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 #354

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Phil

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #3 — Writers: Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder;  Art: Natacha Bustos;  Colors: Tamra Bonvillain The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #4 — Writer: Ryan North;  Art: Erica Henderson;  Colors: Rico Renzi Spider-Woman #3 — Writer: Dennis Hopeless;  Pencils: Javier Rodriguez;  Inks: Alvaro Lopez;  Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg Black Canary #7 — Writer: Brenden Fletcher;  Art: Annie Wu;  Colors: Lee Loughridge Jem and the Holograms #11 — Writer: Kelly Thompson;  Art: Sophie Campbell;  Colors: M. Victoria Robado This is another week with a bunch of… well, not “kids’ comics,” but comics suitable for all ages; I’m an increasingly-aging white male, … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #353

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Phil

Silver Surfer #1 — Writer: Dan Slott;  Art: Michael Allred;  Colors: Laura Allred Captain Marvel #1 — Writers: Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters;  Art: Kris Anka;  Colors: Matthew Wilson Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat #2 — Writer: Kate Leth;  Art: Brittney L. Williams;  Colors: Megan Wilson Ms. Marvel #3 — Writer: G. Willow Wilson;  Art: Takeshi Miyazawa;  Colors: Ian Herring Starbrand and Nighthawk #2 — Writer: Greg Weisman;  Art: Domo Stanton;  Colors: Jordan Boyd This is another week with a bunch of the “newer” Marvel titles — not so much in numbering, since they’ve all been restarted, but in style: these … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #352

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Phil

Secret Wars #9 (of 9) — Writer: Jonathan Hickman;  Art: Esad Ribic;  Colors: Ive Svorcina Finally! On its own merits (ignoring the lateness, the hundreds of pages of mini-series, etc.) this has been one of the better Marvel events; you can accuse Hickman of many things, but he’s always got a solid plot, and character through-lines that make sense, and he uses them here: at base, this has been a Fantastic Four story (the last for a while), stemming from Hickman’s long run on that title just before he took over the Avengers books, and it’s a good one, with … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #351

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Phil

Before we get to the reviews, let’s give a shout-out to DC this week: their new batch of alternative covers for their January issues involves a cool coloring-book-ready black-and-white style, perfect for both kids and adults to pick up some markers and try their hands at the profession of cartoon colorist; even if you’re the kind of fan who shudders at ruining a perfectly-collectable comic, you can always remove the special thicker-paper outer cover, because the book’s regular one is right underneath it — or, buy two copies, one to color and one to keep (then, encourage everyone else to … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #350

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Phil

Rocket Raccoon and Groot #1 — Writer: Skottie Young;  Art: Filipe Andrade;  Colors: Jean-Francois Beaulieu Deadpool and Cable #1 (of 3) — Writer: Fabian Nicieza;  Pencils: Reilly Brown;  Inks: Reilly Brown and Jay Leisten;  Colors: Jim Charalampidis Only two Marvel first issues this week, and they’re both retreads — Rocket Raccoon and Groot is by last year’s Rocket Raccoon creative team, which is good: Young, especially, has a knack for acid-tinged, off-kilter cuteness (see his I Hate Fairyland), and it mixes well with the space opera here.  My only complaint is that it’s an odd choice of story for a first issue, … Continue reading →

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