Matt Wagner

A Strange Definition of Hope: Family, Death and Denial in the Super Hero Set

March 5, 2019 // 1 Comment

So we’re back to our usual reviews of week-old funnybooks this week, with another deep dive into Tom King’s Heroes in Crisis, a farewell to Matt Wagner’s Mage, and whatever else we can manage to stuff in here before deadline. But first, here’s a comic that’s become an unexpected favorite… Daredevil 2 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto Often, a new series will start off in high gear for the first issue, then throttle back for the second, taking time to [...]

THE LIST, Part Two

February 26, 2019 // 3 Comments

So last week, we looked at the first half of The List. All the comics I’m currently reading on the regular, alphabetical by title, with a discussion of why I’m reading it, and whether it’s a “keeper,” a book that goes into the permanent Nerd Farm collection, or whether it’s something that I’ll read once and then put aside to sell at some future date. Which brings up an interesting thing that happened after last week’s column: I got feelers from people [...]

…And the Rest! CAPSULEREVIEWSAREGO!!

November 27, 2018 // 0 Comments

So I thought we’d try something a little unusual this week. Normally, I drone on and on about the funnybooks I like the best. But I read tons of stuff, and sometimes I skip over the stuff I like, but don’t love. Which means it’s high time I talked about some of that stuff… Joe Casey and Ian Macewan’s MCMLXXV (that’s 1975 for those of you who’ve forgotten your Roman Numerals) ended its three-issue run recently, and I really enjoyed the ride. It’s [...]

Beauty, Myth, Nostalgia… and Batman

September 18, 2018 // 5 Comments

So I think maybe it’s time to dig into this giant stack of funnybooks on my desk… League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest 2 by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill I forget sometimes how… exhausting this book can be. You’ve got Alan Moore doing his thing, writing straightforward adventure stories with more going on than is obvious at first glance. Then he and O’Neill set in with the cameos and tributes and easter eggs. Things that seem familiar, but [...]

The Comics That Made Me, Part Two

August 28, 2018 // 2 Comments

So this week we’re right in the middle of doing the dorkiest thing possible: making a list of funnybooks we like! The idea (taken from a social media challenge thing) is to make a list of ten comics that had an influence on me, and that I still enjoy reading today. I covered the first half of that last week, with comics from my childhood and adolescence. And we’re wrapping it up this week with stuff from high school and beyond… BOOK SIX: SWAMP THING Alan Moore took over Swamp [...]

Great Adventures and Grand Designs

July 31, 2018 // 0 Comments

So I’ve got a great big stack of funnybooks sitting here waiting for my attention. Which I suppose means that… CAPSULE REVIEWS ARE GO!! Fantastic Four #1 Preview Spotlight Give-Away Thingie by Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli The new Fantastic Four comic is launching next week, and I’m glad to hear that the book’s coming back. FF is, as I’ve said more than a few times, my favorite super hero comic, so I’m psyched that it’s getting a relaunch. That said, [...]

Randoming Random Randomness: FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!!!

March 20, 2018 // 2 Comments

So I was thinking… You know what we haven’t done in a while? Just a bunch of random reviews with no connecting theme. And it’s probably a good time. We’ve got a couple of new number ones in the stack, some old favorites returning, some on-going concerns we can’t escape from… So let’s get right to it. Eternity Girl 1 by Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew I bought this book primarily off the strength of the previews of it that ran as back-ups in last [...]

Jokers, Gods, Heroes and Madmen

October 24, 2017 // 0 Comments

So we’re getting ready for a little Halloween vacation here on the nerd farm, and that means we’ll be keeping it brief this week, as we play a little catch-up with the Funnybooks of October… Mister Miracle 3 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads Two things struck me as I read this issue: One, Tom King’s use of narrative quotations from Jack Kirby’s original Mister Miracle as a sort of greek chorus, responding to the more dour goings-on of this series, has the air of mockery [...]

Mage Returns, Chaykin Offends, and Fudd Gets Serious: FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!!

July 18, 2017 // 1 Comment

So I’m feeling a bit tuckered out tonight. Not horribly so, but enough that I just don’t have much to say in the way of catchy titles and clever introductions. Let’s just get this show on the road. Mage: The Hero Denied 0 by Matt Wagner So wow. Matt Wagner’s finally had enough life experience to write the third volume of Mage. For anyone not familiar with the series, Mage is Wagner’s mythic auto-biography. He interprets the events of his own life through the lens [...]

THE PURGE! Part the Fourth: Letting Go

August 19, 2014 // 1 Comment

It’s funny, but the deeper I get into the Great Funnybook Purge, the easier it’s becoming to let go. I may have mentioned last time that I was pricing out my Alan Moore Swamp Thing run. And, sure… I’ve got all those in book form (hardcovers, even). There’s no way in hell I’d be letting them go if that wasn’t an option. But, still… I’m selling my Alan Moore Swamp Things. The enormity of that is staggering. I was in eighth or ninth grade when [...]