May 2013
4 posts
The Book That Launched Two Nerddoms
Long before I read comic books, I enjoyed playing with toys based on comic and sci-fi properties. Starting with the characters I knew from the ’60s Batman TV show, I began collecting Mego toys. Eventually I branched out past comic books and collected a few Planet of the Apes and Star Trek toys as well. Yet for all my enthusiasm over comic and sci-fi toys, when it was released in 1977, I...
As mentioned in a previous post, one of the most difficult things to accomplish in comics is leading the reader’s eye through a “carriage return,” the somewhat unnatural progression from right-to-left across a page when moving from one horizontal tier to the next. Here we have another fine example of an artist resetting the reader’s eye from that right-to-left movement...
May 4, 2013: Free Comic Book Day
For parents who aren’t aware, every year comic shops around the U.S. take one day and give away free comics to anyone who visits their store. This year, Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 4. The free comics, as comics tend to do, range in styles, genres, and age-appropriateness. However, many—if not most—of the free books tend to be child-friendly, as are the examples to...
April 2013
5 posts
The Third Iron Man
While on May 4th fans will flock to theaters to see Tony Stark don the Iron Man armor, side by side with his pal and fellow armored adventurer James Rhodes, few will remember (or care, frankly) that Rhodey was not the first substitute Iron Man found in comics. That honor goes to Tony Stark’s chauffeur, Happy Hogan, played in the movies by Jon Favreau. Nor was Rhodey the second in line....
Comics at Their Best
Often when I write about comics, especially on Facebook, I make sure to mention that the medium of comics can appeal to adults as well as children. In emphasizing that fact, I often forget to mention just how wonderful comics can be for children. As proof, today’s panel comes from the fan page of Superman Family Adventures issue 10, art by Bethany.
To me, no better or more significant...
Happy 75th birthday, Superman. There can be no better panel to highlight today than Action Comics #1, page 1, panel 1.
This is the panel where the legend began. In typical “Golden Age” style, and probably due to Superman originally being created as a failed attempt to sell a newspaper strip, the storytelling is incredibly economical right from this first panel. As Shuster draws...
No blog last week and probably no blog this week as I’m dealing with some personal stuff (everything is fine, thanks for asking). I’ll try to get back at it next week, or maybe even late this week if I’m able to do so. Thanks for your patience.
Stan the Man
In recent years, there has been growing controversy about Stan Lee’s role in (co-)creating the best known characters in the Marvel Universe. While Lee’s involvement in creating any one specific character can be called into question, it’s undeniable that Lee fostered the concept of the shared universe and made that universe feel like the property of both the creators and the...
March 2013
5 posts
Stray Bullets
Throughout the early 1990s my comic reading more often left the safety of DC and Marvel, and headed toward the independent racks. Along with Image, Dark Horse and Valiant, I started to discover smaller publishers, even single-title publishers. Often these “discoveries” came due to press from Wizard or Comic Shop News. This is how I first learned about Strangers in Paradise, Shi, The...
No blog this week due to illness. Next week: my favorite panel from one of my favorite indie comics. I’m sure you’re licking your lips in anticipation.
Oftentimes comic fans debate the value of the comics medium as a form of literature. Those who support the case for comics as literature could cite Superman 49, page 3, panel 3 of 7, written and drawn by Jerry Ordway with inks by Dennis Janke, to support their claim. This panel comes from the first chapter of the Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite storyline. In the form of a rock of red...
Half Asian, All Hero
What better way to celebrate Creator Owned Day in comics than by highlighting one of my favorite creator-owned books of the last few years? The poor scan here comes from the AdHouse trade paperback of Fred Chao’s Johnny Hiro. The panel is from issue 3, page 12, panel 3 of 3.
Johnny Hiro features top-notch action mixed with wonderful humor, and when I first read the individual issues, this...
February 2013
4 posts
The Structure of Herobear and the Kid
Mike Kunkel’s Herobear and the Kid tells a fantastic story in the vein of Calvin and Hobbes or Winnie the Pooh, but with its own unique voice and an interesting plot twist (which I will not reveal here). I strongly recommend the book not only for children, but also for anyone interested in becoming an artist. That’s part of why I chose this panel from this book to highlight today.
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A Contract with God
Almost a year ago this blog began with a post on Will Eisner’s Spirit, so I figure I’m due to return to his work. Here we have A Contract with God, page 24, panel 1 of 2, from the 2006 Norton trade paperback edition. A Contract with God is the first of many Eisner stories to take place, at least in part, on Dropsie Avenue.
Like his work on The Spirit, in A Contract with God Eisner...
In the 1970s, Jack Kirby created the Fourth World, a brand new arm of the DC universe featuring characters that would become known as the New Gods. Strangely, the New Gods story that resonated the most with me was the one that focused on a human, The Death Wish of Terrible Turpin. Here we have New Gods issue 8, page 19, panel 1 of 5, by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer (scan taken from the 1984...
Swamp Thing
Bernie Wrightson has long been a favorite artist of mine, and his Swamp Thing has always been my favorite of his works. This is panel 2 of 6 from page 12 of Swamp Thing #2, with writing by Len Wein, Colors by Wrightson and Glynis Wein, and letters by Gaspar Saldino.
What appeals to me most often about Wrightson’s work is his brilliant use of shadow, and that’s certainly on display...
January 2013
5 posts
Blazing Combat
Today’s panel comes from one of the first war comics to express an anti-war viewpoint, Blazing Combat, from Warren Publishing. The panel comes from the fourth and final issue, from a story entitled Give and Take, and is from page six of the story, panel two of six on the page. The story is by Archie Goodwin—who wrote or co-wrote all but one of the stories in the short Blazing Combat...
Spit
I can only think of a handful of comics that I have enjoyed which were printed directly from pencils rather than inks. Most of those were done by Gene Colan. However, over the last two issues of Joe Kubert Presents, I’ve come to appreciate Kubert’s pencil work through the continuing story Spit. Here we have page 36, panel 5 of 8, of Joe Kubert Presents issue 3 (of 6). I could go on...
No Panels by Experts this week, due to the launch of Archer Season 4 and Totally Biased Season 2, both on January 17 on FX.
Leading You On
I’m cheating a bit this week, but for good reason. Not only am I covering more than one panel this week, but more than one page. The three panels above comprise pages 4 and 5 of the anthology Postcards, published by Villard. I’m a sucker for anthologies, and this one, under the guidance of editor Jason Rodriguez, is a personal favorite. This page, from a story by Chris Stevens,...
Happy New Year!
Darby Conley’s daily newspaper strip Get Fuzzy, featuring the ascerbic Bucky Katt, always makes me laugh. Conley has done a great job with his character design, from the single canine (feline?) tooth to the downward-pointed ears to the little scruffs of fur always poking off of his head and body. Bucky usually serves as a critical voice—particularly in regard to entertainment...
December 2012
4 posts
Ho, Ho, Ho!
No long-winded ramblings from me this week. Here’s JSA 55, page 6, panel 7 of 7, written by Geoff Johns, with pencils by Leonard Kirk, and inks by either Keith Champagne or Wade von Grawbadger. To those who celebrate Christmas, have a Merry one. To those that do not, have a wonderful day.
We’ll be back on New Year’s Day with a look at a panel featuring a ubiquitous Marvel...
Time for bed, Batman.
In Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight, Dr. Travis Langley takes an in-depth look at the psychological issues that drive Batman, as well as what makes readers enjoy his adventures so deeply. I can’t even begin to approach Dr. Langley’s level of expertise in these matters, and I certainly won’t try. Nevertheless, I’m going to play a little bit of armchair...
Silent Night
Though not exactly full of Christmas cheer, when I think of Christmas comics, one of the first to come to mind is Sin City: Silent Night. In panel 3 of 3 from page 9 of the one-shot, written and drawn by Frank Miller, Marv descends a staircase on his search for a missing child.
I love Miller’s black and white style on Sin City. It takes the chiaroscuro lighting of old noir films to its...
The Prez
How could you not love a book about a teenage president? Here we have The Prez issue 3, page 9, panel 4 of 5, written by Joe Simon with art by Jerry Grandenetti.
The more things change, eh? Funny that this book, cover dated Dec/Jan 1973, reflects our current political climate so closely. In this story, political extremism has created dark times for President Prez Rickard. Grandenetti...
November 2012
4 posts
Born Again
Usually when I’m asked my favorite of any form of entertainment or art, I hedge or qualify my answer. Not so with comics. My all-time favorite comic story is Born Again, which appeared in Daredevil from issues 227-233. Written by Frank Miller with art by David Mazzucchelli, colors by Christie Scheele, and lettering by Joe Rosen, many consider the story an early example—as well as...
My Thanks
Here we have Boom! Studios’ Garfield, issue 7, story 2, page 2, panel 1 of 5, written by Mark Evanier with art by Mike DeCarlo. I feel full just looking at this drawing. The only thing I don’t understand is the green stuff in that bowl. Green? Turkey-brown. Mashed potatoes and gravy-brown. Stuffing-brown. Yams-orangish-brown. The exception? Cranberry sauce-maroon and...
A Bit of Thanksgiving Honesty
I haven’t been with my family on Thanksgiving in a very long time, more than a decade, possibly two. Even so, I recognize the hilarious honesty in the dialog from today’s panel. Panel 6 of page 1 of JSA 54, written by Geoff Johns, with pencils Don Kramer and inks by Keith Champagne, purports to be about a gathering of superheroes, but could easily apply to any family gathering on...
October 2012
4 posts
No entry this week, due to the hurricane. Hope everyone made it through safely.
Family’s in town, so no PbE this week, and possibly next, but I’ve got a couple of scans in the queue ready to blather about.
September 2012
3 posts
August 2012
4 posts
July 2012
4 posts
Don't Miss These Great Comics
We interrupt our usual Panels by Experts ramblings for a bit of a PSA.
If I were to tell you that there were comics out there that offer 16 pages of story for $.99, that would seem like a pretty good deal, right? How about if I told you that they were by some well-known comics creators. Also, you don’t just get the finished product, but a look at character designs, separate pencils,...
June 2012
4 posts
