Tag Archives: Mike Spicer

Oct 15 2018

Finding the Emotion Behind the Audacious Premise in Murder Falcon 1

by Spencer Irwin

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

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Friday’s Image Comics spotlight panel at New York Comic Con. The panel was a chance for about seven or eight creators to talk about their new or upcoming series, and while every creator there had an excellent pitch (and I want to read all their books), it was Daniel Warren Johnson who seemed to win the crowd fastest, with just two words: “Murder Falcon.” Murder Falcon has the kind of wonderfully insane concept — metalhead’s guitar playing allows him to fight monsters via an absolutely ripped bird named Murder Falcon — that just screams for attention, but for a book to keep readers, it needs more than just an audacious premise. Thankfully, Johnson is well aware of this, and thus Murder Falcon 1 finds the heart beneath all the (wonderful) silliness, and highlights the real emotional power of its premise. 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!

slim-banner

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 →

Aug 3 2017

Things Get Bleaker, but Never Hopeless in Extremity 6

by Mark Mitchell

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

Creator Daniel Warren Johnson has managed to top himself with every issue of Extremity, and in Extremity 6, he plumbs new depths of horror and heartache. Last issue, I wondered if Jerome could ever be redeemed after ruthlessly crossing the line into needless murder, and while it’s still possible he will eventually see the errors of his way, Extremity 6 finds Jermone sinking even deeper, and it’s his bloodthirst that brings his clan to its knees. Continue reading →

Jul 6 2017

Desperation and Inevitability in Extremity 5

by Mark Mitchell

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

Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad, pitched his TV show as one man’s journey from Mr. Chips to Scarface. But at what point does Walter White turn from mild mannered high school chemistry teacher to ruthless murderer/drug lord? When is the precise moment that the switch is flipped? Jerome has done some terrible things over the course of Extremity‘s first few issues, but Extremity 5 is the first time his actions cross the line into unjustifiable cruelty — or rather, murdering Jessica is the first time I felt him crossing the line. Continue reading →

Apr 10 2017

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 4/5/17

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 Captain Kid 5, Extremity 2, Faith 10, Star Wars 30 and Woods 31. Also, we discussed Black Cloud 1 on Thursday, Rock Candy Mountain 1 on Friday and Jughead 14 today. Also we’re discussing Eleanor and the Egret 1 on Tuesday and Paper Girls 13 on Wednesday, so check those out! As always, this article contains SPOILERS. Continue reading →

Mar 7 2017

Extremity 1

extrimity-1

Today, Mark and Ryan M. are discussing Extremity 1, originally released March 1st, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Mark: Extremity 1 is a beautiful pastiche. From Heavy Metal to Star Wars to Mad Max, writer and artist Daniel Warren Johnson works with colorist Mike Spicer to lovingly render the brutal, hostile world of Extremity. So while the plot and characters feel familiar, there’s enough emotion behind the book to believe that this first issue acts as a mere prologue, and that there’s a meatier story to be told in the issues to come. Continue reading →