Month: December 2023
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Imprinted Image: Five Golden Rings the week of December 29
Today is the fifth day of Christmas. In honor of that, this newsletter will be split up into Five Golden Rings. It might have gotten lost in the holiday shuffle, but I published an article the week previous. It’s one of the longest ones I have written. I discuss the graphic novel Parasocial, analyzing the…
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Marvelous Market: Comics I’m Buying the Week of December 27
I can’t imagine many publishers love this week for sales. This is liminal week, between Christmas and New Years. Some people are still vacationing, while others are already back to work. Still, time marches on, and new comics that I hope will be good are coming out today. Let’s look at them. Pick of the…
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Parasocial Ending Explained
How a comic can depict multiple layers of performance, deception, and reality What is truth? Any magician knows that reality is malleable. The things that you think you see, know, or remember aren’t always accurate. A skilled magician can use the power of performance to manipulate your perception. They might dress up in outfits they…
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Marvelous Market: Comics I’m Buying the Week of December 20
There are a lot of comics I’m buying this week, but I’m not sure if any of them rise to “pick of the week” status. This is my column, and I can do what I want. So, here are the series I will be buying tomorrow, in alphabetical order. There is no pick of the…
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Imprinted Image: Invincible, Links, and Godzilla the week of December 15
Is this where I update you on my week? Parasocial relationships and all that? Well, this week has been nuts. Gotta wrap up everything for the Christmas season. I finally bought Baldur’s gate, and while I’m a slow player, I can already feel its hooks in me. Where will I find the time? And this…
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Marvelous Market: Comics I’m Buying the Week of December 13
Pick of the Week Batman: City of Madness # 2 I’ve been a fan of Christian Ward’s art since (I think) the Black Bolt series he drew and Saladin Ahmed wrote. In 2023, the year of the cartoonists that do it all, Ward makes some very interesting moves. The previous issue had one of the…
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Secret Ways Comic Letterers Make You Hear
Kaya # 8 and Voice Through Word Balloons Comics are both a narrative and a visual magic. This is similar in some ways to film, but that is an audio-visual alchemy. Ever since the introduction of the talkies, films can pair together image and sound. Comics, other than the occasional one on the web, don’t…
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Imprinted Image: Book Talk, Links, and Christmas Nonsense the week of December 8
This week’s newsletter might be a little shorter than usual. I’m not rushed for time, because I don’t have a lot going on. However, last weekend I went out of town. One of my college roommates was having an engagement party, and I decided to make a weekend of it. Unfortunately, that means I haven’t…
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Marvelous Market: Comics I’m Buying the Week of December 6
Pick of the Week Petrol Head #2 It took me a while to get my hands on Petrol Head # 1. But, issue two will be in my pull box tomorrow. I think the best way to describe this series is that the first issue gave me the same feeling that the Alita: Battle Angle…
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How to Tell a Joke Better Than Family Guy
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. # 5 and Building Character with the Cutaway Flashback The cutaway gag is a staple of comedies, situational and animated. Not all of them are created equally. The best versions aren’t just funny non-sequiturs. The humor comes from the character. When Arrested Development has Lucille Bluth claims to Michael, “I love…
Divining Comics 