Comics as post-modernism? Sure, why not? I think Marvel 1985 is a fair attempt; it might even be called meta-fiction — self-awareness as fiction. Originally published in a run of six issues in 2008, Mark Millar’s love letter to Marvel appears to be set in the real world. That is our world, not any of the previous Marvel Universes. We have characters set in 1985, and 1964 in flashback, and reading Marvel comics. Unfortunately for our protagonists, the Marvel super-villains have somehow broken through from the fictional Marvel universe to our real one. It is 1985 and comic book geek…
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Professor James Moriarty, the dastardly criminal mastermind and nemesis of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has come to Image Comics. The real story behind Moriarty: The Dark Chamber, however, is that it is one of many comics that originated on a recently created website called Kickstarter. Kickstarter, for those yet unfamiliar with it, is a site that allows users to submit projects for mass funding from the collective internet hive mind (or hive wallet, really). The idea is simple: pitch an idea, get approved, and tell people about it. Individuals wishing to support the various projects with a donation sign…
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If there’s one thing that nearly all teenagers are adept at, it’s escapism. And hell, who can blame them?  School, peer pressure, zits, puberty… it’s enough to make any sane person crawl into a hole. These challenges can be even more intense for many first generation Americans, as the examples of risk and sacrifice set by their parents can be intimidating, to say the least. When confronted with his father’s death, Dennis Ouyang — the awkward teenage lead of Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham’s Level Up — attempts to finds sanctuary from such pressures in video games. But try as…
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In a break from our usual content, Chris stepped out to enjoy Free Comic Book Day at his local comic store, and has put together this personal account of his day. Nothing drags me out of bed early in the morning quite like the promise of free comics. For some reason, I even shaved. Best foot forward and all that. I moseyed on down to the bus stop with two of my friends to catch a ride to our local comic shop, The Source in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the annual nerd holiday, Free Comic Book Day. It’s a huge…
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I feel I need to preface this review by saying that I am not a fan of the Thor comic book franchise. That is not to say I dislike it, I am just unfamiliar with the characters and the backstory. I would say I am more familiar with the original mythology of Thor than his comic book counterpart. So as you read my review, please keep in mind that, while I have spent years reading various Marvel comics, Thor was never one of them. I feel I should also mention that I saw it in 2D since it was “filmed…
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