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 #30

Crecy — Writer: Warren Ellis; Artwork: Raulo Caceres This actually came out last week, but I put off reading it, thinking that a historical/Cartoon History of the Universe-type treatment of an English military victory over the French in 1346 would be heavy going. I was wrong — it’s an assured look at life 650 years ago, well-researched and human, narrated by one of the Suffolk longbowmen who helped to slaughter the heart of the French aristocracy and usher in the era of long-distance modern warfare. It’s too bad that all the realistic violence and swearing will keep this out of … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Read and Put Back #30

The Marvel Tarot — Writer/Designer: David Sexton Secret Defenders was a kind of Dr. Strange Team-Up book from the mid-’90s, where Doc used a tarot deck to select whichever Marvel heroes most needed a commercial boost, and then sent them on missions that the “real” Defenders, like Hulk and even Nighthawk, were too A-list to bother with. This purports to be Dr. Strange’s tarot deck, with faux research notes on how magic now works in the Marvel Universe, and why certain heroes appear on certain cards (some cards get more than one hero, so that, for example, the “High Priestess” … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #29

Hellboy #4 (of 6) — Writer: Mike Mignola;  Artist: Duncan Fegredo Fegredo’s art keeps getting better and better, as the story moves beyond the claustrophobic spookiness of the last few issues, opening out to a long fight and pursuit (when your opponent is called “Koshchei the Deathless,” you know you’re in trouble). Hellboy’s always been an acquired taste, but he’s such a great character — a stubborn splash of color against all of Mignola’s undercurrents of grimness and dread — that once he hooks you, you want to keep reading his adventures forever. Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 — Writer: … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Read and Put Back #29

Heroes for Hire #12 — (Main Story): Writer: Zeb Wells; Penciller: Clay Mann; Inker: Terry Pallot; (Back-up Story): Writer: Fred Van Lente; Penciler: John Bosco; Inker: Terry Pallot A World War Hulk tie-in. Only 16 pages to the main story, as the team gets in way, way over their heads (Humbug, particularly). Nice splash page at the end, but the art is otherwise undistinguished, and the back-up story, featuring Paladin and the new female Scorpion, has no compelling reason to exist; it presents unpleasant people doing unpleasant things in an unpleasant way. The Chemist #1 — Writer/Artist: Jay Boose The … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #28

Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil #4 (of 4) — Writer/Artist: Jeff Smith A satisfying ending, as both Billy and Captain Marvel (and Mary) get to show smarts and heroism, and everyone ends up just about where they should be. I’m not too sure about the science (“Captain Marvel punched him too hard! The fabric of light has been compressed into a singularity! A small black hole has formed” — um, what?), although I suppose that it’s true to the genial, anything-goes fantasy of the original comics, and it certainly works in context. This has been a magical series, and … Continue reading

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