Brian Michael Bendis

Crushing Existential Despair, and Other Marvelous Nonsense: FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!!!

June 19, 2018 // 3 Comments

So it’s been a good month for funnybooks. Good, but harrowing… Mister Miracle 9 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads Is this still the best comic that I don’t actually enjoy reading? Well… Probably not. That’s probably Optic Nerve. But Optic Nerve hardly ever comes out, so… Is this the best regularly-released genre comic that I don’t actually enjoy reading? [...]

Seeing Past the Icon: Bendis Gets It Right on Man of Steel

June 5, 2018 // 6 Comments

So last week was a great week for funnybooks. We got a tidy stack of on-going nerd farm favorites, all of which had great hooks for review. But unfortunately, as it turns out, we’ve only got time to talk about one book. And it’s a newcomer, at that… Man of Steel #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis Superman is a difficult character to get right, in the modern era. [...]

Getting Back to Bendis…

November 14, 2017 // 3 Comments

So while I was off talking about Books With Words In Them, big news hit the funnybook world: Brian Michael Bendis has announced that he’s leaving Marvel Comics for DC. Now, this is not the sort of thing we talk much about here on the nerd farm, but it’s big enough news that I can’t help but speculate on it a little. So let’s start with the one Bendis book I’m still [...]

Being Fair to Bendis: A Queasy Look at Jessica Jones

July 11, 2017 // 1 Comment

So a couple of weeks ago, I really trashed Brian Michael Bendis’ new Defenders series, calling it the worst comic I had read in a while. But I’m hardly a knee-jerk Bendis hater, so I thought it was only fair to look at a Bendis comic I actually DO like, just for a balanced view of the man and his work, circa 2017. Not that I’m going to pull any punches; 2017 Brian Bendis is not [...]

The Worst Comic I’ve Read in a While

June 28, 2017 // 12 Comments

So I’ve got a lot of comics to get caught up on reviewing. Most of them, I really enjoyed. But before I get to those, I just have this one bit of vitriol to get out of my system… The Defenders 1&2 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez Holy crap, this book is awful. I wanted to give it a shot, because… Hey. It’s Bendis, back writing street-level super heroes. He [...]

Stopping to Smell the Roses: FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!!!

February 14, 2017 // 2 Comments

East of West 31 by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta So East of West has become one of those books whose quality I sometimes take for granted. It’s been around a while, and I always enjoy it. I’m always happy when I get a new issue in my hands. But when I read it, I’m often complacent about it. “Ho-hum, another thoroughly enjoyable funnybook. This is good, this is good, blah [...]

Back in the Saddle: FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!!!

January 24, 2017 // 0 Comments

So here we are again, reviewing funnybooks. Been awhile. Longer than I’d intended, honestly. But I need to recharge my batteries on these things every so often, and I guess the last month or two has been my time to do that. So let’s see if we can’t hit the ground running now that we’re back… Jessica Jones 3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos I’ve been [...]

Joy, Confusion, and Paranoia

October 6, 2016 // 1 Comment

So I found myself, this week, buying nothing but new number one issues, all of wildly different tones and evoking wildly different reactions from me as a reader. But all also offering something that’s going to bring me back for more. Sometimes, the column just writes itself… Jessica Jones 1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos I must admit that I was wary in approaching this [...]

Too Many Comics! Too Little Time! CAPSULEREVIEWSAREGO!!

December 1, 2014 // 0 Comments

Gotham by Midnight, by Ray Fawkes and Ben Templesmith Well, here’s a rarity for you: something interesting coming out from DC Comics! Will wonders never cease! It was the Ben Templesmith art that caught my eye, understand. I’m a big fan of his slightly cartoony, slightly terrifying figures. And of the truly madly deeply horrible things he conjures up when called upon. Which, happily, [...]

A Great Week for Funnybooks

September 16, 2014 // 0 Comments

Holy crap last week was a great week for funnybooks! Lots of variety in tone, topic, and aesthetic, with everything from grounded spies and dystopian futures to hyper-kinetic crime and meta-fictional sci-fi horror. AND ALL OF IT SO GOOD! There were so many good books, in fact, that I despair for the rest of the month. But SCREW YOU, FUTURE! Because right now… RIGHT NOW!! …we are [...]

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