It’s probably me. I’m probably the sucker. I really just enjoy continuity in my funnybooks. I want things that happened before to MATTER. Elseworlds and What If’s are fun, but ultimately, I want there to be a big, long line of continuity that carries through the “main” books of a comics universe. If what happened before doesn’t make a difference to what matters now, then… … Continue reading Top Ten: Best Comics’ Alternate Universes
Who would win in a fight? Superman or Goku? How about the Flash or the Hulk? And who would come out on top if Dr. Doom pitted wits against Brainiac? (Sidenote: “Brainiac” is one of the those names that have existed in comics lore for decades that we all just accept when we really shouldn’t. Really? An interstellar, cunning alien/robot who uses his intellect to … Continue reading In Defense of Battle Boards
What the hell, right? I just did an X-Book last week! Where has the variety gone? Well, as of this writing (and I say the a lot knowing I’m writing batches of these at a time without really keeping track of when they will be posted), this has been the week from hell. Most notably, my cat died out of nowhere from a heart…thing (wait, … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: X-Tinction Agenda
It’s been a long way to the top, but since we do, in fact, want to rock ‘n roll, we have all successfully made it. After the past two weekends of tension-building action where I gave you my favorite comics #11-#15 and then #6-#10, I can tell that your anticipation is at an absolute fever pitch! But never let it be said that I don’t satisfy my readers … Continue reading My Top Fifteen Stories Ever: #5 to #1!
What would you put as the Over/Under on how many iterations of X-Men #1 there have been over the years? Like, factoring in all the various adjectives, color qualifiers, and other name addendums? Uncanncy, Blue, Gold, X-Treme, and the like? How many versions of X-Men #1 have there been over the years? It’s got to be more than 20, right? I’m not even counting other … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: X-Men Volume 4
I turned 40 recently. I know it’s “just a number” and “you are as old as you feel” and all (which… isn’t useful ever since I fell down the stairs in December and hurt my back; I feel 65), but it’s still a whole thing, right? Turning FORTY, man. Thirty is no big deal; you’re just “more of an adult” at that point. Fifty is … Continue reading Top Ten: Best Comic Book Characters Since 1981
As of this writing, Marvel’s most recent event story, Secret Empire has concluded, and the sentiment seems to be… poor. I did not read it; I have a bad habit of only buying comics in trade because then I can cherry-pick stories that I have already heard good things about. It’s almost a shame… Marvel does event stories more often than I eat three meals a day, … Continue reading Stew’s Reviews: Hawkeye
I take no pride in being something of a harsh grader when it comes to comic books. I am not really sure why it is–I tend to grade out movies much more generously than I do comics for whatever reason–but if you look at my grading history, it is easy to see I am typically likely to score books relatively lower than others might. The … Continue reading Tough Grading, The Elusive A+, And My Top 15 Stories EVER
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
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
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