Scott McCloud is best known for Understanding Comics, his 1993 examination of the comics medium that is, itself, presented in the form of a comic. It’s a seminal…
Rob Cline
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Comics: Wordless graphic novel explores a day in the life of a tiger
The epigraph at the beginning of Love Volume 1: The Tiger offers enigmatic insight into the wordless graphic novel that follows: “In the animal kingdom, animals…
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Comics: Rock and Roll goes supernatural and superfunny in ‘Sing No Evil’
In Sing No Evil, a young man named Aksel has lofty aspirations, but faces three problems that threaten his musical career…
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Comic buyers’ guide: Top 5 picks for the holiday season
Perhaps you need a comics pick-me-up to beat back the winter blahs. Or maybe you’re shopping for those hard-to-please readers on your list. Or maybe time has gotten away from you, and you wonder what comics are worth your attention. Here are five great books for whatever your comics need might be. Batman/Superman Vol. 1 […]
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Comics: A look back at Phantom Jack
Sometimes, something forgotten and flawed is just as interesting as, if not more interesting than, something new and perfect. Case in point, the 2005 Speakeasy Comics edition of Phantom Jack I found on the benefit table outside The Haunted Bookshop in Iowa City. I’d never heard of the title, but a quick examination revealed that […]
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Comics: Young adult graphic novel ‘Peanut’ is sweet without being saccharine
In Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe’s Peanut, a girl named Sadie decides to inform her classmates at her new high school that she’s deathly allergic to peanuts…
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Local comic ‘Lost in the Wash’ explores unlikely monsters
In the awarding-winning graphic novel Lost in the Wash, writer John Ira Thomas, who lives in Coralville, and artist Will Grant, an Iowa City native who lives in Minneapolis, have crafted a tale that pays homage to Dungeons & Dragons, horror comics of the past and schlocky, scary movies. The story…
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Colorblind Comics: Chronicling the adventure of Deshi and his search for a corpse bride
Danica Novgorodoff’s latest graphic novel, The Undertaking of Lily Chen, takes as its jumping-off point an old Chinese practice known as “ghost marriage.” In…
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Watson and Holmes: Re-imagining the classic sleuth
Writer Kent Bollers and artist Rick Leonardi invite you to look up Sherlock Holmes at a new address. Oh, the detective still resides at 221B Baker Street. But in Watson and Holmes, Baker Street isn’t in London—it’s in Harlem. In the crowded landscape of recent and ongoing Sherlockiana, Watson and Holmes stands out because the […]
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Comics: ‘Powers’ strikes the perfect blend of police procedural and superhero intrigue
Powers is what I always recommend to folks who have grown tired of traditional superhero stories. I have been an avid reader of the ongoing series by…
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Comics: In the Superior Foes of Spider-man, five goofy villains believe they’re more than the sum of their parts
The Spider-titles were proliferating around my house. I figured I needed to squish a few. First, I had started buying my son Ultimate Spider-Man…
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Comics: In Sex Criminals, when the main characters orgasm, time stops and the adventure begins
Reading Sex Criminals — a creator-owned comic published by Image and written by Matt Fraction with art by Chip Zdarsky — feels both illicit and mainstream.
