(Editor's Note: Due to a mix-up by Ye Olde Editor here, this very timely Valentine's Day article did not post on said day. My apologies to the writer and audience, but...really, if we can only celebrate our love one day a year, shouldn't we rethink our relationship? It's not that I'm breaking up with you, maybe we should rethink this. Don't be sad. We'll always have Naboo...) February 14th. Valentine's Day. The one day each year which we associate exclusively with true love, romance, and the occasional quickie in the Batcave. But not every romance ends with the couple hand in hand and off to the alter. If you don't believe me, ask someone in California right now! One ill-fated romance of comicdom that oft comes to my mind during these dreams of happy hearts that I feel will always stand out is the tale of Sir Tristan and Isolde. For those of you who think that picking up a book means re-reading the collected trade paperback of Batman: Year One, I'll give you the Cliff  [Continue reading...]

Today I’m reviewing Dirk the Demon, another comic found in Supermen: The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936 – 1941. As I noted in my last article about the comics of this era, they’re a little more violent and less kid-friendly than you might expect. And Dirk, a vicious young drag queen, is no exception. Well, he may not be a drag queen, but if he isn’t, he’s needs to stop going to Betty Grable's hair dresser and put on some clothes that don’t look like they’re stolen from Julie Newmar's Playboy shoot. Here’s how they describe him in The Golden Age Heroes Directory: DIRK THE DEMON. "Dirk the Demon, 24th century Archaeologist," is the son of Baron Cay and lives in the Baron's castle. Dirk is also a promising young archaeologist and loves going out on digs against his father's wishes. Dirk has no superpowers but is a good archaeologist. First Appearance: Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 (Centaur) Why it says Amazing Adventure  [Continue reading...]

AM I BLUE? by Kyle Minor Hello old friends and new enemies! Kyle here reporting in from distant San Francisco, and... I have a confession. I finally did it. Made the leap. Took the plunge. Bit the bullet. Grinned and bore it. Took it like a man. Closed my eyes and thought of England. No, I didn't get my perineum pierced... I finally went to see Avatar last night! And believe you me -- it is everything they say it is! Unfortunately, that mostly means it was predictable, ironically two-dimensional, and full of caricatures instead of characters. I think Fernando Croce of CinePassion said it best when he said that Avatar "alternates between a slurry of Franz Marc expressionism and the most elaborate ThunderCats episode ever made." But... OMG kids did that movie LOOK unbelievably RAD! I mean even setting aside the sensational 3D effects (which you definitely should NOT do, BTdubs), every new vista was so breath-taking, so arrestingly alien -- that I  [Continue reading...]

The graphic novel Skim, the effort of Canadian cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki has already been heartily praised. Originally published in 2005, it’s been an Eisner Award nominee, the recipient of an Ignatz Award, and is recommended reading by the CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center). If you were to piece those accolades together, you might assume that this is an exceptional independently published coming-of-age story. You would be right. I was a teen girl once (believe it!) and I’ve read my fair share of Judy Blume. I consider A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to be the stuff of top ten novels of all time lists. So, I think I know a good bildungsroman when I see one. As well-worn a genre as it is, Skim still shines. Wise use of a giving format certainly sets this story apart from other coming of age tales. A graphic novel is a medium that can be copiously generous to its author. One of the greatest attributes of the medium is that the graphic novel gives you control  [Continue reading...]

There is a daily threat to all of us that has never fully been examined. Something that threatens our sanity and our health hour by hour. What's the issue? No one is physically able to purchase their groceries anymore without being confronted by the tabloids at the front counter. It just can't happen. And if you are honest, even if you don't buy them, you at least love to laugh and snort at the headlines. Dog Man gives birth to hamster. Starlet shows nipples during kindergarten play. Hillbilly weds pet pig but serves bacon at the reception. Yes, these and thousands more have managed to tweek our funnybones over the years. But in other multiverses, there are similar magazines with familiar names thrust forward in an attempt to sell issues. So straight from the pages of the Four-Color Enquirer, I would like to present to you some of the top stories to appear in the year '10....3010, that is. Triplicate Girl caught in a three-way. She states though that she is  [Continue reading...]

Can We Skip to the Part of the Conversation Where I Get My Way? is a 44-page print collection of Tony Breed's webcomic Finn and Charlie are Hitched, about a couple of guys who have been together for about 10 years. As you might expect from the title, the series focuses on Finn and Charlie and their domestic life, showcasing the kind of interactions and conversations that only two people who know each other inside-and-out can have. Finn and Charlie seem very comfortable together, despite their character differences which frequently pop up. Charlie is the more carefree, more adventurous, more quirky one. He's constantly pointing out weird things to Finn—"There's a crazy old man on the corner in a string tank top"—and suggesting new and interesting ways to spruce up their home, like moving the furniture in every room in their house to a different room, or putting a giant light-up teddy bear on their roof for the holidays. Finn is often the "straight man" to Charlie's  [Continue reading...]

Oh yes, here I am again! A few years back, I did a series called “Who’s Q in the DC Universe” which revealed some of the “family” secrets in that illustrious line. It seems only fair that I should do the same favor for the other of the Big Two by opening the closet door in the House of Ideas and presenting the “real” story of a sampling of their cacophony of characters. So, face front, true believers! (Unless you prefer some other position.) Here we go with a list of a few of the names that make Marvel a truly “merry” marching society. ANGAR THE SCREAMER Pencils: Brian Postman Inks: Joe Rubinstein That name? That outfit? In San Francisco? I rest my case. BLOB Pencils: Steve Leialoha Inks: Joe Rubinstein Fred J. Dukes knew from an early age that he was different. And, not just as an extreme example of childhood obesity. Yes, he was teased for that; but the other kids also were merciless in condemning him as a soft, unmanly sissy, who was bad  [Continue reading...]

A fear-monger is a kind of shadow puppeteer, casting jiggly darkness over such caprices as facts and ethics. The most conspicuous, current application of fear-mongering, where our dysfunctional LGBT tribe is concerned, is Perry v. Schwarzenegger. That's the U. S. District Court Case challenging Prop 8. (Prop 8, you'll 'member, is California's constitutional amendment which protects marriage from people who want to get married.) In the trial, the vivisection of the pro-Prop 8 Haters' evidence reveal that all of their pseudo-arguments are merely a bizarre mishmash of offended aesthetics and intellectually dishonest slippery slopes--that is, it's fear-mongering, a wrathful attempt to eclipse truth with terror...but, happily, fear-mongering as a simple cure. Fear-mongering is old hat in the DC Universe--often, that hat is the threadbare goblin-cap sported by Eclipso, the Master of Darkness. These days, Eclipso is a body-jumping Wrath of God of Evil or some literally-damned thing, but  [Continue reading...]