KILLOGY #1 — Clipping Jamooks

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 12, 2013

Categories: Reviews

ALAN ROBERT’S KILLOGY: GUILTY PARTIES #1 Cover C (possibly KILL-SKULL-SYMBOL-GY) by Alan Roberts and Denton J. Tipton, based on the likenesses of Frank Vincent, Brea Grant, and Marky Ramone, published by IDW Publishing in October 2012: I would just like to describe this comic to you.  That’s all. Marky Ramone is one of the three “stars” of KILLOGY #1, a recent comic published by IDW Publishing which utilizes his likeness. Ramone was the drummer for The Ramones. According to his bio in the comic, “in 2009 he launched his first worldwide clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger. In 2010, Marky shared his recipe for pasta sauce by introducing ‘Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Pasta Sauce.”   Ramone’s co-star in KILLOGY is “American…  Read More…

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 — Giuoco Piano

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 11, 2013

Categories: Reviews

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven, John Dell, Justin Ponsor, VC’s Cory Petit, Manny Mederos, Ellie Pyle, Sana Amanat, Stephen Wacker, Axel Alonso, Joe Quesada, Dan Buckley, Alan Fine, Tom Brevoort, David Bogart, Ruwan Jayatilleke, CB Cebulski, David Gabriel, Jim O’Keefe, Dan Carr, Susan Cespi, Alex Morales, Stan Lee, and Niza Disla, published in March 2013 by Marvel Comics: I was catching up with SCARLET and the latest POWERS relaunch, so while I was at it, I thought I’d check in with what Bendis was up to in the mainstream. I picked up this, and two of his X-Men comics (issue #3 of UNCANNY X-MEN and issue #3 of SOME MORE X-MEN). Going in, I…  Read More…

WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS #1-3 — Farmer Ted

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 10, 2013

Categories: Reviews

WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS #1-3 of 5 by Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic and Joseph Frazzeta, published by Image Comics commencing in November 2012: WHERE IS JAKE RYAN  is a handsomely mounted espionage-agents-on-the-run thriller, in the vein of a Robert Ludlum or Donald Hamilton pulp:  that “vulnerable (physically & emotionally) secret agents racing through a global backdrop meant to seem realistically drawn” Jason Bourne jazz. (There’s some psychic power tomfoolery too, but it is presented in a conservative way that keeps it visually consistent with the thiller elements). Zonjic and Frazzeta are working in a “cinematic” mode but it still suffices as a comic— they don’t use the language of comics on every page but they at least know how…  Read More…

Non-Humans #1 — Becoming Obsolete

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 9, 2013

Categories: Reviews

NON-HUMANS #1 by Glen Brunswick, Whilce Portacio, Rus Wooten, and Brian Valez, based upon an idea by Noah Dorsey, published by Image Comics in October 2012:  I just want to talk about the opening narration.  Listen to this:  ”Runaway American dream.  Suicide machines.  Sprung from cages out on Highway 9.  Crome [sic] wheeled, fuel injected and steppin’ out over the line. [END OF PAGE 1] That’s an old song from my childhood– singer– name of Bruce– was my mother’s favorite.  He was talkin’ about the road.  But he could as easily have been talkin’ about Non-Humans.  They expect us to just live with the madness.  The road exposes everyone for what they really are– you just gotta look for the…  Read More…

Snapshot #1 — Politics Whining (oh, wee)

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 8, 2013

Categories: Reviews

Snapshot #1 by Andy Diggle, Jock, and Clem Robins, published by Image Comics in February 2013 (and in Judge Dredd Megazine, prior thereto, apparently): I read this immediately after I read Scarlet #6, and a similarity between the two jumped out, an irritant. Scarlet #6 begins with a monologue dismissing Occupy Wall Street:  nothing changed, nobody learned anything, protests are pointless, no one is listening, blah, blah.  That sort of shit. And so, too, Snapshot, opens by immediately dismissing protests:  a guy at a comic shop tells the comic-shop-employee main character that his girlfriend is “dragging” him to a march: “Some big anti-whatever shindig. We’re all marching to put an end to, I dunno, bad stuff… Even as we speak,…  Read More…

Scarlet #6 — Current Events

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 7, 2013

Categories: Reviews

Scarlet #6 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Chris Eliopoulos, published by Marvel Icon, released February 2013:  This was one of the damn oddest comic-reading experiences for me of recent memory.  First, there was the surprise of even seeing it– this was a comic that had just stopped coming out, mid-story, ages and ages ago (2011, according to the internet). I just found it sitting on a shelf, unheralded, nearly two years after #5.  Letter page promises #7 in March; if that came out, it got by me…?  It’s been more than 10 years since Bendis-Maleev Daredevil launched; since then: Halo, crossover tie-ins, Spiderwoman, Moon Knight…?  For a team that decent, that celebrated, back-when, a run of (mostly) also-ran’s….  Read More…

2012: A Year That I Mindlessly Consumed Entertainment

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on December 30, 2012

Categories: Reviews

I wrote one of these elsewhere in 2011, a year-end best-of / worst-of wrap-up piece, but I thought I’d do this here this year, if that’s okay. I can’t promise this is going to be a very edifying affair for anybody– my memory is not great so this is just what I can remember of 2012. I’ll start with comics, in case you want to stop there. Thank you for your consideration.

Ten Things: MIND THE GAP

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on October 11, 2012

Categories: Reviews

I took requests a couple reviews back, and that may not have been my best idea– BUT THAT MEANS 10 THINGS about MIND THE GAP, issues number  one and two, by Jim McCann, Rodin Esquejo, Sonia Oback, Dave Lanphear, Damien Lucchese, Heidi Ryder, Michael Lapinski, with variant covers by Adrian Alphona, Christina Strain, and Francesco Francavilla. However, both issues feature a credit saying “MIND THE GAP created by Jim McCann“, so Messrs. Esquejo, Oback, Lanphear, Lucchese, Ryder, Lapinski, Alphona, Strain and Francavilla can fuck the fuck off, I guess.  (McCann is similarly listed as the sole copyright owner.) There are details below for MIND THE GAP.  You are therefore now receiving a CAVEAT about the HIGH POTENTIAL of having your…  Read More…

Ten Things: PROPHET

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on August 11, 2012

Categories: Reviews

It’s one of the more critically well-received periodical comics of the year, so THAT MEANS 10 THINGS about PROPHET by Brandon Graham, Simon Roy, Giannis Milogiannis, Farel Dalrymple, Joseph Bergin III, Ed Brisson, Eric Stephenson, Richard Ballermann, and FRIENDS and/or ACQUAINTANCES. Usual Spoiler Warnings.  And usual quality warnings– I don’t know how I feel about how this one turned out; this turned out to be a tougher comic to talk about than I’d hoped– I got distracted a lot, I failed to say enough about the art really which is pretty numbingly stupid of me for a book where the art’s as important as it is here, and I don’t really know that I actually talked about anything important, and it…  Read More…

Ten Things: SAGA

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 24, 2012

Categories: Reviews

It’s the periodical-type comic I’m most excited about right now– SO, THAT MEANS 10 THINGS about SAGA by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples, human beings who work for or with or under the name of Fonografiks, and Eric Stephenson; copyright Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples. There are SPOILERS because it’s the internet and spoiling life is what we do here. (P.S. two weeks in the “10 thing” conceit is already falling apart! Two weeks, it didn’t even last. But … oh well, “10 Things” still sounds better to me than “boring rambling mess because Abhay is too lazy to try to write essays lately“. Other ones can’t be this long because the whole point of doing this was to…  Read More…

Ten Things: FATALE Issues #1 to 5

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 17, 2012

Categories: Reviews

Hello.  So, I started really reading comics again, new ones.  Except for that Joost Swarte book (which is really terrific, by the way), I feel like I’d mostly focused on old ones for a sizable chunk of this year, revisiting books that made me happy.  That seemed like the healthiest way of dealing with the Comics News this year.  I was in a “none of those people get my money; my precious, precious money; me gold, give me back me gold” mood.  I call my new fashionz the Executive Leprechaun. Anyways, that mood passed, so I’ve been looking for stuff to read– wound up buying a lot of the new Image books that have been coming out, for good or…  Read More…

A Minor, Insignificant Question about Mainstream Comics from Abhay

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on January 9, 2012

Categories: Uncategorized

Dear Savage Critic readers, I’m very sorry to bother, but an extremely minor and insignificant question about mainstream comics occurred to me the other day, one that’s been nagging at me, that I thought I’d put to you and request your assistance with. Extremely minor; extremely insignificant.   I probably haven’t been paying as close attention to mainstream comics as some of you, and so some of you may be more knowledgeable on this topic than I am.  (Indeed, those less knowledgeable should be warned that there may be spoilers for comics you may want to read someday below). I’m sure this is a question that’s already been asked elsewhere, already discussed at great length by my betters, so I…  Read More…

Abhay: HOMELAND DIRECTIVE

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on December 2, 2011

Categories: Reviews

THE HOMELAND DIRECTIVE by Robert Venditti, Mike Huddleston, Sean Konot, Chris Staros, and Jim Titus, published by Top Shelf Productions in 2011, copyright Robert Venditti but not Mike Huddleston.

7 Questions about Images On the Internet of the Final Pages of Catwoman #1

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on September 22, 2011

Categories: Reviews

SPOILER WARNING.

Creator vs. Critic #2– Abhay interviews Mark Sable re: Mat Brinkman’s MULTIFORCE

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on August 29, 2011

Categories: Interviews

WOLVES AND MOOSE!  THE RATTLESNAKE AND THE MONGOOSE!  COMIC CREATORS AND COMIC CRITICS! NATURAL ENEMIES ENGAGED IN A TERRIFYING DANCE OF DEATH.  BUT UNLIKE THE LAMBADA, THIS DANCE IS NOT FORBIDDEN, FOR THIS DANCE IS CALLED… CREATOR VS. CRITIC In the CREATOR corner, hailing from the mean streets of Hollywood, California– Mark Sable… author of GROUNDED, HAZED, TWO FACE YEAR ONE, CYBORG,TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE, WHAT IF SPIDER-MAN OH WAIT ALL THE JOKES ABHAY CAN THINK OF SEEM KIND OF RACIST NOW, FEARLESS, RIFT RAIDERS, and/or his latest book from Image Comics, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES with Paul Azaceta (POTTER’S FIELD, SHI: SHOWDOWN IN BONERTOWN).  In the CRITIC corner, Abhay, author of such controversial  internet facebook status updates as “Iron Man Is Talking All Weird  in FEAR ITSELF“,…  Read More…

ABHAY: KIRBY GENESIS #1

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 30, 2011

Categories: Reviews

KIRBY: GENESIS #1, by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, Jack Herbert, Vinicius Andrade, Simon Bowland, with characters created by Jack Kirby, published by Dynamite Comics. This was just an impulse buy for me.  I think there was a #0 issue before it, but I didn’t buy that. I don’t really know what the deal is with this series– I didn’t read any interviews or promotional materials for it; I kinda knew that the pitch was “Kurt Busiek writing about unused Jack Kirby characters“, but that was much as I knew– or heck, still know. I haven’t even listened to the new WAIT, HELLO– IS IT ME YOU’RE LOOKING FOR? podcast where it’s apparently discussed.

NOT-COMICS: Why Abhay Loves The Shadow Line, and Why You Should Too.

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 29, 2011

Categories: Uncategorized

This is about a television show sorta in the crime-conspiracy thriller genre, that aired on the BBC between May 5, 2011 to June 16, 2011. For those of you who do not have access to the BBC, this may not be helpful for you unless you’re one of those people who somehow watch television shows from other countries on some sort of magical appliance found in your home and/or office, and do not have any moral qualm in using said appliance to do so.

Savage Symposium: FEAR ITSELF & FLASHPOINT (Part 3 of 3)

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 24, 2011

Categories: Symposiums

The fiery climax of our roundtable Q&A, in which questions about FLASHPOINT #2 are FINALLY ANSWERED, preconceptions are EXPLODED, homes are INVADED, true love is TESTED, and the hope of ALL will fall into the hands of ONE– and in a stunning twist ending, it turns out we were all in monogamous relationships with prostitutes this ENTIRE time.  Who saw that coming?  Well, in my case, everybody.  Everybody saw it coming.  Awwwww.

Savage Symposium: FEAR ITSELF & FLASHPOINT (Part 2 of 3)

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 22, 2011

Categories: Symposiums

Part 2, in which Questions are asked about FLASHPOINT #1 & FEAR ITSELF #3, lessons are learned, truths are revealed, a bloody revenge is discharged and a bloody discharge has its revenge.

Savage Symposium: FEAR ITSELF & FLASHPOINT (Part 1 of 3)

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on June 20, 2011

Categories: Symposiums

As part of the 10th anniversary of The Savage Critics on the internet, and in conjunction with the 4-part discussion of Chester Brown’s PAYING FOR IT, a more mainstream-oriented “round-table” discussion of Marvel Comics’s multi-title crossover headline series FEAR ITSELF and DC Comics’s multi-title crossover headline series FLASHPOINT was conducted between April 11, 2011 and June 19, 2011, covering slightly less than the first halves of both series. As each issue of FEAR ITSELF #’s 1-3 & FLASHPOINT #’s 1-2 was released, a single question was posed.

Abhay: Traditional Capsule Reviews

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on April 30, 2011

Categories: Reviews

I was out all week, so spent tonight in, recharging.  I usually try to avoid the capsule reviews– I don’t think I’m very good at those.  But I thought I’d try again tonight.  My apologies before we begin– I can’t really promise much here.  Just some randomly selected books I’ve read in this past month, I think…