Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Sean Dillon

About Sean Dillon

Sean Dillon is a writer and editor for many outlets, including PanelxPanel, Neotext, and Arcbeatle Press. He is the author of the book One Must Imagine Scott Free Happy, a book length analysis of Tom King and Mitch Gerads' Mister Miracle. He is often found puttering about on twitter @deathchrist2000 or on his personal blog thekinginredandblue.blogspot.com

The World That’s Coming: OMAC by Jack Kirby

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They say that the 60s ended when the Manson family killed a couple of celebrities. They say a lot of things that aren’t true. Certainly, the moment in history was one of horror and brutality that would come to define a lot of what was to follow. But the 60s were long dead by the time the Manson family entered 10500 Cielo Drive. One could more sensibly argue that the 60’s ended in May of 1968, when the youth movement of France was brutally slaughtered by the police, ending the young generation. You could also argue that it ended in 1969, but not with Manson’s family killing Sharon Tate, but with Ronald Regan ordering troops to open fire upon hippies at a public park. Or perhaps it died with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

The New Gods experiment was, in many ways, an attempt by Jack Kirby to keep the dream of the 60s alive and well into the 70s. That the core of this dream came in the form of The Forever People, the first of Kirby’s series to get canceled, speaks to how many people had faith in the dream. OMAC, in many regards, is Kirby reckoning with the 70s. And it’s a bleak picture.

But it’s not bleak enough. [Read more…] about The World That’s Coming: OMAC by Jack Kirby

The Old 52: “You Don’t Know Dick” – Grayson by Tom King, Tim Seely, & Mikel Janin

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Grayson is a comic that, by all rights, should not have worked. It’s a follow up to a Grant Morrison concept done by people who aren’t Grant Morrison. A spin-off of a Geoff Johns comic. The first comic by a co-writer whose sole writing credits prior to this are a short story and a middling novel (who only got the gig because he’s ex-CIA), another co-writer whose superhero work has (largely) been more supportive of other visions than expressing his own, and an artist whose work has mostly been on covers rather than interiors. Worst of all, it has a central premise that is, to be quite blunt, a bit trite and obvious, especially in the context of the New 52. Yet another spy comic released by DC about some nebulous organization out to do dirty deeds while the superheroes look clean. SHADE, Blackhawks, ARGUS, and now Spyral. These are not the elements of a successful comic. And yet, Grayson surprisingly works. It’s a fun, action packed adventure full of intrigue, espionage, and shirtless men. [Read more…] about The Old 52: “You Don’t Know Dick” – Grayson by Tom King, Tim Seely, & Mikel Janin

“The Tradition of Radical Strangeness”: Britain a Prophecy Interview

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Britain a Prophecy is an upcoming urban fantasy digital first comic set in the height of Thatchers England. What follows is an interview with its writer, Elizabeth Sandifer, and artist, Penn Wiggins.

Before we get into the meat of the interview, I think it might be a good idea for you two to introduce yourselves and the comic we’re going to be talking about to the CBH readers who might not be familiar with either of your work.

El Sandifer: Well, I’m El Sandifer. Up until this point I’ve been an independent critic writing for my site Eruditorum Press, where I’ve done a lot of work on both Doctor Who and British comic books. But recently this charming gentleman and I found ourselves going “wait, one of us writes, the other one of us draws, we both love comics as a medium… why don’t we make some?” And now here we are.

Penn Wiggins: And I’m Penn Wiggins. I’ve bounced around a few things, but a few years ago settled back into being an artist, and recently this delightful madwoman suggested we should do comics, so I’ve been doing that. [Read more…] about “The Tradition of Radical Strangeness”: Britain a Prophecy Interview

Tales From the DC Dark Multiverse II Review

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In 1985, DC Comics began publishing an event comic known as Crisis on Infinite Earths. Written by Marv Wolfman with art by George Pérez, the comic detailed the collapse of the DC Multiverse into a single universe. One where Superheroes were a relatively new idea with Wonder Woman only coming into play at the then modern day. All the imaginary stories, all the alternate earths were discarded in favor of the single vision of what the DC Universe should be.

In contrast, Marvel Comics has an occasional series known as What If…? wherein readers are presented with an alternate version of events where things work out differently. In some, we are presented with worlds where the worst-case scenario goes horribly for everyone while in others that worst-case actually leads to a better world. Some What Ifs take on major events like the Death of Gwen Stacy or Captain America coming into the modern-day. Others take minor things like giving a boy a Sentinel or pondering if Bruce Banner was the monster and the Hulk a good man. But with all of these stories (the best at least), even in the bleaker narratives where the Nazis win and domestic abusers go unpunished, there is a sense that this was the only way it could have gone, even if we know alternatives exist. [Read more…] about Tales From the DC Dark Multiverse II Review

Is the Nick Spencer Run on Amazing Spider-Man… Good?

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No.

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Though, in its defense, the main Amazing Spider-Man title hasn’t been consistently good since Peter Parker was possessed by the ghost of Doctor Octopus (though, even then, that run was hobbled by Dan Slott’s inclination towards mediocrity and continuity fetishism); and it hasn’t been consistently great since the ’90s. There are many reasons for this, from an inexplicable notion that Spider-Man is a character who has to function like a teenager (I blame John Byrne) to the far more understandable (if still depressing) notion that Peter Parker must be a straight white guy who suffers for our sins (I blame Sam Rami).

* Spoilers for the run to date follow *

[Read more…] about Is the Nick Spencer Run on Amazing Spider-Man… Good?