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Shadow and Weight: Mike Mignola Comics Profile & Chronology

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There is something magical about watching someone become who they are. Not so much an evolution, but a refinement, a growing clarity in which their influences and experiences blend together into something that looks like nothing else. This is an especially wonderful thing in comics, because it leads to telling not many stories, but one story — their own story.

And that’s exactly what we get with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola (pronounced Meen-YO-la) as he went from staff artist to, well, himself. [Read more…] about Shadow and Weight: Mike Mignola Comics Profile & Chronology

What’s Up With Thanos in 2019?

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A eugooglizer. One who speaks at funerals. Or did you think I’d be too stupid to know what a eugoogly was? — Derek Zoolander

For all the talkof the Marvel Cinematic Universe being the tail now wagging Marvel Comics, the publisher is still capable of zigging just when you think they’ll zag into the corporate synergy. Case in point: Thanos is dead. Long live Thanos.

[Read more…] about What’s Up With Thanos in 2019?

Best Comics To Read Before Avengers: Endgame

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Avengers: Endgame is wholly unique in superhero movies, promising an unheralded level of revelation for the mysteries left in the wake of Avengers: Infinity War. There are so many varied directions Endgame might go, meaning related reads are part recommendation, part Nostradamus pontificating.

In trying to come up with relevant and potentially predictive Marvel Comics that will connect to the next installment in the Avengers movie franchise, it occurs to me how few Marvel books reflect quite the same notes. While we know this isn’t the final Avengers movie, there’s a permanence and finality to the post Infinity War MCU that the never-ending story of comics rarely embraces. [Read more…] about Best Comics To Read Before Avengers: Endgame

Heroes in Crisis & The Breakdown of Tom King’s Formula

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“What does it mean for the world to end?” This is the core concept at the heart of Heroes in Crisis and, regardless of its execution, it’s worth pointing out why it’s such a provocative question. The apocalypse is always around the corner in comic books, with huge, potentially universe destroying events like the Anti-Monitor’s cannon and the Anti-Life Equation near annual occurrences. So much so that some fans are growing numb to this.

Note: Spoilers for Heroes in Crisis follow [Read more…] about Heroes in Crisis & The Breakdown of Tom King’s Formula

Shazam! Review – Sparklefingers Rides Again

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It feels regressive, and frankly boring, to talk about the degree of “fun” in a comic book movie. For me, any movie reviewer honing in on the fact that Shazam feels light, positive, and joyously heroic, is just more of the lazy baseline assumptions that the world is fatigued of “serious” superhero movies.

Taking a step back, though, it is mildly interesting to note the overall darkness at the heart of comic book movies. DC’s Synder-verse has gotten the most attention of course, but it doesn’t take too much analysis of Avengers: Infinity War to assert that a film ending in unmitigated tragedy isn’t a particularly happy-go-lucky affair. [Read more…] about Shazam! Review – Sparklefingers Rides Again