Author Archives: Phil

So, the Professor’s out of school, and only has two weeks’ worth of questions to cover this time. Let’s get to them. First, from May 8: value of Heavy Metal 1977? Short and sweet, eh? Hard to answer, too — since, while the first issue of Heavy Metal was dated April, 1977, the other eight months of that year had issues too. The April one runs about $25 in not-quite-mint condition (some price guides have it higher, but All About has it in stock, and sells it for $25). The later ones from 1977 go for about $10 each, again … Continue reading →

Captain America #50 — Writer: Ed Brubaker;  Pencils: Luke Ross;  Inks: Rick Magyar and Luke Ross Since this is an anniversary issue (although, due to the wonders of reboots and renumbering, next month is an anniversary, too — Cap #600), we get a self-contained lead story, a nice jump-on point explaining the current situation with Bucky as Cap, plus a 15-page summary of Steve Rogers’s career, plus a two-page Fred Hembeck strip — not bad for $3.99. It continues to be a tribute to Brubaker’s creative skills that the upcoming Reborn series, which may or may not feature the return … Continue reading →

Secret Six #9 — Writer: Gail Simone; Penciller: Nicola Scott; Inker: Doug Hazelwood Catman, Bane and ‘Doll go to a now-Batmanless Gotham City to help out against a wave of child kidnappings, and fight crime in their own cheerful, lethal fashion. Between the clear storytelling and the spot-on characterization (Nightwing appears near the end, and Simone is perfect at showing the enormous stick he’s always had up his butt), this continues to be a fun guilty pleasure, and one of the better super-“hero” titles on the stands right now. The Umbrella Academy #6 (of 6) — Writer: Gerard Way; Artist: … Continue reading →

Unknown #1 (of 4) — Writer: Mark Waid;  Art: Minck Oosterveer No superhero tropes for this comic — it’s a Sherlock-Holmesish thriller, if Holmes was a modern woman with amazing deductive abilities who solves crime as a freelance investigator, and has only six months to live because of some tumor. This reminds me of Potter’s Field, in that it has “potential TV pilot” written all over it; in this first issue, we watch her hire a hunky guy as her Watson — rather too conveniently, but the dialogue’s snappy, and assuming that this mini-series resolves the whole “imminent death” thing, … Continue reading →