COLLECTIVE THOUGHTS: FOR DECEMBER ’13 BOOKS


Batman '66: The TV Stories

Batman ’66: The TV Stories



KC Carlson looks at new collections in the current issue of Previews, including DC’s Batman ’66: The TV Stories, Fantagraphics’ Captain Easy Volume 4, and Marvel’s The Muppets Omnibus.

Read More...

KC COLUMN: The Never-Ending Story, Part 4: 1986


Secret Wars

by KC Carlson

PREVIOUSLY ON NEVER-ENDING STORY: (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

The early 1980s were a tremendously exciting time for comic books, as comic creators were making bold new leaps in presenting their stories to an increasingly sophisticated audience. Superhero comics began to mature, introducing more and more elements of “realism” into the four-color pages. Long-dormant genres of comics — as well as brand new ones — appeared. Things were changing so rapidly that old publishers — pushed by their writers and artists — scrambled to invent new ways to present comic material, such as mini- and maxi-series and graphic novels. There was more emphasis on the self-contained story (with beginning, middle, and end), another mature industry development that the media and readers traditionally outside of superhero comic books began to embrace in a big way. And if the old-school publishers weren’t willing to try something new, there were dozens of young independent publishers anxious to experiment.

Read More...