Martin Skidmore - Review

Hilarious Consequences

A Jeffrey Brownesque autobiographical comic with little technical skill but likeable humour.

What If? 200

A 200th issue celebration, including Stan Lee’s first ever story for the series.

Sometimes it’s easy to see the pitch: what if the Beatles had been superheroes? A decent idea, and it gives you lots to work with. Trouble is, it rather sets up claims for the story that are not remotely fulfilled.

Plastic Man Archives 2

I don’t suppose many would argue against this being the greatest comic book work of the 1940s, given that The Spirit ran as a newspaper insert. But on the other hand, is even this still worth reading over 65 years on (these stories are from 1843-44)?

Batman The Dark Knight 1

This is the first comic in a very long time that I have bought for the artist rather than writer – well, they are the same person, but I like his art a lot and had never read his writing. I guess the fact that Batman is a fresher proposition now than for ages helped incline me towards trying this, too.

Ultimate Doom 1

The most annoying thing about this is that it is not genuinely the start of a four-part mini-series. Well, it is, but it isn’t the start of a story: it’s a continuation of Ultimate Mystery.

Krazy Kat: Modernism and Influence

There is arguably no comic work as canonical as Krazy Kat. But unlike other revered classic newspaper strips, it was never terribly popular; indeed, a lot of the public disliked it. It’s also far harder to see Krazy Kat‘s impact on the medium. One could argue that it is the least influential canonical work in comics, and perhaps that is even true for all artforms.

Sergio Aragonés

I interviewed Sergio at the San Diego convention way back in 1988. We talked on ‘Artists’ Alley’, with Sergio sketching as he talked.

Showcase Presents Doom Patrol 2

The team is more or less an attempt to do what Marvel did with the Fantastic Four (it’s all too easy to parallel the characters), but making it weirder, ending up more like the X-Men (who I believe debuted after the DP): the team are freaks and misfits, and the villains are weirdoes.

The Sandman

We don’t generally think of this as one of Kirby’s more notable works. When the character came back in the ’60s Earth-2 revivals, it was with the earlier gasmask costume, rather than the more conventional superhero outfit on show here. This work was just after S&K created Captain America. But it was a genuine hit…

FA - The Comiczine