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James Tynion IV Creator-Owned (Indie) Comics Guide!

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James Tynion IV is a GLAAD and Eisner award-winning comic writer known for works like The Nice House on the Lake, Batman, and Detective Comics. His books in DC are impressive, but they only scratch the surface. If you want to know more about Tynion and his best works, checking out his indie comics is a must.

I’ve always read comics, but my obsession with them only started around last year. I was reading more and more each time, but I couldn’t stop seeing one name repeatedly, “James Tynion IV” – who the heck is this guy, I would think. Well, apart from me, he’s one of your favorite writers.

If you like horror, Tynion seems like an inevitable path. Although he has many comics more focused on fantasy and other aspects, you will still see glimpses of his knack for the grotesque, like the use of body horror. His library is made of successes like Boom Studios’ Something Is Killing The Children, Image’s Department of Truth, and now his many Substack creations and his own magazine, Razorblades.

Tynion is not only a great writer but also a very knowledgeable person in the game of comics. He knows a lot about how the industry works and tries to pitch many new ideas and forms of storytelling in it. Honestly, not checking out his indie works is simply a waste, so I’m here to help you out. [Read more…] about James Tynion IV Creator-Owned (Indie) Comics Guide!

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES – The 30 Greatest Episodes For 30 Years

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On September 5, 1992, Batman: The Animated Series premiered on Fox Kids, introducing the world to a vision of The Dark Knight that appealed to all age groups. Created by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, with writers including Paul Dini and a voice cast centered on Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Loren Lester, Bob Hastings, Robert Costanzo, Mark Hamill, and more, Batman The Animated Series was both a distillation of everything that made The Caped Crusader popular for decades as well as an inspiration for countless TV shows, comics, movies, and of course fans, in the years that followed.

Personally, BTAS was the thing that not only made me a Batman fan, but got me into superheroes in general. From its initial season to its rebranded second season of The Adventures of Batman & Robin to its update in The New Batman Adventures, I was obsessed with Timm and company’s interpretation of The Dark Knight. In my eyes, it’s the version of the character that I see first when I think about Batman. Every interpretation is ultimately compared to this version, and in its balance of all ages thrills with a mature storytelling style, the animated series encapsulated everything that makes this character special.

So to celebrate 30 years of Batman: The Animated Series, I’m ranking my 30 favorite episodes from across the series’ 109 episodes that were made from 1992 through 1999. And while this doesn’t include the animated movies, Batman Beyond, or the 3-part “World’s Finest” from Superman: The Animated Series, those stories also have a special place in my heart. [Read more…] about BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES – The 30 Greatest Episodes For 30 Years

The Evolution of Marvel Cosmic, Part 3: Terror & Wonder, 1966

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[FF covers/interiors by Jack Kirby (p), Joe Sinnott (i), Stan Goldberg (c), Artie Simek & Sam Rosen (l)]

Part 2 of our Evolution of Marvel Cosmic series can be found here (along with a link to the first piece).

Yes, yes, these tales of moody pulp adventure likely never terrified anyone, not even the rugrats of 1966, but they did and still do offer visual wonders galore, from cosmic grandeur to those little melodramatic glimpses of a character’s essence (Ben Grimm’s deep sadness; Reed’s Jekyll/Hyde-like smooth arrogance breaking into cruel hysterics; Sue’s put-upon fury—these are, of course, their Silver Age iterations); now, admittedly these character moments are of types, sculpted, often grotesquely, in the bold manner of peak Jack Kirby. He and Stan had a knack for taking unsettling bizarro ideas from the surreal pulp magazines of their youth, but where Stan’s talent was for rather simplifying the interesting concepts behind these stories, for the sake of broader or perhaps just more juvenile consumption—Kirby’s pencils kept the weirdness alive and thrilling in demonstration of how deeply attuned he was to the art of mid-century, pop fantastika.

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Judgement Day Tie-Ins & Knights of X Conclusion | Comic Book Herald Live!

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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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