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 Bought #469

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Phil

Action Comics #1000 — Writer/Pencils: Dan Jurgens;  Inks: Norm Rapmund;  Colors: Hi-Fi;  Other Stories: Various Let’s start with DC this week, especially with Action Comics #1000 being one of the most anticipated comics in months: it’s 80 pages for $8 (well, $7.99…), and in addition to the lead story (14 pages written and drawn by Dan Jurgens, who’s finishing his tenure on the book after very capably helming it since its “Rebirth” relaunch) there are a bunch of shorter tales: “Never-Ending Battle,” a tribute to the various Superman styles over the last 80 years, written by Peter Tomasi and with … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #468

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Phil

Domino #1 — Writer: Gail Simone;  Art: David Baldeon;  Colors: Jesus Aburtov Exiles #1 — Writer: Saladin Ahmed;  Pencils: Javier Rodriguez;  Inks: Alvaro Lopez; Colors: Jordie Bellaire Captain America #700 — Writer: Mark Waid;  Art: Chris Samnee;  Colors: Matthew Wilson This week sees a couple of Marvel mutant debuts notable for their writers: Gail Simone’s combination of tough-guy noir, humor and themes about the weird support networks of friends and family that we build around us fits Domino perfectly; the luck-manipulating mercenary has seldom been this interesting, and David Baldeon’s slightly-demented J. Scott Campbell riffs make it look good too. … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #467

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Phil

True Believers: Thanos the First #1 (of 1) — Plot/Penciler: Jim Starlin;  Script: Mike Friedrich;  Inks: Mike Esposito; True Believers: Avengers vs. Thanos #1 (of 1) — Writer: Steve Englehart;  Art: John Buscema and Dave Cockrum;  Colors: Petra Goldberg Amazing Spider-Man #798 — Writer: Dan Slott;  Pencils: Stuart Immonen;  Inks: Wade von Grawbadger;  Colors: Marte Gracia Venomized #1 (of 5) — Writer: Cullen Bunn;  Art: Iban Coello;  Colors: Matt Yackey Venom #164 — Writer: Mike Costa;  Pencils: Mark Bagley;  Inks: Scott Hanna;  Colors: Dono Sanchez-Almara Spider-Man #239 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis;  Art: Oscar Bazaldua;  Colors: Brian Reber Marvel’s two … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #466

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Phil

Jessica Jones #18 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Michael Gaydos; Colors: Matt Hollingsworth Invincible Iron Man #598 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Art: Stefano Caselli and Alex Maleev; Colors: Marte Gracia and Alex Maleev Daredevil #600 — Writer: Charles Soule; Art: Ron Garney; Colors: Matt Milla Avengers #686 — Writers: Jim Zub, Mark Waid and Al Ewing; Pencils: Paco Medina; Inks: Juan Vlasco; Colors: Jesus Aburtov Black Panther #171 — Writer: Ta-Nehisi Coates; Art: Leonard Kirk; Colors: Laura Martin Jessica Jones is Brian Michael Bendis’s (and Michael Gaydos’s) fond farewell to their creation, whose first appearance was almost 17 … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #465

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Phil

Kick-Ass #2 — Writer: Mark Millar;  Pencils: John Romita Jr.;  Inks/Colors: Peter Steigerwald Ice Cream Man #3 — Writer: W. Maxwell Prince;  Art: Martin Morazzo;  Colors: Chris O’Halloran Kill or be Killed #17 — Writer: Ed Brubaker;  Art: Sean Phillips;  Colors: Elizabeth Breitweiser Moonshine #8 — Writer: Brian Azzarello;  Art/Colors: Eduardo Risso Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #33 — Creator: David Lapham Monstress #15 — Writer: Marjorie Liu;  Art: Sana Takeda We’re starting with the indy books this week, largely on the strength of Image’s six: Kick-Ass has the crowd-pleasing collaboration of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. offering new twists … Continue reading →

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