Column: What it means to be a Young Animal in the DCU

By: Shawn Warner

     We are now three titles into the Young Animal imprint, for those of you who may have been off planet for the past few months, Young Animal is the new Vertigo-like imprint at DC Comics under the creative guidance of visionary writer and Grant Morrison protégé, Gerard Way. Like Vertigo, young Animal is designed to be the home of books that, although very much a part of the DC continuity, these titles share a more eclectic and progressive tone, often darker and geared more to mature readers.

Review: Klaus #5

(Boom! Studios 2016)

Written by Grant Morrison

Illustrated by Dan Mora

Letters by Ed Dukeshire

I’ve long been a fan of Grant Morrison, when Klaus came out I made sure to review the first issue.  Retelling a classic tale comes with a certain amount of baggage, the years of preconceived notions, and also a set of crosshairs from “the INTERNET”, which is ready to jump at the first sign of weakness.  Morrison has a pedigree that is among the highest in the industry, one that would allow him a measure of bulletproofing.  He doesn’t need it.

Review: Klaus #2

(Boom! Studios 2015)

Written by Grant Morrison

Illustrated by Dan Mora

Letters by Ed Dukeshire

Cover by Dan Mora

As the Christmas season speeds by, we need to focus on the things that were extolled in those holiday Christmas specials we all enjoyed as children.  The joy of family and friends nearby, the lopping of body parts, the wonder of Santa…

REVIEW: Nameless #1

(Image Comics, 2015)

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Chris Burnham
Colors by Nathan Fairbairn
Letters by Simon Bowland

Part of the attraction of comic books is that, for as long as I can remember, the artist and the writer both get a good deal of fame. (Colorists and Letterers are on the upswing now as well, as they should be.) It’s a symbiotic relationship that the artist and writer need each other, despite past accomplishments, to make a book work.

Review: The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1

(DC Comics, 2014)

Grant Morrison- Writer
Frank Quitely- Artist

The Lemniscate, The Cassini Oval, The Devil’s Curve, The Mobius Strip, these are all names for the twisted cylinder used to represent the concept of infinity, it is also a recurring theme in what is hands down the most brilliant single issue of 2014. However, to refer to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s Pax Americana as a single issue is somewhat misleading due to the fact that it reads much more like a graphic novel; thematically as well as for sheer quantity of content, this book contains not one single superfluous panel. Morrison and his longtime collaborator Quitely have crafted a work of storytelling brilliance as well as an exploration of mathematical theorem as applied to a literary endeavor.

REVIEW: ‘The Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes’ #1

(DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Grant Morrison
Pencils by Chris Sprouse
Inks by Walden Wong
Color Artwork by Dave McCaig

The Multiversity: Society of Super Heroes #1: Conquerors from the Counter World

The second installment in Grant Morrison’s wildly imaginative epic journey in the Multiverse of the DCU is as entertaining and exciting as comic books get. The tone

REVIEW: ‘Batman Eternal’ #1

(DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley
Artwork by Jason Fabok
Color Artwork by Brad Anderson

The new weekly series Batman Eternal boasts a stellar crew of writers headed up by Batman proper scribe Scott Snyder.  The rest of the team consists of some of DC’s most popular and prolific writers including James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman and Tim Seeley and these guys do not waste a single panel before getting the action started.

REVIEW: ‘Animal Man’ #29

(DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Jeff Lemire
Artwork by Travel Foreman, Jeff Lemire
Color Artwork by Lovern Kindzierski, Jose Villarrubia
Lettering by Jared K. Fletcher

Jeff Lemire has taken us on a twenty-nine issue journey with one of the most enigmatic super heroes of all time, Animal Man. Since his first appearance in Strange Adventures #180 forty-nine years ago, Animal Man has presented perhaps the most diverse power set imaginable and that has opened the door to a nearly limitless pool of potential premises and plots.

REVIEW: ‘She-Hulk’ #1

(Marvel Comics, 2014)

Written by Charles Soule
Artwork by Javier Pulido
Color Artwork by Muntsa Vicente
Leters by Clayton Clowes

After many hours spent reading his work on such titles as Swamp Thing, Thunderbolts, Inhumanity, Superman/Wonder Woman, Red Lanterns and Letter 44, I have come to a very sane and quite logical conclusion which is that Charles Soule is a super hero.

REVIEW: ‘Sidekick’ #5

(Image Comics/Joe’s Comics, 2014)

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Artwork by Tom Mandrake
Color Atwork by Hi-Fi
Lettering by Troy Peteri

The deconstruction of a super hero is not a new concept; it has been done to great acclaim by the likes of Alan Moore, Mark Waid and Grant Morrison to name a few of the stand-outs. Now, with his engrossing and intriguing series Sidekick hitting its stride, it seems we can add J. Michael Straczynski’s name to that list.

REVIEW: ‘Swamp Thing’ #28

(DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Charles Soule
Artwork by Javier Pina
Color Artwork by Matthew Wilson
Lettering by Travis Lanham

If you are a regular reader of my reviews (and I hope you are) then you know I am never at a loss for words when it comes to praising the genius of Charles Soule. Soule has taken the industry by storm with an impressive and varied body of work founded on solid character development and

‘The Weekly Bat-Signals’, Episode #22

Greetings Gothamites and fellow followers of The Bat, welcome to this week’s installment of The Weekly Bat Signal, where we delve deep into the unseemly underbelly of Gotham City to bring you all the dirt on the Dark Knight, we get to the core of The Caped Crusader or to put it a little

REVIEW: ‘Animal Man’ #27

(DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Jeff Lemire
Artwork by Rafael Albuquerque
Color Artwork by Dave McVaig
Lettering by Jared K. Fletcher

Jeff Lemire promised us a “perfect ending for the Baker family” and as the finale of one the best and most consistent series in the New 52 inches ever closer Lemire seems like he is going to make good on that promise. This issue returns to the business of resolving existing plot threads in a big way after last issue’s brief cosmic departure.

REVIEW: ‘Miracleman’ #1

(Marvel Comics, 2014)

Review by Shawn Warner

Written by: Mick Anglo, Mike Conroy, (“The Original Writer”)
Artwork by Mick Anglo, Don Lawrence, Gary Leach
Color Artwork by Steve Oliff
Lettering by Chris Eliopoulos

Art Restoration by Michael Kelleher & Kellustration w/ Garry Leach
‘Marvelman Classic’ Art Restoration by Digikore

I have been waiting for the conclusion of this story since the last issue appeared on the racks a long time ago in a comic book shop not so far away. However collapsed publishers and consequential legal entanglements

‘The Weekly Bat-Signals’, Episode 19: Year End Wrap-Up

Greetings fellow Gothamites and welcome to the final episode of The Weekly Bat-Signal for 2013. The city is abuzz getting ready to ring in the New Year Gotham style which means lots of garish pageantry and drunken disorderly conduct in the streets, from the lowest of Crime Alley miscreants to the stratosphere of Gotham’s high society the parties will rage on well into the first morning of 2014.

Bag and Bored’s ‘Best of 2013’: RAYMOND JACQUES

BEST OF 2013
with Raymond Jacques

Greetings, Friends & Fellow Readers. I’m Raymond Jacques (and you’re not).  It has been an amazing opportunity contributing to BagAndBored.net for the last 8 months or so & this is my contribution to Bag and Bored’s “Best of 2013”.

Bag and Bored’s ‘Best of 2013’: SHAWN WARNER

BEST OF 2013
with Shawn Warner

So here we are about to close out another year and as sure as public drunkenness, unwanted gifts and over eating are all part of the festivities indulged in to celebrate the end of twelve months of

Bag and Bored’s ‘Best of 2013’: KENNETH KIMBROUGH

BEST OF 2013
with Kenneth Kimbrough

As the year closes, it’s time to reflect on the different things that made it great and the other things that made it not so great. I tend to frown on the word “best” mostly because I majored in philosophy and I’m pretentious. So let’s just consider this more or less a “Favorites of 2013” list.

REVIEW: “Justice League 3000” #1

(DC Comics, 2013)

Review by Shawn Warner

Written by Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Artwork by Howard Porter
Color Artwork by Hi-Fi
Lettering by Sal Cipriano

This is a return of sorts to the Justice League for co-writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis as well as artist Howard Porter, who worked on Grant Morrison’s legendary JLA run.  But this is a very different book and not just as far as the futuristic setting.

REVIEW: “Cryptozoic Man” #2

(Dynamite Entertainment, 2013)

Review by Shawn Warner

Story by Bryan Johnson & Walter Flanagan
Written by Bryan Johnson
Pencils by Walter Flanagan
Inks by Chris Ivy
Color Artwork by Wayne Jansen

Esoteric, ethereal, supernatural; these are all words I would use to describe the second issue of the wildly imaginative and overly ambitious mini-series co- created by Comic Book Men cast members and Kevin Smith minions; Walter Flanagan and Bryan Johnson.  Unfortunately