a year back, when I saw the X-Men: First Class film, I was wondering why there wasn’t an X-Men comic that’s like it: a busy, self-contained,

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-18793130537629122752011-12-09T19:29:00.001+01:002011-12-13T10:14:08.156+01:00

Marvel, 34 pages, $ 3.99 Writer: Kieron Gillen Artist: Billy Tan Colorist: Andres Mossa Letterer: Rob Steen Cover artists: Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend To their credit, Marvel hasn’t been shy about the fact that someone from the marketing department tends to be present during their plotting retreats. When it was determined to launch Wolverine & the X-Men and relaunch Uncanny

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-67821004240407974932011-12-08T23:59:00.000+01:002011-12-09T10:02:00.957+01:00

Image Comics, 18 pages plus extra material, $ 2.99 Writer: Joe Casey Artist/colorist: Mike Huddleston Letterer: Rus Wooton Logo and graphic designer: Sonia Harris One of the things I like so much about Butcher Baker is that it doesn’t hide its penises. For all the grisly violence, the puerile or outright jaw-droppingly awkward notions of sex and the overall testosterone-drenched

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-69652700769309591202011-12-07T23:59:00.001+01:002011-12-08T23:57:38.939+01:00

Image Comics, 20 pages, $ 2.99 Writer: Joe Casey Artist: Nathan Fox Colorist: Fco Plascencia Letterer: Comicraft This is the first issue by the new creative team of Joe Casey and Nathan Fox, who worked together before on the highly enjoyable Dark Reign: Zodiac miniseries at Marvel, a couple of years ago. And when was the last time you saw a “New Creative Team!” tagline one a comic?

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-41340227096343185592011-12-06T08:58:00.001+01:002011-12-06T08:59:19.843+01:00

IDW Publishing, 21 pages, $ 3.99 Writer/artist: John Byrne Colorist: Ronda Pattison Letterer: Shawn Lee Cowboys vs. dinosaurs? By John Byrne? Yay! Well, kind of. As it turns out, there are no real cowboys in the book, contrary to what the cover suggests. It’s set in some U.S. desert small town where folks have cattle, all right, but it’s the present day, unfortunately. The second big

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-57968321322777427722011-12-02T14:50:00.001+01:002011-12-02T14:55:53.000+01:00

IDW Publishing, 22 pages, $ 3.99 Writer/artist: John Byrne Colorist: Ronda Pattison Letterer: Neil Uyetake It’s been a while since I last read a John Byrne comic—must have been an issue of X-Men: The Hidden Years, circa 1999 or so. While that series was, shall we say, not the most focused of all superhero adventures, I’ve always had a soft spot for Mr. Byrne’s stuff. German reprints of

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-12146529971984832382011-12-01T06:10:00.001+01:002011-12-01T06:16:31.825+01:00

Penny-Farthing Press, 2010, paperback, 104 pages, $ 19.95 Writer: Stuart Moore Penciler and colorist: Jon Proctor Inkers: Jeff Dabu, Jon Proctor Letterer: Jason Levine As it turns out, the “graphic novel” part of the subtitle is a bit of a misnomer. Rather than a standalone narrative, this is the first (and, to date, only) book in a projected series. Not that there’s anything wrong

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-18417416762104257772011-11-30T14:35:00.001+01:002011-12-01T13:13:27.548+01:00

DC Comics/Vertigo, 25 pages, $ 1.00 Writer: Brian Azzarello Artist: Eduardo Risso Colorists: Patricia Mulvihill, Giulia Brusco Letterer: Clem Robins Cover artist: Dave Johnson If you ever watched a dystopian sci-fi movie in the 1990s—you know, one of those unlikely ones with Arnold Schwarzenegger or Kevin Costner—Spaceman seems quite familiar. It’s about Orson, a guy built like

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-40976992414718647522011-11-28T13:02:00.003+01:002011-12-09T11:13:34.561+01:00

DC Comics, 20 pages, $ 2.99 Co-writer and artist: Francis Manapul Co-writer and colorist: Brian Buccellato Letterer: Sal Cipriano The first 10 pages of Flash #1 are the best introduction to a superhero comic I’ve seen in a long time. It’s just good, stylish, irresistible straightforward storytelling. To (a) introduce the hero’s civilian identity, including Love Interest A and another

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-5058353784084344542011-11-25T11:54:00.001+01:002011-11-25T19:15:00.486+01:00

DC Comics, 20 pages, $ 2.99 Writer and co-plotter: Paul Jenkins Penciler and co-plotter: David Finch Inker: Richard Friend Colorist: Alex Sinclair Letterer: Sal Cipriano This is a very odd book to release one week after Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman #1. For one thing, David Finch’s style, like Mr. Capullo’s as well, has a lot of the sensibilities popularized by artists

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-25177236941253532352011-11-24T15:03:00.001+01:002011-11-24T15:04:05.382+01:00

DC Comics, 20 pages, $ 2.99 Writer: Peter Milligan Artist: Mikel Janin Colorist: Ulises Arreola Letterer: Rob Leigh Cover artist: Ryan Sook In theory, this type of book should be right up Peter Milligan’s alley: not quite your average mainstream superhero thing, but still well within shouting distance of the mainstream. When Mr. Milligan was writing Marvel’s X-Force (later

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-69819643324818720932011-11-23T14:33:00.002+01:002011-11-24T07:49:48.840+01:00

DC Comics, 20 pages, $ 2.99 Co-plotters: Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone Writer: Gail Simone Artist: Yildiray Cinar Colorist: Steve Buccellato Letterer: Travis Lanham Cover artist: Ethan Van Sciver In principle, I don’t mind graphic violence and cruelty in superhero comics. They’re just one more tool from the box that can be applied as required. And, for that matter, the two

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-56093760546882194672011-11-22T13:41:00.002+01:002011-11-25T00:17:43.104+01:00

DC Comics, 22 pages, $ 2.99 Writer: Geoff Johns Penciler: Ivan Reis Inker: Joe Prado Colorist: Rod Reis Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano Geoff Johns has a message for you: Aquaman is a serious and important character. Very serious and very important, in fact. Terribly serious and important. A tremendously serious and important character, that’s Aquaman. Which, you know, is a

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-55013773825529794052011-11-21T12:41:00.001+01:002011-11-21T12:43:10.176+01:00

DC Comics, 20 pages, $ 2.99 Writer: Scott Lobdell Penciler: Brett Booth Inker: Norm Rapmund Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual Welcome to the 1990s! DC Comics editor-in-chief Bob Harras, writer Scott Lobdell and penciler Brett Booth turn in a Teen Titans revamp that reads and looks like something created 20 years ago. The fact that the story is titled “Teen

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10345602.post-45214247632129462112011-11-18T15:21:00.001+01:002011-11-18T15:21:54.099+01:00

DC Comics, 28 pages, $ 3.99 Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray Artist: Moritat Colorist: Gabriel Bautista Letterer: Rob Leigh All Star Western is, pretty much, a straightforward relaunch of the Jonah Hex title that ran for 70 issues from 2006 through 2011. The routine goes like this: Jonah Hex, the horribly scarred mercenary and grim avenger of the innocent created by writer John

Marc-Oliver Frischnoreply@blogger.com