“…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 […]

“And I Knew That Roy Was The Second Wave Guy…”- an Interview with the Living Legend, John Cimino

I’ve got to start by sharing what a gratifying experience it was to see the tremendous response from fans and industry professionals alike when it came to our interview with the great Clair Noto. Even esteemed and established comic journalists gave credit for the journalistic qualities of that conversation, and the discussions it provoked within […]

“There Isn’t A Word of Truth In Any of That”- A Conversation With The Elusive & Prolific Clair Noto on Hollywood, Marvel, and Her Erasure from Red Sonja

Clair Noto has been a footnote in the history of Marvel Comics. Superciliously deigned as a co-writer (which she denies), lazily written off (if written about at all) by supposed fans and historians, Noto exists in a rare field between rumor and mystique. Her comic book credits are slim in comparison to other figures; her […]

“Poverty and Comics Don’t Mix (Unless You’re a Creator or Comics JOURNALIST)…” – On One Reason Why Comics Journalism Routinely SUCKS

Please allow me, if you will, to state at the offset that I am not against comics journalism. I am for it, wholeheartedly. It’s just that I sincerely continue to be amazed at how much it fumbles the ball while at the same time publicly commenting on the upwards trajectory it faces and the need […]

“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 […]

Looking Back in Exasperation: Revisiting The Lion in Winter, 10 Years On…

Don’t let my long-awaited return fool you, dear friends. I have not been prompted or motivated to write due to topical events at all, believe it or don’t- on the contrary, I’ve been planning a return to regular posts for the past two weeks, largely motivated by the steady influx of e-mails I’ve received covering […]

“I’m Getting More Used To The Boys At The Office”- Patricia Highsmith’s Golden Age Diary Entries

Patricia Highsmith’s recent semi-resurgence due to the new television series I’ll never watch, Ripley (based on her sociopathic and frequently adapted character, grifter Tom Ripley) admittedly frustrated me as I’d been planning on writing and compiling this piece for some time and would have preferred to not appear as if I’m being topical in presenting […]