MetroPulse Stories: Comics & Graphic Novels

A Reformatted 'Corto Maltese' Is Better Than None at All

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:26:00 -0000

The recent English-language publication of Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salt Sea (Universe) should have been a moment of triumph for European comics in America.

Forever Moebius: The Legacy of French Illustrator Jean Giraud

coury@metropulse.com (Coury Turczyn) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:35:00 -0000

No matter how fanciful or surreal they may be, Moebius' comics come to life with simple, direct lines that make you believe in the intricate details they reveal. Surely, you think, he must have seen these things he recorded. Moebius died last month at the age of 73, yet his imagination can be seen everywhere in our popular culture, in creations far more successful than that lost arcade, even if most Americans aren’t aware of his influence.

'The Strain' and 'Buffy' Make Vampires Seem Surprisingly Relevant

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:08:00 -0000

What the world needs even less than a new pop-culture vampire franchise is somebody saying that the last thing the world needs is another pop-culture vampire franchise. So let’s examine Dark Horse’s new series The Strain on its own terms.

'Action! Mystery! Thrills!' Captures the Weird Spirit of Comics' Golden Age

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:39:00 -0000

Compiled and restored by comics historian Greg Sadowski, this new volume from always-reliable Fantagraphics Books serves up 176 covers from a decade when comics were still trying to figure out what they were—and what they could be.

Fantagraphics Pays a Long-Overdue Tribute to Walt Kelly’s 'Pogo'

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:24:00 -0000

The appeal of Pogo is impossible to ignore but hard to describe. A big part of Walt Kelly’s genius lies in plain old expert craftsmanship. His skill was such that his hand almost became invisible.

Considering 'Tintin' in the 21st Century

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:56:00 -0000

The world Tintin inhabits and represents, seen from a modern adult perspective, seems cramped and problematic. But I read them when I was 8 or 9 years old, when finding a realm of endless adventure—of sunken ships and spy rings and opium smugglers—nestled inside the panels of those slim, 60-page books felt like something magical.

Hellboy Back in Mexico

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:09:00 -0000

Some of the best Hellboy adventures of recent years have been Mignola’s collaborations with underground fantasy legend and Heavy Metal veteran Richard Corben, particularly the 2010 one-shot Hellboy in Mexico, in which Hellboy joins a team of luchadores to drink and fight vampires in the 1950s.

Kate Beaton Makes Comics About Pirates, Nancy Drew, Brahms, and Canada

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:43:00 -0000

Beaton combines a relentlessly nerdy interest in historical figures and literary characters with a flowing but precise pen-and-ink style.

'Supergods' Reveals Grant Morrison as a Big Thinker, But Not a Deep One

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:00:00 -0000

Initially part of the brash wave of young British writers (along with Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman) who turned American comics upside down in the late 1980s, Morrison has played both sides of the comics game during his 30-year career.

Ed Brubaker Introduces a Streamlined Shield-Slinger in 'Captain America' #1

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:25:00 -0000

Writer Ed Brubaker has wrapped up five years of complex storylines—from the Civil War crossover series that pitted Cap against Iron Man to the return of Cap’s World War II-era sidekick Bucky Barnes to Cap’s apparent death and resurrection—to prepare for Captain America #1, a gentle reset that is accessible and coherent and balances necessary exposition with genuine thrills.

The Death of the Human Torch May Restore the Fantastic Four to the Top of the Marvel Universe

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:23:00 -0000

Most readers seem to regard FF writer Jonathan Hickman’s first major bombshell on the book as at best a brief interruption on the way to the team’s 50th anniversary and at worst yet another craven cash-in.

Darwyn Cook's Slick 'Parker' Adaptation Is as Good as Comics Get

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:00:00 -0000

Few genres are as well-suited to the comic book medium as crime noir. Its emphasis on mood over action, its trademark stylistic flair, even its broad-stroke characters translate seamlessly to the panel—which is probably why gangsters and gun molls are stealing more and more spinner-rack real estate from costumed do-gooders. Once a staple of the drugstore funny-book market, crime comics have made a tremendous comeback in recent years.

DC's Latest Takes on the Green Arrow Universe are Hit or Miss

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:21:00 -0000

DC’s new Justice League series has missed the mark, but Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey is off to a good start.

Alan Moore Revives Underground Publishing Tradition With Big-Budget Zine

Wed, 05 May 2010 15:35:00 -0000

In many ways, Dodgem Logic is exactly what you’d expect from a magazine edited by Alan Moore: an energetic and occasionally puzzling amalgam of high- and lowbrow curiosities interspersed with lots of penis jokes.

DC and Dynamite Reboot Classic Characters With Divergent Results

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:14:00 -0000

It’s probably not much of a coincidence that three of the pulp era’s most iconic characters are getting affectionate reboots in a time that bears marked similarities to the age that created them in the first place.

Graphic Novel "Trick 'r Treat" Celebrates All Things Halloween

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:18:00 -0000

After gathering dust on Warner Bros.’ shelves for two years, Mike Dougherty’s Trick ’r Treat finally found its way to DVD earlier this month. Though inexplicably denied a theatrical release, screenings at festivals and conventions helped the film earn an enthusiastic fan base and a well-deserved reputation as one of the best horror movies in recent memory.

Vikings Storm the Comic Book Stands

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:00:00 -0000

When comic-book scribe Ivan Brandon pitched his Viking noir crime saga to DC Comics, he probably wasn’t surprised to learn that a similar project was already on the table.

Mignola Brings Hellboy Universe to Victorian England

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:06:00 -0000

It’s shaping up to be a big year for Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe. The Wild Hunt, possibly the most important story arc in the character’s 15-year history, continues next month, and the first issue of B.P.R.D. 1947 drops this week. Several spin-offs are in the works, some tentatively scheduled for release later this year. For the moment, though, the spotlight belongs to Sir Edward Grey, a character first introduced 13 years ago in the pages of Hellboy: Wake the Devil.

"Irredeemable": When Superheroes Go Bad

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:20:00 -0000

In spite of a recent and well-received marketing campaign to the contrary, the prolific writer is actually a very nice guy. Since leaving his gig as an editor at DC Comics in 1990 to pursue a career as a freelance writer, Waid has scripted titles featuring an impressive list of comic book heavyweights, including Captain America, The Flash, and Superman. Now editor-in-chief at Boom! Studios, Waid has shifted his creative focus to heroes—and villains—of his own invention.

H.P. Lovecraft Fans in for Creepy, Meta Treat

Thu, 14 May 2009 14:34:00 -0000

For a dead guy, H.P. Lovecraft certainly stays busy. Having created one of the richest and most enduring mythologies of the 20th century, he continues to influence storytellers in virtually every medium. A few enterprising novelists have even cast him as a character in their fictional works: Paul Malmont threw him under the proverbial bus to kick-start the plot of The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, while Thomas Wheeler imagined him as an ill-suited crime fighter in The Arcanum.