Being a 20something human with an intact soul and a love for the idea of children reading, it pretty much goes without saying that I love Harry Potter. I don’t love it as much as other people I know–I can’t name all the minor characters, nor can I recite any of the Sorting Hat songs–but […]
David Mark’s debut, The Dark Winter, is a stout, hardy, character-driven mystery that treats what is an introductory novel as a satisfying, whole, stand-alone work, complete with office politics, fleshy back story, and a series of seemingly random murders—as well as an interesting question posed concerning mercy and justice. The Dark Winter features the mysterious […]
Father Gaetano’s Puppet Catechism is the latest effort from dark dream team Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola. It’s a little darker, a little more claustrophobic than their previous effort (Joe Golem And The Drowning City), and I had more mixed feelings about it. But if you can stand a little work, Father Gaetano’s grows into […]
Comic Con isn’t just about comics anymore. This year at NYCC I had quite a bit of bookish fun. First things first: I got to see Sir Terry Pratchett talk about his latest novel, Dodger. This was both awesome and rather heartbreaking all at once. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I love […]
New York Comic Con can feel like something of a circus. It’s loud and crowded with a whole lot of visual stimulus. So in the midst of the spectacular promotional efforts on the show floor (there were cars, and arcades, basically), it’s nice to remember the little quiet booths where people promoted real-life heroics. Some […]
NYCC is primarily a Culture Con, but it does definitely have some aspects of a professional convention. On Thursday, Oct 11, the first few hours of the Con were reserved for Pros (comic book creators, sellers, and other professionals, like teachers, using comic books in a creative way). But NYCC’s commitment to comic book professionals […]
As I’ve mentioned before, NYCC had panels on just about everything. But one of the more prominent topics, covered in a variety of panels, was definitely the issue of misogyny in comics. Yes, there are ladies in comics. However, most of the major comic book characters are still male, and quite a few different parties have accused […]
I’ve touched on this a little before, but it bears repeating. While historically, Comic Cons were mainly a method for learning more about the comic book industry and acquiring rare or vintage editions of things, recently they’ve become more of a vehicle for publicity—particularly sneak peeks at things and grand unveilings. Here’s a little bit […]