Rude Chapbooks

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 20 February 2012 00:00

This week, writer/artist Roger Langridge’s Snarked #5 makes our otherwise congenitally cantankerous columnist…well…positively burble. Dreadfully uncharacteristic—and not a little icky. Also reviewed: Fables #114, Moriarty #9, Peter Panzerfaust #1, and Wonder Woman #6.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 13 February 2012 00:00

With Kevin Keller #1, arguably the industry’s most conservative publisher earns kudos for launching an ongoing with a homosexual protagonist. Also lauded in this gloriously diverse week: Berlin #18, Black Panther #529, Conan the Barbarian #1, and Thief of Thieves #1.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 06 February 2012 00:00

This week’s column celebrates a brace of titles starring femme fatalities as disparate as Max and Caroline from a certain ribald CBS sitcom: iZombie #22 and Rachel Rising #5. Also lauded, just a wee, teensy bit, from among the latest select quintet of new floppies: Winter Soldier #1.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Thursday, 02 February 2012 19:09

Five-by-five, fanboys and fangirls! After airing multifarious objections to such commonplace end-of-the-year fun, our crotchety columnist succumbs to the temptation of naming his choices for the finest comic books of 2011. As defined. With provisos. Lots and lots of provisos.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 30 January 2012 00:00

Writer Jonathan Hickman earns a tandem attaboy this week for the carefully crafted cosmic craziness of his work on Fantastic Four #602 and FF #14. Also analyzed herein: American Vampire #23, King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword #1, and Kirby: Genesis #5.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 23 January 2012 00:00

For a second consecutive column—and the fifth time since mid-December!—a certain writer nabs accolades for the (ahem) Mark-ed superiority of his work, this week on Daredevil #8. Also reviewed: Conan: Road of Kings #12, Fables #113, Lord of the Jungle #1, and Xenoholics #4.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 16 January 2012 00:00

Almost inconceivably, our cranky columnist here lauds the first half of a crossover: The Amazing Spider-Man #677. Also praised, in a suspiciously benevolent week: Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1, Punisher MAX #21, Reed Gunther #7, and X-Men Legacy #260.1.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 09 January 2012 00:00

This week’s column targets a Jack “King” Kirby revival dismal enough that it verges on posthumous regicide: O.M.A.C. #5. From among four other floppies, our ever-gentle columnist likewise likens The Lone Ranger #1 to something its protagonist’s horse might drop on the trail.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 02 January 2012 00:00

In Witch Doctor: The Resuscitation, writer Brandon Seifert and artist Lukas Ketner delightfully continue the exploits of their white-clad medico toting the gladstone packed with black magic. Also praised in this inaugural column of 2012: GØDLAND #35 and Incorruptible #25.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Friday, 30 December 2011 17:22

In a meditative mood as this year concludes and the next commences, our crotchety columnist bids adieu to one of the mainstream’s finest offerings of the past decade, reflecting on Wednesday’s shipment of writer Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli’s DMZ #72.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 26 December 2011 00:00

In Memorial #1—writer Chris Roberson’s latest phantasmagoria, in collaboration with artist Rich Ellis—our columnist sees a fantasy potentially rivaling the best now being published. Also praised this week: Daredevil #7 (most emphatically) and three other new floppies.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 19 December 2011 00:00

In this week’s review of five new comic books, KISS trades licks with a certain redhead from Riverdale in Archie #627, and Captain Kirk and Cosmic Boy clash in Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #3. So swig some more eggnog, dear reader, and keep scrolling!

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 12 December 2011 00:00

In a year glutted even more than usual with relaunches, Defenders #1 positively shines, even as its eponymous team turns 40. (Where did the time go?) Also praised from this week’s five focal funnybooks: Irredeemable #32, Thought Bubble Anthology #1, and Valen the Outcast #1.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 05 December 2011 00:00

New creative spooks replace old on the masthead of Haunt #19, our columnist notes with approval. He also scratches his head over Green Wake #7, waves bye-bye to Herc #10, gives a welcome-back hug to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Vol. 2 #1, and clinks steins with Wolverine #19.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 28 November 2011 00:00

At least for the week, “Rude Chapbooks” takes a holiday from superheroes and celebrates diversity in the medium with reviews of Dark Horse Presents #6, How to Draw Expressions, The Sixth Gun #17, The Unwritten #31.5, and World War 3 Illustrated #42.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 21 November 2011 00:00

Our perpetually overstuffed columnist here gives thanks for writer Christos Gage’s Avengers Academy #22 and, among the week’s five focal floppies, also relishes Batman #3, Hawken #1, and Mudman #1, but considers Kirby: Genesis—Captain Victory #1 something of a turkey.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 14 November 2011 00:00

Yes, we know—the g there varies from hard to soft. It’s a joke, for pity’s sake. Less jocularly, Kirby: Genesis—Silver Star #1? Even lamer than that header. Drop your dough instead, our columnist advises, on Journey Into Mystery #631, Rachel Rising #3, or The Unwritten #31.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 07 November 2011 03:36

Among this week’s five reviews, our columnist wistfully welcomes back two characters perhaps most popular in the late ’60s: the vampire Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows #1 and melancholic munchkin Charlie Brown in Peanuts #0. Also lauded: Ganges#4.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 31 October 2011 00:00

Tank Girl: Carioca #1 approximates the proverbial breath of fresh air in a room filled with folks who subsist solely on beans, sauerkraut, and pickled eggs. That said, flatulent foci of this week’s column otherwise include Incredible Hulk #1 and Wolverine & the X-Men #1. 

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Friday, 28 October 2011 00:00

Our congenitally crotchety columnist pauses in fulminating on new funnybooks to muse on the first anniversary of “Rude Chapbooks” and, believe it or not, on the strange significance of being a longstanding aficionado of comic books.

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Monday, 24 October 2011 00:00

Now on its third issue, Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword continues to sing as thrillingly as (alas) a chintzy butter knife. Otherwise panned this week: Batman Odyssey Vol. 2 #1, Fear Itself #7, and Uncanny X-Men #544. Conversely praised herein is…well, keep reading!

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Written by Bryan A. Hollerbach Friday, 21 October 2011 00:00

Here, PLAYBACK:stl’s pharaoh of funnybook funkiness grooves on five rude-chapbookish releases dropped in 2011’s third quarter from Scott Chantler, Rick Geary, Philip Gelatt and Tyler Crook, Craig Thompson, and Lewis Trondheim.