Sorry this is coming to everyone so late. I’ve got my normal job, all the side activities I’m involved in and then holiday stuff to divide my time up so small I’m surprised I find any time to sleep at all. This is of course compounded with the comic news cycle being slower then frozen molasses this time of year. Even what few stories I’m seeing aren’t really things I want to discuss at any length (https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/12/20/dc-comics-eric-m-esquivel-nightwing-previews/). A writer at DC is being accused of being an abusive creep, which other then saying... Read More

If you’re anywhere near remotely offended by the implied asterisks in that headline, you should stay far away from “Deadpool 2,” a raunchy, hilarious and absolutely brilliant thrill-ride of a movie which rivals and in many ways surpasses the first film and likewise rivals and largely surpasses anything else in the Marvel film canon. “Deadpool 2” is riotously funny and stylish, action-packed and wonderfully executed. In fact, it’s so good that once it was over, I couldn’t wait to see it again. And I’m not just saying that because Ryan Reynolds sent me a check in the mail along with... Read More

In late November of 2017 C. B. Cebulski, former editor and international Talent Liaison for Marvel Comics, took the job of Editor in Chief (https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/11/17/scoop-c-b-cebulski-editor-marvel-comics/ ). Then in February of 2018 Cebulski and Marvel announced Marvel Fresh Start; a new publishing initiative to excite the readership (https://www.cbr.com/marvel-comics-2018-refresh-reboot/). Part of the Fresh Start initiative was that Marvel was going to relaunch their books with brand new number ones priced at five dollars. This, much to the agitation of Marvel’s readers,... Read More

After two weeks talking about explosions, comic books and community action, I think it’s time to get back to what this series is best at: complaining about the comic book industry. This week while going through the stack of Marvel comics at Mellow Blue Planet, I was looking at Champions #4. I was just examining the cover, front and back, and after a minute or so I noticed near the bottom left corner of the comic, just above the top right corner of the UPC bar, was printed in smallish white letters “Second Printing”. This really hacked me off. Why, you may ask? That’s because printings are... Read More

I normally like to balance out my criticisms with things I love about comics, but it’s still early in the year. So, there isn’t a lot for me to praise this year while the comic industry keeps doing things that frustrate me to no end. That being said, with the recent announcement of a new Defenders comic I decided it was an opportune time for me to talk about the thing that’s at the top of my list of ‘Things Guaranteed to Angry Up My Blood’, namely when comic companies change the contents of their comics to fit movies and TV shows. Ten years ago I read Doctor Strange: The Oath from Brian... Read More

NPR had an interesting piece I was listening to recently. Listening to NPR has been a recent change in my morning routine since most of the morning radio programming in the Q-C is either bad music or worse comedy. The piece they had was about the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, appearing in a Marvel comic. I found the article very frustrating because they referred to the comic several times, but they never once actually used the title of the book. I found the transcript of it on their webpage and the closest they come is referencing Civil War Two, the crossover event the comic they were... Read More

EDITOR’S NOTE: Local comic book fan Ryan Franks will be writing about comics and comics culture for QuadCities.com as our new columnist. We hope you enjoy his treks into the comics world! My earliest memory of comic books comes from when I was about three. My parents and I were at some kind of family gathering and a very boring one at that. I had with me Transformers Comic Magazine #4, a digest sized comic collecting Transformers #7 and 8 from the original 1984 run of Marvel comics. Given that I was three I wasn’t able to actually read the book as printed. What I would do is look at the drawings... Read More