Critiquing Comics #152: “Monogatari”

Monogatari

This time we look at the second anthology from Tokyo Collective, called Monogatari. The title is Japanese for “story” and is made up of words meaning “thing” and “talk about,” and the stories in this book do indeed talk about things —  things that are found in Tokyo. We discuss our favorites, and others that we found less compelling.

Also: Are America’s Big Two comics companies headed for a cliff? We look at recent articles by Matt McGloin on Marvel and DC‘s business woes, and consider what it might mean if the Big Two went under.

#620 “Daredevil: Born Again”

Daredevil: Born Again came out in 1986, when US mainstream comics were changing in ways that now are either taken for granted or now look a bit antiquated (so much story in so few pages!). Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli were making their mark. But does their storytelling style hold up 33 years later? How does it look alongside Miller’s contemporaneous The Dark Knight Returns? Koom and Rob discuss this classic story arc from Daredevil #226-233.

Critiquing Comics #151: “Days of Dark Fire” and “Rage in the Shadows”

"Days of Dark Fire" and "Rage in the Shadows"

Days of Dark Fire (by Giovanni Smith and Mike Gaughran) is a somewhat lighthearted sword-and sorcery tale, about a screwup prince who’s trying to save his kingdom. Rage in the Shadows (by Ralph Henriquez and Emilio Utrera) is about a homeland security agent who’s been given a super-soldier type serum that’s killing her. Tim and Mulele discuss both comics, and give advice about how to make them better!

#619 Cowboys and Ninjas in Comics

Cowboys and Ninjas

How one culture perceives aspects of another culture is always interesting to observe. Our old friend Patrick Iijima-Washburn has been looking at how American comics portray ninja warriors and, conversely, how Japanese comics portray cowboys. Tim gets his observations on the matter.