Redefining Archie in a Post-Riverdale world in Archie 700

by Spencer Irwin

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

When Mark Waid and Fiona Staples relaunched Archie a few years ago they had the daunting goal of modernizing the franchise without losing its classic charm, but one thing they didn’t have to contend with was the influence of a totally different reboot launching at the same time. As the first new major run of Archie to launch in a post-Riverdale world, though, Archie 700 and its creative team of Nick Spencer and Marguerite Sauvage have the specter of the popular television show hanging over their heads. It’s fascinating to see how Spencer and Sauvage incorporate elements from Riverdale into their interpretation of Archie’s world, all without losing any of the heart, or even innocence, that’s made Archie Andrews such a beloved character for the past 70 years. Continue reading

Artistic Styles Inform Character Perspectives in The Immortal Hulk 3

by Michael DeLaney

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

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In The Immortal Hulk 3, reporter Jackie McGee is following up on a recent Hulk-related incident, interviewing four witnesses: “The Cop”, “The Bartender”, “The Old Lady” and “The Priest.” Series artist Joe Bennett is joined by Leonardo Romero, Marguerite Sauvage, Paul Hornschemeier and Gary Brown to visually highlight the there characters different perspectives on one Hulk sighting. Continue reading

Fandom’s Power to Connect in Faith’s Winter Wonderland Special 1

by Spencer Irwin

Faith's Winter Wonderland Special

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

Fandom can be a pretty horrifying thing sometimes. A shared passion is often an excuse to harass or belittle others fans, or sometimes even creators, over differences in taste, which is inexcusable, yet practically inescapable. This is far from the way things should be, and that’s something Marguerite Sauvage, Francis Portela, and MJ Kim reminded me of in Faith’s Winter Wonderland Special. Though it’s only a small thread in the issue, the ability of fandom and pop culture to help Faith make meaningful connections is by far the part of this story that resonated the strongest with me. Continue reading

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/3/17

Look, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, we discuss Extremity 3, Faith 11, Outcast 27, Shipwreck 4, and Star Wars: Poe Dameron 14. Also, we discussed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 69 on Friday, and will be discussing Pestilence 1 on Wednesday, so come back for that! As always, this article contains SPOILERS. Continue reading

DC Round-Up: Comics Released 4/5/17

How many Batman books is too many Batman books? Depending on who you ask there ain’t no such thing! We try to stay up on what’s going on at DC, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of DC Comics. Today, we’re discussing Green Arrow 20, Green Lanterns 20, Shade the Changing Girl 7 and Superman 20.  Also, we’ll be discussing Batman 20 on Wednesday (sorry about the wait!), so come back for that! As always, this article containers SPOILERS!

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Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 1/4/17

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Look, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, we discuss Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw 14, Cannibal 4, Faith 7 and Jem and the Holograms 22. We’ll be discussing The Wicked + The Divine 25 on Tuesday and Saga 41 on Wednesday, so come back for those! As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Continue reading

Faith 1

faith 1Today, Spencer and Ryan D. are discussing Faith 1, originally released July 20th, 2016.

Spencer: Life is difficult, and rarely goes as we plan. In fact, life is so often defined by stubborn difficulties that it can almost be jarring when something actually goes our way. I know there’s been plenty of times in my life where I couldn’t help but be worried that an opportunity was “too good to be true,” and sadly, in a few of those cases that was absolutely correct. Life is even harder for a superhero, as Faith Herbert, the titular star of Faith 1, is finding out first hand. The creative team of Jody Houser, Pere Perez, and Marguerite Sauvage are running Faith through a wringer of superhero-related difficulties, and sadly, it looks like things are only going to get harder for her.  Continue reading

Faith 4

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Today, Shelby and Taylor are discussing Faith 4, originally released April 27th, 2016.

Shelby: It can be difficult to relate to the superheroes we admire so much; their quips are too perfect, their bodies are too perfect, hell even their flaws manage to be too perfect. It’s why so many guys I know name Spider-Man their favorite superhero. Peter Parker wasn’t a mutant, or a magician, or super rich, or a totally jacked alien; he was just a nerdy kid like we all were. No wealth, no power, no influence, just a guy with accidental superpowers trying to do the right thing. In fact, he didn’t even do the right thing to start off with; he did what any person would do and tried to make some money off the situation. I feel like roughly a third of every Spider-Man story has to do with him struggling to balance his superhero life and his regular life, and that is why we love him. He brings our reality into the his superhero world. This is exactly why I’m excited about Faith; she’s absolutely a superhero, but she’s also a regular person just like me. Continue reading