Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics Review 03/23/11

Typical. The Friday where I actually decide to go out somewhere with some school friends, the comic companies decided to go all out and upload six free comics for me to review. There were some good ones, and some not so good. Click here to see the reviews, which include:

Captain America: The Chosen #1

Catwoman #1

The Flash #1

Ghost Rider #1

Pray for Death #1

Ultimate Fantastic Four #1

I'm betting that next week I'll only have one or two comics to review. Such is how these things usually work.

Meanwhile at TWC - Batman & Robin Creative Team

I've mentioned it before, but these are my favorite pieces to write. Over at The Weekly Crisis, I put together a piece on the switches and changes that have affected the Batman & Robin title. I don't have any concrete answers, but I do propose several explanations and lay out the whole story as it happened (or at least how the readers saw it unfold). Here's a short excerpt:

Finally, with Batman & Robin #20, the creative team of Tomasi and Gleason started telling their tale. Surely, with months of preparation and hype behind it, it would be a long run by the two of them.

As it turns out, this isn’t the case at all. Issue #22 is going to be their last for at least three other months.

I've mentioned it before, but these are my favorite pieces to write. It's information that is all out in the open, but that must be pieced together to get the full picture.

Meanwhile at TWC: Free Comics 02/16/11

Another thing I am proud of is that during my course I managed to stay up to date with my Free Comics Review column, with only some minimum delays in the process. This was partly caused by the fact that companies went all out during those weeks, uploading a LOAD of free comics. 

Now that I have all the time in the world to write these reviews? They go ahead and upload only two free comics for me to review. What the hell?! And on top of that, I had already reviewed one of them. Click here to see them.

Cable #1

Wolverine #50

And to make matters worse, the one comic I had to review was terrible. Let's hope next week is better.

Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics 02/09/11

One day, companies will stop uploading great comics for free on their app, but until then, I get to review them. This week around was another wave of good comics, including on my favorite issues ever. The comics I reviewed were...

Captain America: First Vengeance #1

Devil's Wake #1

Thor: Blood Oath #1

X-Factor #13

So head over there and check them out.

Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics 02/02/11

These Free Comics column are going to be the death of me. I don't know where I got the bright idea to run them on Fridays, but they are a pain to write. I really need to start writing them sooner, or at least write it in parts. In any case, this week I reviewed...

Black Panther #1

Box 13 (Vol. 2) #10

Celadore #1

Thor #283

War Machine #6

Pretty good haul this week, with one exception. See if you can find which one it was! Check out the rest, and as always, I appreciate any comments!

Meanwhile at TWC - Roy Lichtenstein

Over at The Weekly Crisis, I wrote a pretty long piece about Roy Lichtenstein, his contribution to pop art, and his connection with the world of comics. You would be surprised how many people don't realize how much he copied from actual comics, as opposed to just using the style. Check out what I had to say...

The modern equivalent of what Lichtenstein was doing in the 50’s and 60’s would be to run some other artist’s artwork through a Photoshop filter, hang it on a wall, and call it your own art. While there is something to be said for remixing, collages, and other forms of art that incorporate elements from other artists, I think we can all agree that such an argument is thrown out the window when 99% of the artwork is exactly like the original.

It's a personal and passionate piece, and one I'm actually pretty happy about. I wish I could write more like it, to be honest. *sigh*

Meanwhile at TWC - Hickman writing Icon Book?

Through some digging from Hickman's Formspring and previous interviews, I was able to piece together a possible future book for Icon. Check out what I had to say...

Does this mean that the creator owned projects that Hickman was working in the past year will be released by Marvel through the Icon imprint? It would certainly be a smart move on their part, having all of a creator’s work under one roof. And now we also know that creators can release graphic novels through Icon, which is what Bendis is going to do with Takio.

 I love doing these kind of articles. Although I have to say, I am somewhat surprised that it hasn't gotten more attention. Places like Robot 6 and Bleeding Cool usually link back to pieces like this. 

Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics Review 01/26/11

Another week of free comics! I normally enjoy getting to read stuff for free, and while there's usually some good stuff there, for this week's column I got re-read one of my favorite comics ever. That's right, the first issue of Nextwave is up for free on the Marvel app, along with a bunch of other ones. In my review, I wrote...

I don’t want to say it’s better than Watchmen, but Alan Moore threatened to release Glycon if Marvel continued to publish it. And that’s why it was canceled. 

Which may or may not be true. You all better go ahead and read it! It's free, so you don't have any excuse!

Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics Review 01/19/11

This was a monster sized week for Free Comics Review! There was a whooping total of nine comics for me to review, and I spend a good part of today finishing up that damn column (and I even folded three reviews into one, to make things simpler). This week I reviewed...

Arcana Studios Present 2004-06

Extracurricular Activities #1

Lamorte Sisters #1

New Mutants #1

Thor #26

Ultimate Spider-Man #46

Valentine #9

It's a pretty strong week, and I did spend a lot of time writing it, so go ahead and check it out.

Meanwhile at TWC - Return of Havok, Polaris, and Marvel Girl

Over at The Weekly Crisis, I have pieced together some hints about the upcoming return of these three characters. They have been missing for quite some time, lost in editorial limbo, where no one knew what to do with them. Should have made a Starjammers mini series or something out of it, but the hints seem to point that the characters will return to Earth. Go read the whole article.

While not concrete evidence in of itself, paired with the other clue dropped by Mike Carey, we can start painting a clearer picture of the status of Havok, Polaris, and Marvel Girl. Between these two unrelated pieces, I think you can start forming the puzzle of the trio’s comeback. It took a while, but it looks like they will finally make a (glorious?) comeback to the X-books.

I like writing these kind of articles, hunting through different sources for news that slip under people's radar. It's the closest thing to comic journalism that one can do for free, I think.

Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics Review 01/12/11

Another week, another batch of free comics to review. Although this week was a particularly small one, with only two (and one of them was Box 13, which is only 8 or so pages). It's a wonder I wrote enough to fill up the column, to be honest. So this week I reviewed...

Box 13 (Vol. 2) #9

Vision Machine #3

I was pretty excited to read the last chapter of Vision Machine. Should re-read it all, and see how it flows together. In any case, go check it out. There was also a short Marvel story featuring Captain America that was about suicide prevention. Not the kind of thing that need or should be reviewed, as it's mostly a public service announcement than an actual comic.

Meanwhile at TWC - The Dark Age Contest

I organized this pretty cool contest over at The Weekly Crisis.You can win a copy of The Dark Age #1 from Black Label Comics. Check out the contest.

I paid this out of my own money, and I was glad to help my friend Ian, who is living the dream of being a comic book creator under his own terms. Anyway, it's a pretty small number of entries so far, which means that if you are reading this, and haven't entered yet, you have pretty good chances to win it. What are you waiting for?

Last Days of American Crime Advertisement

Why am I posting a random in-house advertisement for Radical Comics' Last Days of American Crime?

Look closely, and you will see that part of my review was used for one of the advertisement. Even though they don't use my name ("Matt who?") I know it was me, because I was the only one at The Weekly Crisis reviewing the series. I do wish they would have used another line from it, as the verdict is the part that I put almost the least effort into, since it's just a normalized rating (not to mention that the third issue got a "Must Read" verdict, instead of a "Buy it").

In any case, Radical, if you still want to use some of my words to try to catch new readers, here are some from my own reviews that I would recommend instead! For example...

"It’s brutal, dirty, and overwhelming." - The Weekly Crisis

"The characters are compelling and keep you guessing just what is going to happen until the very last page." - The Weekly Crisis

"Peppered with ultra violence that a crime book like this warrants." - The Weekly Crisis

" A complex tale of despicable people, backstabbing, sex, and crime building up to [a] big heist." - The Weekly Crisis

"It's every man for himself trying to get on the last lifeboat punching anyone who gets in the way." - The Weekly Crisis

"A hit in the making." - The Weekly Crisis

In any case, it's pretty cool to see this kind of thing. It's not the first time The Weekly Crisis has been quoted like this (twice in Marvel solicits), but it's my personal first. I wonder if it's also printed in the back of the paperback, or if it's just the advertisement. If anyone's got it, do let me know.And if you haven't, you should totally buy it, it's a great book for fans of crime fiction.

Meanwhile at TWC - Free Comics 01/05/11

Every week, I go to the ComiXology apps, and download every free comic they have available. It's a great way to revisit old favorites and discover new gems (along with a few coals here and there). 

This week, I reviewed...

Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1

Daredevil #100

Ultimate Fantastic Four #33

X-Factor #7

It's a pretty strong week, if I say so myself. Some of my favorite writers in there, and nothing that stuck out as bad (just maybe a bit generic). And besides, they are free.

Meanwhile at TWC - Solicitations for March 2011

I have been neglecting this column for the past couple of months, because it just reminds me of all the cool shit I won't be buying. That doesn't mean I don't have anything to say about them! March 2011, in particular, brings two bad things to my attention. 

The solicitation and cover of Justice League: Generation Lost #21 flat out say that Blue Beetle is dead.

and...

We all knew it was coming, sooner or later, but it seems that Steve Rogers will finally return to don the mantle of Captain America.

 Terrible notices, if they are true, on both fronts. On the bright side, there's plenty of good stuff too, so head over to The Weekly Crisis and check it out.

Meanwhile at TWC - Batman Digital Sales

(Why yes, I *AM* totally stealing this from Ryan)

Over at The Weekly Crisis, I wrote up a post about yesterday's sale on Batman Digital Comics. A nice idea, but with terrible oversights. Check it out:

To make matters worse, the very first issue available on this sale, Batman #600, is the start of such a crossover: Bruce Wayne: Fugitive. The following available issue, Batman #601, is part 3 of this story, with part 2 nowhere to be seen or found. The pattern occurs throughout the event, with only part 1, 3, 11, and 18. Even if you are terrible at math, you can see that’s less that one quarter of the story!

I've heard from several people that decided against buying these comics because of this fact. I don't know how accurate the sampling is versus the population at large, but it does prove that the problem is there, and that it cost DC (and ComiXology, and Apple, by proxy) some sales. One step forward, and one stumble back, if you ask me.