Black Widow Movie Lawsuit, Comes Early to Digital

Changing times means needing to reconsider traditional operating methods. Stars of big Hollywood movies often have profit participation deals, where they get more money the more a movie makes. We may find out much more about how this works with the Disney/Marvel movies, as Scarlett Johansson has sued...

Read More

The Global Market Hits a Tax Snag

This is more widely spread than the comic market, of course, but that’s the one that brought it to my attention. As of July 1, the European Union has implemented new rules for US and UK sellers. Per shipping provider stamps.com, Prior to July 1, 2021, no VAT fees were required for commercial goods valued...

Read More

Superman & Lois Blu-ray Set Has Extra Footage

I wasn’t going to mention this, as the show wasn’t for me, but there was one particular item in the press release that intrigued me. (I preferred the idea of the old Lois and Clark, couple flirting and working together and fighting crime, over parental and teen drama.) Superman & Lois: The Complete...

Read More

Smallville: Complete Series Coming to Blu-ray

This might be the excuse I need to finally sit down and watch Smallville. It seemed cheesy at the time, but now that many of the current superhero TV shows have turned dark, it might be fun to see a younger version of Superman (played by Tom Welling). I seem to remember liking Kristin Kreuk as Lana...

Read More

Allergic

One way to have success is to identify a moment or an event or a condition that everyone can relate to, or at least understand, but no one has yet crystallized. Think, for example, of Semisonic’s “Closing Time”. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s a good song or not — it’s an instant anthem, something...

Read More

Unicorn Famous

Unicorn Famous is the thirteenth book in the series, collecting the ongoing Phoebe and Her Unicorn comic strip by Dana Simpson. I was surprised to see that it opens with a lengthy sequence about being able to be what you want when you grow up, even if that thing is a unicorn. Of course, they’re magical...

Read More

Virtual Unicorn Experience

The latest Phoebe and Her Unicorn collection from Dana Simpson, Virtual Unicorn Experience, is as fresh and funny and entertaining as any of the previous. It’s the twelfth book in the series, so that’s a pretty impressive track record. Since the unicorn Marigold is a magical creature, her sometimes...

Read More

Doctor Who: Missy

I gave up watching Doctor Who midway through the Eleventh Doctor’s run, because what I wanted to see differed from the showrunner’s ideas. (It happens. In my rewatch, I will eventually get there.) I regret, though, that means that I missed out on the Master becoming Missy (played by Michelle Gomez),...

Read More

Batman: The Long Halloween Parts 1 and 2

Batman: The Long Halloween was a 13-part miniseries themed around calendar events. Written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale, it was one of several prestige events the two teamed on in the mid-90s. (There’s a deluxe edition hardcover collection coming out, but not until October.) The premise was that...

Read More

Oh No

I love this webcomic, even though I had no idea it was actually called Webcomic Name or that the author was Alex Norris. Calling the book Oh No was smart, as that’s how most people know it, since that’s the punchline to every three-panel installment. I think we all can sympathize with the pink “disappointed...

Read More

DC: Women of Action

Modern-day coffee table books like DC: Women of Action, in addition to being fun reads on their own, pleasantly remind me of how much things have improved over the past few years. When I started this gig, a book full of pretty pictures celebrating the female superheroes of DC Comics would have been...

Read More

DC Super Hero Girls: A Listing

The DC Super Hero Girls line launched in Fall 2015 with web content, dolls, Lego toys, graphic novels, and videos. Here’s a list of the comics, starting with the graphic novels: Finals Crisis written by Shea Fontana; art by Yancey Labat 2016 Hits and Myths written by Shea Fontana; art by Yancey Labat...

Read More

Night Jackal #1

If you’re a fan of The Boys, you’ll want to check out Night Jackal #1, particularly since it’s a full-length, professionally done, dark superhero story for only 99 cents. It’s the story of a former hero, now out of prison after decades behind bars, written by Heath C. Michaels and illustrated by Philip...

Read More

Win a Copy of All Summer Long!

I greatly enjoyed reading Hope Larson’s All Summer Long, and I’d like to share that enjoyment with you. One lucky reader will receive a paperback copy of this release. But first, if you’d like to double your chances, the publisher is giving away many more copies in a Goodreads giveaway. Mine will likely...

Read More

All Summer Long

All Summer Long is the kind of teen summer story I can get behind. Bina isn’t going to camp or on vacation. Instead, she’s left in town to do not much of anything. The past few summers, she and neighbor / best friend Austin have spent the whole season together, but he’s off to soccer camp. His lack...

Read More

Lights, Planets, People!

Lights, Planets, People! is a graphic novel adaptation of Molly Naylor’s play, illustrated by Lizzy Stewart. Yet it manages to use the comic format beautifully to show us multiple levels of communication. Maggie is an astronomer. We see her giving a lecture to inspire young women to pursue science,...

Read More

Hallmark Doctor Who Ornaments Announced

Every year, I’m asked if there’s a Hallmark ornament I’d like. (I have to be asked because I have a history of picking series that end after only a few releases.) This year, the answer was really easy, because Hallmark is releasing two official Doctor Who ornaments. I am not crazy about the colors on...

Read More

Free Manga for July

Kodansha has announced that until August 2nd, you can get free digital copies of a number of their series. Additionally, second volumes are 99 cents, and third volumes are $1.99. Three volumes of these popular series for three bucks is a terrific summer reading deal! Check your favorite digital vendor...

Read More

That’s My Atypical Girl Volume 1

I was curious about That’s My Atypical Girl volume 1, a digital-only manga release with story by Sohachi Hagimoto and art by Renji Morita, because of the premise, in which an aspiring manga creator meets a dedicated fan of his work. Yokoi is an unsuccessful manga artist because his stories are gloomy...

Read More

Rebecca and Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor

If I was to describe the concept of Rebecca and Lucie in the Case of the Missing Neighbor, I would say “what if a mommy blogger wrote Rear Window?” Rebecca is a new mother, about to end her maternity leave. She’s up late feeding baby Lucie when she sees someone loading something into a white van. Then...

Read More

The League of Super Feminists

The League of Super Feminists has an eye-catching title, but it’s really a scrapbook-style collection of pieces covering media literacy and political awareness. It covers the kind of topics more young people should be aware of, including sexist stereotypes in popular entertainment, the Bechdel Test,...

Read More

Monster and the Beast Volume 3

This is around when a manga series has to find something beyond the original concept with which to continue. Monster and the Beast volume 3 by Renji accomplishes this by separating the two leads and promising more information to come about one’s past. At the end of volume 2, Liam (the man on the run)...

Read More

Magical History Tour: The Plague: History of a Pandemic

The fifth in the translated Magical History Tour series is particularly timely. The Plague: History of a Pandemic, is, as are the others in the series, written by Fabrice Erre and illustrated by Sylvain Savoia. Annie explains various outbreaks of the historical plague, including the Black Death, and...

Read More

Another Indy Comic Publisher to Call It Quits

Whenever one of these notes crosses my awareness, I’m rarely surprised. Comics is not a long-term, sustainable business for many people. (As noted on Twitter by Joshua Dysart recently, Almost every single person who got their start in comics from my generation, & from most others too, had some kind...

Read More

Must-Read on Comic Retailing Today

In announcing he’s closing his second store, comic retailer Brian Hibbs makes a lot of cogent observations about the state of the direct market for comic books today in his latest Tilting at Windmills column. Some key points: I’ve lost a great deal of faith in the business of periodical comics and,...

Read More