A Moment of Comics

My newest poetry project on Patreon involves new work based on a friend's chapbook. One of the poems in their collection includes a dream about flying that makes me remember the very first issue of Kurt Busiek's Astro City, which I first read when it came out in the parking lot outside Rubber Chicken Comics back when it used to be in Milford, Massachusetts. Thirty years later, and I'm still looking forward to the next story whenever it comes out. There's still a huge epic to finish! Enjoy a page from Astro City #1 by Busiek with artwork by Brent Anderson.
 

A Moment of Comics

For no particular reason, here's an issue of the Avengers showing how Ultron did a genocide and killed an entire nation. From Volume Three of Avengers, issue #20, written by Kurt Busiek with pencils by George Perez and inks by Al Vey.

 

A Moment of Comics

Mark Gruenwald's obsession with displaying the every day minutae of superheroes was influential to Kurt Busiek's body of work. Imagine if Gruenwald wasn't married to the Marvel method of storytelling or had  a more exceptional artist for the majority of his runs. Would he have been able to craft a story like Kurt Busiek's "In Dreams" over time? I'd like to think so. He came close at least once. Below is a page from the seminal story in Astro City #1 written by Busiek with artwork by Brent Anderson.

A Bonus Moment of Comics

Sometimes you see the hate in Lex Luthor's eyes and think, I understand. It's been one of those days. A pivotal page from the Superman: Up, Up and Away collection, written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek with art by Pete Woods and Renato Guedes. 

A Moment of Comics

  

 

Two scenes. One from JLA -Avengers/Avengers - JLA #4 drawn by the late George Perez and the other from the original Avengers Forever #1 drawn by Carlos Pacheco. Both artists taken from us this year at while still at the top of their games.

 

 

Both comics were written by Kurt Busiek (with Roger Stern co-writing Avengers Forever). Readers were damn lucky to have them as collaborators to Busiek's airtight sense of story telling and continuity at the time. Both artists are known for many things, but I'll remember them best for helping Busiek put beautiful bows on the Bronze Age era of comics many of us read and loved as children.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Conan The Barbarian #1

Another one of my reviews I wish I took more time to work on. The store clerk I refereed to in the article who talked about how the Conan character in the book seemed "feminized," they meant it as a positive point and recommended the book. I took a few days to figure out what that statement meant. Maybe I should have taken a couple of more, but I hope the positivity for the book comes out. Originally published February 13, 2012. Edited for further clarity, of course.