Apr 25, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

The debut issue of Geoff Johns' new Flash series draws most of its dramatic energy from a murder case that the resurrected Bary Allen must solve. Under the cover of having been in witness protection, he returns to the Central City Police Department's crime lab. No sooner than he does, a mysterious man drops dead in the street wearing a Mirror Master uniform. The relaunched Silver Age hero finally feels fresh for once, and Adventure Comics artist Francis Manapul keeps the art as obliging as Johns' dialogue. Even Allen's romantic relationship with Iris gets a fresh coat of paint. More

Apr 22, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

Matt Wagner's ongoing "study of the nature of aggression," or Grendel, celebrates its 28th birthday this year, so it seems appropriate to see 2007's Behold the Devil in a snazzy hardcover. Wagner is thankfully going through his archives and re-releasing some old tales, but Behold the Devil is the Eisner-nominated writer/artist's first Grendel series in over 10 years. More

Apr 02, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

The Book of Grickle is a collection of comic stories from Graham Annable, who has a background in animation for TV, video games, and film (including working as a storyboard artist on Coraline). More

Mar 31, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

The Creeper is an insane character to draw. He contains the fluidity of Ditko's most famous creation, Spider-Man, The Joker's manacial glee, and a Clark Kent-like day job. More

Mar 31, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

Jack Staff: Rocky Realities may be easier to understand if you've read what came before it. I did not. More

Mar 29, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

The main reason it took me a long time to get around to reading Power Girl is because the covers looked quite silly. Sure, they had those Silver Age-esque colors popping out at you, and uh, Power Girl's two main assets, but Amanda Conner portrayed our heroine in a vampy, sort of cartoonish manner. Don't get me wrong, I love fun, self-aware titles (i.e. Booster Gold), but this just rubbed me the wrong way. Negative first impressions aside, the graphic novel collection Power Girl: A New Beginning is not too shabby. It collects the first six issues of the series and it's a fairly fun and sometimes exasperating read. More

Mar 29, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

It's well known that U.S. comic strips, films, and TV shows from the height of the Cold War stripped away several of the fantastical elements from 1930s and 1940 space opera. Before the Soviet Union launched their first satellite into orbit in October of 1957, heady science-fiction was a household commodity as essential as electricity. Its new fans desired smarter and more socially aware narratives, that mirrored the dramatic tensions of the real world. One of the genre's worthy and long-lost entries to this literary legacy, is New York Herald Tribune's Jet Scott. More

Mar 05, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

Madame Xanadu: Exodus Noir collects issues 11-15 of the DC/Vertigo series. I mentioned when reviewing the House of Mystery: Halloween Annual No. 1 last October that the art of Amy Reeder Hadley in the Madame Xanadu chapter was a standout. Accordingly, I was excited to review a chapter of Madame Xanadu, and somewhat disappointed when I discovered that Hadley was not the artist in this trade. But that disappointment didn't last long. More

Mar 03, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

Where to start with Mysterius the Unfathomable? I suppose it should be the creators, who were able to combine so many wonderful elements into this story that it must have been their clarity, vision, and cohesion that created this standout tome. More