Off the Shelf

Welcome to the “Iron Man: Crash” graphic novel database review entry. Journal log: 6-4-25.  This data upload processes 1980s comics history: Sub context: 1988. Reflection: the 1980s — a decade of big hair, neon lights, and comic book experimentation. Things got weird through  experimentation. Comics were deviating from their established trajectory. Boy Scout capes and…

As a kid, I couldn’t pay attention to the reality of the classroom’s chalkboard world. My pencil was always scribbling from its warped source of reality, fueled by hours and hours of maniacal Saturday morning cartoons—a happy place vividly logged under nostalgic memories in the farther recesses of my data banks. Back in the day,…

Getting a comic delivered by mail rules! A couple of days ago, “Batman: Court of Owls,” the graphic novel, flew straight into my snail-mail inbox hot off the reprint press of comic book land—perfect timing for this week’s column. Shout-out to Jon M. from Connecticut for sending it my way—and for getting me back into…

By Pat Wise When I was 12 years old, a new wave of artists emerged in the '80s. One artist in particular, Frank Miller, stood out. Why’d he stand out? He was a comic book punk rocker and visionary who broke the rules. It was through his work on Batman and Daredevil, his creation of…