10 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT FEBRUARY 2011 COMICS (AND A COUPLE I’M NOT SO CRAZY ABOUT)


SpongeBob Comics

SpongeBob Comics

KC Carlson talks about some books he’s excited about including United Plankton Pictures’ SpongeBob Comics, IDW’s Art of George Perez, Top Shelf’s Owly & Wormy, and more!

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Markley’s Fevered Brain – Don’t Shoot Me, I am Only the Writer


Doctor Solar, Man of the AtomWayne Markley follows the illustrious career of the legendary Jim Shooter, from his early days with DC’s Adventure Comics and the Legion of Super-Heroes, to his stint as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics, his start-up efforts at Valiant Comics, Defiant Comics, Broadway Comics and Acclaim Comics, and his eventual return to Legion of Super-Heroes and the resurrection of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom; Magnus, Robot Fighter; and Turok, Son of Stone.

Over the last forty plus years, one of the best writers

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Markley’s Fevered Brain: My Favorite Character is Dead! Long Live My Favorite Character!


Flash Rebirth

by Wayne Markley

I have long complained about comic book companies who kill off characters only to bring them back as a different person, in a different costume, but using the same name as the original. This was basically how DC Comics started the Silver Age of Comics with Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, etc., all being reintroduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They had the same heroic name as their Golden-Age counterparts, but they were new people in new costumes. Most of these new characters were highly successful. In the last 20 years or so, DC has done this over and over again with the same characters – Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, etc. – and have failed almost every time. All of these re-launches ended up with the original character back in the costume – Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Ray Palmer, etc. Strangely, all of these were the Silver Age versions of the Golden Age characters where the modern versions failed to find an audience. I think this is largely due to the fact the reading audience is older and they like what they know, and that is the Silver Age versions of these characters.

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10 Things I Like About July ’10 Comics (and a couple I’m not so crazy about)


by KC Carlson

Batman: Odyssey

1. CLASSIC CREATORS RETURN TO CLASSIC CHARACTERS: Neal Adams writes and illustrates Batman: Odyssey, a new six-part miniseries from DC Comics. For those of us reading comics in the late 1960s and 70s, Adams was THE Batman artist, so his return to write and draw a brand-new Batman tale (featuring a bunch of classic friends and foes) is pretty big news.

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Fifth Degree: Covers for January 2010


Super Real

by Josh Crawley

I’m not one for segregating stuff like this by company, just like I don’t like to rack comics in the store by company. That makes it too easy for good products to be overlooked just because someone has an archaic bias that has no foundation in reality.

Next time I may go in reverse-alphabetical order, but it’s just straight-up alphabetical this time, barring one item. And thankfully, you don’t have to read my writing about how great Dustin Nguyen is this time around (and there’s only one mention of Jim Cheung).

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KC Column: LLL!


Adventure Comics #4

by KC Carlson

This originally was going to be a much different column. Then all hell broke lose in the comics world in the last week or two.

First off, The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel Comics. Then, in reaction, Warner Bros. Entertainment announced the reorganization of DC Comics, making it part of the newly christened DC Entertainment.

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