Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #58

Uncle Scrooge #372 — Writer/Artists: Carl Barks, Don Rosa Offering reprints of “Christmas on Bear Mountain” (the first Uncle Scrooge story), by Carl Barks, and a collected three-parter by Don Rosa, “The Treasury of Croesus.” There’s also a back-cover poster by Rosa spotlighting the ways that Scrooge’s appearance changed in his early years, and a one-page essay from Rosa about the poster. All of this will set you back $8, but it’s worth it: better than 50 pages of great, great storytelling, and if you have young kids and read these to them, you’ll create comics fans for life. Astro … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Read and Put Back #58

Green Arrow and Black Canary #5 — Writer: Judd Winick;  Art: Andre Coelho Ollie sits around angsting about the fact that he’s been a lousy father and his kid has no brain. He swears to give up being Green Arrow. Cue the shocking twist ending, after which he says, grimly, “Get me my damn bow.” Presumably, next issue something will actually happen. For now, I’ve just saved you all $3 and five minutes of your lives. Dead of Night #1 (of 4) — Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa;  Art: Kano (framing sequences by Nick Percival) Man-Thing’s origin retold. Unfortunately, everything just seems … Continue reading

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Howard the Duck's Presidential Run

Phil Mateer Waddling into History: Howard the Duck’s Presidential Campaign DC may think they’re trying something new in 2000, by running Lex Luthor for President, but ol’ Lex is hardly the first comics character to do it — or to get media coverage about it in the “real world.” Let’s go back 24 years, when it was a Marvel character who had his webbed foot firmly in the race…. You think the candidates aren’t very special THIS year? Think about 1976, when the options included Gerald Ford, best-known now for (a) pardoning Richard Nixon and (b) his cameo appearance in … Continue reading

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Steve Gerber: 9/20/47 – 2/11/08

Steve Gerber died. Boy, is that hard to type; back in the ’70s, as I went through high school and college, I wanted more than anything to be a comic book writer, and Gerber was the guy I wanted to be. He’d been part of the second wave of comics writers, the first fanzine-makers and readers of the early-’60s Marvel renaissance who’d transitioned into pros, and he brought a literary talent, a grown-up way with words and subject matter that still allowed for superhero fun and sly humor, that made the comics medium’s potential seem endlessly entertaining. For a while, … Continue reading

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Phil's Reviews — Stuff I Bought #57

Omega the Unknown #5 (of 10) — Writer: Jonathan Lethem; Artist: Farel Dalrymple Now at the halfway point, this has evolved from its ’70s origins into a completely new book (although some kind of title-page credits to Gerber, Skrenes and Mooney would still be nice). Its anything-goes, deadpan surreality and indy-flavored storytelling make it seem like a project from the Bill Jemas era, with that experimental, almost-desperate pizzazz from almost… geez, a decade ago? Now I feel older…. True Story, Swear to God #10 — Writer/Artist: Tom Beland The main character of this autobiographical book is a Californian comic artist … Continue reading

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