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Truth, Jawlines And The American Way: The Changing Face Of Superman
Superman has gotten a makeover — well, another makeover — two years ahead of turning 75 years old in 2013.As the first and most widely known representative of the spandexed set, Superman remains the...
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Catharsis In A Cape: On Comic-Book Heroes And Real-World Violence
What is Batman for?The whole idea's ridiculous, always has been. Guy dresses up like a bat to scare criminals. Shyeah. Not something that can truly chill the blood — a snake, say, or a spider — but a...
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'Take This Job And Planet!': Why Clark Kent Quit His Day Job
By now you've likely heard that in the pages of Superman #13, on stands today, Clark Kent quits his once-beloved great metropolitan newspaper.Disillusioned by his employer's increasing predilection for...
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The Mundane World Illuminated In 'Hand-Drying In America'
Ben Katchor's syndicated comic strips vary in subject — his Julius Knipl: Real Estate Photographer, for example, explores the surreal underside of our urban environment by documenting the inner lives...
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A Foolish Inconsistency: The Saga of 'Saga'
"Comics," a wise newspaper features editor once opined, back when the Earth had not yet cooled and icthyosaurs swam the turbid seas, "Aren't Just For Kids Anymore."Her fellow editors, incredulous,...
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Cook, Illustrated: A New Graphic Novel That Live-to-Eat Types Will Savor
Lucy Knisley eats better than you do.Face it: she knows more than you about what makes food delicious and satisfying. She's a former cheesemonger who monged her odoriferous wares with verve and aplomb....
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Stars In His Eyes, Sending Smoke Signals To Mars
In his slim but beguiling novel Equilateral, Ken Kalfus places us inside the heads of his characters with such deftness that the line between what is true and what they believe to be true fades to...
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Which Comics Should I Get? Your Free Comic Book Day Cheat Sheet
This Saturday, May 4th, is Free Comic Book Day, the comics industry's annual attempt to sail out past the shallow, overfished shoals where Nerds Like Me lazily and inexpertly spawn, to instead cast...
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Niffenegger Lets Fly With An Adult Fairy Tale In 'Raven Girl'
In The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger married her gently wry sensibility to a classic science-fiction conceit, and the result became a literary sensation — as much a tried-and-true staple of...
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Graphic-Novel Gumshoe Rounds Up Unusual Suspects
Matt Kindt is a storyteller so fully in control of his gifts that his graphic novels — 3 Story, Revolver and others — read like quietly compelling arguments for the comics medium's narrative...
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My Favorite Superman Story: When Jimmy Olsen Created Beatlemania
Hey, Monkey See readers. It's me, your old pal Glen. Look, I know you haven't seen me around these parts very much over the last year or so, but ...Mm? What's that?Why, yes, I have "put on a few," as...
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'Steel' Trap: Snyder's Superman, Between Worlds
Take heart, ye spandex-haters: Zack Snyder's steroidal yet sensitive Man of Steel is not a superhero film.Full disclosure: Over the past two years, this reviewer has spent a great deal of time thinking...
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Death Of A Puppy: An Exclusive Imaginary Excerpt From The 'Man Of Steel' Sequel
NPR has obtained [or invented, whatever] an excerpt of the draft script for Zack Snyder's much-rumored sequel to the hugely successful Man Of Steel. The script, which was found in a booth at the Coffee...
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Women Find More Than They Bargained For In 'The Property'
Israeli graphic novelist Rutu Modan's deceptively clear and simple line work — she can conjure a face in two dots and a single, expressive pen stroke — is a deliberate artistic choice. Narratively,...
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Globetrotting Cartoonist Heads Home In 'User's Guide'
It looks like a last-minute gift, like one of those tiny tomes that live near the register on the counter of your favorite bookstore, hoping to catch the attention (or at least the impulse) of shoppers...
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A Tale Of The Estranged And The Just Plain Strange In 'New School'
Dash Shaw is a graphic novelist and animator whose previous books, including Bottomless Belly Button and Bodyworld, seethe with dark, mischievous intent. He sets out to unsettle, using the unique tools...
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Theoretical Physicist Seeks Concrete Answers In 'Genius'
Ted is a theoretical physicist facing a slew of resolutely concrete problems. His son is racing headlong into puberty. His daughter's prodigious intellect causes her to stand out at school — the very...
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A Comic-Con Diary, Day Zero: A Nervous Man Ponders A Bag Of Sharp Objects
Monkey See contributor/longtime nerd Glen Weldon is headed to San Diego Comic-Con. He's filing periodic updates from one of the largest media events in the world.Glen and F's Apartment, Washington,...
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A Comic-Con Diary, Day Zero, Part II: A Man Waits For A Batmobile On Preview...
Monkey See contributor/longtime nerd Glen Weldon is headed to San Diego Comic-Con. He's filing periodic updates from one of the largest media events in the world.I am a 45-year-old man standing in line...
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A Comic-Con Diary, Day One: Faces In The Crowd And A Book In The Middle
Monkey See contributor/longtime nerd Glen Weldon is headed to San Diego Comic-Con. He's filing periodic updates from one of the largest media events in the world.Special note: If you're at SDCC, there...
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