As a critic, I am called to say things that will irritate and annoy people and as such I would like to begin here by graciously sharing that I hate it very much when writers say things like, “I keep my panel per page count low, because someone has to draw it!!” I appreciate all…
REVIEW: Hellcop #1: Not Great, but Quite Foxy, and Very 1998
The immediate value of Hellcop and the reason for my enduring interest in a late ‘90s character with five published appearances is his head: it’s done, excessively. Hellcop not only has red-tinted sunglasses, which he wears without arms (a sort of cyber pince-nez?); he not only has a clifftop flop of thick blond certified-dreamboat hair….
REVIEW: The Art of the Darkness: I Have No Mouth and I Must Screw
2007’s The Art of the Darkness (I’m looking at the 2017 ten year reissue) is one of the coffee table burlesque publications you’re likely familiar with—most local comic shops, or comics sections of chain bookshops, will have at least one Frank Cho Heteronomicon on offer and/or display, for example. Many superhero artists who gain acclaim…
Political Cartooning: Steve Sack for the Star Tribune
Veteran, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Sack takes a straightforward approach. Instantly recognisable: the police car, the state, the policeman kneeling on the neck of a downed person, that person’s embodiment as Justice, the mode of that murder. The message is just as easy to parse when you’re aware of the subjects of reference: The Minneapolis…
Cover Girl: Shadow Service #1
Welcome to Cover Girls. Each month, we gather a team of WWAC contributors to analyze a new and notable comic book cover featuring one or more women. This month Claire, Nola, Wendy, Louis, Kate, and Elvie look at the cover of Shadow Service #1 by Corin M. Howell, with colours by Triona Farrell.
LOUD: Maria Llovet’s New Book is a Bold Statement
Though active in the Spanish and French scenes for much longer, Maria Llovet has been establishing her name in English-language, American-published comics for the last three years. From a miniseries at Black Mask to a collab with Brian Azarrello at BOOM!, her standing is solid as a line and colour artist on men’s scripts. But…
The Amazing Mary Jane #6: Thoroughly Modern Mary Jane
Remember when, all of a sudden, Mary Jane Watson was showing up on every random Marvel comic cover, without it meaning anything about the book inside? Remember how weird that was, and sort of creepy, like, “Look, a babe. For no reason!”? Well it turns out that was a marketing campaign, for Mary Jane’s solo…
Insta Made Me Read It: UnOrdinary and Rot & Ruin
Insta Made Me Read It is a bimonthlyish column covering a selection of those comics which are promoted on the official Webtoon Instagram account! Every time I take a look at two comics which I’ve seen on Instagram to get an impression of what’s a) popular and b) rewarded on Webtoon, a massive modern comics-reading platform usually accessed…
Cover Girl: Hellions #3
Welcome to Cover Girls. Each month, we gather a team of WWAC contributors to analyze a new and notable comic book cover featuring one or more women. This month, Kayleigh, Nola, Cori, and Wendy share their thoughts on the cover of Hellions #3 by Steven Segovia and Rain Beredo for Marvel Comics.
Tango vols. 1-3: Perfectly Escapist Comics
The Tango series is perfectly escapist comics, with plenty of welcome cinematic parallels. If you want to get away for a minute, and you enjoy spending time with ideas of men, this is a book for you. Compared to aesthetically similar books it’s lighter than The Killer (no philosophical challenges here, though it’s not without…
Insta Made Me Read It: Midnight Poppy Land and Bluechair
Insta Made Me Read It is a bimonthlyish column covering a selection of those comics which are promoted on the official Webtoon Instagram account! Every time I take a look at two comics which I’ve seen on Instagram to get an impression of what’s a) popular and b) rewarded on Webtoon, a massive modern comics-reading platform usually accessed…
WWAC Certificate of Recognition Awarded to Marc Silvestri
Thirty years ago, Marc Silvestri blessed this world with Alex “Havok” Summers taking his partially bare-chested, loin-clothed place as the Goblin Prince. Since then, Mr. Silvestri has given the world several more hunky himbos. From his own creations, like Ripclaw and Jackie Estacado, who set the bar for Top Cow, to his own rendition of…