Mac Man's Comic Reviews!

[Mac Man]

Okay guys and gals, here is Part Two of my "Introduction to Manga" article discussing Urasawa's Pluto--a modernization of Astroboy by Osamu Tezuka.

 

http://www.sequart.org/magazine/12101/my-introduction-to-manga-part-2-a-mechanical-emerson-for-the-future-in-urasawa’s-pluto/

 

For fans of sci-fi, superhero, or detective genres, this one is for you! I devoured this book, and once I have some more free time, I'll be picking up the rest of the series. Highly recommended!

[Mac Man]

Amidst the chaos of my doctoral exams, I have a new review for the latest issue of Conan the Barbarian #5--one of the few books I've rated so far that earned a perfect 5/5 score! (For what it's worth, this was written before the exams started... I'm not completely insane!-)

 

http://kabooooom.com/2012/06/review-conan-the-barbarian-5/

 

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think!

[Mac Man]

Seems the guys 'n gals from Kabooooom! decided to send out my review for Alabaster: Wolves #3 as well! Definitely a solid issue and series, so if you get a chance, I definitely recommend it!

 

http://kabooooom.com/2012/06/review-alabaster-wolves-3/

[Mac Man]

The Orpheus Connection: "Mazzuchelli's Asterios Polyp and the Fine Line"

 

http://www.sequart.org/magazine/12109/mazzuchellis-asterios-polyp-and-the-fine-line/

 

I know most of us know Mazzuchelli from his seminal work on Batman 404-07 in "Batman: Year One," but if you haven't had a chance to read this graphic novel, it's really a wonderful example of the medium at its best!

[Mac Man]

Here's my latest article up on Sequart. This one is on Alison Bechdel's Fun Home--an autobiographic graphic novel about her troubling coming of age story with her troubled family. I'm not sure how many of you have read this one, but if you have, I'd love to know what you guys and gals think!

 

http://www.sequart.org/magazine/13273/comics-as-catharsis-alison-bechdel%E2%80%99s-fun-home/

[Mac Man]

Okay, so the editors at Kabooooom! are changing things up in the way we present reviews. Single issue reviews will be limited to 200-300 words to try and keep things short and sweet. Brutal challenge for me. Additionally, they will be published once per week under the "Monday Roundup" where each review will be posted on one page. The intent is to try and keep the site from being inundated with just comic reviews (since they aim to cover all things pop culture).

 

Nonetheless, I have two reviews out today on Conan #6 as well as Alabaster: Wolves #4.

http://kabooooom.com/2012/07/the-round-up-71112/. Any feedback, please feel free to let me know your thoughts!

[Mac Man]

This one's a little off the beaten path, but it's a great graphic novel in the indie realm!

Guy Delisle's Pyongyang

 

I hope you guys 'n gals enjoy!

 

[Guest Reader]

Great article. The book sounds very interesting to me. I lived in South Korea for two years when I was 14. I gave little thought to the world across the DMZ at that time.

[Ijiwaru Sensei]

Wow, MacMan. You put me to shame. I think you must secretly be Jamie Madrox. Good work.

[Mac Man]

I'm glad you liked the review, guys! Delisle's works are pretty interesting. This one was done before he was married; however, his later works continue the trend of traveling with his wife (who is a doctor for Doctors without Borders), so we continue to see glimpses of other countries from a Western perspective (I believe he is French Canadian if I recall correctly). I know "The Burma Chronicles" hasn't gotten the same praise as this one or Jerusalem, but I really enjoyed it.

[Maccai3]

no Batmanga?!

[Mac Man]

no Batmanga?!

 

I came close in a previous article discussing my first experience with manga and Batman.

[Mac Man]

Looks like Becky Cloonan is back on art as Brian Wood begins a new story arc in Conan #7. Solid issue, and based on the final panels, it looks like #8 will be pretty action packed!

 

http://kabooooom.com/2012/08/the-round-up-8-1-12-edition/

[Mac Man]

Here is my short review of Caitlin Kiernan and Steve Lieber's finale for the 5-part mini-series--Alabaster: Wolves. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it. Additionally, I should have a longer review of the series out shortly with an interview I had with Kiernan. I'll post that when it comes out (should be soon!)

 

Thanks for checking this out!

http://kabooooom.com/2012/08/the-round-up-8-8-12-edition/

[Mac Man]

Well, guess who scored an interview with Michael Avon Oeming--the creator of Powers, Mice Templar, and the newest release, The Victories? You can read my review and interview here!

 

Here's my interview w/ @Oeming and my review of his latest @DarkHorseComics publication: #TheVictories http://kabooooom.com/2012/08/victories-michael-avon-oeming-interview/

[Mac Man]

http://sequart.org/magazine/15349/sharpening-the-image-rob-liefield%E2%80%99s-youngblood-the-man-and-the-comic-that-started-it-all-part-1/

 

I'm kicking off my project with a review of the first issues of Liefield's Youngblood. What luck that he'd go and jump back into the limelight at the time I'm putting this one out, huh? Anyhow, would appreciate any feedback either here or in the comments section following the article!

 

[Mac Man]

Okay folks! Part II of my analysis of Rob Liefield's Youngblood is up! This time I am focusing on the cover art from the first four issues...and while I will have some fair and balanced things to say as I wrap up the final analysis on Liefield's early contributions, this one's probably a little more critical. Love to hear your thoughts!

 

-Forrest

 

http://sequart.org/magazine/15371/sharpening-the-image-rob-liefield%E2%80%99s-youngblood-the-man-and-the-comic-that-started-it-all-part-2/

[Mac Man]

The school year has not been terribly forgiving when it's come to free time, so my articles have been fewer and farther in between this semester. Still, I was able to finish the final two parts to my analysis of Rob Liefeld's first few issues of Youngblood.

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

http://sequart.org/magazine/17335/sharpening-the-image-rob-liefelds-youngblood-the-man-and-the-comic-that-started-it-all-part-3/#

[piper]

The school year has not been terribly forgiving when it's come to free time, so my articles have been fewer and farther in between this semester. Still, I was able to finish the final two parts to my analysis of Rob Liefeld's first few issues of Youngblood.

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

http://sequart.org/magazine/17335/sharpening-the-image-rob-liefelds-youngblood-the-man-and-the-comic-that-started-it-all-part-3/#

 

Great analysis! I'm glad that I skipped reading Image those many years ago....

[Mac Man]

You what though, it IS really interesting to look at from the perspective of an anthropologist--not that I am one--as these are really interesting pop culture artifacts. Clearly, the fact we were buying these comics up at 500,000 - 1,000,000 copies per issue says something about our culture. Now granted, I know collectors were buying multiple copies, so the number of buyers is not the same as the number of issues sold... however, I know many, many other collectors who were young kids like myself who couldn't afford the over-inflated prices, but still wanted copies.

 

I kind of feel a little bit being overly critical of a creator--my old thesis director always told me it's best not to make a name for yourself by cutting others down in print as it'd come back to haunt you. And I think, once my review of the older material is done, that I try to make the point that the CONTENT of the stories is less significant than the simple act of these guys breaking out and being successful in the superhero genre APART from the Big 2 is the really worthwhile contribution they made to the industry. Creator-ownership of comics is still a major movement in the field today, and w/o Image, well, I don't think it would be anywhere near as far along as it is. I think this is where each of them really earned their reputations.

 

But yeah, there's some stuff in there that just hasn't aged so well...