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!

Walt Kelly Original Art!

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Phil

For your viewing pleasure: a piece of original art I bought on eBay last week, a Pogo Sunday page from 1965 by the great, great Mr. Walt Kelly: All collectors have a “grail list,” of the items they dream of finding. I started collecting original art early enough to be able to own a few of mine — a Jack Kirby Thor page I got over a decade ago, a Gene Colan Tomb of Dracula page, a Jim Aparo Batman Brave and the Bold cover, and some others — but lately I’ve despaired of getting any more, especially by the … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews — Stuff I Bought #236

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Phil

The Boys #72 — Writer: Garth Ennis;  Art: Darick Robertson with Richard P. Clark The last issue of Ennis’s longest complete story since Preacher (he wrote more issues of Punisher, but that had no conclusion). Like Preacher, most of the action took place in the penultimate issue, leaving this one for codas, cleanup and relationship resolutions (at least, of those characters who are still alive), and while it’s hard to say much about it without spoilers, it’s nice to have Robertson back for the ending (although Russ Braun, who actually drew more issues, deserves at least a shout-out somewhere here), and … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews — Stuff I Bought #235

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Phil

Liberty Annual 2012 — Creators: Various This is the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s annual moneyraising effort; they’re a First Amendment organization whose primary purpose is to defend comic book retailers (and publishers and creators) from legal challenges when some local parent or prosecutor decides that a comic is obscene. To a journalism major like me, that’s a noble goal; they’ve kept a lot of people out of jail (or from losing their stores) just because they sold someone a comic book. As you might expect, a lot of comics creators appreciate their work, too, so these anthologies are always … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #234

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Phil

Hawkeye #3 — Writer: Matt Fraction;  Art: David Aja;  Color: Matt Hollingsworth;  Letters: Chris Eliopoulos Daredevil #19 — Writer: Mark Waid;  Art: Chris Samnee; Color: Javier Rodriguez These two comics make me happy — they’re both confident, highly polished storytelling efforts, with writers who know how to create subtle, intriguing characters and slambang action plots, and artists who know how to break that action into fast-moving panels with crystal-clear composition and sharp, smooth lines. Special call-outs to the colorists of each book, too, who know just how to highlight, and when to be subdued, and whose palettes enhance the art … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews — Stuff I Bought #233

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Phil

Avengers Vs X-Men #12 (of 12) — Writer: Jason Aaron;  Pencils: Adam Kubert;  Inks: John Dell with Mark Morales and Adam Kubert This may not be the best book of the week, but it’s the best seller, and it’s been surprisingly good — partly because the last few Marvel events, especially Fear Itself, lowered expectations considerably. Aaron is a good choice for writer — he doesn’t have some of the stylistic tics in dialogue of a Bendis or a Fraction, so he doesn’t call attention to his writing, and lets the art and action speak for itself, while Kubert holds … Continue reading →

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