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Essay posts

Point-Counterpoint: Kick-Ass: WTF?

Posted by Simon Abrams on May 12th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

I suspect the main reason why Kick-Ass and Wanted are as successful as they are is because Mark Millar is an inept satirist.

Point-Counterpoint: Kick-Ass FTW!

Posted by Gavin Lees on May 12th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Simon Abrams and Gavin Lees scrap over Millar and Romita Jr.’s divisive work, with concluding arguments to follow tomorrow.

Peter O’Donnell, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin

Posted by R.C. Harvey on May 11th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Some Further Adieu

Peter O’Donnell, writer of novels and plays and comic strips, died on May 3 at the age of 90. Of all the characters he created, O’Donnell was most celebrated — even, by some (me, for instance), revered — for Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin.

O’Donnell concocted Modesty and Willie as characters in a comic strip of stylish cloak-and-dagger intrigue for a London newspaper. The strip follows the clandestine adventures of the voluptuous and superbly athletic Modesty, a retired and fabulously wealthy erstwhile leader of an international crime network who now devotes her considerable talents for lethal undercover work to helping the British secret service, which she did with the able assistance of her comrade in arms, Willie Garvin.

Krazy Theme Park

Posted by R.C. Harvey on April 30th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

George Herriman is not likely to turn over in his grave, but if he could, given the provocation, he probably would. The parched and sublime precincts of his beloved Monument Valley with its picturesque pinnacles and towering cathedrals of raw red rock have been invaded by a $14 million, 95-room, ultra-modern hotel.

All Right, This Cartoon Is Stupid

Posted by Tom Crippen on April 28th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Mr. Oliphant, what’s the deal with that banana?

Hey Dr. Who, When They Kick Out Your Front Door, How You Gonna Come?

Posted by Ben Schwartz on April 21st, 2010 at 1:59 PM

I hope Doctor Tory has a great run, but the next one needs to be played by or Russell Brand or Lennox Lewis.

Why Size Matters: Manga and Anime on-screen

Posted by Roland Kelts on April 19th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Anime Boston and the release of the iPad occur on the same day and same street. Will manga and other Japanese pop media find a new lease on life via the hand-held screen?

images ©2010 Apple Inc.

Black, White, and Red All Over: The Active Four-Year Life of Will Gould’s Big Red Barry

Posted by Donald Phelps on April 16th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

A freely flowing course of lusty fantasy, with just sufficient tongue in its cheek to lighten both sentimentality and terror: sufficient for any comic-strip devotee to murmur hasta la vista to an endearing borderline-camp labor of nostalgic love.

Does Race Count in Anime/Live-Action Casting?

Posted by Roland Kelts on April 6th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Do you care if the lead in a Hollywood remake of anime is actually Asian?

What races are these drawings?

Thrown Gauntlet: Lost in Translation by Jared Gardner

Posted by Jared Gardner on April 5th, 2010 at 12:01 AM

As part of tcj.com’s Thrown Gauntlet series, Jared Gardner responds to Blaise Larmee’s piece on comics and the “trophy economy.”

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