“They Just Wanted Public Contact with Some Comic Book Personality…” – Excerpts from the Thought Process of STEVE DITKO

When Steve Ditko died in June 2018, I was filled with more of a genuine gratitude than a sense of sorrow. While I couldn’t claim to truly know the man, I was familiar enough with his belief system to recognize how pragmatic he was, especially in regard to a life lived and as to who […]

I Mean, Fuck Robert Crumb: Thoughts On The Patron Saint For White Apologists

“The Crumb laugh isn’t just unconvincing, it’s painful. Something disturbing is going on, for which the laugh is a bribe. It buys you off, deflects your attention, solicits your collusion. I know that something grotesque is being smuggled in, I just don’t know exactly what.” – Laura Kipnis, BOOKFORUM Review, Spring 2025 Well friends, another new year is […]

“I Did Not Sleep Much in The ’80s, or the 90s’ for that Matter…”- an Interview w/ JayJay Jackson on Her Prolific Career, Art, and Life in Comics

Where does one begin with a creative force and powerhouse personality like JayJay Jackson? Prolific and eclectic, she has worked steadily and consistently as a viable collaborator in nearly all areas of the comic book industry (to say nothing of her work as a graphic artist, designer, and author) while still flying purposely under the […]

“…FanFic Masquerading as Journalism and Still Winning the Pulitzer…” – Highlights from the Mid-Week Mailbag

Well friends, I suppose writing this on a Tuesday doesn’t really qualify as a “midweek” mailbag but hey- this isn’t a journalism site so give your humble and gregarious host a break, yeah?? I’m barely coherent and yet still decided to delve into the ol’ inbox to finally response and share a horrid host of […]

“The Results Were Pure Simon, With Only Hints of Kirby…”- Reviewing Joe Simon’s 2011 ‘My Life in Comics’

Joe Simon (1913-2011) was (and is) a seminal and pivotal figure in the history of American Comic Books, and one that is largely associated by his successful and innovative partnership with Jack Kirby, a partnership that had such value during the Golden Age of Comics that their names were touted on covers, a rarity for […]

“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 […]

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

“In the ’80s and ’90s, it became increasingly stylish to bash Stan, to accuse him of hogging attention for his creations from the artists.” – Peter David, now cursed by the Romanians he once insulted, back in Nov. 2018 Stan Lee. The Myth. “The Man”. The legend. And one that is, apparently, bashed. The term […]