Comics - main page

Comics links

I've included various comic-related links in the rest of this section, so this list doesn't duplicate any of them. Instead, it's just a few sites that didn't fit in anywhere else, but which I think are worth looking at.

The Law is a Ass

Latest column

Could Batman testify in court without revealing his secret identity? Basically, this column discusses how the law is portrayed in comics, and how it would actually work.

This is normally updated every Tuesday, but it's currently on hiatus.

You'll All Be Sorry!

Archive

Parodies; I particularly liked the Christmas edition. The writer (Gail Simone) has also written "real" comics, such as Simpsons, Deadpool, and Agent X.

It's no longer being updated, but there's a full archive.

Ninth Art

Main site

Although I occasionally glance at other articles, I only regularly read Paul O'Brien's Article 10 column (updated every other Monday). This examines topical issues in the world of comics, such as the demise of letter columns (mainly due to internet message boards taking over the role), or the launch of Epic (Marvel's new fanfic imprint).

The X-Axis

Main site

Basically, it's weekly reviews of the X-Men comics, plus a few random others. I don't read any X-books myself, but I enjoy reading the reviews, which I think is a fairly good endorsement! It's written by Paul O'Brien, who also writes Article 10 (see above). He has a nicely sarcastic writing style, as you can see from this review of a Wolverine issue. I've also found that when I have had reservations about a story, he can express the problem much better than I can; this was particularly the case with the Spider-Man issue about the destruction of the World Trade Center.

Updated every Sunday - reviews are also available by email (see site for details).

The New Comic Book Releases List

Main site

This is a very useful site, which lists all the American comics published each week. So, by checking this list, I can see whether it's worth making a trip to the comic shop.

Normally updated every Monday; I check it each Wednesday, i.e. the day that the comics are actually published in America, just in case there are any last minute changes.

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex

Article

A famous essay by Larry Niven, which discusses the logistical problems that Superman and Lois Lane would face if they wanted to have a child together.

The Grand Comic Book Database

Main site

As the name suggests, a central database that stores details of comics (currently over 100,000 issues). For a given issue, you can see information such as when it was published, the creative team, and a brief synopsis of the story. In many cases, there are also scanned images of the covers. Basically, it's a similar idea to the IMDB, just for comics rather than films.

The Marvel Chronology Project

Main site

This is another database site, which tracks appearances of characters in the Marvel Universe. You select a character from the index, and get a list of all the comics that he/she has appeared in. The only minor problem is that titles are abbreviated, e.g. N for Namor, so you'll probably need to refer to the key quite frequently.


This page was last updated on 2003-12-29 by John C. Kirk

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