Author: matthewephotography@yahoo.com
My recent report on the end of the traditional Archie Digest has attracted a lot of attention and made me wonder… what are you watching on American newsstands? I had been on vacation in Maine for the past 10 days, so I had the opportunity to check out my local supermarket (Hannaford), Target and, easily, Walmart. I was interested in checking out the checkout, because of my own speculation about whether or not Digest-sized magazines are on sale anymore. It seemed that tours were organized in the old days when newsstands got us info. In fact, someone else’s work went…
This year’s classic literary character Captain Nemo has been featured in several shows and books, including the new AMC+ Show Nautilus (Amazing, check out!) and the Monster Piece Theater in IDW’s miniseries Godzilla. Now, Dark Horse offers a 4th miniseries featuring Neemo’s granddaughter, Lumen. She is just as great and adventurous as her granddad. In the past, there have been many contradictions with Nemo’s ethnicity. Luckily, the miniseries portrays Neemo and Lumen as Indians. The most enjoyable scene appears early in this issue, traversing homeland in Banderkhand, India with pet tiger Mistripe and pet monkey Iggy. These scenes show us…
In what universe is Freddy Krueger worse than Donald Trump? OK, what I meant to say is, “Why are we not only still telling horror stories, but why is there a genuine resurgence right now? In a timeline that’s clearly the worst by ever definable metric, why is horror still this profoundly important lens/perspective? Because laugh as I may about Trumpy-Wumpy, the man’s the monstrous personification of a shared grief, misery, and violence that’s been brewing for decades. It’s a question I’ve posed (directly and otherwise) to many comics writers/artists, but few answers have been as satisfying as the one…
This September, inventor and designer Steve Mushin invites readers to imagine a greener future with ultrawilds. On September 9th, 2025, it will be on the shelf from Graphic Universe™, an imprint of the Lerner Publishing Group. The oversized book is packed with outrageous, scientifically-founded inventions aimed at transforming urban landscapes and tackling climate change head-on. Mushin’s mission is as bold as it is playful. “To make a leap in innovation, you have to explore ideas that seem ridiculous at first,” he explains. “Even if hit by headlines about the destruction of nature, large-scale rewild projects are rebuilding ecosystems faster than…
There are few Star Trek staples that have continued as long as redshirts, the authentic “security” of federation ships, as well as the cannon feed that will be wiped out first. Now IDW has all the comics about them in missions where they are all red shirts, but can one person go up to the top and become the hero of this story? Judging by the number of deaths in the first issue, it’s likely no one is alive! Star Trek: Red Shirt #2 begins with papers related to all main characters and details their age, gender and some important…
I spent the most damn damn time coming up with a clever intro for this review. Even a month later, I’s debut Tyrant felt he was confusing over 100 margaritas. I certainly could thank creators Ee Zann and Godfarr for the work. Iranian folklore, 300 people, Birdman, and we finished it with a deep Metatextual approach to create what we felt intellectually demanding. And these days, we need it more than ever. But, as I noticed, it proved to be just too demanding. As deep and creative as Tyrant #1 is included, there was strength and stacking that overwhelmed my…
Beloved indie publisher Glacier Bay is working on it again. Their New Manga Slate – Fall 2025 programme will be the final weeks of Kickstarter reservations for five new titles in September: True Blue Never Fades, The Space of Balcony, Box Garden Beetle, The Cursed Body, Baku Chan. At a glance, the Glacier Bay cartoon is far from it. Books lined up on shelves at chain stores. A bizarre and unusual reading seeker: You found it. The 2025 Fall Program book includes working class love triangles, stories of historically influenced ghosts, and casually psychedelic dream comics. A kind of thing.…
The brave comic and alien book continues the brave universe reboot with Valiant Beyond: The all-new Harbinger #1, written by Erik Tamayo, written by Fred van Lente. The issue is a perfect “let’s put together a team” story, ending with a spotlight on individual members of the team and gathering together to face a “big bad” at the climax. The team has a good combination of power sets and personality, such as Aloi, a housewife who has the perverted power to turn his body into all elements. She fights her crimes secretly from her husband and children. Flamingo is another…
Comics veteran Joseph Illidge has been working on new projects for the past few years, working on Illumines, and Beat has all the details about its launch. Illuminous is a production and creative services company that develops original IPs for comics, animation, films, television and more. To understand exactly what that means and the plans for agencies to position themselves in a constantly changing industry, Beat spoke with Illidge in an email about new ventures, his plans, and creators who want to work with Illuminas. Beat: Congratulations on the launch of Illuminas! Joseph Illidge: Thank you! Illunas and its division,…
Spawn: Dark Age made the long-awaited comeback this October in the form of a brand new 6th issue miniseries from Liam Sharp (Wonder Woman, Starhenge), courtesy of Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions. To celebrate the release, the first issue has four covers. The two are impressive 1:50 incentives by Sharp, Blank Sketch Variant and Ryan Brown. Sharp doesn’t just write series. He also deals in ink and colour, set in readers with Kings, Gods and demon spawns against the turbulent times of post-Roman England. “Back to Spawn: The Dark Ages were joy,” Sharp said. “My goal was to create…