“Makes a Big Deal Out of Trumpeting Respect and Admiration For Someone, Then Actually Treats Them With Disrespect…” – On The Complete Lack of Ability Or New Ideas From Roy Thomas

Gosh, that was a long title… and you think you’ve got problems! Truth be told frantic ones, this is not an article I intended or even considered writing. Like with many things, I sort of stumbled onto the idea while researching other topics… and, in my sleepy brain, made a sort of mental chuckle at […]

“I Don’t Like Anything That’s Contrived- I Conceive, They Contrive. OK?”- Another Look at Jack Kirby’s “Infamous” 1989 TCJ Interview

Far be it from me, the most refreshing of comic critics, to simply beat the same old mash all the time, especially when this particular interview has been discussed and covered more academically than I’m about to do. That being said, some minor instances nudged me towards thinking about this oft-cited interview with Jack Kirby […]

“I Belong To All Worlds”- on The Time Capsule Charm of Spurgeon & Raphael’s Seemingly Forgotten 2003 Stan Lee Biography

“As much as ninety-percent of what Lee said at any given time might have been bullshit, but it was delivered happily, and with an admission that it was mostly bullshit, which made him a rather hard person to hate. And hey, he cared enough to bullshit you. That’s something, right?” – J. Caleb Mozzocco, 2009 […]

“Before You Give Me Crap About Including Roy Thomas…” Presenting Jenny Blake’s First Public LIE

As conflicted as the career decisions and public statements of Jenny Blake Isabella (formerly Tony Isabella) have made me, none leave me as bewildered and disappointed as her continued support for Roy “Err Apparent” Thomas, especially with Isabella’s repeated denouncements towards conservatives and those that support conservative causes. Her need for sentimental comfort extends to […]

“He’s a Good guy, He’s just Not a GREAT guy”- on 2021’s “TRUE BELIEVER: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee”

It was only four short years ago (as of this writing) that a truly monumental work was published, a work that, for a short time at least, seemed to signal a possible push towards a truer narrative in the long-cultivated myth of comics history that we’re all so used to. That work was the Stan […]

“This soft-spoken, erudite, 84-year-old man has been bullied into silence…”- Roy Thomas, Victim

I awoke before 4am and hazily checked my messages, when I saw that a few people sent me a link to another Pulitzer-worthy piece on The Beat. I cannot express to you, whether it’s when I’m running on three hours of sleep or thirty, just how terribly misplaced, badly written and tragically amateurish this piece […]

“That is, is This a Fraud Fraud?”- On the Rob Granito Hoax That United All of Comicdom

Think, if you will, to the climax of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s seminal Watchmen. I’m going to simplify it (severely) but essentially, Ozymandias fakes an extraterrestrial invasion with the intent of unifying the world as they’ll be forced to work together against a common threat. Now imagine that the comics community had such a […]

“What You’re Really Saying is, ‘How Do I Save My JOB in Comics?”- On The Impending and Present DEATH of COMICS JOURNALISM

I cannot stress enough how stymied I feel to appear at all late to the discussion, but various work and fundraising duties have kept me in a rare passive position of late- ear to the ground, but (for once!), more passive than proactive- as I have heard further discussion on the apparent death of comics […]

“It Became Increasingly Stylish to Bash Stan…”- What Critics of Stan Lee Should Actually STOP Doing in Order to Be Successful

Stan Lee. The Myth. “The Man”. The legend. And one that is, apparently, bashed. The term ‘Stan Bashers’ refers to the sort of Lee critic that has become a sort of subculture within comics history nerdom, with those for and against the career and deeds of the man born Stanley Martin Lieber over a century […]

‘Thank God That Jon Bolerjack Came Back to Stan’s Side When He Did!’- On The Continuing Circle-Jerk of No-Talent Comic Grifters & Their Industry Enablers

The starting saga of the inevitable ‘Stan Lee: The Final Chapter’ continues to divide hosts of terrible comic-related YouTube shows and friends of its director; among the majority of observers however, the ones that aren’t dependent on elderly professionals, the verdict seems fairly clear: this thing is highly questionable and highly cringe. It’s quite possible […]