American Widow

Steve here.

About a year ago I quit writing comic reviews for the website I used to write for, PlaybackSTL. I didn't choose to quit writing reviews for them, and it's not like they fired me either. In fact, my editor has been pestering me to come back for the year that I've been gone.

No, I quit writing for them because I hit a huge, tremendous block that I couldn't overcome. That block was the graphic novel American Widow, easily one of the worst graphic novels I've ever read. But I didn't know how to write the scathing review the book deserved and remain sensitive to its subject matter, the story of a woman who lost her husband on September 11.

But after living with this book in my headspace for a full year, I finally was able to overcome my mental block and finish the review. You can read the review at this link, if you wish. And in fact I wish you would read it, because even after finally getting it out there, I'm worried it might be a bit too negative, a bit too controversial in its criticism of a 9/11 widow's book. I'd like to hear your opinions, but be warned: it's long.

to entice you to read further, here's a paragraph out of the middle of the essay:

"The book as a whole is incredibly unclear. I asked the rhetorical question earlier, "Who am I to pass judgment on her reactions to this horrible event in her life when I don't know what she went through?" But that's just it. I wouldn't pass judgment if I did know what Torres was going through. But despite the fact that she wrote a book about the situations she encountered after her husband died, I still can't say I comprehend her perspective."

Interviews from Chicago Comic-Con

Steve here.

I went to Chicago Comic-Con, as they're calling it now, back at the beginning of August, and a friend and I conducted a few interviews for the website we occasionally write reviews for, Playback St. Louis. The interviews are brief and not very in-depth, but they might be of some interest to people. So here they are in case you'd like to check them out:

Sean McKeever of The Waiting Place

Brian Crowley, creator of the new webcomic Hamster Rage

two cosplayers dressed as Superman and Supergirl

blogger Jacque Nodell and artist Justin Bleep

Cullen Bunn, co-creator of The Damned for Oni Press

Enjoy!

Reviews of Flight vol. 5 and Slow Storm

Hit the links below for two new reviews I've posted at Playback St. Louis.

The first was for the newest volume of Flight, comics' premier anthology.

The second is for a graphic novel published by First Second called Slow Storm.

I've been meaning to post two snippets too, which I should get around to soon. One is on the discontinuation of the Minx line and one is on a subject that came up in my British Literature course the other day, that of John Constantine as Byronic hero. Watch for those in the next week or so.

New Review

I reviewed Funeral of the Heart for Playback, and you can read the review here.

To entice you to read the review, let me tell you it contains the words "pretentious" and "nonsensical" and the phrase "college literary journal."

I really wanted it to contain the phrase "utter, utter bullshit" but I restrained myself and instead simply said those words out loud to myself while I read the book.

Two reviews

It's been a while. I took the summer off from writing reviews, basically. But now I'm back with two links: one to my review of Flight Explorer and one to a review of Life Sucks.

Catching up with Steve

I recently did a review of the DC/Vertigo book Incognegro for Playback St. Louis. Here's my introductory paragraph:

With their new book Incognegro, writer Mat Johnson and artist Warren Pleece weave a tale that is at once thrilling in its plot twists and thought-provoking in its exploration of the racial divide in our country at the turn of the 20th century. It is an insightful look at the themes of identity and prejudice wrapped within a gripping story of murder and wrongful accusation, and it is easily one of the best graphic novels of 2008 to date.

You can read the entire review at this link.

And have I mentioned here that I'm publishing mini-comics? Both the first and second issue are now available, with a third hopefully coming in June. The first issue features a 12-page relationship drama drawn by Nick Main, and the second is a 16-page children's fable illustrated by Stephanie Richardson.

Find more info, including details on how to order your own copies of the book, at the mini-site for my mini-comic.

review updates

I've got a huge pile of stuff I need to review for Playback, so expect reviews in the near future of Incognegro, Life Sucks, Flight Explorer vol. 1, Daddy's Girl, and Funeral of the Heart.

In the meantime, I participated in that site's celebration of Superman's 70th Anniversary by writing and article on Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? in which I very briefly discuss the nostalgia I have for that Alan Moore story.

Kind of a non-update, but there ya go.

Playback updates

Here are three reviews I've written recently for Playback St. Louis, as well as a feature article on teaching a class on comics.
Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
White Rapids by Pascal Blanchet
Midnight Sun by Ben Towle
Bringing Comics into the Classroom

Exit Wounds

Read my review of Exit Wounds at this link.

Link Catch-up

I wanted to catch you up on some reviews I've written in the past month for Playback St. Louis, a local website which does reviews of everything, including comics:

I did a highly unfavorable review of The Weirdly World of Strange Eggs;
a sneak peek review of the first issue of The End League;
and my own top 10 lists for 2007, one for graphic novels and trades and one for comics published in individual form this year.

The GN list is a bit of a cheat, seeing as how three of the books on the list (Shortcomings, Paris, and The Other Side) I actually read in individual issue form this year instead of in trade. But they still deserve their places, dammit.

The only caveat is that I wish I had read Exit Wounds sooner (I just read it and am writing a review of it that will hit the site on Friday) because it would have placed about 4th, bumped everything down and knocked Elk's Run completely off the list.