Comics

This hardcover volume of the 'Yi Soon Shin: Fallen Avenger' limited series comes with a diary/essay by series creator and writer Onrie Kompan which details the long road - full of trials and setbacks - that he had to walk to bring his creative vision to life. The 'Yi Soon Shin' series is one of the most impressive achievements in indie comics, but this bonus material by Kompan should be required reading for aspiring indie comic creators everywhere.

In today’s day and age, the concept of milestones or rites of passage have pretty much faded in comprehension. For the most part, the youth of today really don’t see the point in upholding the same traditional observances as their parents. Technology can be blamed for this, in part, but …

Stories that emphasize the value of a character’s role in a story setting have always been enjoyable reads, to my mind. There’s something about the concept of an almost predestined character that is not only true to their inner-self and motivation but also to the flavour of the book they …

It’s important to know who’s there for you, and likewise, to let those people in your lives that you are there for them. Relationships are not only clearly important in life, but they are key in writing a successful comic. The chemistry between characters is of paramount importance in order …

I hate having to do things I have to do. But it’s a necessary part of life, and let’s face it, we all have tasks that require us to grit our teeth, roll up our sleeves and just get ‘em done. We see that sense of the imperative in comics, …

Happy Valentine’s Day! While, I should be looking for the comics that exemplify the romantic nature of love, instead, I’m looking for another form of comfort in the form of stress relief. Why do I find comics such a stress-reliever? That’s simple: Series of fantasies, not unlike soap operas in …

New Comic Day is a constant in the life of a true aficionado. Every Wednesday books arrive on the shelves of one’s local, comic store, waiting for you to cross off your list and pick them up. Or perhaps you have your own shelf, behind the counter, reserved with your name on …

I have a firmly established tradition of hating that non-essential, utterly insignificant placeholder of a day called Tuesday. Save me, comics. For instance, yesterday’s morning consisted of discovering that the water bottle in my laptop bag was unsecured and flooded it along with my students’ marked work. We had a …

Decisions, decisions decisions. This week’s comic list includes titles that are about looking back with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and examining the nature of the decision-making in the story. There’s nothing like the tangy flavour of regret to make a story palatable, is there? But choices are integral to …

It’s a Battle Royale between the two titans of comic publishing in this round-up. This week’s list is comprised exclusively of titles from DC and Marvel – well, with some collaboration from Dark Horse Comics. It may seem predictable but if you look at the top ten leading titles for …

There’s a theme for this week’s collection of titles. I’m a hierarchical type of thinker. I tend to think in patterns, trends or in some sort of thematic way. That formed the basis for this week’s list and it was fun pulling it all together. See if you can figure …

Welcome to the new year and a new week of comic-reading! I hope your celebrations were wonderful and now you’re ready for a happy new year of new beginnings! I fall into the pattern of affirming goals for the new year just like everyone does around this time of year. …

Another satisfying Christmas has passed and I find that this is the time for reflection of the past year’s events. What have I done, I suppose, if I were to quote John Lennon. I’m pretty pleased with the way that this column has shaped. We’ve covered a lot of titles, …

The greatest lies are the ones we want to believe. That’s what fiction is: a carefully crafted exercise in willing deception. It takes a great deal of skill to entertain us with tales of make-believe and more effort than one would be willing to admit. A common misperception is that …

We all need to acknowledge the miracles in our lives – even the small ones. It snowed a major amount today. Though I live in Canada, this is significant because in the last few years, my part of Canada hasn’t really seen much snow before the holidays. Pretty banal, right? …