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The Guide to Comics on Substack

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In August 2021, the landscape of comics distribution shifted slightly, as two of America’s most popular and acclaimed comic book writers, James Tynion IV (Batman, Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #6) and Jonathan Hickman (X-Men, Transhuman), announced Substack financial grants that meant their upcoming projects would release via Substack’s email newsletter platform. Tynion’s announcement felt particularly seismic since the writer coupled the news with his planned departure from DC’s Batman, the biggest superhero comic in America.

Other creators accompanied the news, or followed later, including notable talents like Molly Knox Ostertag, Saladin Ahmed, Chip Zdarsky, Sophie Campbell, ND Stevenson, Kelly Thompson, Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire and Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman. On January 31, 2022, a day declared “Comics Day on Substack,” the roster swelled to include Tom King & Elsa Charretier, Brian K Vaughan & Niko Henrichon, Khary Randolph & Joanne Starer, Rodney Barnes, Jen Bartel, oh, and GRANT MORRISON. [Read more…] about The Guide to Comics on Substack

DC’s 2021 Review Part 2: Future State, Infinite Frontier, & Fear State

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1.2.0: This Year in Comics

2021 featured three big picture moments. The year opened with Future State, a two-month event that gave readers a sneak peek into the future. Then DC began their soft reboot with Infinite Frontier #0, which spun out into various series and the event mini-series Infinite Frontier by Joshua Williamson. At the end of the year, the Batman family came together for a big story combining the past year’s Gotham plot threads from Fear State. Each of these 2021 events had positives and negatives, but overall they reminded fans of what the DC universe can be. [Read more…] about DC’s 2021 Review Part 2: Future State, Infinite Frontier, & Fear State

Casual Krakoa: X Lives of Wolverine #2, Sabretooth #1, The X-Cellent Return of X-Statix!

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On my weekly livestream, Casual Krakoa Live, I review the week’s X-Men comics, and answer big questions about what’s going on with Marvel’s merry mutants! You can listen or watch below:

* Spoilers Follow *

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[Read more…] about Casual Krakoa: X Lives of Wolverine #2, Sabretooth #1, The X-Cellent Return of X-Statix!

Moon Knight By Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Review!

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Marc Spector is a troubled man. In the opening pages of Moon Knight #1 by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev, we see the origins of these troubles – betrayed and gravely wounded by his partner Bushman, a brown-haired mercenary collapses at the foot of a statue of the Egyptian god Khonshu and apparently dies. However, it turns out that we are not witnessing the 616 origins of Marc Spector, Moon Knight, after all. We are watching the cliffhanger ending of the first episode of “Legend of the Khonshu”, a television show Spector is producing in his new stomping grounds of Hollywood. Here we have an in-story fictionalization of events whose truth has been questioned over decades of publication history – was Marc Spector truly saved from the brink of death by an ancient Egyptian god, or is psychological trauma contributing to a dangerous delusion? [Read more…] about Moon Knight By Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Review!

Clea Reading Order!

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Clea has come a long way since her introduction by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1964. Starting out as an unnamed stock-standard damsel in distress for Doctor Strange to rescue in the Dark Dimension, she became Strange’s disciple and lover, before leading a rebellion in her native dimension and taking it over as ruler. Across her comic book history, she’s fought her uncle the Dread Dormammu and other mystical menaces, been a member of the Defenders, and now, in the aftermath of Marvel’s recent Death of Doctor Strange storyline, she is the new Sorcerer Supreme, taking up the mantle and legacy of Stephen Strange.

Having spent a lot of time as little more than a secondary character and love interest in Doctor Strange comics from the 60s to the 80s, it has taken until the 2000s to see her break away from the good doctor’s shadow and appear in titles away him, and until 2022 for her to be the main character of her own ongoing series, the upcoming Strange. So read ahead to get caught up on her comic history, as Clea takes her place in the spotlight ! [Read more…] about Clea Reading Order!