Author Archives: Phil

About Phil

With 40 years of experience in comic reading, collecting and reviewing, English Professor Phil Mateer has an encyclopedic mind for comics. Feel free to ask Phil about storylines, characters, artists or for that matter, any comic book trivia. He will post your questions and answers on the AABC blog. His knowledge is unparalleled! He is also our warehouse manager, so if you are looking for that hard to find comic book, ask Phil!

Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Read and Put Back #118

Wolverine: The Anniversary #1 — (First Story):  Writer: William Harms;  Art: Jefte Palo;  (Second Story):  Writer: Jonathan Maberry;  Art: Thom Coker Gee, all these random specials — you’d think there was some kind of special Wolvie event looming on the horizon or something…. This one offers two stories  dealing with memories of Mariko, the second great love of Logan’s life (the first being Silver Snail, or whatever her name was, but we only ever got to read about that in flashbacks; Mariko’s story unfolded in real, Claremont-sponsored X-time). The first, main story is a Japanese-gangster deal that tries to be … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #117

Fables #83 — Writers: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges;  Pencils: Mark Buckingham;  Inks: Andrew Pepoy This is the first of a nine-episode crossover with Jack of Fables and the new The Literals mini-series, and it’s a good introduction to the pleasures of these comics: the matter-of-factness of elements like blue-eyed evangelical badgers, the larger-than-life violence leavened by courage, the ancient evils and sly humor spread out among its huge case of characters, and, always, the sense that the reader is part of a vast, well-constructed world, and in very good hands. Amazing Spider-Man #591 — Writer: Dan Slott;  Art: Barry … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Read and Put Back #117

Super Zombies #2 — Writers: Marc Guggenheim and Vince Gonzales; Art: Mel Rubi A zombie plague infects Earth’s population, including the superheroes, and bad things happen. Stop me if you’ve heard this before…. At least with Marvel Zombies, there was the elicit thrill of seeing your childhood heroes chowing down on their friends and family — and Kirkwood and Phillps made a great team, and took the story in unexpected directions. Here, it’s a generic superhero world, with generic characters you’ve never heard of, and the whole thing is so cynical, so slapdash and hacked-out, that the only sensations generated … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #116

Ignition City #1 — Ariter: Warren Ellis;  Art: Gianluca Pagliarani Doktor Sleepless #12 — Writer: Warren Ellis;  Art: Ivan Rodriguez Ellis is a 1950s sf pulp writer reincarnated for the 21st century. Ignition City is a what-if-the-space-race-had-gone-differently alternate-Earth tale much like Ministry of Space, but grittier, and focused more on the human elements; it would have fit in a magazine like Galaxy of If or even Fantasy and Science Fiction. Doktor Sleepless is sleeker and more modern, an examination of near-future hi-tech communications hardware, with the software filtered through Carlos Casteneda and H. G. Lovecraft. It’s in a quiet stage … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Read and Put Back #116

Dark Reign: Hawkeye #1 (of 5) — Writer: Andy Diggle;  Penciler: Tom Raney;  Inker: Scott Hanna Not Clint Barton: this is a Dark Avengers spinoff, so the guy in the costume with the arrows is actually Bullseye, and Norman Osborn and the other “Avengers” are around, and much mayhem ensues; if you’re reading all the Dark Reign stuff, this is definitely worth a look. I’m going to make my weekly ratings complaint, though: there’s a lot of arrows through heads and pens through eye sockets and the like, and no “Max” or “mature readers” in sight. Considering that this is … Continue reading

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