Category Michael DeLaney

Sep 27 2017

Creative Commentary in Super Sons 8

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Storytellers explore the questions of the human condition through their characters, often times trying to work out their own personal questions. A current popular trend in comic books is to explore the idea of creating stories altogether. And while the true intentions of the villain Ygarddis aren’t 100% clear yet, Peter Tomasi seems to also be commenting on the nature of creating stories in Super Sons 8. Continue reading →

Sep 25 2017

Spidey Stand-Up and JJ Shut Down in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man 4

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

A hallmark of any Chip Zdarsky comic book is the writer’s free-flowing brand of humor. This makes him an ideal choice for everyone’s favorite wall-crawler, whose motor mouth humor has been known to get more than the occasional wince and eye-roll. Thus, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man 4 marks Spider-Man’s first foray into the world of stand-up comedy. Continue reading →

Sep 19 2017

Dark Nights: Metal 2 Learns to Stop Worrying and Love the Weird

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, read on at your own risk!

Over the past 50 years, relaunches like The New 52 have favored comic book “realism” — whatever that may be. As I’ve gotten older, however, I’ve found that comic books are at their best when they embrace the silly, high-concept ideas that ran without question for the first 50 odd years of comic book history. Dark Nights: Metal 2 is the type of book that blends the modern “realism” with the whacky fearlessness of the books of old. Continue reading →

Sep 18 2017

Fear as a Motivator in Star Wars: Doctor Aphra 12

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, read on at your own risk!

Fear is a powerful motivator, especially in the Star Wars universe. After all, Anakin Skywalker’s (misguided) fear of losing his wife transformed him into Darth Vader. In Doctor Aphra 12, the “good” doctor makes a lot of desperate moves in order to avoid one of her great fears: Darth Vader himself. Continue reading →

Sep 15 2017

Action Comics 987: Discussion

by Mark Mitchell and Michael DeLaney  

Action Comics 987

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Mark: Modern comic books are built on tropes. After nearly a century of storytelling in the medium, the particulars of what makes a Superman story different from a Batman story are so deeply engrained that creators have a binary choice when sitting down to craft a tale: embrace the tropes or react against them. And while longtime comic book readers tend to seek out and reward stories that are willing to subvert and contort their expectations, either choice can be successful if executed well. Continue reading →

Sep 11 2017

Dreams of Do-Gooding in Star Wars: Darth Vader 5

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

The “it was all a dream” storytelling device is often looked down upon as a narrative cheat, which depending on the circumstances might be true. However there are merits to it as well, as we see in Star Wars: Darth Vader 5. Sometimes, asking the question of “what could have been” makes the reality of a situation that much more bitter. Continue reading →

Sep 8 2017

Scary Space Science in Green Arrow 30

by Michael DeLaney 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

My name is Michael and I learned the basics of satellites from Green Arrow 30. Along with the series’ social justice narrative, “Flash facts” like this are what makes Green Arrow such an impressive book.

Continue reading →

Sep 7 2017

Batman 30: Discussion

by Michael DeLaney and Drew Baumgartner 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Michael: I’ll admit, I haven’t really understood Tom King’s fascination with Kite Man during his tenure on Batman. King placed Kite Man in the middle of “The War of Jokes and Riddles” in Batman 27 and his tragic origin — Riddler poisoning and killing his son — still left me unmoved. Batman 30 marks the second part of “The Ballad of Kite Man” as well as my cold heart thawing to Kite Man’s tragic existence. Continue reading →

Sep 5 2017

The Bitter Taste of Regret in Deadpool 35

by Michael DeLaney 

This article will contain SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Releasing the same day as Secret Empire 10, Deadpool 35 is the first book that shows us a glimpse of the Marvel U the post-Secret Empire. It’s also the issue where Deadpool admits something that we’ve known since Steve Rogers ordered him to kill Coulson: Wade is heading for a fall. Continue reading →

Aug 31 2017

Hutt Temptations in Star Wars 35

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

After a series of long arcs and crossovers, Star Wars is switching formats to give us single issue stories that are mostly self-contained. Star Wars 35 is a lighter chapter where Han Solo and Chewbacca get back to their smuggler roots as they haul Grakkus the Hutt to a Rebel base. Continue reading →