I haven’t done enough “older” comics on these reviews, and I recognize that. There’s a perfectly good reason for it, though, and it’s that, uh, I don’t tend to love them. And I judge them more harshly because of that. It’s not an across-the-board thing, obviously—what is?—but it’s there. A lot of 60’s and 70’s era titles have similar conventions running through them that just … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: Ms. Marvel
Nobody liked 2020. I mean, it’s even kind of boring as a meme at this point, but yeah, we all know it… 2020 was kind of a dogshit year. That’s brutal, but honest. My 2020 more-or-less started with appendicitis (and that, having happened in January, genuinely feels like an eternity ago), and really… everything just went downhill from there. But don’t worry! It’s all over … Continue reading The Top Fifteen Jubilee Comics
Welcome back, everyone! You know what I’m a fan of? For one thing, not ending sentences in prepositions! So let’s try again: You know of what I am a fan (Whoof, proper grammar is unwieldy)? Free Comic Book Day! First weekend in May every year, just like clockwork. Good old Free Comic Book Day. And I will tell ya: for a day with “free” right … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: Venom by Rick Remender
Previously, I had discussed the recent disdain I have found for both Marvel and DC; a disdain which led to my culling all of the titles from each publisher from my current pull list at my comic shop. I went on and into what I see as the inevitable future of the industry–an online-only model that replaces expensive and less profitable printed books with subscription … Continue reading Heroes Of Manga
This started off as a slightly different list. Originally, this was going to be my Top Five fight scenes of all-time in comic book history. It’s another one of those Top Ten list ideas for our podcast that we have not gotten around to yet, and one that I thought had some legs and was eager to get a sneak-peek jump on by writing about … Continue reading Top Five: Spider-Man Fights
Well, it’s official. As of this past weekend, I no longer have any Marvel or DC books on my Pull List at my local comic shop. (Which is not to say I have any indie books because I don’t. I have… my pull list is zero. It is no list.) I finally put my money where my mouth is and dropped the remaining titles from … Continue reading Marvel and DC… No More!
VOLUME 2, ISSUE #1 Welcome, everyone, to the BRAND NEW Stew’s Reviews! What’s new about it, you ask? Why, there is a slight format shift; gone are the “Thumbs Up” and “Thumbs Down” sections, and in their place is a more detailed breakdown of each book’s stars and creative team. Also each issue will have a TALKING POINT where you and I can discuss something adjacently … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: Jubilee & Wolverine
So back in 2002, Marvel decided to have a month where all their titles’ stories had no dialogue. The gauntlet was thrown down to their writers and artists to tell compelling stories with as few words as possible. I say “as few as possible” because some of the titles screwed around with this concept as much as they could (writers would have characters write or … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: ‘Nuff Said
Hey all! Here’s a series of things I was writing for another site about Image Comics and its history. Anyone with more familiarity, or any recollections of that period, feel free to chime in as well! I wrote little things about each team and many of the solo characters, particularly of the 1990s period. IMAGE COMICS: -Image Comics: where justifiable anger against your bosses, “Meet … Continue reading Jab’s Deep Dive: Image Comics – Part 1 (of A LOT)
I touched on something last week in an article I wrote. I poked away at a sleeping, angry bear deep within me, and it stirred about in its cage. It demanded release, and that’s where we are today. But we’re going to try to channel that into something positive. We’re going to take those negative feelings and turn them upside down! I think. Eh, we’ll see … Continue reading When Beloved Characters Are Regressed: Two Case Studies
It’s now time for Part 2 of my history lesson on Earth’s Mightest Heroes, the Avengers. Again, as I pointed out in part one, this is only my understanding of the history of this historical superhero franchise, so if there are any bits I missed or forgot, please leave us comments! The 1990s In the early 90s, Bob Harras would show up and immediately throw … Continue reading Jab’s Deep Dive: History of the Avengers, Part 2
With the Avengers: End Game movie coming out and the focus on the Avengers here at Ghosts of the Stratosphere all week, I thought I’d take an opportunity to provide my take on the History of the Avengers. I’ll put a disclaimer on this now that it’s only my interpretation of the history of the Avengers so I’d be interested in any comments from any … Continue reading Jab’s Deep Dive: History of the Avengers, Part 1
Big shout out to Masters Of The Nerdiverse, with whom I had an interaction on Twitter that spawned this article! Check them out at their site, linked in their name! There are phases I have gone through in my life, and I imagine a lot of people who have a fondness for pop culture have gone through something similar. When I was a child, I … Continue reading The Dangers Of Liking Things Ironically
You know, it’s been a few weeks since I reviewed something I really, really enjoyed and could unabashedly recommend without hesitation. We’ve been bopping around the 4-7 spectrum for a while on these ratings, and I feel that you deserve a better class of comic book. Yeah, I’m going to the well of comics I’ve already read for you this week (and read several times, … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: Deadpool by Daniel Way
I’ve been itching to cover this particular idea for a while now. I love fights and I love the funny, but comics are best to me when they make you FEEL. I remember reading the last issue of the six-part Spectacular Spider-Man series “The Child Within” as a boy and being struck because it was different than what I thought comics could do. I was … Continue reading The Top Five: Tear-Jerker Moments In Comics
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