Welcome back to Bat Chat with Matt (and Will!). Batman has gone back to basics, and is hunting down leftover Joker thugs when a mysterious new foe with a connection to Batmanâs past appears. Itâs âBatmanâ #102 from James Tynion IV, Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Miki, Carlos DâAnda and David Baron. Matt Lazorwitz: This issue is…
Itâs Joe time. The Splash Hereâs the deal: I could tell you that voting is a sacred democratic obligation, that so many before you have fought and died for the franchise that to simply pass on it as if it was some inconvenience is an insult to say the very least. But we are too…
When AHOYâs âAsh & Thornâ launched in June, it disrupted the patriarchyâs hold on both content and the publisherâs creative teams, as silver-haired heroine Lottie Thorn beat back the boysâ club of titles such as âHigh Heaven,â âSecond Comingâ and âPlanet of the Nerdsâ with writer Mariah McCourt and artist Soo Lee right behind her. …
The Scumbag #1 Writer: Rick Remender, Artist: Lewis LaRosa, Colorist: Moreno DiNisio, Letterer: Rus Wooton, Publisher: Image There was definite power on the debate stage in Nashville Thursday night. Say what you will about Donald J. Trump (Really, say anything aside from cracks about his weight â itâs all earned) or Joe Biden (Jesus lord,…
A new era dawns on Gotham City, as Batman has to face some harsh truths and figure out what to do now that the Joker War is over in âBatmanâ #101 from James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles Matt Lazorwitz: So, I have to say, with one big caveat weâll get…
Stop booking terrible, stupid finishes, Vince. The âRasslinâ Report: Your âRasslinâ Dictionary When you know your babyfaces (good guys) from your heels (bad guys), you can impress the smarks (the âsmart markâ internet fans). fuck finish (noun): a contrived finish that serves only as a workaround for bookers and fails to answer the kayfabe question…
Like most comic book journos, I do this for fun â and âfunâ there can be a few different things, from ripping on the trash books that deserve it to marveling at the ones that do the artform proud. In my interview pieces, I look for the characters, the creators, the people who tell stories…
Building a wrestling promotion around being cute is not. The âRasslinâ Report A wrestling promotion â like many other fallible human enterprises, really â is a lot like a sandcastle. It can be intricate. It can be sloppy. It can be impressive. It can be the product of hours of hard work, or it can…
You got me, Robert Kirkman. The Splash There is something so unabashedly commercial in re-releasing âThe Walking Deadâ in color that I canât help but like it. Tellinâ fans it wonât be collected and makinâ âem snap up those floppies? For a series thatâs already made dump trucks of television and licensing* money? Itâs so…
Welcome to the first of our new review feature: âBat Chat with Matt (and Will!).â Weâre starting off with a big one, folks (Or is it? Weâll get to that), the end of the âJoker Warâ story. As Gotham burns and the Bat-family tries to hold it together, Batman and Joker face down in a…
Itâs all true. The Splash Tuesday was not a good day. And while none of you came here for presidential debate analysis, itâs worth noting that what was once a sacrosanct observation in our national political tradition became so messy and vapid that CNN personality Dana Bash called it a âshit showâ only minutes after…
The Autumnal #1 Writer: Daniel Kraus, Artist: Chris Shehan, Colorist: Jason Wordie, Letterer: Jim Campbell, Publisher: Vault Writers â all of whom loathe the process of editing â have plenty of advice for getting through the ordeal. British writer Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch wrote in 1916 that scribes should â[m]urder your darlings,â meaning that those funny…
Because we canât start with wrestling *every* week. William C. Nevin Memorial Pick of the Week Bourbon. Comics. Whatever. Itâs my pick. This week? A big-ass IDW sale at comiXology. In prepping for our next âAssigned Readingâ piece here at Xavier Files, I hit up comiXology to grab the first trade in the IDW TMNT…
They can’t all be winners. Find out why Will Nevin’s not mad, just disappointed in IDW’s Mueller Report Graphic Novel, and why Robert Secundus shrugged at the first issue of the comiXology original series Edgeworld. The Mueller Report Graphic Novel Written by Steve Duin and Shannon Wheeler, Illustrated by Shannon Wheeler, Published by IDW Gary,…
The Best Man Miro might be in trouble. The âRasslinâ Report If I owned stock in Miro â which I donât, because heâs the professional wrestler formerly known as Rusev â Iâd call in a hold or maybe even a sell order into my broker, because Iâm down as hell on his AEW debut, primarily…