Tag Archives: World War II

COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (26 February 2024)

War and comics tend to be a generative combination. The former has triggered politically charged works, it has shaped the background of popular characters (especially superheroes), it has inspired bonkers tales that counterintuitively mix fun and horrific elements , and … Continue reading

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (22 May 2023)

This weeks’ reminder that comics can be awesome is a tribute to the long history of tank covers at DC:

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Catching up with war comics

Every once in a while, Dead Reckoning – an imprint of the U.S. Naval Institute’s book-publishing division – sends me graphic novels to review in Gotham Calling. Last year they sent me The Lions of Leningrad and The Stretcher Bearers, … Continue reading

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COMICS CAN BE AWESOME (12 December 2022)

This has been a year marked by war. I know, I know, aren’t they all? Sure, but the stakes feel more global than they had felt in a while – and, yes, this conflict’s impact hits closer to (my) home. … Continue reading

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If you like Barton Fink…

By 1991, Joel and Ethan Coen had done three very different pictures, but they all shared some connection to crime fiction, not to mention a fondness for labyrinthic plotting. With their next project, though, the Coen brothers truly defied everybody’s … Continue reading

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Spotlight on The Unknown Soldier, 1988-1989 – part 2

As I started to discuss last week, 1988-9’s exhilarating The Unknown Soldier limited series is miles apart from Joe Kubert’s original iteration of the character. For one thing, instead of a fully-committed agent of an unquestionably righteous American war effort, … Continue reading

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Spotlight on The Adventures of Tintin – part 1

Something I would like to do more this year is to write about Eurocomics – especially the old Franco-Belgian bande dessinée albums that were such a huge part of my childhood. Today, let’s have a closer look at just a … Continue reading

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Animal war comics – part 2

If you read last week’s post, you know I’ve been discussing war comics that prominently feature animals. This week, let’s start by looking at 2004’s science-gone-wrong mini-series We3, about a trio of weaponized animal cyborgs (a dog, a cat, and … Continue reading

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Animal war comics – part 1

Once again, the folks at Dead Reckoning have sent me one of their graphic novels to review: Four-Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat, in which Ben Towle spotlights the historical role of different creatures in various wars. Like last time, I … Continue reading

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Top 12 foreign-language film noirs

When I ranked my top 50 noir thrillers last month, I only included movies spoken in English. It was an easy way to curb the size of the list. However, this type of gritty, atmospheric crime stories has found an … Continue reading

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