Daytripper, the ten issue maxi series comic by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, is an almost-surreal life study of one man, Brás de Oliva Domingos, and how he has lived his life. Each issue is …
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Back Matter Matters – A Study In Commitment
It is a story in words and pictures; that’s comic, kids. That’s what the companies sell, that’s what we buy. But I always want more, and I don’t think I’m asking for too much. There …
Continue readingCharlie Adlard Interview – Portrait of the Artist as a Walking Dead Man
Back in the nineties, I had the pleasure of working with Charlie Adlard on Topp’s The X-Files comic. Ages later, the man who draws The Walking Dead was kind enough to spend some time catching …
Continue readingC.A.S.S – Cool Acronyms of Spy Stories
The ability to boil something down to just one word has power. To use that word is impressive but to know the meaning of the word is the key to unlocking a world that exists …
Continue readingScalped: Unwanted – A Study In Flawed Characters
Scalped is a phenomenal series, that’s not news to anyone whether you read it or not. The book gets good press like the ocean gets waves. Constantly. But just recently, I bought the latest trade, …
Continue readingRun, Micro, Run
The notion of the sidekick has been a popular one in story-telling since time out of mind, yet it has most likely been brought to its highest prominence in superhero comics. The majority of these …
Continue readingPhonogram: Singles Club 4 – Konichiwa Bitches | Best Single Issue Comics
The first Phonogram mini landed and people weren’t sure what to believe. Here was a comic about music that talked about lyrics and music instead of writing and art. It didn’t feature a cape in …
Continue readingA Marjorie Liu Interview – Dirk, Steele, and X-23
Recently I was given the chance to have a phone chat with best-selling author Marjorie M. Liu, author of the “Dirk & Steele” paranormal romance series and “Hunter Kiss” urban fantasy series; Marjorie is also …
Continue readingDaredevil’s Yellow – A Perfect Memory
A bright yellow costume on a man called Daredevil. It was simply never going to work putting a slightly older, lawyer/vigilante, protector of Hell’s Kitchen in a bright yellow costume. How many reasons are there …
Continue readingAmerican Vampire – A Study In True Vampirism
Scott Snyder is a writer who is working to remind the reading masses what vampires are. In American Vampire, Snyder has created a new divergent path for vampires to tread as he imagines the species …
Continue readingSecret Warriors – A Steranko Vision For The Morrison Future
Secret Warriors was a title that spun out of the massive Marvel event of yesteryear, Secret Invasion. It could have been the usual dreck, a spin off title with the usual creative team but instead …
Continue readingThe Abominable Charles Christopher
Karl Kerschl is another comic artist who has dipped his toe into the big pond, he’s worked for DC on a multitude of titles, but his real magnum opus is coming in his longform webcomic. …
Continue readingSin Titulo – A Study In Paranoid Noir
Cameron Stewart is an artist who has become well known due to his collaborations with Grant Morrison on Seaguy and Batman & Robin as well as working with Jason Aaron on the Eisner winning Vertigo …
Continue readingWarren Ellis’ X-Men Is Death
The fact that Warren Ellis has a run on any X-Men title should be enough to merit pause and reflection. That he was then able to craft a science fiction dirge about mortality and creation …
Continue readingBlack Panther: The King Without Fear
It’s just been announced that T’Challa, the Black Panther, King of Wakanda, is going to become the new Man Without Fear protecting Hell’s Kitchen. This turn of events will transpire after the Shadowland event centering …
Continue readingStumptown – A Study In Retro Noir
If you missed Stumptown then you might not be blamed for the omission in your reading stack. Hell, even if you got the comic you might have missed the subsequent issues because the four issue …
Continue readingWest Coast Blues by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette Review
Jean-Patrick Manchette was a French crime novelist who wrote 10 novels. He is held in the highest possible regard by his English-speaking audience. To date only two of his novels have been translated. Let me …
Continue readingMPD – Psycho No.1 by Eiji Otsuka Review
MPD Psycho was a mini-series that came out in 2002 and was inspired by a Manga that came out in 1997. Dark Horse has been releasing the book in America since 2007. I’ve been meaning …
Continue readingKick-Ass Female Authors and their Killer Heroines | NYCC Panel
Friday the 13th is the perfect day for Bookspotcentral Valentine to some wonderful women authors of paranormal fiction. Whether the label du jour is urban fantasy, dark fantasy, or some flavor of paranormal, with or …
Continue readingJames P. Blaylock Interview – Where in the World is William Ashbless?
James P. Blaylock was one of the writers, along with Jonathan Carroll, that was at the forefront of reeducation of what Fantasy was or rather could entail, and it was work like The Paper Grail …
Continue readingA Mignola Daydream – Rhys Hughes Guest Blog
I first learned of the existence of Mike Mignola only in 2007 when I received an email out of the blue from a writer and editor by the name of Christopher Golden. His message informed …
Continue readingYour Prescription for Reading?
This is the first of a new monthly feature we are calling Synergy. Basically, one of our contributors offers a single question for our other contributors to give answer to. Beyond that, we go out …
Continue readingScalped: Indian Country Review
Indian Country collects the first five issues of the monthly series Scalped. The art in Scalped is very good. Offering up shadows with hidden depths at times and bright, clear and detailed panel at others …
Continue readingSynergy! Sharing Favorite Scary Stories with Carrie Vaughn, Charlie Huston, Jimmy Palmiotti & More!
Synergy is back! If you haven’t seen this column before, the basic idea is that we put the same question to a variety of professionals (and sometimes amateurs) who interest us to create a plateful of …
Continue readingGraphic Novels: Going the Long Way Round – Tim Eldred Guest Blog
It’s a process that places abnormal demands on you and on the people around you. If this is the way you choose to express yourself creatively, there is a price to be paid for it. But …
Continue readingA DC Comics Gateway in Identity Crisis
Identity Crisis is a DC mini-series that love or hate is a legitimate benchmark on the DC timeline noting the company’s trends as the beginning of a shift in their line’s direction as a whole. …
Continue readingSusanna Clarke’s Magical Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Review
In my opinion, simply stated, with no reservation what so ever, the best novel published in 2004. The best Fantasy novel? Well, yes, but also, the best fictional novel, bar none. Susanna Clarke’s debut novel, …
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