Tag Archives: Velvet

Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #303

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Phil

The Goon: Once Upon a Hard Time #1 (of 4) — Writer/Artist: Eric Powell Powell toggles between two modes for this title: edgy, Harvey Kurtzman-like slapstick, and grim, dark-as-night horror. The grim, in ascendance during the last mini-series, reaches full force here, as a drunken, grieving and dangerous Goon kills a couple of people (who deserve it), rips an arm off one of his friends (who doesn’t, although he has a couple of extra to spare), and spirals down into a revengeful, suicidal haze. Depressing as hell, but very very well done, with Powell’s art and script telling an efficient, … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #290

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Phil

Tooth and Claw #1 — Writer: Kurt Busiek;  Art: Benjamin Dewey;  Colors: Jordie Bellaire Busiek’s known for his superhero stuff, but he’s very good at sf/fantasy, too — his Arrowsmith, about World War I being fought on an alternate earth where magic works, was worthy of someone like Fritz Leiber or Poul Anderson, and his Shockrockets was a Heinleinien high-tech romp. In this new series, he’s going for anthropomorphic high fantasy: on a world of intelligent animals, magic is dying, and their attempts to fix things have terrible consequences. Dewey has a lush, painterly style and a knack for structure … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #282

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Phil

As with last week, let’s tackle all of the DC issues with lenticular-motion covers first. Remember, if you click on the images here, you’ll be able to see the covers in full motion: which is, believe it or not, a pretty awesome effect, and sometimes a clearer look at the dual scenes than you can get from the covers themselves…. Batman #1 — Story: Ray Fawkes and Scott Snyder;  Writer: Ray Fawkes;  Art: ACO This is a good example of the way the better issues using the Futures End five-years-later gimmick are turning out: a five-years-older Batman, physically deteriorating because … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #275

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Phil

Life With Archie #37 — Writer: Paul Kupperberg;  Pencils: Fernando Ruiz, Pat & Tim Kennedy;  Inks: Bob Smith, Gary Martin Afterlife With Archie #6 — Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa;  Art: Francesco Francavilla If you’d told comics fans a year ago that, in the future, for two weeks in a row, the top books would be… Archie comics, they’d have laughed you out of your local comics shop — and yet here we are: after last week’s “Death of…,” the company follows up this week with two worthy efforts. The first, Life of Archie #37, is the coda to the character’s “death”: Riverdale a year later, … Continue reading →

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Phil’s Reviews: Stuff I Bought #267

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Phil

The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1 (of 6) — Writer/Artist: Howard Chaykin The Shadow’s one of those classic characters who attracts creators — Denny O’Neil and Michael Kaluta in the ’70s, and Chaykin himself in the ’80s — who see him as an effective springboard for slam-bang pulp adventure. This story’s set in 1949, a period whose fashions and people Chaykin has always loved to draw (Satellite Sam, his other current work, is set the same era — and written by Matt Fraction, who knows full well how to keep his artists happy), and watching him set up his plot, craft … Continue reading →

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